Jane Muthoni and her friend had talked about visiting Zanzibar for months before finally making the trip in May last year.
‘A friend had travelled there a couple of years back and insisted that we could do it on a budget of about Sh40,000,’ she says. ‘The affordability really stood out, but beyond that, any chance I get, you’ll find me chasing sunsets, photographing flowers, and taking in beautiful scenery.’
They took Kidia One bus from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, before connecting by ferry to Zanzibar.
Low ticket prices are only part of the attraction, many Kenyans now going to Zanzibar by bus say travel is surprisingly comfortable; reclining seats, charging ports, individual entertainment screens, refreshments and an onboard toilet.
Travelling by road, Muthoni says, allowed them to enjoy the scenery and add another experience to the trip; cross the Namanga border to board the ferry to Zanzibar, which was quite different from the one in Mombasa. It had separate VIP and economy options, and the VIP ticket came with access to a waiting lounge, luggage assistance, priority boarding and unobstructed views during the crossing.’
Muthoni and her friend went on to enjoy a full itinerary that mapped destinations such as Stonetown, Forodhani night food market, Prison Island, Nungwi beach, Kizimbani spice farm, and Nakupenda Island. At the end of it, they came back home by flight.
‘We got discounted tickets, which cost us Sh11,000 each,’ she says. ‘But we chose to fly back only because it gave us more time at our destination.
The pair spent about Sh70,000 over the five days, covering transport, half-board accommodation, meals, souvenirs and other miscellaneous expenses.
‘If the bus option hadn’t been available, it probably would have taken us another two years to save enough for the trip,’ she says. ‘Even compared to Mombasa, the same budget might not give you the quality of experience we enjoyed over those five days. The only thing I would say is be on time because they are very punctual. They almost left me when we were leaving Nairobi, and I’d only stepped out to take a phone call.’
Nicole Wanjala, a digital marketer travels regularly for leisure. She treats herself to one major international trip during her birthday, and two or three local trips each year. For her 30th birthday last year, she went to Zanzibar.
‘It was my third time in Tanzania,’ she says. ‘I’d been to Moshi and Arusha before, but never Zanzibar.’
Planning to spend 10 days on the island, Nicole also chose the Kidia One bus to Dar es Salaam before connecting by ferry to Zanzibar.
‘It was a very last-minute trip, and when I checked flight prices, I was discouraged,’ she says. ‘At the time, a return ticket was going for about Sh70,000, yet my entire budget for the 10-day holiday was maximum Sh100,000. So I did some research, discovered the bus-and-ferry route and decided to take that instead.’
‘I took the day bus that leaves Nairobi at 6am, and I’m glad I did because the journey was incredibly scenic,’ she says. ‘There’s a lot to see, especially once you get past Moshi and Arusha.’
On the documents, she says one needs, ‘a passport or a temporary permit, a Yellow Fever certificate, and for Zanzibar, an insurance certificate, which is better gotten while still in Kenya.’
While the Kenyan stretch of the journey was largely smooth, traffic caused by an accident slowed them down in Tanzania. Some sections of the road were also bumpy, with diversions in place as crews carried out repairs and routine maintenance.
Once in Zanzibar, Nicole packed her itinerary with activities including karaoke, souvenir shopping, jet skiing, snorkelling, dolphin watching, kite surfing, feeding turtles, restaurant hopping and simply unwinding on the island.
When the holiday came to an end, she took a ferry back to Dar es Salaam before boarding an overnight bus to Nairobi.
‘This time I chose the overnight bus because I was already familiar with the route,’ she says. ‘And the price was about Sh500 cheaper.’
Having travelled extensively by bus, Nicole says she would happily do it again.
‘I enjoy discovering a destination by road because you get to see so much along the way,’ she says. ‘More Kenyans should consider exploring neighbouring countries by road. These countries are right next to us, and you learn so much simply by visiting them,’ she says.
Abdirahman Khalif, a travel content creator behind Roam Kenya, prefers travelling by coach whenever possible. When he decided to travel to Lusaka, Zambia, last month and discovered there was a route through Tanzania, he didn’t hesitate, even though the journey would take nearly three days.
‘I left Nairobi at 8pm on a Sunday and arrived in Dar es Salaam at about 10am on Monday,’ he says.
‘Later that evening, at around 8pm, I boarded another bus to the Tanzania-Zambia border. We reached the border at about 4pm on Tuesday, and I crossed into Zambia the following morning before continuing to Lusaka.’
‘The bus used the expressway, which I really appreciated, and served us tea, biscuits, water, and even a plate of chips and chicken along the way,’ he says. ‘There was also a hostess who kept us updated on the towns and destinations we were passing, and the Wi-Fi worked well from Namanga all the way to Dar es Salaam.’
He says staff members were courteous and readily assisted passengers whenever issues arose, including during customs and immigration procedures.
‘At the end of the journey, they thanked us for choosing their bus and even apologised for the exhaustion of the long trip,’ he says. ‘It was a really pleasant experience.’
But are bus companies really seeing a surge in passenger numbers?
According to Dennis Maina, a booking clerk at B. One Coach, ‘yes we have a bus that leaves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam every day at 5pm. It travels via Namanga, Arusha, Moshi and Dar es Salaam, and on most days it departs at full capacity. Even on a slow day, we’ll have about 30 passengers out of the 46-seat capacity.’
But it wasn’t always like this. When they introduced the route in late 2024, there were days when the route had no single passenger. Over time, however, the numbers slowly grew. This, he says, is partly thanks to the increasingly premium experience they offer.
‘We have air-conditioning so the passengers don’t have to open their windows, free Wi-Fi, entertainment screens, a toilet, charging ports, and refreshments including non-alcoholic wine on the weekends,’ he says.
Muthoni, the traveller, says the toilet was for short calls only, but it was a good addition to have on a bus. ‘It meant we didn’t have to make unnecessary stopovers, although we still had one along the way.’
Who are their biggest customers?
While leisure travel has become more common, Dennis says business travellers remain the backbone of the route.
‘We see people who are going for leisure, like couples, friend groups, and families, but the consistent group that keeps us running is the business people,’ he says. ‘Most of them travel from Tanzania to buy goods in Kenya. Some source clothes from Gikomba, others buy spare parts from Kirinyaga Road, while others go to the Industrial Area. But when they come, they have to go back, so they usually account for about half the bus every day.’