Nairobi · Kenya · Long layover · Kenya
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport NBO
You need electronic travel authorisation to enter Nairobi, and it must be approved BEFORE you leave, not on arrival. Sort that before worrying about anything else.
For subtitles in English: start the video firstthen click the gearat the top right of the video, select “Subtitles/CC”, then “Auto-translate” and choose “English”.
How long is your layover?
2 hrs
It depends entirely on your two halls, and nobody publishes a minimum connection time.
- Terminal 1 is divided into five sections, 1A to 1E. They form one complex but have separate halls and security points. Terminal 2 is a separate building, ten minutes away.
- If you stay airside, travel on one ticket and your bags are checked through, a free airport-authority shuttle handles some transfers without immigration. You still go through security again.
- ⚠️ Some routings require you to go landside to change buildings. That means immigration, electronic travel authorisation and another security check on the way back.
- No minimum connection time is published. You have no official benchmark, so leave plenty of room.
2–5 hrs
The terminal provides the bare essentials, and little beyond them.
- Wi-Fi is free after registration, with time or speed limits depending on the area. A paid option removes those limits.
- Waiting areas are free, and there are quieter corners in the departure halls, but no proper rest area or sleeping pods.
- ⚠️ There are no free showers and no documented left-luggage facility, either airside or landside. You keep everything with you, and a lounge is the only way to freshen up.
5–10 hrs
⚠️ Decide whether to go out BEFORE you leave home, not once you are there.
- NO VISA provided you remain in the transit area without leaving the airport grounds, no authorisation is required.
- VISA REQUIRED once you cross immigration, including to reach the other building, you need Kenyan electronic travel authorisation. It must be APPROVED BEFORE TRAVEL: you cannot apply at a desk when you arrive. That is the difference from neighbouring Ethiopia, where a visa is obtained on landing.
- In practical terms, if your connection might take you through the public area, apply before departure even if you do not intend to go out. It is the least expensive insurance policy.
- The airport runs no city tours. Private excursions into the city or to the national park are sold by agencies, collect from the arrivals hall and require valid authorisation.
10 hrs +
You sleep nearby, where guesthouses are more common than hotels.
- ⚠️ Nairobi has no airside hotel. You sleep after immigration, so you need approved electronic travel authorisation.
- VISA REQUIRED the airport area is mainly decent guesthouses and apartments a few minutes away rather than large hotel brands. Many offer a shuttle; confirm it when booking, as it is not automatic.
- No airline-provided free overnight scheme operates here.
- Si vous restez côté piste, tous les salons ne se valent pas la nuit : celui du hall 1A près de la porte 17, celui du 1B près de la porte 10 et celui du 1D près de la porte 4 fonctionnent en continu, le premier avec des douches. Un autre salon du 1A, lui, ferme à minuit vérifiez le nom avant de traverser.
What catches travellers out
You cannot obtain authorisation on arrival
This is the costly trap here. Many African countries issue a visa at the desk; Kenya does not. Without prior approval, you cannot cross immigration, even if your connection requires it.
“Terminal 1” does not mean one building
It is split into five sections, 1A to 1E, each with its own halls and security, while Terminal 2 is elsewhere again. Check the LETTER on your boarding pass, not merely the number.
No minimum connection time is published
Neither the airport nor the airlines provide one. If you miss a connection, you will have no official figure to point to and the transfer may send you through the public area without warning.
Why not wait it out in peace?
For subtitles in English: start the video firstthen click the gearat the top right of the video, select “Subtitles/CC”, then “Auto-translate” and choose “English”.
Several Nairobi lounges sell single-entry access, and they are the only places in the airport where you can shower.
First misconception to clear up: these lounges are not limited to Business Class. You can buy entry with your boarding pass, whatever airline you are flying.
There are no free public showers at Nairobi. Between an overnight flight from Europe and a hop down to the coast, this is the only way to arrive reasonably fresh. ⚠️ Lounge showers are often subject to availability, so turn up early rather than leaving it until the last minute.
