Reservations staff
Right Choice Tours & Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, KATO & KWS
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $345 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CN
Email Emma Hu | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing journey with Right Choice Safaris!
We are a group of 12 people with families and friends from China. We just had a very pleasant journey with Right Choice Safaris. Our guide Joshua and Ben are very knowledgeable, reliable and both have extreme good eyesight. We went to Masai Mara for the Migration and when we were not confident enough if we could see the crossing or not after waiting for 2 days, Joshua asked us to be patient and said the animals were ready. And we eventually saw it! Also when we were entangled with what to see and where to go in Masai Mara, Joshua always led the way. He suggested us to have 6am early morning game drive in Nakuru which we got the unforgettable morning mist over the lake like a fairytale! We stayed 2 nights at Amboseli Oltukai, 4 at Masai Mara Entim and Eden, 1 Nakuru Sarova, 1 Naivasha Sopa and 1 Mount Kenya Fairmont. All the hotels and services are very good. Impressed about the efficiency Kenya people have! Will come again!
US
Email Joyce | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Right Choice is the right choice for your safari!
My two friends and I went on our first safari and it was a 10/10 experience - I would 100% recommend Right Choice Safari to anyone!
Our guide, Mr. Opany, picked us up from our accommodations in Nairobi and we started the 5 hour journey to Amboseli (2 rest stops included). We arrived at Kibo and we were all really impressed with the lodgings, food, amenities, and overall service.
Mr. Opany was always extremely professional and honestly made us feel like we were with the best safari guide in the park. He seemingly knew everyone on our trip and was always able to get us to the front of any animal sighting. Throughout the course of our 3 day trip, we were able to see so many animals (especially elephants), but also almost 10 lions and a cheetah!
Millicent was always extremely responsive via email leading up to the trip and George even made sure to reach out after we got dropped off back in Nairobi to ensure we had a good experience.
Special shoutout to Mr. Opany for helping make our vacation that much better!
(The only feedback I would have about our trip that is fully unrelated to Right Choice Safari is I would skip the Maasai Village - we felt like they were taking advantage of us as tourists and did not explain much about their culture and history.)
IN
Email Surajit Saha | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical Kenya Safari with RightChoice
We went for Kenya safari with Right Choice for 9 days covering Amboseli , Aberdare, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara. It was a dream come true trip for us. This was our first time in Africa and George ensure we had a memorable trip. All our queries handled very swiftly before the trip. As I am a photographic enthusiast, George ensure I get a great guide. Thomas was excellent , he made our trip very exciting. We will definitely recommend RightChoice and visit Kenya with them. It was a bucket list tour. Surely we will come back for more safari future in Kenya or other places.
CA
Email Anna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Right Choice? Not really
TLDR:
-1 star for lack of transparency and poor communication
-1 star for 5 nights of downgraded lodgings but only 3 nights of upgrades later in the trip. Would have rather had 5 nights of better comfort.
We booked a 15 day safari trip in Kenya and Tanzania through Right Choice. Initially, George was very responsive and seemed very organized, and that was why we chose to book with him. We were not happy with the lodging but were mostly happy with the guide and driver we had.
For lodgings, we noticed that George stopped being responsive once we started asking for hotel confirmations to apply for the Kenya ETA. After a few weeks of following up, he finally sent us a confirmation for just the first night in Nairobi, and nothing for the remaining nights.
After we started the safari, the guide drove past the accommodation on our itinerary, and we were only informed of the lodging change at that point. There was zero communication from George himself, even though we had been in contact for other questions. The lodging in Amboseli was a significant downgrade (farther from the park and worse than most budget hostels in other parts of the world). The three of us were also stuffed into one tent even though we paid for 2 rooms. We tried to communicate with George and he just freaked out and shut down. The lodge manager was also pressuring us to stay even though we were clearly unhappy and wanted to move to a place that was equivalent to the place we were promised on the itinerary. George was no help there and dealing with him and the lodge manager cut into our game drive times.
