Ker & Downey® Africa staff
Ker & Downey Africa
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- APTA, SATSA, CTT & Safe Travels
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $500 to $950 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Bonnie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip of our lives!
I chose Ker & Downey to help us plan our African safari after hours of online research comparing the different safari outfits and reviewing their tours. I absolutely chose the right company and Kayleigh, our "Adventurist" who helped us, was amazing in her attention to detail to ensure we had the trip of our lives. Nothing was overlooked, from the airport transfers to the suggestions of what we should be sure to do at each location and lodge. She presented us with three options in different price ranges and then changed things as requested. My husband told her this was our honeymoon - after 29 years of marriage - and she passed this on to each lodge where we stayed. One lodge had a bubble bath set up for us with candles lit when we returned from an evening game drive, and another one had a lovely candlelight dinner away from camp and under the stars of the Milky Way. These experiences were wonderful and meaningful beyond belief and added immeasurably to our enjoyment of this trip. I cannot recommend Ker & Downey and especially Kayleigh enough, they will help you plan the safari of your dreams. One thing we did was have a balance between actual safari and site-seeing. We were in Cape Town for four days where we saw Table Mountain, the winelands, and the cape area; then Lion Sands Narina Lodge where we saw Sabi Sands Game Preserve and part of Kruger National Park; then the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe; and finally, two areas in Botswana, the Savute and the Okavango Delta. This was utterly perfect for us, a stellar blend of game drives to see the wildlife and the tours to see incredible natural wonders. Kayleigh at Ker & Downey did a masterful job coordinating all of the transfers between countries - we were so glad to have people meet us and usher us through Customs and Immigration. Trust me, Ker & Downey will help you plan a memorable trip and will see that every last detail is covered so that you can remain worry-free. We are in love with Africa now and I know we will return. We will not hesitate to use Ker & Downey and Kayleigh again in our future travels.
Reply from Ker & Downey Africa
Posted on Jun 25, 2019Hi Bonnie
Thank you so much for the lovely review! We are thrilled you had an amazing time! I know Kayleigh was just as excited as you planning this trip. We hope to see you back in the near future!
SE
Email Fam Annika Modin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Just awesome!!!!
We actually contacted Ker & Downey from Sweden because of their good reputation and we then got contact with Sarah Morris ! She is the one that manager to arrange this trip to a memorable, wonderful , one-in-your-lifetime experience!
We are not that easy because of all our demands and requests but she took care of it all and manager to arrange everything we wished for!
We started in wonderful Oyster Box outside Durban and then continued to Phinda Mountain Lodge and after 3 great days we flew to Sabi Sands! We finally spent 6 nights on Azura Benguerra Island ! She gave us good advice all along and she was always very easy to reach both before the trip and even during our trip! We had actually a back-up 24 hours which we never had to use because everything was so perfectly planned!
So we can definitely recommend Ker & Downey and definitely Sarah Morris if you want to have a perfect arrangement for your Journey !!!
For reviews regarding the lodgings and hotels Pls see Trip Advisor!!!
CA
Email David & Joan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly professional, knowledgeable, great attention to to detail and a delight to work with.
We are experienced, independent travelers who usually make our own arrangements. But for a bespoke, three-week adventure for just the two of us to some pretty remote areas of Botswana and South Africa, we knew we needed a trip manager with deep expertise. Boy did we select a great company. Our adventurist Emma Perrin and our Customer Experience Coordinator Razaan Abrahams were superb and their services went far beyond anything we could reasonably have expected. Nothing was impossible, including switching dates and reorganizing the entire itinerary halfway through the planning period, just to enable us to spend three nights at an accommodation that was on our bucket wish list. Emma just seemed to "get us" from the beginning and her suggestions on what we might want to include on our trip were brilliant. She really knows her stuff and it showed up over and over in the eventual enjoyment of our trip, which was the best one we have ever taken. This is a company with extraordinary contacts (as we learned from staff at the camps where we stayed), flawless execution and instant communication while you're on your trip. They even supply you with a mobile phone app that contains every detail of your itinerary and can be used offline, important when you're out of Internet and mobile range. We appreciated their attention to detail in planning, since everything we could possibly have wanted was taken care of prior to our arrival at each and every bush camp. At airports and air strips, we were met and transferred without confusion or delay and on the one occasion when there was a minor glitch, Emma remedied it quickly. (They are always instantly available by phone, email, WhatsApp, Skype or whatever system you're using. Very impressive) The best thing, though, was that their advice, experience and responsiveness to what we said we wanted to see and do in Africa made this trip an absolute joy from start to finish. We cannot recommend them highly enough and would definitely use Ker & Downey again.
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Email William G | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
South Africa Luxe-Adventure of a Lifetime
In a time where we depend on technology so regularly to run our lives, it is important to remember that we are people. It is our experience with two very special people at Ker & Downey Africa that made this the best trip of our lives. Sarah Morris, our adventurist, and Zeena Ponto, our Customer Experience Coordinator, planned, designed, and arranged the most luxurious South African adventure to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.
