By train from Nairobi to Mombasa with the Madaraka Express Kenya

Out and about in Kenya: By train from Nairobi to Mombasa with the Madaraka Express. The train journey from Nairobi to Mombasa on the Indian Ocean takes just under 6 hours.

Are you in Kenya’s capital Nairobi and planning a trip to Mombasa to relax on the beach for a few days? If you are not traveling with your own car, then you actually have the following three options to get from Nairobi to Mombasa: by plane, by bus or by train. When I was in Nairobi I decided to take the train. With the newly opened and modernized rail connection between the two cities at the end of May 2017, you can now travel comfortably with the Madaraka Express Kenya from Nairobi to Mombasa and of course in the opposite direction. The almost 500-kilometer-long railway line was 90 percent financed by China. And the travel time has now been reduced from around 18 hours to less than 6 hours. The trains are modern and, above all, traveling on the Madaraka Express is quite cheap. At least if you compare the price of a train ticket with the price of train travel in Western Europe.

Nairobi Terminus entrance area

How much does a train ride from Nairobi to Mombasa cost?

Prices and price perception are of course always relative to your own financial situation and what you are normally used to paying for a certain performance or service. In my case it was a train ticket from Nairobi Terminus to Mombasa Terminus in the First Class. The ticket price was 3.000, – KSH, something in the range 26, – to 28, – Euro. For this price in Germany, for example, you can get a ticket from Deutsche Bahn for a train journey from Kiel to Hamburg, but the distance is only around 100 kilometers and it would then also be a ticket in the 2nd class and not like in Kenya in the first class.

And if you now think that you have to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa on a train that is clearly showing its age: Wrong, because the trains are new, modern and their equipment and quality can be compared to an Intercity train in Germany. Plus comfortable seats, clean toilets, smooth driving, friendly on-board staff and on-board service. Oh yes, and of course there is also a dining wagon.

Train ride from Nairobi to Mombasa offers spectacular views

Many travelers used the trip to sleep for a while. But when, like me, you take this route by train for the first time, it is damn hard to sleep. Because the view and the landscape on the way are simply breathtaking. Incidentally, the railway line also runs through several national parks in Kenya. If you start your journey in Nairobi, the train ride will take you first of all through the well-known Nairobi National Park, the national park at the gates of the metropolis of Nairobi. In the further course of the railway line, it also goes through the Tsavo East National Park and the Tsavo West National Park. The railway line is completely fenced in at these sections. But do not worry, numerous underpasses and bridges allow the animals to move, including the Athi River Super Bridge (length: 2.55 km) and the Tsavo Super Bridge (length: 1.99 km).