Best Things To Do in Kenya – Our Expert’s Choice

50 Best Things To Do in Kenya

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   1. Follow the Great Migration in the Masai Mara NR

   Watch the greatest wildlife show on Earth

   The great migration through the plains of East Africa provides wildlife viewing on the grandest imaginable scale. Every year, an estimated 2.5 million wildebeest, zebra and other grazers make a dramatic clockwise migration through a vast

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   unfenced ecosystem centered on Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. The herds typically march north from the Serengeti into the Masai Mara over July or August, and stick around there until October, when they drift back south.It’s an extraordinary spectacle. Regular crossings of the Mara River, where crocodiles lie in wait, provide the migration’s most adrenaline-charged moments. But there are many other highlights, from the sheer scale of the swarming masses to individual encounters with the plentiful predators – among them lion, leopard, cheetah and spotted hyena – for which the Mara is famed. This is nature’s raw beauty at its most powerful and is not to be missed.

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   Masai Mara Safaris More About Masai Mara

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   2. Relax on Kenya’s Indian Ocean Beaches

   Laze beneath the palms along the gorgeous tropical coastline

   If you could design a destination with all the necessary elements for the ideal beach holiday, it would look something like Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast. Here is a world of swaying palm trees and long, white-sand

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   beaches, of well-equipped beach resorts and quiet fishing villages, and of pristine coral reefs and traditional wooden dhows silhouetted against the setting sun.For those who like their holidays to carry a hint of intrigue, adventure or adrenaline, there are plenty of opportunities to get active and head out on (or under) the water and explore. The Kenyan coast also has that rare combination of scenic Indian Ocean beaches and a long, fascinating history that comes alive in Swahili towns such as Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu. But for many, the lure of the languid tropical sun and warm water is more than enough reason to come and do very little at all.

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   Kenya Beach Packages

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   3. Explore Nairobi, Kenya’s Vibrant Capital

   The city combines a modern buzz with mild weather and great wildlife viewing

   Nairobi is one cool city. Yes, its reputation for crime precedes it. And the traffic can be challenging. But it is also a place where you can fill your days with fascinating museums and cultural encounters,

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   dine at some of Africa’s best restaurants, then dance the night away in a local nightclub. What’s more, this most modern of African cities is bordered by the superb Nairobi National Park, where lions and rhinos still roam wild below a backdrop of city skyscrapers.Nairobi is Kenya in microcosm, and it quickly gets under your skin. Here, you can hike in suburban Karura Forest, watch traditional beadmakers at work, eyeball the world’s tallest animal at the Giraffe Centre, or take a community-guided tour in the sprawling informal settlement of Kibera. Above all, Nairobi is its people and their irresistible love for their city, along with its music, culinary diversity and sheer energy.

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   Nairobi Day Trips

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   4. Track Down the Big Five on Safari

   Encounter the sought-after quintet of lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino

   The Big Five tops many safari wish lists. And few things compare with the thrill of heading out on a game drive, knowing that a lion, leopard or elephant could appear at any moment. But the

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   Big Five is just the start when it comes to Kenya’s wildlife. Perhaps your safari highlight will be seeing a cheetah on the hunt. Or it could be a close-up encounter with a zebra, warthog or giraffe. Whatever it is, going on safari is simply a wonderful experience.Opportunities to see the Big Five are numerous in Kenya. Top all-around safari destinations include Masai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park and the private conservancies of the Laikipia Plateau. And while rhinos are more localized than the other four, they’re relatively easily seen in Lake Nakuru, Nairobi or Meru National Parks, as well as many parts of Laikipia, including the superb Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

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   Kenya Safari Tours Best Safari Parks in Kenya

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   5. Summit Mt Kenya, Africa’s Second-highest Peak

   Move among the clouds above Kenya’s Central Highlands

   Held sacred by the local Kikuyu people, Mt Kenya towers to 5,199m/17,057ft in the highlands north of Nairobi. It is one of Africa’s most beautiful mountains and provides a popular challenge for hikers and climbers. Aside

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   from offering spectacular views, this climb leads through montane forest to Afro-alpine moorland and the stark Alpine zone. Keep an eye out for elephant and buffalo on the lower slopes, and marvel at otherworldly giant lobelias and groundsels at higher altitudes.Mt Kenya lacks the prestige of Tanzania’s Mt Kilimanjaro, but the hike is just as challenging and arguably even more impressive. It is also a lot cheaper to hike than Kilimanjaro, and the trails are nowhere near as crowded. The round-trip hike to Point Lenana, the 4,985m-/16,355ft-high trekking summit, typically takes three to six days. The two highest peaks, Batian and Nelion, are technical and suited only to those with rock-climbing skills.