After I made an inquiry to Ker & Downey about visiting South Africa, I was promptly contacted by Sarah. She gathered as much information from me to make this trip unique and special for my wife and me. Oh my goodness, did she and Zeena ever! Working with a travel agency has never been such a pleasure. The communication was always prompt and informative, whether through email exchanges or telephone conversations.
No detail was overlooked. Every airport transfer, hotel accommodation, South African airline booking, safari camp, restaurant reservation, and custom tour was perfect. It would not have been impossible for me to arrange such a wonderful adventure without Sarah and Zeena.
I want to especially thank Sarah and Zeena for selecting andBeyond Phinda Forest Lodge and Lion Sand Narina Lodge and Samsara Africa.
The two safari camps were spectacular and uniquely different, but both had fantastic game drives, luxurious accommodations, outstanding dining and the most exceptional staffs who cared for us in a way we never expected. They anticipated every need and exceeded every expectation.
Samsara Africa, specifically, Leonard McMillan, is a category unto itself. Leonard brought a new meaning to "personal custom tour". We spent two days with him touring the Winelands and the Cape. Our time with Leonard is reason enough to look forward to our return visit to South Africa.
Ker & Downey Africa will plan our next visit to Africa, and there definitely be a next visit!
CA
Email Robert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa
Every part of our program that was aranged by Ker Downey was great. They did the trip in the proper rotation and the camps they selected from our experience were bang on.
Without sounding too over the top we can only say thanks for the service you did it right.
Email David Poulter | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Ker & Downey Africa arranged my booking to Sanbona Wild life Reserve during my recent visit.
KDA team were great in advising which reserve to visit, making the reservation and confirming all details in advance of my trip. Sanbona itself is a wonderful place - the beautiful views, peace and quiet, amazing sunrise and the vast numbers of stars at night. I also had fantastic close up encounters with lions, cheetah, rinho, elephant and much more. The standard of accomodation is excellent and I would have no hesitation in recommending anyone else to visit. I will also look forward to the KDA team supporting me again when planning my next African adventure - hopefully a longer trip to Botswanna & Victoria Falls. Thanks David.
"An unforgettable trip to Tanzania thanks to Ker & Downey”
Although being used to organising our travels on our own, for this trip to Tanzania we decided to engage Ker & Downey as we wanted everything to be perfect. From the beginning we felt in excellent hands with Rory. He worked everything together making us quickly an exciting proposal fit in with our budget. Until the moment we actually started the trip, he answered always immediately and had an immense patience with all our tiny questions.
The team of Ker & Downey managed to not only fulfil our very high expectations but even exceeded them. We had a fantastic experience, wonderful in every way: all the camps, their staff, the food, the car and its equipment, the parks, the nature, the animals, even the weather with only some short refreshing rains, really everything was perfect. Ker & Downey organised everything with no problem, booking some wonderful accommodations and allowing us to fully enjoy our trip.
Our guide David understood immediately our desire to be away from the crowds and with his kindness and calm, his great respect for nature and its wildlife, he made our journey an unique and amazing experience. He made it possible that most of the time we really were on our own, having the feeling that we were in Paradise on Earth with only animals around us. His enormous knowledge about all kind of animals and their habitat has enriched the experience even more.
We thank all those involved for setting up such an awesome trip and recommend Ker & Downey without any doubt!
DE
Email Walter | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ker&Downey made a wonderful job
Ker&Downey prepared a wonderful trip to the Ulusaba Lodge with all bookings. They took care of us from arrival at Johannesburg Airport with the transfer to the regional airline to the lodge, gave a lot of useful information and also prepared a tour along the Garden Route according to our personal requirements. We always felt well taken care of. It is good to know to have the assistance of Ker&Downey in the background.
OM
Email Chris and Christa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Service! Extremely helpful. 100% Recommended to all!
This was our first tour booked solely via a tour operator so we were a little sceptical to say the least. K&D completely surpassed all our expectations and after our holiday we understand we couldn't have done it alone. The attention to detail was second to none, every minor detail was thought of so we didn't have to worry about a thing!
The service leading up to our Safari was unlike any I have dealt with before. Rory (our representative) was helpful, understanding and answered all our questions to the very last detail (we had a lot of questions!). Rory took on our feedback and designed a custom tour that was perfect for us and within the budget we wanted. Even when we requested changes to the itinerary after confirming, there were no issues. The communication was impeccable - always responding within a few hours (if not minutes!).
During the tour the team were also on hand to help us with any questions or problems we had along the way and quickly sorted out everything. We were not quite happy with the standard of one of our rooms in Rwanda and after contacting K&D they quickly upgraded us without any hassle or additional charge.
Overall our Safari and Gorilla Experience in Rwanda was Amazing - A once in a lifetime experience. The service, the people, the food was unlike anything else. I cannot thank Rory, Barbara and the team more for their help in bringing our trip to a reality.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Trip to South Africa
We booked our Cape Town and safari experience with Ker & Downey Africa after a recommendation from a friend. The properties selected in Cape Town and the winelands were spot on, just the right mix of luxury and simplicity. Babylonstoren in particular was a stand-out for us. In the Kruger, we visited Kapama Game Reserve. The guiding was exceptional, we managed to see all of the Big 5 in our 3 days there.