Nairobi National Park
Kenya’s first national park, just outside the city, where black rhinos, lions, giraffes and buffalo roam open plains with the Nairobi skyline on the horizon. The easiest safari you will ever take.
Kenya
Nairobi
Nairobi is the only capital city in the world with lions, rhinos and giraffes grazing on its doorstep.
Nairobi National Park, gazetted in 1946 as Kenya’s first national park, begins about ten kilometres from the city centre, and on a morning game drive you can photograph black rhinos with the skyline behind them. Inside the park, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust raises orphaned baby elephants and opens its nursery to visitors for one hour each day; a short drive away, the Giraffe Centre lets you feed endangered Rothschild giraffes from a raised platform, and the Karen Blixen Museum preserves the farmhouse of the author of Out of Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills. In town, the Nairobi National Museum tells the story of Kenya from the first humans to independence, and Karura Forest offers shaded trails and a waterfall in the middle of the suburbs. Nairobi is also the gateway to Kenya’s great safaris: the Maasai Mara, Amboseli beneath Kilimanjaro, Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha with Hell’s Gate are all reachable as day trips or short tours. This guide shows you what to book ahead, how to get around, how many days to give it and where to stay, from a 1904 landmark hotel to a design hotel in Westlands.
Don't miss
Nairobi National Park
Kenya’s first national park, just outside the city, where black rhinos, lions, giraffes and buffalo roam open plains with the Nairobi skyline on the horizon. The easiest safari you will ever take.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Nursery
The world-famous orphan elephant nursery inside Nairobi National Park, where keepers bottle-feed rescued baby elephants and talk about their stories during a one-hour public visit each day.
Giraffe Centre
Feed endangered Rothschild giraffes eye to eye from a raised wooden platform in Lang’ata, then walk a forest nature trail. Nairobi’s most joyful hour, open every day.
Karen Blixen Museum
The 1912 farmhouse at the foot of the Ngong Hills where Karen Blixen lived and wrote the memories that became Out of Africa, now a museum with guided tours and wide lawns.
Things to do in Nairobi
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Nursery
The world-famous orphan elephant nursery inside Nairobi National Park, where keepers bottle-feed rescued baby elephants and talk about their stories during a one-hour public visit each day.
Giraffe Centre
Feed endangered Rothschild giraffes eye to eye from a raised wooden platform in Lang’ata, then walk a forest nature trail. Nairobi’s most joyful hour, open every day.
Karen Blixen Museum
The 1912 farmhouse at the foot of the Ngong Hills where Karen Blixen lived and wrote the memories that became Out of Africa, now a museum with guided tours and wide lawns.
Nairobi National Museum
Kenya’s flagship museum on Museum Hill, with galleries on human origins, birds, Kenyan history and culture, plus botanical gardens and the Snake Park next door. Open every day.
Karura Forest
A vast, shady urban forest about six kilometres from the city centre, with walking, running and cycling trails, a waterfall, caves and birdlife. Nairobi’s favourite green escape.
Maasai Mara Safari from Nairobi
Kenya’s most famous reserve, home of big cats, huge herds and the Great Migration, reached from Nairobi on a three-day group safari in a pop-top Land Cruiser.
Lake Naivasha and Hell’s Gate Day Trip
A full day in the Great Rift Valley: cycle or walk among zebras and giraffes in Hell’s Gate National Park, hike its dramatic gorge, then add a boat ride among the hippos of Lake Naivasha.
Amboseli National Park Day Trip
A long, unforgettable day from Nairobi to Amboseli, where big elephant herds walk across the plains beneath snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, with park fees and lunch included.
Lake Nakuru National Park Day Trip
A day in the Great Rift Valley at Lake Nakuru, a fenced rhino sanctuary where black and white rhinos, Rothschild giraffes and lions live around a soda lake, with park fees and lunch included.
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Fairmont The Norfolk
City Centre
Nairobi’s historic landmark hotel, opened in 1904, with 170 rooms around tropical gardens, an outdoor pool, a spa and the famous Lord Delamere Terrace, on the edge of the city centre.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Sankara Nairobi, Autograph Collection
Westlands
A stylish five-star hotel in the heart of Westlands, with a heated rooftop pool, the Sarabi rooftop bar, the Graze steakhouse and easy access to the airport via the Nairobi Expressway.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Tribe Hotel
Gigiri
A design-led five-star hotel in leafy Gigiri, next to The Village Market, with 128 rooms, the Jiko restaurant, the Kaya Spa, an outdoor pool and a rooftop bar, close to Karura Forest.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Emara Ole-Sereni
Mombasa Road, by Nairobi National Park
The hotel that overlooks Nairobi National Park, on Mombasa Road about 12 km from the airport, with a rooftop infinity pool, a steakhouse and rooms with views of the plains.
Rates on Expedia →
$ibis Styles Nairobi Westlands
Westlands
A colourful, good-value design hotel on Rhapta Road in Westlands, with compact rooms, a rooftop bar with 360-degree city views, a roast house, a gym and free parking.
Rates on Expedia →Nairobi guides
First Time in Nairobi: What to Book, How to Get Around & How Many Days
The practical primer for a first visit to Nairobi: what to book ahead, how to get around, how many days you need and where the national park, the elephants, the giraffes and the big safaris fit.
Where to Stay in Nairobi: City Centre, Westlands, Gigiri or by the National Park
Where to stay in Nairobi for every kind of trip: the historic city centre, lively Westlands, leafy Gigiri and the edge of Nairobi National Park near the airport, with the best hotel for each.
