Nairobi, area by area

The cheapest beds in the city, inside a working grid of offices, matatu stages and colonial-era arcades that empties hard after dark.

Nairobi's business-and-bar district: glass towers, rooftop terraces, Indian food on Diamond Plaza and traffic that will test your patience.

Horses, hedges and half-acre gardens on the city's south-west edge — the wildlife day-trips are all here, and so is the traffic penalty.

The city's best-value base: apartments by the hundred, the strongest restaurant scene in Nairobi, and ten minutes to almost everywhere.

The UN and embassy quarter beside Karura Forest — very safe, very expensive, very quiet, and short on anything that resembles street life.

Old bungalows, deep hedges and two small malls — a calm, family-shaped base ten minutes from Kilimani and twenty from the CBD.

Nairobi's most manicured gated estate: villas, boreholes and birdsong, five minutes from the UN and nowhere near a bar.

Colonial-era plots, the pink clubhouse of the Muthaiga Country Club, and a stillness that costs money — but almost no street life.

Quiet residential ridge ten minutes from the CBD, heavy on serviced apartments, light on nightlife and street noise.

Nairobi's South Asian quarter: temples, dosa counters, hospitals and cheap solid hotels, three kilometres from the CBD.

Freshwater lake ninety minutes from Nairobi: hippos, fever trees, Hell's Gate cycling and every price band from camping to lodge.

Kenya's fourth city, gateway to Lake Nakuru rhinos and Menengai Crater, with honest hotel prices and a working-town feel.

Highland town below the Aberdares — Mau Mau history, tree lodges, cool nights and central Kenya's best market country.

Equator town at the foot of Mount Kenya: rhino conservancies, climbing routes, good coffee and the best mountain views in Kenya.

Hill town an hour southeast of Nairobi with a big public park, wood carvers, cheap rooms and Akamba country around it.

Maasai plains south of Nairobi — Ngong Hills ridge walks, Olorgesailie stone tools, Lake Magadi and the road to Amboseli.