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User Reviews of Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve (6 Reviews)

Arabuko Sokoke Safaris Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve
Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 1-6 of 6 Reviews

Average User Rating

3.3333 / 5 3.3 /5
2.6667 / 5 3.3333 / 5 3.3333 / 5 3.8000 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 0 / 6 0
4 star 4 / 6 4
3 star 0 / 6 0
2 star 2 / 6 2
1 star 0 / 6 0
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Female avatar icon Laura Bettini Italy flag IT       Visited: January 2026 Reviewed: Jan 29, 2026

Email Laura Bettini  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Enjoy the forest by foot but don't rent a car or a driver!!

4 / 5 4 /5
3 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5
The forest is quite unique. The entrance fee is 725 Kenyan shillings per non resident adult. We explored it with Willie, a freelance tour guide we found through the official Arabuko Sokoke website. He charged us 2,500 KES for a three-hour tour, during which we walked through the forest and saw birds, insects, butterflies, monkeys, and the shrew. Overall, it was a very nice experience.

However, when organizing the tour, he told us that access to the forest was only possible by car and that he would arrange transportation for a minimum of 4,000 KES (half of the total cost of the entire activity), since we didn’t have our own car. In reality, we were perfectly willing to get there by tuk-tuk or on foot. The car only took us to the pond where elephants come to drink—a 15-minute drive—after which the rest of the morning was spent walking, which was actually the best part of the experience.

This extra cost felt completely unnecessary, especially since the car
Read more just waited in a parking lot for three hours. I would have much preferred to spend that money supporting the forest itself rather than on unused transportation, and the whole situation felt a bit like a setup
Avatar icon RiNique Belgium flag BE       Visited: April 2015 Reviewed: Mar 24, 2016

Email RiNique

Very happy birding

4 / 5 4 /5
2 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

This was my second time in Arabuko Sokoke forest. I especially went there for the owl's.
My guide was very good, knew all the birds, made sounds to lure them and overall it was one of my better birdwalks in Kenya. ( a lot)
I did book a room in Mida Eco Camp to be in Arabuko as soon as it opened in the next morning.
The owl's made my day !
[URL=http://s1149.photobucket.com/user/RiniqueNet/media/Kenya/Birds%20in%20Kenya/uil.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o586/RiniqueNet/Kenya/Birds%20in%20Kenya/uil.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Avatar icon Chris Visited: December 2014 Reviewed: Jan 8, 2015

A once in a life time experience.

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 5 / 5 3 / 5 4 / 5

We were maybe just extremely lucky but in mammals we saw the Golden Rump ElephantShrew (4x), an Adlers Duiker another Suni(?) Shrews and a civet.
The bird experience was amazing: We saw the Amani sunbird; Sokoke Pipit; Sokoke Scops Owl; Forest weaver; Woodpeckers; Spotted Ground Thrush Bee-eater; as well as a number of horn bills and black kites.
Our experience in the forest started at 6 in the morning and we left the forest the afternoon. The guide assisted me a lot to follow the Pipit until I got a photo of it. The photo of the Amani Sunbird also clear to identify the bird but the distance was quite far.
I would recommend anybody to go very early and be very patient and prepared to walk long distances in hot and humid conditions.

Male avatar icon rceventi Italy flag IT       Visited: August 2009 Reviewed: Sep 9, 2012

50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of rceventi and not that of SafariBookings.

This is not a park but only the natural forest exists between Malindi and Watamu

2 / 5 2 /5
1 / 5 1 / 5 3 / 5 2 / 5

It is an ancient rainforest not yet destroyed
The natural forest is inhabited by locals residents. There are the ancient ruins of the city of Gede.
The area that I have visited is located at coordinates: 3 ° 17 '05 ", 18 S 40 ° 01' 39", 50 E. Here is an "agriturismo" (Kenyan Natural Village) recently built called "Tishi's farm".
The forest is easily accessible along the road that leads to Malindi Watamu.
The main road is in good condition, the landscape and climate are typical of the coast of Kenya.
There aren't wild animals such as lions, rhinos, gazelles, zebras, etc..

Avatar icon John Carthy United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: September 2009 Reviewed: Jan 25, 2012

Email John Carthy

The review below is the personal opinion of John Carthy and not that of SafariBookings.
2 / 5 2 /5
2 / 5 1 / 5 2 / 5 / 5

We were very disappointed. I think you need to hire a proper guide to get the best out of this park, which we rarely do. The coast is lovely though.

Male avatar icon alejandro corellano Spain flag ES       Visited: August 2011 Reviewed: Sep 24, 2011

Email alejandro corellano  |  20-35 years of age

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 3 / 5 3 / 5 4 / 5

We visited the park at wrong time, midday ! But we were lucky to see some rare species. Do not visit at this time, go there very early in the morning or at the end of the day to watch and hear a lot of Birds. Arabuko is very difficult to see, inform yourself before at the office reception of the park
We found a very nice guide at the park for 2 hours walking arround.