Beacon Safaris Team in Masai Mara
Beacon Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $120 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
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Email Josh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Adventure Of A Lifetime
On the drive down to the Masai Mara, my guide, Johnny told me Leopard were some of the hardest animals to track and hardest to spot. Even when you find them, they can disappear in an instant into the bush.
With this in mind, our sturdy little van rumbled down the dirt road that cut through the Masai Mara National Reserve.
Forget what you’ve seen in pictures, read in books, and saw on TV. The Mara is impossibly big. You can’t quite comprehend the size of it until you’re there watching it all stretch out before you.
We got into the Mara ten minutes before one, driving through the reserve to get to camp when a radio call came in that I didn’t understand until Johnny brought our vehicle a halt. He looked at me and smiled before asking if I wanted to go see a leopard. I nodded and we flipped around, racing to reach the sighting with another pair vehicles. I experienced my first leopard sighting around 1:30 and would see two more leopards before we left the Mara.
That was just a piece of my first day with Beacon and trust me it only got better from there! Johnny was an amazing guide and driver that any solo traveler would be lucky to have for six days.
Before departure, I looked around a lot and talked with a lot of different companies before finally deciding to go with Beacon. Robert played a huge part in that decision. He was always quick to answer my questions no matter how big or small they were and when I used Whatsapp to contact him and inform him of an urgent last-minute change to my itinerary, he took it in stride.
On the morning of our departure from Nairobi, he had the staff at the Wildebeest Eco Camp to tell me to take my time and have breakfast. I had originally planning to skip breakfast to make sure we got on the road in time, so being able to push back our departure so I could take time to eat was hugely appreciated.
Once we were on the road, Johnny was very friendly and was always ready to answer my questions about the places we were going to and the animals we would see. Rest stops were frequent and I never felt like I was trapped in the car, praying we would find a bathroom and there was never a time I felt unsafe during our 4 to 5-hour drives when traveling between parks.
Although going by air can save you time, especially if you're on a tight schedule, Seeing the country and its varying climates and terrain, paired with the cities and towns that you pass through on your route is an adventure all on its own. 80% of the roads we traveled were paved. The stories of the road to the Masai Mara, specifically it's final third, being an unpaved and teeth-rattling mess are very outdated. A large section of that road has now been paved and is a smooth ride. When you do find those few dirt roads, you know that its official, you're really on safari! So don’t let the possibility of having to travel by land intimidate you! You'll wind up learning a lot about the country you've traveled so far to visit.
Johnny and I traveled almost 700 miles during our time. From the Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru and finally to Amboseli. Despite the long days, his enthusiasm never faded. He always kept me informed on what our plans were and explained why we needed to make changes when changes needed to be made. Like when he recommended we do our evening game drive in Amboseli earlier in the afternoon when we arrived rather than enter the park and go through it only to leave and drive to the lodge (which took 20-30 minutes) for a short time only to turn right back around and go back into the park.
Johnny and I saw so much during our time together, from a surprise elephant crossing in the Mara that left me speechless to a three hyena standoff over a dead hippo in Amboseli that left me scratching my head for days after. The one thing I wasn’t expecting was how Johnny influenced me as we traveled together. I'm a pretty quiet person, and as a solo traveler that can make connecting with your destination and the people who live there, as well as the other travelers you come across pretty difficult. As the trip went on, seeing Johnny interact with the people we came across from Kenya Wildlife Service Rangers to other guides we drove past on the open road made me appreciate the massive community of people who make going on safari possible. In response I found myself belting out a hearty 'Jambo!' more and more and struggle through bouts of small talk as our journey progressed.
On my final day in Kenya, I was pretty sad to say goodbye to Johnny, take my sunhat off my head and strap it to my bag before moving my winter clothes from the bottom of my suitcase to my overnight bag in preparation for the transition back to a much colder climate. I have made memories that will last a lifetime, and I have some new friends that I cannot wait to see again the next time I am in the country.
When we left Nairobi Johnny told me that Kenya was a place with unlimited possibility, I can now say that he's absolutely right. I have traveled so far and it amazes me that there's still more to see and do. So if you take anything away from this review, it should be that a Kenyan safari will leave you with a mountain of good memories, hours of stories to share with your friends and family, and a sense of adventure that will only be satisfied by once again striking out into the wilderness in a pop top van, following a dirt road that runs past the horizon.
Robert and Johnny, asante sana.
I hope to travel with you again soon!
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Email Brian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
You can trust this company!
Working with Robert was great! He was excellent in helping us prepare our trip and Beacon Safari's offered a fair and reasonable rate. The driver, Ken, was very professional and did his best to take us around the game park to see everything we could see.
As residents, we learned later that we could enter the game park at a discounted rate. Robert was happy to refund our initial overpayment since we received the reduced gate entrance rate. His willingness to work with us and provide the refund even though we had agreed to the initial non-resident rate is another reason you know you can trust this company. I would highly recommend using this company for any safari or other booking they offer.
--Brian & family (American with children 8-14)
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Email Peter | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Spectacular trip with a great guide.
