KZ
Email Nurlan Kubeyev | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A must experience at least once in your life. Amazing, beautiful, unbelievable.
It was one of the best experience in my life and my daughter (10 y.o) enjoyed it. We stayed in the middle of mara near the river and was surrounded by wildlife such as buffaloes, monkeys, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeests etc... Since it was migration time we saw almost all animals, thanks to our guide who made this possible. Even though the whole trip is a loooong drive: 14 hours to and from Nairobi and 22 hours of game driving it didn't feel tiring because of beauty, excitement and professionalism of our guide.
Email Lee Cooper | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most complete safari experience - ever!
This was our 5th Safari in Kenya and it surpassed all others.
On arrival at Nairobi we were met at the airport and taken to our Nairobi hotel the Ibis Styles Hotel. This was perfect for a short stay, with a good restaurant on the top floor and a buffet dinner on the ground floor.
Early the next morning we were picked up to start our Safari.
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We’ve had the most fantastic Safari experience ever.
A huge factor in that was our hugely knowledgable guide/driver Evans..
he was truly a star!
We visited the amazing Meru National Park - a seldom visited park , in fact we only saw one other group of tourists in 4 days, and yet the variety of wildlife and scenery is truly stunning. We saw Lions , hippos, buffalo, lots of giraffes, many many elephants and large numbers of white rhino. Along with a huge variety of antelope and birds. Amazing!
Of course for us the reason we visited Meru was the connection with the story of Elsa the lioness as told in the film/ book Born Free. The film is the thing that ignited our interest in Kenya. Visiting Elsa’s grave was a very special moment for us.
We stayed at Ikweta Camp just outside the park. This was a relaxing place to refresh between game drives and the staff were lovely. They have limited Wi-fi so be sure to turn off any background apps ( iPhone auto picture uploading to the cloud quickly used up the lot) but apart from that there were no issues- the luxury tents were very nice.
We then travelled on to Buffalo Springs and in to Samburu National Park. We stayed overnight at the Samburu Sopa Lodge - we’ve stayed in a Sopa lodge elsewhere and true to form this one was spectacular and the staff as helpful as ever.
The scenery in Samburu is rugged and beautiful.
We completed the ‘Big 5’ here when we spotted a family of Leopards.
Again the variety of animals was diverse and wonderful.
Along with the family of leopards we saw many lions and some cheetah ..and even more leopards!
Then there was huge numbers of elephants and a wonderful variety of smaller creatures including uncountable numbers of brown mongoose. Again the variety of birds here is huge. From smallest to the mighty ostrich.
After Samburu we moved to Ol Pejeta Conservancy and stopped in Ol Pejeta house.
Ol Pejeta is the most amazing building, our room had fantastic views of sunrise over the majestic Mt Kenya. The catering here is simply the best you’ll find in Kenya. Anywhere.
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is somewhere we’ve visited before (1998) and was on our list of must visit again for a reason- it’s just amazing. There is a chimpanzee sanctuary here that’s a must see ( founded by Jane Goodhall) and a sanctuary for rhino. We got to meet and hand feed one of these gentle giants close up.
In the wider part of the Conservancy the range of animals was vast ..lions again.. and rhinos, so so many wonderful rhinos. For me a highlight was seeing the very rare striped hyena- something I’ve never seen in the wild before - and spotted hyena.
( I find hyena fascinating and think they deserve a better reputation)
After Ol Pejeta we returned to Nairobi, stopping off on the Equator.
We again arrived at the Ibis Styles Hotel and were sad to end our Safari and our time with Evans.
Next day we visited the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage on the outskirts of Nairobi National Park before catching the new train from Nairobi to Mombasa. Be aware there are no luggage trolleys within the new stations at all so don’t make our mistake ( we had soft heavy luggage without wheels - ideal in a Safari van not great to carry hundreds of meters across the vast stations) also be ready for the tight security and ensure a lot of time. We traveled 1st class, the seats were comfortable, the staff were plentiful as were the complimentary drinks and snacks.
The views from the train are a Safari in itself- we saw herds of wildebeests not long after leaving Nairobi and as we passed through Tsavo National Park I lost count of the number of elephants at about 40!
We were met on arrival at Mombasa and transferred comfortably to our chosen hotel. Savora Whitesands is a Hotel we’ve visited before , it was lovely to meet up with old friends and make new friends - we will visit again without doubt. At the end of our stay we were picked up bright and early and returned to the station for the train back to Nairobi. This time we traveled in standard class which was interesting but less comfortable - I’m a Railway worker so wanted to experience the full package but I’d stick with first class next time.
On arrival at Nairobi we were met again and as our flight home was late night we visited the Giraffe Centre where we were able to hand feed these beautiful creatures. Then we returned to the airport for our long haul home.
