Nairobi Giraffe Centre & Elephant Orphanage Tour: Feed & Meet

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/20

Duration8h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Hand-feed endangered giraffes, then stand feet away from baby elephants being cared for at a sanctuary

This eight-hour tour in Nairobi takes you to the Giraffe Centre to feed Rothschild giraffes with special pellets and learn their distribution across Kenya, then to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to watch orphaned baby elephants receive their formula and hear each elephant's story. A professional guide, private transport with hotel pickup and drop-off, and entry to both sanctuaries are included; you can add Nairobi National Park to see rhino, buffalo, cheetah and lion against the city skyline. Conservation park fees are paid online before arrival.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Giraffe Centre and Elephant Orphanage

Interact with Rothschild giraffes
Feed giraffes with special pellets
Attend 40-minute giraffe class
Take guided nature walk in sanctuary
See orphaned baby elephants at sanctuary
Watch elephants receive milk formula
Touch baby elephants if possible
Visit Kobe Beads Centre
Optionally visit Nairobi National Park
Return to hotel or airport

The Experience

You start at the Giraffe Centre, where you feed the Rothschild giraffes directly with special pellets and attend a 40-minute session on giraffe species distribution in Kenya and East Africa. A guided nature walk through the sanctuary follows, giving you time to photograph the giraffes up close as they move around you. The center explains the characteristics and behavior of these endangered animals and what the sanctuary does to protect them.

From there, your guide drives you to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where orphaned baby elephants are rehabilitated before being released back into the wild. You'll watch the elephants receive their specially formulated milk formula and learn the individual story behind each one—how they arrived at the sanctuary and what their path forward looks like. The trust positions you at a strategic spot where you can watch the elephants as they pass, play and bond with each other, and if they come close enough, you may have a chance to touch them.

The tour includes a stop at Kobe Beads Centre, a pottery workshop and women's empowerment project that employs single mothers from Nairobi's poorer neighborhoods. You'll see the full bead-making process from start to finish. Lunch is available for purchase, and your guide can arrange a drop-off at your hotel, apartment or the airport afterward. If you choose the Nairobi National Park option at checkout, you'll also spend time in the park—only seven kilometers from the city center—where you can see four of the Big Five (rhino, buffalo, cheetah and lion) roaming the open plains, highland forest and rocky valleys with the city skyline in the distance. Over 300 bird species live in the park, including Secretary birds, crowned cranes and vultures.

What’s included

Private transportation with hotel pickup and drop-off.
professional tour guide speaking English.
bottled drinking water.
entry to the Giraffe Centre with special pellets to feed the giraffes and a 40-minute class on giraffe distribution.
guided nature walk through the giraffe sanctuary.
entry to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to watch baby elephants receive their formula and learn their individual stories.
visit to Kobe Beads Centre to see the pottery and bead-making process.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyNot for heart conditionsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Rustic Nature Tours

Is this one for you?Choose the half-day option if you have a free afternoon and want to see the giraffes and elephants without committing a full day, or add Nairobi National Park if you want to see the Big Five and over 300 bird species in the same outing—the park sits just seven kilometers from the city, so both fit into a single morning or afternoon depending on which option you pick.