It just occurred to me to ask. What’s the first thing to do when you first get off Kenya Airways?
I haven’t travelled a lot, I first visited the US last year, so I still have a bit of new country anxiety. My three primary concerns are:
Telephony and internet - Roaming is obviously too expensive to be sensible, so the first thing I want to do in a new country is find a local network provider with affordable talk and data. I wonder if I can do that at the airport (Jomo Kenyatta)? Will it be at normal prices, or will I have to pay airport tax?
Currency - They don’t spend Naira in Kenya obviously. And I suspect I will have an easier time procuring Kenyan shillings if I show dollars. Is the airport the best place to do this, or is there a better/cheaper alternative? And once I do that, does it make sense to get M-Pesa if you’re going to be only in for one week? Can a non-Kenyan get M-Pesa?
Transport - My new country anxiety went down somewhat when I remembered that there’s Uber in Nairobi. But it dialled back up a notch when I remembered that you need an internet connection to use Uber in the first place. Which takes me back to number one. Boy. Okay, we’ll figure this out somehow.
Of course, it doesn’t end there. I’ll keep updating this topic with questions, but will appreciate your tips with these and more that I haven’t thought of yet. Help a Nigerian brother, Kenya!
Just returned from my first trip to Nairobi, so I feel ya!
I’d recommend getting a local SIM (Safaricom/Airtell) at the airport. It’s pretty cheap and 200 ksh of airtime should at least get you out of the airport and to the people you’re meeting with. Roaming charges on Etisalat were scandalous. I literally got ONE phone call in to my hosts at the airport before my airtime ran out.
You should definitely have some dollars on hand 'cause they won’t change Naira at the airport. Had to help out a precious young couple who were stranded at Jomo Kenyatta with only Naira in hand. I personally found the rate better at the airport than it was at a local bank.
I used Uber in Nairobi a couple of times, but only from locations where I had free wifi since I never got a data plan. Most of my stay, I used a great taxi service recommended by a friend. The prices were on par with and sometimes cheaper than Uber. (I’m a die hard Uber fan, but jus’ saying). I can give you the number if you need it.
Visit Nairobi Garage while you’re out there.
Make TripAdvisor your friend.
It just occurred to me that there might be wifi at Jomo Kenyatta? As far as I know, there is none at MMA2, so I would gladly hand over Nigeria’s giant of Africa certificate to Kenya if JK’s got free internet.
I had hoped the same, but sadly it wasn’t so. I even approached the airport Customer Service desk to ask if there was anywhere close by I could get internet service, and the answer was “no”…said with a smile, of course.
