#You Deserve An Adventure of A lifetime Experience
Wild Race Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Linda and Ron Jones | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operator Simon was very responsive as we had to reschedule from July 2020 to June 2021.
Wow! Our Kenya trip was fantastic and this tour to Masai Mara was a big part of that trip. Our pickup from our hotel to the airport for the plane ride to Masai Mara was right on time. The flight was very smooth and Tony our guide was at the Masai Mara airstrip to greet us and take us on our first drive en route to the Sarova Mara Game Camp. Tony was a member of the Masai tribe and was a superb driver and guide. We would highly recommend him. We saw lots and lots of animals and all of the big five. Two of our group of four went on the hot air balloon excursion. It was also fantastic. They usually only do the ride if there are at least four people but because of Covid and needing the business, they took only the two of them. They even did the champagne breakfast for just the two of them. All in all this was a fantastic safari with the guide, flights and rides all very punctual and customer oriented. We very highly recommend using them if you are planning a safari to Masai Mara.
DE
Email Andreas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top safari experience
When we started the tour, we were picked up by a driver and brought to their office in Nairobi for the payment. The day before we noticed that our cards have a daily withdrawal limit, and Simon arranged that the driver brings us to an ATM first. That worked without problem and we managed to pick up the full amount in KES. When we arrived at the office, there seemed to be some miscommunication, since the office was closed, but the driver eventually reached Simon, we paid what was agreed beforehand, and were brought to the tour van.
We picked Wild Race Africa Safari Tours due to the overall very good reviews on Tripadvisor and Safaribookings and were not disappointed.
Simon was quick to reply, and arranging/negotiating the tour from home wasn't a problem.
When we started the tour, we were picked up by a driver and brought to their office in Nairobi for the payment. The day before we noticed that our cards have a daily withdrawal limit, and Simon arranged that the driver brings us to an ATM first. That worked without problem and we managed to pick up the full amount in KES. When we arrived at the office, there seemed to be some miscommunication, since the office was closed, but the driver eventually reached Simon, we paid what was agreed beforehand, and were brought to the tour van.
Our driver John took us to Masai Mara (there were 3 other tourists in the car besides us), dropped us off at the lodge and then picked us up again in the evening for a game drive.
On the next day we would have had a full-day game drive, but that had to be canceled for us, since I got sick. We let Simon know via Whatsapp and agreed that we would stay one extra night in the lodge, and do the game drive with another group the next day. This extra night in the Mara Chui lodge + park fees cost $150 per person. The lodge staff was very helpful and friendly and even upgraded us to a better type of house for that extra night.
The next day we managed to do the game drive with another group in a Landcruiser. Even though the tire broke twice, we managed to see many animals over the whole day!
After that we went to Lake Nakuru (Lake Nakuru Lodge). The driver from the whole-day game drive ended up bringing us to somewhere halfway to Nairobi where we had lunch, after which another driver (Alex) picked us up. In that case we were essentially upgraded to a private tour, as there were no other passengers. Alex showed us the Lake Nakuru NP and explained us very much about the animals, and about life in Kenya in general. Alex was very attentive and made a real effort to find all the animals (rhinos, leopards, lions especially). That was all very interesting!
Alex drove us to the airport and helped us buy our flight onwards at the counter.
Overall, we can definitely recommend Wild Race as a tour operator.
DK
Amazing experience for 5 day safari Amboselli, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara
We booked a private mid-range 5-day trip to Amboselli, Lake Nakuru, boat trip on Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara.
Booking experience: The booking experience was easy, and Simon Milambo was very helpful in organizing everything and accommodating to our dates changing, picking us up a little later than usual, and provided multiple payment options. Note, there is a 5% fee if you want to pay by credit card.
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Guide: Our guide Obama was amazing! He was both our guide and driver, so there was no separate driver or tracker in the package.
