Short Layover in Nairobi

On a forthcoming trip, I have a 7 hour layover in Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport (NBO), from 4pm-11pm. Is this enough time to get out of the airport and see something interesting nearby? Would it be possible to arrange a visit to Nairobi National Park (hiring a car and driver at the airport), or is there no point going there so late in the day? If not, is there anything else nearby that would be worth an evening visit?

I wondered whether I'd be allowed out of the airport at all: if my bags are checked through onto the next flight, there might be security concerns with letting me leave temporarily. Does anyone have experience of doing this?

Ideas welcomed!

NBO isn't a great airport and I can see why you want ot get out!
But here's some info to help you decide. The national park is nice and well worth a visit . But getting through customs/immigration can be time consuming (i've been there 1.5 hours before) so that could eat into your time. On the way back in there are two security checks that also can have long lines..plus an extra one at the gate. The visa costs $50 on arrival. Traffic will be horrid at that time on a weekday (especially a friday). It can easily take 2 hours to get from town to the airport (an vice versa) and the national park main gate, the only place you can buy a safaricard/entry - please correct me if I'm wrong, is another 10 km from town and there are roadworks on Langata road causing more delays. Also remember that it's getting dark at around 6.30 so you might not see anything once you get there. I don't know the airport side of town very well perhaps someone else can advise on things to do there.

Personally I'd take the alternative: book, music, coffee and dinner at Java house cafe.

Doesn't the park close at 6? I highly doubt that's a viable option. If you really want to get out of the airport, try Carnivore.

Hi,

Java House can get very full and seems to be even more packed since they split it into eat in and takeaway sections (no-one seems to actually take away anything, they just stay in the take away area, and (according to recent reports the food seems to have gone down hill recently, the food used to be OK but I've only had a beer or coffee the last couple of times I've been so can't confirm or deny them).

I've not done it in Nairobi but I have left the airport for a few hours between connecting flights in both Amsterdam and Brussels, I can't see why there would be any problem with this.

To enter the country for a few hours between flights you wouldn't need a full visa just a transit visa that would cost $20. Getting through Immigration typically takes between 20 and 40 minutes but it's pot luck, the last time I came through there was no queue at all and the time before that there was only one person in front of me, but it can take an hour or more. If the queue is bad, at the back of the room near where people are filling out forms there is a corridor that leads to another set on Immigration desks, you can nip across and check the state of queues at the other desks. (the ones to the right as you leave the main corridor tend to be quieter).

If you do decide to leave the secure airside area but not leave the airport.You could then walk straight out through Customs, they allow most people straight through. there is a pleasant bar / cafe with an open air terrace called the Pub on the curving walkway between Domestic Arrivals and the International Departures entrance (close to the latter) or there is the Simba restaurant on the fifth floor of the main terminal building.

On your way back in you would just have to go to go through the scanner into the International terminal. Fill in your departure card and go through passport control / Immigration.(almost straight in front of you)

You might have a couple of minutes queue at the scanners (there can occasionally be a sizeable queue here if a coach has just dropped a large party off but if there is they usually open another door and scanner) and Immigration / Passport Control should normally be less than 15 or 20 minutes, (though I've been straight through with no queue a couple of times, and once I had to queue 40 minutes)

Edited by: Doffcocker

Great info, thanks. It looks like there won't be time for me to get to the Park, but I might enjoy a drive into the city anyway just to see what it looks like. I'm tempted by Carnivore but my partner is vegetarian so might not be as keen!

No, Carnivore is not a pleasant place for a vegetarian, it's a veggie version of hell!
They don't make much effort to cater for vegetarians, but then why would they?
The smell of all that dripping grease is really very unpleasant if you're a non meat eater and your partner will not be at all happy.

@woodnoggin,
NAIROBI CITY IS SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE TO VISIT, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT WHEN IT BECOMES SO LIVELY. IT HAS VERY NICE RESTAURANTS AND JOINTS THAT YOU CAN VISIT AS YOU WAIT FOR YOUR FLIGHT AT 11 PM. IN CASE YOU NEED A PERSON TO TAKE YOU ROUND, YOU CAN DROP ME A MAIL AT mdswissholdings@gmail.com

You also need to know the airline's rules for how much time in advance you need to check in for an international flight. In many places it is 2-3 hours but if your luggage is checked through to your final destination prior to Nairobi you could reduce the time they suggest by a little bit.

Just a quick update to let you know how it went. I always appreciate it when posters reply to their threads with info on what really happened.

We arrived into Nairobi on time at around 4pm. Despite wanting to get moving, we were nearly last off the plane (sat at the back and it also contained a presidential delegation from Comoros - at least we got a red carpet!), but it didn't matter because everyone had to get into a shuttle bus to be taken to the terminal building. We zoomed to the immigration desks and were second in the queue. Visa forms and landing cards were handed out on the plane, so we'd filled them in in advance. We paid for our transit visa in US$ and were dealt with in just a few minutes. After that, we were free to leave the airport. We'd checked our hold baggage through to London so didn't need to collect it - we just had hand luggage with us.

At the front of the airport, we went to one of the tourist info desks and asked if there was time to get to the National Park. We were told there was, so hired a driver to take us there. We were on the road by 4.45pm, so I thought we made good time. The driver took us to the East entrance to the park, reasoning that traffic was too bad to get to any other entrance. (We saw the terrible traffic jams for ourselves later.) It was about a 20 minute drive away. For some reason, it wasn't possible to pay for tickets at that entrance, but they let us in and the driver promised to head straight for the main entrance to pay. He did this, but it meant that we were in the park before it started to get dark, which allowed us to see a few animals along the way. If we'd taken the road outside the park, we'd have never got there in time. After crossing to the main entrance and paying (the driver took care of this) we set off back into the park to look for more wildlife.

It was a great little safari - we were lucky enough to see ostriches, antelope, giraffe, baboons, lions, zebra, rhinos, buffalo, lots of birds... everything we'd hoped to see. We stayed until after dark, leaving about 6.45pm and were well satisfied.

We ended up going to Carnivore afterwards - the guy at the tourist desk said there would be vegetarian food on offer for my partner (they had a few choices) and I wanted to experience the place for myself. And it certainly was an experience. So much meat! We had a good meal there and then returned to the airport stuffed but in plenty of time for our next flight.

Things worked out very well and I have to say it was the best layover I've ever had. From the look of Nairobi airport, I'm certain we made the right decision to get out of there! Thanks for the advice everyone.