Kisumu County · Kenya
Kisumu travel guide
Kisumu is a city in Kisumu County, Kenya, home to about 398,000 people.
- Best months
- July
- Nearest airport
- KIS3 km · Kisumu International Airport
- Currency
- KESKenyan shilling
- Time zone
- Africa/Nairobi
- Language
- English, Swahili
About
About Kisumu
Kisumu ( kee-SOO-moo) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city in the Lake Victoria Basin after Kampala.
The city was founded by the British as "Port Florence" in 1901 as a stop on the railway between Mombasa and Uganda. A year later, the city was renamed Kisumu, from a Luo word meaning "market, trading place". In 2006, Kisumu was designated one of Africa's 11 'Millenium Cities' by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Kisumu enjoys a tropical savanna climate. The lowest temperatures (about 12°C at night and 17°C to 19°C by day) occur in August and September. The highest daytime temperatures can reach 37°C in the warm season (December to April).
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kisumu
See
- Kibuye Market
- Kisumu Museum
- Impala sanctuary
- Kiboko point
- The Equator
- Kit Mikayi rocks
Do
- Fishing
- Golf
- Learn
- Dunga Papyrus Boardwalk
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Kisumu to stay in
It is common for hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation to be called a guest house in Kisumu Kenya. They are the most common and best value places to stay — hotels seem to ramp up their prices just because they are a hotel — beware.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Kisumu
1 hotel within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Kisumu Backpackers Club | 7.6 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Kisumu
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kisumu are July. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; April is the wettest, with about 204 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Kisumu: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kisumu International Airport (KIS), about 2.8 km from the city centre in a straight line; Eldoret International Airport (EDL, 78 km) and Mara Serena Lodge Airstrip (MRE, 148 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
Despite being Kenya's third-largest city the traffic in Kisumu isn't all that bad. You can use the notorious boda boda (bicycle taxi), pikipiki (motorcycle taxis), matatus, buses, or you can rent a car.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
KIS · Kisumu International Airport
EDL · Eldoret International Airport
MRE · Mara Serena Lodge Airstrip
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kisumu
Eat
Aside from the town centre there are a number of places to eat and drink in the evenings in the Kondele region on Kibos Road and on Jomo Kenyatta Highway with guest houses close by.
Drink
Aside from the town centre there are a number of places to eat and drink in the evenings in the Kondele region on Kibos Road and on Jomo Kenyatta Highway with guest houses close by.
Stay safe
Kisumu is less stressful than Nairobi or Mombasa. However pickpockets are common, especially around Kibuye Market. If you are driving, you should lock the car doors. All public buildings (airport, post office, banks, shopping centers, etc.) are watched by security guards wearing a blue uniform. Private estates are generally guarded as well.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kisumu: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kisumu?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kisumu are July. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 31 °C; April is the wettest, with about 204 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kisumu?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kisumu International Airport (KIS), about 2.8 km from the city centre in a straight line; Eldoret International Airport (EDL, 78 km) and Mara Serena Lodge Airstrip (MRE, 148 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Kisumu?
Kenyan shilling (KES).
Nearby
Destinations near Kisumu
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.