Kampala to Nairobi

try flying FLY540 has very low rates. I believe 99 USD (but if course tax has to be added in the fine print). So does AIR UGANDA

you can also get a minibus to Kisumu and get the old rattler from there to Nairobi. Its a great old fashioned train hardly touched from the colonial era.

My bus ride was pretty awful...it was supposed to take 11 hours, and took around 16. And that was with Scandinavian!!

We passed the train in Kisumu and it looked pretty packed...but still, an adventure!

One time the bus I was on took 22 hours ...so never cut it late for a flight - leave 24 hours!
Yes - its still cheapest to fly from UK to Nairobi rather than Kampala - but recently I have opted to pay more and give the bus jouirney a miss!

By the way British Airways sale is on right now for another 3 weeks - and you can save several hundred pounds on some flights (inc Uganda if flying mid-feb

The shortest, most direct overland route is the bus, period. We took Scandinavian three times and Akamba once from Kampala to Nairobi. The Akamba ended up being a little better. As mentioned above, you could end up on a slow bus or one that breaks down, etc. That being said, taking a matatu to Busia or Malaba and getting transportation on the other side is a recipe for a much longer trip almost guaranteed.

The train: we never looked into it, you might be able to catch a ride on the cargo train (unclear if that is possible or 'legal') ... That being said, that also would not be guaranteed to do anything on time - even less so than the international busses.

If you don't care about when you arrive, then you could cobble together a variety of sources: matatus, local buses, bodas, etc. or even the train.

I took the passenger train from Kisumu to Nairobi many years ago. It was a nice experience. If it still runs, why not to take the bus from Kampala up to Kisumu, visit Kisumu (which is nice imo) and then take the train to Nairobi (in case it runs, i believe it does not run every day).