Email Christian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lovely people, tasty food, great safari experience.
We, two adults (49y, 43y) and two children (12y, 9y), had a great time in Mombasa (Bamburi beach) and a 4 day safari (Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Amboseli and Mzima Springs). In total we stayed 13 nights.
The beach is beautiful, however the beach boys are annoying, you really do not feel comfortable to try a walk at the beach.
The hotel had great swimming pool and entertainment during the whole day, with all-inclusive you really have excellent food, drinks and service.
The 4 day safari was for sure a highlight: it is a long drive during the first and last day, but it is worth. Safari means that you need to wake up earlier every day as during the morning is the best time to see the animals. Late in the afternoon as well. Amboseli has lot of people doing safari, but you see a lot of animals and birds. Mzima springs is unique, it is a place to visit if you want to see a lot of hippos. Tsavo West and Tsavo East are very different, the first you might not see as many animals as in Tsavo East, however only in Tsavo West you might see the Rhino.
At the end we saw all Big 5.
Tips: do not buy souvenir at the Curios during the safari, it is way too expensive. All items are not priced, thus it is a matter of price negotiation. If you still want to buy something, ask for the price and offer maximum 1/3 of the asked price.
Please make sure to have the local currency with you (Kenia Schilling), the locals prefers the Schilling when you give small amount of money to them. Coins (Euro, Dollar, etc) are really not welcome.
Email Jin Su | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent for observing wild animal life.
We are group of ten persons from US did 9 days Kenya/Tanzania combined tour arranged by RightChoice Safaris. The tour was amazing with seeing a lot of animals, all Africa big five animals, big wildebeest migration and Mara River crossing. The food was surprisingly good to everyone’s satisfaction. Safety was no issue. Stay in lodge or tent, there were people outside whole night to guard for your safety. George of RightChoice is very good to work with and response to your question timely. We were in two land-cruiser. Our driver Jacob and Max in Kenya, Stwel and Achille in Tanzania were the key that we had this unforgivable journey. Specially Jacob not only find animals and explain things details and also can pick good scenes and angle stopping the car for your photo.
Only thing that bothered us is George didn’t tell us Kenya only take newer $100 bill, which make ran into a lot of troubles.
Email Karen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kenya has a very friendly and ambitious service industry struggling to overcome societal blight
Wildlife viewing is fabulous, whether in the famed Maasai Mari preserve or in less well-known places like Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, or Amboseli. Neither the roads leading to the major national parks nor the parks themselves have smooth roads or driving paths, which sort of adds to the adventure. We enjoyed many a "free" full-body African massage while on the road, and the question of what would happen if the vehicle somehow broke down--in the wildlife areas-- was indeed answered: friendly tour operators from other orgs pitch in and take in whatever passengers they have room for. While our expectations for the accommodations at the budget tent camps were low to begin with, we were actually pleasantly surprised by what was offered. Yes, it was simple, but we slept well, the camps were quiet at night, and the food was ample. The night sky, away from light pollution, was spectacular. Two things were a bit disturbing: 1) the amount of litter strewn everywhere (except in the national parks themselves)--what would it take to institute a national clean-up campaign? and 2) the constant bombardment to purchase this or that trinket by folks peddling their wares. I guess that's the natural response from a people who have learned that tourism is one of the most profitable ventures going (one of our safari drivers was a mechanical engineer who saw that the income from tourism far outstripped the income from practicing his profession).
Email Claus | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Email Troy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Massai mara 3day safari and lake navaisha
We did a three day safari with meektrails and our guide antony.
We were picked up and dropped off at Nairobi airport all included in the price.
Our guide was antony who was excellent throughout in being flexible and getting us to see all the big amimals and the small ones aswell!
Game drives in the massai mara are an incredible experience and would recommend to anyone, especially worth getting up early for the dawn drives as this is when the animals are most active.
Lake navaisha was good but less spectacular although worth the visit if you have time. We stayed at AA lodge which was functional and reasonable but not luxurious.
Email Elisabete Cristina Pereira Coelho | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildlife and culture
Perfect for wildlife Safari, multicultural full of life cities, really nice people.
You really can feel and see how climate changes are affecting the world.
You can really get to know kenians and reflect on how basic is not always warranted.
Email Sonja | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super nice country, lots of animals, nice open people
Three days wildlife in Masai Mara were great, easy booking and reliable with Axis Africa Safaris. Lake Naivasha and nearby volcano also very nice. Diani Beach top! We reached it comfortable with train from Nairobi to Mombasa and Uber to Diani. Everywhere upper range hotels but also budget. Travelling by busses is easy. People are always helpful and like to talk. There are many sights left to visit. We have to come back.
Email Halee | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Speed Date: Kenya Edition
Kenya is a great East Africa experience. Being my first time on that side of the continent I found it’s diversity made it easy to indulge in everything. From the beautiful non tourist filled beaches in Mombasa to the vast rolling landscapes of the Maasai Mara and the nightlife of Nairobi. Whether you’re into ecotourism, cultural encounters or the highlife, there’s something for everyone. My next trip will be much more curated and quiet but if you’re a first time traveler to Kenya, I suggest try everything once, stay for a minimum of 10days then return again for what you enjoyed most.
Email Keith Jacquard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very diverse, the locals were very friendly and helpful, it was a lot to take in but in a good way.
This was our first safari experience. We selected a budget safari and the company ensured that our eight days were filled with game drives and excursions. We saw the big five and so many other animals, we took well over 1500 pictures. The itinerary had to be flexible as we were on an eight-day safari and other members of our group were on a six. I would suggest that changes to the itinerary get communicated a bit better, we found out at a lunch break that we were being moved to another guide to complete our tour which was a bit of a surprise. Our two guides, Jackson and Eric were amazing. One thing we weren't prepared for was the amount of driving between the parks as we covered Masai Mara, Amboseli and Nakuru. It did give us a look at very different eco systems, Masai Mara was both green and a bit drought affected, Nakuru was very lush and Amboseli was very dry. The meals provided were very repetitive at all the accommodations. The eco camps were excellent accommodations, the hotels were not as comfortable and clean as the eco camps.
Email Miles | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful country with abundant wildlife, and cities with large wealth disparities.
Kenya is a must-travel destination if you enjoy wildlife tourism. Masai Mara is an expansive, well managed safari, with an abundance of fauna, though tour operators vary in their knowledge of details about the animals. The roads are chaotic, but it's quite fun really, and the accommodations seem quite nice when the power/wifi works. Birding isn't a big feature it seems, though there are some beautiful species, with the exception being the guides at Lake Naivasha. Nairobi has some nice restaurants at affordable prices, and is quite safe now (given the precautions taken due to terrorist attacks), but isn't worth spending much time in unless you're there for other reasons.