Voi is a large town in the Southern Rift Valley region of Kenya.

Understand

History

According to local history the name of town comes from a slave trader called Chief Kivoi, who settled near the Voi River about 400 years ago. Before colonization, the village served as trading center for the local Taita people and other Kenyan tribes and Arabs. The town started to grow at the end of the 19th century when the Uganda Railway was constructed. People started to move in to work on the railway and the nearby sisal estates. However, township status was not granted until 1932.

Economy

Voi is a marketplace for the agricultural and meat products from the fertile Taita Hills as well as other surrounding areas.

Language

The most common language used is Swahili, but majority of the locals know English and to a lesser extent French, German, and Italian.

Get in

By train

Voi is served by the SGR mainline between Nairobi and Mombasa. Kenya Railways operates several trains per day in each direction.

• 1 Voi railway station. (updated May 2023)

By plane

Voi is served by the Ikanga Air Strip.

By car

Great pit stop along the highway between Nairobi and Mombasa.

Get around

By taxi

Taxis can be found in the town center. Fares are negotiated, not regulated.

See

• Tsavo East National Park
• Tsavo West National Park

Eat

• Red Elephant Bistro, Mombasa Road, Voi, Kenya, ☏ +254 721 244004. (updated Aug 2018)

Sleep

• Afrika Lodges - Voi Lodge, Mombasa Road, Voi, Kenya, ☏ +254 714 423591, reservations@afrikalodges.co.ke. (updated Aug 2018)
• The Joy Hotel, ☏ +254 722 295281. Check-out: 10:00. Great prices (2000 Ksh for a double including breakfast in our case) and good value - multi-course traditional breakfast and full-featured bathroom including a hot & cold shower valve with proper pressure, unlike most cheap African accommodation. (updated Jan 2024)

Go next

• Taveta
• Arusha
• Mombasa
• Nairobi