Mombasa: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Mombasa is a city of 1.2 million people in Kenya (Mombasa County), 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Moi International Airport (MBA), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre. It has 1 railway station on record, including Mombasa Terminus. It is a port city: Kilindini Harbour. Our booking partner lists 1,530+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Mombasa runs from about 11 h 55 min a day in late June to 12 h 24 min in late December (computed for -4.05° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Mombasa is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Moi International Airport (MBA), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, whose 10,991-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Mombasa: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Mombasa Terminus. Trains to Mombasa
Buses to Mombasa · Driving and car hire · Ferries
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 1,530+ places to stay in Mombasa (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 407 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (269), and 9 are five-star. Across 54 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 7.9 out of 10. Guests have left 20,277 reviews in total.
Hotels in Mombasa: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 10 hostels in Mombasa, out of 1,530 places to stay of every kind — 0.7% of everywhere it lists in the city, a small share: this is a city where nearly everything on offer is a hotel or an apartment. Guests have left 750 reviews across them.
Hostels in Mombasa: the full picture, and book
What people come for
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Fort Jesus Museum.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Mombasa
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Dar es Salaam, 311 km (Tanzania) — flights
- Zanzibar, 240 km (Tanzania) — flights
- Arusha, 339 km (Tanzania) — flights
- Morogoro, 379 km (Tanzania)
- Tanga, 129 km (Tanzania)
- Kibaha, 313 km (Tanzania) — flights
- Moshi, 270 km (Tanzania) — flights
- Matuga, 16 km — tours
- Mwala, 388 km — flights · buses · car rental
- Jomvu, 10 km
Twin towns and sister cities: Seattle, Long Beach, Fuzhou, Honolulu County, Durban, Honolulu, Bergen, Lianyungang.
Common questions
Which airport serves Mombasa?
Moi International Airport (MBA), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre.
How big is Mombasa?
About 1.2 million people live in Mombasa, across 295 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Mombasa in?
Africa/Nairobi, currently UTC+3.
What currency is used in Mombasa?
The Shilling (KES). Traffic drives on the left.
Are there hostels in Mombasa?
10 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Mombasa.
How many hotels are there in Mombasa?
Our booking partner lists 1,530 or more places to stay in Mombasa, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Mombasa?
Dar es Salaam (311 km), Zanzibar (240 km), Arusha (339 km), Morogoro (379 km), Tanga (129 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.