Wildlife circuit · the classic pairing
Elephant & Giraffe Day, Nairobi
Nairobi’s two most-loved wildlife encounters in one seamless morning — hand-feed endangered Rothschild’s giraffe at the Giraffe Centre, then watch the 11 a.m. mud bath and milk feed at the Sheldrick elephant orphanage. Private, guided, and timed around Sheldrick’s fixed hour.
Quick facts
Everything you need at a glance
What this is
The two encounters everyone remembers
In one sentenceThe elephant-and-giraffe day pairs Nairobi’s two most-loved wildlife encounters — hand-feeding the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe at the Giraffe Centre and the 11 a.m. mud bath and milk feed at the Sheldrick elephant orphanage — into one seamless private morning, timed around Sheldrick’s fixed hour.
If you do only one thing in Nairobi, this is what we’d point you to: two genuine conservation stories, both hands-on, both a short drive apart in Langata, and both unforgettable for children and adults alike.
You feed giraffes at eye level from a raised platform, then stand at the rope as orphaned baby elephants trot in for their milk and mud bath while the keepers tell each one’s rescue story. Between them you meet a giraffe subspecies brought back from the brink and elephants being raised for a return to the wild — the visits fund both. We build the morning around the one immovable point, Sheldrick’s 11 a.m. feed, so the day flows without a rush.
It works beautifully on its own as a half-day, and it’s easily extended with a dawn game drive or a city afternoon. Prefer the two visits explained separately first? See the Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick orphanage in full.
The morning, hour by hour
How the day flows
Built around Sheldrick’s fixed 11 a.m. feed, with the flexible giraffe visit first, when the giraffes are at their best. Times are indicative and flex for your pick-up point and the traffic.
Pick-up
Your guide collects you from your hotel, residence or the airport in a private vehicle and heads for Langata.
The Giraffe Centre
Hand-feed the Rothschild’s giraffe from the raised platform when they’re hungriest and most active, with the warthogs at their feet and the education centre — and before the day-trip crowds arrive.
Short drive to Sheldrick
A brief hop across Langata to the KWS Mbagathi Gate and the Nursery inside the park, arriving in good time for the feed.
The Sheldrick orphanage
The orphaned elephants trot in for their milk and mud bath while the keepers tell each one’s rescue story — the emotional high point of the morning.
Onward
Back towards the city — or straight into an added game drive, a city stop, or lunch, if you’ve made a full day of it.
Drop-off
Back at your hotel or the airport by early afternoon, both encounters behind you.
Why this order
The 11 a.m. feed sets the day
There’s one immovable point in this morning: the Sheldrick public visit runs strictly from 11 a.m. to noon, and can’t be delayed or extended. So we anchor the day on it and fit the flexible half around it.
The Giraffe Centre is open from 9 a.m. and doesn’t need a fixed slot, and the giraffes are hungriest, most active and least crowded early — so the giraffes go first, from about 9 a.m., and the elephants become the climax at 11. The two are only a few kilometres apart in Langata, so the drive between them is short and there’s no rush to make the feed.
Fact: the giraffes and elephants sit a short drive apart, but their timings are opposite — one flexible, one fixed. Mechanism: doing the flexible visit first and the fixed visit second lets each happen at its best. Consequence: giraffes at their liveliest early, elephants at their scheduled feed, and a relaxed morning between. Advice: if you’d rather a later, gentler start, we can flip it — Sheldrick at 11, then an unhurried giraffe visit after noon.
What you’ll do
Two hands-on encounters
Each half is a genuine experience in its own right — here’s what fills them. For the full detail, each has its own page.
At the Giraffe Centre
You stand on a raised wooden deck level with the giraffes’ heads and hand-feed them pellets that come with the ticket — and, if you’re brave, take a “giraffe kiss”. Tame warthogs snuffle below, the education centre explains the Rothschild’s giraffe’s recovery, and a short forest trail across the road is included if you have time. It’s joyful, easy and endlessly good with children.
Full Giraffe Centre guide →At the Sheldrick orphanage
You watch from behind a rope as orphaned baby elephants come in for their milk and a mud bath, while a keeper tells each one’s story — how it was rescued and how it’s progressing towards a return to the wild in Tsavo. Sometimes an orphaned rhino is in residence too. It’s the moving heart of the morning, and every visit funds the work.
