Nairobi Giraffe Center Review – Is It Worth Visiting?

The Nairobi Giraffe Center review to help you plan for your itinerary based on my personal experience!

I have recently visited the center and totally loved it. The entrance price is affordable at 1,500 KES (~ 12 USD), the location is only ~ 30 minutes from the city center, and most importantly, I got to feed the giraffe face-to-face.

In short, it is totally worth visiting, and it is the icon to pick if I were to choose only one for Nairobi.

Can’t wait to feed the giraffe?

What To Expect In The Sanctuary

Once you’re inside the Giraffe Center Nairobi location, you’ll find a well-thought-out setup that’s both visitor-friendly and focused on the animals’ welfare.

The sanctuary spans a compact area, making it easy to explore in 1-2 hours, but there’s plenty to keep you engaged. The whole area is formed by multiple circular terraces with bungalows serving as an education center in the middle, a toilet, and a souvenir shop (“The Daisy Zoovenir Shop”) near the end.

The highlight of the course is the elevated terrace for giraffe feeding, where you stand at eye level with these majestic creatures for that iconic interaction. As for giraffe feeding, I will share a bit more in the next session.

The educational exhibitions are in the middle of the terrace, featuring informative displays on giraffe biology, conservation challenges, and the Center’s success stories—like how they’ve helped boost Rothschild’s giraffe populations from near-extinction.

For the souvenir, it is stocked with ethical giraffe-themed merch like T-shirts, keychains, books, and handmade crafts—proceeds support AFEW’s work, so your purchases contribute to conservation. Although it looks pretty nice, it is also much more expensive than what you can get in other souvenir shops.

With all the educational materials and close encounters with the giraffe, it is a hot spot for tourists and locals alike. During my visit, I even saw several school tours there. Compared to other attractions (like my Bangkok Safari World experience), this feels more intimate and purpose-driven.

How to Feed a Giraffe at the Nairobi Giraffe Center

First things first, for each visitor to the center, you will be allocated a bowl and get one bowl of pellets—nutritious, specially formulated treats that are part of the giraffes’ diet. There should be more than 20 pellets in each bowl. It is more than enough for the feeding experience, unless you do it wrong.

First, head to the feeding platform, hold out an A* pellet in your flat palm, and watch as a Rothschild’s giraffe extends its long, purple tongue (up to 18 inches!) to gently take it from you. It’s slobbery, sure, but that’s part of the fun—many call it a “giraffe kiss”!

*It saw some visitors feeding with the whole bowl instead of 1 by 1. It is NOT recommended.

Remember, you should not feed the giraffes with other food, as it will affect their diet. The giraffes are very gentle and friendly, but they can headbutt if aroused. If you’re with kids, supervise closely—again, the giraffes are gentle, but their size can be intimidating.

I have taken a close shot of a giraffe feeding to show you what it’s like.  

🦒🦒🦒 Package Tour Is Also Available! ✅

Animal Encounter

Animal Encounter Experience In Nairobi

Nairobi Giraffe Center, Elephant Orphanage, and Nairobi National Park are the main attractions in Nairobi. If you have limited time in Kenya, then a package tour could be one of the options for time-saving.

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How to Get to the Giraffe Center: Directions, Hours, and Fees

Already being attracted to the center? Let’s check out how affordable and convenient the center is below.

Transportations:

The best and safest way to get to the center is via Uber.  The distance from the CBD is around 17km and a 25-minute drive at a cost of around 7 USD.  If you’re coming from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with Uber, it is around 27km and a 35-minute ride. In short, just take the Uber there.

Public transportation is also available, but the journey will be around 2 hours from the CBD or the airport. So it is not worth especially for those who have a short time in Nairobi.

Opening Hours:

The Giraffe Center in Nairobi’s opening hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, including weekends and public holidays, so you’ve got flexibility for your schedule. The center is usually most crowded between 11 am to 2 pm with the influx from local school tour visitors.

Fee:

As for the Giraffe Center entry fee during my last visit, non-resident adults pay 1,500 KES (~12 USD), while children (3-12 years) pay 750 KES (~6 USD), and are free for kids below 3 years old.

Package Deal:

The best valued option for visiting the center is to go on your own and pay the entrance fee at the site. This is how I did it during my last visit.

However, if you have a packed itinerary and would like to visit multiple items in one go. Then you may consider those packages with the Giraffe Center, the elephant orphanage, and Nairobi National Park. If you were to visit the Maasai Mara safari like I did, you could skip the national park. But in general, the package price is several times more expensive than going there on your own.

🦒🦒🦒 Package Tour Is Also Available! ✅

More On Tour Package

Giraffe Center and Elephan Orphanage

If you are having safaris in the following days, then you should skip the Nairobi National Park. There are tours only cover the Giraffe Center and Elephant Orphanage. That will save time for transit and organizing, but at a higher cost compared to going on your own.

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And It Is Totally Ethical

Unlike other Safaris or zoos in Asia, the center is totally ethical with a long history.

Diving a bit into the backstory, the Giraffe Center in Nairobi, Kenya, has a heartwarming history rooted in passion for wildlife. Founded in 1979 by Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville, a Kenyan couple dedicated to conservation, it started as a breeding program to save the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe from extinction. At the time, habitat loss and poaching had dwindled their numbers to just a few hundred. The Leslie-Melvilles even raised baby giraffes in their own home before establishing the Center in Lang’ata, a leafy suburb of Nairobi.

Over the decades, it evolved under the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW Kenya Ltd, Nairobi), becoming not just a sanctuary but an educational hub that hosts thousands of schoolchildren annually to foster environmental awareness.  With all these efforts, now we have a chance to have a close encounter with these Rothschild giraffes, which were once, upon a time, in fewer numbers left in the 1970s.

Don’t Forget the Mobile Souvenir Shops and Nature Trail

As you wrap up your visit, don’t forget the hidden gems just outside the main area. Swing by the mobile souvenir shops dotted around the entrance—they offer unique, locally crafted items like beaded jewelry, wooden giraffe carvings, and textiles at bargain prices, often cheaper than inside and supporting local artisans.

Surprisingly, this is the cheapest souvenir shop in Nairobi as compared to the Maasai market and even Carrefour.

Additionally, there is also a short trail near the entrance that you can walk for 30 – 45 minutes if time allows.  

You Don’t Want To Miss The Giraffe Center

After the visit to the Giraffe Center, I did multiple safaris in Kenya and also Tanzania in the following days. However, none has provided the same experience and face-to-face interaction with the giraffes, let alone feeding them. While you can find multiple elephant sanctuaries in Asia or other Countries, a giraffe sanctuary that is ethical and where you can experience the feeding is rare.

🦒🦒🦒 Package Tour Is Also Available! ✅

It Is Worth Visiting

The Best Experience In Nairobi

Wether you take the full tour of three animal icons in Nairobi or not, the Giraffe Center is worth going even on standalone basis ! Make sure you don’t miss it !

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