Despite having to work extra hard doing both jobs. He really went out of his way to make sure we saw as much as we could on our 5 day trip. He woke up early every day to start our game drive before anyone else so we could catch the animals in the early mornings around 6:30am when they are more active. He was prompt, very friendly and always made sure that we were happy and comfortable during our entire trip. He is a very knowledgeable guide and was eager to answer any questions we had. Amazingly we managed to see the big 5 (all of them very close up) as well as the wildebeast migration and the crossing of the river!
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Car: Since we booked a "mid-range" tour, our car was a 2-wheel-drive minivan with a pop-up roof and we opted out of the 4x4 which was an additional $250 pp. Although our minivan was noisy and we almost got stuck in the ditches a few times and had to detour, Obama did his best to maneuver the vehicle around the ditches but without his good driving skills we would have not been so lucky. We would 200% recommend booking the 4x4! We wished we were given more information about the cons of the van and pros of booking a 4x4.
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Camps:
We stayed at 3 camps during our trip:
Kibo Safari Camp.
- By far the best one. We were very happily surprised with the accommodation here, everything was great. It is a "tented" camp but it basically felt like a very nice hotel. This camp also had a show of the Maara people dancing.
Lake Nakuru Lodge.
- This is a more "hotel-style" lodge. Despite being proper hotel rooms, It didn't feel as luxurious as the Kibo Safari Camp. However the food here was incredible, and we were able to hear the lions roar in the early morning. This is about the comfort we expected from a mid-range tour. This camp had a fire acrobatics show in the evening, although we didn't attend it being so tired from the Safari drives.
Enkorok Mara camp.
- This was the only camp we stayed at for 2 nights and by far the worst of the bunch. It was also a tented camp, but we were disappointed as everything about it felt budget and not at all "mid-range". The food was decent but the shower was very very dirty and there was nothing particularly noteworthy or interesting about the camp. I will say the Maasai people who work there were very friendly.
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Driving: In total, we ended up doing more driving between the parks than actually being in the park. We spent most of every day driving between the parks, about 5-7 hours between each destination, on very rough roads. This was quite tiring so if you have the luxury of being able to choose more days we would recommend at least 2 nights at each park. However we only had a few days for the trip and we were happy we got to see Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, and Maasai Mara.
You definitely need at least 2 nights in Maasai Mara or it will not be worth it. You need to drive for many hours into the park to see the exciting wildlife like lions, leopards, cheetahs, etc which requires a full day game drive.
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The Maasai Village. On the last day of our trip, we were taken to a Maasai village. We were told the entrance fee was 3,000 KSH. Again being new to Kenya we didn't know that was a price per person and not per group, so for just the 2 of us, the entrance fee was 6,000 KSH ($60 USD). They did a traditional dance for us, showed us the inside of one of their huts but the rest of the time was spent trying to sell us cheap souvenirs at steep prices at the marketplace area built specifically for tourists. We ended up buying a necklace and a wooden bowl for them which they wanted 5,500 KSH for around $55. We negotiated it down a bit.
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The itinerary. The itinerary laid out sounded very exciting but it was just impossible to do it all in the time we had. Our guide was honest with us and helped us choose the best things to do and we were very happy with the experience we got! :)
CH
Email Daniel & Viona | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 5-day Amboseli/Masai Mara safari
We did a 5 days / 4 nights safari tour to Amboseli and Masai Mara with Wild Race Africa and we had a great time.
As it was a last minute trip for us, it was helpful that Simon was very responsive and helped us organize the trip rapidly by email. Also they were flexible when we asked to do 5 days instead of 6.
They picked us up when we arrived at the airport and drove us to our hotel in Nairobi even if the safari only started two days later.
George was our driver for the 5 day safari. He was an excellent driver and very knowledgeable and friendly. He knew the parks very well and gave us lots of information on the animals. And he did his best so we could see many animals and so we could have a great time.
The two lodges they booked for us in the two parks were excellent. In Amboseli, we stayed at Kibo Luxury Tent Camp, a great lodge just outside the gate. In Masai Mara, we stayed at Mara Keekorok, a lodge inside the park which was very helpful as the park is very big. For the car, we picked the Land Cruiser instead of the van and we feel we made the right choice as the road was quite muddy and we could not have gone on the same tracks with the van.
