Hi,
does anyone know when the last bus shuttle from arush to nairobi leaves? We have a flight from NBO at midnight and wanted to spend most of the day in serengeti. will be flying from Migration Camp to Arusha that day and hoping to spend morning on game drive, and the catch 3:30pm flight to Arusha. From there, would be ideal if there was a bus to get to NBO as there's still plenty of time. Our agent (GoodEarth) told us there is only 2 buses schedule at 8am adn 2pm. To get on the 2pm bus, we'll need to take the morning flight from Migration at 9am, and would not be able to spend half day there. Worse, 2pm bus gets to NBO at 6pm ro so, leaving full six hours to kill instead of being on the game drive. Does anyone know of better way of doing this? There's a flight arusha-nbo at 6pm, which is perfect but expecsive at $190!
thanks

Hi lerasp,

I think Good Earth is right, at least according to my guidebooks. I don't think there's any other way to do this outside of hiring a private car/driver, which I would imagine is quite pricey.

The in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound part of me says "spring for the flight." But I took the shuttle Nairobi-Arusha and lived to tell the tale. And enjoyed it!

So it's really up to you. Good luck.

As far as I know, 2pm is the last shuttle departure from Arusha. You could look into the cost of a private transfer but I don't know if it's any cheaper than flying.

The 2pm is the scheduled last bus to NBO. Sometimes, however, it departs later from Arusha, as the incoming bus from NBO arrived late. And then who knows when it will actually arrive back in NBO.

As Leely mentions, I'd bite the bullet and take the morning flight from Migration Camp. You'll arrive with time to spare in Arusha, have lunch, and make the 1:45pm flight to Wilson airport (which should cost less then the 6pm flight). I'd have GE arrange for a driver to meet you and do some touring in NBO - Blixen Museum, Giraffe Center, Kazuri Beads all near the airport; then dinner at the Carnivore or at the Norfolk Hotel* for sundowners and dinner; transfer to JKIA for your homebound flight.

*if you choose The Norfolk, don't have GE include the price of meal in their 1/2-day touring/Carnivore price to you; pay directly by credit card... it's quite reasonable to drink and eat on the Delamere Terrace here... maybe $30/pp.

I did the shuttle one-way and it was an experience and like Leely, lived to tall the story... the only thing missing here were the chicken coops on the roof. When we arrived in Arusha, we immediately made arrangements for a private car/driver for the return. One way was an adventure/ round trip would have been torture. If I recall correctly, we paid $300 for the private car/driver and that was in '98.

Hope this helps.

We took the bus to the Airport from Arusha and it was fine...not even one chicken on board. Not fancy but CHEAP!!! We had 5 hr at the airport which isn't great but we sat outside the airport at the coffee shop for a while. It is a bit of a waste of time so you need to consider cost vs. viewing time.

I took the Impala shuttle from NBO to Arusha and back the week of Oct 3-8. It took about 4 1/2 hours to go to Arusha on the 8 am shuttle leaving from Silver Springs hotel in NBO, but about 5 1/2 hours (with an extra hour due to a flat tire) to come back on the 2 pm from the Impala Hotel to Parkside, so I don't recommend timing things too closely with this shuttle. You can, however, ask the driver to drop you off at other nearby destinations along the way as well (I was going to the Naaz Hotel in Arusha, and the shuttle even stopped at the airport on the way back). Overall, a perfectly fine trip each way, except that it took them far too long to change the tire while we waited in the baking sun by the side of the road. See the website http://www.impalashuttle.com/ for more info. Good luck!

thanks for all advice. we are going to bite the bullet and take the morning flight from Migration, take the 2pm shuttle and then see about the evening in Nairobi. maybe just stay at the airport or venture out to Carnivore. likely, it'll be at the airport since we'll have biz class tickets and will have access to the lounge (hopefully it'll be open that late). Has anyone been to the business lounge for BA (or i imagine it's combined for all european airlines) at NBO? Any experiences?

I believe BA has their own lounge at NBO. KLM/Kenya Airways operates separate lounges at NBO (one for business class passengers, one for Flying Blue elite members, and one for transit economy passengers). I've only been in the Simba lounge (for KL/KQ business passengers) but I'm sure the BA lounge will be open if they have a late evening departure.

lerasp, I think you'll enjoy the shuttle--the scenery is interesting. We met some nice people on the bus, too. One man woke me up and said, "Look, the roof of Africa!" when we passed Kilimanjaro.

Have fun.