All in all we’ve visited fantastic places and seen so many beautiful creatures, we’ve stopped in delightful places, ate delicious food. We’ve met so many truly wonderful people and made so many fantastic memories.
I’d highly recommend it to anyone!
BE
Email Emmanuel Hanssens | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We found a agency on Safaribookings and we have been scamed
WE FOUND A SAFARI ON SAFARIBOOKING BUT WE HAVE BEEN SCAMED. SAFARIBOOKING HAS DONE NOTHING TO HELP US AND DIDN'T TOOK THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. WE LOST OUR MONEY AND OUR TRIP TO KENYA. COMPLETE DISASTER!!
Email Davinder Aggarwal | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent experience--look forward to doing it again !
Everything was absolutely superb, most enjoyable and faultless.
Had taken 5 grand children ages 16 to 19. Each and everyone of them came back with precious memories.
US
Email Jennifer | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely superb.
Everything was amazing - land cruiser, driver/guide, accommodations, food, weather, friendliness of Kenyans, and we got to see all the animals, even up close. It was the trip of a lifetime.
CN
Email Yu Luduo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing view to wildlife
The wildlife in Kenya is various，showing me the place that city human do not set foot in.the scenery in TV before become ture in front of my eyes.I can face to face with rhinoceros、zebra、impala、giraffe and so on.
Our guide is Charly,a Samburu people with excellent driving technique and abundant knowledge of safari, which let me witness the hunting of lions in Amboseli and the new life of lions in Masai Mara,we got optimum shooting angle fortunately by his exquisite driving technique so that I can take documentaries-rivalled photos,but only a moment lasting in order to give other people chance to enjoy the rare scenes by the gentleman's manner of Charly. He also introduced us Samburu people after we visited Masai village，with his concern for compatriots，it is really an unusual experience to let me have acquaintance of the two big peoples of Kenya.
The only deficiency is in Sopa Lodge,there was network wrong with their card-reading,which let me wastage unnecessary money to pay again for the same goods,it is really absurd to let me assumed the liabilities of the fault making by Sopa Lodge’s bank.Although Classic Journeys had help me to negotiate about it,I still do not get responds till now,the Sopa's service is not sopa at all.
Overall，it is a satisfying trip to feed our sight on Africa,letting me fall in love with Africa.Classic Journeys is the best choice of travelling in Africa
US
Email JB | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible safari
Amazing safari. The Masai Mara in amazing how much life there is. Every where you look there is something and you camp right in the middle of it. I've done two other safaris in Africa. Another one in Kenya and one in Bostwanna/Zim.
IT
Email Olena Andryushchenko | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Must do experience in Kenya
Beautiful country, excellent food and courteous people
IT
Email Caterina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Masai Mara
Our Safari, organized by African Scenery Holidays, was great: we had a 4 days safari (Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru), but actually we had game drives 2half days and a full day.. it was enough as Masai Mara was full of animals! we saw many lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, ostriches, pumbas, timons .. and a white rhino in lake Nakuru. We also visited the Maasai village and it was very interesting.
our safari was a budget one but we saw as much animals as the luxurious safaris.
The tended camp we stayed in was basic, and the food monotonous, we had to change driver many times as the travellers in our van had different itinerarys (maybe longer or shorter safaris than our), but it was ok.
The communication with our tour coordinator Fredinah was excellent, both before and during and even after the safari. She was always on hand to answer questions and reachable anytime. After the safaris we moved to the coast and this part of trip was for self organized, but she was still available to help us when we needed. We felt we had a secure support and a person to trust in, and it was very reassuring. Thankyou Freedinah!
US
Email Mindy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most exciting and amazing vacation ever!
Went on a safari vacation in July. Saw 4 of the big 5 on the very first day! We eventually saw all of the Big 5 and what we learned are the "Ugly 5". Every day brought a new experience with new animals/birds added. Highlights were the 3 species of Giraffes, Masai and forest elephants ( all in herds with their families), a pride of 13 lions, ballon ride over the Masai Mara, amazing hippos and rhinos ( all with babies), spotting Leopard on the rock, just to name a few of the everyday experiences. The weather was perfect, cool in the morning and then warmer ( not hot) in the afternoons. Bugs were never an issue. Very good accommodations - lodges and tented lodges ( like glamping). Had few issues with hot water or plumbing but nothing horrible. Most of the food was buffet style with lots of variety and good tasting. The service was excellent. We had a private tour with an excellent guide who spoke several languages. He was able to spot the animals and was very knowledgeable about the wildlife and Kenya in general. We had a pop up van that I would not recommend. The roads are VERY rough. I think the 4x4 pop up would have been more comfortable for the number of days on Safari(12). After safari we spent 3 days at the beach in Mombasa. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time :(, but it was still a relaxing finish. GREAT trip!
