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
US
Email Silvia Bilacchi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Family safari
From the very first emails until the end of our trip we had full support from K&D
IE
Email Pamela & Marcus Magnier | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Totally professional and organised with great communication and flexibility when necessary.
We put together a programme with the family for a big anniversary with 6 of us travelling and Ker & Downey were successful in their quote for lots of reasons.
They delivered on every front. The Rufigi River Camp and the Ruaha River Camp in Tanzania were just as we expected and their service was superb. The Gold Hotel on Zanzibar was perfect to chill in following nearly a week on safari. All our transfers which they pre- organised were on time and very professional and helpful. The paperwork with all the contact details and timings for the complete trip was also very useful to have in case of delays along the trip. I could not recommend this company more highly.
IE
Email Marcus and family | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Speedy response and provided exactly what we were looking for, in fact exceeded expectations
Coming from Ireland we were a bit hesitant to use an agent so far away and who we knew nothing about. But the service, the choices and the value on offer won us over. We decided to avoid the busier camps in the north of Tanzania and went for 3 days in Selous and Ruaha in the Rufiji and Ruaha river camps. Both reasonably small riverside camps and could not recommend them highly enough. A little more freedom in Rufiji to wander and a little less driving to find game. Having said that we saw everything you could want to see. Two very different venues and well worth doing both. We finished at the Gold resort in Zanzibar which is simply superb, on the beach and five
star spoiling.
A holiday of a lifetime made even more pleasurable by all involved
CA
Email Karla Ross | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical trip of a lifetime
The team of Ker and Downey Africa,Rene,Judy and especially Zeena and Kayleigh made the planning of a trip to South Africa which seemed so daunting so seamless and easy! They held our hands at every turn creating for us the most incredible trip of a lifetime. The trip ran seamless never a hiccup! We were treated like royalty wherever we went,each hotel more magnificent then the next each tour more awesome then the next. Ker and Downey Africa created the most memorable holiday we have ever taken. They even managed a private tour with Christo Brand,Nelson Mandela's prison guard, which was priceless. Ker and Downey introduced us to Shamwari game reserve as we wanted to avoid taking malaria pills on our trip. We had never heard of this reserve before and it turned out to be the most idyllic setting and lodge to do a safari! Zeena throughout the trip was our guardian angel,in constant contact with us making sure our trip was going wonderfully. There was never a driver late, a tour guide late nor a flight delayed. Thank you Ker and Downey Africa,Zeena and Kayleigh for making our dreams a reality,the trip was the most incredible trip. You led the way showing how kind the people of South Africa are!! The only company to use for your next South Africa Luxadventure is Ker and Downey Africa!!
US
Email ElaineH | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top Notch Travel Services
I engaged Sarah Morris and her team at Ker & Downey Africa to plan a fairly complex adventure that included a safari in Kenya, the pyramids in Cairo and a Nile cruise. I can't say enough about the attention to detail during the planning phase and the genuine focus on making sure our final vacation itinerary would fulfill our travel goals. Once we were on the ground, the K&D team was with us every step of the way - morning, noon and night - should anything need adjustment. I highly recommend Ker & Downey Africa should you be interested in luxury travel in Africa. You won't be disappointed.
SG
Email Ming | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Epic and memorable for our entire family
Emma Perrin was passionate about making this an amazing adventure, and always available for consultations. I changed my mind many times, and each time she patiently walked me through the considerations. Her advice proved to be excellent in terms of the choice of lodges, duration of stay, pacing etc. She was so good I felt completely comfortable booking our Cape Town leg with the company too.
All the service staff we met were TOP notch. This is not an exaggeration. They had asked for food preferences, but what really impressed me what that they made huge efforts on a daily basis to cater to our needs. Frankly, we did not dare to expect such quality on safari.
The game drives were led by superb guides. We saw a lot and had a hard (but very enjoyable) time curating our photo album. In many ways, this experience surpassed every trip we’d made as a family.
