Nairobi is a bustling city full of friendly people, delicious food and fantastic things to do. It is the capital of Kenya, a modern city, and surprisingly almost everyone here speaks English!
(I later found out that English & Swahili are both the Official Languages of Kenya.)
Considered the “World’s Only Wildlife Capital” the city of Nairobi is truly one-of-a-kind. With the famous Nairobi National Park lying literally adjacent to the city’s southern boundary, you may find yourself looking at a giraffe out of your plane’s window as you land or find yourself spotting a herd of zebra while traveling down a busy highway. There really is no other place like it!
Yet, on top of these fantastic random animal sightings, Nairobi also offers wonderful cultural shows, interesting museums, unbelievable safari game drives and phenomenal animal interactions.
Our family visited Nairobi in the summer of 2022 and it was a much awaited trip. Having been canceled several times due to Covid, we were absolutely ecstatic that it was finally happening.
We began our adventure by flying into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and immediately realized that this was the perfect introduction to Africa for our family. Just seeing the modern world and natural world existing side-by-side left us yearning to explore both.
In this post, I’d love to share with you our favorite sites, our top experiences and our 2 day itinerary, so that you can more easily plan your own African family adventure to Nairobi in Kenya.
5 TOP THINGS TO DO IN NAIROBI WITH KIDS
1. NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK
Nairobi National Park is an absolutely fantastic thing to do when visiting Nairobi. Located just a short distance from Nairobi’s downtown, this incredible safari game drive is not only extremely convenient to get to, but it is also bursting with some of Africa’s most sought after wildlife.
At Nairobi National Park, over 400 different mammal and bird species, and four out of the “Big Five” – Lions, Buffalos, Leopards and Rhinos – have been observed within this park. It also happens to be one of the most successful rhino sanctuaries in the world, making Nairobi National Park the perfect place to spot one.
On top of this, Nairobi National Park provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see Africa’s amazing wildlife showcased against an impressive city backdrop of towering skyscrapers.
This is truly a remarkable site!
Family Tip: Bring a set of binoculars for your kids and they will have a blast being able to spot animals with their “eagle eye.”
Time Needed: Half-Day or ~4hrs per Safari Drive
2. SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage is a Must-See Destination in Nairobi.
Here, you can visit the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world! And for just one hour each day, from 11am to 12 noon, (with advanced reservations) they open their doors for the public to view up-close, their precious orphaned elephants.
Each orphaned elephant here will ultimately be reintegrated back into the wild and therefore only the Keepers are allowed to feed and directly interact with them. However, some of the more social young ones sometimes wander along the edge of the viewing area and if you are lucky, you may get the chance to touch one!
This is an opportunity you won’t want to miss!
As of Fall 2022, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully raised over 288 orphaned elephants! Yet, on top of this, their veterinary units have provided medical attention to over 9,000 animals found in conservation areas throughout Kenya and they currently operate 22 anti-poaching teams in hopes of protecting threatened wild animals and their habitats.
This is such an incredible organization.
Tip #1: Arrive early, to get a front row spot along the ropes.
Tip #2: Stick around after the presentation. At this point the elephants are done eating and we found that many of them began wandering up to the ropes. This is how all five of us in our family were able to pet a baby elephant!
A Truly Unforgettable Moment!
Time Needed: 2 hours (arrive 30 minutes prior to the 1 hour presentation & stay at least 15 minutes after for a possible elephant interaction.)
3. THE GIRAFFE CENTER
The Giraffe Center is a spectacular site to visit in Nairobi!
Since 1979, the founders of the Giraffe Center have been on a mission to save the (back then almost extinct) Rothschild Giraffe. So far the Giraffe Center, through massive breeding efforts, has been able to breed and reintroduce 40 Rothschild Giraffes back into the wild and they have also helped over 300 Rothschild Giraffes to be safe and breeding well in various Kenyan national parks. And with continued conservation efforts, the Rothschild Giraffe population has increased up to around 900 individuals in Kenya and a total of 2,098 in Kenya and Uganda combined! (The most recent count is from 2021.)
Yet, aside from this amazing work, one reason you’ll want to visit the Giraffe Center is that here you get the chance to feed and interact with the endangered Rothschild Giraffe!
Fun Fact: The Rothschild giraffe are known for their distinctive white stockings ( the knee to the hooves are not spotted.)
At the Giraffe Center, I loved how we were in no-way rushed while feeding or interacting with the giraffes. Here, we walked along a raised long boardwalk, holding our decent sized bowl of giraffe food (that they gave us), and we were able to feed any of the numerous giraffes that lined the path.
One giraffe completely cracked my children up because he kept repeating a pattern of getting food from Matthew, then Bryan, then Spencer and repeat. It was hysterical! And this pattern was repeated again and again and again until they were all almost out of food! My children were completely giddy and the memories created here at the Giraffe Center were absolutely priceless.
Being able to just hang out with giraffes and feed them was a fantastic experience for our family and we highly recommend visiting!
Time Needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour
4. KAREN BLIXEN MUSEUM
Any fan of the book, or movie, Out of Africa, will definitely want to stop at the Karen Blixen Museum.
