Ker & Downey® Africa staff
Ker & Downey Africa
- Located In:
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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 Susan and Bill | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ker & Downey was reliable, knowledgeable, responsive making our legacy trip spectacular
The trip was really great and one of the biggest reasons from my perspective was that the logistics were executed perfectly by K&D taking an enormous load off my shoulders and allowing me to enjoy the vacation as much as the rest of my family.
We arrived in J'burg at night, left the next morning for our first game resort (Rock Fig), travelled to Rhino Post, then Cape Town, and finally Mosaic Lagoon. Every transfer was spot on, our tour guide in Cape Town was excellent, and having WhatsApp as a fallback every step of the way was reassuring - although largely unnecessary given how well you did your job.
Our flight to J'burg was delayed but that was a non-issue since K&D were on top of the arrivals. I left something on the plane (my own stupidity) and K&D helped immediately when we used WhatsApp to get some assistance. Other than those very small wrinkles, the trip went off beautifully.
Rock Fig was probably the highlight. It was small, exquisitely run, and gave us the perfect introduction to game drives. Rhino Post was less luxe and our guide more green but we still valued the chance to be in Kruger Park proper and we saw different wildlife and flora. We really valued our guide in Cape Town and probably should have spent another day in the city. Our final stop, Mosaic Lagoon, was in a spectacular setting and was a relaxing vacation from our vacation but we couldn't take full advantage of its offerings because the weather was a bit iffy limiting our chance to get on the water to whale watch.
I usually plan our family vacations but I knew I needed help planning such a big trip. I cannot even remember how I landed on K and D but I am so happy I did and I am spoiled now. Not sure I want to go back to being my own travel agent ever again.
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Email Heather | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent company
We booked through Jumbari Family Safaris, which is a subpart of Ker & Downey. I actually planned the trip in early 2020 before COVID became a pandemic and Jenieen worked with me to plan which areas would be best to fit our needs in terms of lodges and the animals we wanted to see. After a couple postponements, Peter took over for Jenieen and answered MANY questions I asked from time to time while we waited to see if the trip would happen or not due to COVID. He was always gracious and fully answered me, which I appreciated. The trip went exactly as they said, in terms of representatives meeting us from planes, tour guides arriving to pick us up, border crossings - it all went smoothly. We saw every animal on our list and some more we didn't even think we would see. All the lodges that were arranged for us were wonderful and fit our needs perfectly. The staff at the lodges were great, the guides were great, the drivers were great. I really appreciate that every last detail was handled and when I had questions along the way on the trip, there was a WhatsApp chat ready for me to ask and I was always answered promptly. I picked this company based on other positive reviews and I'm glad I did. They won't disappoint.
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Email Yifeng Wang | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The entire team is professional and excellent in their work. Very thoughtful, Highly recommend!
Everyone in our family enjoyed this wonderfully planned trip very much. The Victoria Falls were magnificent; the safari was magical; the Capetown was mesmerizing; the Babylonstoren Farm was masterfully built and maintained. We loved the cozy cottage and the food there was incredible. It is truly once in a life time trip. Many thanks to Ker & Downey Africa team and especially Lauren and Gavin. Highly recommend and will talk again for our next Africa trip.
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Email Stephanie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible safari experience!
We absolutely loved working with Ker & Downey who helped us book our travel in Cape Town and our safari in Botswana. They worked with us on our budget and put together the perfect itinerary for what we were looking for. The safari portion was the big highlight! They curated the most unbelievable lodges with amazing wildlife sightings. We were blown away by the staff, food, lodging, and professionalism. We 100% recommend Ker & Downey for your travel needs! They will not disappoint.
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Email Katie Jackson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding!
I can’t imagine planning a future trip to Africa without the help of Ker & Downey Africa! They did such a wonderful job arranging my 8-night itinerary in South Africa that included stays at three unique properties (they handpicked for me) and two internal flights. Knowing experts had planned my trip I was able to enjoy it without worrying about what could go wrong. Based on my experience I’m under the impression that they only work with the best properties and tour guides. As a travel journalist I’ve stayed at hundreds of hotels and lodges and have met hundreds of tour guides so I should know. I also appreciated the attention to detail that went into creating my itinerary as well as the constant communication. I even reached out to them one Saturday morning before 8 am and I got a reply within minutes! They also made themselves available to assist me with anything after my itinerary was over and I was enjoying an extra week in Cape Town. It would be an honor to travel with Ker & Downey again. If you have the opportunity to, definitely don’t hesitate!
