I've been sitting with this post for a few weeks because I didn't want to write the version of it that everyone else writes. You know the one — "I went to Africa and found myself." I found a lot of things in Nairobi. Myself wasn't one of them, because I already knew who I was when I got there. What I found was evidence that the world I travel through is bigger and more complicated and more welcoming than the internet wants us to believe.
Let me start at the beginning, which is JKIA — Jomo Kenyatta International Airport — at 6 AM on a January morning, jet-lagged and carrying too many snacks from my layover in Amsterdam. The first thing I noticed wasn't the heat (it was cool, actually, Nairobi sits at altitude) or the signs or the long customs line. It was that I looked like everyone working there. After years of navigating airports where I am often the only one who looks like me in my section of the terminal, that was something I had to sit with for a moment.
"After years of navigating airports where I am often the only one who looks like me — that was something I had to sit with for a moment."
Getting Around: Nairobi's Matatus Are the Move
Nairobi has Ubers and Bolts (the East African ride-share equivalent), and if you're coming from a U.S. city, you'll find the pricing reasonable. But the real way to move around Nairobi, if you're comfortable with it, is the matatu — the brightly painted minibuses that run fixed routes and are central to how Nairobi actually works. They're loud, often decorated with murals and sound systems, and they are a cultural experience in themselves.
I'm not going to pretend the matatu system is intuitive on day one. It's not. But connecting with a local guide for your first few days, even just a few hours, changes everything — they'll show you which routes go where, which stops to watch for, and how to hail one without looking completely lost.
Where I Stayed and Why It Mattered
I stayed in Westlands, which is one of Nairobi's most vibrant neighborhoods — walkable (in parts), full of restaurants ranging from local nyama choma joints to pan-African cuisine to excellent Ethiopian food, and with a nightlife scene that didn't require getting in a car to enjoy. Kilimani is another excellent option. Both neighborhoods are preferred by expats and well-off Nairobians and are well-served by ride-shares.
I'd avoid the hotel-district approach if this is a first trip. Staying in the neighborhoods is how you actually meet the city.
The Food, Because You Need to Know
Nyama choma — charcoal-grilled meat — is the answer to almost every hunger question in Nairobi. Carnivore Restaurant is the famous touristy version of this, and it's legitimately good even if it's a spectacle. But the neighborhood choma spots, the ones with plastic chairs and the smoke hitting you from a block away, are where the real magic happens. Ask your hotel or your matatu guide or literally anyone to point you to their spot.
Mandazi, the slightly sweet fried dough, for breakfast. Ugali (stiff cornmeal porridge) as a side to everything. Sukuma wiki (braised collard greens) that will make you emotional because it tastes like home and also completely different from home at the same time.
What "Feeling Welcomed" Actually Looks Like
I want to be honest about this because I've seen the Twitter discourse about Black Americans in Africa — the complicated feelings about diaspora and homeland, the questions of belonging, the commercialization of "Year of Return" energy. All of that is real and worth engaging with seriously.
What I can report from my own experience: I was not treated as less than. I was not the unexpected presence in a room. When I said I was American, people were curious and warm rather than performatively welcoming or, alternatively, dismissive. Nairobi is a major cosmopolitan city with its own complicated class and ethnic dynamics that have nothing to do with me — I was, in the best way, not the most interesting thing happening in any room I was in.
That is a specific, underrated gift for a Black American traveler, and I don't want to undersell it.
The Practical Stuff
Visa: Most nationalities including the U.S. now use Kenya's eTA system (electronic travel authorization), applied for online before you travel. It's straightforward, costs $32 at time of writing, and processes within 3 business days usually.
Money: KES (Kenyan Shillings). M-Pesa is the dominant mobile payment system and while you won't have access to it as a tourist, cash is accepted everywhere. ATMs are widely available in Nairobi. Notify your bank before you go.
Safety: Nairobi has a complicated reputation, much of it outdated. Use the same situational awareness you'd use in any major city. Don't flash expensive gear. Use ride-shares at night rather than walking. Trust the same instincts that have kept you safe in Atlanta or Chicago or New York.
The altitude (5,500 feet) means you might feel it on arrival. Stay hydrated, take the first day or two easy, and your body will adjust.
I'll be back. That's the realest thing I can tell you.