8-Day Rift Valley and Western Kenya Birding Safari
per person
This 8-day safari in Kenya focuses on birdwatching at various top locations. It begins in Nairobi and includes a transfer to Lake Nakuru, which hosts over 500 bird species, including endangered ones like the Rüppell’s Griffon, White-headed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, Gray Crowned Crane, Sooty Falcon, Gray-crested Helmet Shrike, and Abyssinian Thrush. The tour also explores Lake Naivasha, home to more than 350 bird species supported by lush vegetation, featuring both East African and globally threatened species.
Other stops include Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria, where unique birds such as the African Fish Eagle, Little Bittern, Spotted Eagle-Owl, Northern White-faced Scops Owl, African Jacana, and Greater Flamingo can be seen. The journey concludes at Kakamega Forest, rich with 350 bird species, many of which are endemic. A day at Dunga Beach is also included, and the tour is available year-round.
Tour Highlights
- Birding transfer to Lake Nakuru and Naivasha.
- Birding all day at Lake Nakuru National Park
- Birding transfer to Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria
- Full-Day Birding Excursion at Lake Baringo.
- Travel to Kakamega, sightseeing en route.
- Full-Day Birding Kakamega Forest
- Birding Kakamega Forest and transferring to Dunga Beach via Kericho
- Birding Nairobi Airport Transfer
Day 1: Birding Transfer to Lake Nakuru and Naivasha
Meet Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by our safari guide, get briefed on your safari, and then drive to Naivasha and Nakuru, having a stopover at the viewpoint to view the magnificent Gregory Rift Valley. View birds that inhabit Lake Naivasha, the highest lake in the rift valley in Kenya. The lake has over 350 species of birds. Look for flocks of cormorants, kingfishers, pelicans, and other species of birds. As a better option, take a boat ride as you watch the birds. Lunch en route, and after, proceed to Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru Game Drive: Lake Nakuru on the Floor of the Rift Valley; here we will see the spectacular gathering of lesser flamingos in their hundreds of thousands together with an abundance of other water birds like the western reef heron, lesser jacana, and black-headed gull. We will also look for Acacia Forest species, including the Green-wood Hoopoe, Hildebrandt’s and Coqui Francolins, Rufous-naped and Fawn-colored Larks, the scarce Grey-crowned Helmet-shrike, the Arrow-marked Babbler, the Bearded Woodpecker, the Mottled Swift, and the White-shouldered Cliff Chat. On the baboon cliff, we shall be on the lookout for fox kestrels and other species of falcons.
Accommodation: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort (mid-range), Enashipai Resort & Spa
Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Full Day Birding at Lake Nakuru National Park
Enjoy your early morning breakfast, followed by a full-day game viewing and bird watching. Lake Nakuru National Park is a world-renowned habitat for birds, as flamingoes flock here in thousands, feeding on crustaceans and small animals that inhabit the lake as well as the algae. The flamingos are accompanied by other species of birds, including the gregarious white pelicans ‘fishing’; geese; jacanas; secretary birds; fish eagles; and the vulturine fowls found in the bushy and forest parts of the park, among other birds.
Accommodation: Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort (mid-range), Enashipai Resort & Spa (luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Day 3: Birding Transfer to Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria
Have an early game viewing, followed by breakfast. Mid-morning at leisure. Have lunch and drive to Lake Baringo. Lake Baringo is one of the freshwater lakes on the floor of the Kenya Rift Valley. Watch out for the red bishop, the solitary pink-backed pelicans, fish eagles, and other birds. From Lake Nakuru we head northwest towards the freshwater Lake Baringo, with a stopover near the Menengai crater, and here, we find the Brown Parotia and Brown Snake-Eagle in these farmlands. At Lake Baringo and its environs, we search for rare species restricted to the northwestern part of the country, including Hemprich’s and Jackson’s Hornbills, Heuglin’s Courser, Nubian Nightjar, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Northern Grey Tit, Gambaga Flycatcher, Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Beautiful Sunbird, Bristle-crowned Starling, Jackson’s Golden-backed, Little and Northern Masked Weavers. In the evening, we visit several sites looking for Verreaux’s and Spotted-Eagle Owls, as well as the White-faced Scops Owl.
Accommodation: Soi Safari Lodge (mid-range), Island Camp Baringo (luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Day 4: Full Day Birding Excursion at Lake Baringo
After breakfast, have a full day of birding activities, as Lake Baringo has a multitude of birds. 400 species have been recorded here. Have an experience of bird watching on foot or by boat. Have lunch at the country club.
Accommodation: Soi Safari Lodge (mid-range), Island Camp Baringo (luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Day 5: Travel to Kakamega, Sightseeing En route
Travel to Kakamega after breakfast and sightsee en route. Lunch en route. Check in at Rondo Retreat in Kakamega Forest.
Accommodation: Rondo Retreat Centre (mid-range), Isukuti Lodge (luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Day 6: Full-Day Birding in Kakamega Forest
After breakfast, have a full-day birding activity at Kakamega Forest with a picnic lunch. The forest is well known for the diversity of birds. There are 367 species of birds that have been recorded here. In this western part of Kenya, the remnant Congolese rainforest has species that are found nowhere else in Kenya. This includes the Blue-headed Bee-eater, African Broadbill Toro Olive, Shelley’s Greenbul, Grey-throated Barbet, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Black-faced Rofous Warbler, Veillot’s Black Weaver, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Chubb’s Cisticola, and Brown-throated Wattle-eye, among others. We will venture further afield outside the forest for some more western specialties like Rock Pratincole, White-chinned Prinia, Marsh Widowbird, Black Bishop, Red-headed Lovebird, Green Crombec, Red-chested Sunbird, Purple Starling, Locust Finch, Zebra Waxbill, Brown Twinspot, Bar-breasted Firefinch, and be on the lookout for the rare Speckled-breasted Woodpecker and Bedouin Snake-eagle.
Accommodation: Rondo Retreat Centre (mid-range), Isukuti Lodge (luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Day 7: Birding Kakamega Forest and Transfer to Dunga Beach Via Kericho
After breakfast, do the last bird watch at Kakamega Forest. Have lunch and do birding at Dunga Beach on Lake Victoria. Bird species found around Lake Victoria but rarely, if ever, seen anywhere else in Kenya include the Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Blue Swallow, Swamp Flycatcher, Greater Swamp-warbler, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Caruthers’ Cisticola, Papyrus Gonolek, Red-chested Sunbird, Red-headed Quelea, Slender-billed Weaver, Yellow-backed Weaver, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Black-throated Seedeater, and the Papyrus Canary.
Accommodation: Acacia Premier Hotel (mid-range), Ciala Resort (luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Day 8: Birding Nairobi Airport Transfer
Early morning birding at the arboretum; drive to Nairobi after lunch. Check in to a Nairobi hotel for your dayroom. Dinner at Carnivore. Depart for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for your outbound flight.
Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch
Price Items includes and excludes
Includes:
All Park Entrance fees
- All airport transfers (pick ups and drop offs)
- All domestic flights
- Arrival and departure airport transfers
- All ground transportation throughout the safari
- Accommodation as per the itinerary (unless labelled as optional)
- Meal plan as per the itinerary (As specified day by day)
- Services of an English-speaking driver/guide
- All safari activities as per the itinerary (unless labelled as optional)
- Bottled drinking water
- All taxes / vat
Price Excludes:
-
- All International flights
- Visa and related costs
- Personal taxes and insurance
- All additional accommodation
- Personal items including souvenirs, phone charges, tips
- Optional activities not listed by the itinerary
- Government imposed increase of taxes or park fees