When George finally responded again, we discovered that all of our lodgings in the Kenya portion were downgraded from the original itinerary. We had to be very forceful in our communication and even then, we only got 1 night of our original lodging back at Lake Naivasha. He then promised to upgrade us in Zanzibar to a 5 star all inclusive resort for 3 nights.
At this point, I started reaching out to the lodgings myself to confirm the bookings and found out that for the 3 nights in Masai Mara, the price difference was over $300 USD per person per night between what we were promised on the itinerary vs. where we actually stayed.
We had to confront George with all the information again and then he told us he was going to upgrade us for 2 nights in the Serengeti and 1 night in Tarangire, and that he was unable to upgrade in Zanzibar. However, based on the photos from Google reviews, I'm not sure how much the upgrade really was, but it was too exhausting to continue to deal with him. And at the end of the day, we would have rather just had the 5 nights of our original lodging for better comfort.
There may have been availability issues but George never told us anything. It also didn't seem like he was proactive with correcting the issues - we don't think that he would have upgraded us later if we hadn't called him out on the price differences. It was not fun to have to reach out to various lodgings while on safari drives to advocate for ourselves.
The guide & driver in Kenya were contracted out to a different company, but they were sociable and nice. The guide could have given more explanations for the animals we saw, and point out interesting things along the way like the guides we had later on. However, they did work hard to find animals inside the parks and gave us many great photo opportunities. Our guide helped us with communications when we had trouble reaching George, and was also nice enough to let us visit his home when we asked. We really enjoyed meeting his family and his wife gave a great tour of a traditional Maasai household (much better and thorough than the tourist trap that people get taken to).
The Tanzania portion of the trip was organized through different affiliate partners for the safari portion and Zanzibar portion. The Tanzania part of the trip went pretty well but I feel like most of the credit should be given to those respective companies. George didn't even give us the Zanzibar contact until we arrived at the airport.
Reply from Right Choice Tours & Safaris
Posted on Sep 2, 2024Dear Anna,
Thank you for your review. I’m so sorry. We’re normally known for our exceptional attention to detail, and we regret that we missed the mark. Let me start my remarks with the eTA online application requirements. One hotel confirmation voucher was just OK for this exercise. The issue of not having the confirmed vouchers was not in bad faith.
Yes, the Sungura camp in Amboseli. This camp is located outside the park just like other mid range outfits in Amboseli. I want to categorically say, there is no price difference between Kibo and this camp. Due to unavailability at Kibo camp, we managed securing two rooms at Sungura camp and fully PAID for two nights. The sleeping arrangements you got were frustrating and unacceptable. The camp manager was not helpful neither did he ever denied that Right choice never paid for two rooms.
I hope you will give them a befitting review too! I think this camp was overbooked as there were many tourist during your visit. To say it was worse more than most budget hostels in other parts of the world is an overstretch to the imagination of this online community.
The rest of your trip covered Lake Naivasha, Masai mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Zanzibar. Following the bad experience in Amboseli, I promised compensation by way of upgrades where possible.
Accommodation in Lake Naivasha was retained as per the itinerary (Lake Naivasha Sopa resort)
Accommodation in Masai Mara was moved to Talek Bush camp following unavailability at Zebra Plains. The two camp offers a various sizes of double & single tents. The Talek camps enjoys great location. In terms of cost, honestly there were some savings which I promised to throw into upgrades as the journey progresses.
In Serengeti, the itinerary accommodation was Heritage Serengeti. Upgrade to Suenos De Africa luxury camp.
Itinerary accommodation in Ngorongoro was retained at Ngorongoro Rhino lodge.
Itinerary accommodation in Tarangire was Tarangire Simba lodge. This was upgraded to 4 star lodge, the Tarangre sopa lodge.
