Nairobi National Park
Nairobi National Park: Gates, Hours & Entry
Which gate to use, when to arrive, and how the fees work — everything you need to get through the barrier and onto a game drive, just minutes from the city.
Start here
Getting in, made simple
In shortNairobi National Park has several gates, but most game drives use the Main Gate on Lang’ata Road, the East Gate near the airport, or the Mbagathi Gate on Magadi Road. The park opens at 6 AM, entry is cashless and paid online in advance through the official KWS portal, and every gate is only a short drive from the city.
Getting into the park is straightforward once you know which gate suits you and how the tickets work. There’s no queue-and-pay-at-the-barrier any more — just a pre-paid ticket, a valid ID, and an early start.
This guide covers the gates, the opening hours, and exactly how the Kenya Wildlife Service fees are handled, so there are no surprises when you arrive. If you drive with us, all of it is taken care of for you.
Pick your entrance
The gates
Three gates handle almost all game drives, each suited to a different starting point. Tap through to find the one that fits your day.
The busiest and most popular entrance, and the default for most drives.
- Off Lang’ata Road, about fifteen to twenty minutes from the city centre.
- The easiest access to the main tracks and the park’s central attractions.
- Where most guided drives begin, ours included.
The one to use if you’re flying in or short on time.
- Near the airport and the SGR terminus, roughly ten minutes from JKIA.
- The natural choice for a layover safari between flights.
- Good for early rhino sightings on that side of the park.
The quiet gate on the park’s southern edge.
- Off Magadi Road, along the southern boundary of the park.
- The least crowded of the three main game-drive gates.
- A good bet if you’re hoping for Mbagathi with fewer vehicles about.
A couple of gates serve the visitor centres rather than game drives.
- The KWS Headquarters Gate serves the Nairobi Safari Walk and the Animal Orphanage.
- The Mbagathi Gate on Magadi Road is used for David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust visits.
- These aren’t the gates you’d use to start a game drive.
Timing
Opening hours, and when to arrive
The park keeps simple hours, but when you go inside them makes a real difference to what you see.
The park opens at 6 AM every day, and game driving runs through to the early evening. The single best time to be there is right at opening — the first hours after 6 AM are when lions, cheetahs and other predators are most active, before the heat sends them into the shade. Weekday mornings are the quietest; weekend afternoons, when Nairobi families visit, are the busiest.
Closing time can shift a little by season, so confirm the current hours when you book, and always aim to be heading for a gate well before last light. On a guided drive with us, the timing is planned around the best of the light and the quietest tracks.
The money side
How the fees work
Park entry is charged by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Here’s how it’s structured — and why we point you to the official source for the figure.
Fees differ for Kenyan citizens, East African residents and non-residents, and are charged per person, per day.
Your vehicle is charged on top of the per-person entry, and the ticket is valid for a single entry within a 24-hour window.
Entry is entirely cashless. Pay through the official KWS eCitizen portal by card or mobile money, ideally the night before to skip the gate queue.
Everyone in the vehicle needs an ID or passport matching the ticket category booked for them.
KWS revised its park fees in 2026, and the rates can change again without much notice. Rather than publish a figure that might be out of date by the time you read this, we point you to the current tariff on the official KWS portal. And if you book a game drive with us, park entry is included and itemised clearly in your quote — no separate sums to work out at the gate.
Two ways in
Self-drive or guided?
Both work. It comes down to whether you want to find your own way or have someone who knows the park do it for you.
Self-drive
You can drive yourself on the main tracks — a high-clearance vehicle is far better than a saloon, especially after rain. You’ll need your vehicle registration and pre-paid tickets, and you can hire a KWS-certified guide at the gate if you’d like local eyes along.
Guided, with us
We bring a proper safari vehicle with a pop-up roof and a guide who knows where the lions and rhino were seen that morning — with park entry, the vehicle and the planning all handled. You just watch the plains go by.
At the gate itself, have your QR e-ticket and everyone’s ID ready, remember there’s no cash accepted and no shops inside, and carry water for the drive. Once you’re through, stay in your vehicle, keep to the 50 km/h limit, and give the animals the right of way.
Let’s plan it
Plan a game drive
Skip the portal and the gate queue entirely — tell us when you’d like to go and we’ll arrange the drive, the vehicle and the park entry. We’ll reply personally, usually within hours.
Frequently asked questions
Gates & entry FAQs
The gates
Most game drives use the Main Gate on Lang’ata Road. If you’re flying in or on a layover, the East Gate near the airport is more convenient, and the Mbagathi Gate on Magadi Road is the quietest option.
The East Gate, near JKIA and the SGR terminus — roughly ten minutes from the airport, which makes a short layover safari practical.
The Main Gate is about seven kilometres from the city and around fifteen to twenty minutes’ drive, so it’s genuinely a quick trip out.
Hours
The park opens at 6 AM daily, and game driving runs to the early evening. Arrive at opening for the best predator sightings, and confirm the current closing time when you book.
Right at 6 AM. The early hours are coolest and busiest with wildlife, and weekday mornings are far quieter than weekend afternoons.
Fees & tickets
Fees are set by the Kenya Wildlife Service and tiered for citizens, East African residents and non-residents, charged per person per day with a separate vehicle fee. Because the rates were revised in 2026 and can change, check the current figure on the official KWS portal — or, if you drive with us, park entry is itemised in your quote.
No — the park is cashless. You pay in advance online through the official KWS eCitizen portal, by card or mobile money, then show your QR e-ticket at the gate.
It’s much smoother to pre-pay online the night before, which lets you bypass the queue at the barrier. You’ll also need ID matching the ticket category for everyone in the vehicle.
Park tickets are valid for a single entry within a 24-hour window, so you can spend the day inside but not leave and re-enter on the same ticket.
Getting around
Yes. The main tracks are manageable, though a high-clearance vehicle is much better than a saloon, especially after rain. You’ll need vehicle registration and pre-paid tickets, and can hire a KWS guide at the gate.
No — there are no shops or fuel stations inside, so bring water and snacks, and fuel up before you arrive.
Yes. On a guided drive with us, park entry, the vehicle and a guide are all arranged and included, itemised in your quote — you don’t deal with the portal or the gate at all. Get in touch →
Through the gate, into the wild
Pick your gate, pre-pay your ticket and arrive at six — or leave all of it to us and simply enjoy the drive. Either way, one of Africa’s most surprising game parks is only minutes from the city.
More on the park: what you’ll see, the best time to visit, or the full-day drive. Back to the park safari guide.