Visiting Kenya in December–Safari & Beach Holiday Guide by Native Africa Tours
Visiting Kenya in December provides a fantastic mix of superb wildlife viewing, lush greenery, and warm beaches. It marks the beginning of the short dry season when animals gather at water sources, making sightings in the Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo, and Samburu particularly rewarding.
With Native Africa Tours, you can enjoy expert-led game drives and even combine your safari with a coastal trip to Diani, Watamu, or Malindi. The clear skies, fresh scenery, and festive holiday atmosphere make December one of the most memorable times for visiting Kenya.
Around December, the weather pattern often shifts between cloudy and sunny conditions. This makes it the ideal month of the year to embark on a photographic tour. Photography tours are excellent in the daytime, and visitors have multiple places to capture significant moments.
The Weather in Kenya During December.
December isn’t perfect for guided game drives, especially for tourists interested in exploring the Big 5. But it is an excellent month of the year to spot a variety of newborn wildlife in most of Kenya’s safari destinations.
Kenya experiences some showers in December. Nairobi experiences a temperature rise of 23 degrees Celsius (daytime) and 15 degrees Celsius (nighttime). The coastline is hotter than other areas. Mombasa and Kilifi experience an average temperature rise of about 31 degrees Celsius. This is a favourable season for visitors to relax and enjoy the beautiful Indian Ocean from the comfort of boutique hotels or beach decks.
What makes December a good time to visit?
Here are some reasons December is the best time to visit Kenya;
- Fewer crowds–most destinations record a low visitor turnout in December. The weather doesn’t favour most visitors, and as a result, few of them end up travelling to Kenya. If you don’t like long queues, then consider visiting Kenya in December.
- Affordable rates–December falls in the low season, the period when most accommodations cut down the rates. This makes it affordable for tourists with plans to explore Amboseli National Park and the Masai Mara National Reserve, as well as other destinations.
- Experience Kenya’s finest festivals–Kenya, like most destinations, has festivals for tourists to experience the country’s vibrant culture and history. During the festivals, expect to experience a deep immersion into Kenya’s unique history and culture, and to savour some of the amazing cuisines, both local and international.
- Spend the Christmas holiday–imagine soaking yourself in the wild during the Christmas festive season. December is a special month of the year to experience the best of your Christmas vacation in Kenya. You can visit any part of Kenya to spend your festive holiday, including the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Places to visit and what to do;
Amboseli National Park
Amboseli is an exceptional wilderness destination to explore in December. Between November and December, Amboseli National Park receives short rains. The interesting part is that rain can fall, but it stops briefly, allowing visitors to continue with their daily excursions. Daytime temperatures in Amboseli rise to about 28 degrees Celsius. The key wildlife highlights in Amboseli include cheetahs, lions, elephants, Bohor reedbucks, jackals, hyenas, buffalo, leopards, and more.
Amboseli is also a rich birding destination with a variety of interesting bird species. This Park features a diversity of birds such as the common ostriches, African black ducks, Egyptian goose, Egyptian vultures, Southern pochard, Hottentot teal, spur-winged goose, yellow-billed ducks, helmeted guinea fowl, flamingos, common quail, Hildebrandt’s francolins, red-necked francolins, Hartlaub’s bustards, Kori bustards, white-browed coucal, buff-crested bustards, black crakes, African rail, red-knobbed coot, Eurasian moorhen, Horus swift, Alpine swift, pied avocet, spotted thick-knee, and water thick-knee.
Visit Nairobi National Park
The lush Nairobi National Park is another special destination in Kenya. Near the heart of Nairobi, Nairobi National Park is a fantastic destination for birding and game viewing. The diverse wildlife to be explored on the Nairobi tour includes rhinos, African lions, zebras, hippos, buffaloes, impalas, baboons, hartebeest, gazelles, leopards, and hyenas.
