Explore Nairobi and Have Fun with 1 million!

Discover how to travel from Kampala to Nairobi on a budget of one million Uganda Shillings! From exploring Nairobi National Park to attending WordCamp Nairobi 2024 at Daystar University, this guide covers affordable transportation, accommodation, and exciting spots like the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Kazuri Beads Women Cooperative, and more. Whether you’re on a safari adventure, enjoying local culture, or just looking for fun in the city, Nairobi has it all without breaking the bank!

All right, all right, hello gentle readers. Good evening, good afternoon. Good morning, depending on your different locations. This is Moses Cursor again; I have heard very many stories. There are many unanswered questions too. People are asking me, are you certain we can survive in Nairobi with one million Uganda Shillings ($266)? Yes, my Ugandan brothers and Sisters. You can make it and you can have a lot of fun, I promise this, a lot of fun. I don’t know if I can even stress it enough — alooooooooot of fun.

So these are some of the things you can do and a number of places you can visit, and listed below are some of the costs you’ll have to make.

      a) Pricing Disclaimer

All the costs given here are in Uganda Shillings with US Dollar translations and will include Kenya Shillings conversions once we cross to Kenya or where applicable. This is to help us compute properly. Come count with me

1. Transport

  • Bus

If you’re going to use the buses, you’re going to spend a hundred thousand (100k UGX or $26) on your Journey to Nairobi; you’re also going to spend another hundred thousand Uganda shillings (100k UGX or $26) on your Journey from Nairobi. So that means that’s UGX 200,000 (200k UGX or $52) to go and come back. Nairobi.

  • Motor Bike (Bajaj, TVS, Hero, Mahindra, e.t.c)

There’s an Option of Using a motorbike. This could be cheap in theory but will match up the cost in the long run. Eventually this amount will be accounted for in the Bike service, Tire changes, Lodging, Oil and Fueling. The cost of Using the Motor bike will actually be more. In order to avoid double costs you will have to start your journey early in the morning to avoid night riding as it may not be safe

Just so you know I am not lying, Bike fuel will be around UGX 150,000 for both Journeys. Oil change at the border or shortly after crossing UGX 10,000. Several stops so the bike engine can cool may cost you a refreshment. This could go up to UGX 20,000. If your bike tires are new then you may not feel the journey since bike tires cover an estimate of 3000 to 5000 kilometers and the whole jurney will be around 1400 kilometers. The tiredness from covering 700km in 12hours can milk your spirit. The boredom of riding a long distance alone is a story for another day.

  • Flights (Like Seriously!!!)

If you are planning on flying, probably the plane ticket is going to cost you around 350 to 600 Us dollars (1.3 million to 2.3 million Uganda Shillings) which is already above our budget. This is also greatly depending on where you are and also depending on the flight you take. Flight classes range from economy business class or VIP. If you are in this Category, I am sorry to inform you that this article has beneficial facts that could benefit you but are not for you. Read on to know the places you can visit in Nairobi and how much money you could probably spend for each.

If you are still on a one million budget. This is article was made specifically for you. You’re going to take the buses from Kampala to Nairobi and Back.

2. Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate

Yellow fever Booklet issued after the Vaccination

You will need a yellow fever card. I believe you already have this. And if you do not have one because we are time-bad, you can quickly run to Nakasero General Hospital and get the Vaccination.  The injection goes for only UGX 80,000. However, if you want an excellent and speedy service, you might need to spend around UGX 100,000. But the cost is 80,000 for both Vaccination and card.

So if you have your yellow fever card, I trust you have been vaccinated against COVID-19. It is not a requirement but sometimes you might need it.

And in some places you will still be asked to maintain your social distance and also asked to still present your certificate of vaccination. To some countries. They are even asking for a vaccine boosters but luckily for the East African Community, you don’t need this. I am trying to keep this as simple as possible, so I’m going to cover only the requirements

3. Accommodation

So before you reach Nairobi, the first thing that I want you to plan for is your accommodation this is very, very important. Accommodation is mainly important. because you’re going to need a place to stay before you get out to go elsewhere. You will also need a place to stay for the night.