Full Sheldrick guide →
Prices & fees
What the day costs — kept clear
Our transfer and guide, plus the two attractions’ own fees. Because one stop is inside the national park and one isn’t, there are a few separate parts — so we lay them out plainly and itemise the current amount of each in your quote.
Our price — the transfer & guide
We provide the private vehicle, the driver-guide and the door-to-door transfer, and we sequence the whole morning around the 11 a.m. feed. It’s priced per person by group size, on request — tell us your numbers and date and we’ll send a firm quote, usually within hours.
The two attractions’ own fees
Each place charges its own entry, and they work differently — the elephants are inside the national park, the giraffes are not:
At the Sheldrick orphanage
Two separate parts. The Trust’s entry donation — a minimum, per person, paid in cash on the day — and, since the Nursery is inside Nairobi National Park, the KWS park entry fee per person via eCitizen, which everyone now pays to reach it. We handle the gate and itemise both.
At the Giraffe Centre
One admission. A set fee per person, with resident and non-resident, adult and child rates, that includes the feeding pellets and the forest trail. It’s cashless — M-Pesa or card — and there’s no park fee here, as it isn’t inside the park. We can pre-include it or you pay at the gate.
The two places pay differently: the Sheldrick donation is cash (US dollars or Kenyan shillings) on the day, while the Giraffe Centre is cashless (M-Pesa or card). So carry a little of each — or let us pre-include the giraffe admission so there’s one less thing to think about.
Worth knowingBecause you’re already paying the park entry fee to reach the Sheldrick Nursery, adding a morning game drive before the giraffes turns this into a full safari day for little more — you’re inside the park anyway.
We never invent figures — all three third-party amounts are set by others and can change, so we itemise the current amount of each for every guest in your written quote. For how a full day’s cost is built, see the Nairobi safari cost guide.
Included & excluded
Exactly what our price covers
- A private vehicle and an English-speaking, KWS-licensed driver-guide
- Door-to-door transfer from your Nairobi hotel, residence, JKIA or Wilson
- The whole morning sequenced around Sheldrick’s fixed 11 a.m. feed
- Help securing your Sheldrick booking, and the park gate handled on arrival
- Fuel, all vehicle running costs, and bottled water on board
- The option to pre-include the giraffe admission, and to add a game drive or city stop
- The Sheldrick Trust donation — a minimum, per person, paid in cash on the day
- The KWS park entry fee for the Sheldrick Nursery — itemised at your tier, via eCitizen
- The Giraffe Centre admission — cashless, unless you ask us to include it
- Meals and snacks, travel insurance, your eTA, flights and accommodation
- Tips (welcome but optional) and personal spending
Timing & booking
One booking to secure ahead
The giraffes are walk-in, but the elephants aren’t — and since the day is built around them, that booking is the one that matters.
Sheldrick must be booked ahead. The 11 a.m. visit has to be reserved in advance through the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Nairobi office, generally within three months — there are no same-day places, and popular dates fill quickly. The Giraffe Centre, by contrast, is a simple walk-in during its 9-to-5 opening hours.
Sheldrick honours only bookings it has issued itself — reservations sold through third-party listing sites are not accepted at the gate. We don’t resell entry; we help you obtain a genuine Trust confirmation and build the morning around it.
How we fit in. Tell us your date and group and we’ll help secure a valid Sheldrick booking for the 11 a.m. hour, then plan the giraffe visit, the timing and any add-on around it. On the day we get you there early and handle the park gate. Note the visit runs every day except 25 December, when the orphanage is closed.
Pickup & logistics
We come to you
Pick-up and drop-off across Nairobi and at both airports is included, and because both stops are in Langata the driving between them is short.
Nairobi hotels & residences
We collect from anywhere in the city, timing the pick-up — usually around 8:15 a.m. — to reach the Giraffe Centre for its 9 a.m. opening.
From JKIA & Wilson
We pick up from both airports, so the day works on an arrival day — your luggage travels with you in the vehicle. Share your flight and terminal and we’ll build in time for immigration and traffic to reach Langata for the morning.
