Paul with clients at Ngorongoro Crater enjoying
Kenya Expresso Tours and Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- KATO & KCTA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $140 to $980 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Amazing safari with KETS
As a safari in Africa was a once in a lifetime opportunity for myself and my husband , choosing a company to go with was a big deal. KETS was wonderful from the beginning. You won't receive better customer service than from Paul, who always responded to any questions we had prior to our safari within hours (despite the 7 hour time difference on our end!) Our guide, Sammy was very experienced, helpful, courteous, kind and a skilled driver. Specifically, our package included Tsavo East and West, Amboseli, Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara. All locations had their highlights, but if you have the chance to go to Tsavo, I highly recommend it. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Huge thanks to KETS for giving us such wonderful memories. We hope to be back to Kenya again someday, and won't hesitate to choose KETS again.
NL
Email Ruben | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional and friendly
I had a very good experience with Kenya Expresso Tours and Safaris. Good communication, competitive offer, and living up to expectations!
Email Melanie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Out of this world
Prompt helpful service. This was the best holiday we have ever had. We stayed at Ashnil Mara camp which in itself was truly amazing with fabulous staff especially Fred.
Our guide Cornelius was just beyond superb with eyes like an eagle and very knowledgeable in animal life and where to go to get the fantastic pics of the wildlife.
We really didn’t want it to end and saving now for our next safari. We did 4 days/3nights in Masai Mara. Next time we will do a longer safari. No day was the same, and even if we didn’t see an animal for twenty minutes or so, it was just so amazing and the peace was out of this world.
A truly amazing experience, thank you KET.
CN
Email Angela | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
all good except the hotel they told us no rooms one day before we will arrive.
Good communication, good drivers especially the drivers in Tanzania.
SE
Email Nera | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing, can't wait to go again! :)
We need to give HUGE thank you to Paul and Kenya Expresso Tours and Safaris for this amazing experience for our honeymoon!
US
Email Val and Dan McDonald | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jackson gave us the tour of a lifetime and showed us ALL the animals.
This was the best safari and Jackson was the best tour guide/driver ever. Professional,knowledgeable,and the best companion on this 7 day excursion. He showed us all the animals one could imagine and his experience and desire to share his love and concern for the animals made this a most memorable experience. He did everything to make us comfortable. He even washed the dust off the windows so we might have a better view.
KET tours was most professional and very reasonably priced. The accommodations were outstanding......like 4and5 star resorts; food was tasty buffet style; and staff could not have been more courteous.
Only negative ( And NOT the company’s fault)...the road to Masai Mara nearly did us in. Incredibly rough and torn up.....practically NO road at all.......Jackson had to make his own way. Another government improvement project gone wrong.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life Changing Event
To all viewers – Do not hesitate to USE THIS COMPANY. We researched for almost 2 years before our trip. We looked at American tour companies and several operators in Africa. We chose Kenya Expresso Tours and Safaris after several months of correspondence by e-mail and a couple of phone conversations. Paul spent a lot of time answering our questions and arranged our itinerary the way we wanted. Our dream safari totaled 11 days and 10 nights - 2 in Nairobi, 2 in Masai Mara; 3 in Serengeti, and one night each at the Crater in Ngorongoro; Lake Manyara, and Amboseli. Crossing the border from Kenya to Tanzania was not a problem at all. You will need a Visa for both and we feel visiting both countries is a must if you have never been as they are both unique. Some tour operators do not operate in both which was another reason for choosing KETS. Paul was willing and able to plan our trip based on our itinerary- we told him what we wanted he gave us what we wanted, simple. Several other companies we looked into want you to choose from the list of packages they offer and have trouble customizing your trip for you to include both countries.
On our first day in Nairobi, we met Paul who told us that we were in the best hands to see the Big 5. Not only did we see the Big 5 and countless other animals, Paul and his drivers, Frances in Kenya and Joseph in Tanzania, provided for us an experience of a lifetime. We went on our safari from June 17-28th and we were able to get "shoulder season" rates. The weather was perfect and not as many tourists. The plains still had color and had not turned brown as yet. Our pricing included a Toyota 4X4, (pay the little extra) lodging and full board at the safari lodging sites, and a driver/guide for a private tour of just 2 people. Stay away from mini-vans, they have a tendency to get stuck, and the 4X4's have to pull them out. We saved a significant amount by going directly with KETS; less expensive than American based companies because you are going directly to the operator there, and we had our own vehicle, and were not in a group tour - all those people. Our accommodations were excellent. We had looked up all the lodges and there was only one night where we wanted to stay at a different place than what was initially quoted and Paul accommodated us with this request.
