Overview
Available languages
6 hours
Mobile ticket
Spend the day visiting David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage to observe baby and young orphaned elephants: viewing is strictly between 11am and 12pm. you'll visit the Giraffe Center to experience a supervised feeding session.
NB: On Christmas Day 25th December - David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage will be closed for Holiday, we will offer alternative
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Pay Extra $85 per person for Nairobi national park since it’s under KWS and it’s located inside the park. Its conservancy fee
What To Expect
Giraffe Centre
The tour starts by picking you from your Hotel/Home within Nairobi. You will be driven to Giraffe centre where you feed Rothschild giraffes under the supervision of keepers. The center has rescued, hand-reared and released around 500 orphaned giraffes back into the wild since opening in 1979. This attraction offers opportunities to feed the endangered Rothschild's giraffe by hand. The location also offers a fine education on the physiology, behaviors and habitat preferences of these beautiful animals.
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
You will then be driven to David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to walk through the center from 11am - 12pm in an open space, with a rope fence around it. The youngest elephants come trotting out of the bush to greet their keepers who stand at the ready with giant bottles of milk. For the next 10-15 minutes you can watch each little one slurp and gargle their milk. Then, you'll have time to watch the elephants play. You find out how old they were when they arrived at the orphanage, where they were rescued from, and what got them into trouble. The most common reasons for getting orphaned being: mother's poached, falling into wells, and human/wildlife conflict. Once the youngest are all fed, they are led back into the bush, and it's the turn of the 2-3 year olds. Some of them can feed themselves, and some are still fed by their keepers. Watch them interact with their keepers, munch on some branches of their favorite acacias, and play with the half drums of water and mud
Options
Elephant Orphanage & Giraffe Centre Tour
Pickup included
What‘s Included
Elephant Orphanage Entrance fee
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Professional guide
Small Group Tour
Giraffe Center Entrance fee
Food and drinks
Nairobi National Park which is mandatory to access Elephant Orphanage
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
304 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Awesome experience
Marie K,Jun 8, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Excellent visit! We were able to touch the elephants and watch them interact. It was also great to know the show times are limited so the sanctuary focuses on the elephants
A good guide makes a good day great
Sue S,May 21, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00This was my last day in Nairobi and the tour was excellent. My driver/guide, John, offered very interesting information on the drive to the centers and helped me gain the most from the experiences. As a solo traveler, I appreciated the effort he gave to make my day very worthwhile.
Baby Elephants
Monique S,May 4, 2026
- Review from Viator
3.00The driver Peter was friendly and professional. I would definitely recommend him. As far as the activity, I was disappointed. My husband and I adopted an elephant because we arrived, we also purchased hats and t-shirts before our arrival. All participants are lined up against a rope, the staff should have told everyone to stay in their place and not move around. People came from the other side of the rope and pushed people out of the way to see the elephants. Also, I believe the staff should ensure they take the elephants around so everyone can take pictures and feel the baby elephants. I also believe they should as if anyone had adopted an elephant, and if so, they should show them then the elephant they adopted so they can take pictures. This was the activity I was looking forward to the most and I am very disappointed at the experience. My husband and I didn’t get to take pictures of our adopted elephant. The keepers know people come there to see and feel the elephants!
GREAT TOUR - but read the info on the National Park entry fee twice!