I must also add that Ker & Downey has used technology to great effect. Tour iteranaries can be downloaded on an app. But even before that, the proposals were backed up by so much material available through a few clicks. The presentation was thoughtful and very attractive. They are way ahead of most tour Operators.
Finally, Alex Cloete gave excellent restaurant recommendations in Cape Town. We wished we had more meals to enjoy:)
US
Email Michael | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Smooth seamless transaction with knowledgeable advice
The communication with K&D was informative and accurate. We stayed at the Kampala River Lodge and the travel to and from Hoedspruit (organized by K&D flying from Cape Town and then back to Joburg) was very easy. Kampala was fantastic - I highly recommend it.
IE
Email Nuala Riordan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Super to deal with, always no problem to change things.
The guesthouse in Windhoek Villa Vista was great, we stayed there coming and going.
Private light aircraft flight up to Etosha, great. We were not impressed with Etosha, the accommodation and the food. We had upgraded quite expensively to have a waterhole lodges, but despite this expense, not all waterhole lodges were adjacent to the waterhole, even those that were adjacent there was no vantage point to see the animals if the throng of others in the camp were there with their cameras - very disappointing. We had been placed on the back row and after vocalising our disappointment, we were transferred on the second day to a cabin closer to the actual waterhole. Me-Gusto our super guide did everything he could to sort it for us. The lodges/cabins were very small and if you are a vegetarian, as we were (and they knew in advance of our dietary requirements), having a diet of soggy Butternut squash, shrivelled carrots and Greek salad for lunch and dinner were no fun for 3 days.. As it was a national reserve there was no off-roading and we had to stick to the roads. I would not ever re-visit this reserve, nor would I recommend it.
The next resort we went to was Mt Etjo, the food was divine as was the setting, the game drive was great, but as we belatedly learnt about the confinement of the lions, it didn't reach our ultimate. Our heartfelt disappointment that caused us to curtail our four night stay here to 2 nights was the fact that the lions were confined in a separate reserve adjacent and were not free to hunt for themselves and were fed by the reserve. This curtailment meant we squeezed our visit to Waterberg into our guide's trip up the mountain climb, but we didn't know it was only a mountain climb and not a visit to see the animals on top of the plateau, we were disappointed over this as we didn't come to Namibia to climb mountains, we would have been happy to have been advised this and we would have opted for an afternoon at the camp enjoying the sun and a game drive.
As a result we moved to Erindi nearby. This was a larger camp and had fantastic rooms/cabins overlooking the bush and a super pool. The food was good and the game drives were great - enhanced by the sun uppers and sun downers.
US
Email Bruce S | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Success is in the details!
For my wife's 50th Birthday, she wanted to do an African Safari. I've always booked our vacations in the past, but for this 20 hour flight from the United States to Cape Town I reached out to many Travel agents to support this trip for us and another couple. From initial contact to final decision, Ker and Downey (Sarah and KayLeigh) stood out as proud South African's who wanted to show off their Amazing Country. The Vacation and the sights were great, but what made it amazing was the detail and care in which Ker and Downey planned our Trip. Our first room was perfectly chosen to face the sunrise the next morning. And since we arrived so late, Sarah ensured there was a plate of snacks left in our room since all the local restaurants were closed. The next morning our new driver and Tour Expert (Wayne from Island Tours) arrived on-time and ushered us down Route 62 to Sanbona Private Reserve. The ride was amazing and Wayne spoke excellent English so there were no communication problems. Sanbona was off the charts. Based on my description of what we wanted, Sarah recommended the Tilney Manor Lodge. (Combination of Luxury and convenience and an awesome view of the Sunset - PERFECT).
I not going to describe our entire 11 day trip in detail, but what I must convey is that every step of this vacation was meticulously planned. All the transports showed up on time with specific plans for the day and when those plans did not match the weather for that day, they were willing to change them based on our needs. South Africa was amazing, but I must also sincerely thank Sarah, Kayleigh and Pippa for guiding us through our DREAM VACATION (HOLIDAY)!!
Thank you for everything
US
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!