Baboon Budget Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- KATO, KTB & Ministry Of Tourism
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $700 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
BZ
Email Stephanie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic and exciting Safari experience
Our experience was beyond expectations from day one! Solomon was an awesome guide who drove us between four different parks over the course of a week. He made sure he knew what we wanted to see and went out of his way to find it! We saw way more wildlife than I could have ever imagined and Solomon knew the parks so well that we always got a great view (and never got stuck!) I always felt safe with him, whether on the insane highways or stuck in animal traffic jams. I thought it was great that we always traveled in groups in case we or another van had problems. The only downside was the food was quite plain, but you're not on safari for the food!
IN
Email Sanu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome!!
The service of all staff was exceptional. Specially the Safari driver /guide Mr Ambrose was an awesome person who made sure all communication was clear, we we're at the right place at the right time ensuring we spot the big 5. Also did Mt Kenya trek with Mr Ken and he was an exceptional good mountain guide. Very happy with Baboon safari giving the best of mountain/safari guides.
AE
Email Empire L | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Budget Tour - Similar to More Expensive Tours for Half the Cost
3.5 Stars
We booked a 9-day tour with Budget Baboon Safari. The process was relatively easy. Emails were responded to quickly. A deposit of 20% was needed through a wire transfer or via African PayPal (forgot what they call it). I did a wire transfer after reading about the possible challenges and pitfalls of African PayPal.
PROS:
Good drivers. We had Mike in Kenya, and he went out of his way to ensure that you saw animals, and that you could see animals up close. The vehicle didn't break down (you'll see or hear stories). We were upgraded to a newer campsite, which was nice. It had running water, albiet no hot water, it had WiFi although spotty (what do you expect in the middle of nature). Food was decent. We went in October and saw many animals in a short period of time.
Tanzania, we were contracted out to 7 Wonders, then to 3 Wonders. Frank was our second driver, he was excellent. Not a lot of info, but good driver, took you to see what you wanted. Set up camps. Food was decent. Fun to camp out in the wilderness with the animals. Serengeti is much larger than Masai Mara in Kenya, and therefore, in October, we spent more time driving to find the animals.
CONS
We were picked up from the airport, but ended up waiting for hours for another couple's delayed flight, who didn't even come on our tour anyway. We were only 20 minutes from our hotel, but the driver said it would take hours "due to traffic," to take us to the hotel. Google Maps did not indicate this. Locals confirmed there is not hours of traffic at night. Furthermore, looking on the other side of the road driving into town, at night, showed no traffic at all.
One more con, has to do with us booking Tanzania through this company. So you understand, they do contract out for Tanzania. We were forgotten at our hotel and had to text, email, then call to get a response.
I will say this, they did correct the mistake by: taking us to the museum and paying for entry. They also upgraded our hotel in Tanzania. The owner, Dennis, also came and apologized personally. You can tell he cares about the business and his reputation and customer experience.
There was poor communication from there-on-out. We were originally told we'd be met at Tanzania-Kenya border heading south. We were not. We were told we'd then be met at bus stop in Arusha. No one was there. We had to text again to tour operator in Tanzania, 7 Wonder Tours, to get picked up. We waited about 20-30 minutes, not too bad.
In Tanzania the vehicle broke down twice, once we waited over two hours for them to "fix," it. It was a broken brake cylinder, but instead the replaced the break drums, which were completely shot.
First driver we had, we only had for part about 4 hours, for a short drive, and he demanded a tip of at least $10/person. When we offered him less, he refused, got angry and walked off.
OVERALL: Remember, you are on a budget tour, and you are in a developing country. Things will not always run on time. If you do Kenya/Tanzania, the company will farm you out to another company to get you into a vehicle and on safari. Don't worry, this is normal. Your vehicle may break down, we heard this from others as well. Makes sense, they drive these vehicles daily over rough terrain, part of the experience. Last, we did ask other tourists how much they paid...we were paying less for the same trip! You can't beat cheaper. In the end we saw what we wanted to see.
