Melvin and Ann from our office during a game drive
Africa Marvel Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Member Of:
- Kenya Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
PT
Email Paulo Maia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good
Despite the mishap with the car breaking down when leaving the airport and needing to be replaced with another one, the trip went very well.
Driver/guide Samuel (Samy) was very pleasant and professional.
Without a doubt an excellent experience
(automatic translation from Portuguese)
Email Suzanne Holtz | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Right on time every as promised, very professional and nice.
Africa Marvel tours is a very adequate Safari Tours Company. They help swiftly, and can easily adapt if necessary. We were to be picked from two locations and joined in Tsavo East. The drivers, Lydia and Keith were really nice and cheerful. We enjoyed the stories of Keith during the safari, explaining the animals and birds, he has a lot of knowledge and is good company. Lydia brought us from Tsavo to Mombasa, a very joyful nature and safe driver. We were in excellent hands!
DE
Email Guillermo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awsome!
I am very pleased with Marvel Tours. They did an excellent job and gave us the opportunity to have one of my best experiences in Kenya. I highly recommend them. They are professional and very good at communicating. Especially Mercy who helped us and was always available.
Ronny, our safari guide was extremely open minded and made sure we had fun during our safari. He also showed us the best parts and I was also impressed by his in depth knowledge of the animals in Kenya. I would recommend him and would book with him again.
BE
Email Birgit | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience in Tsavo east & taita hills
We booked a 3 day tour going to Taita hills and Tsavo east. We chose this specific because we wanted to stay in the salt lick lodge for 1 night. This was a really good experience and we had the chance to spot a lot of elephants and other animals at the water pool. Our second night we spent in Tsavo east and also this was a very nice accomodations with a swimming pool and views on the national park. Rooms and food were great at both places.
The game drives itself were also really nice. We were able to spot lions, cheetahs, elephants, antilopes, gazelles, giraffes, zebra's, etc. Our guide Mike really tried his best to show us as many animals as possible. He also shared a lot of information with us about the animals, the parks and Kenya in general. It was a very good experience.
Be aware that Tsavo east is a very big park and there are a lot of areas that are not reachable by car so you need to be more lucky to be able to spot the animals from up close than in other places. But it's better for the animals this way and the nature and views in this park are really beautiful.
I would definitely recommend this trip.
Email Nigel Brown | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Made our dreams come true
3 day 2 night safari, staying at satao camp and salt lick. Could not of imagined seeing so many animals. Francis our guide was extremely knowledgeable and treated us like family Every thing about our trip was truly amazing and well organised.
US
Email Andy Coulson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing 3 Day Safari
We just want to say what an Amazing guide Mike is, he made sure we saw so many incredible animals and felt nothing was ever too much during the game viewing drives. Mike has an incredible knowledge of the animals and the parks and always made sure we were comfortable. I highly recommend Africa Marvel and always request for Mike as your guide.
CN
Email Fanfan Liu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice group, tour guys is very professional
Communication is fast , and tour guys Ron , he is very nice person, easygoing, on the way ask any questions, he will answer directly, and will help tracking the animals.
CA
Email Li | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Complete lack of professionalism and unethical practices
My family and I had high hopes for our 12-Day Best of Tanzania and Kenya Safari (Mid-Range) tour, booked with Africa Marvel Tours from August 16 to August 27, 2024. After extensive research and saving up for this dream trip, we were excited to explore these incredible landscapes. Unfortunately, our experience was nothing short of a nightmare, largely due to the agency's complete lack of professionalism and failure to deliver on their promises.
We paid the full amount to the agency per their requirement, 30% at booking in January and 70% in July, three weeks prior to the trip, expecting everything to go smoothly. Instead, the agency repeatedly failed to pay park fees, accommodation costs, and even our driver’s wages on time. This led to multiple delays, forcing us to sit idle for hours, miss game drives, and even skip two parks altogether. In total, we wasted over 16 hours waiting on payments to be processed.
Here are the major issues we faced:
1. Border Delay: On Day 4, we were stuck at the Kenya-Tanzania border for 1.5 hours because the agency hadn’t paid for park tickets, gas, and driver fees. This caused us to miss the Lake Manyara game drive.
