Kenya Safaris

Apart from March, April, and May, which are the long rains, Kenya can be considered a year-round safari destination. The dry season in Kenya (January and February, June to October) offers visitors the best wildlife viewing experience, when the bush is drier so it’s easier to spot animals as they congregate at water sources The wildebeest migration can be observed in the Masai Mara National Reserve from August to October, after which they began their journey back to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. In general, September to April is the ideal time to visit Kenya for an optimal birding experience, with November and December the best time for migratory birds.

Although these are the perfect timings for wildlife viewing, the best time to visit individual parks might differ slightly based on the climate and season in the regions.

• Meru National Park: June to September
• Buffalo Spring National Park: June to October, December to March
• Lake Nakuru: June to March
• Amboseli National Park: June to October, January to February
• Masai Mara National Park: July to October

Generally, the most popular time to visit Kenya is during the dry season, which means the parks are often more crowded and prices higher at this time. On the other hand, the wet season and shoulder seasons are less crowded and more affordable so are well worth considering.

For more information about the best time to travel to Kenya (for safari activities, visiting the coastline and mountain climbing), check out our best time to visit Kenya guide.

• Amboseli National Park
• Buffalo Springs National Reserve
• Central Island National Park
• Chyulu Hills National Park
• Lake Nakuru National Park
• Masai Mara National Park
• Meru National Park
• Mount Kenya National Park
• Samburu National Reserve
• Tsavo East National Park
• Tsavo West National Park

Kenya is an ideal family safari destination with many of the safari lodges entertaining kids with safari activities which are tailored towards children and families. Imagine your children spellbound watching the great wildebeest migration or Masaai guides teaching them to track animals, enriching their memories of the safari holiday.

It depends primarily on your citizenship. Visitors from certain countries do not require a visa to travel to Kenya. Refer to the list of visa-exempt countries to find out whether you need a visa to visit Kenya and if so you can apply for an eVisa on the official visa portal. Everyone travelling to Kenya needs a passport with two blank pages and at least 6-months validity. For more details refer to our Kenya travel guide.

Kenya’s diversity has resulted in a multilingual population with a total of 68 spoken languages. Its two official languages are English and Swahili. The Bantu language, Swahili, is spoken more often than English, which was inherited during colonial rule. Although the locals communicate in their respective local languages, they often choose to speak either English or Swahili. Other languages spoken by the majority of the Kenyan population are Kikuyu – a Bantu language, Dhouluo – a Nilotic language, and Kamba – another Bantu language.

Kenya’s official currency is the Kenyan Shilling, which is accepted throughout the country. Foreign currencies such as US Dollars, Pound Sterling and Euros are also accepted at most hotels, restaurants and shops as well as credit cards, but not all shops accept this form of payment. If you want to convert your currency to Kenyan shillings use banks, Forex at the airport or ATMs.

To make things a little simpler, we have shared a quick currency conversions (2021):

• Arabuko Sokoke Forest:The Arabuko Sokoke Forest covers a mere 6-kilometer square area on the coast of Kenya, north of Mombasa. Compared to other major Kenyan birding destinations, Arabuko is smaller but large enough to house around 230 bird species. Some of the species found in the forest are African pygmy kingfisher, Amani sunbird, bush-shrike, dark-backed weaver, east-coast akalat, Fischer’s turaco, little yellow flycatcher, Mombasa woodpecker, red-tailed ant-thrush, Sokoke scops owl, and southern-banded snake-eagle.
• Kakamega Forest National Reserve: Kenya’s only tropical rainforest, Kakamega, is swarming with birds. The game reserve is home to over 450 bird species including African blue flycatcher, banded prinia, Cassin’s honeybird, dusky tit, eastern olive sunbird, grey parrot, great blue turaco, joyful greenbul, and western banded snake eagle.
• Kinangop Plateau: Wedged between the Kenyan Rift Valley and Aberdare range, the Kinangop Plateau gets its name from the Kinangop mountain. Kinangop is known for sightings of Aberdare cisticola, Hunter’s cisticola, Levaillant’s cisticola, wing-snapping cisticola, long-tailed widowbird, and sharpe’s longclaw.
• Lake Baringo: One of the two Kenyan Rift Valley’s freshwater lakes, Lake Baringo is quite well-known for its abundant birdlife. The lake is known to inhabit more than 470 bird species as well as some of the most endangered species such as basra reed warbler, Egyptian vulture, hooded vulture, Madagascar pond-heron, and Ruppell’s griffon.
• Lake Naivasha National Park: A birding hotspot, Lake Naivasha National Park, is located along the shores of Lake Naivasha, which is the other Kenyan Rift Valley’s freshwater lake. It is home to more than 300 bird species, such as African skimmer, black-tailed godwit, gray crowned-crane, great snipe, lesser flamingo, maccoa duck, and sooty falcon.
• Masai Mara National Reserve: Kenya’s premier safari destination, Maasai Mara National Reserve, is also a bird-watcher’s paradise. It has more than 500 bird species, including some vulnerable species, such as greater spotted eagle, imperial eagle, lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, secretarybird, white-headed vulture, and woolly-necked stork.
• Nairobi National Park: In its peak bird-watching season from November to April, Nairobi National Park is teeming with more than 500 bird species. There are around 16 old-world flycatcher species, 13 swallow species, and more than 30 birds of prey.
• Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserve: Samburu National Reserve and the Buffalo Springs National Reserve are separated by the river Ewaso Nyiro. Combined, Buffalo Springs and Samburu have more than 390 species of birds. Visitors will have frequent sightings of D’Arnaud’s barbet, golden pipit, nightjars, Somali bee-eater, Somali ostrich, rosy-patched bush-shrike, and white-headed mousebirds.