Nairobi Travel Guide 2026: What to Know

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Before you go: Nairobi’s honest safety picture. Nairobi has a real, well-documented crime problem, opportunistic muggings, phone and bag snatching, and smash-and-grab theft at traffic lights, the old “Nairobbery” nickname is fair context, not ancient history. That sits alongside a background terrorism risk and millions of trouble-free visits every year to a heavily-visited safari-gateway capital. Use Uber, Bolt, or Little rather than walking, especially after dark or through the Central Business District at night; keep car doors locked, windows up, and phones and bags out of sight in traffic; stick to Westlands, Karen, Gigiri, Kilimani, and Lavington as the safer-leaning bases and skip Eastleigh and Kibera outside an organized, community-led tour. Check your own government’s current travel advisory before you book anything, this guide is not a substitute for it.

Nairobi is Kenya’s capital and East Africa’s business hub, founded in 1899 as a supply depot for the Uganda Railway and now sitting at roughly 1,795 meters in the highlands, high enough that the climate stays mild year-round and malaria risk in the city itself is low. Most visitors get 1-2 days here before or after a safari, and that’s the honest, realistic way to plan: enough time for Nairobi National Park, the elephant orphanage, and the Karen sights, then the real payoff further out at the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, or Lake Nakuru.

Nairobi at a glance
Days needed 1-2 in the city, plus a safari extension
Best months June-October and January-February (dry); March-May is the long rains
Visa eTA required for almost all visitors, apply at etakenya.go.ke
Currency Kenyan shilling (KES), roughly 130 to the US dollar (verify)
Altitude About 1,795m, mild highland climate, low malaria risk in the city
Safety level US State Dept Level 2, “Exercise Increased Caution”

The eTA visa, and why “visa on arrival” is outdated

Kenya replaced visa-on-arrival with a mandatory Electronic Travel Authorization in January 2024, and that’s still current policy. Almost every visitor, including US and UK citizens, applies online in advance at the official portal, etakenya.go.ke, standard processing runs around $30 and takes about 72 hours, so apply several days before you fly rather than at the airport. Your passport needs at least 6 months of validity beyond your arrival date. Citizens of East African Community states are exempt, that’s not relevant for most Western travelers but worth knowing the eTA isn’t universal.

The sights: a capital that borders a national park

Nairobi National Park is the headline attraction and genuinely unusual: it’s the only national park bordering a capital city, its fence sits roughly 7km from downtown, and classic photos show lions or giraffes grazing with the skyline behind them. It has lions, black rhino, leopards, buffalo, and zebra, but no resident elephants, the park’s only wildlife corridor runs south into the Kitengela plains, not toward the city.

Inside the park, book ahead for the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s elephant nursery, public visits are now restricted to an 11am-noon window daily. Nearby in Karen, the Giraffe Centre lets you hand-feed Rothschild’s giraffes for a modest fee, don’t confuse it with Giraffe Manor next door, which is a separate, ultra-exclusive overnight-guests-only hotel. Round out a Karen day with the Karen Blixen Museum, the “Out of Africa” author’s farmhouse, and the Kazuri Beads workshop. Elsewhere, Bomas of Kenya stages live traditional dance, the Nairobi National Museum covers the country’s human-origins fossil record, and Karura Forest offers an easy, safe walk to a waterfall inside the city. Full detail is in the things to do guide and the hidden gems guide .

Getting there and around

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is the main international gateway, about 15-18km southeast of downtown, budget 25-45 minutes for the transfer depending on traffic. Wilson Airport is a separate, smaller airport in Langata that handles domestic and safari-charter flights to the Mara, Amboseli, and other parks, don’t confuse the two if you’re connecting to a safari. Once you’re in the city, ride-hailing apps (Uber, Bolt, Little) are the default for tourists over walking or street taxis; matatus (shared minibuses) are colorful but carry real pickpocket and driving-safety caveats, and boda-bodas (motorbike taxis) are the riskiest option for snatch-theft. Nairobi’s traffic is notoriously heavy, build in real buffer time for any airport run.

Money and where to stay

The Kenyan shilling is the currency, and M-PESA, the mobile-money system, is genuinely dominant in everyday commerce, though cards cover hotels, malls, and restaurants fine for a standard visit. Tipping runs around 10% in tourist-facing restaurants. For a base, Westlands is the central default for dining and convenience, Karen and Langata sit quieter and closer to the safari sights and Wilson Airport, Gigiri is the safest and quietest option near the UN district, and Kilimani and Lavington offer a calmer, more residential feel. Full picks, including the historic Sarova Stanley and Fairmont The Norfolk, are in the best places to stay guide .

Food and when to go

Nyama choma, grilled goat or beef sold by weight, is the national dish, paired with ugali and kachumbari; add sukuma wiki, chapati, mandazi, and Kenyan chai and coffee to the list, and Tusker beer with a plate of nyama choma is a genuine local pairing. The Carnivore restaurant in Langata is the one truly iconic, safe-to-name institution, an all-you-can-eat meat buffet running since 1980. Details on where else to eat are in the best foods guide .

The dry months, June through October and January through February, are best for both the city and any safari extension, the long rains fall March-May and the shorter rains October-December. Whenever you go, plan Nairobi as the springboard: the Maasai Mara is a 5-6 hour drive or 45-minute flight from Wilson Airport, with the Great Migration river crossings concentrated late July through September; Amboseli, with its Kilimanjaro backdrop, is 4-5 hours by road or a 40-minute flight; Lake Nakuru is a 3.5-4 hour drive, historically known for flamingos though numbers have shifted toward Lake Bogoria in recent years, worth knowing before you promise yourself a guaranteed pink lake.

Where to go deeper

Read more: the Nairobi travel tips guide covers M-PESA and altitude basics in more depth, and the Nairobi day trips guide rounds out the sights above.

For the advisory itself, read the current guidance from the US State Department or the UK FCDO before finalizing any plans, and see Kenya’s official eTA portal before you book flights.