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
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
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
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!
IT
Email Antonella | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
again safari with Paul di Kets Safaris
After the great experience of 2012 with Kets Safaris, we did 6 safari nights: 3 nights Masai Mara, Nakuru 1 night and 2 nights Samburu, we decided to contact again Paul Kets Safaris for our third safari in Kenya.
We contacted again by mail to organize our safari, or 3 nights at the Masai Mara with accommodation to Ashnil Mara Camp, overnight at Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge in Naivasha, one night at Amboseli Ol Tukai Amboseli, a night in the Taita Taita Hills and Salt Lick last night to Tsavo East all'Ashnil Aruba.
This time we decided to travel with LandCruise instead of the minivan, and we can say that the choice was better, because the jeep trip is more comfortable, given the many hours spent on dirt roads full of potholes and jumps.
Reading often the Kenya forum, I realized that Kets has very good prices, to the service provided.
Everything was organized perfectly and precisely, we found ourselves very well with our driver, kennedy (ken), who tirelessly drove for hours and hours to enable us to see all the animals, always on time, polite and with a smile on lips.
Ken picked us up at our arrival at Nairobi airport and left us directly to the Resort in Watamu, where we rested a few days after the safari fatigues.
2 Nights at Ashnil Mara Camp
Our safari with Kets to the mara was wonderful, enjoyed every bit of it. The driver Mr. George was friendly, humble and fun to be with. The Director Mr. Paul kept checking on us through out the safari and made sure we were happy and comfortable, Awesome! It felt nice staying at the Ashnil camp, friendly staff and good meals. the rooms were sparkles clean not forgetting the view of the River Mara...wow! Can't wait to have another safari with Kets.
Email Chris M | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A totally unforgettable two days and one night!
We were two business colleagues who had a couple of days to spare after a conference in Nairobi, and we decided to spend them in the Maasai Mara. KET Safaris did a fantastic job for us. Our driver, Francis, was excellent.
In the course of our two days, we saw all at very close range, and to watch for as long as we wanted: thousands of gazelle, impala, wildebeest, buffalo and zebra, lots of giraffe, hippo, elephant, warthog, meerkats and baboons, a few lions in prides, hyenas, rhinos, crocs, ostriches, many pretty and exotic-looking birds, and a leopard in the tree above us, and a cheetah eating his lunch. Perhaps we were extremely lucky to see all of this in 24 hours - I don't know. Certainly our driver, Francis, was very skilled at finding the animals for us.
Ashnil Mara Camp where we stayed was an extremely comfortable oasis in the middle of the Maasai Mara. Technically, it was under canvas, but definitely ‘glamping’, - as comfortable as any hotel or resort.
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.
Email Shivani Bhargava | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
More than we expected! All thanks to Paul
We had a great time in Kenya and all because of the wonderful safari we booked through KETs. We booked everything online and were on constant touch with Paul on whatsapp. He willingly answered all our queries and also was happy to offer extra services we asked for.
Our safari was very comfortable and our Tour Guide Sabby was amazing he took extra efforts and drove the vehicle on off beaten routes where we could see animals from a close proximity. We saw so many vehicles were lined up at one corner and we were the lucky ones who went further for better view. We saw all big 5s and were fully satisfied.
Landcruiser was well kept and clean, we had a very comfortable ride. (book landcruisers only, as only these vehicles can go on off beaten paths, with matadoors you would be stuck on set paths)
Paul also went extra miles to help us with sorting out payment issue we had with the most terrible hotel 'Central Park' we booked ourselves in Nairobi. Most helpful and courteous person I've met.
Make sure when you do the booking leave end to end with KETs (do not repeat our mistake).
2 hotels which they booked for us in Masai Mara and lake nakuru was amazing and we were able to get good vegetarian options.
To Summarize our experience with KETs/ Paul & Sabby - perfect, flawless and awesome.
IN
Email Indrajit | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Safari experience with Kenya Espresso Tours!!
We travelled to Kenya as a couple in October 2017.We started planning for this trip just a month in advance. After doing research in the internet for various safari operators in Kenya, we zeroed-in on KETs and found them to be very cost effective for a 4 Night - 5 days Safari. Our point of contact was Paul(the owner of KETS) and we had all communication through email and whatsapp. We found him to be very prompt ,quick and very clear in all his replies to us. He had lots of patience and had clarified all our queries throughout the one month before our trip. Not only that, he had tried the best from his side to provide the best discounted rate possible for our trip.He provided us 3-4 star category hotels at the best possible price. Once we were in Kenya, we were picked up from Nairboi JK Airport by our Driver Guide Richard and he was very friendly and helpful throughout our trip. On the first day, during our meeting with Paul in the office(before the start of our safari), he offered us an up-gradation to stay at Sarova Mara Game Camp,a 5 Star resort, which was beyond our expectation.
Overall, all the hotels they chose for us were absolutely top notch and all had superb locations , hospitality and great food options.
Our itinerary included 1N in Amboseli, 1N in Nakuru and 2N in Masai Mara.Now coming to the Game Drives, Our Guide Richard was very knowledgeable about the jungles and the animals and he took us to the correct spots for the Game viewing. He really loved the wildlife and we were lucky to spot the "Big 5" along with a variety of other animals with his help. We were also lucky to witness the Wildebeest River Crossing during this time of the year .So from our experience, we highly recommend Kenya Espresso Tours for any Safari trip.We give a 5 stars for their wonderful service.
Email Margot | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant safari - amazing range of animals and environments!
We were thrilled with the itinerary, the parks, the lodges and in particular:
· The great care and driving excellence of Ken and Joseph
· The range of parks and numbers of animals – we were expecting to see just a few animals – we had no idea we would literally see thousands!
· Your excellent and easy coordination – nothing was too much trouble to organise, you were so flexible
· The value for money – the safari was extremely reasonably priced, making it possible for us to involve younger members of our families