The Langata corridor
The Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick Nursery (via the KWS Mbagathi Gate) sit only a few kilometres apart on the south-western edge of the city, so the hop between them takes minutes — which is exactly why the two pair so well in a single morning.
Make it a full day
Turn the morning into a day
The two encounters are a complete half-day on their own, but the morning leaves room to add more — and one addition is especially good value.
+ A dawn game drive
Start at 6 a.m. with a game drive in Nairobi National Park, then the giraffes and the 11 a.m. feed. Since you pay the park fee for Sheldrick anyway, it’s superb value — a full safari day.
The game drive →+ The whole circuit
Add the Nairobi Safari Walk or the Animal Orphanage for a fuller wildlife day across the park’s edge.
The full circuit day →+ A city afternoon
After noon, add the Karen Blixen Museum (close by), Bomas of Kenya or a city tour for a varied full day.
Nairobi city tours →+ Lunch & more time
Build in a relaxed lunch and a slower pace — tell us how you’d like the day to feel and we’ll shape it.
Tell us your plans →Who it’s for
Who loves this day
It’s the outing we recommend most often, and it’s especially right for:
Families with children
Feeding a giraffe and meeting baby elephants in one morning is about the best day out a child could have in Nairobi.
First-time visitors
The two encounters everyone hopes for, done properly and in the right order, with the conservation stories behind them.
Short on time
One free morning is all it takes — ideal on an arrival day or between other plans.
Animal & conservation lovers
Two genuine rescue-and-recovery stories, both hands-on, both funding the work.
Returning visitors
Anyone who wants the classic Nairobi wildlife morning without the logistics.
Layover travellers
A memorable half-day between flights, with airport pick-up and drop-off built in.
Good to know
Small things that make the morning better
What to bring
Cash in US dollars or Kenyan shillings for the Sheldrick donation, and a card or M-Pesa for the cashless giraffe admission. Add a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, closed shoes (the ground at Sheldrick can be muddy after rain), and a camera. Children are very welcome at both.
Full packing list →What to expect
The giraffe feeding is hands-on and the elephant visit is hands-off — you watch the orphans from behind a rope — and both are supervised and gentle. Front-row spots at Sheldrick can get sprayed with mud, and both places can be busy, so arriving early for each matters. We handle that timing.
More Nairobi wildlife →Why book with us
The order, the timing and the fees, handled
Giraffes at their best, then the fixed 11 a.m. feed — planned so nothing is rushed or missed.
We help you obtain a valid Trust confirmation — not an invalid third-party listing — for the fixed hour.
We deal with the KWS gate fee for the Nursery and itemise all three fees plainly — no gate surprises.
Door-to-door, just your party, with a guide who knows both places and the timing.
Add a dawn game drive or a city afternoon and we build the whole day around the two visits.
A licensed Kenyan operator with fast confirmation and direct WhatsApp support.
We publish only what we can stand behind — which is why you won’t find invented prices or star-ratings here, and why we keep all three attraction fees plainly separate from ours.
How to book
Booking your day
Simple and personal — you deal directly with us, and nothing is confirmed until you have it in writing.
- Send your details.
Your date, the number and ages of guests, your pick-up point, whether to pre-include the giraffe admission, and any add-on like a game drive.
- We confirm and coordinate.
We help secure a valid Sheldrick booking for the 11 a.m. hour and quote our transfer — usually within hours — with all three fees itemised.
- Secure the booking.
A deposit confirms your transfer; we send a voucher, your guide’s contact and the plan for the morning.
- Meet your guide.
We collect you, run the giraffes first, handle the park gate, and have you at the rope for the 11 a.m. feed.
On the day
Bring your Sheldrick confirmation, cash for the Trust donation, and a card or M-Pesa for the giraffe admission (unless we’ve pre-included it), plus something for the sun. Your guide handles the park gate and keeps the morning on schedule around the fixed feed.
Payment & changes
We accept M-Pesa, card and secure payment links for our transfer; the Sheldrick donation is cash on the day, the park fee is handled at the gate, and the giraffe admission is cashless or pre-included. We keep fair, clearly-stated terms and will try to move a date rather than lose your booking, though the Sheldrick hour remains subject to the Trust’s availability. Your exact terms are confirmed in writing with your quote.
