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Email Dr Mike | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful country, wonderful people and incredible wildlife
Bottom line up front: the best trip EVER. That is a bold statement because I have been to over 50 countries (including 8 African countries). The accommodations, the people, the country, our guide and the animals defied all expectations.
To start with Kosen (the owner of the tour company) arranged the trip to be exactly what we asked for. No detail was spared. It was our 30th anniversary and there was a special touch at every stop. More importantly, they sponsor schools in the bush to make sure the kids get a chance for education. They have recued young girls and built dormatories so they can get an education and autonomy. Furthermore, they sponsor soccer teams in the slums of Nairobi for impoverished urban kids and create academic support and tutoring programs to help lift them out of poverty. If you book with Kosen, you make a difference and have oppotunities to directly give back to the warm and wonderful Kenyan people.
I will go into detail.....the most important point is above.
Robert, our guide was with us the entire time. He picked us up at the airport and was with us until he dropped us back at the airport. Just the 3 of us the entire time.He is incredibly knowlegable about the history, tribes, culture geography and of course he knew everything about the animals. He has an uncanny sense of where to go away from the crowds to find the best stuff that the others miss. He emphasises patience and knows where to wait for the animals while others are rushing around. there wasn't a question or a topic he could not explain in depth.
We started out at the Ermara Ole Sereni hotel with a balcony overlooking the Nairobi National Park. We saw giraffes and ostriches from our balcony. We spent a day in Nairobi visiting the national museum (Robert set us up with a docent from the museum for a personal tour). It was amazing to learn about the tribes, culture and history of Kenya. The exhibit on the origins of man is stunning. We also went to the Rothschilds giraffe breeding center and the elephant/rhino orphanage.
The next day we drove to Lake Elmenteita over the 9800 foot escarpment the borders the Rift Valley.The Serena Camp was 5 star all the way. Our tent looked out over the lake and the flamingos. You wake up to Impala and zebras right outside. We rode horses on the lake and then into herds of Water Buck and Zebras.....a once in a lifetime bucket list experience. The next morning we drove to Lake Nakuru where we ate breakfast surrounded by white rhino. We saw too many kinds of animals to recount here to include black rhinos and rare Rothschilds giraffes. Back at camp we were pampered to the extreme.
The next day we drove to the Maasai Mara national park. On the way we stopped by a school they sponsor in the bush. Kosen had arranged for us to donate desks for the school because not all students had a place to sit. We also brought school supplies and soccer balls. It was incredible to meet the headmaster, teachers and students. Our next stop was a visit to Kosen's mother on the farm where he was raised. Then we proceeded to the Mara.
We stayed at the Keekorok lodge in the park. There is no fence, so the animals are right there. the first night there were hippos grazing behind our room. the next morning there were impala on the lawn and elephants walking by. At night there were lions roaring out side our back porch and we woke up to Vervet monkey hanging from the trees by our front door. The lodge is little old (it was the first lodge inside the Mara built in the 1960's) but you come for the nature not the house. The employees were sweet and friendly. By the way, because there is no fence, at night they escort you to and from your cabin for safety. The hippo bar was fun and we met some great people there.
Twice each day Robert took us on game drives but also took the time to show us the different areas and ecosystems in the park. He knows the park as well as I know my back yard. We saw more animals and birds than I can list here. This includes 4 different prides of lions, a herd of mother elephants and their babies, a lioness with her baby cubs, a cheetah with her babies and family groups of Maasai giraffes.The highlight was watching 2 huge herds of Wildebeests and zebras crossing the Sand River to complete the final phase of the Great Migration. We actually found the Sand River pride right after a crossing and they had just taken down a zebra that was crossing.
When we finally bid farewell to the Mara, we drove back across the Rift Valley to Nairobi. Kosen had booked a day room back at the Emara Ole Sereni overlooking the Nairobi National park so we did not need to hang out at the airport. Robert picked us up in the evening and took us back to the airport. It was a little sad because we were now saying goodbye to a close friend.