⚠️ Check the HALL. Terminal 1 is split into sections 1A to 1E, each with its own halls and security, while Terminal 2 is a separate building. A lounge bought in the wrong hall may not be reachable once you have passed security.
Airline lounges Kenya Airways and Turkish are accessed by cabin class or status, not a bank card.
Expect the equivalent of a sit-down airport meal for a few quiet hours, including a shower.
See the lounge →Where to sleep during the layover?
A conventional hotel a few minutes away, if you want a reception open through the night.
- Choose this if your flight leaves very early: a proper reception is preferable to an entry code when you arrive at two in the morning with dive kit.
- Confirm the shuttle and its timetable when you book.
For subtitles in English: start the video firstthen click the gearat the top right of the video, select “Subtitles/CC”, then “Auto-translate” and choose “English”.
Better rated, in the guesthouse style that dominates the area.
- Most accommodation near the airport is guesthouses and apartments: often more comfortable than their category suggests, but with variable reception hours.
- As throughout this area, you must have entered Kenya, so electronic travel authorisation must be approved before departure.
The diver’s reflex
⭐ Apply for authorisation even if you do not plan to go out
This is the least expensive advice on the page. Kenyan electronic travel authorisation must be approved before you leave, and some routings force you landside to change buildings sometimes without warning. If you are continuing to Mombasa, Zanzibar or Pemba, you stand a fair chance of meeting this problem. Apply when you book the flight: without it, you remain stuck in transit with your kit.
Your regional-flight allowance is not your long-haul allowance
Flights to the coast and islands use smaller aircraft, often on a separate ticket. Your dive bag then goes back on the scales, under an allowance with little in common with the one that brought you from Europe. Check the second flight’s ticket and pay any excess online: at the Nairobi desk, it costs more.
Your booking must carry the “SPEQ DIVING” remark
It is an airline requirement that almost no traveller knows about, and it is dealt with at booking rather than at the airport. Your diving equipment must be flagged in the booking with a dedicated remark. When it is there, the bag is handled as a normal item the airline even lists its contents: wetsuit, BCD, boots, mask, fins, knife and regulator and any excess is charged at a diving-specific rate, up to twenty kilos per journey. Without it, acceptance becomes a station decision made at the desk on the day. Ask your agent or airline to add it when booking. And dismantle your torch: the same rule requires the lamp and battery to be separated.
The airport at a glance
- Terminals
- Terminal 1 in five sections (1A to 1E), with separate halls and security · Terminal 2 separate, ten minutes away
- Between halls
- Free airport-authority shuttle for some airside transfers · other routings require the public area
- Minimum connection
- No figure published
- Entry
- ⚠️ Kenyan electronic travel authorisation required, TO BE OBTAINED BEFORE TRAVEL not at an arrival desk
- Transit without leaving
- No authorisation required as long as you do not leave the airport grounds
- Wi-Fi
- Free after registration, with time or speed limits · paid option removes the limits
- Showers
- None free only in lounges, often subject to availability
- Left luggage
- None documented, either airside or landside
- Pay-per-use lounge
- Several, depending on the hall choose one in your departure hall
- Airside hotel
- None overnight stays are after immigration
- Landside hotel
- Mainly guesthouses and apartments a few minutes away · confirm any shuttle individually
- City tour
- No airport-run tour paid private excursions require valid authorisation
- Vols vers la côte
- Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu, Diani : hall 1D enregistrement côté ville, embarquement côté piste
- Vers un vol intérieur
- 3 h de marge au moins immigration, bagages à récupérer, douane, nouvel enregistrement au 1D, puis sûreté
- Salons la nuit
- En continu : 1A porte 17 (douches), 1B porte 10, 1D porte 4 · un autre salon du 1A ferme à minuit
- Official website
- kaa.go.ke ↗
