How to spend 12 hours in Nairobi, Kenya

Background

In August 2024, we took a 3 week trip to East Africa. Travelling for such a period, we decided to keep travel costs to a minimum by booking the cheapest flights we could find. This meant a 3 day journey from the UK to Nairobi, Kenya. This is when we realised this is the perfect opportunity to see more in less time and for no extra cash.

The Trip

3rd country in 3 days! In fact, this was our 3rd continent in 3 days.

We landed in Nairobi at around 6am, but we felt relatively well rested. Our new flight hack is to book the back row of seats, as you can recline without annoying those behind you. Yes, this means possibly last off the plane and last to be served food, but comfort for no extra money was a big win for us at this point.

Once we had passed through a seemingly endless customs queue, our bags were already out on the carousel waiting for us (always a relief). We decided that we would use some of the morning time to freshen ourselves up and relax on the airport floor before heading out for the day.

It was quite interesting to sit and relax and watch the other tourists arrive and be greeted by their safari drivers - who will take them to their luxury hotel - knowing that we still had another night to wait before we were in a bed and that we were going to see more of what these countries had to offer.

One thing we haven’t discussed about our journey so far, is that our plan was to cross the border of Kenya and Uganda via coach. We had completed our East African Tourist Visa to match this information as well. However, this isn’t as simple as it seems. We will be writing a separate blog post about East African coach travel. Looking online, buses look relatively simple to sort. One that kept coming up for us was a company called MASH POA. Their website is relatively user friendly and you’re able to pick your date and time (2 weeks in advance) as well as a seat. However, payment then becomes an issue (for us tourists). You are required to pay through MPesa (a mobile money payment method), which only is available with a local sim and number. We therefore decided that we would just go to the bus company’s office and try and book our coach that way. However, the company we had been looking at had apparently sold out for the night we were looking for. It’s safe to say this did add some slight stress for us but we quickly found another company (Trinity Express) who don’t have an online booking system, and headed for their office.

We obviously were a little sceptical, especially when the bus company’s office is down a busy side street. As soon as we were out the car, we were met by a gentleman who took us upstairs to the office where we were told that there were only 2 seats left, thankfully they were together. We then realised it was cash only payments and we did not have enough Kenyan Shillings. The same gentleman took us down the road to an ATM and also escorted us back to the office so we could complete the payment.

With tickets secured, bags safely stored in the office (hopefully), a return time to board the coach and a gentleman with a good tip, we went to explore Nairobi. Being our first African city, we kept our wits about us and again used Uber to get around - thankful that we did as our driver told us of some areas close by where we should not walk as 'tourists'.

Our first stop was the Nairobi Giraffe Centre, in the southern part of the city. Anna had been before, in 2019, but was still as excited as Luke, who was seeing it for the first time. Once we paid the entry fee, 1,500 Kenyan Shillings each (around £9), we collected the feeding pellets and joined the crowds.

This was an incredible experience, albeit with all the tourists, but we had our first taste of African animals on this trip. The giraffes would gently take the pellets from between your fingers, leaving behind some slobber and quickly be looking for its next one.

The centre currently has 10 giraffes, with 6 having been born there, but other animals such as warthogs, antelopes and on rare occasions lions can frequent the area. We saw most of the giraffes, some of which were only a few months to a year old, but only fed 4. This was due to them being the hungry ones at the time.

Once satisfied and out of pellets, we sat in the cafe and got a drink and hotdog each, before heading off on the nature trail walk. Here you can see warthog dens, rivers and hike up to a viewpoint before returning back to the lively attraction.

We then called for another Uber, which would take us over to the National Museum of Kenya. This was an interesting museum, full of many exhibitions such as evolution, the history of Kenya, African mammals and our personal favourite the circles of life gallery where you get to view different social interactions, and cultural activities during the life stages of man from childhood, youth, adulthood and ancestral stage.

The museum is also home to a snake park, which we took a look around afterwards, much to Luke's demise. The site was opened in January 1961 as a research centre on reptiles and breeding of snakes, but now also serves as a home for rescued and threatened reptiles.

Once finished looking around the site, we grabbed some food and drink from the on site cafe, as well as some water and snacks for the journey ahead, and then headed back to the bus company office. We were told to meet back at 7pm, for an 8pm departure. Due to being finished with our day in Nairobi and the sun having set, we arrived there for 6:30pm. We were greeted by someone who took our passport details and checked our tickets before asking us to sit in the waiting room with the rest of the travellers, which there were many.

At around 7:45pm, the staff started taking our bigger luggage, that would go under the coach and people started moving towards the bus, that was on the busy street outside. At 8pm most of the seats were taken and our driver boarded the coach and we all came together in a prayer - Common place on all African buses in the region, at least with this company.

First impressions of this coach was that it was extremely basic. Being advertised as having charger ports, AC and free WiFi, we were quick to realise this was not the case. However, the seats were fine and the coach looked like it would get us and our bags there in one piece.

The busy side street we were on became busier with coaches, and us leaving on time wasn't looking likely. At around 8:20pm we started to weave our way down the street and onto the main road. At this moment it was a cacophony of horns blaring and lights blinding. We passed by other coach companies, also with an 8pm departure, and slowly but surely we made our way onto more main roads, and by about 10pm the city of Nairobi was behind us. Now to sit back, try to relax, and enjoy the journey.

Getting Around

This was another city where the Uber app works perfectly. They offer a service called ChapChap, which is a more affordable option and despite some cars looking older, they still get you there in a reliable way. We will always choose the more affordable option if possible.

Useful Links

Our map of the day