Landing in Nairobi: your first 24 hours, organised

The first day sets the tone for the whole trip. Get it wrong — a chaotic airport pick-up, a hotel in the wrong neighbourhood, dinner chosen from a lobby leaflet — and you spend day two recovering.

Here is the sequence we use. One: a named driver waiting at arrivals, not a phone number you have to WhatsApp from airport Wi-Fi. Two: a hotel chosen for where your week actually happens, not for its star rating. Three: a first meal within walking distance, booked before you land.

Nairobi traffic is real, and it is the single biggest thing visitors underestimate. We plan the first day around one area of the city, not three. Westlands or Karen or the CBD — pick a base, live in it, and save the crossings for days when they earn their time.

The one thing we always tell first-time visitors: do less on day one. Jet lag plus altitude (Nairobi sits at 1,795m) is a real combination. A slow lunch, a short walk, an early night — and then the sunrise safari on day two hits completely differently.