13 Best Things to Do in Nairobi (Ranked by Us, Tried by Us)

Here are the best things to do in Nairobi. Okay so, when people think of Nairobi, it’s usually as a stopover. A place you pass through on the way to a safari or the coast. But we are here to tell you that Nairobi is absolutely worth staying for. We spent a good chunk of time intentionally exploring this city, and it surprised us in the best way possible. Metropolitan cities like Nairobi are underrated because people assume they’re boring, but that’s exactly why the range of activities is so vast.

We visited museums, went on a safari within city limits, fed giraffes, watched baby elephants play in the mud, found people hand-engraving names on grains of rice, watched glass being blown into art, walked through ancient forests, and even stumbled upon a hidden viewpoint that looks out over the Great Rift Valley. Not bad for a city most people barely stop in.

This is our ranked list of the best things to do in Nairobi, counting down to our absolute number one. All of these are personal experiences. We actually went. We’ll link to the full blog post for each one if you want to go deeper.

Things to Do in Nairobi

13. Shopping in Nairobi

Okay, hear us out. Shopping isn’t necessarily what you think about when planning a Nairobi trip, but it’s genuinely worth doing, for two reasons. First: going to a mall or supermarket gives you a real feel for what a place is like. You’ll see residents going about everyday life, not just tourists. Second: Nairobi has so many options, and some of them you simply won’t find back home.

Coming from Cape Town, we were genuinely impressed. Sauces, teas, condiments, snacks, clothing brands we’d never seen before (hello, Decathlon). Our recommendations: Westgate for a fancier mall experience, Sarit Centre for a more local vibe (they also have a weekly market with souvenirs and locally crafted goods), and Village Market for an outdoorsy feel. And that’s also where you’ll find the grain of rice guy!

👉 Read the full Shopping in Nairobi post

12. Grain of Rice at Village Market

Probably the most delightfully touristy thing we did, and we are absolutely not sorry. While exploring the Village Market in Gigiri, we came across an artist doing something we had genuinely never seen before: handwriting names onto a single grain of rice with a remarkably steady hand and a level of patience we simply cannot relate to. Names of up to 10 words, with a tiny Kenyan flag on the other side.

Watching him work was mesmerising. The letters were perfectly placed on something that barely exists. We had each other’s names written. Saleha wears Aliasgher’s, Aliasgher wears Saleha’s. Each grain was sealed inside a small glass vial with a magnifying gel (you choose the colour), and turned into a necklace (you also choose the chain). One of the most unique souvenirs we’ve ever collected on any trip. Great way to support local artists too.

👉 Read the full Grain of Rice post

11. Nairobi National Park

The only national park in the world located within a city’s boundaries. And yes, that means you can spot lions and giraffes with a literal city skyline behind them. That image of a giraffe wandering across open grassland with Nairobi’s skyscrapers in the distance is one that stays with you long after the trip is over.

We booked our safari here and started at the rather unfriendly hour of 5:30am. Sleepy eyes, groggy bodies, bright van. But worth it. We saw zebras, giraffes, antelope, buffalo, hippos and so many birds. As with any safari, animal sightings are never guaranteed, but that’s part of it. The drive into the park feels slightly surreal. One minute you’re in a bustling city, the next you’re on open grassland looking for wildlife.

👉 Read the full Nairobi National Park post

10. Nairobi Giraffe Centre

Saleha has been a giraffe fan since childhood, and the Giraffe Centre was one of her favourite places growing up. So revisiting it as an adult was something special. Aliasgher, who still aspires to be as tall as a giraffe, was equally thrilled.

Unlike many wildlife experiences that involve long drives and hours of waiting, the Giraffe Centre is surprisingly straightforward. You walk in, climb onto a raised wooden platform, and within a few minutes you are standing eye-to-eye with giraffes. And they are enormous. Photographs do not fully communicate the scale of a giraffe until one leans directly toward you looking for food pellets. Their tongues are also much longer than expected, which becomes immediately apparent once feeding starts.