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   Mt Kenya Climbing Tours

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   6. Get To Know the Old Town and Beaches of Mombasa

   Immerse yourself in Swahili culture in Kenya’s second city

   Steamy Mombasa feels like no other city. From the 16th-century Unesco World Heritage–listed Fort Jesus to the tight tangle of lanes in the atmospheric Old Town, it combines a laid-back tropical languor with the energy of

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   a modern port city. Many travelers use Mombasa as a gateway to the parks of the interior or to the beaches up and down the Kenyan coast. And its location certainly lends itself to such a purpose.But Mombasa is full of personality in its own right. Here you’ll encounter cosmopolitan coastal Swahili culture at its most urbanized, whether you’re exploring labyrinthine markets or queueing for spicy curries in corner canteens where businesspeople and rickshaw drivers mingle. Take a tour or wander to get lost, then head for the sea to catch your breath and catch an ocean breeze. Either way, you’ll very quickly fall under Mombasa’s spell.

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   Mombasa Day Trips

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   7. See Elephants and Mt Kilimanjaro in Amboseli NP

   Africa’s largest land mammal thrives on the plains below its tallest mountain

   Amboseli National Park is one of East Africa’s classic safari destinations. Although relatively compact compared to many other Kenyan reserves, it is cast on the grandest scale. There are few other places where you can get

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   this close to big-tusked elephants, and the park offers arguably the best views of Kilimanjaro’s snowcapped peak (which lies just across the border in Tanzania).But while the classic Amboseli image is of an elephant family framed below the distinctive outline of Africa’s tallest mountain, there’s plenty more to see in the park’s verdant swamps and semi-arid plains. Wildlife includes lion, cheetah, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and wildebeest. The park also shelters more bird species (around 500) than many European countries, most notably large seasonal flamingo flocks and many other waterbirds. Just beyond park boundaries lies the modern Maasai heartland, where you can immerse yourself in traditional culture at community-owned conservancies.

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   Amboseli Safaris More About Amboseli

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   8. Drive Through Northern Deserts to Lake Turkana

   One of Africa’s most remote roads leads to the austerely beautiful Jade Sea

   The world’s largest permanent desert lake, Turkana is a shimmering turquoise expanse. It is set in a stark rocky landscape dominated by the imposing volcanic peaks of the Rift Valley escarpment. Tucked up against the Ethiopian

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   border, this vast lake lies hundreds of kilometers inland, and its 1,160km/721mi shoreline is twice as long as Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast.Statistics tell only part of the story, though. Turkana is also home to one of Africa’s densest crocodile populations, a rich diversity of traditional cultures, and several globally significant hominin fossil sites. And it has the unmistakable feel of being somewhere very remote indeed: the kind of place where the sound of a car engine feels like an intrusion. Up here, in the traditional land of the Samburu, Turkana, Gabbra and El Molo peoples, you’re almost as far as you can get from tourist Kenya.

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   Safari & Lake Turkana Packages More About Lake Turkana

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   9. Watch Perfect Sunrises at Diani Beach

   Chill at Kenya’s biggest and most popular Indian Ocean beach resort

   Diani Beach is a delightful resort village just 30km/19mi south of the port city of Mombasa. Unlike Lamu with its celebrated history, or the far south coast with its first-rate diving and snorkeling, Diani is –

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   for most visitors – all about the beach. And what a beach it is: a long arc of sun-bleached white sand lapped by calm warm water, framed by palm trees and fringed by several of Kenya’s most alluring all-inclusive resorts.There is, of course, more to Diani than just a beach. Cultural sites include the medieval Kongo Mosque and sacred forest at Kaya Kinondo, while wildlife includes troops of Angolan colobus and blue monkey. You can also kitesurf, join a snorkeling excursion, or enjoy fine dining at some superb seafood restaurants. But above all else, Diani is a place where sand, water and a gentle sea breeze are all you really need.

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   Safari & Diani Beach Packages

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    10. Look for the Tree-climbing Lions of Lake Nakuru NP

    Gaze upward for lions, watch out for rhinos, and hope for flamingos

    Lake Nakuru National Park may be small, but it packs in some amazing wildlife, from white rhino and black rhino to Rothschild’s giraffe and leopard. It is also famed for its prolific birdlife, most especially

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    flamingos, which once numbered in the millions but are now seldom seen in significant numbers. Today, the park is perhaps best known as one of the few places where lions regularly climb trees. It’s a truly special sight, whether it’s a big male wobbling on a narrowing branch or a playful cub showing no fear of heights.Bordering the city of Nakuru, this highly accessible park is often visited as an overnight stop between Masai Mara National Reserve and Nairobi or the Laikipia Plateau. But it is worth crossing the country to see Lake Nakuru and its tree-climbing lions – for many, it’s the safari experience of a lifetime.

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    Lake Nakuru Safaris More About Lake Nakuru