Nakuru: 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.
Nakuru is a city of 570,674 people in Kenya (Nakuru County), 1,802 m (5,912 ft) above sea level. Our booking partner lists 550 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Nakuru runs from about 12 h 8 min a day in late June to 12 h 11 min in late December (computed for -0.31° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
No airport with scheduled passenger service sits within 100 km of Nakuru in the OurAirports register, so flying in means a longer transfer from the nearest served city.
Buses to Nakuru · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 550 places to stay in Nakuru. Of the 282 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (156), and 3 are five-star. Across 25 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10. Guests have left 4,499 reviews in total.
Hotels in Nakuru: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Hyrax Hill Prehistoric Site and Museum | 2,011 | — |
The busiest is Hyrax Hill Prehistoric Site and Museum at 2,011 visitors. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Nakuru
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Nairobi, 136 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Kakamega, 161 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Kampala, 394 km (Uganda)
- Arusha, 347 km (Tanzania)
- Ruiru, 136 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Eldoret, 128 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Kira, 390 km (Uganda)
- Bunamwaya, 396 km (Uganda)
- Kisumu, 147 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Kikuyu, 123 km — buses · car rental · tours
Common questions
How big is Nakuru?
About 570,674 people live in Nakuru (GeoNames).
What time zone is Nakuru in?
Africa/Nairobi, currently UTC+3.
What currency is used in Nakuru?
The Shilling (KES). Traffic drives on the left.
How many hotels are there in Nakuru?
Our booking partner lists 550 places to stay in Nakuru, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Nakuru?
Nairobi (136 km), Kakamega (161 km), Kampala (394 km), Arusha (347 km), Ruiru (136 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.