The Karen Blixen Museum features the house and grounds where the famous Danish author, Karen Blixen, lived from 1914-1931. Here, she and her husband ran a coffee plantation. Karen later wrote about her experiences in Kenya from this time in her life in the well-known novel Out of Africa. And later, the 1985 film adaptation of Out of Africa, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep rekindled her story once again.
Personally, I really enjoyed touring the Karen Blixen House and learning all about her life. And our oldest child, who absolutely loves history, was completely fascinated by the original furnishings throughout the house and her story as well.
Tip: This tour is probably best enjoyed by adults that have either read the book or watched the movie Out of Africa or by people who love learning about history.
Time Needed: 1 Hour
5. BOMAS OF KENYA
The Bomas of Kenya is one sight that I was really looking forward to visiting. But unfortunately while we were there it was being used for events regarding Kenya’s upcoming election and so sadly it was closed to all tourists.
The Bomas of Kenya has daily cultural performances featuring diverse authentic Kenyan music and over 50 traditional dances.
These performances are said to be amazing and so I wanted to list it here even though we were unable to see it. The Bomas of Kenya will definitely be on our list the next time we are in Nairobi.
If you are planning your itinerary on your own or are working with a custom tour company, I’ve attached a one and two day itinerary for Nairobi to give you some ideas.
We planned our trip with a company called Journeys International and they did a wonderful job helping us create our custom itinerary. (Please Note: We pay for all of our trips ourselves and all of our opinions are always our own.)
2 DAY ITINERARY
DAY 1: (Ideal if you just arrived in Kenya and need a slower 1st day.)
- 10:30* – Arrive at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
- Lunch
- Afternoon Safari Drive in Nairobi National Park
DAY 2:
- Nairobi National Park -Early morning safari.
- (We left our hotel at 6:30am to begin our morning safari.)
- Giraffe Center
- Lunch – Utamadumi Restaurant
- Afternoon Performance at Bomas of Kenya
- Karen Blixen Museum
- (Check closing time based on the day you visit.)
- Dinner – We had a delicious dinner back at our hotel’s restaurant – Tembo Bistro at the Boma Nairobi Hotel.
IF YOU ONLY HAVE 1 DAY
DAY 1: (For early risers)
- 6:30am – Nairobi National Park -Early morning safari.
- 10:30am to 12:15pm – Arrive at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
- Lunch – Utamadumi Restaurant
- Afternoon Performance at Bomas of Kenya
- (This was unavailable during our visit so we headed to the Giraffe Center and then the Karen Blixen Museum.)
- Make a quick visit to the Giraffe Center after the Bomas of Kenya. (This closed at 5pm when we visited. This site can be seen in 30 minutes.)
- Dinner – We had a delicious dinner back at our hotel’s restaurant – Tembo Bistro at the Boma Nairobi Hotel.
- 9am – Giraffe Center
- 10:30am – Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
- Lunch – Utamadumi Restaurant
- Afternoon Performance at Bomas of Kenya
- Short Safari at Nairobi National Park
- Closes at 6pm
- Dinner
Where We Stayed in Nairobi
THE BOMA NAIROBI HOTEL
Only a 15 minute drive from Nairobi National Park, this 5-star hotel offers spacious rooms, a swimming pool, shuttle service, two onsite restaurants and is conveniently located near both Jomo Kenyatta International and Wilson Airports.
Tip: We stayed here 3 separate times and thoroughly enjoyed this hotel, yet one time we were given a room that only had a narrow bathtub with a European handheld showerhead to shower. This was not a problem for us, but if you prefer a traditional stand-up shower, make sure to doublecheck the description on your booking to include a separate walk-in shower.
The onsite restaurant Tembo Bistro was delicious. My favorite dish here was the Kenyan Beef Stew.
Tip: Allow plenty of time for meals in Kenya. Dining here tends to be much slower than what were used to back in the United States.
NAIROBI DAY TOURS
Booking a tour or hiring a guide to take you around town is the best way to experience Nairobi.
Traffic in Nairobi is insane. There are many people walking along the busy interstates and crossing the high-traffic roads where ever they want. And there are so many motorbikes that are commonly packed with four people, or carrying a couch, or (I kid you not) we saw one motorbike carrying a goat while traveling down the busy streets! (Our guide simply referred to it as controlled chaos and seemed completely comfortable driving in this. I was so glad he was driving and not us.)
Before booking any tour, be sure to check to see what is included/excluded and any restrictions. Entrance fees to attractions and the cost of meals may or may not be included in the price so you will want to plan and budget accordingly.
Below is a sample of some popular tours in Nairobi so that you won’t need to worry about planning an itinerary.
POPULAR TOURS IN NAIROBI
Have a Great Time Visiting Nairobi with Your Traveling Feet!
MORE POPULAR SITES TO VISIT IN KENYA
(+Distance from Nairobi)
- Hell’s Gate National Park (~3 hours Northwest)
- Amboseli National Park (~4 hours South)
- Aberdare National Park (~4 hours North)
- Ol Pajeta Conservancy (~4.5 hours North)
- Maasai Mara (~4.5 hours Southwest)
- Tsavo West National Park (~5 hours Southeast)
- Samburu National Reserve/ Buffalo Springs (~6- 6.5 hours North)
- Tsavo East National Park (~7.5 hours Southeast)
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