The trip was as close to perfect as it could get. If you are going to go to Kenya (and you definitely should) book it with Kosen. It will be a highlight of your life and you get the chance to change the lives of others.
Email Miguel Santiago Ferreira Fernando | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The journey of a lifetime
This was a lifetime dream and we could finally go to Kenya and see all the animals in the wild!Our guide Castro went above and beyond to make sure we saw all the big 5 plus cheetah, vultures,eagles, flamingos, mongoose, and many others.
He was friendly and happy to give us fun facts about the animals.
All the places we visited were amazing just like everywhere we ate and slept.
LT
Email Gabriele | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing wildlife
It was amazing to see wildlife from so close. The nature is beutiful and each park is different. In some you can come close to animals. Diani beach has whote sand and blue sea. One of the best adventures I had
RO
Email Liliana | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari
We had an amazing safari experience - we had the chance to see a lot of animals, like lions, giraffes, elephants and others. I fully recommend Kenya as a safari destination. The accommodations and the food were great.
AT
Email Andreas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience we do not want to miss
We travelled as a family of 5 persons (children are all grown up 15+). Hotel was located in Diani Beach, the Neptun Palm Beach Hotel.
Here it was easy to make a good decision using eg. holiday check to find the perfect hotel.
More risk was the booking of the safari (game drive) to Tsavo East. Fortunately I found safaribookings.com. With the help of this site I was able to find a local safari company providing a perfect service. If you plan a safari take care to book a lodge with a water hole a near as possible. In our case we booked the VOI lodge and we really loved it. The waterhole is only meters away from pool/restaurant and you can enjoy wildlife while relaxing at the pool or having a drink at the bar.
If you plan to visit other national parks from Diani Beach area, also take into account that there is a train available to Nairobi. It is a fast, cheap and exciting option instead of a many hours drive or expensive flight.
DE
Email Daria Davydenko | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience and all animals seen!
Really great experience! We booked 6 days safari and it was worth it! The best park is definitely Masai Mara, we spent 2 days there and have seen almost all big five! Also really good was Ambosseli park with a lot of elephants. The other game drive to Nakuru is also recommend: we saw rhinos and hundred flamingos. All together it was an excellent trip!
MT
Email Melania Calleja Pellicano | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A pleasant surprise
It had always been a dream of ours to go on a safari and I do not regret one minute for choosing Kenya as our destination. People are extremely friendly, and they have always made us feel very welcome. We travelled both to the centre as well as south and each park had different characteristics for us to enjoy.
Email Chloe | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing wildlife
We were a group of 5 colleagues who had some spare time at the end of our trip and decided we wanted to do a safari in the Masai Mara. I found Hyrax safaris and they were extremely responsive over what’s app which was really handy due to the time difference. Hyrax were good at sorting out our different room configurations and found us great quality accomodation at Sarova Mara. I would recommend the hotel, we had a room looking out over the reserve. We opted to be driven to the Mara (about 6 hours), I’m glad we did because we saw so much on the journey and there were plenty of stops to stretch your legs. Our guide Aaron was excellent, really knowledgeable and was also flexible about what times we did our drives. I enjoyed doing a full days drive as we saw so much but some of my colleagues found a whole day game drive a bit too much. I’m sure you’d be able to split it into two of you wanted. I would recommend using Hyrax safaris for your safari booking.
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Email Erikka Asem | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
So amazing!
Our safari in Massai Mara was unbelievable. We saw so many animals and our guide was so knowledgeable.
Email Lucy Vaughan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful wildlife and very warm people
We visited Kenya on our honeymoon and took part on a 5 day safari (2 nights in the Masai Mara, 1 night in Lake Nakuru and 1 night in Amboseli). Our guide, Felix, was fantastic. He was extremely knowledgeable and made our trip unforgettable.
The variety of wildlife we saw far exceeded our expectations, we couldn’t believe our luck at seeing lions, elephants, zebra etc within a metre of our car.
The people of Kenya are so welcoming and full of joy.
