Giraffe Center and David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage Tour

Seeing the rescued elephants and hand-feeding the giraffes at the Giraffe Centre was an absolute highlight of our trip. The animals are incredible, and the work being done at both places is wonderful.​ However, be very cautious when booking this through Viator. The tour listing was misleading regarding what was included. Despite stating that all fees/admission were included, we were surprised with having to pay park entry fees out-of-pocket on arrival.​The experience itself is 5-star, but Viator/the tour operator needs to be much more transparent about additional costs so travelers aren't hit with unexpected charges.

Our driver/guide, Stephen Mutuku, was funny, kind and an an enthusiastic photographer. He seemed to have friends everywhere we went, knew the best places for the best views, and helped me "adopt" a baby elephant. The elephant orphanage was crowded with tourists, but a wonderful experience nonetheless.

Excellent guides in Stephen and Joe. They both went beyond what was required. The elephant orphanage was amazing. Stephen provided valuable tips on how best to experience the orphanage. Joe gave detailed information on giraffes. Both Stephen and Joe provided guidance with enthusiasm and were both affable. Would highly recommend.

There was a family of three, but they visited the Kirin Center without a guide, and they were afraid to feed the child, but they helped them keep trying. There was some misunderstanding at the Elephant Reserve regarding the information I had misunderstood in advance, but I would like to thank you once again for stephen's good arrangement. The seat line was also important, and the guide guided us to the top and made us enjoy our trip without any inconvenience. Thanks for the magnetics for the child.

We loved Sheldrick and the Giraffes. What a super experience. And the bead factory was also great! Thank you John for being a great guide too.

What a fantastic experience this was… I was collected from my hotel as arranged by the wonderful tour guide Stephen. He is so friendly and welcoming as well as being very knowledgeable about the Nairobi National Park and Kenya in general. We arrived at the Elephant Orphanage in good time so as we were able to find a good position to stand in preparation for meeting the young elephants. Watching them was an absolute joy while one of the keepers gave a very interesting talk about the orphanage and how and why each of the individual elephants were rescued. Stephen happily offered to take some amazing pictures while I was as able to meet the elephants and even touch them as they were quite playful! Following on from the elephant orphanage I was then driven to the Giraffe Centre where I was able to hand feed giraffes of different sizes which again was surreal. After leaving Stephen drove me to a local workshop where they craft many different things from wood and you can actually see them working on the pieces which is mad how good they are. After buying a couple of souvenirs we headed back to the hotel where I was dropped off. A truly fantastic experience and I would thoroughly recommend to anyone if they have a spare morning and early afternoon. I was only in Nairobi due to a cancelled flight and I booked the tour this morning at 6:30am and was on the tour by 9:30am so it’s so easy to do as well!

+3

I had one day free and managed to do all the things I wanted thanks to this tour. Had a blast! Super happy with my guide Wellington Mkenya!

+6

We visited giraffe centre, elephant orphanage, as well as Kazuri Beads, and a number of sites to purchase good quality souvenirs. We hit all the Nairobi highlights in our 8 hour tour! Our driver/guide Stephen was great! My 21 year old daughter and I were the only ones on the tour, and he made sure we made efficient use of our time by pre-ordering lunch, and also acted as photographer for us. Thank you Stephen for a wonderful day!

Kelvin was a fantastic guide from start to finish! I can’t recommend him enough. The day started with a pick up from the hotel which he arrived before our scheduled time and when we picked up more guests, we headed to the Giraffe Centre. Throughout the drive Kelvin was telling us all about the history of the places we passed and pointed out some other point of interest we may like. The giraffe centre and orphanage were excellent. A must see if you are at all in to wildlife conservation at all. We also went to Kazuri Beads and got to know it’s wonderful history and picked up some lovely Jewellery. Then ended the day with a great buffet style lunch at mamba village - I would never have thought to go there and I’m very grateful we did as the park and surroundings were beautiful! Kelvin done a great job, he’s super friendly and an excellent host. Thanks for the warm Kenyan welcome. Asante Sana! :)