How to get to Vipingo
Getting from Nairobi to Mombasa
Road
Driving from Nairobi to Mombasa takes about 8 hours. The road surface is good but the many large freight lorries on the road can make for quite a frustrating and often long and dangerous drive. There are a number of places to stop en-route to fill up with petrol and to get a snack. Mitito Ande is the half-way point, and Voi and Hunters Lodge also offer refreshment and loos of varying quality on either side of the half waypoint.
Travel Tip: Don’t forget to take your own loo paper and baby wipes as the loos in most of the petrol stations are not very clean. The Mandazis (local doughnuts) sold in the café at Voi are excellent. Stop off en-route for a night in Tsavo or Taita Hills to break up the journey, for instance, you could stay in Tsavo East on the way down and in the West on your return trip.
Car Hire. Viva Vipingo Ltd can arrange car hire for you whether you are arriving at Nairobi Airport or in Mombasa. Do book well in advance to get the best deals!
Train
The Madaraka Express, Kenya’s new, $3.2 billion, train line, which was largely funded and built by the Chinese Government, from Nairobi to Mombasa began passenger services in 2017. The journey now takes only 4.5 hours and travels through Kenya’s beautiful countryside. There are first and second class compartments and food and drinks can be bought on-board. Tickets must be bought in advance and there are a limited number of services each day. For more information and where to buy Madaraka Express tickets please note the trains are very punctual and leave on the dot !
Flying
Air travel is the easiest and fastest way to get to the Coast as the flight only takes an hour between Mombasa and Nairobi. Vipingo Ridge has its own airport and is serviced by SafairLink to Vipingo from Wilson Airport twice a day. Kenya Airways, Jambojet and Fly 540 domestic flights both leave from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi into Mombasa.
Weather
Located just south of the equator, the weather in Mombasa and along the Kenya Coast is fairly predictable throughout the year and generally speaking the weather is hot and humid. February and March are the warmest months and the weather can become extremely hot with temps rising to 33C most days. Nights too are pretty warm during the hot season and air conditioning or a fan in your bedroom is a must.
The main rainy season is from May to July and the short rains are generally in October and November. During the rainy seasons, it can rain very hard in a very short space of time. However, it very rarely rains all day and the outside temperatures remain warm even in the rain.
The Kusi, the southern monsoon wind blows from the south, during April – August and it can be extremely strong, making for rough seas and sometimes grey days. The Kaskazi, the northern monsoon wind that blows from late November to March is more gentle but still deliver a much-needed cooling breeze.