☀️ In the morning● Now
Safari in Nairobi National ParkLions, giraffes and rhinos with skyscrapers in the background; leave at 6 am.
✦ Your self-guided tour
Nairobi
Discover the city at your own pace, with your route and your trip essentials in one place.
5 stops · about 5 h 15 · audio guide12 languages
Highlights
5 stops · about 5 h 15 · audio guide
Photos
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (each author credited) and Google.
Nairobi: your route
Pay once. Access is saved on this device and sent by email.
5 stops · about 5 h 15 · audio guideTransport on the route: about KES 7,000
Included: the full route, audio guide in 12 languages and the travel tools. Not included: museum and monument tickets, transport tickets.
💡 Good to know in Nairobi
Practical tips before you step out.
Luggage
Leave luggage at the airport left-luggage desk or a partner storage point on the route (marked ★). Carry only essentials and your passport.
Internet
Outside EU roaming: buy an eSIM before you travel or a prepaid SIM at an official carrier shop (bring your passport).
Payments
M-Pesa is used for almost everything; visitors can activate it with a passport. Cards at malls and hotels.
Tipping
Tip 10% in restaurants and give safari guides a daily tip.
Water
Drink bottled or filtered water and avoid ice of doubtful origin; check that bottles are sealed.
Safety
Use app or hotel taxis, keep your phone away in the street and avoid walking after dark in empty areas. Traffic drives on the left. Don't walk downtown at night and don't show your phone or watch.
Sockets
Type G sockets, 240 V: bring an adapter.
Toilets
Toilets in malls, museums and cafés; some public ones charge a little and paper goes in the bin, not the bowl.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
Safety in Nairobi
Emergency numbers, common scams and how to get help. Free for everyone.
Emergency999 / 112
Tourist policePolice: 999 · 112 · use app taxis
Hospital and pharmacy search around the city centre — share your location for results near you.
Look for: Chemist / Pharmacy
Common scams and risks
Phone snatching
Thieves on bikes or scooters grab phones from your hand. Step back from the kerb when using maps.
Pickpockets
Crowded trams, metros and queues are their workplace. Bag in front and zipped; phone never in a back pocket.
ATMs and money
Use bank ATMs, not independent ones, and always choose to be charged in the local currency.
Taxis
Use official taxi ranks or apps with a fixed fare. Turn down rides offered inside the airport arrivals hall.
Traffic on the left
Look right first when crossing. "LOOK RIGHT" is painted at many crossings.
After dark
Stay on busy, well-lit streets and use a taxi or ride-hailing app (Uber, Bolt) for longer trips at night. Keep phones and jewellery out of sight in empty areas.
👜 Watch your wallet in
CBD (city centre) · Matatu stops · Street ATMs
🌙 At night, take extra care in
Walking in the city centre · Uhuru Park · River Road
Keep a photo of your passport on your phone, carry just one card and some cash, and stick to busy, well-lit streets.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
General guidance. If you're in danger, call 999 / 112 now. · Nairobi
Everything in Nairobi
All the useful things in one place.
🆕 Today in Nairobi
Friday 23 October · updated automatically every day
18° – 31°Little chance of rain
Experiences in Nairobi
Moments, fun and events, picked for you.
Your interests
🌙 At night
Nyama chomaGrilled meat with kachumbari and ugali, Kenya's weekend meal.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Karura ForestTrails, a waterfall and caves in a protected urban forest.
📅 At the weekend
Maasai MarketA roving craft market of beads, baskets and shuka cloth; the location changes by day.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Kenyan coffeeTaste AA coffees from Nyeri and Kiambu at Westlands roasters.
🏛️ History & culture of Nairobi
How the city came to be, in a few minutes of reading.
Nairobi ( ny-ROH-bee) (Jiji kuu la Nairobi, in Swahili), is the capital and largest city of Kenya, located in the south-central part of the country. As of 2026, it has a population of 5.6 million and a metropolitan population of 15.95 million, making it the 8th most populous city in Africa and the 4th most populous metropolitan area. The city goes beyond its borders and has expanded into neighbouring counties, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in Africa.
Nicknamed the "Green City under the Sun", Nairobi is uniquely notable for being the only capital city in the world that hosts a national park within its boundaries. Its name originates from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, meaning "place of cool waters".
As the national capital, Nairobi is home to the Kenyan Parliament Buildings, the State House and the Supreme Court Building.
Read the full history
The earliest account of Nairobi's history dates back to 1899 when a railway depot was built in a brackish African swamp occupied by a pastoralist people, the Maasai, the sedentary Akamba people, as well as the agriculturalist Kikuyu people who were all displaced by the colonialists. The railway complex and the buildings around it rapidly expanded and urbanized until it became the largest city of Kenya and the country's capital. The name Nairobi comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to 'the place of cool waters'. However, Nairobi is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun".
💬 What travellers say about Nairobi
Tips, experiences and questions from people who've been there.