HifadhiKenya Wildlife Service park, Nairobi
Nairobi National Park is 117 km² (45 sq mi) of savanna on the city's southern edge, by the Kenya Wildlife Service's measure, with four of the Big Five and no elephants. The gates open 6:00 to 18:00. A non-resident adult pays USD 80 per person per 24 hours, single entry on the KWS 2025 schedule, plus KES 600 (about USD 4.50) per vehicle per day for a car with fewer than six seats. You pay through KWSPay by M-Pesa, Visa or bank transfer; KWS lists no cash. A morning drive fits a free half-day before or after the Masai Mara, Kenya.
Photo: Timothy A. Gonsalves / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Gate bill, Nairobi National Park
Your gate bill
USD 160 for 2 adults, 24 hours, single entry, plus KES 600 (about USD 4.50) for the car (fewer than six seats)
Per person per 24 hours, single entry, one rate all year (KWS 2025 schedule). Paid through KWSPay: KWS lists M-Pesa, Visa and bank transfer, not cash. Children aged five and younger pay nothing, and so do tour drivers and guides registered by the Tourism Regulatory Authority.
| Who | Park only | Nairobi Package | Sanctuary Package (Orphanage and Safari Walk) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-resident adult | USD 80 | USD 105 | USD 40 |
| Non-resident child 5 to 17 or student | USD 40 | USD 55 | USD 20 |
| African citizen adult | USD 40 | USD 55 | USD 25 |
| African citizen child 5 to 17 or student | USD 20 | USD 20 | USD 15 |
| East African citizen adult | KES 1,000 (about USD 8) | KES 1,300 (about USD 10) | KES 500 (about USD 4.00) |
| East African citizen child 5 to 17 or student | KES 500 (about USD 4.00) | KES 700 (about USD 5) | KES 300 (about USD 2.50) |
| Kenya resident adult | KES 1,350 (about USD 10) | KES 1,750 (about USD 13) | KES 675 (about USD 5) |
| Kenya resident child 5 to 17 or student | KES 675 (about USD 5) | KES 950 (about USD 7) | KES 500 (about USD 4.00) |
| Vehicle, fewer than six seats | KES 600 (about USD 4.50) per vehicle per day | ||
| Vehicle, six to twelve seats | KES 1,500 (about USD 12) per vehicle per day | ||
BeiReading the bill
The Kenya Wildlife Service charges by who you are, not by season: its 2025 sheet has one rate per category all year. The KWS fee buys a single access, valid up to 24 hours. A game drive and the Nursery hour inside one entry need one fee; if you leave the park between them and come back through a gate, Mbagathi Gate included, that is a second entry and a second fee.
USD 80Non-resident adult, park only
USD 105With the Animal Orphanage and Safari Walk
Bring ID to the gate: a passport for non-residents and East African citizens, a resident permit for residents. The rates are set by Legal Notice No. 160 of 2025, which fixes USD 80 for a non-resident adult in Nairobi; the KWS fee sheet carries the same figures. The fee schedules as tables: open data.
SafariHalf-day drives from town
Every half-day drive listed here leaves the park fee out: add USD 80 per non-resident adult to the tour price. On a package tour KWS expects the operator to include the fees; self-organized visitors pay on KWSPay.
Viator · park fees excluded
Safari Tour; Nairobi National Park
from USD 37 per person, listed 12 November 2026
A half-day from Nairobi, groups of up to 15 travelers.
Viator · park fees excluded
Nairobi National Park Half-Day Tour
from USD 38 per person, listed 12 November 2026
Groups of up to 15 travelers.
WanyamaWhat lives in the park
Gazetted in 1946, Nairobi National Park was Kenya's first national park. It lies about 8 km (5 mi) by road from the Central Business District along Lang'ata Road, past the Langata Army Barracks, as KWS gives the directions. KWS counts over 100 animal species and more than 400 bird species, and names three lion prides: Kingfisher, Athi and Mokoyet. Sightings are never certain; a drive is a search.
Of the Big Five, elephants are the one missing. The orphaned elephants at the Sheldrick Nursery live inside the park, but you see them only in its public hour; the Sheldrick Nursery visit explains the booking.
KWS lists a rhino sanctuary among the park's attractions, with the historic ivory burning site and picnic and event sites.
