Enjoy wildlife safaris in Kenya
A comprehensive hunting ban over the last 35 years has greatly reduced animals' fear of humans. That is why wildlife in Kenya is - although never tame - often remarkably approachable, allowing the best wildlife safaris in Kenya to be really close to wildlife.
The wide range of habitats, from lush grasslands, to riverine forests, to moorlands and semi-deserts, accounts for the variety of wildlife in Kenya. This also means that there is a huge range of choice for your wildlife safari trip. We won't deny that many of the best wildlife safari destinations in Kenya, like Maasai Mara National Reserve or Samburu, are very popular and thus busy. However, with our experience we can help you to avoid the crowds!
Many wildlife safaris in Kenya are fly-in trips, based around hops in light aircraft out of Nairobi and staying at small to medium-size safari camps. These camps usually consist of either luxury tents with built-in bathrooms or imaginative open-air rooms. To add an extra highlight to your wildlife safari in Kenya - why not end your trip at one of the country's wonderful beaches of fine white sand lapped by an azure, bath-warm sea?
Our most recent reviews of wildlife safaris in Kenya
Detailed, un-edited reviews from our Kenya travellers whose trips we tailored towards wildlife safaris. Click below to read the traveller's full review, and see all the reviews of our Kenya safari holidays here.
Best camps & lodges for Wildlife safaris in Kenya
Laikipia Wilderness
Laikipia Wilderness and its owner-manager Steve Carey are closely associated with wild dog tracking, using radio-tracking equipment. Two dog packs den in this area and sightings of cubs and hunts are not uncommon. The area has a very dense dik-dik population, that supports not only the wild dogs but some of the higherst densities of leopards anywhere in Africa. The camp's local black leopards have become a famous draw.
Rekero
Rekero was the camp where Jackson Looseyia (of Big Cat Diary fame) first earned his spurs as a spotter and outstanding guide. More recently its first-class lion, leopard and cheetah viewing made it ideal as a base for much of the filming of Disney's African Cats documentary.
Kicheche Valley
This is a very game-rich area, with excellent big-cat viewing (resident leopards near camp), a major elephant corridor in the northwest of the conservancy and the biggest giraffe population in the Mara. Moreover, there are very few other tourist vehicles using the conservancy.
The Emakoko
Anton Childs, co-owner of The Emakoko is one of Kenya’s most experienced herpetologists and will happily take guests on escorted reptile and amphibian walks around the lodge. We saw a young python inching across the earth road one evening, just outside the lodge.
Sala's Camp
Sala’s Camp is one of the most southerly camps in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, making it the first to see the migrating herds heading north from the Serengeti. The surrounding open plains make this an ideal spot from which to view this great spectacle.
Porini Lion Camp
Open-sided 4x4 safari vehicles and well-qualified guides are the standout features of game drives at Porini Lion Camp, and you rarely see other vehicles. Night drives are also popular and they use a red light to avoid causing stress to the wildlife.
Basecamp Samburu
In addition to big cats, elephants and (if you are lucky) wild dogs, visitors to Samburu will have the chance to sight the ‘Northern Five’. These include the Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich, and gerenuk.
Offbeat Ndoto
At Offbeat Ndoto in the Mara North Conservancy, wildlife safaris in Kenya are exceptionally personal. Discover the famed big cats of the Mara on day and night drives and safari walks, with no more than four people to a vehicle.
Tangulia Mara
Being owned and managed by the former BBC Big Cat Diary presenter, Jackson Looseiya, gives Tangulia extra cachet to add to a very good location which seems to dominate this wildlife-rich corner of the Mara ecosystem.
Lewa Safari Camp
Lewa Conservancy stands out for having 10% of Kenya’s black rhino population, plus a healthy number of white rhinos, and a very high population of the finely marked Grevy’s zebra – and a scattering of other big game.
Elephant Bedroom
Elephant Bedroom is located in the heart of Samburu National Reserve, which is famed for interesting northern and desert species that include the gerenuk, oryx and Grevy’s zebra.
Wildlife safaris elsewhere in Africa
Our top ideas and inspiration for Wildlife safaris in other countries.
Where to see wildlife species in Kenya
Maximise the chances of seeing your favourite animals based on traveller sightings reports from the field.
Lion
Panthera leo
Lions are at the top of the food chain and also most safari wish-lists, but with their numbers falling fast, any encounter with these majestic apex predators always feels like a privilege.
81% SUCCESS
3,642 sightings from 4,493 observations
Leopard
Panthera pardus
The most numerous of Africa’s big cats, leopard occur across many habitats, from wild tracts to populated areas. Their grace and their elusive nature make them a unique safari drawcard.