We will honestly say that we were skeptical and unsure about going directly to a company in Nairobi without prior experience. We contacted Trip Advisor, Better Business, US Embassy State Dept. and any other resource we could find to check on the legitimacy of this company. We had some fear - what if they don't show up; what if we don't get what we paid for - let's face it, your entire trip relies on your tour operator. Everything was EXACTLY what we asked for, paid for, and was told what we would get. KETS clearly states on their home page that they charge an additional 3% to your total if you pay your safari by credit card this is not the 3% imposed from your credit card company which you can also avoid if you travel with an international credit card you will not pay this fee. So, if you want to save 3%, give Paul a certified check or cash, we missed this item. Also be very aware of the exchange rates for currency and do not get taken by street people offering exchanges - you will be taken. Gifts and souvenirs, also do your homework, we purchased some items too soon in our trip, Francis did tell us to barter and compare but the baseline place we went to as our first place was so outrageously priced we thought prices were good after that. Every park you go to will have tribe people approach you with items, beads, jewelry carvings, blankets any of these items you will get for a very good price.
We cannot say enough about how precise and smoothly all the arrangements went. Our guides/drivers - Francis in Kenya and Joseph in Tanzania, were professional, courteous and dependable. Everywhere we went, we were escorted and guided, and they were always at our meeting point before us. We never felt unsafe or uneasy, even when the drive was long and difficult. They have to navigate between animals, people, washed out road conditions and traffic can be tedious. We tried not to distract with questions too many times , and a traveler needs to understand there is some down quiet time that is needed and we cannot fault your guide for conditions or places that we chose to go. Both drivers put our safety and comfort in the highest regard. We told them that we met as strangers and left as friends, you can enjoy your experience immensely with the hours you will spend together on a trip like this by really appreciating all you can take away from it. We can honestly say that this was a life changing event and choosing your tour operator is an essential part of the process.
The places, the people, and the things we got to see and do were magnificent - the culture and the country is beautiful. This is a must see for anyone who is fortunate enough to travel there. We learned more than we thought possible from Francis and Joseph and the camaraderie was comfortable. We were both given a personalized gift as we left which Paul had Francis pick up for us. Joseph also gave us a gift from his heart and shared his story and reasons for becoming a tour guide and his passion for his country and the wildlife in it. Both are very meaningful to us. Bottom line – our dream is to return next time without the worries that we had that turned out to be unnecessary stress on our part prior to our trip. The livelihood of these companies depends on tourism and it shows in the quality of the experience we had. Will we book again with KETS - absolutely.
To Paul, Francis, Joseph, and Purity - Asante Sana, and until we meet again. Ron and Diane Florida, USA
IT
Very unpleasant!
It has been a terrible experience with KetSafari Tour.
The only thing they seemed to want is your money and for the rest they didn't care. And the option we had chosen was not even so cheap.
We paid to spend more than a week sitting on a van everyday and travelling for more than 9 hours per day which was a boring and tiring experience and didn't worth the money paid. Once at the lodges what we were doing was sitting in the van (again!) for 2/3 hours to go out on safari with the most silent and speechless driver. On top of this it was even more irritating that we haven't seen much. I know that the safari experience is not like being in a zoo and you cannot predict wether you will see some animals or not but every time once back to the lodges there were bunches of people excited as they have seen many of the big five (especially the most difficult ones). And it was clear that it wasn't only luck but definitely they had a professional driver.
This made us upset all the time. The only 2 sentences our driver was able to say were that we had plenty of time and places to visit so we would have seen something and also he was begging us to invest money on him so we could buy him a new van and he could start his own business!
On the last day, on the way back we refused to stop for lunch despite it was already paid as we were looking forward to end that pain that was making us feeling SO sick!
Reply from Kenya Expresso Tours and Safaris
Posted on Nov 17, 2014We send our apologies as the management board for the incident that happened on your safari.Am very grateful,for you made us review our itinerary.It has been long before such complains were received henceforth we changed the itinerary in order to suit you and other future clients despite it being few days visiting the best reserves in our country which are miles away from each other.Secondly about the driver guide we are amused with his action,because this is our first scene to hear about such actions since our drivers are highly educated and passionate with there work but misconduct wont be allowed thus i promise serious actions will be taken on him after preparation of misconduct report ,for you and other clients as our work is to make you feel at home far away from home by serving clients with amazing safaris ever,impacting knowledge and historical backgrounds for our country.