US
Email Katie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The director Dennis Solomon is a incompetent and is only worried about money. No respect.
I was super excited about the safari, and the lady who helped us book was so nice, even our driver to the safari was so nice. The issue was on the second day ( we did only two days one night), logistics was awful. We were told to meet the tour guide at 6 am only to find out, the tour we were suppose to be on left. We spent the next 45 mins in the safari searching for that said group, only to find out they were finished in the park, so we parted the park to return to Nairobi. We were suppose to spend three hours in the safari. All while my husband did not have a seat in the van ( over crowded) so he sat on the floor- literally where you put your feet. When we discussed this with the direct of baboon budget his response was; “ who told you you would have a seat, you can stand”, which was not of course what we paid for. After some time explaining his only response to our cristicms was, “ oh you people- I know people like you- you are just never sastified, you just want to complain and get money”. We were of course only relaying our complaints. We ( my husband and I) spent 520.00 usd ( 240 a person, plus surcharge for using debit machine), and spent less than three hours actually touring the safari. Logistics are awful and the director does not care about the costumer.
NL
Email Mark | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great value for money
We've had a wonderful three day safari in the Maasai Mara, although we ended up with eight people instead of four (which they said before). Also the pickup on our first day was 1,5 hours too late but the group was fun and it all worked out well. Our guide Ambrose worked hard to provide an amazing experience. Accommodation was fine. Not super fancy but hey, it's called Budget Safaris for a reason. Great value for money!
CA
Email Kathy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
It exceeded my expectations.
Booking online can be a bit scary because you’re not sure if you’re dealing with a reputable company or not. I was so happy to find that the Baboon Budget Safari staff were everything you could possibly hope for, even though the cost was very reasonable. Our guide, Stanley, was an excellent driver and shared with us so many interesting facts about the animals we saw. He was also very good at spotting animals from a considerable distance, and I couldn’t believe how many species we were fortunate enough to see. Stanley’s work days on safari were long and demanding, yet he handled it all like it was easy. 5 stars for Stanley!! Our accommodations at Mara Sopa and Lake Nakuru Lodge were wonderful - attractive, clean, and the food was delicious and varied. I would highly recommend this safari company to everyone. They go out of their way to ensure that their customers have a happy and memorable safari experience. Thank you so much Stanley & Teddy.
Email Dean | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best time we had with our driver Antony would defo recommend
3 day tour to Masai mara was amazing loved every part of this, our driver Antony went above and beyond to make sure we had everything need and was happy at all time
Email Rico | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari, excellent driver/guide an overall fantastic experience
We got everything we wanted out of the trip, the photos, the animals, the experience, the Masai Mara people loved it all. Our driver/guide Antony was fantastic throughout, he was knowledgeable, helpful and got us to the animals for the photos we all wanted, and he got us into good positions to take the photos. This was a fantastic 3 day safari and I honestly though we would be paying a hell of a lot more than what we did. Any issues that arose was dealt with promptly (nothing major got a flat tyre). Thanks you Antony, experience of a life time.
Email Jodie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant! Money well spent.
Anthony was an amazing driver who got us up close to the animals. We seen every animal you could wish to see on a safari apart from the rhinos. He spoke very good English and was able to explain things to our group about the animals. One of the best experiences I’ve ever had.
NL
Email Shila | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic !
We Booked a 7 day safari. everthing was well organized. The e-mail communication with Fredinah was
Perfect. Our driver Joseph is a very nice guy and a very good driver. He made the safari to a beautifull memory to remember. At the Masaai mara we saw the big 5 in one day!. The cheeta’s and leopoard next to our car. ! A Lion with a gazelle in His mouth. In Amboseli hundreds elephants crossing our way. We Made a biketour through Hells gate park between the giraffes and zebra’s. A boattour at lake Naivasha. (Extra cost). Thank you again !