We were very happy with the whole trip and the organization. We really recommend going with Wild Race Africa and with George as a driver!
US
Email Pamela Brennan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This company was very responsive to all of my questions. Very honest.
Everything lived up far beyond my expectations. I have not one bad thing to say.
FR
Email Emma | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience
We had a really great time with our guide China, we saw the big five and so much animals, he always tried to do his best to teach us so many things. We booked our Safari at the last moment and the communication and service were fluid and we have really good accomodations for a good price.
RU
Email Pavel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An unforgettable trip with good company
Hello!
I share my personal experience:
Our program in September 2019 was designed for 6 nights and three national parks:
Samburu - 2 nights
Nakuru-1 night (2-3 is better); we liked it there the most. Non-terrestrial landscape. Inexpressible! And you can just relax there. View from the hotel to the rift valley. Rhinos are often found.
Masai Mara - 3 nights
I must say that we were satisfied.
AE
Email Lavender | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
African safari professionalism&friendly,exelen
My husband, daughter, son, mother, and dad decided that its time to be in Africa and settle to organize our safari trip with a local tour operator / Tour and travel agency and this is how we found Simon and Wild Race Africa Safari Tours and Travel.
The company is pretty median in size and the service provided was beyond our expectation. Prior to your travel, Simon is very helpful in understanding your needs and tailoring a holiday safari package that is within your budget accordingly. He is also super fast replying to your emails/ Skype / google messenger / Whatsapp. Let's be honest, it is OK to be skeptical in a place you have never been before but Simon and his team of professionals give you this trust from the first minute to the last. From the first driver who picks you up at the airport to the experienced safari guides during the safari his Excellency Mr. Obama.
We took 7 days Kenya Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli tour package and it just blow off our mind. The animal's view was superb, the lodges, the food and even the guide himself was a professor in his own way.
I would like to send my special thanks to our safari driver George in Masai Mara. He has a good command of English and has a solid understanding of wildlife both from a practical and scientific point of view.
FR
Email Igor | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari of a lifetime!
Having already done a great safari in Tanzania a few years ago, I had pretty high expectations this time around, taking alone my two children (12 and 10) to their first safari in Kenya.
Simon from Wildrace Africa was by far the most professionnal and responsive operator to get back with a quote, a competitive, tailor-made 8-day itinerary in a private 4x4, covering four parks (Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli & Tsavo East) with a drop-off to our resort in Diani Beach.
Simon answered all logistical questions I had within hours (when not minutes!) via Whatsapp, and offered flexibility (downpayment through Paypal, balance in euros rather than USD...).
On departure day we met the whole Wildrace Africa team as well as our guide/driver Pascal, whose friendliness, experience, competence and professionalism truly made this safari a unique lifetime experience.
Pascal was totally dedicated to our every needs and went out of his way to take us to as many game sighting spots as we wanted, when we wanted. His keen eye even made us witness a live lion hunt moment, an extremely rare scene during daytime. We saw just about every single animal one can see in Kenya, and more!
Pascal is an excellent driver, we felt safe throughout the trip, and he regularly shared his extensive knowledge on fauna, flora, kenyan customs, traditions, and language. He was fantastic with my kids.
Due to our limited budget we stayed at basic tented accommodations either very close to park entrances, or just inside. All were fine and offered great surroundings, you felt in the middle of wilderness being woken up by exotic birds.
The itinerary sold on paper was fully respected, we really got our money’s worth. Everything went smooth and perfect.
Needless to say I highly recommend this operator to any western tourist looking for value for money, safety, and comfort. We feel lucky we chose Wild race over the plethora of other operators in Kenya.
NG
Email Olademi Ali | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting Experience - Memorably journey
We joined a group of tourists from other countries for a 4 days safari, the driver was knowledge, the cuisine and the lodge were excellent and clean. We will definitely be travelling with them again.