The team
Karibu Safaris In Kenya
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1986)
- Member Of:
- KATO, Tourism Regulatory Authority & Eco Toursm Kenya
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $80 to $280 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Jess & Rob | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cheap and cheerful- great tour! 7 nights 6 days Hell’s Gate-Masai Mara-Nakuru-Amboseli
For us, Edward made the trip as he was extremely knowledgable, hard working and funny! He was a great guide and also great company.
The bus is fairly spacious and comfortable and the tour sizes are reasonable. We were just the two of us for day 1, then 3 more joined for days 2-5 and 2 more for the final two days (making 7 people in total for the final ride, the maximum group size but there was still enough room).
Day 1 we went to Hell’s Gate, which is small national park. You can see zebras, wilderbeast, giraffes, buffalo, warthogs etc. The scenery is very beautiful although it must be said the wild life at the Masai Mara/aamboseli is much more exciting. There is an option here to rent bikes which is fun!
Day 2 and 3 were at the Masai Mara which was INCREDIBLE. Edward was a great guide and worked hard communicating all day on the radio so we saw lots of lions, a leopard, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles etc! Amazing!!
Day 4: we had a drive to Nukuru via lake Naivasha where we stopped to do a boat ride (20 dollars extra but you can negotiate this price down- we ended up paying 12). Quite cool and a nice activity to break up a long day of driving.
Day 5: we spent the morning in Lake Nakuru national park where the main attraction is black and white rhinos. This was definitely worth the stop as rhinos are hard to come by in the other parks. After the game drive was a very long drive to Amboseli. This is quite a long day as we left Nukuru at 10ish and didn’t arrive at Amboseli until 7. Accommodation here is much more basic than the others, but it is very close to the park.
Day 6: Amboseli game drive. This is beautiful mostly because of the setting, with the view snow capped Kilimanjaro. There are fewer animals than Masai Mara, but it is extremely beautiful. There’s also an option to do a walking safari with Masai guys for $10/person. This was a real highlight as after 7 days in the car it’s nice to stretch the legs. We saw elephants and giraffes from the ground which was a very cool experience.
Day 7: the rest of our group headed out for a morning game drive before heading back to Nairobi. We were continuing by ourselves to the beach so Edward very kindly arranged to buy our tickets online for the train from Emali to Mombasa ($7/person), and also got us a bargain taxi to the station (2 hour ride for $30).
Overall this is an excellent safari for the price we paid. Having read through some of the 1 star comments below I want to be clear that this is a budget tour (one of the cheapest in Nairobi) and therefore all reviews should take into consideration that it is cheap and cheerful, and you should not expect a luxurious tour if you are paying a bargain price!
The itinerary was occasionally subject to change, but the no one is trying to cheat you they are just trying to make tours for multiple people work for a good price so you must be patient and trust they have your best interests at heart!
Finally a HUGE thank you to Edward making our experience so great.
EG
Email Mohamed ElAttar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Over expected
The guide (James) was excellent. He showed us all. The accomodation was decent. The food was satisfactory.
Great budget safari
We did a 5 day safari tour with James
We got to see the big 5 and the ugly 5.It was all posdible thanks to James and his co-workers that were constantly communiting by radio to make us all get the most of our safari.
For a budget tour we have no complaints.Planning already our next Afrikan trip.
Pre-communication before trip with Robert was excellent. Quick responses
US
Email Noirrit | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome
We visited the Masai mara national park, Amboseli national park, Nakuru national park and Hellsgate national park with Karibu Safaris. We had great experience there. A guy named James was our driver cum guide. He was a very amiable person and I must say quite experienced as well. Among the big five we could not spot the leopard, but apart from that we did see many of the other animals. James took us to the right place at the right time.
I asked for quotations from quite a few travel agencies and Karibu offered the best rate. They were very prompt in answering our queries before our trip and we had a very smooth experience. The camps and hotels were pretty good and so was the food. Karibu also arranged airport transfers and budget hotels for us in Nairobi. I would highly recommend Karibu safaris for budget travellers.