  • Air BnB or Booking.com

An AirBnB or Booking.com service is a service that helps you get accommodation online basing on the place you want. These services are similar and preferably the most common. For these services people choose to rent out their homes or rooms so that other people can use them at a fee. Some will leave you the place to yourself and others will be shared with the host or other guests. You always choose what suits you.

So booking a place will cost you between $50 to $80 (UGX 180k to UGX 300k – using the k to denote the thousand (000)) for the four days. There are places that bill as much as $400 depending on your budget and your preference and we have very many places you can go to that are in our range and even beyond. However, we said we won’t be spending luxuriously. Just enough to have great fun and surprisingly these places will be available. You can cook, you can have ready-made meals, and many other alternatives.

So we are not going to capitalize on places that are very expensive. We are going to look at places that are close to the WordCamp Nairobi 2024 venue. So we are going to invest a lot of time. In finding areas around Daystar University Nairobi campus and we are also going to put a lot of attention on areas that are comfortable and affordable. We have rooms that we can pay for $20 a night or even $15 a night and some of these even accommodate up to two people.

This simply means that if you came with your wife or if you traveled as a couple, This could still help you imagine paying $20 for two. Okay, so if we pay $70 for the three nights, we are aiming at staying for 3 nights as the fourth day is a travel day. That means we only pay for three.

You can choose a hotel and pay for a full board, you know. Just to keep it fancy. Okay, so once you have paid, we have so far covered. $132 (UGX 500K).

Having confirmed our accommodation, we go ahead and start planning the fun part. We are going to be touring and also attending WordCamp Nairobi 2024 at Daystar University, Nairobi Campus. Remember this is for people going for the WordCamp. However If you are not attending the WordCamp then you just need to cut out the WordCamp plan and still have great fun.

The Journey to Nairobi Starts

So this is what you will do, take a bus in the night that reaches Nairobi early in the morning, And you will go to the place you booked so you can refresh. Bus journeys can be exhausting so you may need a shower and an hour of washing off. Most places check in at 10am. As you wait for your check-in time you could get a place to sit and have breakfast, buy a sim card in case you haven’t already, buy a data bundle. This is under ideal situations. Under normal circumstances, eat breakfast and start the touring.

Day 1

After reaching Nairobi and having the cool off we start the tour. I’ve compiled a list of places in a nice order to visit them so as to have great fun while we save a lot of time. So these are some of the places that I thought about:

  1. Nairobi National Park.

The first place to visit is the Nairobi National Park. Here we shall be charged an entry fee of  500 Kenya Shillings (15,000 Uganda Shillings). The Nairobi National Park is the only pack in the world that is within a city so it is a very beautiful place to go.

We are going to experience Wildlife Safari that is just a few minutes from Nairobi center. And here we are going to see lions. We shall see rhinos, zebras and many more. This is best to do very early in the morning and also late afternoon. So we are planning it for day one so as to give us value for money .

TIP: If you can make a group of 10, you can bundle up and pay around 5k Kenya Shillings (150,000 Uganda Shillings) for a group of 10 and be given a game drive. Which is an extra 500 Kenya shilliings (15,000 Uganda Shillings)

Nairobi National Park Game Drive

There is also an extra fee upon request – UGX 52,000 for a tour guide up to 4 hours. Still if you divide this into the 10 people in the group it gets to about UGX 5,100 which is still pretty affordable

  1. David Sheldrick Wildlife trust
Feeding Elephants in the Trust

The next place to visit will be the David Sheldrick Wildlife trust which is also found inside the Nairobi National Park. This is where we find the sanctuary for orphaned elephants. Here we are going to see a variety of elephants that most are orphaned. We are also going to see baby elephants being cared for, being fed, being trained, entry $20 or the Kenya Shillings equivalent basing on the day’s rate which roughly translates to 75,000 Uganda Shillings

The trust is open to visitors on appointment only. Cash is paid upon arrival before entry. It is advised to book a week or two early as the response for confirmation of booking may take some time to come. So this largely means we have to book early. We can only book via contact form on the website. We can also a friend to help us book since entry is limited to bookings only. Remember to carry your booking slip.

A list of Requirements to Book your Visit to the Trust

Safety Tip: Avoid loud noises when you are in this place for you to have fun. Because elephants are scared by loud sounds. So, because of their sensitivity, especially during feeding and for fear of being asked to step out keep the sounds low when instructed.