Is this the right day?
A quick gut-check
Book this if…
- You want the two classic Nairobi encounters
- You’re travelling with children
- You have one free morning
- You want it planned and sequenced for you
- You like hands-on conservation experiences
Extend it if…
- You’d like a dawn game drive too
- You want to add the Safari Walk or Orphanage
- You’re making a full day of Nairobi
- You’re already paying the park fee
- You want a city or museum afternoon
Consider elsewhere if…
- You only want one of the two visits
- You want to see elephants in the wild
- You want the luxury breakfast-with-giraffes stay
- You’re after a full-day safari, not a half-day
- You can’t make the fixed 11 a.m. hour
Only want one? See the Sheldrick orphanage or the Giraffe Centre on their own. Want wild elephants? Ask us about Amboseli.
Frequently asked questions
Elephant & giraffe day FAQs
The day
It’s a private, guided half-day that combines Nairobi’s two most-loved wildlife encounters: hand-feeding endangered Rothschild’s giraffe at the Giraffe Centre, and the 11 a.m. mud bath and milk feed at the Sheldrick elephant orphanage. We provide the vehicle, the guide and the transfers, and sequence the morning around Sheldrick’s fixed hour.
About a half-day — roughly 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a hotel pick-up around 8:15. It can run a little longer if you add the forest trail, lunch or another stop.
You hand-feed the giraffes from a platform (pellets included). The Sheldrick visit is hands-off — you watch the orphans from behind a rope while the keepers feed and mind them, which is exactly right for animals being prepared to return to the wild.
Usually the giraffes first, from around 9 a.m. when they’re at their most active and the crowds are thinnest, then the elephants for the fixed 11 a.m. feed as the climax. The two are only a short drive apart. If you’d prefer a later, gentler start, we can flip it — Sheldrick at 11, then the giraffes after noon.
Prices & fees
Our private transfer and guide is priced per person, on request. On top of that are the two attractions’ own fees, which we itemise in your quote: the Sheldrick Trust donation and the KWS park fee, and the Giraffe Centre admission. Request your price →
Because the two places work differently. The Sheldrick Nursery is inside Nairobi National Park, so you pay both the Trust’s entry donation and the KWS park entry fee to reach it. The Giraffe Centre is a separate facility in Langata, not in the park, so it just has its one admission and no park fee. We keep all three clearly itemised.
Both. The Sheldrick donation is paid in cash (US dollars or Kenyan shillings) on the day, while the Giraffe Centre is cashless (M-Pesa or card). Carry a little of each — or ask us to pre-include the giraffe admission.
Booking & logistics
The Sheldrick visit must be booked ahead through the Trust’s Nairobi office, usually within three months, with no same-day places. The Giraffe Centre is walk-in. We coordinate the Sheldrick booking and build the morning around it.
We arrange the transfers, the guide and the timing, and help you secure a valid Sheldrick confirmation. We don’t resell entry — the Trust only honours bookings it has issued itself, so beware of third-party listings that claim otherwise.
Yes — it’s a morning, so it suits an arrival day or the hours before an evening departure. We pick up from JKIA and Wilson and your luggage travels with you.
Absolutely, and it’s great value: start with a dawn game drive in Nairobi National Park, then the giraffes and the 11 a.m. feed. Since you’re paying the park fee for Sheldrick anyway, adding the drive turns the morning into a full safari day. See the game drive or the full circuit day.
Suitability
It’s one of the very best family mornings in Nairobi — hand-feeding a giraffe and watching baby elephants, with gentle conservation lessons woven through both. It’s outdoors and can be muddy at Sheldrick, so dress children for it.
The giraffe half of this day is the Giraffe Centre, a public conservation centre you visit for an hour or two. Giraffe Manor is a separate luxury hotel next door, where giraffes visit your breakfast window during an overnight stay at a premium rate. Same giraffes, very different experience and price.
Plan your elephant & giraffe day
Send your date, your hotel or flight, and how many of you there are — and we’ll coordinate your Sheldrick slot, quote our transfer, and itemise all three fees so there are no surprises. No invented prices, ever.
Only want one? See the Sheldrick orphanage or the Giraffe Centre. Back to the wildlife circuit.