USD 25
Rescues and rehabilitates orphaned, injured, aged and abandoned wildlife. Non-resident adult, child USD 15.
USD 25
A raised wooden boardwalk through wetland, savanna and forest habitats. Both for USD 40 as the Sanctuary Package.
Park maps, guide books and gifts at the Main Gate on Langata Road.
LangoGates 6:00 to 18:00
Two half-days fit most travelers. They come from the planner on the Nairobi page, which places the drive in the longest stretch the other fixed hours leave free. The plan gives the order and the clock; ask your driver how long each leg takes on the road.
Since 19 September 2023 KWS requires Nursery visitors to pay the park entry fee on top of the Trust's donation of USD 20. The KWS fee buys a single access, valid up to 24 hours. A game drive and the Nursery hour inside one entry need one fee; if you leave the park between them and come back through a gate, Mbagathi Gate included, that is a second entry and a second fee. Taxis: the Trust says a taxi drops you at the KWS gate unless park fees for the driver and vehicle are paid.
Photo: Laika ac / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
TwigaGiraffe Centre, Lang'ata
The Giraffe Centre, open 9:00 to 17:00, pairs with a morning in the park.
GariVehicle charge and payment
KES 600 (about USD 4.50)Fewer than six seats, per day
KES 1,500 (about USD 12)six to twelve seats, per day
The vehicle pays its own charge per day on top of the people inside it; tour drivers and guides registered by the Tourism Regulatory Authority pay no conservation fee. Whether a day tour's price covers its vehicle charge is the operator's to say, which is why the calculator lets you leave the vehicle off your bill.
KWS lists M-Pesa, Visa and direct bank transfer through Kenya Commercial Bank, ABSA or Equity Bank, not cash. Self-organized visitors pay ahead on KWSPay. KES amounts on this page convert at KES 129.96 per US dollar, the Central Bank of Kenya rate posted 12 November 2026.
The same single-entry rule applies in the other KWS parks on a Mara route, at their own rates: Amboseli National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park. The Masai Mara works differently, by the day from 6:00 to 18:00 and by season; see the Masai Mara entrance fee.
SheriaKenya Wildlife Service rules
40 km/h (25 mph)
The KWS limit in its parks; speeding attracts penalties.
Stay in your vehicle except in designated areas and keep the doors closed.
Off-road driving is prohibited; stay on established roads and trails.
20 m (66 ft)
The minimum distance KWS sets for viewing wildlife.
Feeding wildlife is prohibited. Single-use plastic is banned in the parks.
6:00 to 18:00
Unless you stay overnight in the park.
MaswaliPark questions
Official pages: the KWS Nairobi National Park page, the KWS FAQs, the KWS fee sheet, the Sheldrick Nursery visit and the Giraffe Centre FAQs. Getting on to the Mara from here: Nairobi to Masai Mara.
For a spare half-day, it is the closest savanna to the city: 117 km² (45 sq mi) with four of the Big Five by KWS's count and the skyline behind them. A morning drive from 6:00 still leaves the Sheldrick Nursery hour at 11:00. A non-resident adult pays USD 80 per person per 24 hours, single entry.
On the KWS 2025 schedule a non-resident adult pays USD 80 per person per 24 hours, single entry, a child or student USD 40. The Nairobi Package adds the Animal Orphanage and Safari Walk for USD 105. A car with fewer than six seats pays KES 600 (about USD 4.50) per vehicle per day.
KWS lists no cash. It takes M-Pesa, Visa and direct bank transfer through Kenya Commercial Bank, ABSA or Equity Bank. Self-organized visitors pay on KWSPay before they arrive; on a package tour, KWS says, the operator includes the fees. The Sheldrick Nursery's own donation is the exception: cash on the day.
Not wild ones. KWS states the park has four of the Big Five, with no elephants. The orphaned elephant calves of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust live at its Nursery inside the park and can be seen in the public hour, 11:00 to 12:00, booked ahead with the Trust, with the park fee on top.
The gates open at 6:00 and close at 18:00, unless you stay overnight in the park. The fee covers a single entry valid up to 24 hours, so a drive from opening to closing is one ticket. The Nursery visitors' gate, Mbagathi Gate on Magadi Road, expects them by 10:30.
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