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
AE
Email Kidambi Harish | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Smooth,comfortable ( i dont mean the ride of course ), no hiccups and overall very satisfied
From the outset very flexible, easy to deal with,polite and courteous with great interest in showcasing Kenya to the tourist rather than for mere commercial gain and above all reasonably priced packages ! Would definitely recommend to others. Our personal appreciation for our guide Mr. Daniel and for a brief yet useful interaction to the manager Mr. Paul, I guess who made our rather physically tiring tour a mentally relaxed one!
US
Email Lance | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect 6 Night Safari in Kenya and Tanzania
As an initial matter, Paul (who I believe is the owner and operator of KETS) is one of the most responsive people on e-mail I've met - which is saying a lot given that I'm an attorney in NYC. This was very much appreciated as my wife and I planned our honeymoon and constantly changed the accommodation and route we wanted to take. KETS is very flexible in that respect as well. We spent two nights in Maasai Mara in Kenya (at Ashnil Mara Lodge), two nights in the Serengeti in Tanzania (Mbalageti Lodge), one night in Ngorongoro (the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge) and one night in Amboseli back in Kenya (at the Ol Tukai Lodge).
In Maasai Mara, we had Daniel as our private driver/guide. He was very easy to speak with, knew the animals and where to find them, and was generally a great guide. Maasai Mara is significantly smaller than the Serengeti, but is beautiful and less regulated than the Tanzania parks - allowing us to get closer looks at the animals. That's not to say that KETS did any offroading or anything, just that there are more off-trail roads that get you closer to the animals. We saw a cheetah with a young one, a leopard with a young one, a lion pride resting after a kill, hyenas and jackals finishing the kill, another attempted kill by a lion at sunset, and huge numbers of elephants. We didn't see tons of wildebeests or zebras, but that came later. And Ashnil Mara lodge was beautiful. A perfect view over the river where you could watch hippos as you ate/drank. And the staff was beyond generous. The food left something to be desired, but not a whole lot KETS can do about that one. One note, and this will be common throughout this review - the drives are long. So be prepared. From Nairobi to Ashnil Mara took us about 6-7 hours. But the last 2-3 hours there is at least animal viewing. There are also a couple of stops where you can look at some African crafts if you're so inclined.
The drive from Ashnil Mara to the Mbalageti lodge in Serengeti was the longest drive. It was a full day. Although we stopped for lunch across the Tanzania border that was probably unnecessary (and I think KETS recognized it too, as Paul mentioned that for future tours they would not be making that stop). Without that two hour stop, we would have been in the park much earlier. Also of note, Kenyan drivers are not allowed to drive in Tanzania (well, they can, but it's a ridiculously expensive process). So we switched from Dan to Oswald (Ozzie) at the border. Ozzie was phenomenal. Very personable and again very good with the animals and working with the numerous other safari cars to do everything they can to show you the animals you want to see most. For us, that was cheetahs and Ozzie went out of his way to find them for us (four of them in fact...). The Mbalageti lodge is the most beautiful one we stayed in with views that can't be matched. And the western part of the Serengeti park is really beautiful with thousands of wildebeests and zebras. Can't say enough about that lodge and well worth the long drive from Maasai Mara. Even with the drives, we would strongly, strongly recommend seeing both Maasai Mara and the Serengeti.
After our second night at Mbalageti, we had a long drive to Ngorongoro (probably another 5 hour drive). But this one is the easiest drive as it's all in the park. And the central part of the Serengeti is a great chance to see leopards (we were lucky enough to see two). The arrival at Ngorongoro is incredibly impressive. And the crater offers your best chance to see the elusive rhino. The Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge left quite a bit to be desired, but I'm not sure what KETS can do about that. There are only a couple of lodges there and it does have an incredible view - the rooms are just very outdated and not the most comfortable. That might be an area where you look to fork up a bit more money for a four-star lodge if that's the kind of trip you're looking for.
Amboseli could probably be skipped. Ol Tukai is a gorgeous lodge, but if that's your last stop, you'll have already seen most everything that Amboseli has to offer except views of Kilimanjaro. It breaks up the drive a bit from Ngorongoro, but I think if we did it all over again, we might have skipped that stop. Ol Tukai is gorgeous though - so definitely not a bad place to just relax after a long safari. We switched drivers again at the border (from Ozzie to Duncan). We didn't have much time with Duncan since we were winding down and largely chose to relax instead of go on game drives in Amboseli. But he certainly seemed knowledgeable of the animals/area and fell in line with the other KETS drivers we had.
Long winded, I know. So to summarize, KETS was everything we had hoped for and could have expected. We would strongly, strongly recommend KETS to those of you looking for a Kenya and Tanzania safari!
QA
Email Thomas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Trip Thank you.
