jetsetter629 From United States of America, joined Nov 2007, 410 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 months 2 weeks 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 622 times:
All,
I will taking a 3 week tour in Africa and I'll be visiting the Serengeti and while I'm in the "neighborhood", I'm going to stop off to visit Egypt. Anyways, looking at two options to fly from JRO to CAI:
A) JRO-ADD-CAI on ET (8:45 travel time)
B) JRO-NBO-CAI on PW and KQ (7:40 travel time)
Both options leave JRO mid to late afternoon (17:45 and 15:00 respectively), but from an a.net perspective, which option would you choose. I've read poor things about NBO's airport and I am worried about a PW to KQ connection - not to mention I need a visa to go land side in Kenya. On the flip side, ET and ADD are supposed to be nice, but the time leave a lot to be desired (1:30 arrival in CAI).
rwsea From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 3017 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (2 months 2 weeks 4 days 12 hours ago) and read 597 times:
Nairobi Airport is indeed quite bad, but I would go with it since it's a shorter connection time and because Kenya Airways is still a decent carrier. The arrival time seems better with them too. I don't know if it makes sense to go landside, but if you have a US passport you can buy the visa for $25 and it's very easy. I believe Ethiopia has a similar visa-on-arrival fee.
workwings From United States of America, joined May 2010, 55 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 months 2 weeks 1 day 6 hours ago) and read 495 times:
Agree with debonair about ET which is very good. ADD is also quite a bit better than NBO.
I wouldn't worry about an early morning arrival in CAI. At that hour the airport will still be lively and the city itself never sleeps -- you will have plenty of company from the airport into town. On the other hand, I would be wary about leaving NBO after dark for a tour. There's not too much near the airport which is a good distance from the city.
Finally think of getting a window. Even with a 17h45 departure you should be able to get some fabulous views.
RyanairGuru From Australia, joined Oct 2006, 2530 posts, RR: 2 Reply 4, posted (2 months 2 weeks 22 hours ago) and read 475 times:
Quoting workwings (Reply 3): Even with a 17h45 departure you should be able to get some fabulous views.
Especially if it is an A seat, looking west as you fly north. There really isn't anything quite like an African sunset.
I can't speak for ET, but I've only ever heard good things about them.
KQ are fine, and you really don't have to worry about connecting from Precision Air to Kenya Airways. Your luggage will be checked through and you transfer airside, it is really easy. Precision are, in effect, to KQ what Skywest is to the US legacies, so it is a very seamless process. While NBO is pretty dated, it isn't the worst airport I've been to in Africa and is quite easy for connecting through.
I was actually thinking about that option as well, but I was hoping to get some rest in a bed in Cairo after a few days on a tented safari before exploring Cairo and Giza
Quoting workwings (Reply 3): I wouldn't worry about an early morning arrival in CAI. At that hour the airport will still be lively and the city itself never sleeps -- you will have plenty of company from the airport into town.
Thanks workwings - I wasn't sure if 0200 in Cairo would be a ghost town - well, for a city of 15 million, I can't imagine it would be, but would make for a short night's rest...
Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 4): Especially if it is an A seat, looking west as you fly north. There really isn't anything quite like an African sunset.
Ah..great tip RyanairGuru! Will do! Although, are you able to see Kilimanjaro when flight northbound out of JRO?
Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 4): KQ are fine, and you really don't have to worry about connecting from Precision Air to Kenya Airways. Your luggage will be checked through and you transfer airside, it is really easy. Precision are, in effect, to KQ what Skywest is to the US legacies, so it is a very seamless process. While NBO is pretty dated, it isn't the worst airport I've been to in Africa and is quite easy for connecting through.
Thanks again - that was my biggest concern. I know KQ sells the flight on behalf of PW, but with only 1:40 in NBO, I was hesitant if the PW flight was late and if there is a long line at the arrivals desk...
Now, the million dollar question is how to get to JRO airport from the Serengeti. I will be staying in the Ndutu area and it's either a 7+ hour drive to Arusha and JRO...or a charter flight from Ndutu airstrip to JRO directly - but that's abotu $300 right there. That will get me in time to make the PW flight to NBO (at 15:00) or the ET flight to ADD (17:45).
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