Accommodation in Zanzibar was Nungwi Dreams By mantis and this was retained. I kept my promise on upgrades. On a balancing ratio, the accommodation cost difference in Mara was solved with upgrade in Tarangire. This response is open to my worthy players in the industry. So I have no room lie here.
After several WhatsApp messages reassuring you about the accommodation status, you still went a head to make direct calls to the said lodges which was not bad. I really sympathize with all the energy you spent on these calls which was not really necessary. I was equally overwhelmed with calls from the lodges/camp asking me what is going on with my clients.
That was the time I started going silent because I knew you will get what I had promised after the Amboseli incident. To be fair, that's exactly what you got Anna. Since you had trust issues, the best I could do was to remain calm and get vindicated at the end of the trip.
On the communication aspect of this review, I sincerely apologize. This was a very let down from my corner. I promise to improve and do more on this area. I missed on telling you small logistical information like this tour will be run by Right choice safaris in Kenya and our affiliate partner in Tanzania.
In Zanzibar you will be met by Mr. so & so and more importantly, the changes on accommodation should have been communicated to you in good time.
Take note, it's a standard practice tours covering Kenya and Tanzania or Uganda (the entire East Africa) are run by different operators. Kenya vehicles for example are not allowed to access the Tanzania national parks.
My representative in Zanzibar met your party upon arrival at the airport. All the transfers on arrival and departure days were done accordingly. We’re so glad that our diver guides met your needs and thank you for your kind words.
Please know that your situation was an exception. As you can see on other reviews, we are known for taking ownership and caring deeply about our customers. We can’t fix the past but you have my personal commitment to improve on the way we serve every customer. Until then, please accept my sincerest apologies on behalf of everyone here at Right choice safaris.
US
Email Song | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 star safari experience with superb tour guide and drivers
It definitely meet our high expectations, from the planning, logistic, timely communication, game drive, route, lounge accommodation, to our 5 star drivers, Joe and John, these two gentlemen gave us absolutely amazing care, supporting, knowledge, most of all, warm heart services. Without their day in and day out help, our trip would not be perfect!
When you book your next trip, please make sure you ask Joe as your driver in Kenya and John in Tanzania!
A huge thanks to the entire Right Choice Team!
8 nights safari in Uganda and Kenya
We booked an 8 night mid-luxury Uganda/Kenya safari with Right Choice.
Uganda part was handled by another tour operator (we found out this once we start our tour in Uganda) partnered with Right Choice. We stayed four nights in Uganda in three different locations therefore it was far more complex than Kenya which required arrangement of multiple bush planes and ground transportation. That tour operator did a remarkable job on timeliness and open communication.
The Kenya part of our travel started with a few hiccups but in the end George made it right for us. In general, George is very responsive and replied all my emails in a day before our trip. However, you have to ask for everything (the itinerary, the flight details, tour guide contact info, etc.). If you do prefer a hands-off approach (i.e. tour operator shares prior info such as on vaccination, visa requirements, etc) on your travel booking, you may feel slightly uncomfortable. This was not a big deal for us as we did our research and asked George for the parts we were not clear (i.e. luggage restrictions on bush planes).
The success and enjoyment from safari is highly dependent on the guide and safari vehicle. Our guide, Jacob, in Masai Mara did a fantastic job to ensure we had the best sightings and a great safari experience. He had in-depth knowledge on the flora, fauna and the region as well as close ties with the community there. Besides from the excellent sightings and life-time memories, we learned a lot from Jacob. He truly deserves a five star.
Our safari vehicle was a land cruiser but a bit outdated with broken suspensions (we found out this when we were driven on another land cruiser on the same terrain, it was way less bumpy), a non-functioning inverter (this is needed to power the outlets in the vehicle to charge electronic devices) and middle-row, back windows were almost impossible to open. Although it was two of us on a seven-seater vehicle with a pop-up roof, we needed to open windows for great photo shoots depending on the vehicle's position on specific sighthings. Jacob was kind enough to jump in the back and open them for us with excess force when needed.
