Nairobi National Park Prices and Times

Entry fees by residency tier and age

The figures below come from the KWS park page and the KWS conservation fee schedule. Child rates cover children from 3 to 11 years old, and children under 3 enter free. Entry is completely free for children below 6 years according to the KWSPAY booking form, so check your child's age band before you buy.

Kenya residents pay in shillings while non-residents pay in dollars.

Tickets are single entry

A ticket covers one entry only, so you cannot leave and return the same day on the same ticket. Vehicle fees are charged separately from the per-person ticket.

Child rates and free entry

Child rates apply to persons 3 to 11 years old and persons under 3 are free. The KWSPAY booking form states entry is free for children below the age of 6 years. A non-resident child pays $40 (USD 40) per day under the KWS rate card, a Kenya resident child pays KES 675 and an East African citizen child pays KES 500.

Student rates

Student rates apply up to age 23 with a valid student ID on pre-arranged trips, and permission is needed at least two weeks in advance, so organise this before you travel.

Daily schedule

The gates open at 6:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM unless you are staying overnight in the park. Driving in the park is allowed between 6 am and 6 pm only. If you arrive by ride-hailing, check the pin leads to Nairobi Safari Walk or KWS headquarters rather than deep into the park, because drivers get dropped at the wrong gate more often than you would think.

What time should I go to Nairobi National Park?

Go at dawn, because the gates open at 6:00 AM and animals are most active before the heat of the day. Morning drives dominate the tours for this reason. The Park, Elephants and Giraffes Shared Day collects guests between 5:20 and 6:00 am precisely because a dawn game drive still leaves time for the 11 am Sheldrick orphanage hour.

KWS groups July to December and December to March as the high season for game viewing, citing short grass and sunny weather that make wildlife easier to spot. April to June is the low season because of the long rains, when some tracks turn muddy and a 4x4 such as the Nairobi National Park 4x4 Safari with Pickup is the safer pick. Afternoon options suit late arrivals, and the Evening Game Drive and Sundowner runs from a 1:00 to 2:00 PM pickup to a sundowner stop near Hyena Dam before the 6:00 PM gate closing.

Buying on KWSPAY eCitizen

Go to the KWSPAY single park entry page for Nairobi National Park, fill in the guest details for every traveller and pay online. Cash is not accepted, payment is via Visa, Mastercard or M-Pesa. If anything goes wrong, the support line is 0800 597000 or customerservice@kws.go.ke.

Remember a ticket is single entry and the vehicle fee is charged separately.

Paying through a tour

Most guided tours do not include the park fee in the listed price, so you buy your own ticket online before the drive. Some tours help at the gate. The jeep tour operator helps you buy the ticket at the gate by card or M-Pesa, and fee-included listings such as the Nairobi National Park Land Cruiser Tour put the KWS entry fee inside the sticker price, so the figure you see is close to what you pay.

Shared drives compared

The ride from central Nairobi to the gate takes about 30 minutes, then you spend roughly 4 to 5 hours on the park tracks.

Private tours and fee-included listings

Private vehicles run from $90 to $257 per person, and the park fee sits inside the price only on the fee-included listings. The Half Day Private Tour, All Fees Included and the Land Cruiser Tour bundle everything, so their dearer stickers are closer to the real total.

Extra attractions

Five of the catalog's combo listings include neither the park fee nor the orphanage nor the Giraffe Centre entry in the listed price, so budget for all three.

Rules for self-drive visitors

Visitors must remain in their vehicle within 200 meters of any game animal and drones are forbidden. Flying a drone in a KWS park requires a KCAA license and costs $300 (USD 300) per drone per day per park for non-residents. The park is about 8 km from the Nairobi CBD, reached via Nyayo National Stadium and Langata Road, just past Langata Army Barracks, according to the KWS directions.

What your money buys

A fee-included private listing such as the Half Day Private Tour, All Fees Included at $194.81 removes the admin and gives your group its own vehicle. For a short stopover, the six-hour airport layover tour collects you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and returns you for your flight. See more options on nairobi national park tours.

Combo tickets at the gate

The Nairobi Package covers Nairobi National Park, the Animal Orphanage and the Safari Walk. A Nairobi Sanctuary Package covering only the Animal Orphanage and the Safari Walk costs $40 (USD 40) for a non-resident adult.

Free entry promotions

KWS has previously run free entrance promotions that attracted many Kenyans, some on their first visit to a protected area. No free entry days are listed for now, so budget for the standard fees and watch KWS announcements if a promotion could save you the ticket cost.