Nairobi Holidays

Cosmopolitan pre-safari city and national park

Nairobi is an ever-moving tangle of urban life and the launching pad for most Kenyan adventures. From its roots as a 19th-century colonial depot on the Mombasa to Uganda railway, Nairobi has emerged as East Africa’s largest metropolis. A beacon of modern progress, glassy skyscrapers home to Fortune 500 companies pierce the horizon amid the constant roar of traffic and beeping matatus, the city’s army of shared minibus taxis. Delve deeper and you’ll discover overflowing flea markets, historic marvels like the colonial home-turned-museum that belonged to Out of Africa author Karen Blixen and rooftop bars where you can sip icy Tusker beer and watch the sun go down.

Venture just outside of the Kenyan capital and you’ll find sharp contrasts, from the corrugated-topped shanty town Kibera, home to over a million people, to the open plains of Nairobi National Park. Here, you can spot four of the big five African animals set against a backdrop of the spiky skyline, where planes periodically swoop in for landing. On the park’s outskirts, orphaned elephants and black rhinos find sanctuary in Sheldrick Wildlife Trust nurseries, while at the Giraffe Centre, guests can feed the giraffes grass pellets at the feeding station and learn about giraffe conservation.

Get to grips with Kenya’s vibrant capital with help from our Africa team, who can arrange the best Nairobi hotel stays and tour experiences with a local guide.

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Nairobi Hotels

Our recommendations for the best places to stay in Nairobi

Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel

Dating back to 1904, this secluded gem in the heart of Nairobi has remained a celebrated landmark...

Hemingways Nairobi

This plantation-style property offers an exclusive experience away from Nairobi’s centre.

Nairobi Tented Camp

Sleep under canvas and embark on an authentic safari in the city.

Eka Hotel

The ideal pre- or post-safari stopover, handy for Nairobi airport which is just 20 minutes away.

Nairobi Serena Hotel

This premium city hotel offers a laid-back, comfortable start or end to any safari adventure.

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Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Karen Blixen Museum and Giraffe Centre

On this tour you’ll meet orphaned elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, visit the Karen Blixen Museum to learn about the Out of Africa author’s extraordinary life in Kenya and get up close to endangered Rothschild's giraffes.

First, you’ll transfer to the Giraffe Centre in the Lang’ata suburb of Nairobi, where the mission is to breed the animals in a safe environment. Created by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, the non-profit centre was founded in 1979 when there were just 130 of these beautiful animals left in the wild. The Rothschild's is a subspecies of the giraffe that lives in East Africa’s grasslands. It’s amazing to see the giraffes up close. Afterwards, you can go to the information centre to listen to an educational talk about giraffe conservation and the centre’s work. The staff are highly trained experts, so they can answer any questions you have about the animals.

Next, drive for 20 mins to Nairobi National Park, arriving at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage to watch the elephants be fed. The elephants know when it’s time to have their milk and come running down into the feeding area. As the keepers feed them, a guide from the trust will introduce you to the individual elephants and tell you their rescue stories. You’ll get to ask questions while the animals play. The trust was set up over 40 years ago by Daphne Sheldrick in memory of her husband David, who was a famous warden and naturalist in Tsavo East National Park. It has developed into the most successful rescue and rehabilitation programme for elephants in the world, with many of the babies released back into the wild in Tsavo after about three years of rehabilitation. Visiting will give you a chance to get up close to the elephants, learn about the wildlife trust’s work and contribute to the conservation of these incredible animals.

From here you’ll transfer for 30-minutes to the Karen Blixen Museum. It is set in the Karen area of Nairobi, which is named after Blixen, on the coffee farm where she once lived. A lot of guests want to visit the museum because they’ve read Out of Africa or seen the movie. Karen put Nairobi and Kenya on the map and was passionate about helping the local community. The museum is a piece of Kenyan history and an amazing tale of how one person survived so many bad things and still had the heart to be kind to those around her. Following the visit, transfer back to your accommodation by private vehicle.

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