Excursions And Short Trips
Have a free morning in Nairobi, a day before your safari or a few hours before your flight home? Our Nairobi excursions are the perfect way to fill it. Feed giraffes at eye level, meet orphaned baby elephants, step into Karen Blixen’s former home or spend a relaxed day among the tea farms of the highlands, many of them just minutes from Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages.
Each excursion can be enjoyed on its own or added to any safari. Just let us know in advance, and we’ll arrange the transport, timings and bookings so it fits smoothly into your itinerary.
🦒 Wildlife Encounters
Hand-feed endangered Rothschild giraffes at the Giraffe Centre, watch baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, and see lions and rhinos against the city skyline in Nairobi National Park.
🏛 Heritage & Culture
Visit the Karen Blixen Museum, the farmhouse made famous by Out of Africa, and the Kazuri Beads Factory, where local women hand-make ceramic beads, just a short walk away.
🎨 Art, Crafts & Shopping
Browse African crafts at Utamaduni, discover treasures from around the world at the House of Treasures, and see bronze sculptures cast by hand at the Matbronze art foundry.
🍃 Countryside & Food
Tour Kiambethu Tea Farm and Brown’s Cheese in the Limuru highlands, take a half-day Nairobi city tour, or enjoy lunch in the gardens of Karen Blixen Coffee Garden.
✓ Add Any Excursion to Your Itinerary
Tell us which excursions you’d like when you book, or at least a few days before you arrive. We’ll fit them around your flights and safari, arrange a private driver-guide, and book any entry tickets for you.
Some visits, such as the elephant orphanage, have set visiting times or limited space, so requesting them early helps us secure your place.
Tell us which excursions you’d love to add, and we’ll plan them into your trip.
Things to Do in Nairobi
Our Nairobi Excursions
Most are just minutes from Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages. Choose the ones you love and we’ll add them to your itinerary.
Wildlife · 4 km away
The Giraffe Centre
Come face to face with the endangered Rothschild giraffe. From a raised platform, you hand-feed the giraffes at eye level while warthogs wander around your feet, and learn how the centre protects this rare subspecies, found only in East Africa.
- Open: daily, 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
- Good for: families and photographers
- Time needed: about 1 hour
Wildlife · 30 minutes away
David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Watch orphaned baby elephants enjoy their bottles of milk and play in the mud at the world-famous elephant and rhino orphanage. The keepers share each orphan’s rescue story, and you can even adopt an elephant.
- Open: daily, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon only
- Time needed: about 1 hour
- Booking: required in advance
Heritage · 500 m away
Karen Blixen Museum
Step into the farmhouse where Danish author Karen Blixen lived and wrote Out of Africa. A guided tour takes you through rooms in their original décor and props from the 1985 Oscar-winning film, and the grounds still hold equipment from her coffee farm.
- Open: daily, 9:30 am – 6:00 pm, incl. holidays
- Includes: guided tour of the house and grounds
- Time needed: about 1 hour
Crafts · 10-minute walk
Kazuri Beads Factory & Pottery Centre
Founded in 1975 to give work to single mothers, Kazuri now employs over 300 local women. Watch them shape, fire and hand-paint ceramic beads and pottery, then browse the shop for jewellery, pottery and leather bags.
- Where: next to the Karen Blixen Museum
- Time needed: about 1 hour
- Good for: gifts that support local women
Best of Karen · Half day
Half-Day Nairobi Tour
Three highlights in one morning: the Karen Blixen Museum, the baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust during the 11 am visit, and feeding giraffes at the Giraffe Centre, with a private driver-guide throughout.
- Includes: pick-up and drop-off in Nairobi
- Time needed: about 4 hours
- Ideal for: a free day before or after safari
Wildlife · Half-day safari
Nairobi National Park
The only national park beside a capital city. In a private 4×4 with a pop-up roof, look for lions, black rhinos, buffalo, giraffes and zebras against the city skyline, visit the Ivory Burning Monument and spot some of the park’s 400-plus bird species.
- Vehicle: private 4×4 with pop-up roof
- Time needed: about 4 hours
- Best: early morning, when animals are active
Countryside · About 1 hour away
Kiambethu Tea Farm
Spend a day at the family farm of one of Kenya’s first tea growers. Learn how tea is made over a cup on arrival, walk through indigenous forest where colobus monkeys live, then enjoy drinks on the veranda and a three-course lunch made with produce from the garden.
- Pick-up: 10:00 am from your Nairobi hotel
- Includes: farm talk, forest walk and lunch
- Time needed: most of the day
Food · Limuru highlands
Brown’s Cheese Farm Tour
Drive through tea and flower farms to Kenya’s award-winning cheesemaker, crafting 17 natural cheeses since 1979. Tour the factory, taste cheeses with breads and chutneys, and buy at factory prices. Kids can even try milking a cow.
- Tasting: 5 cheeses with a drink (min. 4 guests)
- With lunch: 8 cheeses and a 3-course lunch (min. 6 guests)
Dining · Karen
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden
Enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner on Karen Blixen’s old coffee estate. Hattons serves à la carte and buffet menus made with fresh Kenyan produce, while the bar offers a fireplace, cocktails and a pergola beside the heated pool.
- Where: a short walk from the museum and Kazuri
- Perfect for: lunch between excursions
Shopping · 10 minutes away
Utamaduni Craft Centre
Around 18 craft shops under one roof in a large house on Bogani East Road. Browse Kisii soapstone, African fabrics, kiondo baskets, beaded glassware, Maasai designs and crafts made by former street children: the best place in Nairobi for gifts.
- Open: daily, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Time needed: 1–2 hours
Shopping · 5 minutes away
House of Treasures
A striking two-storey gallery set in mature gardens, filled by a mother-and-daughter team with finds from the markets of Timbuktu, Samarkand and Bali: antique and modern furniture, fashion, jewellery, African artefacts and unusual homeware.
- Where: Karen, Nairobi
- Time needed: about 1 hour
Art · 20 minutes away
Matbronze Art Foundry
Kenya’s first bronze foundry, founded in 1987 by Denis Mathews. See how wildlife sculptures are cast by hand using the ancient “lost wax” method, with bronze blended on site, then explore the gallery of finished pieces.
- Open: gallery open 7 days a week
- Time needed: about 1 hour
