Nairobi · Where to stay

The densest concentration of bars, rooftops, restaurants and mid-range hotels in the city, around Parklands Road and Waiyaki Way. Best if your trip is about eating and music, and you are happy to make a long run out to Karen for the wildlife. Take a registered taxi or a ride app home rather than walking.

Leafy, low-rise and expensive, with the Giraffe Centre, the Sheldrick nursery, Bomas and the national park gates all within a few kilometres. Ideal for an early game drive and hopeless without a car; a night out in town is a 45 to 90 minute round trip depending on the hour.

Apartment blocks, guesthouses and a good spread of restaurants between the city centre and Westlands, with Lavington quieter and greener. This is where most mid-priced serviced flats are, and it puts you within reach of both ends of the city without paying Karen prices.

Nairobi traffic routinely turns a ten-kilometre trip into an hour, and it is worst between 07:00 and 09:30 and 16:30 and 19:30. Pick one side of town per day, book the Sheldrick and park visits for early morning, and treat anything that crosses the city at rush hour as a write-off.