David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: Elephant Orphanage Visit

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 starts by picking you from your Hotel/Home within Nairobi 9:30AM. We will drive you to David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust have a walk through the little 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…
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Professional guide
What's Not Included
  • Pay extra $45 per person 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…

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.

Customer Ratings
4.3
(56 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
F1864vxmichelleb
Apr 9, 2025
Baby elephants and Nairobi national Park - I had the most amazing day ever! I went to see the baby elephants and then my guide Stephen Mutuku took me on a trip around the Nairobi national park. I saw lions, giraffes, zebras, and the black rhino. It was truly amazing!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dwhits125
Mar 21, 2025
Great Nature Experience - This was a great experience at the end of our morning game drive. The place was well-maintained and organised and the presentation was informative. Great to get up close to the elephants who all seemed to be in good health :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bnasty6969
Mar 11, 2025
Ask for Stephen! - Stephen was AMAZING. We knew you could do both of these activities without a guide but decided to book with Gracepatt to save us some stress. That decision was definitely the way to go when I wasn't able to get my Nairobi national park payment information to work. I was able to Pesapal Gracepatt and they booked our entry tickets for us. That would have totally shut us down and ruined our day if we Ubered there ourselves. Stephen knew where to go to get the best viewing experience. He told us a ton of information about the animals. The best part of our entire experience is the photos he took of us! The pictures are so much more special than if we took selfies on our phones. I would 100% recommend this tour to anyone in Nairobi. We booked this on the same day we were flying back to America and had a wonderful day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
843pamelaa
Mar 9, 2025
Amazing family experience - Amazing experience. We loved seeing the babies drinking their milk and learning the fun facts. My niece is a teen and this was her favorite experience in Nairobi. Lots of families and students groups. You can touch the elephants which is awesome.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brian_w
Feb 21, 2025
This Is A Must in Nairobi! - This was a highlight of our Nairobi visit. It was very educational & fun. I adopted an elephant. Our guide & driver was very pleasant. We enjoyed ourselves.
Review provided by Viator
Johanna_m
Jan 23, 2025
Great day for all of us - Sheldrick is very strict about visiting hours but worth it. The bs it’s we so great to watch great..
Review provided by Viator
Amy_t
Jan 20, 2025
Don’t Miss - Great experience getting so close to these adorable baby elephants. So fun and Stephen was an excellent tour guide and helped us get a perfect viewing location.
Review provided by Viator
Karra984
Sep 21, 2024
Bucket List Must with local hero John!!! - Incredible experience with the wonderful John as our guide and local safari hero. We Saw so much wildlife, Lions, Rhinos, Hippos, Giraffes, zebras. We headed to Sheldrick which was just incredible as the work they are doing is exceptional. The elephants are something else.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kishor_m
Apr 14, 2025
Very great experience.... - Very great experience. Nice to see the young elephants are properly taken care of. One issue: I signed up on line for two for $300.00. But just coming the gate of Nairobi National Park, we were told that there is park entrance is to be paid in addition to our paid fee. That was disappointment. We should be told that when we are buying the ticket for this trip. Driver was very courteous, prompt and friendly.
Review provided by Viator
Jennifer_l
Nov 3, 2024
Disappointing, crowded, too touristy - though the orphanage does good work - I booked this the night before, and was quite disappointed by the experience. Communications were initially good (on WhatsApp) from the local tour operator, messaging me about my pick-up at my hotel. Driver was on time and ok, but spoke little English and didn't know where he was going. I thought we were going to the elephant orphanage (as I had booked), but he drove me to the bead factory (which I rejected at first, but was actually impressive - beautiful things), where I joined (squeezing into a minibus) a big loud group of tourists who were all together (and wondered where I had come from). The driver/guide drove us to the park entrance where we joined a queue of vehicles, and I paid the $45 (6000 Kshs) fee (which I expected, having read the details). When we got to the elephant orphanage, there were already many people there for the 11-12:00 visit (the only time), and the talk had already started. It was hard to see over the tall people along the rope line. Elephants were cute but hardly babies any more (much bigger than I'd seen on 2 previous visits years ago). We heard about the resident rhino orphans but didn't get to see them. After the talk and watching the elephants eat and get their bottles, everyone had to leave, with many crowding around the small area where there were souvenirs for sale and the orphan adoption table - impossible to even get close. Guide found me and gruffly said everyone else was in the van and waiting for me (he had said nothing when we arrived about how to meet at the end), so we hustled back to the vehicle, which was full, so I was sent to another van full of tourists, and had to squeeze in there. Because I didn't want to join this big group to go to the giraffe house (been there, done that years ago), the guide called for a car to take me back to my hotel. Driver was ticked off, very gruff, didn't say a word to me for the 90 mins driving in horrible traffic to my hotel. At the hotel, he asked for payment. I had to message the tour company to get them to pay him (this should have been arranged, as these transfers were in my high fee paid for the excursion!). I was disappointed with the tour companies involved (better communication and organization is needed), and with Sheldrick orphanage which was quite different from when I visited years ago - when there were not big crowds, the visit was not so short, and we could get closer to the baby elephants, see where they sleep, see the baby rhino etc. I think it's become too popular (I blame Instagram), and they're just moving the masses in and out daily for this short, expensive visit. They still do great work, but the visit was disappointing. (And I would have bought a painting and probably adopted an elephant, but I was hustled out to rejoin this big loud group of tourists that I didn't want to join). As a solo, last-minute booking, I expected to be placed into a group, but not like this. As other reviewers said, there are better ways to do this, to avoid the tourist vans. And I would try to find a better day (not a Saturday) when maybe the visit would be less crowded. It just felt too zoo-like and touristy (especially compared to my previous visits). Unfortunately quite disappointing, for the 1-hr visit (and 2.5 hrs of driving) and $150.
Review provided by Viator
From $75
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).