Elephant Orphanage & Giraffe Centre Tour

Girafe centre and elephant orphanage were great but they charged us almost 100usd/ pers instead of 85$ to get to the park without explanation. Too expensive for 4h experience.

Excellent 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

This 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.

The 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!

This 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! :)

Such 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.

We 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!

Enjoying 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.

This 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 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!