Established in 1979 to support conservation of the endangered Rothschild giraffe, this place works for every kind of visitor: families, international tourists, school groups, older visitors, locals. One of those rare attractions that actually feels accessible to everyone.

👉 Read the full Giraffe Centre post

9. Mamba Village

Mamba Village isn’t something you’ll typically find on the standard lists of things to do in Nairobi, which is exactly why you should go. It’s East Africa’s largest crocodile farm, and it also has tortoises and a range of other reptiles. I remembered it from childhood, and it seems to have grown quite a bit since then.

We tried to visit one afternoon after work. Bad idea. Langata Road traffic is intense. We turned around, went the next morning, and had a great time. The entrance fee is KES 200 to 350 for residents and roughly $10 for non-residents. You can walk through the enclosures with a guide (tip-based, no extra fee), and we’d really recommend going with the guide. He was brilliant at answering questions and, importantly, brave enough to demonstrate that the crocodiles were very much not asleep. If you’ve ever seen crocs in real life, you’ll know they look crusty and almost unalive. That’s just them conserving energy. The second they sense prey, that all changes very quickly.

👉 Read the full Mamba Village post

8. Nairobi National Museum

We have a habit of visiting museums wherever we travel. We’re nerds and we own it. The Nairobi National Museum absolutely did not disappoint. We went expecting to spend an hour before heading to the Museum of Illusions, and we just kept moving from one section to another, finding something new at every turn.

It covers Kenya’s wildlife, birds, fossils, animal bones, human evolution, history and culture all under one roof. One minute you’re looking at animal displays, the next you’re standing in front of ancient fossils or learning about human evolution over millions of years. The curators have also added really detailed information placards that make a self-guided tour very easy and rewarding. Even if museums aren’t normally your thing, the animal displays and skeleton collections are genuinely fascinating, especially with kids.

👉 Read the full Nairobi National Museum post

7. Museum of Illusions

In the last few years, these museums have been popping up in cities around the world, and Nairobi is one of the lucky ones to have gotten one. Located on Swaminarayan Road, the Museum of Illusions is open 10am to 10pm, which makes it incredibly easy to fit into your day.

Tickets are 1,700 KES (~$13), slightly pricier than a regular museum, but you’ll see why. There are attendants at every station to guide you through and help you get the best photo. Our favourite experiences were the optical illusions: hanging off a balcony, the chair-sitting one where one person looks tiny and the other a giant, the head on a platter, the different coloured rooms, and a bridge that makes you feel like you’re completely tripping because of all the lights and movement. It’s the kind of place where you walk out buzzing, and your camera roll is absolutely chaotic.

👉 Read the full Museum of Illusions post

6. Karura Forest

If you’re a forest person, this is a must. Both of us really enjoy the fresh, crisp air that only forests can give you, and Karura delivered in full. There are two things to do here: start with breakfast at the River Café (a stunning wooden structure completely surrounded by greenery, and the portions are impressive too), then head into the forest itself.

The forest has an orange waterfall, the historic Mau Mau Caves, and trails through beautiful, thick indigenous woodland. There’s also a bike hire option if you’d rather cycle through. One important note: there are two entrances, and Google Maps tends to take you to the hiking entrance rather than the café one, so plan ahead.

Security will also check your car and bags at the entrance, because no plastic waste is allowed inside the forest. We loved that.

👉 Read the full Karura Forest post

5. Elephant Sanctuary (Sheldrick Wildlife Trust)

This was one of the highlights of our entire Nairobi trip. We combined it with the National Park game drive and the Giraffe Centre, a full day dedicated to some of Kenya’s most iconic animals. By the end we were exhausted, and it was one of the most memorable days of the trip.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescues and rehabilitates orphaned elephants, many who have lost their mothers to poaching, drought, or conflict, before eventually returning them to the wild. As the elephants are brought out for feeding, the keepers introduce them one by one: their names, where they came from, how old they are, what they’ve been through. Some of the stories are heartbreaking. But there’s also so much hope in knowing that these people are showing up for these animals every single day. You can tell how much care each elephant receives, and the experience is both educational and surprisingly personal.

