Masai Mara has to be seen by all once in your lifetime
On arrival in Nairobi, you really feel you have entered Africa. The people are very friendly and willing to help you in anyway.
Travel to and from the Masai Mara is, well lets just say, an adventure. Traffic is horrendous, roads are a poor state of repair and getting used to seeing lots of garbage at the side of the road takes a lot of getting used to.
However, once you reach the Masai Mara, you enter another world. The scenery is magnificent and with the help of a good guide, seeing the animals is beyond expectations.
If you cannot enjoy yourself here, you cannot enjoy yourself anywhere.
CH
Email Anetta Damm | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An underrated holiday destination
It was definitely one of my best holidays. Apart from the beautiful nature and wildlife, I particularly remember the kindness of the people. Kenya has so much to offer. I went on a three-day safari, which was very impressive. I went partying in Nairobi, visited the slums and went on various guided tours. I was in Diani and enjoyed the beautiful beach there. I had a good time eating out and I never felt unsafe. However, as a tourist, I also made sure not to go into dangerous areas alone. I also only travelled from A to B by Uber and didn't walk thee city on my own.
EE
Email Ilunia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari experience, avoid some tourist traps
- The safari experience was unforgettable! Masai Maara park was the best, I wish we had spent there one day extra instead of other parks.
- Amboseli was flooded a little bit, as it was rainy season when we went. But that attracted lots of different birds, however, all the big cats were hiding.
- Camps were very well taken care of. All rooms had private showers, towels, soaps, toilet paper, mosquito nets, plugs, and hot water. Some camps had limited electricity, but it was fine.
- Masai village was OK, and interesting, but very commercial and you can see it is made for tourists.
- Food in budget camps is good (pancakes for breakfast were GREAT, for lunch very common were - lentils, spinach, chicken or beef stews, salads, noodles, pineapple or watermelon) but I would recommend bringing some snacks as well, as all camps have same food pretty much, so you might want something different. OR if you have a special diet - please think of bringing your own food.
- Picnic food was 3 out 5, Sandwich with 2 thin slices of cucumber and butter, a piece of chicken thigh, fruits and juice. Our vegetarian friends had 2 sandwiches one with tomato slices, the other one with cucumber slices.
- Sometimes drivers did not have enough water even though we were promised 1 litre of water per person per day, some days we only got 0,5l after for a whole day and had to buy our water.
- Masai Market in Nairobi felt like a tourist trap, as people tried to sell you a lot of things and were VERY pushy. If I had known, I would have avoided it.
- Diani Beach - great beach, water is very warm, beautiful white sand, lots of crabs and pretty shells. But the beach boys are VERY rude, insulting, pushy and trying to sell you whatever they can - we asked to buy something every 3 minutes, so we could not relax by the beach at all. I would recommend staying in a resort, as resorts have private areas that are by the beach and beach boys do not enter there.
Great experience
Our guide Evans was amazing but pay attention which accommodations you book. The basic once are very basic
Email Alex | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A magical place
Kenya has my heart forever - I’d go back to visit it each year if possible, it has everything: scenic landscapes, the friendliest people, delicious food, wildlife, gorgeous sunsets - it’s difficult to put it into words to describe its beauty.
US
Email Kara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely beautiful!!!
We had a full day layover on our way to Zim and made the most of it by booking a game drive in Nairobi National Park and it was absolutely worth the jet lag! It was so incredible and we were able to see most of the animals on our list including Lions and both Black and White Rhinos! It was absolutely incredible. I wish we had more time there but I’m so glad we were able to make the most of our time there with the game drive. Our tour operator Olengugih Safaris was incredible and went above and beyond to make our day in Kenya truly magical, will definitely book with them next time we go to Kenya!
US
Email Elif | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most beautiful country and the friendliest people in the world
This was my fourth trip to Africa and my 3rd to Kenya, but it was a first both for my husband and my daughter. I always wanted to share the vast, untouched beauty of Africa with them. I wanted them to see the friendliness, sweetness of people. These words actually cannot even begin to describe Kenya. Now both my husband and my daughter know what I tried to describe, and they already miss Kenya. We will be back for sure.
In this particular trip we went first to Lake Nakuru, stayed in The Cliff. An amazing camp right at the lake with amazing food, amazing sunrise, amazing everything. Very chic and very comfortable, too. We went to two safari rides and a hippo boat ride. Kenya is a surreal country where your Landcruiser stops for giraffs and zebras crossing the road. We chose a wake up call for the sunrise and saw probably the most amazing sunrise on earth. With monkeys around the camp, hippos in the water. We had a walking tour and were right next to amazing animals. Then we continued to Masai Mara and stayed right in the park where animals are coming into this amazing camp, Entim Mara. No fences, but guards to accompany you to your tent and wait for you all night. Whenever you want to come out, you open your tent (more like a super chic hotel suite) and they immediately come. In the mornings when you wake up they bring you coffee, tea, or whatever you want to drink. At night there are comfy hot water bottles under your sheets. The food is to die for. Both camps had wifi, no problem. We went in April, so the temperatures were comfortable. Occasional rains, but no tourist crowds. Masai Mara has so many mind blowing adventures, it is hard to fit here all. Being so close to lions, that one can touch them, seeing tiny baby elefants, witnessing giraffe habits, and the vast beauty of Africa are just a few snippets. All in all, like my husband said after the trip, Kenya changes you. It adds dimensions to your life, you did not know before that they existed.
IT
Email Drago Davide | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
beautiful country and friendly peoples
i have visited several countries in africa , kenya is very beautiful andthe parks never disappoint
Email Margot Thorpe | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
We visited Amboseli, Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara. Our safari company was Unscripted Safaris who were very helpful and professional throughout. A special mention for our guide/driver Daniel who was exceptional - very knowledgeable and went out of his way to make sure we had a fabulous experience.
During our safari we managed to spot every animal we were hoping to see apart from rhino. We enjoyed Amboseli in particular as it is smaller than Masai Mara and less driving involved. Particularly impressive with Mt Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. Saw dozens of elephants. Less to see at Lake Naivasha although our hotel Sopa Lodge was superb. Masai Mara is vast so it took a lot of driving to be able to see animals such as lions, cheetahs and leopards. For this reason I would not recommend safari for families with young children We were there in April which is the rainy season but we were lucky that the rain only came once at night and once when we were travelling between Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara. After our safari we flew down to Diani Beach to meet up with family. Beautiful beach and nice restaurants. We then travelled by hire car to Mombasa before flying home. The beaches north of Mombasa were nice but very windy at this time of year (not sure if it’s always like this). We were with a family member who is from Mombasa although now lives in the UK and he speaks Swahili. He was quite happy to drive the hire car - I would not recommend this for anyone unfamiliar with the area. We enjoyed Kenya, it’s a beautiful country and the people are friendly. However there is no doubt that there is a lot of poverty and it’s clear that most people are just scraping a living. This is hard for privileged Europeans to come to terms with.
US
Email Anush | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari Experince
I booked a trip with Leisure Escape Safari. They did an excellent job. The trip to Kenya was very good. Hospitable people. I visited four national parks. I started in Nairobi and first visited Amboseli, then Naivasha Lake, Nakuru Lake and finally Maasai Mara. Nakuru Lake was the best for seeing wildlife. I saw all five major wildlife during the trip. It was an excellent trip overall and enjoyed my stay in Kenya.
