Simon one of our Safari Director on Kenya Safari
Journeys Beyond Africa
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Member Of:
- AMREF KENYA, Tour Operators Society of Kenya, Tourism Regulatory Authority of Kenya & Kenya Wildlife Safari
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CN
Email LianWenjun | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very, very professional, and all the projects arranged and recommended are perfect.
The company was very conscientious and responsible, and the preliminary work was well prepared. When we were picked up at the plane, it brought us a small gift, which made me feel the enthusiasm of Africa in advance.
Throughout the Safari process, our drivers and guides were well planned. We saw all the animals we wanted to see, and he successfully led us to avoid the section of the protest parade with his own experience, which greatly guaranteed our safety.
My wife and I have agreed that in 10 years, we will take our children to Journeys Beyond Africa and set foot on the African continent again.
US
Email Mariam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Trip of a Lifetime!
We had the most amazing time! My husband and I booked a 6 day safari through amboseli, lake Naivasha, and masai mara. We saw so much more than we ever expected. Steve was our tour guide and he was so knowledgeable and kind. He answered all the questions we had throughout the journey and shared his love for his country with us. We ended up seeing the big five while on our safari! Which I contribute to Steve instincts and skill. Leading up to the trip Simon communicated with us and answered anything I needed. They are overall a very trustworthy and reliable group to tour with. I would recommended them to anyone looking to go to Kenya!
US
Email MOHIL DHARIA | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional! Friendly! Knowledgeable!
My wife and I booked this trip 2 weeks before our departure. We visited Kenya and did a safari trip with Kenya safaris holiday (current name is - journeysbeyondafrica)
Simon is the tour operator and I’ve been talking to him daily for 2 weeks. He is extremely accommodating and would do all the research that we want and get back to me. He is very professional and extremely helpful. After booking everything we changed our hotels/itinerary etc but he never said no to anything and accommodated all our requests
Lastly, our guide Peter was amazing. He was with us for all 7 days and he is just amazing. He is patient, polite, friendly and knowledgeable. We spotted everything and Peter played a huge part in it. Peter has been doing this for over 10 years and he is very experienced with everything. He even knows the hotel staff and their drivers which makes it easy to communicate when you are on a game drive if they spot something else. We throughly enjoyed with Peter. We got more than our expectations from him and Simon.
If you are doing a long driving safari and jumping place to place within Kenya then look no further and book with Simon and ask for PETER!!
This was an awesome experience. Hope this review helps whoever is reading this and planning a Kenya vacation.
BY
Email Nadia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip organised by professionals!
We went on a 5 days’ safari trip with Kenya Safaris Holiday (Journeys Beyond Africa is their current legal name) round Kenya along Nairobi-Masai Mara-Naivasha-Amboseli-Mombasa (Diani Beach) route. That was our first safari and it went smoothly overcoming our expectation! Shall I brief on the safari-operator selection process… For the search of the agent we used all famous travel sites such as SafariBookings, TripAdvisor, Winski forum board, as the result about 10 local safari companies of high ratings and positive reviews had been chosen. They were sent out the letters asking for quotations with our requirements and questions concerning the forthcoming safari. Simon , Kenya Safaris Holiday’s manager was one of the first to get to us back and started to process our enquiry, which was very pleasing. Simon was 24/7 in touch either through Whatsapp or by means of e-mail. At the same time we started to receive responses from the other companies and compare the offers in the terms of the programs, conditions, prices and other details. Simon turned out to be the best negotiator and marketer, he met us partway while discussing pre-payment, accommodation and transportation issues. Through that approach his offer was the most favorable one corresponding with all the requirements of ours; overall, during the communication he worked out a very positive image of a professional appealing to mutual trust. It is worth mentioning that we did not find any negative reviews of his company, Kenya Safaris Holiday on TripAdvisor site, which was very important as well. Moreover, by chance browsing Instagram I encountered a lady who had made a trip with Simon’s company a year before; in the posts of hers she praised him personally not only for the safari well-organized but for his invaluable assistance with some issues after having finished it. Thus, we worked out a positive impression of Simon as a reliable and generous individual before personal acquaintance. All those factors mattered much so as to choose his company as an organizer of our first safari! So we are not sorry at all about our choice, which was totally right: every item quoted and stated beforehand was fulfilled and implemented exactly, i.e. a private trip, a highly-qualified guide loving his job, LandCriuser, a technically-perfect off road vehicle, wonderful accommodation in camps and lodges during the trip, comfortable