3 days in Nairobi

Day by day

1. Day 1: Nairobi National Park and Giraffe Centre

   Nairobi National Park, Giraffe Centre and Nairobi Safari Walk, then Westlands in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Nairobi National Park

      Kenya's first national park, opened in 1946, covers about 117 km² of grassland and acacia bush just south of the city.

   2. Late morning

      Giraffe Centre

      Combine it with the elephant orphanage and the Karen Blixen Museum, which are all within a 20-minute drive of each other.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Nyama choma

      Roadside grills and garden bars across the city; Carnivore in Langata serves it carved at the table from Maasai swords.

   4. Afternoon

      Nairobi Safari Walk

      A raised wooden boardwalk run by the Kenya Wildlife Service at the national park's main gate, passing enclosures of rescued animals including a white rhino, lions, cheetahs and bongo antelope.

   5. Evening

      Westlands

      The main bar and club district, with lounges and clubs around Woodvale Grove and rooftop bars on nearby hotels and malls.

2. Day 2: Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage and Karen Blixen Museum

   Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage, Karen Blixen Museum and Nairobi National Museum, then Kilimani in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage

      Stand at the front of the rope line on the side nearest the mud wallow; the calves often splash the first row.

   2. Late morning

      Karen Blixen Museum

      The Danish author of Out of Africa lived in this farmhouse below the Ngong Hills from 1917 to 1931 while running a coffee farm.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Ugali

      Any local eatery (often called a hotel or kibanda), served with stew, greens or nyama choma.

   4. Afternoon

      Nairobi National Museum

      Buy a combined ticket if you also want the snake park, and save time for the garden's nature trail.

   5. Evening

      Kilimani

      Lounges, restaurants with DJs and live-music bars along Argwings Kodhek Road and around the Yaya Centre.

3. Day 3: Bomas of Kenya and Karura Forest

   Bomas of Kenya, Karura Forest and Kazuri Beads workshop, then Karen in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Bomas of Kenya

      Opened in 1971, Bomas recreates traditional homesteads of several of Kenya's ethnic communities and stages afternoon performances of their songs and dances in a large circular auditorium.

   2. Late morning

      Karura Forest

      Hire a bike and ride the loop to the waterfall in the morning, then have lunch at the café near the main gate.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Sukuma wiki

      Served alongside ugali at canteens and home-style restaurants throughout Nairobi.

   4. Afternoon

      Kazuri Beads workshop

      Founded in 1975, this Karen workshop employs local women, many of them single mothers, to hand-make and paint ceramic beads and pottery.

   5. Evening

      Karen

      Garden pubs and restaurants with relaxed evening drinks rather than clubbing.

Before you go

• Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage: Visits must be booked online in advance through the trust's website, and slots fill up in the safari high season.

If it rains

• Swap in Nairobi Railway Museum (Central Business District): Spend most of your time in the outdoor yard, where you can walk among and inside the old locomotives.
• Swap in Nairobi Gallery (Central Business District): Combine it with the KICC rooftop and the City Market, all within a short walk in daylight.

Where to stay for this itinerary

With 3 nights, Westlands keeps most of this route within easy reach. For a calmer or cheaper base, Karen ($$$$) suits families, couples, quiet stays and luxury. Compare every area.

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 14–17 hours of visiting over 3 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 12 hours in June to 12.2 hours in January.

More or fewer days

• One day in Nairobi
• 2 days in Nairobi

Questions travellers ask