Travel costs and information for Kenya -

Note that all information in here was valid at the time (2009) - it may well have changed since.  It's also possible that I was ripped off, that I did some exceptional haggling, or that I accepted a price that I should have haggled over :-)  Currency indicators are £ (British pound), $ (US dollar), and Sh (Kenyan shilling).  At the time, the official exchange rates were roughly Sh77=$1 and Sh113=£1.

Kenya 

• You may be asked for money by random people but not in an aggressive way.  
• You are likely to encounter tout hassle in Nairobi but it's nothing like Egyptian-standard.
• ATMs are available in most towns.
• Probably best to avoid connecting anything up to Internet cafe machines, as I saw viruses on several that I used.

Moyale 

• See this post for information about reaching Moyale (on the Ethiopian side).  At Kenyan immigration, you need to fill in a form.  I had already bought my visa in Addis, and the immigration officer gleefully informed me that the price had halved since then.  I'd read reports that bribes were often solicited here but nothing happened.
• You can only change birr on the black market here (none of the banks do it) and the rates are rubbish, so try to use up all your birr in Ethiopia.
• Kenya Commercial Bank is the only one in town doing foreign exchange for $ (though Equity Bank said they would be starting at some point).  Their hours are 9AM-3PM, and their $ rate is better than the black market one.
  
• You have 3 options for heading south:
• i. by bus.  The bus is scheduled to leave every day but only departs if it is full, which is about twice per month.  Buy your ticket on the bus, not from any of the touts or agencies.  It should cost Sh1,000 to Nairobi and take about 33 hours.
• ii. by truck.  Trucks heading south with beans or cattle will also squeeze in some passengers.  The most comfortable option is in the cabin, next most in the back on some beans, and the least (but most adventurous/stupid) in the back on the metal infrastructure above a load of cattle.  It should cost Sh2,000 to Nairobi in the cab, or Sh700 to Isiolo in the back.  You can't travel in the back beyond Isiolo but there are scheduled buses running from there to Nairobi.  Trucks leave Moyale at about 9AM, taking 15 hours to reach Isiolo and arriving in Nairobi the following morning.  To get hold of a truck, come to the main "square" (next to the Sheriff Hotel) at about 7AM and start asking around.  Once you've agreed on a price, don't let any extras be added to it (e.g. luggage, commission, etc).
  
• iii. by private vehicle.  Anyone overlanding between Ethiopia and Kenya in their own transport will come through this border crossing, so if you're lucky someone will come through who has space in their vehicle for a hitcher.  I paid a local guy to tell me if anyone came through (though he promised my eventual ride that I would pay some exorbitant fee), but you could easily go and sit near the border yourself.  I had originally paid for a ticket in a truck cabin, but the truck was then cancelled and I was lucky that a guy driving from Switzerland to South Africa came through.
• Note that occasionally there is bandit trouble between Moyale and Isiolo, meaning the bus and trucks may take a detour to avoid the bandit area.

8th April 2009 Sh200 Nightly rate for a private room at the Sheriff hotel.  Shared bathroom (cold water).  This place is infested with bedbugs and mosquitoes, has a faint but unpleasant smell, and - like Moyale itself - is something of a dump.  When checking out, the manager tried to charge me 50% more than the price we'd agreed.  Note that most onward transport from here leaves in the morning, so if the border opens early enough (I don't know when it opens) you would be best advised to spend the night in Moyale on the Ethiopian side, which looks a little more salubrious, then cross the border as early as you can.


Marsabit
The road from Moyale to Marsabit is in poor condition with plenty of corrugations - the trick is to whizz over them, but the Landrover I was in had a roofrack that was on the verge of breaking so the driver didn't want to push it.  It took us 7 hours 30 minutes to cover the ~220km.  There were a couple of police checkpoints along the way, but they passed without incident, other than one of the policemen saying he was surprised we weren't in a convoy because of potential bandit activity (!)  
9th April 2009 Sh300 Nightly rate for a private room at the Jey Jey Centre.  Shared bathroom (cold water by the bucket).


Isiolo
The road from Marsabit to Isiolo is in similar condition to that from Moyale to Marsabit, and it took 10 hours to reach Isiolo including breaks totalling about 40 minutes, with the last couple of km on tarmac.  
10th April 2009 Sh300 Nightly rate for a private room at the Jamhuri Guesthouse.  Shared bathroom (cold shower).
11th April 2009 Sh500 Bus (Isiolo Star) from Isiolo to Eastleigh in Nairobi, leaving at 6:35AM and taking 4 hours 30 minutes.  Got the ticket the day before.