Bird enthusiasts will enjoy this lush park. You can identify many bird species here. These include Shelley’s francolins, spur-winged geese, and common ostriches. You might also spot yellow-necked francolins and Egyptian geese. Red-billed ducks, blacksmith lapwings, and three-banded plovers are also present. Look for spur-winged lapwings, spotted thick-knees, and great cormorants. You can see purple herons, black-headed herons, and yellow-billed storks. Saddle-billed storks, hammerkops, martial eagles, and bateleurs also inhabit the park. Keep an eye out for white-headed vultures, African harrier hawks, and black-winged kites. Long-crested eagles, hooded vultures, European honey-buzzards, and lilac-breasted rollers are further possibilities.
Other birds include black-throated barbets, red and yellow barbets, red-fronted tinker birds, sooty falcon, black cuckoo shrike, Amur falcons, Eurasian kestrel, Fischer’s lovebird, red-throated tit, pied crow, northern fiscal, long-tailed fiscal, Isabelline shrike, siffling cisticola, stout cisticola, rattling cisticola, red-fronted warblers, tiny cisticola, croaking cisticola, black sawing, common bulbul, red-rumped swallows, Angola swallow, barn swallow, and grey-rumped swallow.
Aberdare National Park
Visit Aberdare National Park to explore its unique and breathtaking landscapes. Aberdare is renowned not only for its extensive mountain ranges but also for its diverse array of wildlife species. Aberdare is home to an eclectic variety of wildlife, including buffalo, elephants, olive baboons, wild dogs, lions, elands, giant forest hogs, leopards, duikers, side-striped jackals, bushbucks, colobus monkeys, and numerous avifaunal species.
If your target is birding, then expect to identify birds such as moorland chat, Jackson’s spur fowl, Sharpe’s long claw, Aberdare cisticola, wood sandpipers, common snipe, African snipe, common greenshank, grey-hooded gull, black-headed gull, small buttonquail, little grebe, little stint, and dwarf bittern.
Maasai Mara Reserve
December remains among the underrated months for safaris in the Masai Mara. Most tourists focus on the Great Migration, which takes place from July to October, but often overlook the attractions in December. In the Masai Mara, expect to see the Big Five game animals, as well as birds and other unique attractions. The Masai Mara offers a diverse range of wildlife to explore, including African elephants, African lions, giraffes, leopards, cheetahs, wildebeest, antelopes, and a variety of birds.
Checklist of birds: trilling cisticola, saddle-billed storks, purple grenadier, lazy cisticola, Jackson’s widowbird, rosy-throated long-claws, Usambiro barbet, Tabora cisticola, Ross’s turacos, woolly-necked stork, yellow-throated sandgrouse, white-bellied go-away bird, secretary bird, southern ground hornbill, and pygmy falcons.
Planning a safari in Kenya in December
Visitors can plan a successful Kenya safari in December through Trust Native Africa Tours, a local tour operator, for all their safari planning and booking needs in Kenya. We are experts in planning memorable Kenyan safaris. Please consult with our experts to initiate the planning stage and secure a time slot in advance.
Make sure to pack the right gear, including a pair of binoculars, sunscreen, insect repellent, a raincoat, a wide-brimmed safari hat, a good camera, bottled drinking water, sunglasses, and a first aid kit. Your Kenya safari packing list should also have a headlamp, comfortable safari shoes or boots, long trousers, and long-sleeved shirts. When choosing clothes for your safari in Kenya, opt for environmentally friendly attire.
To secure accommodation in advance–Do not miss a place for an overnight stay on your Kenya safari. Be sure to book your lodge or campsite well in advance. All the safari destinations in Kenya offer a range of accommodations, including budget, mid-range, and luxury options. If you are planning to explore the Masai Mara, the lodges present include Mark Forest Camp, Sand River Masai Mara by Elewana, Mara Serena Safari Lodge, Basecamp Wilderness, Mara Expedition Camp, and Mahali Mzuri.
December is an enchanting season to explore Kenya, offering exciting wildlife safaris in verdant national parks and peaceful days on untouched beaches. The bright skies, vibrant scenery, and lively atmosphere create an ideal blend of adventure and leisure. Arrange your December Kenya safari with Native Africa Tours and discover why many travellers on TripAdvisor rely on us for memorable trips. Book early to ensure the best lodges and experiences for your holiday adventure.