Excellent service. KETS took care of our every needs. Thanks
Email rlwarren | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
fantastic ,everybody should go once in their lifetime to safari tour, ketsafaris very good ********
we went in August 2013, saw mara migration, and all the safari scaeneries and animals, chases ,everything one coud hope to see, may be we were lucky. but tour was very well organised. Driver who si the tour guide as well was very friendly and tried to show as much as possible.
i would highly rceommend this tour
if you book direct with UK agents you will lose about 800£/person
ME
Email KateP | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari experience with KETS
We have just returned from our trip to Kenya, which was made unforgettable by excellent service provided by KETS. Special thanks to Paul, who has provided us with an excellent selection of accommodation and made booking process fast and easy and to our driver/guide Daniel, who spent a week with us on the road. Daniel is a very knowledgeable guide, careful driver and very polite and hard working person. We can highly recommend him. We saw the big 5 within just two days! We have returned back home full of positive emotions and once in a life time experiences.
We can highly recommend KETS to anyone who is planning to go for safari tour in Kenya for their professionalism and client's attitude. So our next trip to Kenya will be definitely with KETS!
US
Email Greg & Lani | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
15 Day Kenya-Tanzania Safari
We completed a 15-day Kenya-Tanzania Safari in August, 2015.
After witnessing the Great Migration in Masai Mara on Day 2 of the safari, it was easy to think it couldn’t possibly get any better. But it did…repeatedly.
This was our second safari with KETS, so we had the highest expectations and weren’t disappointed. In Tanzania, we followed the northern circuit: Serenageti (Western Corridor and Seronera), Olduvai Gorge, Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara. We returned to Kenya via Amboseli, then spent the final 5-days in Tsavo East, at Bigi camp on the Galana River. For elephant lovers who enjoy being in the middle of remote wilderness, Bigi Camp is for you.
A few highlights: spent 2-nights at Sarova Mara. The buffet alone would make this a destination, but add Masai Mara and brace yourself for stellar experiences. In the Serengeti, we stayed at Mbalageti Lodge. The sweeping views across the plains of Serengeti are unbeatable. A lion spent the night under our cabin, and its low rumblings kept waking us up…but we didn’t complain! At the Bigi Camp, we loved observing tuskers wandering around the tents. As vegetarians, we were pleased to see that most of the buffets at the lodges we stayed were free of animal products.
Video 1 captures the Great Migration and Tanzania:
https://youtu.be/20XmqGOcZwE
Video 2 includes Bigi Camp and the elephants of the Galana River:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulmiDTHZvTk
US
Email Stacy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service and safari experience with KET
We had such an amazing experience with KET. From day 1, communications with Paul was smooth, easy. He was quick to respond to my 101 questions, and was very thorough. Our driver/guide was Daniel and he was incredible! He worked so hard to track down the animals for us. He was so kind and friendly, and really made the trip even more enjoyable than it already was. We stayed at Mara Sarova and it was absolutely perfect-- well located, great nightly entertainment, beautiful accommodations, super safe and the most delicious food I've ever had (I still dream about it). The safari will go down as one of the greatest experiences of my life and I'm really happy with the service that we received from KET. Highly recommended
FI
Email Paola | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
We did 3 nights 4 days Safari with KETS and our driver was Francis.
Everything was so easy and straightforward since the beginning. Paul answered our questions very fast and was willing to make some accommodation changes to the itinerary.
Francis was an amazing guide and we saw so many animals. You could see that he was much appreciated within the other drivers as well.
He always made sure that we were feeling safe.
Can't recommend KETS and Francis enough!
HK
Email Aviroop Mukherjee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply the best
Really outstanding safari...saw all the big 5 in 1 day...the guide was very well aware of the mara, took extra precaution while driving and did not cut any corners.
Will use them again the next time I am back in Kenya.
CA
Email Prakash Rastogi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Masai Mara Adventure
Frankly we were not sure if anyone will turn out to receive us on Nairobi Airport. However, we were warmly greeted by Mr. Francis of KETS at arrival, who stayed with us till he dropped us back to the airport after completion of our tour. KETS put us in Sarova Stanley, a Five star Hotel, for two nights in Nairobi. Mr. Francis was promptly at the hotel next day for a City tour including elephant orphange and Giraffe center. He went out of the way to find us a very nice Indian restaurant "HANDI".
Safari Adventure started on next day with stop at Ridge valley view point. When we landed at Sarova mari camp, it was a five star camp, where we forgot all about the rough roads that we had to travel to reach it. Same day Francis took us in the reserve and we were able to see couple of lions, Giraffes and wilder beast in their natural habitat.
Real fun was yet to come when next day, Francis made extra effort to take us to various river crossings, till we see the real migration of Wilder beasts across the Masai river. All kudos to his efforts, which made us boast of viewing the migration for which we had come all the way from Canada. We were able to see all the big five, except Rhino.
This visit and arrangement done by KETS will remain sketched in our memory as one of our best tours. We thank KETS and Mr. Francis for their effort.