Nairobi flights and travel guide

Kenya's capital city Nairobi is host to a mix of people, places and sights that could easily entice any traveler.

Most travelers end up booking flights to Nairobi as a stop on their way to a Kenya safari. While Nairobi is not a high-tourist destination spot, it does have its pluses. If you have some time after your Nairobi flight and before leaving for the safari, check out the Nairobi National Park and the adjoining David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage. Here visitors can see baby elephants and rhinos and explore some wildlife just outside a bustling city. Take a trip to the Langata Giraffe Center and feed the giraffes, then stand in the tower at the Karen Blixen Museum to look a giraffe in the eye.

Before boarding Nairobi flights for other destinations take a walk through the city streets and explore the street markets and vendors selling African crafts and Kenya souvenirs.

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Nairobi climate

Nairobi has two distinct season - dry and wet. The dry season runs from December to March, and Niarobi's two wet seasons fall in between. Thanks to Nairobi's high altitude, winters are cool and autumn tends to attract a plethora of thunderstorms, but this is also the best time to book cheap flights to Nairobi.  Summer is the most popular season for booking flights to Nairobi due to the warm days that rarely peak above 75 degrees F.

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Best Time to Fly to Nairobi

Whether you want to feel the pulse of Kenya's bustling capital or you're longing for a more relaxing retreat outside of the city limits, there's no wrong time to book your Nairobi flight.

Peak Season: Nairobi flights tend to fill up fast between the months of December and March. If you're looking to join the many visitors hoping to see Nairobi in its sun-soaked splendor, be sure to reserve your flight to Nairobi and your accommodations months in advance.

Off-season: If you're looking to experience Nairobi's rainy seasons firsthand, you're in luck: Cheap flights to Nairobi are normally available in mid- to late-autumn, when the rainy season clouds settle over Kenya. Luckily, Nairobi's cultural calendar remains packed so that the Kenyan capital is hot even when the weather's not: The Kenyan Music Festival, which takes place each August, is a point of national pride that showcases the talents of Kenya's students. The Kenya International Film Festival occurs each September, and the Nairobi Marathon takes place in October.

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Getting around Nairobi

If you want to take advantage of public transportation after your flight to Nairobi, KBS bus 34 departs regularly for the center of town. But most people arrange to be picked up through their accommodations or hire a taxi. Bargaining for cheaper fares is common in Nairobi, so sharpen your negotiating skills before you hop in a cab. If you take a Mercedes taxi though, be aware that there is a fixed rate to hotels in the city’s center. Once you’ve made it into town, it’s easiest to take a taxi or matutus (shared cabs), but many sightseeing spots are within walking distance and buses crisscross the city as well. Trains and buses arrive daily from Mombasa and Kisumu. If you’d like to travel out of Kenya to Uganda or Tanzania, a bus or shuttle is your best bet.

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Nairobi Travel Information

• Just outside the concrete jungle of downtown Nairobi lies the wild wonders of Nairobi National Park. Zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs, giraffes, and lions all reside within the astounding 28,963 acre expanse of the park. The park should be one of the first places you visit after your flight to Nairobi lands: The Nairobi skyline in the background plays a sharp contrast to the sanctuary of the park, and the plethora of creatures crawling the grounds during the dry season will leave visitors of every age in awe.
• Itching to get out of the city for a couple of days? Outdoor sports enthusiasts splurge with the money they saved on their Nairobi cheap flights on hiking, biking and white water rafting expeditions within an hour of the city limits. The Tana River, the largest in Kenya and situated only an hour's drive from Nairobi, offers some of the best white water rafting conditions in East Africa. The Ngong Hills make for an excellent day trip and are also conveniently located near Nairobi. It's recommended that you tour the Ngong Hills with one of the rangers available: They charge for their services, but with the herds of buffalo roaming the hills and heightened instances of vandalism that have occurred in recent years, the ranger fee is a small price to pay for the unforgettable views of the Rift Valley atop the hills.
• Shopaholics should leave room in their carry-ons for their Nairobi flight home: An array of bazaars and markets can be found throughout the city offering curios, or African souvenirs. The Blue Market on Muindi Mbingu Street was originally built as an aircraft hangar but today houses the brilliant hues of blankets, clothing, art work and instruments of local artisans for sale. Remember that haggling with the vendor is an acceptable form of finding the best deal, and keep your eye on your belongings as this crowded marketplace is ideal pick-pocketing territory.
• The Giraffe Manor, 30 minutes from the center of Nairobi, claims to be the only place in the world where you can feed and photograph the giraffe over your breakfast table, at the front door, and from a bedroom window. The adjoining Jock Leslie-Melville Nature Education Center, is better known as the Giraffe Center. Visitors can take a guided walk through its forest.
• Movie and literature lovers are booking flights to Nairobi to pay homage to Mbogani, Karen Blixen’s home and the setting of Out of Africa. Out of Africa is a memoir chronicling Karen von Blixen-Finecke’s experience living on a coffee plantation in Kenya in the early 20th century. The home of Blixen, who penned Out of Africa under the name Isak Dinesen, was established in Nairobi as a museum in her honor in 1986. The museum was opened after the film adaptation of the memoir, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, received international accolades upon its 1985 release.

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Nairobi airports

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO). Flights to Nairobi land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is located just 9 miles from the city center.

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