  1. Nairobi Giraffe Center

Another beautiful place to visit is the Nairobi Giraffe Center. This as our number three can be very exciting. We are not planning on spending al ot of time at a given place. The Math is an hour or hour and a half. You can have this as a surprise for your loved one. I am assuring you, it will give you great value for money.

So the giraffe Center only charges you 400 Kenya Shillings (12,000 Uganda Shillings) for citizens of the East African Community. It’s a popular spot and with the 12,000 they’ll give you something small that you’ll feed the giraffes with. The giraffe center of Nairobi is a home for the endangered Rothschild giraffes. This is a very beautiful species of giraffes that is good to look at and it has been endangered. So this place was built as a reserve. It is very good. If you come into this place early  in the day,

Giraffe Center Code o f Conduct
Giraffe Center Code o f Conduct

Safety Tip: Have your food hidden carefully away because giraffes like feeding, they’re like monkeys when they see food I’m telling you, trust me they’re going to run for your bag. This species is also delicate when it comes to feeding so we are advised to keep our food away. You’ll been given special food to feed the giraffes with. Don’t scare them and don’t be scared. They love feeding from the hand.

  1. Karen Blixen Museum
Karen Blixen Museum

Another place that we can visit is the Karen Blixen Museum. This one is only 200 Kenya Shillings (6,000 UGX). As a Ugandan yo will be charged 600 Kenya Shillings (18,000). This was as at my last visit. Currently with the regulations from the National Museums of Kenya. Prices may change slightly.

The Karen Blixen museum is very historical and it is the former home of the famous author of the Out of Africa Karen Blixen. It is set in large Gardens and provides an insight into the colonial era of Kenya. So if you want to see things about the colonial Kenya, this is the place for you. It is beautiful. The best times to visit here is towards the evening before the place closes, Place closes at 5:30.

  1. Kazuri Beads Women Cooperative
The Kazuri Beads Website

The next beautiful place is the Kazuri Beads Women Co-operative. Tour this factory where local women create beautiful ceramic beads and pottery by hand. Support local artisans by purchasing unique pieces. Entrance is free, and there’s a lot of things that you might need to buy and trust me. So, it’s free entry and beautiful.

They are handmade souvenirs and they can make it a very rewarding stop.

  1. The Bomas of Kenya

I have no better rewarding day closing ceremony other than the Bomas of Kenya. BOMAS of Kenya has an enviable MICE facility in a quiet and serene setting. Experience Kenya’s rich cultural diversity through live performances of traditional music and dances from various tribes, along with exhibits of traditional homesteads. It is advised to get here a bit early before the performances start so you can visit the homesteads.  Entry to the facility is just 600KES (18,000 Ugandan Shillings) and everything will be unveiled.

I think that will be very beautiful. After these six places, I’m assuming you’ve given an hour, an hour and a half for each place and we have so far spent only 600 000 ($160).

Day 2 & 3

  1. WORDCAMP Nairobi 2024

From Here we go to the Flagship Event. The long awaited, the Creme de la creme´, WordCamp Nairobi 2014. what more should I say?

WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you and I. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other.

This year WordCamp Nairobi is Hosted at Daystar University, Nairobi Campus. The Venue is Beautiful, calm and pleasant. The Floral compound and entrance says it all. This year’s WordCamp will erase all the previous events in Nairobi and Africa as a whole.

The Event (WordCamp Nairobi 2024) ticket is 1,500 Kenya Shillings (50,000 Uganda Shillings or $15). Please be advised that the ticket is paid in advance. You may not be able to pay for tickets at the entrance. Yes, I understand as Ugandans we love paying at the entrance. Unfortunately for purposes of a great event gate pass tickets will not be available. To avoid discomfort and risk missing a great event buy your ticket from the Here or copy and paste the link Below <https://wordcamp.nm.co.ke/> to your browser.

The 50,000 Uganda Shillings caters for the entry pass. It grants us access to all tracks the general track and you are free to go to the whispering Woods track as well which is for the advanced WordPress users.

The Entry pass also includes all meals and WordPress Nairobi is giving us a full Board of meals. They’re going to have breakfast, lunch, and the snacks on our UGX 50,000. The 50,000 Uganda Shillings will cover for the two days Friday, and then Saturday. Great thanks to our Sponsors that have made it a success for such an event. This Sponsorship makes WordCamp affordable for us all. Otherwise it would be fire…..

