48 hours in Nairobi

Most safari itineraries treat Nairobi as an airport with a hotel attached. Given two days it is considerably more interesting than that, and it is the only capital on earth where you can watch lions hunt within sight of an office skyline.

Nairobi National Park

117 square kilometres of genuine savannah on the city boundary, holding lion, rhino, giraffe and buffalo. An early-morning drive here before an onward flight is a real safari, not a consolation prize.

The Karen circuit

• The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage — one public hour daily, book ahead
• The Giraffe Centre, for endangered Rothschild's giraffe
• The Karen Blixen Museum, in the farmhouse from Out of Africa

All three sit within a few kilometres of each other and make a natural half day. The Sheldrick hour is the highlight and the hardest to get into.

Eating

Nairobi's food scene has changed enormously in a decade. Ask us for current recommendations rather than trusting a two-year-old listicle — the good places move.

“If your international flight lands at dawn, spend the day here rather than sleeping it off. You will be on the plains by tomorrow lunchtime either way.”