Amsterdam to Mombasa (AMS–MBA) — Airlines, Schedules & Connections

Dutch passport holders need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to enter Kenya. Apply at etakenya.go.ke at least 72 hours before travel. The eTA costs $30 and allows a stay of up to 90 days (single or multiple entries within the validity period). Processing takes 3 to 5 business days. Pay online by credit card. Print the approval or save it on your phone. Kenya replaced its traditional visa system with the eTA in January 2024.

Passport must be valid for at least 6 months with one blank page. At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi, show your eTA approval and passport at immigration. Yellow fever vaccination is required if arriving from or transiting through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. If flying direct from the Netherlands, no yellow fever certificate is needed. Carry the certificate anyway if your routing passes through an endemic country.

Direct flights from Amsterdam Schiphol to Nairobi run about 8 hours 30 minutes on KLM. Kenya Airways also operates the route as a codeshare. Kenya uses the Kenyan shilling (KES), trading at roughly 147 KES per EUR 1. ATMs are common in Nairobi and Mombasa. M-Pesa mobile money is the dominant payment method for Kenyans, and tourists can register for it at a Safaricom shop with their passport. Card payments work at hotels and safari lodges. Uber and Bolt work in Nairobi. A taxi from NBO to the city center costs KES 2,000 to KES 3,000 (EUR 14 to EUR 20).

Intercity and Sprinter trains run directly to Schiphol Plaza (the station is inside the terminal) from Amsterdam Centraal every 10–15 minutes (15 min, €5.70). The Intercity Direct from Rotterdam takes 43 minutes (€17.40 with supplement). Trains from The Hague take 35–45 minutes.

Taxis from central Amsterdam cost €35–50 and take 20–35 minutes. Highway A4 is frequently congested during morning rush. Bus 397 runs from Amsterdam Leidseplein to Schiphol (30 min, €5.50) for a cheaper landside alternative.