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Email Robin S. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow, wow, wow!
Our trip to Zambia and South Africa was incredible! The team at Ker & Downey was amazing! They took care of every single detail. They were very easy to work with, answering all the questions we had, and jumping on zoom calls when we needed to. They checked in with us during our vacation to make sure everything was going well. I can’t recommend them enough - we felt totally pampered while we were in Africa. In particular, a big thank you to Sarah Morris, who put our amazing adventure together (not once, but 4 different times due to COVID), and Peter Pittendrigh, who had to do last minute hotel negotiations/tour changes, arranged for all of our required COVID tests, and made sure we were met at the airports. The team arranged for an early birthday at each of our destinations, which made the trip even more special. And Sarah took time to meet us in-person in Cape Town. The team at Ker & Downey made this a trip of a lifetime for us!
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Email Anu Sarkar | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unbelievable service and amazing hospitality
In short, if you are looking for safari planning, look no further! Ker and Downy will not only deliver, they will exceed your expectations and take care of every single detail. We have just returned from a 14 day trip to South Africa which included Cape town as well as 6 day safari in the Greater Kruger area. Our travel agent Emma Perrin who planned our very first safari to Tanzania planned this trip for my 50th birthday with my husband almost 3 years ago, but due to Covid we had to push our trip to now. Her attention to detail and understanding of what we need is like no other. She knew exactly what we were looking for. In every single location, she got us the best deals she could find and our accommodations as well as safari trips were beyond our expectations. We stayed in multiple locations, and throughout the trip, Emma, Sarah and Peter stayed in touch wih us via whatsapp. Our son lost his passport 6 days in to the trip, and Emma also helped us get him a new passport without really changing any of our plans, which was truly a miracle. Every single person we met on the trip left an impression on us and we know that we are now completely hooked on to traveling with Ker and Downy. It is just going to be a matter of time before we start planning our next trip with them :)
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Email Jack & Rachelle Schneider | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Surpassed our expectations completely!
We returned from a week long trip on safari in Kenya. Working with Peter, Sarah and Zeena made our trip extra special! They are all extremely knowledgeable, personable and helpful with everything possible. They truly wanted to make us safe, comfortable and excited and they went out of their way to do so! They were always available to answer questions, they planned a perfect trip for us! We could not be more happy with the service provided from beginning to end! We highly recommend Ker & Downey Africa!
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Email Pamela | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly lovely caring and professional employees!
What a wonderful experience of a lifetime! Ker & Downey OUTDID themselves. I ALWAYS felt safe and in great hands by being in touch with a professional caring group of people. The lodgings at each camp were welcoming with loving, joyful staff and ALL of our needs (if any) were attended to in haste. We lived in luxury!!!! A hot water bottle at our feet every night!!! Food was excellent! As I am a picky eater ALL of the chefs were sooo accommodating I just loved them! As for our guides and seeing beautiful Kenya landscape and wildlife.....couldn't have asked for more. We saw ALL the animals we could ever have hoped for....each guide said HOW LUCKY WE WERE and I totally agree! I would go back in a heartbeat and HIGHLY recommend Ker & Downey Africa to anyone!
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Email Arlyn | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ker & Downey was beyond our expectations!
I cannot say enough about how wonderful our trip to Kenya was. We worked through Ker & Downey. From the very beginning Ker & Downey designed a wonderful itinerary and their attention to detail was impeccable. We had to delay our trip because of Covid but once Kenya opened for tourism, we were there. Sarah and her team arranged arranged a way for us to be in touch with them the entire trip which was very comforting. We stayed in Nairobi a couple of days, toured the city and were flown from Nairobi to 3 different camps - each one more luxurious than the last. There were a lot of moving parts and there was not one hitch. Those in the tourist industry have been vaccinated and everywhere we went people were masked and our temperature was taken. We felt more Covid safe there than we did in the US! Our guides were fantastic and fun; vehicles comfortable; animals in the bush were anxious to see us (I think we saw EVERYTHING!), the food was outstanding and did I mention how wonderful the Kenyan people are?! It was definitely the trip of a lifetime – I can’t thank those at Ker & Downey enough!