47% SUCCESS
2,355 sightings from 4,987 observations
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
The cheetah is the fastest land animal and the only cat that hunts by pure speed. Found largely in open grasslands, its slim, elegant form is today an increasingly rare sight.
34% SUCCESS
1,280 sightings from 3,809 observations
Buffalo
Syncerus caffer
One of the ‘Big Five’, buffalo earned a fearsome reputation in hunters’ tales. By contrast, big herds of these sociable bovids are placid, but mount formidable defences against predators.
83% SUCCESS
3,081 sightings from 3,709 observations
Wild dog
Lycaon pictus
African wild dogs are among the continent’s most compelling animals. Much misunderstood, these rare, tie-dyed canids are amazingly efficient hunters with a fascinating social life.
32% SUCCESS
1,042 sightings from 3,292 observations
Spotted Hyena
Crocuta crocuta
The spotted hyena may be thought of as ‘ugly’ and ‘cowardly’. In fact, this versatile and intelligent carnivore is one of Africa’s most fascinating and warrants attention on any safari.
55% SUCCESS
2,610 sightings from 4,748 observations
Striped Hyena
Hyaena hyaena
The striped hyena is the most widespread of the world’s hyenas, but absent from southern Africa. A rarely-seen nocturnal scavenger, it is shyer and more solitary than its spotted cousin.
13% SUCCESS
140 sightings from 1,087 observations
Elephant
Loxodonta africana
By far the biggest of the so-called Big Five – indeed, the largest land animal on the planet – the elephant shapes the very landscape it inhabits and is a defining presence on any safari.
91% SUCCESS
4,390 sightings from 4,821 observations
Black Rhino
Diceros bicornis
The black rhino is the smaller and rarer of Africa’s two rhino species but has the more fearsome reputation. Shy and heavily persecuted, it tends to stick to cover.
30% SUCCESS
751 sightings from 2,470 observations
White Rhino
Ceratotherium simum
The white rhino is the largest and most numerous of the world’s five rhinoceros species. They are larger, easier to see and generally more approachable than the black rhino.
44% SUCCESS
608 sightings from 1,397 observations
Eland
Taurotragus oryx
Africa’s largest antelope, eland are culturally important from prehistoric rock art to modern game farms. Though widespread, they are also shy so sightings are uncommon and often fleeting.
50% SUCCESS
1,753 sightings from 3,537 observations
Gerenuk
Litocranius walleri
With its slender frame and extraordinarily long neck, this unmistakable East African antelope resembles an attenuated impala and often stands on its back legs browse high shrubs.
73% SUCCESS
113 sightings from 155 observations
Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis
The world’s tallest land mammal, giraffes are herbivores which have evolved many unique adaptations. Their iconic outlines tower above the bush in many of Africa’s wildlife areas.
86% SUCCESS
4,248 sightings from 4,940 observations
Oryx
Oryx sp.
Oryx are impressive antelopes, with a powerful physique and elegant markings set off by rapier-like horns. They cut a distinctive dash in some of Africa’s harshest landscapes.
69% SUCCESS
1,597 sightings from 2,298 observations
Hippo
Hippopotamus amphibius
The territorial calls of the hippo create a signature soundtrack to Africa’s rivers & wetlands. Despite an endearing smile, this aquatic herbivore has a notoriously aggressive disposition.
89% SUCCESS
3,200 sightings from 3,590 observations
Sable antelope
Hippotragus niger
Perhaps Africa’s most beautiful antelope, sable are renowned for their combative nature, even holding off lions. Shy and restricted in range, sightings of sable are always special.
24% SUCCESS
572 sightings from 2,418 observations
Wildebeest
Connochaetes sp.
Superficially bovine in appearance, wildebeests are known for their spectacular migrations sometimes in huge numbers. These resilient animals are some of Africa’s most successful herbivores.
68% SUCCESS
2,974 sightings from 4,398 observations
Zebra
Equus sp.
The zebra is a quintessential African animal: the horse in stripy pyjamas at the end of every child’s A–Z. There are three species, of which the plains zebra is much the most common.
84% SUCCESS
4,610 sightings from 5,475 observations
Aardvark
Orycteropus afer
The aardvark is one of Africa’s most bizarre and enigmatic animals. A shy, nocturnal termite-eater, signs of its presence may be scattered about the bush whilst sightings remain elusive.
2% SUCCESS
81 sightings from 3,944 observations
Pangolin
Smutsia sp.
Pangolins appear to be more pine cone than animal in their unique armoury of scales. These nocturnal, ant-eating oddities are not only highly elusive but also increasingly rare.
2% SUCCESS
68 sightings from 3,986 observations
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