Hi there
I am starting an overland tour from Nairobi in January, and I have to pay the 'Kitty' in US$ on the first day that I arrive. I am doing some volunteer work before hand so I dont want to have to be carrying around $1000+ in an un secure area. Is there anyway that I would be able to get US$ in Nairobi anywhere?
They company wont accept travellers cheques either!
Thanks alot,
Maddy
Theres many banks in Nairobi city centre so no need to worry about that - I'm sure someone will be more specific in giving you a place to go.
Edited by: sm3ggy
ATMs are all around the downtown Nairobi area. They are on the outside of the banks and do have security officers a few feet away from them. Find out the exchange rate for ks. Any on-line S converter just before you leave will do. Once yoy know the conversion rate, apply it to the amount you need and withdraw that amount there. Your withdrawal will be in ks and your bank will convert it back to $ in your account. It is very simple and done all of the time.
Don't use an ATM. For one, they cap the amount you can withdraw at about $300, so after that you're SOL. Additionally, $1000 in shillings will be wads and wads of money--they don't have high denominations on par with $100 bills, and you'd have to shove handfuls of bills into a backpack. There's no inconspicuous way to do that!
Go to a bank, any of the bigger looking ones, and use your Visa card to get money from your account. Or, use a traveler's check and cash it at a bank. Or, have someone wire you money. Almost all banks accept them, and you can mail them from post offices, banks, and even WalMarts in the US. It cost about $30 to do it, I think, but it's instanteous and can be held for a few days or a week, I think. They're called MoneyGrams, and they have a hotline for banks that accept them, etc.
Note that for all of those exchanges (except ATM's) you'll need to show your passport.
Cheers,
Sarah
Does the overland company have an office in Nairobi? I spent some time in Kenya before joining the truck on my first overland trip and the company offered that I could leave my local payment with them if I wanted to.
I'm also curious about getting USD, generally in E Africa, but specifically in Nairobi. There is an American Express agent or office in Nairobi. Is it possible to cash USD denominated TCs at AmX for USD?
When in Nairobi in July, I had a really hard time getting USD - had travellers cheques that Barclay's couldn't cash - the computer system was down. Went to the AMEX office (not in the Hilton HOtel as stated in my copy of LP - in the "Middle East Bank Building" - way out of town) - got through the heavy security, and told the man I wanted to cash my T/Cs - they only sell them there, they can't cash them!!! After spending almost all day trying to cash them, I gave up, and got money out of the ATM - using 2 different cards to get the maximum amount out, then went to exchange them. Admittedly, not the safest option, but there are now a number of ATMs inside banks, so you aren't going to feel too insecure if you use one of them. My recommendation is to leave Travellers Cheques at home - don't take them to Eastern Africa! Southern Africa is easier, but cards are much the best option!!
You can get US$ out of the KCB bank atm near one of the exits at the sarit center mall (short cab ride away from downtown). I don't know the limit, but it was more than $300 when we used it.
We used a regular US bank card, but it has the master card logo, so it might have run it as a credit card transaction -- I've never exactly been clear how that works. I didn't notice whether that particular atm had a visa logo. I should mention that the KBC atm at sarit was the first we saw in nairobi that gave out US$, and we've been here for several days.