Kenya is well regarded as one of the finest safari destinations on the planet, and rightly so. Our 2-week Kenya Highlights tour traverses a wide range of habitat from coastal forest, acacia savanna and central African rainforest to papyrus swamps and rolling grassy savanna as we target a mouth-watering array of Kenya’s most special birds. The game viewing will also be a significant highlight as we explore famous Kenyan game reserves such as Tsavo West, Tsavo East and the Maasai Mara.  

Our tour begins with an exploration of the lush Shimba Hills and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Here we will endeavor to find some of the rarest birds in Africa, including the diminutive Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke Pipit, Green-headed Oriole, Fischer’s Turaco, Amani Sunbird and Clarke’s Weaver. We then travel through both Tsavo West and East Parks, offering excellent game viewing and a huge bird list. We will also take time to visit the isolated Taita Hills, with its critically endangered species. For the second week of our Kenya tour we head across to western Kenya where our first site will be the famous Kakamega Forest. Here a plethora of forest specials await, with the gorgeous Blue-headed Bee-eater, Turner’s Eremomela, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye being notable targets. After exploring the papyrus swamps and moist woodlands along Lake Victoria for the striking Papyrus Gonolek and Papyrus Canary we finally enter the plains to visit arguably the most famous game reserve in the world, the fabulous Maasai Mara!

Join us for what promises to be an extraordinary tour offering an incredible diversity of wildlife, superb scenery, wonderful lodges and tented camps, and super-friendly tribal people!

Top Birds

Blue-headed and Somali Bee-eaters, Sokoke Scops Owl, Sokoke, Golden & Malindi Pipits, Clarke's and Golden Palm Weavers, Amani, Plain-backed & Tsavo Sunbirds, Green-headed Oriole, Fischer's & Black-billed Turacos, Equatorial and East Coast Akalats, Taita Apalis, Taita White-eye, Taita Thrush, Golden-breasted & Magpie Starlings, Black-headed Apalis, Turner's Eremomela, Chapin's Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied & Jameson's Wattle-eyes, Brown-chested Alethe, Blue-shouldered & Grey-winged Robin-Chats, Grey-chested Babbler, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Red-headed Bluebill, Papyrus Canary, Papyrus Gonolek, Red-naped Bushshrike, Three-streaked Tchagra, Pringle's Puffback, Athi Short-toed and White-tailed Larks, Red-throated Tit, Miombo Wren-Warbler, Pangani Longclaw, Steel-blue & Straw-tailed Whydahs, Cuckoo-finch, Red-throated Twinspot,

Top Mammals

Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, African Elephant, African Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Lesser Kudu, Golden-rumped Sengi, Harvey's Duiker, Sable Antelope, Angola Colobus, Small-eared Greater Galago, Serval, Spotted & Striped Hyaena, Aardwolf, Gerenuk, Beisa Oryx, Maasai Giraffe

Habitats Covered

lowland coastal forest, grasslands, estuaries, beaches, mangroves, acacia savanna, temporary and permanent wetlands, rivers, central African rainforest,

Expected Climate

warm to hot, dry conditions mostly but humid along the coast, cooler at higher elevations and rain can be expected

Max Group Size

6 with 1 Rockjumper Leader

Tour Pace & Walking

undemanding to moderate pace, moderate walking and some long drives

Accommodation

safari lodges and hotels

Ease of Birding

mostly easy birding, tougher in forest

Other Attractions

Maasai and other tribes, African curios

Photographic Opportunities

excellent

What our clients say about us

Quinton Paul Josop
CH - Kenya & Tanzania 2024

This was one of the best five of the 53 guided birding tours I have taken! Paul Josop is not only a truly excellent local guide who knows African birds and their calls phenomenally well, but is also extremely pleasant to deal with, polite, supportive of all levels of participant birding skills and very thoughtful. Paul also has an infectious sense of humor: We all laughed a lot on this tour! He loves to teach participants the finer points of the biology of the animals and plants encountered on a tour; he also managed group dynamics very well. It is clear that Paul enjoys guiding and he is very focused on getting all of the tour participants onto every bird species we encountered: He is living proof of my dictum that ""A good local guide is a thing of joy"". Our two local guide/drivers, Roger in Tanzania and Edson in Kenya, were also excellent: They dealt very well with severely pot-holed African roads and erratic African drivers and traffic; they also pointed out very many birds and big game as we bounced through the national parks, reserves and paved roads, all filled with aggressive opposing traffic! They have my highest recommendation. However, I do urge the local tour operator, Tanzania Birding and Beyond, to have their Land Cruiser passenger seats rebuilt - they were singularly uncomfortable on our long drives. This Rockjumper tour has my highest recommendation for all levels of participants' birding skills.

Gregory de Klerk
JB, SB & CB, Kenya 2018

We very much enjoyed our East Africa experience, finding it to be the adventure we dreamed it would be. With Greg de Klerk as our excellent and informative guide and the incredible wildlife, the tour exceeded our expectations. Greg took care of us all throughout the tour and was extremely patient and considerate to make certain that all were able to find the birds we were seeking. We had a group with different levels of birding experience and Greg worked so well with all. Thanks to all who made this wonderful experience happen for us.

Gregory de Klerk
LW, Kenya 2023

We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our trip with Greg. He is the ultimate Bird Whisperer. His birding skills are outstanding! He has a great sense of humor and wonderful stories. He shared his extensive knowledge about all the animals and their behavior, which made every part of the trip so much more interesting. This was certainly one of our best trips with Rockjumper. In addition, we sincerely appreciate Rockjumpers flexibility in working with us to reschedule this trip, since we were originally planning to go in March 2020.

Glen Valentine
JH, Kenya 2021

This was a first-rate trip. Itinerary, accommodation, people and , of course, Glen's great leading and bird-finding were all excellent.

David Hoddinott
Anon, Kenya - Mega

David Hoddinott and indeed the drivers and Alison were all amazing - making this a life-changing experience. Everything went far better than expected throughout the tour in my opinion. I do not see how it could have been improved. Well done to all!

Kenya - Highlights 2025

01 Feb 2025 - 15 Feb 2025 (15 days)

USD7,495 - Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Robert Williams

Tour price (Per person): USD7,495 * GBP6,000 * EUR6,991 * AUD11,522

Single Supplement: USD1,080 * GBP865 * EUR1,007 * AUD1,660

Flight costs: USD130 * GBP104 * EUR121 * AUD200

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Route Map

Tour Route Map

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