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Capital: Nairobi
Airports: The primary airport for international travel is the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) which is located approximately 18 km east of Nairobi City on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. Moi International Airport (MBA) is about 8 km from central Mombasa on the Kenya Coast. Eldoret (EDL) in the Kenya Rift Valley also has international services. Other major airports in Kenya include Lokichoggio (Lokichokio) in the Kenya Rift Valley; Kisumu (KIS); and Lamu (Manda) (LAU), Malindi Airstrip (MYD), Ukunda Airstrip and Wilson. There are several other airports that serve private and charter aircraft.
Currency: The Kenya Shilling (Ksh) is the basic monetary unit. It is divided into 100 cents. For the current rate of exchange visit the Olson and Anderson web site.
Time Zones: Current local time. Standard time is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Languages: English is the official language. Swahili and indigenous languages are also in use.
Visit the CIA World Fact Book for a large variety of particulars regarding Kenya.
Travel Advisories: Travelers should check the web sites listed on our international pages that provide advice of possible security and health risks when visiting this region.
The web site for the Kenyan Embassy in Washington, DC has a list of consulates and embassies around the world as well as tourism and travel-related information. There is a list of links to related web sites.
The Kenya Tourist Board web site and the SeeKenya web site are excellent sources of information for tourists.
Three sites in Kenya have been designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
The Africa Guide web site is another good source of information about Kenya.
Recommended Reading: Something of Value by Robert Ruark is one of the great novels to come out of Africa as it tells a story of changing generations and historic change in Kenya in the 1950s at the time of the horrific Mau Mau rebellion against the colonial powers. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen is her memoir of early 20th Century life on a coffee plantation in Kenya and is another African classic. Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya by Caroline Elkins who won the Pulitzer prize for general nonfiction prize in 2006 for this book. Moving the Masai: A Colonial Misadventure by Lotte Hughes.
Guides: Lonely Planet - Kenya | Kenya travel atlas; Rough Guides - Kenya