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Kenya

Nairobi

Nairobi: A Capital With a National Park Inside Its Boundaries

Kenya's capital sits high above sea level and is the base for visits to orphaned elephants, the Giraffe Centre and Nairobi National Park, Kenya's first national park. Crime against visitors is a real risk in parts of the city, so travel by taxi rather than on foot, especially after dark.

Good to know

Arriving in Nairobi

Nairobi lies far inland in south-central Kenya, so a cruise program that includes it treats the city as a land stay, and you arrive by air at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, about 15 km southeast of the center. Between the airport and the city, use the Mombasa Road or the Nairobi Expressway rather than the older airport road.

  • Just past customs there is an official airport taxi desk, where you pay a fixed fare and are taken to your car.
  • Wilson Airport, about 11 km south of the center, mainly handles domestic flights and light aircraft.
  • Kenya's currency is the Kenyan shilling (KSh). Cash machines are easy to find at the airport and in the main shopping areas, and many Kenyans pay by phone with M-Pesa.
  • Transfers and flight times are set by your cruise program, so keep to its meeting times and allow for slow traffic on the airport roads.

Nairobi on Your Own

Nairobi's best-known visits are spread around the city's outskirts rather than in the center, so going independently means taxis or ride-hailing cars, not walking. Pick one or two places, book ahead where it is needed, and keep to your program's times.

  • Orphaned elephants: The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust raises its youngest orphaned elephants at a nursery inside Nairobi National Park. Each day from 11 a.m. to noon, visitors can watch the elephants' mud bath and milk feed, by advance booking only.
  • The Giraffe Centre: In Lang'ata, around 40 minutes from the city center, the Giraffe Centre breeds Rothschild's giraffes, an endangered subspecies, and you are given food to offer them up close.
  • Nairobi National Museum: On Museum Hill, about 20 minutes from the center, galleries cover early humans, the mammals and birds of East Africa, and the history of Kenya.
  • Getting there: Ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Bolt are widely used in the city. Ordinary taxis take cash only, so agree the fare before you set off.
  • Stay alert: Violent crime, including mugging and armed robbery, is frequent in Kenya's large cities, and in Nairobi the risk is higher in the Central Business District, Eastleigh, and Mathare, Kibera and other informal settlements. Avoid walking alone in isolated areas, even in daylight, and take a taxi rather than walking after dark.
  • Carry ID: You must carry identification at all times. A copy of your passport is normally accepted, but police may insist on the original, so keep it within easy reach.
  • No photos of official buildings: Photographing official buildings, including embassies, is illegal and can lead to arrest.

Getting Around Nairobi

Taxis and ride-hailing cars are the practical way for visitors to get around Nairobi. The city's minibuses, called matatus, are cheap and run everywhere, but they are often overcrowded and are involved in many serious accidents.

  • Agree the taxi price before you set off and have cash ready, because drivers often have little change.
  • The old airport road (Airport South Road) and Jogoo Road carry a higher risk of carjacking than the Mombasa Road and the Expressway.
  • In a car, keep the windows closed and the doors locked. In slow traffic, keep phones and bags out of reach of an open window, because thieves walk between cars looking for things to snatch.
  • Passenger trains on the Standard Gauge Railway, opened in 2017, link Nairobi with Mombasa on the coast.

Food and Drink

Nyama choma, meat roasted over wood or charcoal, is widely seen as Kenya's national dish, and goat is the preferred meat, though beef is also used. It comes with ugali, a firm staple made from maize flour, and kachumbari salad, and it is eaten with the hands.

  • Sukuma wiki, greens similar to kale, and chapati are everyday side dishes in local restaurants.
  • The Carnivore, just outside the city off Lang'ata Road, is known for grilled meats carried to the table on skewers and carved onto your plate. Check the bill for added taxes and levies.
  • Do not drink the tap water or take ice in drinks. Residents buy drinking water too.
  • Away from upmarket restaurants, choose food that is freshly cooked and served hot.

Culture and Heritage

Nairobi has a long-established Indian community, descended from the laborers who built the railway and the merchants who opened shops in colonial times. Two cultural sites look back at Kenyan village life and at the colonial era.

  • Bomas of Kenya: On Lang'ata and Forest Edge Road, the Bomas show traditional homes of Kenya's communities, with music, song and dance.
  • Karen Blixen Museum: The Danish author of Out of Africa lived in this house in the suburb of Karen. You see the house with a guide but may walk the gardens on your own. Little original furniture remains, and the 1985 film was shot on a set, though some of its props are on display.
  • The KICC: The Kenyatta International Conference Centre, opened in 1973, is the only building in the city with a helipad that is open to the public, and its viewing tower gives wide views over Nairobi when the air is clear.
  • International city: Nairobi is home to the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Office at Nairobi.

A Brief History

Nairobi began as a depot on the railway being built from Mombasa toward Uganda and was the capital of the East Africa Protectorate within a decade. It has been the capital of independent Kenya since 1963.

  • Before the railway: Maasai herders, Akamba traders and Kikuyu farmers used the land around a swampy stream. The city's name comes from the Maasai Enkare Nyirobi, the place of cool waters.
  • 1898 and 1899: The railway's chief engineer, Sir George Whitehouse, chose the site for its water, its mild climate and its height, just before the steep climb of the Limuru escarpment. A town plan was drawn up in 1898, and the line reached Nairobi on 30 May 1899.
  • Early setbacks: Malaria troubled the young town, and after an outbreak of plague the original Bazaar Street, today's Biashara Street, was burned and rebuilt in the early 1900s.
  • 1907: Nairobi replaced Mombasa as capital of the East Africa Protectorate, and it became a municipality in 1919.
  • 1946: Nairobi National Park was gazetted as Kenya's first national park.
  • 1950s and 1963: Anger over the city's spread fed into the Mau Mau Uprising, which was followed by the conferences that led to independence in 1963, with Nairobi as the capital.
  • 1973 and 1978: The Kenyatta International Conference Centre opened, and five years later a new airport terminal opened and the airport was renamed for Jomo Kenyatta, the first president.
  • 2017: The Standard Gauge Railway opened between Nairobi and Mombasa.
  • To learn more ashore: The Nairobi National Museum, on Museum Hill near Uhuru Highway, has a History of Kenya gallery covering the country's communities, the colonial period and the struggle for independence.

Nairobi with Children

With children, build the stay around the animal visits below. Each outing needs a car, so one or two a day is plenty.

  • Younger children: At the Giraffe Centre in Lang'ata, children can feed the giraffes, and the site also has a nature sanctuary and a tea house. Non-resident tickets cost KSh 1,500 for adults and KSh 750 for ages 3 to 12 in 2026, and under-threes go free; check before you go.
  • School age: The Sheldrick nursery's hour with the orphaned elephants, from 11 a.m. to noon, must be booked ahead. The Nairobi National Museum has galleries on mammals and on the birds of East Africa.
  • Teenagers: A game drive in Nairobi National Park can bring lions, black rhinos, buffalo, giraffes and zebras, with more than 400 bird species, but no wild elephants. Single-use plastic is not allowed in the park.
  • All ages: Do not approach wild animals, and buy safari trips only from reputable operators, never from touts.

Shopping

The Maasai Market is the easiest place to find Kenyan crafts, but it moves to a different site in the city on different days of the week, so ask where it is on the day you go. Expect to bargain.

  • Kazuri Beads, a workshop started in 1977 beside the Karen Blixen Museum, makes jewelry from clay from the Mount Kenya area.
  • Keep phones and cash out of sight in busy markets, where pickpockets work, and carry money in a hidden pouch rather than a wallet.
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