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

21-30 of 36 Things To Do in Kenya

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    21. Unwind in the Popular Beach Resort of Malindi

    Relax on the beach right by the sea

    Travelers have been coming to Malindi for longer than anyone can remember. The town has been looking after travelers, especially Italians, in search of the perfect beach since the 1970s and it’s very much perfected the art. Part of the secret is familiar to many coastal Kenyan resort towns. A beautiful beach fringed with palms is central to Malindi’s appeal.
    

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    But Malindi has a few special tricks up its sleeve, from Italian restaurants that are consistently ranked among Kenya’s best, to world-class kitesurfing. Malindi attracts kitesurfers from across the globe. The diving and snorkeling here are also outstanding, and can be enjoyed off the back of a boat as part of a delightful excursion across Malindi’s transparent waters.
    Malindi Beach Packages

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    22. Gaze Upon Lake Naivasha’s Rift Valley Waters

    Lake Naivasha is Kenya’s most popular Rift Valley lake

    The line of Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes runs through the heart of the country like a string of beautiful pearls. Of all of them, it’s Lake Naivasha that enchants most visitors. Lake Naivasha is close (or en route) to many attractions in central Kenya. Hell’s Gate National Park is right alongside, for example. Around the lake you can enjoy boat excursions in search of hippos, lovely accommodation, flower farms, Elsamere (the former lakeside home of Joy Adamson of ‘Born Free’ fame), a couple of sanctuaries at Crescent Island and nearby Crater Lake, and even flamingos at adjacent Lake Oloiden.
    

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    The lakeshore can get busy on weekends, especially in the camps along the southern shore. But this is a lake that has always drawn locals and visitors alike, and was as much a favorite for jet-setting colonial types as it is today for local Kenyans out to explore their own country.
    Tours to Lake Naivasha

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    23. Learn About Coffee and Tea Close to Thika

    Tour green-hills plantations not far from Nairobi

    You don’t have to travel too far northwest of Nairobi before the traffic-clogged streets of the capital seem like a distant memory. The forests that cloak the fertile hills around Thika shelter waterfalls and provide the backdrop to coffee and tea estates that have been around since colonial times. The Karunguru Coffee Estate and, a little further west of Thika, the Kiambethu Tea Farm, both run tasting tours that tell you the story of two of Kenya’s favorite drinks. Kiambethu has a delightful colonial-era homestead, while the lunch in the grand ballroom of Karunguru is almost as memorable as the plantation itself.
    

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    The town of Thika is also a journey down memory lane. The town’s Blue Post Hotel was the centerpiece of the classic colonial memoir ‘The Flame Trees of Thika’ by Elspeth Huxley.
    Nairobi Tea Farm Tours

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    24. Meet a Giraffe at Nairobi’s Giraffe Centre

    Conservation meets face-to-face encounters

    There’s serious conservation work happening at the Giraffe Centre, west of the capital Nairobi. Endangered Rothschild’s giraffes are protected here in preparation for their release into the wild. This most endangered of giraffe species is already making a recovery in parks such as Lake Nakuru National Park, thanks to the giraffes sent from here.
    

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    But conservation coexists with fun here. Climb to the covered platform where you’ll find yourself eye to eye with these long-necked giants. Aside from enjoying a giraffe’s-eye view of the world, you might even receive a kiss or a lick on the face from a mischievous member of the giraffe fraternity. You’ll hear the giggles and cries of surprise and laughter almost as soon as you walk through the gate.
    Giraffe Centre Day Trips

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    25. Ascend the Rift Valley Volcano of Mt Longonot

    Look down into the lost world of Longonot

    Volcanoes, extinct and dormant, run along Kenya’s Rift Valley like a dragon’s backbone. Most are for admiring from a distance, but Mt Longonot is a special place. In little more than an hour you can climb from the lower slopes to the crater rim, from where the views are superb. All around you, as far as you can see, the rumpled contours of the Rift Valley rise as mountains and deep valleys, while down below, the rim drops steeply into a forgotten world of forests and steam vents rising as if in readiness for the next eruption.
    