Jennifer B,Apr 24, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00This was a great tour. I booked just a couple of weeks ahead and ended up being the only person on the tour. My guide, Stephen Mutuku, contacted me by WhatsApp the night before, which I greatly appreciated. He picked me up promptly at 8 am at my hotel. The giraffe sanctuary was first, but we got there about 25 minutes early and Stephen stopped at a shop on the side of the road. I was confused at first, but it ended up being a co-op for individuals selling their souvenirs. The shop owner/seller and all of the various men in the building were friendly and kind. They didn't want to tell me any prices until I had decided if I was going to buy something, because there is a "discount" based on how many you buy. I purchased a small nativity set and bread basket and after the "discount" it was 11500 KSH, about $90 give or take. The cost is beside the point, I am happy to contribute to the economy, but it wasn't cheap and the interaction just feels uncomfortable. Even with that, they were all kind and friendly and not pushy. The shop had several options for payment, including Apple pay. Then we went to the giraffe sanctuary. I didn't realize you were going to be expected to feed the giraffes - I would have actually rather just watched them, but it turned out fine. Stephen knew where to suggest that I stand, he directed me a bit to get better pictures, and we had fun. The sanctuary was beautiful, the staff gave me a quick run down of the sanctuary history and did show-and-tell with some giraffe bones (apparently the large leg bones don't have bone marrow to make them solid and stronger!). Next was the elephant orphanage. Stephen got us there in plenty of time to be "first" at the gate to walk in, after which he directed me to the best place to stand where I would not be facing into the sun! It was so cute to see and hear about them - in the pictures they don't look very small at all! I know the tour listing says you need to buy a ticket for the National Park - I think it was $80 - the cost is just what it is, you are at the mercy of the Kenyan government. But just know that to get your ticket they only take credit cards, you need to buy the ticket online once you are there so you use your phone and if it doesn't have cell service you need to connect to their wifi, and if you don't have a phone apparently you can enter your personal information into another person's phone (like your guide or another person on the tour) and get the ticket that way. You need to enter your full name, your passport number, and your email address - and then I got my ticket by email from the Kenya National Wildlife Service. They took my Mastercard, but I would make sure you have more than one credit card - I didn't have seamless credit card usage when I was in Nairobi. They did not take Apple Pay. There is no way to see the elephant orphanage unless you go through this process - it is worth it, just be aware of what it is going to take. We then went to the bead factory - it was a short tour, the women were friendly, the gift shop was huge and all of the necklaces were clearly priced. The had a seamless credit card and apple pay system. I came home with two that I probably won't wear but I will treasure just the same! :)
Unbelievable experience
Kelvin A,Apr 3, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Such a great experience we managed to get to the giraffe centre before it got busy and fed the giraffes without fighting for them. The elephant orphanage was also great we got so close to the elephants, getting to touch them and take selfies next to them.
Great tour with Stephen
elenagD4190BI,Mar 19, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a wonderful experience together with our great driver and guide Stephen Mutuku. He was making sure we did everything on time and gave us a lot of information about the sites we visited and introduced us to Kenya’s nature. We enjoyed time spent with him. He accompanied us during our visits of the Giraffe Center and Elephant Orphanage, showed the best place to take photos, filmed us during the giraffe feeding activity and even stopped at the supermarket at our request. We will keep good memories about this tour!
If you like giraffes and elephants then a must to visit
Kenneth D,Mar 10, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Enjoying feeding the giraffes and learning about them. Not too busy when we were there, so got great photos and did not feel rushed or pushed along. Elephants were brilliant and learnt a lot about them at the sanctuary which was very interesting. It was quite hot and busy compared to the giraffes but great to see them play. Felt it was quite expensive getting into the reserve (for the elephants), especially, as we were only entering it for the elephant sanctuary.
Great experience, very helpful guide!
Katie K,Mar 8, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00This was a great tour that covered the must see and do adventures in Nairobi. The driver and guide, Stephen, was very knowledgeable, shared lots of information the whole journey and was incredibly helpful. He made sure we had the best spot for viewing the elephants and was great at taking photos for us! It is a requirement to buy the National Park ticket seperately and I think a link to the site should have been sent out in advance to ensure everyone had the opportunity to buy the ticket before arrival. I would recommend this tour to others
Feeding Giraffes
Rebecca S,Feb 18, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Feeding the giraffes was so awesome! And after following Sheldrick Wildlife on social media for years, it was so amazing to visit in person and see the orphaned elephants. It was a great day and I would do it again!
Unnecessary Park Fees
Robert H,Feb 16, 2026
- Review from Viator
1.00Peter was great my issue is that these two items (Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Center should never be combined because the Elephant Orphanage is now located inside the Nairobi Safari Park and they want to charge you the park fees at $85 USD per person to get into the park just to go to the Elephant Orphanage in addition to the Elephant Orphanage entrance fee, You should try and do the Elephant Orphanage and NAirobi Park together as you would save having to pay the Park fees twice. It appears about 1 year ago because the park needed additional money and the majority of people were not doing the Nairobi Park Safari and only going to the Elephant Orphanage they made the change. So once again only book the Elephant Orphanage with the Nairobi Park Safari and book the Giraffe Center as just seperate tour not combine with anything. Other wise you are going to pay the Nairobi Park fees twice. I will say the Nairobi Park is the place where we saw the White and Black Rhinos as we did not see any Rhinos down in Masai Mara
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Operated by Gracepatt Ecotours Kenya