2. Ngorongoro Crater Issues: On Days 5 and 6, our schedule was delayed, and we were stranded for 5 hours waiting for the agency to cover Ngorongoro park fees. Due to these delays, we had to cancel our Serengeti stay and move to a camp near Ngorongoro, which was arranged at the very last minute after we had to argue with the agency.
3. Masai Mara Payment Problems: While our driver provided outstanding service during our Masai Mara visit, he later told us that Africa Marvel Tours hadn’t paid him. He had to cover the expenses from his own pocket. He is a freelance tour driver, hired by this company for our trip. The agency continuously promised him reimbursement, which never happened.
4. Accommodation Issues: On Days 10 and 11, we were held in the lobby for hours at different lodges due to unpaid balances by the agency.
5. Final Day Misery: On our last day, we spent a total of 7 hours waiting in a restaurant parking lot for the agency to deliver a meager $135 refund to me and to pay my driver. The agency representative claimed they have no money to pay the driver because they are experiencing some cash flow issue. He eventually signed an agreement to pay our driver 98800 Kenya Shillings =1, 035 Canadian Dollars by September 5, but to this day, no payment has been made. We missed our Nairobi Park visit as a result. We also missed Elephant Orphanage visit because the agency failed to book it in advance.
Our driver went above and beyond, often covering expenses himself to ensure our trip wasn’t completely ruined. He truly tried to salvage our experience, and it’s devastating to see him suffer such financial loss and disrespect from the agency.
I have reported Africa Marvel Tours to the following organizations. These organizations have the right to investigate them and make corrections. Despite all my frustration and stress during my trip, my biggest concern is whether our Driver can get his money back.
• Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO)
https://katokenya.org/consumer-protection/
• Kenya Tourism Board
https://ktb.go.ke/
• Kenya Tourism Regulatory Authority
https://tra.go.ke/
Please carefully select your safari tour agency. No one should go through what we experienced.
IE
Email Michaela Francis | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip of our lifetime!
Myself and my husband had the time of our lives on this trip.
The Safari/Lake Nakuru exceeded our expectations and that was thanks to JOHN who made it happen:)
He has a wealth of knowledge which he shared with us and never missed an animal to see - we saw thw Big 5(the ugly 5 :-D) and everything in between.
His positive and caring attitude towards not only us but mainly for the animals was truly evident throughout the time we spent with him. We love his respect (unlike many other guides) for the animals crossing giving them time and way/switching the engine off and taking the time to observe the nature around us.
Both Tent accomondation in Masai Mara & Lake Nakuru Lodge @ Lake Nakuru were excellent with great selection of food bot different yet enjoyable in their own right.
We were already discussing with John that one day we would love to do it again with the kids when they are bigger and would ask for John.
Thanks again and good luck with the business.
US
Email Marcy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa Marvel provided a worry-free safari experience that was beyond our expectations!
Africa Marvel Tours was a pleasure to work with. Communication was always good. Any request for information was quickly answered by Perminus and Zunira. The website provides a lot of information, as well: suggested packing lists, FAQs, etc. We did have to ask for information, at times, pre-trip, but it was always provided promptly. During the course of our trip, Perminus met us in Nairobi to give us a preview. I had ongoing communication with Zunira before the trip by email, and during the trip, she checked in regularly by email and What's App.
The 12-day safari of Kenya and Tanzania was spectacular. Our guides were experienced and knew where to look so that we could see the best of what each park had to offer. Many other people complained of not seeing animals, or not up close. We saw up close elephants, giraffes, antelope, 1000s of wildebeest, monkeys, lion hunts, leopard kills, cheetahs, hippos, etc. Everyday was something new!
Our accommodations were varied and always comfortable. Food was always good, and the settings were varied from luxury resort settings to tented unfenced safari camp in the Serengeti. The staff were always polite and accommodating, "Hakuna Matata!" Our trip was moderately priced, as compared with other trips, but the level of service that we got from Africa Marvel and the staff at the accommodations was deluxe. It is a little scary to send money overseas to a company that you do not know, but Zunira made it so much easier to trust the experience. Once we arrived at the airport, everything worked like clockwork! Highly recommend!