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    The crater itself is almost a perfect circle, and you can return back to where you began. Or, for the full experience, follow the trails that encircle the crater rim all the way around. Along the way, you’ll enjoy some of the best views in Kenya.
    Mt Longonot Day Trips

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    26. Visit Karen Blixen’s House and Museum in Nairobi

    Relive Kenya’s colonial heyday west of Nairobi

    Karen Blixen (also known by her pen name, Isak Dinesen) was both celebrated author of the classic memoir ‘Out of Africa’, and a larger-than-life personality in colonial-era Nairobi. Played by Meryl Streep in the film of the same name, Blixen lived in a homestead set on expansive grounds in the suburb that now bears her name.
    

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    Now given over to a museum that opens a window onto a fascinating period of Kenya’s history, the home has period furnishings and personal effects that bring the owner’s story to life. It helps if you’ve read the book and seen the film before you visit, and you wouldn’t be the first visitor to expect Robert Redford to appear around the corner at any moment…
    Day Trips to Karen Blixen Museum

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    27. Go Birding in the Kakamega Forest NR

    Discover Kenya’s last tract of true rainforest

    The first time many travelers arrive in Kakamega Forest National Reserve, you can often see their disbelief. All of a sudden, Kenya is transformed, from a world of busy roads and big cities and savannah grasslands into a dense rainforest as beautiful as any in East Africa. All of western Kenya once fell under the spell of forests such as this that are more often associated with the Congo Basin of Central Africa.
    

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    Almost as soon as you step into the forest, the world and its noise disappear behind the trees, and birdsong and the cries of monkeys take over. Kakamega has more than 350 species of birds, and some are rarely seen Central African specialties. Follow forest trails in the company of a local guide, and don’t forget your binoculars.
    Tours to Kakamega Forest More About Kakamega Forest

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    28. Dote on Baby Elephants at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

    Laugh at tiny elephants taking a mud bath in Nairobi

    On the western fringe of Nairobi National Park, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a remarkable place. A haven for orphaned baby elephants, the trust’s property opens its doors every morning to visitors who watch as these naughty little characters interact with their keepers, then roll in the mud as part of their morning exercise, occasionally spraying unsuspecting visitors with a trunkful of mud.
    

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    Afterward, you can visit the enclosures where these endearing mini elephants sleep every night, speak to the keepers, and even adopt an elephant to help contribute to its care and its eventual return to the wild. It’s one of the best things you can do in Nairobi, and it’s all to support a good cause too.
    Day Trips to the Orphanage

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    29. Swap Crowds for Flamingos at Lake Bogoria NR

    Find one of Kenya’s biggest flamingo colonies

    A lake filled with flamingos is an iconic image of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, and some of the biggest flamingo flocks are in Lake Bogoria National Reserve. It lies beyond the well-traveled routes through central Kenya, and it’s all the better for it. Tracks for 4WDs follow the shoreline to numerous vantage points that look out over the mass of pink birds that are always on the move, often seeming like a single entity.
    

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    The trail also passes a series of hot springs. With steam gushing into the air and, very often, a strong smell of sulfur, it all feels like something out of a sci-fi film. But it’s a glorious sight, especially against the Bogoria backdrop of hills rising above the lake’s eastern shore. Keep an eye out in the undergrowth west of the lake for a greater kudu male, which is a prize almost as impressive as the flamingos.
    Tours to Lake Bogoria More About Lake Bogoria

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    30. Run a Marathon in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

    Look out for lions as you run the Lewa Safari Marathon

    There isn’t another marathon in the world like it. For a start, along most marathon courses, you don’t need to keep an eye out for predators or dodge an angry rhino. An annual event since 2000, this celebrated and challenging marathon traverses the steep hills and endures the warm temperatures of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy along its 42.2km/26mi course.
    

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    One running magazine listed it among the top 10 races to run in your life, and those to have taken up the challenge include former Olympians and members of the British royal family. None, we should point out, was eaten by lions, and neither was anyone else. It’s all in a good cause, with proceeds from the event playing a critical role in Lewa’s important conservation and community-engagement programs.
    Safaris to Lewa More About Lewa