transportation, perfect organization and timing. Simon and James, our guide, personally met us at the airport at 4 am, we got acquainted, briefed on some pre-trip matters and off we went. Our exciting trip started from out of there. Meanwhile, I would like to tell a bunch of nice words about James, our guide. That is a charming person who gets a pleasure doing the job. He is a real aficionado, an exciting conversationalist, a professional photographer and keen and experienced driver and which is most a nice person! James cared for us for all 5 days of the trip. I must say he is very knowledgeable and curious, knows much about local flora and fauna, he can speak hours about that and that is why we were all ears during the trip. As for the safari trip itself this experience cannot be described just with a few words, we saw and watched decades species of animals and birds, some rare ones that are hard to see, e.g. a serval, a leopard, etc. That was made much possible due to the experience of the guide who could easily notice even the “shyest” animal s. I don’t mention numerous lions, giraffes, buffalo, zebras, hyenas, ostriches, hippos, crocodiles, wildebeests and other animals. We managed to see 4 out of The Great Five animals, everyone except a rhino. Though, it might be the reason to return back! We made our trip at the end of July during the Great Migration of animals from Tanzanian Serengetti to Masai Mara in Kenya when hundreds of thousands wildebeests and zebras migrate in the search of new pastures. Once, we were excited to stay for lunch under the tree during the day trip watching the wildebeests making their way, that was captivating. Our 5 days went flashing leaving us with pleasant and unforgettable memoirs and impressions to recollect, also gigabytes of photos and videos of living African nature to remember and new knowns to communicate. Afterwards we stayed at the ocean in Diani Beach still recollecting and reliving that again, the experience during the safari trip that is. The communication with Simon and James is still on after our returning back home; they have been and are in touch. Moreover, during our stay in Nairobi before making a return trip we managed to meet up Simon to have some coffee and good conversation to share the impressions. By all means we are to recommend Kenya Safaris Holiday team to organize the best safari trip in Kenya as you will never forget that!
BE
Email Andrea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent organization! Ponctual and friendly stuff.
Following the good suggestions of the safari planner we have combined the 3 day Masai Mara safari with the Hell’s gate biking safari.
Well organized, we didn’t loose any time waiting at the park entrance or at the bike rental shop.
Along the road Simon gave us some explanations about the place and animals we have seen. The presence of the jeep driving behind us gave me a feeling of security especially when the bunch of wild buffaloes decided to cross our way.
It’s about 7 km bike ride but if you don’t feel like riding the bike back, you can still hop on the jeep and go back by car.
Although I recommend to bike both ways, you will get to see many wild animals in the open space.
RU
Email Svetlana | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best
Thank you so much for our 7-day safari,we will never forget these emotions! Everything was perfect, and we would love to come back here.We were with a child of three years old, and everything went just amazing ! Simon arranged everything: hotels, safaris,a wonderful guide Peter.Our guide showed us a lot of animals,we even found a leopard and a cheetah)We recommend this company to everyone,you are the best,thank you for our best holiday!
RU
Email Tata | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best guides, funny and intelligent, smart and attentive. Always have beer
It was a fantastic journey! Hope I will come back to do another tour with this company!
RU
Email ilya kazakov | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great holiday in kenya!
It rarely happens, but this time all my expectations were met 100 percent!
US
Email PDM | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Hell's Gate was a Walk-Bike Through The Paradise
We booked our 1 day Hell's Gate Biking Safari Trip through the Kenya Safari Holidays. Simon was quick to respond back on our questions related to the trip and helped with the bookings.
Biking through the Safari was an amazing experience. We saw zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, gazelles, pumbas and impalas to name a few. The biking started from the entrance to the national park. A jeep containing all our stuff was following us closely, so that we could just relax and enjoy our bike ride. At the turning point, we were exhausted so decided to take the jeep ride back.
Simon is a friendly and nice guide. He arranged pick up and drop off to our hotel at Nairobi. We spoke about a lot of things on the way to and from the national park - about Kenya's culture, history and the people. We picked up a few courtsey words in Swahili as well - like Asante Sana and Karibu :-)
Overall, I would highly recommend doing this trip with the Kenya's Safari Holidays. We stayed in Kenya for 3 days only, and it wasn't enough to explore the richness of flora and fauna the country is gifted with. We certainly plan to visit Kenya again in the future, and when we do, we would like to avail the services of Kenya Safari Holidays.
TW
Email Edwin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip ever!
I think this is the best trip I ever had in my life. Special thanks to Simon and our tour guide, james!