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Email Cansu Cengiz | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best experience ever, a must-have!
We had an amazing experience with Beacon Safaris! Communication was super, all of our questions were answered with patience and kindness. We were picked up from the hotel by Ken, who we imagine the best driver and guide in the world. We were in Masai Mara for two days and in Lake Nakuru for one and half day. We saw the big five and pretty much every other animal. I think that we will never forget this adventure. Last day we ended up our trip with a visit to Giraffe Center, which was unforgettable.
The weather often was sunny and a little bit rainy, but it was totally ok. The 2 hotels- Sopa Lodge and Savora- were super and the foods were delicious.
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Email Gottfried | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Much more than expected: more wildlife, more adventure, more friendlyness!
I expected to see wildlife from a distance but I was wrong! It was much more than expected or even dreamed of. We were a Little before Peak Season and and had therefore easy access and free spaces in hotels and restaurants. Streets and pathways are in a bad condition but our driver tried everything to make the journey as comfortable as possible.
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Email Alan Mirviss | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kenya and our 3-day mini-safari lived up to my hopes of what Africa and the game preserves should be
So VERY pleased with our tour service - Skywide Tours. My wife got approval to present at a conference in Nairobi on Tuesday. I emailed Skywide asking for a 3-day package to Masai Mara and David responded within 12 hours. After looking at our travel arrangements, I emailed back on Wednesday night asking to move it forward by 1 day - to Sunday. Again, David responded in short turnaround to confirm this was manageable. We met David at our hotel at 7 AM Sunday, along with our guide, Wachanga. During the next 3 days my wife and I were continuously impressed with Wachanga's engaging personality, his vast knowledge of large animals, birds, plants and geology of the Rift Valley, which he imparted while we BOUNCED along along the dirt roads which snake throughout the Masai Mara National Park. We found out that after being a school teacher for many years, he now is one of the longest-running guides in Kenya. As a result, in addition to his commitment to ensuring we saw as much wildlife as possible, his ease in the mechanics of a multi-day safari - as well as being on a first-name basis with many of the other guides and wardens in the preserve - made the whole experience extremely smooth. We stayed in OL Moran tented camp, where we were pleased to discover that our tent had a shower/toilet attached. The food was simple, but filling. Overall just what we expected for safari accommodations.
As we were coming back into Nairobi we decided to engage Wachanga for the day on Saturday, 4 days from then, to go through the Nairobi National Park, David Sheldrick elephant orphanage and the giraffe center. Again, David and Wachanga were quite accommodating. We finished with a tour of the Kazuri Bead Factory, which employs several hundred single women producing incredibly beautify necklaces and bracelets. We had wanted to try an authentic yama choma meat meal, so we had a late lunch at a restaurant Wachanga arranged.
During the day on Saturday we realized that our flight out the next day wasn't until 11:30 PM, so we asked if Wachanga could take us to see Hell's Gate National Park. Again, this was arranged without difficulty at literally a moment's notice. Hell's Gate offers multiple activities for a 1-day excursion, including the only park where you can leave the vehicle; a close-up view of the escarpments of the Valley wall; a walk up a narrow gorge with 'escape routes' up the side walls in case of a flash flood; and a close-up look at the geothermal plants that provide 10%+ of Kenya's electricity. On our way back we stopped at Lake Naivasha and took a 1-hour ride to see water fowl and hippos.
As you can tell from this long review, we are enchanted with Kenya, and enthusiastic about Wachanga and David from Skywide Tours - their flexibility and local knowledge made this the perfect week trip! We encourage you to use Skywide, request Wachanga, and tell them that Alan and Diane sent you!
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Email Tobie Faith Gordon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best range of Africa safari experiences
This is my first time to safari in Kenya although I’ve done in Namibia, SA, and Botswana before. In other countries I seemed to have a choice of exclusively high end organizers or almost exclusively backpacker trips. In Kenya I found a mix of both.
One thing that was really special about Kenya was being able to see tribal, nomadic culture. Masai in the Masai Mara is well known. But I also went to Samburu and Lake Turkana and got a chance to observe authentic nomadic cultures. These areas don’t have great tourist infrastructure but the opportunity is unique and really worth it.
Nice view and many animals
Even though rain season, we could see the sunrise and sunset. And there were many stars in the sky. Also we saw many lions, buffalos, cheaters and others. The seanery was so great because of the grass of green. We stayed 5 nights at Masai Mara and went 9 game drives. All game drives were perfect for us.
We will come back to Masai Mara!
They made us feel like royals.
The services was overwhelming. Nairobi is a beautiful place, we enjoyed every moment.
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Email Theresa Coles | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had an amazing experience on safari in Kenya that we will never forget.
We just finished an amazing five day safari that we booked through Wildlife Sun Safari's, and all we can say is WOW! James, the owner of the tour company was quick to answer each and every email and answer all questions that I had. He quoted us a decent price for a private tour which was much more reasonable than other quotes that I received.
Upon arrival at the airport James and our driver Toya where there to meet us and soon after we began our safari. Toya was knowledgeable about Kenya and proved to be an expert at spotting animals along the way. His English was good and he was always eager to accommodate us in any way necessary throughout the tour. We appreciated his good driving, even on wet roads and in heavy traffic. He was extremely patient even when roads were washed out along the way and he had to find an alternate route to get us to our destination.
The accommodations included in this tour were all first class and the food served at each one was delicious and presented beautifully.
We were thrilled at the amount of wildlife that we saw during our safari and the scenery in the parks was breathtaking. Even though we were here for rainy season, we managed to have good weather with little rain along the way. Our experience with Wildlife Sun Safari's was impressive and we would not hesitate to do another safari with them or recommend them to others. We are already thinking about returning for another safari in the near future since we enjoyed this one so much!
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Email Omnia Madbouly | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
relax and adventure
every things was great weather, accommodations, food, transportation if you want to have a simple and wildlife adventure
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Email Michael Evans | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fun, great family experience, great to see animals in the wild
Kenya is a wonderful country to visit - people are v friendly and scenery amazing.
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Email Maureen Nakamura | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari was amazing, and the host at our campsite was very hospitable.
We were able to see a lot of the wildlife, and our guide tried his best to find as many animals as he could for us, which was great. The bus that we were in was very comfortable, especially because it was just the 5 of us so there was some room to move. The food at the campsite was buffet-style and it was delicious - especially the meat stew. Our host at the hostel was also very nice and was happy to help us anytime as well. Our campsite came with a toilet, shower, and the bed was big and comfortable. Overall, it was a great experience and I highly recommend it!