Me and my girlfriend did a "6 days through the rift"-tour in early Oktober 2019 with Beacon Safaris. This tour was nothing short of amazing. Especially the masai mara was so overwhelming in its beauty that we would describe this holyday as one of the best ones we ever did. We where also very lucky because we saw a lion kill, wilderbeast river crossings, cheetas sneaking up on prey....and so many more incredible sights. Our guide Peter was very nice and knowledgeable. Unfortunatly one of the camps overbooked us and Beacon Safari had to relocate us in the last night. They did give us a refund for the room price difference and also the other camp was very comitted in making us feel good. Hotels overbooking is a very rare occurance though so we cant really fault Beacon for that. We definatly recomend beacon and if you book a tour take the slighly more expensive 4by4 Car option instead of the van. With this you can take more direct routes and get to places easier. The prices for the tour was very fair considering what you get.
Email James, Jenny, Nick and Jonny | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant driver and guide
My family and I went to Amboseli, Lake Naivasha and the Masai Mara. Our driver and guide, Joseph, was absolutely brilliant in every way. There was a lot of driving involved and he was always informative and pointing things out to us. When we were on safari in the Masai Mara and Amboseli he seemed to know exactly the right place to go for the action. We saw everything we could have hoped to see. We were even lucky enough to see 3 young Cheetah chase down a young gazelle. Not only was Joseph a good driver but his knowledge of the animals was also first class. He certainly made sure that we got the most out of our trip. We will remember the trip, and him, for a long time to come.
BE
Email Hilde and Filip | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Safari !
The safari was just perfect ! We saw the big five and all the other amazing wildlife and stayed in beautiful tented camps.
Our driver Victor is an exceptionally good guide and very pleasant to be around with.
Air France managed to leave our luggage in Paris, but thanks to Robert and Victor's efforts and some challenging logistics, the luggage was handed over to us 2 days later. Thanks a million !
We hope to travel again with Beacon Safaris and we will definitely ask for Victor again.
Victor, this one's for you: Asante kwa kila kitu. We consider ourselves not only as happy customers but also as good friends.
See you soon !
RU
Email Anastasiia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tried to reduce our time for game drives
We did 2-days safari to Amboseli with our guide Eric. All was good - Eric took us to Amboseli from Nairobi very fast, then was a lunch in a very beautiful Kibo camp. First game drive was in the evening and we saw a lot of animals against the setting sun. But in Amboseli there are not a lot of lions and cheetah so if you see them there would be a looot of other cars (compared to Masai Mara). Eric chose different routes so we saw a big part of Amboseli park.
But at the end of our morning game drive when we had just passed the gate of Amboseli park was an accident. We had noticed that our morning game was started at 7:30 instead of 6:30, and it was ended at 10:00 instead of 11:00. Yesterday there was the same thing - we depart to our evening game at 16:00 instead of 15:30. Eric showed us that he had different plan with other departure times but it is so strange that it's difficult to understand is it an accident or the organisers specially reduced our time and hoped that we are not noticed that.
After that Eric offered to us to go somewhere in Nairobi for that 2 hours but it wasn't satisfied us. The problem is that we had a one enter ticket for a day to Amboseli park and we couldn't go back by no charge (another one ticket to Amboseli cost 120$). Then we paid additional 20$ to enter Amboseli again for that 2 hours.
The safari was really good so as our guide. But on vacation we wanted to relax but if you relax you may be tricked.
Email Immy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience, guide and value for money
Initial communication was very easy and Robert sorted us out with what we wanted.
Anthony was a great tour guide throughout. Shared so much knowledge with us and knew where all the good spots were. We saw lions, cheetahs and leopards all on our first day!
We stayed at ilkeliani camp which was lovely. Would definitely recommend. Our tent was incredible, very comfy bed and friendly staff.
Thanks so much
HU
Email Henriett | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
When the dream come true...
I don't know how to thank you for these wonderful days in Kenya! There are no words for this. Unforgettable, perfect, professional... We will forever be grateful to Beacon Safaris for this safari. We saw the big five. Incredible, amazing, eternal memories! Thank you Robert for making our dream come true! We recommend Beacon Safaris to everyone!
Asante Sana! :)
Henriett & Tamas
ES
Email Judit Pardo | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable 7 days safari with the best guide !
We did 7 days of safari and the satisfaction has been maximum from the first moment. Our thanks to Robert, who provided us with the perfect accommodations that fit our budget, with fast and fluid communication.
Special mention for the best guide: Eric. He always took us to the best places to see our favorite animals. Eric is a guide with incredible professionalism, experience and ability to solve unforeseen events. But above all, we want to highlight the great respect and consideration he shows for animal life.
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Email Michael | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everything about the trip was perfect.
Beacon Safaris did an excellent job of communicating with us leading up to the trip, providing comfort that everything would be taken care of while we were there. We were drawn to Beacon since they were offering private, customizable luxury tours and that's exactly what we got. Our guide, Antony, picked us up at the airport and was with us the duration of the trip.
The entire trip lived up to expectations, and there wasn't a single thing that went wrong the entire time. We went to Amboseli, Mount Kenya, Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Nakuru and Masai Mara and loved that each place had its unique feeling, scenery and range of wildlife. We were lucky enough to see the entire Big 5, and though it was technically the rainy season, barely had any rain over the 9 days.
The hotels were luxurious, Beacon's service was impeccable and the wildlife viewing was second to none. Antony knew everything there was to know about the plants and animals as well as about the towns we drove through as we went from park to park. He was a great driver and a great guide - Antony not only got us in perfect positions to see the animals, but he also knew where they were going, which allowed us to track them well rather than trying to catch up to them.
Overall, our 9 day trip to Kenya was perfect. We'd like to thank Antony and Beacon Safaris again for an unforgettable trip - we would recommend Beacon to anyone!!