Africa's safari capital — a city where lions roam a national park within sight of the CBD, and the world's greatest wildlife migration begins just a few hours' drive away.
Nairobi is unlike any other capital city. At 1,795 metres above sea level — higher than the summit of Ben Nevis — it sits in equatorial highlands where the air is cool, the skies are enormous, and the surrounding landscape is a mosaic of savannah, highland forest, and the Great Rift Valley. Nairobi National Park, just 7km from the city centre, is the only wildlife reserve in the world that borders a capital city — lion, rhino, leopard, giraffe, and buffalo roam against a backdrop of downtown skyscrapers. It's an image so unlikely that first-time visitors often simply stand and stare. The Giraffe Centre in the Karen suburb offers face-level encounters with endangered Rothschild's giraffes — a morning here, feeding them from a raised platform, is impossible to forget. The Karen Blixen Museum, in the colonial farmhouse that was the setting for Out of Africa, preserves an evocative piece of East African history. As a staging post for the wider region, Nairobi is peerless: the Maasai Mara game reserve, home to the Great Migration, is an hour's light-aircraft hop away; Amboseli, with its elephants and Kilimanjaro views, is a half-day drive. But Nairobi repays exploration in itself — the food scene has exploded in sophistication, the art and music scenes are dynamic, and the people carry a warmth and pride that makes the city feel genuinely welcoming.
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| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Visa (UK passport) | eVisa required. Apply online at evisa.go.ke — approximately $50 USD for a single-entry 90-day tourist visa. Apply at least 2 weeks before travel and print your approval letter to show on arrival. |
| Currency | Kenyan Shilling (KES). USD is widely accepted in safari lodges and tourist venues. Cards accepted at hotels and larger restaurants; carry cash for markets, taxis and smaller establishments. M-Pesa mobile payments are ubiquitous. |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (East Africa Time) — no daylight saving. Currently 3 hours ahead of the UK in winter (GMT), 2 hours ahead when the UK observes BST. |
| Language | English and Swahili (both official). English is widely spoken in business, government, and tourist contexts throughout the country. A greeting in Swahili ("Jambo" or "Habari") is always warmly received. |
| Best time to visit | July–October for the Great Migration in the Mara. January–February (dry season) is excellent for general wildlife viewing. April–June (long rains) and November (short rains) bring lower prices and fewer crowds. |
Nairobi sits at 1,795 metres in the equatorial highlands — the air is cool and the year splits into wet and dry seasons rather than summer and winter. For safari travellers, two clear windows stand out: the hot dry spell in January and February (great game viewing) and the cool dry stretch from June to September, when the Great Wildebeest Migration peaks in the Maasai Mara. The long rains (March–May) make dirt tracks muddy and are best avoided.
Average daytime high / overnight low. Green outline = great month to visit.
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