Nairobi life

Hi SimonF,

Choose a car that is adapted to kenyan road, do not import a saloon car and make sure that spare parts are available here.

By law, you can not do it alone and must go through a freight company that will deal with everything (freight forwarding, clearance in the sea port, payment of duties, registration) but you must follow it up.

Aks about the importation cost, make sure that keys are left in the car so that your car is not stuck at the port, put your car in the container if possible (better than boat deck), and do not forget to harass the freight company to know the date of arrival at the port, prepare the papers in advance, go to Mombasa yourself to get the car.

It is preferable you come with previous paper such as logbook or crossing book to easily cross borders. If the car is imported with crossing book, go to Mombasa with 100 USD to have temporarily permit, equivalent to road licence.  Disadvantage, you are paying high prices for parks/reserves and car will be difficult to sale.

For registration, get the following documents to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles at Times Towers (Haile Selassie Avenue) :
- Duty and VAT receipts
- Import Entry form (form C63)
- Foreign Log book
- Port Release Order
- Bill of Lading or Airway Bill
- Clean Report of Findings (CRF)
- Import Declaration Form (IDF)
- Authority to enter goods for home use for Customs Commissioner & Excise
- Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) (if car is for commercial use)
- A temporary Importation Document (form C44A or C44)
- Road Manifest or Crossing book for car imported by road
- Foreign Vehicle Receipt/License
- Personal Identification Certificate Number (PIN) card
- Certified copy of Identity card of the owner of the car or Passport
- Insurance cover
- Formulaire A signed by importator

Good luck !!!

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There tons of second hand for sale in Nairobi, many small RAV or small 4x4, so you can buy a cheap one and sale it when you go.  Otherwise, good or new cars are expensive.

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Driving to SA, many are doing this...  Zimbabwe is a bit problematic and make sure you have a extinguisher and danger sign in your car (required by Tanzanian law)

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For the 2-bedroomed apartment, you should not have any problem.  Nairobi is full of empty apartments so prices have plummeted (anyway they were too high). 

Popular areas that offers good quality apartments near City centre are Kilimani, Lavington, Upper Hill.  Otherwise, there is also Parklands and Westlands. And prices should be between 30,000 to 60,000 Kshs (app. 300 to 600 euros) depending it is furnished or not, if there is a swimming pool, satellite TV and/or gym.   Then, another option is to go for bungalows or guest houses in poach area such as Karen or Muthaiga districts, there are far from City centre but very nice with plenty of trees.  This is also another cheap option.

Don't forget that a 2 to 3 months deposit is usually required as per contract and that many (bad) landlords have the bad habit to keep it when you are leaving (so do not spoil the paint and take picture of the place when you move in).

Lastly, always ask about water (availability and pressure). You don't want to move in a place that has water once a week !!

To discover Nairobi, you can always have a look at Google Map Kenya which is brand new (launched in June) and very detailed.

Hi Peperuka,

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions - it is much appreciated!

Perhaps I should have been specific about the car. I am looking to drive up from South Africa and therefore will not need to send the car to Mombasa port. Do I still need to go through the process you outlined and get all of those documents if I am driving the car into the country myself?

That is a great tip about the water in the apartments, I will certainly keep it in mind!

Thanks, Simon

Indeed, you said "drive up". Sorry for that...
I don't think all these papers are required unless you are planning to register the car in Kenya.  Anyway, the best thing you can do is to contact the Kenyan Embassy at your country of residency or in South Africa to get an official answer.

Still, the danger sign and the extinguisher is a must !!

Cheers

Peperuka

Excellent, thanks. I'll make sure to have those and will get hold of the Embassy for an official answer.

All the best, Simon

Hi Peperuka,

I am now settled in Nairobi, found a great apartment in Valley Arcade.

Can you recommend a Swahili course/private teacher for me? I am really keen to learn. Also, are there any social networks here that are good to meet people?

Thanks

Hi Simon,

The Language Center is popular and is close to your place (Ndemi Close - see maps: http://www.google.com/search?rls=en&q=l … er+nairobi) and staff is very friendly.

Otherwise, another alternative is to ask your staff (if you have) to only speak swahili to you.

Last but not least, listen to the news on BBC Kiswahili (radio) and on TV.  It helps.

But, sadly, people in Nairobi do not speak Kiswahili anymore;  especially when they speak to a mzungu.

There are some social networks...  Popular ones are Facebook (Kenya) and Twitter (Nairobi). Otherwise, just google it http://www.google.com/search?q=kenya+social+network  But again, it's hard to make friends with VIRTUAL (geeky & young) kenyans on social network platforms.  You could try some wildlife association (enquire at the Museum) or artist groups & events (e.g. ramona).  Also, visit Kenyabuzz.com to find out what's going on in Nairobi.

Karibu !!

So did you drove all the way from SA ?? How was the trip ??

Thank you, this is most useful. I really appreciate the insights!

In the end I decided to take public transport up from SA as the car I was meant to buy turned out to be a bit of a dud. While bumpy and dusty it was an incredible advanture, and in many ways much better travelling in the same way as the locals do. I took 2 months and wound through 7 countries, meeting countless amazing people and seeing so many unforgettable things.

Thanks again for your help, and keep well...

Simon

Hi everyone,

I'm a lady from South Africa coming to do a post-grad programme at the University of Nairobi. I'm very excited with the whole idea of coming to study in Kenya. I would like to know from someone who's on campus or has been a student at the University of Nairobi how your campus life is like there.

I would also need information on good accomodation that is closest to the University if someone could help. I arrive in Kenya in middle of September.

Looking forward.

Zabzo

Hi Zabzo,

My fiance is doing her PhD at WITS and working here through the Uni of Nairobi. Her experiences so far have been really good. Feel free to mail her directly on [email protected] as she isn't logged into this forum.

In terms of living, getting into town is easy from Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani by bus and these are nice areas to stay with loads of accommodation options. Not so much going on in town itself. Westlands is another option, and the same applies with the bus/matatu access.

Simon

Nice
I can see that SimonF is taking over !!

Not meaning to usurp your authority at all;)! Just giving my 2c worth.