Nairobi

• Most safari companies seem to be based (or have offices) here, so it's the best place to see what's available.  As a lone traveller, I wanted to find a group that was already going but, due to it being low season or the general economic situation or both, there weren't many safaris leaving.  I suspect that many of the budget safari companies pool their customers, as the people on my trip had all booked through different companies (Big Time and Come to Africa).  I was lucky in that the rains were late this year.
• I found a couple of cafes with free wifi but the connection was so slow as to be almost useless.
• I carelessly picked up a virus from one Internet cafe, then had an unpleasant experience with Karok Computers, who sold me a copy of an antivirus with the condition that they'd give me a refund if it didn't work then, when it didn't work, refused to give me a refund.  I couldn't find any sort of consumer complaints place so ended up getting the police involved.  The police turned out to be friends of the shop staff, so naturally my complaint got short shrift.

11th April 2009 Sh400 Taxi from Eastleigh to Terminal Hotel (though the fare was negotiated by a local guy who I'd sat next to on the bus, so I'm guessing I got a good deal).
11th April 2009 Sh1,600 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at the Terminal Hotel.  Variable hot water and 86 condoms.  In the centre of town, and opposite a shopping centre containing a big Nakumatt supermarket, an Internet cafe (with viruses), a decent sports bar (Sherlocks), and an ATM.  The hotel is affiliated with Jocky Tours and you will be accosted by the company's reps with bewildering frequency.  Annoying though that is, I ended up doing a safari with Jocky and was very pleased (see below).  I also later recommended the firm to a woman I met in Uganda, and she reported back that she had also had a great time with them.
11th April 2009 Sh100 Internet (1 hour)
14th April 2009 Sh200 Safaricom SIM card (calls cost Sh40 per minute to the UK)

16th April 2009 Sh33,600 ($420) 4 day/3 night safari to Masai Mara National Reserve and Lake Nakuru National Park with Jocky Tours.  Included most meals (see daily schedule below) and the food was plentiful and good enough.  Included park entry fees (which are $40 per day for Masai Mara and $60 per day for Lake Nakuru).  The 4WD minivan had seating for 8, though we only had 5 to start with, and a roof that could be raised for game viewing.  The driver (Joseph) was also the guide and was excellent.
Day 1 (lunch/dinner) - travel from Nairobi to the Mara (including a stop at a lookout over the Great Rift Valley).  Stayed at Big Time Camp near Oloolaimutia Gate.  Had a permanent tent under a banda to myself - towel, power socket (electricity 5-6:30AM, and 7-10PM), ensuite bathroom.  Late afternoon game drive.  You can go off-road in the Mara, meaning better game-viewing opportunities than most East African parks, but the ecological damage is no doubt worse.  We were offered the chance to see a Masai dance display at the camp in the evening for Sh400 per person, but no-one was interested.  
Day 2 (breakfast/packed lunch/dinner) - whole day in the Mara, including a visit to a hippo/croc pool at the river where (in season) the wildebeest migration occurs (you're expected to tip the armed guard who accompanies you).  
Day 3 (breakfast/lunch/dinner) - morning game drive in the Mara, travel to Nakuru.  Had a private room at the Genevieve Hotel - towel, hot shower, TV.  Our group shrunk to 4 for the Nakuru leg as 2 people left and 1 new person was added.  Joseph had to return to Nairobi for malaria treatment, so we got Dan, who was also good.
Day 4 (breakfast/lunch) - morning game drive in Lake Nakuru NP, where you can't stray from the trails.  Return to Nairobi.
21st April 2009 Sh650 Taxi from Terminal Hotel to The Junction shopping centre.  This is probably on the high side but I couldn't get anyone to give me a lower price.

24th April 2009 Sh95 Stamp for postcard to US

24th April 2009 Sh75 Stamp for postcard to Europe
30th April 2009 Sh300 Taxi from Terminal Hotel to the Easycoach depot, taking about 10 minutes
30th April 2009 Sh950 Bus (Easycoach) from Nairobi to Eldoret, leaving at 8:30AM and taking 2 hours 30 minutes to Nakuru (where we had a short stop) then another 3 hours 15 minutes to Eldoret.  I bought the ticket a day in advance at a booth in the shopping centre opposite the Terminal Hotel.  Comfortable bus and few passengers.


Eldoret
30th April 2009 Sh600 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room at the Mahindi Hotel.  Bizarre check-in time of 4PM and check-out of 10AM.  Towel and cold water shower.
1st May 2009 Sh1500 Bus (Kampala Coach) from Eldoret to Kampala.  I bought my ticket a day in advance and was told to check in 30 minutes before the scheduled 1PM departure, however when I turned up at 12:30PM I was the last passenger and we left at 12:40PM.  Took 2 hours to get to the border town of Malaba.  You had to do your Kenya and Uganda border formalities before getting back on the bus (see Uganda entry).