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Voykit pocket guide · Kenya

Nairobi

Nairobi is a two-night base, not a sight list: land, sleep, do one museum or giraffe morning, and keep the afternoons free for traffic — safari flights leave early from Wilson, across the city from the international airport.

Nairobi's sights are few and spread over long, congested roads. The trips that go wrong are the ones that plan two neighbourhoods in one afternoon, walk after dark, or take a safari flight the same morning as an international landing. Five short clusters cover a first stay; a ride-hailing car or a hotel driver joins them, and the last day ends with the bags already in the car.

Nairobi CBD and City Ma…Museum HillWestlandsKarenGiraffe CentreCBD hotelsWestlands2.5 kmpins: sleep areas · dots: places
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
Kenya
Best months
Jan · Feb · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Dec
Time zone
Africa/Nairobi
Stay
1 days: Museum Hill morning, then rest

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
KES
Money
Keep KES 3,000 in small notes for tips and small shops; withdraw at ATMs inside malls or banks, never on a dark street.
Daily spend
Budget KES 3,000–6,000 excl. bed · Mid KES 6,000–15,000 excl. bed · High KES 15,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
Safaricom (best park coverage) and Airtel sell SIMs at JKIA arrivals; registration needs your passport.
Emergency
Police / fire / ambulance 999 or 112 · Kenya Red Cross ambulance 1199 · Tourist police Check locally · AMREF Flying Doctors See membership card
Plugs
Types G · 240 V · 50 Hz · UK-style three-pin sockets; lodges on solar may switch power off at night.
Tipping
Safari guide: About US$10–20 per guest per day — check with your operator.; Camp staff tip box: About US$10–15 per guest per day.; Restaurant: 10% if no service charge.; Porters: KES 100–200 a bag.; Mount Kenya or Kilimanjaro crew: Agree the tip scale before the climb.
Water
Not drinkable from the tap. Lodges give filtered water; bring a refillable bottle.
Toilets
Western toilets in hotels and lodges; long-drop toilets at some park gates and bush stops. Carry tissue and sanitiser on game-drive days.

Get in

By air

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)
NBO to Westlands: one ride-hail car or a hotel driver, 45–90 minutes depending on traffic — the risk is not the distance but a late landing with no pickup arranged and an unlit road at night.

Get around

Ride-hailing car or hotel driver between clusters; walk only inside a cluster and only by day.

Passes
No pass. Fares are shown in the app before you ride; agree a fare first with any street taxi.
Late at night
No metro; the commuter rail is not a visitor option. Ride-hailing runs late, but confirm the driver and plate before you get in.

See and do

  1. 01Giraffe Centre

    Feed giraffes from a raised platform: about an hour, best at opening before school groups; buy the feed pellets at the gate.

  2. 02Nairobi National Museum

    Kenya's main museum: human-origins and natural-history galleries, with the snake park on the same hill. Two to three hours indoors, a good rain or heat plan.

  3. 03Karen Blixen Museum

    The colonial farmhouse of the Danish writer Karen Blixen in the Karen suburb: a guided visit of about an hour, best paired with a garden lunch a short walk north.

  4. 04City Market

    The covered market in the CBD for crafts, flowers and produce: go in the morning, agree prices first and carry the phone in a front pocket.

Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.

Eat

Java House (Westlands)
A local coffee-and-breakfast chain on Westlands Road: an easy first meal after landing, and an air-conditioned rest stop.
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden
A garden restaurant on Karen Road near the museum: lunch between the museum and the giraffes; book ahead for weekends.

Sleep

CBD hotels
For an early flight or a bus: central, near City Market, but noisy and not for walking at night.
Westlands
First night: hotels with a 24-hour desk, cafés and malls within a short ride, and the shortest road to the museum; choose a hotel with a named driver rather than a walk-up guesthouse.

Language

English and Swahili are both official, and English is spoken by guides, hotel staff and most urban Kenyans. Swahili greetings open doors; Sheng, a Nairobi slang mix, is what you hear on matatus. Over 40 local languages are spoken at home.

  • 'Jambo' (hello), 'asante sana' (thank you very much), 'pole pole' (slowly), 'bei gani?' (how much?).
  • WhatsApp is how operators, drivers and lodges communicate.

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake and 'habari?' (how are you?); take time before business; avoid: Skipping greetings to ask a question
  • Elders: Use 'mzee' for older men and 'mama' for older women; avoid: Calling elders by first name
  • Hands: Give and receive with the right hand or both hands; avoid: Passing things with the left hand
  • Photos: Ask first and accept a no; agree fees in villages; avoid: Shooting people from the safari vehicle without asking
  • Time: Allow for 'Kenyan time' socially; safari departures are punctual; avoid: Showing irritation at delays
  • Dress: Smart-casual in cities, covered on the coast; avoid: Swimwear off the beach

Red lines

  • Do not photograph government buildings, police or the military.
  • Ask before photographing people; some will ask for a fee.
  • Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Kenya: be discreet in public.

Scams (Kenya page)

  • Fake eTA sites: Only etakenya.go.ke; any site charging US$60+ is an agent.
  • Airport 'safari desk' deals: Book with a KATO-member operator in advance; never pay cash deposits to street agents.
  • Sob-story conmen: Refugees, students or 'hotel staff' asking for money or a drink — keep walking.
  • Beach boys: Book boat trips through your hotel; agree prices in writing.
  • Mara 'migration guaranteed' promises: Herds move with rain; no operator can guarantee a crossing on your dates.
  • Fake police stops: Ask for ID and a receipt; call your operator.

One and two days

1 day

The first day of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Museum Hill, lunch in the CBD

  1. 08:30Nairobi National Museum
  2. City Market (optional)
  3. 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (CBD)
  4. Hotel or AC café 13:30–16:00; be back at the hotel before dusk.

2 days

The first two days of the timed plan.

Day 1 — Museum Hill, lunch in the CBD

  1. 08:30Nairobi National Museum
  2. City Market (optional)
  3. 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (CBD)
  4. Hotel or AC café 13:30–16:00; be back at the hotel before dusk.

Day 2 — Karen, a garden lunch, the giraffes

  1. 08:30Karen Blixen Museum
  2. Karen Blixen Coffee Garden
  3. Giraffe Centre (optional)
  4. Evening: dinner at the hotel or by car; book the ride back before you go.

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Nairobi

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/nairobi). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.