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David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: Elephant Orphanage Visit
4.3
79 Ratings
Nairobi
Escape Nairobi’s hustle. Visit David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, meet majestic elephants, and learn their survival stories. Perfect for wildlife enthusiasts.
Escape Nairobi’s hustle. Visit David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, meet majestic elephants, and learn their survival stories. Perfect for wildlife enthusiasts.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - The tour begins with a pick-up from your hotel or home in Nairobi at 9:30 AM. You will be driven to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where you can enjoy a walk through the small center from 11 AM to 12 PM in an open area, surrounded by a rope fence. The youngest elephants emerge from the bush to greet their keepers,…
- Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - The tour begins with a pick-up from your hotel or home in Nairobi at 9:30 AM. You will be driven to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where you can enjoy a walk through the small center from 11 AM to 12 PM in an open area, surrounded by a rope fence. The youngest elephants emerge from the bush to greet their keepers, who are ready with large bottles of milk. For the next 10-15 minutes, you can watch each little elephant drink and enjoy their milk. After feeding, they play with water and interact with their keepers, offering opportunities for hugs and photos. You’ll learn about their age upon arrival at the orphanage, their rescue locations, and the circumstances that led to their need for care. Common reasons for orphaning include poaching of mothers, falling into wells, and human-wildlife conflicts. Once the youngest elephants are fed, they return to the bush, and the 2-3-year-olds take their turn. Some can feed themselves, while others are still assisted by their keepers. It’s delightful to see them hold their large milk bottles with their trunks and close their eyes in happiness as they quickly consume several gallons of milk.
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
What's Not Included
- Pay extra for Nairobi National park which is mandatory to access elephant orphanage
- Drinks
- Food and drinks
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
- Pay extra for Nairobi National park which is mandatory to access elephant orphanage
- Drinks
- Food and drinks
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Additional Information
Escape the busy streets of Nairobi for a day and visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Experience the unique opportunity to see the city’s only Elephant Orphanage, where you can meet some of the largest mammals on the planet and discover their life stories and survival strategies in the wild. The visit is scheduled during feeding time, with viewing…
Escape the busy streets of Nairobi for a day and visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Experience the unique opportunity to see the city’s only Elephant Orphanage, where you can meet some of the largest mammals on the planet and discover their life stories and survival strategies in the wild. The visit is scheduled during feeding time, with viewing strictly from 11:00 to 12:00.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Pay Extra $85 per person for Nairobi national park since it’s under KWS and it’s located inside the park. Its conservancy fee
Location
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Mbagathi Road, Kws Workshop Entrance - Nairobi National Park
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(79 Ratings)
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Resort41387301785
Feb 12, 2026
Wonderful Trip to Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage - Visiting the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage was an exceptional experience! The work they do to do rescue, rehabilitate, andcrewild orphan elephantsvis amazing. It was so fun to watch the orphansc come out to play and have their afternoon freeding, and the keepers gave a very informative talk about the elephants and the work the orphanage does.
Out driver John was fantastic - he contacted us the night before to confirm our appointment and offer assistance with park entry tickets. He was on time in the morning and his commentary during our drive was interesting and informative. He was also a very good, safe driver on Nairobi’s quite congested on roads.
We had a wonderful experience and highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annemarie_c
Jan 14, 2026
Fabulous - Absolutely fabulous. The driver was timely, informative and navigated the potholes well. No issues at all
Review provided by Viator
Karin_o
Dec 22, 2025
A very special baby animal experience! - A special and unique opportunity to meet rescued baby animals (elephants plus a zebra and a rhino) up close. We were introduced to each of them--each with a story of abandonment and rescue. Terrific learning around issues faced by animals in the wild--and about the amazing work the Sheldrick Foundation is doing to rehabilitat and release them back into the wild--successfully!
Review provided by Viator
A5697sgalexv
Dec 3, 2025
Save yourself some time - Many of these tours are provided by gracepatt ecotours. If you contact them directly you can request specific guides, pick a different time, and cater the experience to what you have time for. If you go in the off season there is a lot more flexibility. My daughter and I did the elephants, giraffes, and bead center with John and had a wonderful time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Road66572569621
Nov 1, 2025
Amazing orphanage for elephant - This was an absolute amazing place to visit and see small elephantsas well in a closer view. I had an amazing guide Sam.I would not forget him.He was able to answer our questions and this was such an amazing experience with my friends.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adcdiving
Oct 21, 2025
Cute how they come off run to their porridge - Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage is a sanctuary for orphaned elephants located within Nairobi National Park. Actually a bit strange choice to put the sanctuary here as there are no elephants present in Nairobi National Park.
At the moment they take in 13 elephants that are between 5 months and 4 years old. They cheerfully walk up to their caregivers who are waiting for them with various bottles of milk. They grab the bottles with their trunks and start drinking greedily. Really cute to see.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
178marcic
Oct 4, 2025
Elephant Paradise - I am so happy I was able to visit this wonderful place while here in Nairobi. My tour guide Sam was so warm and welcoming from the moment he picked me up from the hotel. During our trip to the Sheldrick centre Sam and I talked nonstop about how he got to where he is now and about his upcoming nuptials. He is a lovely man to spend time with and learn about Kenya in all its splendour. Definitely a tour not to be missed here in Nairobi.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert_s
Oct 13, 2025
Sheldrick was awesome, Viator a little deceptive. - The Sheldrick Trust was awesome, and 5 stars.
Viator gets 3 stars because it needs to be more transparent in that there is an ADDITIONAL park fee of $85.00 per person, and not bury it in the “read more “ section!!
Review provided by Viator
Xanadu444
Oct 1, 2025
Buyer Beware - While the attraction itself, the David Sheldrick Orphanage, was exceptional, the Viator tour there was not. I paid the high price as a solo traveler and expected to be on the tour myself and with the “professional guide” that was advertised. Instead, I was picked up by a driver who picked up another tourist at my hotel who was going on another tour. We waited ½ hour for 2 others and he discovered there had been a mix-up. We subsequently dropped the other girl off at her destination and continued to mine. I was then transferred to another driver – no professional guide in view – to join a group of 5 others who had paid much less than I did. We watched the elephants for an hour and then 4 of the group met friends and we dropped the 5th person at his hotel. The driver drove me to a bead factory that he encouraged me to see and he passed me off to a girl who gave me the tour. After that, he drove me back to my hotel. There was no guiding involved and nothing I could not have done using Uber. It was a ripoff on the part of Viator and I will not use them again. I encourage anyone who does, to make sure you are getting what you paid for.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Frances_b
Oct 26, 2025
Rip off - Total rip off. You have to pay another 80usd on top of the “tour” amount for park entry and it’s only 1 hour at the elephant orphanage (which is lovely). The rest of the time you are taken to souvenir shops and expected to buy crap. It is just an outrageously expensive ride to the elephant place
Review provided by Viator
