Shopping in Nairobi, Kenya, and why you should actually make time for it

Here’s why you should be shopping in Nairobi. As I write this, I’m wondering if all metropolitan cities around the world have good shopping malls/options. Because Nairobi, Johannesburg, and Barcelona all fit the criteria!

When you visit Nairobi (and click here to see why you should), you won’t necessarily think about shopping as something to do. However, if you’ve got the time, you definitely should explore this avenue. This is for two reasons.

Shopping in Nairobi

The first is that going to a mall or supermarket actually gives you a better idea of what a place is like. You’ll see residents going about their regular business, not just tourists. You’ll also get to explore the different brands and products that may not be available in your country.

Second is that Nairobi has soooo many options of things. And I say this coming from Cape Town. They’ve got a ton of different (and better) options for teas, sauces and condiments, snacks… Everything. Then you move to the clothes shopping. We saw quite a few brands that we don’t get in Cape Town (for example, Decathlon).

The prices aren’t that different to South Africa in terms of clothing, which is a disadvantage compared to Spain, where the prices were insanely affordable even for name brands. Regardless, it’s still nice to browse! You don’t always have to buy something 🤭

The places we’d recommend visiting are Westgate for a fancy-ish mall experience, and Sarit Centre for a more local vibe (they also have a market once a week where you can buy souvenirs, gifts and locally crafted things).

Alternatively, visit Village Market for an outdoorsy mall, that’s also where you’ll find the men who can make you the necklace with your name on a grain of rice!

And then lastly, Diamond Plaza. There aren’t too many stores to visit here, but we liked the souvenirs and gift buying experience more here than at the Sarit Centre market. It was less crowded and I actually got time to browse things properly, call my mum to see what she’d like, chat with the seller and brush up on my Swahili!

In contrast, the Sarit Centre market was a bit overwhelming because we couldn’t just browse. There were tons of sellers and each of them would call us to go towards their store as we walked by. You would get more options there, though. Especially for paintings and things. At Diamond Plaza, you can always refresh with sugarcane juice afterwords!

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