13 Days Kenya Birding Safari

This safari offers an incredible diversity of birds, mammals, reptiles, landscapes, great weather, quiet reserves, and a true feeling of adventure. Most famous for its excellent Lion and Cheetah photography, the Masai Mara Reserve has an amazing abundance of birdlife. You will be on the lookout for Vultures (5 species),Tawny, Bateleur, Fish and Snake Eagles, Saddlebilled Storks, Grey Crowned Cranes, Lilac Breasted Rollers, Ox-peckers, Mousebirds, Bushshrikes and more, the list of over 500 is very impressive and is one of the best locations to photograph birds in the world.

This safari offers an incredible diversity of birds, mammals, reptiles, landscapes, great weather, quiet reserves, and a true feeling of adventure. Most famous for its excellent Lion and Cheetah photography, the Masai Mara Reserve has an amazing abundance of birdlife. You will be on the lookout for Vultures (5 species),Tawny, Bateleur, Fish and Snake Eagles, Saddlebilled Storks, Grey Crowned Cranes, Lilac Breasted Rollers, Ox-peckers, Mousebirds, Bushshrikes and more, the list of over 500 is very impressive and is one of the best locations to photograph birds in the world.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Nairobi

Stop At: Nairobi, Nairobi
Arrive in Nairobi Kenya at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where you will be met and transferred to a Nairobi Hotel for an overnight stay (1 night)
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Nairobi Hotel for an overnight stay (1 night)

Day 2: Nairobi – Samburu Reserve

Stop At: Samburu National Reserve, Samburu National Reserve, Samburu District, Rift Valley Province
Depart after breakfast. Drive North towards Samburu Reserve arriving in time for a late lunch and your first afternoon game drive (overnight in Samburu for 4 nights) more than 390 bird species recorded in Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves. The reserves protect a variety of habitats, home to different bird species including arid acacia savannah, scrub and gallery forest alongside the Uaso Nyiro River. The dry, open country offers very rewarding birding opportunities and boasts a number of northeast African dry-country species shared with Ethiopia and Somalia, such as vulturine guineafowl, Somali bee-eater and golden-breasted starling. Best Time for Bird Watching Samburu is a bird watcher’s delight all year.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Samburu Shaba Lodge or similar

Day 3: Samburu Reserve

Stop At: Samburu National Reserve, Samburu National Reserve, Samburu District, Rift Valley Province
Morning & Afternoon game drives in Samburu. Bird lovers in search of an unforgettable adventure will find Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Isiolo probably the best place to be.The park is home to more than 360 species of African and exotic birds. The reserve is home to hornbills, weavers, plovers and spur fowls, which come from northern Tanzania. They easily adapt to northern Kenya’s climate.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Samburu Shaba Lodge

Day 4: Samburu Reserve

Stop At: Samburu National Reserve, Samburu National Reserve, Samburu District, Rift Valley Province
Morning & Afternoon game drives in Samburu
Duration: 6 hours

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Sambur Shaba Lodge

Day 5: Samburu Reserve

Stop At: Samburu National Reserve, Samburu National Reserve, Samburu District, Rift Valley Province
Morning & Afternoon game drives in Samburu
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Samburu Shaba Lodge

Day 6: Samburu – Lake Nakuru

Stop At: Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park, Rift Valley Province
Leaving early, on this day we shall drive to Lake Nakuru National Park; with a possible quick stop for a site where Cape Eagle-Owls roost. We shall arrive in Nakuru, around mid-day where we shall spend the entire afternoon birding in the park. This park is famed as the birdwatchers’ paradise, and indeed was the first national park in Africa to be set up with an avian conservation objective. This is indeed one of the highlight locations on our Kenya Birding Tour. Up to a million flamingos have been recorded in this park depending on their regional migration. Most of these are Lesser Flamingos with Greater Flamingos making a smaller population. Other birds will be seen including some special species for this area and Palearctic water migrants being abundant in the right season.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Sarova woodlands Hotel

Day 7: LAKE NAKURU TO LAKE BARINGO

Stop At: Lake Baringo, Kenya
On this day, we shall start with more birding in Nakuru. We shall spend the better part of the morning adding any species we may have missed the previous day. In the later afternoon, we shall head for Lake Baringo, as we bird along the way. If time allows, we shall stop briefly at a roadside dam near the lake, to check for some waterfowl. Night in Baringo.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Lake Baringo Hotel

Day 8: LAKE BARINGO

Stop At: Lake Baringo, Kenya
On this day, we shall enjoy birding in the Baringo area. We shall drive and walk around the scrubland and the cliffs surrounding the lake, in search of birds in this unique area. A boat ride experience will also help you enjoy the beauty of the lake and see the local African Fish Eagles advertising their territories. Night in Baringo.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Lake Baringo Hotel

Day 9: Lake Baringo – LAKE NAIVASHA

Stop At: Lake Naivasha, Naivasha Road Nakuru County Kenya
We shall leave early and drive straight to Naivasha. In Naivasha, we shall sample local birding spots. We shall keep an eye for more savannah and bushland birds. We shall also get to the lake shore, at our best-selected beach points, where many shorebirds will be seen. A boat ride on Lake Naivasha, will ensure you can reach more species in the middle of the lake, as you enjoy the aquatic beauty. Night in Naivasha.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Lake Naivasha Country Club

Day 10: lake Naivasha – Masai Mara

Stop At: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Rift Valley Province
Depart lake Naivasha after breakfast and travel by road towards the Maasai Mara Reserve arriving in time for a late lunch and your first afternoon game drive in the Masai Mara (overnight inside the Masai Mara Reserve for 5 nights)
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Masai Mara Sopa Lodge

Day 11: Masai Mara

Stop At: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Rift Valley Province
Morning & Afternoon game drives in Masai Mara. The Mara Game Reserve has varied habits, including open rolling grasslands, river line forests, acacia woodlands, swamps, escarpments, etc. These contribute to its exceedingly diverse wildlife. It is know for its huge concentrations of herbivores and attendant predators. More than 500 bird species are known to occur here, including raptor 53 raptor species such as Southern Ground Hornbill, Long-toed Plover Lizard Buzzard, Secretary Bird, Shelley’s Francolin, Red-necked Spur fowl, Madagascar Squacco Heron, Rofous-bellied Heron Spotted Thicknee, Red-throated Spurfowl, Magpie Shrike, Black Coucal, Little Greenbul, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Athi Short-toed Lark, Karamoja Apalis, Zitting and Rock-loving Cisticola
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Dinner and overnight at Masai Mara Sopa Lodge

Day 12: Masai Mara

Stop At: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Rift Valley Province
Morning & Afternoon game drives in Masai Mara
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Masai Mara Sopa Lodge

Day 13: Masai Mara – Nairobi

Stop At: Nairobi, Nairobi
Morning game drives en-route to Nairobi arriving midday in Nairobi – check into your day room then have lunch. Afternoon at leisure before being collected and transferred to Jomo Kenyatta Airport to connect to your international flights home
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: No accommodation but can be arranged upon request