I also would like to mention about our driver, Steve, in Nairobi. He was a thoughtful gentleman with a nice car drove us to the pharmacy due to my medical condition before our flight.
In summary, we enjoyed our 8 night safari and thanks to everyone (tour operators, drivers, guides and amazing people we met on the road) who made it possible for us.
US
Email Nicole Wang | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very safe, comfortable, perfect trip, everything as it should be, highly recommended! 非常安全舒适完美的旅程，推荐
Right Choice for a customized trip for four people. It arranged the best guide in the world - Mr. Opany. The flooding in the early hours of May 1 flooded our Camp. but with the efforts of Opany and RightChoice, helped us to coordinate helicopters and new hotels so that we could continue our trip without any worries. They extended our trip by one day to make up for it without charging anymore. We saw all the animals we were supposed to see, and we saw Kilimanjaro. It was a perfect and memorable trip! Because we chose Right Choice, a responsible travel agency. Because Opany was our guide, he is a gentleman, he is like an aristocrat, he also speaks some Chinese. He is the most handsome and trustworthy person I have ever met! I am writing this in Chinese so that more of Chinese friends can read it. Please choose RightChoice, and designate Opany as your guide, you will have an unforgettable trip to Africa.四人订制行程，选对了这家旅行社!也为我们安排全世界最棒的向导 Opany先生. 5月1日凌晨的洪水淹了我们的Camp.但是在Opany和RightChoice的努力下，帮助协调了直升飞机和新的酒店，能够后顾无忧的继续了我们的旅行。并且延长了一天，补足了我们的行程，并没有加收一分钱！！应该看的动物我们都看到了，乞力马扎罗雪山我们也看到了！这是一次完美的旅程。因为选择了Right Choice, 一家负责的旅行社！因为Opany成为了我们的向导，他绅士，有风度，像一个贵族，还会讲一些中文。是我遇到过的最帅最值得信赖的人！写中文是为了更多的中国朋友可以看到。请一定选择RightChoice，请选择Opany作为你的向导，你将拥有一次永生难忘的非洲之行！
CN
Email Xinxin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Right choice must be your right choice！！！！！
We would like to thank Right Choice for everything they did for our trip. Initially, we chose the right choice based on the recommendation of our colleagues and started our trip. While in the Masai Mara, we encountered a major flood and our starting camp was washed away. The boss George actively helped us arrange our trip that was disrupted by the flood. And helped us upgrade to a better campsite. It also extended our stay for a day. Let us have enough time to experience the nature of Kenya. This was a perfect and unforgettable trip. And I especially want to thank George for helping us arrange guide Opany. He is extremely sincere, calm and makes people feel reliable. Even during the flood, he actually helped us contact a helicopter to take us across the river. It's incredible. He is also very humorous and can say the names of animals in Chinese. I'm starting to miss Opany.
In short, choosing the right choice will definitely be your right choice
RS
Email Aleksandra and Darko | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime journey!
We went on a Honeymoon Safari with "Right Choice Tours and Safaris" in January 2024, and we had one of the best experience of our life! George was fantastic and highly responsive, everything what we agreed upon was fully implemented and everything went smooth. This is our first Safari, we visited Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli - it may seem difficult to plan, but with the help of George and Right Choice Tours and Safaris crew, we had a Honeymoon of our dreams. Value for money was one of our priorities, and with George - we got luxury experience for a reasonable price.
We have to mention also Opany - the best and most experienced guide there is, we saw big 5 and a lot more, with incredible photo opportunity. Reliable and easy going, and full of knowledge - Opany is the man.
We highly recommend this agency, and for our next trip to beautiful Africa - they will be our (right) choice again!
IN
Email Joyce Thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
We had a wonderful experience with Right Choice. Opine, our tour guide was an amazing person, who knows his way around the reserve and strived to show us the big 7. The enterim camp was also a truly out of the world experience. We really enjoyed the trip and would definitely recommend Right Choice to our friends n family.