  • As we close day 3 – Chills

So, after Saturday, we can get a place to chill in the evening Just for that evening. We can look for a place that has a good Live band. And the Kenyan live band experience is beautiful. It has songs that include the Bongo of Kenya, and the Lingala of Congo. it has the Congolese and Kenyan music.

On our Day Four – Sunday.

The next day is a Sunday. You could start the day with church, this will help you enjoy the nice collection of Kenyan worship and then from there, we can start right where we stopped.

  1. Nairobi National Museum.

Entry costing only 600 Shillings (18,000 Uganda Shillings) makes Nairobi National Museum welcoming and enjoyable. An impressive collection of Kenya’s history, culture, and natural heritage. The Museum hosts both temporary and permanent galleries that attract learners and tourists alike. The museum consists of the following permanent galleries: The Cradle of human kind gallery; The Story of mammals; The History of Kenya; Cycles of life gallery; Numismatic exhibition and Asian African Heritage exhibition gallery respectively.

  1.  Karura Forest

And then after you’ve had this, then we can go to the Karura forest. The entrance fee is 3,000 Uganda Shillings (100 KES) and is $6 for the Non residents. The place is full of Scenic trails for people who love to walk.  A nice quiet place to sit and chat. You shall have a beautiful waterfall experience, waterfalls picnic sites and it’s just very close to the city.

The Karura forest is great for people who love to walk. If you like cycling, you can rent a bike at only 30,000 Uganda Shillings for two hours.

  1. Two Rivers Mall

After such a thrilling adventure we go to Two Rivers Mall. Two Rivers Mall is a modern shopping complex offering various activities like bowling, go-karting, and zip-lining. There’s something for everyone, from shopping to fun entertainment. Go Karting starts 75,000 Uganda Shillings for 10 minutes. Zip lining is a 1,500 KES (50,000 Uganda Shillings). We have bowling. Which  is 25,000 Uganda Shilling per game. Among other services is the Cinema, a variety of shopping malls. Also available is the Ferris wheel which is 15,000 Uganda shillings. Every one is covered from children to adults.

Weekdays are least crowded as everyone is busy. So I would advise if you can push this to a Thursday or Friday, we can do this before having the WordCamp or between the WordCamps otherwise Sunday, everybody’s free and everybody would be coming for this place.

  1. Forest Adventure Center

Next up is the Forest Adventure Center. With Zipline, Paintball, Nature walk, Mountain biking, Footgolf, Archery and horse riding. To people who would love an adrenaline rush, this is the best place. The place is located exactly one hour from Nairobi city. Horse riding starts at 50,000 per hour.

After all these we are up to around 850,000 Uganda Shillings. This is on assumption that we don’t go for all events. It’s hard for a person to like all these activities. Also with the time frame allocated, one can not have all the activities. From there let’s add 100,000 Uganda shillings for all unaccounted costs of Uber, Bolt, Snacks, Road side foods among others.

  1. Masai Market.

And finally, the Masai market. The Masai market is an Open-air marketplace featuring vendors selling colorful handmade jewelry, textiles & beaded bowls. It is a vibrant Marketplace, selling handmade Masai crafts, jewelry, carvings, Fabrics. It’s the perfect place to pick a souvenir as you plan on coming back to Uganda.

Conclusion

So I want to close up. I put together some travel tips to help us as we  travel. It’s beautiful. If you travel using an Uber or bolt among others.

  • Travel in a group to help with security. Anything can happen to a solo traveler in an unknown land. Fear of getting lost or entering enchanted territory is top of the list
  • It’s also cheaper if you travel as a group. It is safer when you travel in a group and avoid isolated places. All of us know that isolated places are bad for security.
  • The local currency is the Kenyan Shillings however, most places will accept credit cards. But it is advisable and highly advisable to have some cash. And where you run short of cash, don’t worry; Mpesa got you covered.

All right, let me cut it here. See you in Nairobi WordCamp Nairobi 2024.  For those still stuck with how to get to Nairobi, I wrote an article here covering in depth what you will need For WordCamp Nairobi. See you there.

Share the Post: