11-Day Kenya Lake & Birding Safari Itinerary

Your 11-day lake birding safari begins in Nairobi, Kenya’s vibrant capital and gateway to some of East Africa’s finest birding destinations.

On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ( JKIA), you will be met by your safari representative and transferred to your hotel.

After checking in and having some time to freshen up, you will have a short safari briefing by your driver-guide. This is an opportunity to discuss the route, daily departure times, birding preferences, photography interests, and any particular species you hope to see.

Depending on your arrival time and energy levels, the afternoon can be kept relaxed with a short birding experience around the hotel gardens or nearby suitable birding areas. This provides a gentle introduction to Kenya’s birdlife without making the first day too demanding after your journey.

Your guide can introduce some of the common species that you may encounter throughout the safari.

However, if you arrive late in the day, the afternoon birding activity can be skipped, and you can just relax at the hotel and prepare for the following day’s journey.

Your guide will confirm the following morning’s departure time and ensure you are ready for the journey to Lake Naivasha.

Later in the evening, you will have dinner and an overnight stay.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Hemmingways Nairobi

After an early breakfast at your Nairobi hotel, begin your journey to Lake Naivasham, one of Kenya’s most rewarding freshwater birding destinations. The drive takes you through the scenic Great Rift Valley, with opportunities to appreciate changing landscapes and make brief birding stops along the way.

Depart Nairobi in the Morning and travel northwest towards Lake Naivasha. As you descend into the Great Rift Valley, the landscape opens into rolling escarpments, farmlands, acacia, woodlands, and grasslands.

Your guide will introduce you to some of the common bird habitats along the route and may make suitable stops where conditions allow. Keep your binoculars ready for roadside species, raptors, and birds associated with agricultural and woodland areas.

On arrival at Lake Naivasha, begin your first dedicated birding experience around the lake. Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake surrounded by papyrus, acacia woodland, grassland, and other vegetation, creating excellent habitats for a wide variety of birds.

As you explore, look out for species such as;

• African fish eagle
• African jacana
• Pied kingfisher
• Malachite kingfisher
• Great white pelican
• Long-tailed cormorant
• Hamerkop
• African spoonbill
• Black crake
• Herons and egrets
• Red-knobbed coot
• Weavers
• Sunbirds

Your private safari guide will help in identifying birds by their appearance, calls, and behaviour, making the experience enjoyable for both experienced bird watchers and beginners.

Later in the afternoon, board a boat for a birding and wildlife experience on Lake Naivasha. The boat safari provides a different perspective of the lake and allows you to approach the shoreline and waterbirds without obstruction of vegetation. Also, you may see hippos in the water, adding an exciting wildlife element to the boat excursion.

After the boat safari, you will return to your accommodation and enjoy some time to relax. Over dinner, you can review the day’s sightings and update your personal bird checklist as you prepare for the following day’s adventure.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Great Rift Resort

After an early breakfast, leave Lake Naivasha and continue north through Kenya’s spectacular Great Rift Valley towards Lake Baringo, before proceeding to Lake Bogoria for your overnight stay. This day combines scenic driving with two very different birding environments.

Along the way, your guide can make short stops for roadside birding and photography where appropriate.

On arrival at Lake Baringo, an important birding destination known for its diverse birdlife and variety of habitats.

Spend time exploring the lakeshore and surrounding areas with your guide. The combination of open water, rocky shores, acacia woodlands, scrubs, and nearby wetlands attracts a wide variety of bird species.

Depending on the season and conditions, you may look for;

• African fish eagle
• Goliath heron
• Grey heron
• African grey hornbill
• Sunbirds
• Starlings
• Weavers

If time and local conditions permit, enjoy another boat excursion on Lake Baringo. It provides an excellent opportunity to observe waterbirds from the lake and explore areas that may be difficult to reach by a safari vehicle.

After your Baringo experience, enjoy lunch before continuing south towards Lake Bogoria. The scenery gradually changes as you approach the dry, rugged landscape surrounding Bogoria. Your guide can make birding stops along the way, particularly around acacia bushland and rocky areas.

Arrive at Lake Bogoria in the afternoon and check into your accommodation.

After settling in, enjoy a short introductory birding session around the hotel or a suitable area near the lake, depending on your arrival time.

Lake Bogoria is famous for its Lesser flamingos, although flamingo numbers can vary according to water levels, food availability, and seasonal movements.

Return to your accommodation, enjoy dinner, and relax after a full day of travel and birding.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Lake Bogoria Spa Hotel

After an early breakfast, spend the entire day exploring Lake Bogoria and its surrounding habitats. This day is dedicated entirely to birdwatching, photography, and experiencing the unique landscapes of the Rift Valley.

Begin with an early morning visit to the lakeshore, when temperatures are cooler and bird activity is at its best. The shallow alkaline waters usually attract large numbers of flamingos when conditions are favourable. Your guide will help you identify the different species and observe their feeding and flocking behaviour.

As the day goes by, move away from the lakeshore and explore the dry bushland surrounding Lake Bogoria.

This change of habitat gives you the opportunity to search for species that may not be associated directly with the lake, including weavers, starlings, rollers, sunbirds, hornbills, and birds of prey.

In the afternoon, enjoy a picnic lunch at an appropriate designated area while taking in the rugged scenery.

After lunch, take some time to relax and review the morning’s sightings. Birders can update their bird checklist and organize photographs before continuing with the afternoon exploration.

Later, continue exploring the Lake Bogoria area, including its famous geothermal hot springs. The steaming springs, rocky landscapes, and surrounding escarpments create one of the most distinctive settings on the safari. While enjoying the scenery, keep watching for birds moving through the nearby vegetation and open areas.

As temperatures begin to fall, embark on a final birding drive around productive sections of Lake Bogoria. The cooler afternoon conditions can bring increased activity among some birds, while raptors may become easier to observe as they soar above the landscape. Use this time to search for any species still missing from your checklist.

Return to your accommodation before sunset for dinner and relaxation.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Lake Bogoria Spa Hotel

After breakfast, leave Lake Bogoria and continue south through the Great Rift Valley towards Lake Nakuru National Park. This day combines scenic transfer with an afternoon of birding and wildlife viewing in one of Kenya’s most important lake ecosystems.

Along the way, you will pass through dry bushland, farms, rolling hills, and sections of the escarpment. Your guide can make brief stops along the way when interesting birding opportunities arise.

On arrival around lunchtime, proceed to your accommodation for check-in and lunch.  After lunch, take a short break before heading into the national park for your first dedicated birding and wildlife experience.

Head into the park for an afternoon game drive, exploring the lakeshore, grasslands, and surrounding woodlands.

Lake Nakuru is an important birding destination with approximately 450 recorded bird species, while its diverse habitats also support significant wildlife populations.

As birding remains the main focus, the afternoon drive also gives you the opportunity to encounter some of Lake Nakuru’s iconic wildlife. Possible sightings include black and white rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, waterbucks, warthogs, and lions. This combination makes it rewarding because you can switch between birdwatching and wildlife viewing throughout the drive.

As the afternoon comes to an end, leave the park and return to your accommodation, enjoy dinner, and relax while reviewing the day’s bird sightings and preparing for the following day’s birding.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold The Cliff

After an early breakfast, spend the day exploring Lake Nakuru National Park, with birdwatching as the main focus. The park’s combination of an alkaline lake, wetlands, acacia woodlands, grasslands, and rocky habitats provides excellent opportunities to encounter a wide variety of birds while still enjoying Kenya’s wildlife.

Later in the afternoon, enjoy a picnic lunch at a designated area within or around the park, depending on the park’s regulations. This is a chance to rest, rehydrate, and review the morning’s sightings before continuing with the afternoon exploration.

After lunch, resume your game drive and explore different sections of the park. Your guide can focus on habitats where specific birds have been spotted and search for species that are still missing from your checklist. The afternoon also provides good opportunities to observe birds becoming active again as temperatures begin to fall.

Before leaving the park, make a final stop around a productive section of the lake. This provides another opportunity to photograph waterbirds and observe the changing activity along the shoreline. However, flamingo numbers can vary significantly depending on lake conditions.

Exit the park in the evening and return to your accommodation for dinner, relaxation, and preparation for the next stage of the safari from Lake Nakuru to the iconic Masai Mara National Reserve.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold The Cliff

After an early breakfast, check out of your Lake Nakuru accommodation and begin the journey to the Masai Mara National Reserve. This day marks a transition from the Rift Valley lakes to the open savannahs of the Mara, where birding becomes more focused on grassland, woodland, and raptor species.

Leave Lake Nakuru in the morning and travel towards the Masai Mara. The journey takes you through changing landscapes, from the Rift Valley’s cultivated areas and rolling plains to the open grasslands of southwestern Kenya.

Along the way, your guide can make suitable stops for roadside birding and photography. Watch for larks, weavers, starlings, rollers, raptors, and other birds associated with open countryside and acacia woodland.

Stop for lunch along the way before continuing towards the reserve. Take some time to rest and prepare your binoculars and camera for the afternoon birding session.

Arrive at the Masai Mara in the afternoon and proceed to your accommodation for check-in. After settling in, begin your first Mara birding and wildlife drive. Your guide will focus on grassland and acacia habitats while searching for bird species such as secretary bird, bateleur, tawny eagle, and other species.

In the evening, return to your accommodation for dinner and relaxation.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Kicheche Bush Olare

This is one of the highlights of your 11-day safari, combining dedicated birdwatching with a full-day Big Five wildlife experience in the Masai Mara. With a full day in the reserve, there is plenty of time to explore different habitats and follow interesting bird and wildlife sightings at a relaxed pace.

Start the day before or around sunrise with an early breakfast, followed by a game drive into the Mara. The cool morning hours are excellent for birding, while many wildlife species are also active after nightfall. Your guide will scan the open plains and rocky areas in search of birds. At the same time, the search for the Big Five begins. Depending on the day’s sightings, you may encounter;

• Lions
• Leopards
• Elephants
• Buffaloes
• Rhinos

As the morning progresses, explore different sections of the reserve, concentrating on open grasslands and acacia woodland. This is a good time to search for ground-dwelling birds such as bustards, secretary birds, and larks, while scanning the sky for soaring eagles and vultures.

Continue through the reserve while tracking wildlife movements and looking for fresh signs such as tracks and grazing herds.

Enjoy a picnic lunch at an approved location while taking in the vast Mara landscape. Take some time to rest, hydrate, and review your morning bird sightings before continuing the afternoon drive.

Resume your game drive after lunch, exploring different sections of the reserve. The afternoon offers another opportunity to search for bird species missed during the morning drive while continuing the Big Five search.

After the drive, return to your accommodation in the evening for dinner and relaxation.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Kicheche Bush Olare

This day focuses on two of the Mara’s most productive birding environments;

• Marshy Wetlands
• Riverine habitat

These areas attract a different range of species from the open savannah, making the day ideal for adding new birds to your checklist while continuing to enjoy the Mara’s wildlife.

After an early breakfast, head towards suitable marsh and wetland areas within the Mara ecosystem. The cool morning hours are ideal for observing birds as they feed along shallow water, reeds, and wet grasslands. Move slowly through the area and allow time to listen for calls and watch bird behaviour.

Spend more time around shallow pools, marsh edges, and wet grasslands. These areas are productive for waders and other water-associated birds.

Move towards one of the Mara’s riverine areas, where permanent or seasonal water supports thicker vegetation than the surrounding plains. The combination of mature trees, shrubs, water, and open clearings creates habitats for a different range of birds. Look for woodland kingfishers, grey-headed kingfishers, pied kingfishers, bee-eaters, just to mention a few. Your guide will slow down around productive sections and allow you time to observe birds high in the canopy or hidden within the vegetation.

After the day’s exploration, return to your accommodation for dinner and relaxation.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Kicheche Bush Olare

This day focuses on wetland birding, giving you a final opportunity to explore water-rich habitats within the Masai Mara ecosystem. These areas attract a different mix of birds that feed around marshes, seasonal pools and river edges.

After an early breakfast, head out to suitable wetland areas while temperatures are still cool and bird activity is high.

Spend time around shallow pools and muddy edges where birds gather to feed. Your guide will help identify different waders by their size, shape, bills, legs, and feeding behaviour. This slower-paced activity gives you time to observe birds rather than simply driving past them.

Continue towards nearby rivers and seasonal waterways. Riverine vegetation provides shelter and food for species that may not be found in open wetlands. At the same time, watch the riverbanks for hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and other wildlife.

After lunch, continue exploring the wetlands and surrounding savannah habitats.

End the day with a relaxed game drive through the Mara Plains.

Return to your accommodation for dinner and relaxation.

Activities:

Accommodations:

• Gold Kicheche Bush Olare

This being the final day brings the 11-day lake birding safari to a close. After several days of exploring Kenya’s lakes, wetlands, woodlands, and savannahs, before beginning your journey back to Nairobi.

After having your breakfast, check out and prepare for your journey to Nairobi.

Before departure, take a moment to review your birding list, photographs, and memorable sightings with your guide.

Begin the drive back to Nairobi, passing through the scenic countryside and rural communities of southwestern Kenya.

The journey provides a final opportunity to appreciate the landscapes that connect the Mara with Nairobi, where time and road conditions allow brief roadside birding stops to be made.

Stop for lunch during the journey before continuing towards Nairobi.

Arrive in Nairobi in the afternoon or evening, depending on the road conditions and your onward travel arrangements.

You will be transferred to your preferred Nairobi location, such as your hotel or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, marking the end of your 11-day lake & birding safari.