One suggestion for future travellers...this is my personal view though. You may skip the Hellsgate national park. In that park, you would spot zebras, antelopes, buffaloes and warthogs only. However, you would see so many of them everywhere that you might find this park a bit boring. However, I would recommend to go for the boatride at Lake Naivasha. It was really cool and we saw many different types of birds.
NL
Email Ingrid | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Awesome experience
We had really an amazing experience! Our driver Aroni drove us to all the beautiful places in Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. We saw cheetas, leopards, lions, hyenas, elephants, rhinos and go on. Would totally recommend Karibu and especially Aroni!
Email Sandy Maclean | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic Budget Safari in Kenya with Arony.
Communications with Karibu were very good and prompt. I did notice that we stayed at a different camp in Mara and different hotel in Nakuru. Not sure if the others in the trip description were better? Especially Nakuru..
The service was good and Arony collected us on time at our accommodation as arranged. From there the fun began. Arony was the most fantastic driver and guide. He really made our trip so enjoyable. Arony drove incredibly well in the very difficult Kenyan traffic and the rough road to Mara and Miti Mingi camp. The camp was comfortable and the game driving and sightings in Mara exceptional. Arony was very knowledgeable and he made sure that we saw all the game that was possible. Navaisha and Nakuru were also good and we had a wonderful game drive in Nakuru seeing black and white Rhino as well as Rothschild giraffe. The CitiMax hotel was very disappointing. The rooms were fine but the dinner was a shocker. In fact 2 of our group had upset stomachs. Also one can't relax anywhere and cant even buy a beer! We also had 8 people in the van which was not ideal. It was only for about 24 hours but when booking the tour it did state maximum of 6. We then continued to Amboseli and Kimana camp. A very long drive but handled incredibly well by Arony. Kimana camp was the best camp. Staff very friendly and food was good. Arony again was a star with the game drives and he was always ready to satisfy our needs. In general a most enjoyable trip. It was definitely was made more enjoyable by Arony who did his job exceptionally well. 10 out of 10. Knowledgable and interactive. We really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you very much Arony.
Email Mike T | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Nairobi
I recommend Karibu Safaris for its overall experience in Kenya. Robert - owner was very informative in providing necessary information via email/WhatsApp prior to booking (cash is gold). Julius was very welcoming/helpful/on time for airport arrival & departure. The whole team (Raymond, Jimmy, Jeffrey, Dan/Victor, Amberose, Maxwell, Charity) was very friendly, attentive in making sure you have memorable Safari experience. Besides your luck, I suggest 4 days in Masai Mara for maximum big 5 & other animals seeing, 1 day in Nakuru to see white/black rhinos/flamingos, 1 1/2 full day in Naivasha to do boat ride, bicycling, gorge drive. Then 3 days in Amboseli to see mainly elephants & hopefully Mt. Kilimanjaro on clear morning/evening. Depending on your flight schedule, it’s nice to see Giraffe centre, baby elephant orphanage & discover Nairobi. Thank you for wonderful stay. I will refer my friends & come back again with Karibu Safaris.
AE
Email Dominique | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our tour was absolutely wonderful, there wasn’t one problem and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The tour was just amazing, and that all comes down to our tour guide James, he was absolutely brilliant. He was so helpful and accommodating and always just wanted us to have the best time possible.
Email Leanne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
JAMES: the best tour guide in all the land.
A fantastic experience overall. James our tour guide was the reason for all this. He went above and beyond to make sure we seen as much as we could see along with being so genuine and helpful in every scenario. As a group of 6 we have travelled a lot and have not met anyone like him. Hats off to James !
DE
Email Johanna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a great time with a lot of animals and nice people
The Tour was very well organized. The guides were very punctual and the pick up was good. We stayed in different camps than on the website mentioned bit they were clean and the cottages had everything you need and the staff was very friendly
They fulfilled my expectations because the most that counted to me was the wildlife in the parks and the guides always drove to the best spots for seeing all the animals