You have to pre-arrange this one. It only happens at specific times and for a limited number of visitors.

👉 Read the full Elephant Sanctuary post

4. Kazuri Beads

We initially expected a small jewellery shop and a quick stop before moving on. Instead, it became one of the quieter but more memorable experiences of our trip. Kazuri, meaning small and beautiful in Swahili, is a handmade ceramic jewellery brand based in the leafy suburb of Karen, and from the moment you step inside, the colour is overwhelming (in the best way). Long wooden displays filled with hand-painted ceramic beads in greens, blues, reds, yellows, and earthy tones that feel distinctly East African.

No two pieces are exactly the same. You can see it in the small variations in shape, paint, and texture that make each piece feel individual rather than factory-made. The team takes you on a walking tour of the workshop, showing you each stage of production: shaping clay by hand, painting, glazing, firing, and finally threading into necklaces and bracelets. Groups of women sit working, chatting, and laughing at each stage. It’s the kind of place that stays with you.

👉 Read the full Kazuri Beads post

3. Great Rift Valley Viewpoint

Here is a hidden gem in Nairobi, one that won’t pop up in all those lists of things to do when you visit, but we highly recommend it. It’s called the Great Rift Valley Viewpoint, and as the name suggests, it has breathtaking panoramic views of the Great Rift, with visibility stretching as far as the eye can see.

The viewpoint is easily findable by searching “The Great Rift Valley Viewpoint” on Google. Once you arrive, you may be a bit disoriented. The actual spot is a few metres from the pin, and there are no signs marking the landmark, which can feel a little anticlimactic at first. But walk a few metres forward and you’ll see a house on your right. It belongs to a man called Evans, who has built a wonderful space for viewing the Rift. He’ll also share details of what you’re looking at and explain the different landmarks. There are no official fees, but we tipped Evans for taking our pictures and acting as our guide.

It takes about an hour from the Nairobi City Centre with no traffic. Leave early, before or at 6:45am, because the route has a lot of trucks. The road is mostly tarmacked, with the last stretch through a village that’s sandy and unpaved. Totally worth the drive.

2. Kitengela Glass

You know those glass-blowing videos that do insanely well on social media? Where someone uses thousands of degrees of heat to turn a molten blob into something breathtaking? That’s Kitengela Glass. We came across their store at the Village Market and it was impossible not to go in. End-to-end shelves of stunning glass pieces in every shape and size. Jugs, tumblers, bowls, and they also make larger commissions like furniture and fencing.

Kitengela Glass started in the early 90s and is one of the world’s longest running recycled glass studios. Every piece is handcrafted from recycled glass. Their workshop is about 50 minutes from Nairobi, where you can actually participate in the glassmaking. A 30-minute glassblowing experience costs KES 5,000 (~$40) and the 1-hour version is KES 10,000 (~$80). There are also more affordable options: watching the process costs just KES 300, and you can blow a bubble or shape a paperweight for a little more.

We didn’t get to visit the workshop this time (Nairobi traffic is no joke), but it’s top of our list for next time.

👉 Read the full Kitengela Glass post

1. Drumroll… Wait, No. All of It.

Honestly, there is no single number one, because the best thing about Nairobi is how wildly different all of these experiences are from each other. You can go from a morning in a forest to an afternoon watching crocs to an evening at a museum of illusions, and somehow it all makes sense. That variety is the thing.

If you’re still on the fence about whether Nairobi deserves a dedicated trip (not just a stopover), go read our full post on exactly that. We went for a conference and came back completely hooked. The food alone (oh my goodness, the food) is reason enough to visit. But the activities, the warmth, the pace, the creativity of this city… it all adds up to something genuinely unforgettable.

Nairobi is not a place you pass through. It’s a place you actually go to.

👉 Read: Why You Should Visit Nairobi

Have you been to Nairobi? Which of these would you add to your list first? Let us know in the comments below, and if you’ve already been, we’d love to hear what surprised you most about the city.

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