Beacon Safaris Team in Masai Mara
Beacon Safaris
- Located 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)
Reviews
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Email Tally | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Go on Safari with Anthony from Beacon
We love Anthony!! we have had the very best experience with Beacon safaris. Anthony picked us up right on time and we drove all the way to the Massai Mara. The car was very comfortable and Anthony is very safe and excellent driver. Our itinerary was massai Mara national Park, Amboseli National park and Lake Nakuru national Park. We stayed in wonderful hotels with breathtaking views which was just amazing. Anthony made sure we saw all big five and much, much more. He’s very smart and experienced and told us all about the animals what we wanted to know. We found out he was very well-connected to the other guides so whenever there was an animal spotted, they talk with walkie-talkies to each other, and Anthony brought us there to see the animals. My brother and my soon to be sister-in-law got engaged in the Massai Mara and Anthony organized some flowers on the bed in the hotel for them which was very kind. We have had truly the best experience with beacon, and especially with Anthony and we are so very lucky to have had the time of our lives with him. Make sure to book with Beacon Safari and don’t forget a good tip.
Thanks again and we can’t recommend this experience enough .
Tally, Martin, Jerome and Lea
LT
Email Lina Baronaite | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10/10 experience
We took 6 days Safari (Maasai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli national parks). Our guide Alex was just amazing!! He had answers to any question! He was unbelievably professional! You definitely should ask him to be your guide, because you will get the full experience of safari! 10/10!!
CN
Email 宋涛 | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The whole schedule and experience is very good!
The whole trip was great! There were some small problems in communication because of the poor level of English. But our guide was very patient and professional and showed us a lot of animals!
CN
Email Jiahui | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari! Excellent Guide!
I selected and compared several safaris companies at very first, like one month before departure. After reviewing the itinerary and comparing the price and accommodation and etc. , I decided to choose Beacon. I did make a wise decision.
Robert always replied me quickly and answered my questions clearly and thoroughly. He provided me a quite good price compared with other companies.
Daniel was chosen to be our 6-day tour's guide and we were very lucky to have Daniel to be our guide. He is quite kind, friendly, enthusiastic and professional. During 6 days, he tried his best to let us to see many many animals, including big five! Especially at Masai Mara, he drove over 50km to Masai Triangle for taking us to see leopard, which is very very rare. Also he would like to hear what we want to do and try to make our trip flexible. Many thanks to Daniel and he gave us a wonderful Kenyan Safari tour. I definitely recommend him to be your Safari guide.
CH
Email Adrian Danzer | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do it. it‘s the best you can get!
Perfect Support in planning and even with our Visa troubles. Many thanks to Robert for that.
Also the Tour was perfectly organised and we had wonderful Lodges. Daniel, our Guide was very engaged and got the best out of our trip. He did a great job. He also listened to our wishes and showed us Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru National Parks.
We do recommend Beacon Safaris to any persons interested in an exciting Safari with excellent Organisation.
This flexibility, the professional support the experience and the affordable price are only some points why we would come back again and book with Beacon Safaris.
Thank you for an unforgettable adventure.
Email James | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 6-day safari - we recommend
We booked a six day, two person (couple) private safari to Masai mara (2 nights), lake Nakuru (1 night) and Amboselli (2 night) in safari van. Charles was our guide and he could not be more experienced, interesting and knowledgeable, he knows every bit of the parks and works to track down the best sights - we saw a lion kill a buffalo!! The tour was very reliable and well organised, for example the car had a problem with the petrol filter but Charles got it fixed over a lunch break, and Kenyan run which is a plus for us. The only thing I personally would change about our trip is I would skip Lake Nakuru and probably add an extra day in Masai mara, as there was a lot of driving and although the lake was interesting it was the least of the three. We strongly recommend staying in the mara park itself as the unfenced lodges have animals that come in overnight! Having the van to ourselves was also great as you can move around to either side/back/front to see the animals best. We would certainly use Beacon Safaris again if we are able to come back to safari in Kenya.
US
Email Jeff Yeager | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We highly recommend Beacon Safaris for an affordable, well-planned, excellently-guided safari.
My wife and I were delighted with our Beacon Safari experience (Five Day - Masai Mara/Lake Naivasha/Amboseli) and highly recommend Beacon if you're looking for a safari out of Nairobi.
The diverse wildlife we encountered far exceeded our expectations, often leaving us speechless. The itinerary was well-planned and varied in terms of seeing wildlife in several different parks/preserves, and - although it was too cloudy to see much of Mount Kilimanjaro when we were there - we appreciated the fact that the itinerary gave us a chance to see a broader span of the Kenyan hinterlands than five day safaris offered by some other operators. The vehicle was comfortable and well maintained, and everything happened when and how it was supposed to, including the pickup at a private apartment we were renting in Nairobi and the drop off at the airport at the end of the safari.
For a private safari experience, we were surprised at the reasonable cost of our five day safari. We selected "mid-range" accommodations, which included two nights of "glamping" and two nights of mid-range lodges, but all of the accommodations far exceeded our expectations as well. We are an older, retired couple, and we travel a great deal - always independently and at the budget end of the travel cost spectrum - and the "mid-range" accommodations booked by Beacon for the safari were among the nicest places we stayed during our five week trip in sub-Saharan Africa. The meals were also ample and delightful, with something to appeal to everyone's taste.
But without a doubt, the absolutely best thing about our Beacon Safari experience was our intrepid guide, Anthony. A patient man, with any easy laugh, good sense of humor, and unlimited knowledge of not just the flora and fauna we were seeing, but also the the geology, history, and culture of the places we visited. How he was able to safely drive over the roughest terrain we've ever encountered - all while spotting hidden wildlife and providing a running commentary about everything we saw and experienced - I'll never know. Although this was our first safari, I got the distinct impression from other guides we encountered that Anthony was not only highly respected, but a leader among them. Anthony was often the first safari guide to spot hidden wildlife - alerting other safaris in the area as to their location - and many times he would have us patiently wait so that he could move our vehicle into the perfect viewing/photo location, while most other guides drove off with their clients, missing those special opportunities.
The only suggested improvement I would pass along to Beacon Safari is the need to update some of the pricing information in their literature about the costs of some of the "optional activities" during the safari (e.g. visit to Masai village, boat trip on Lake Naivasha, etc.). We found those costs to be about double the amount indicated Beacon's literature, but they were still very informative and enjoyable, and we were glad that we included them in our safari.
We highly recommend Beacon Safaris for an affordable, well-planned, excellently-guided safari experience.
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Email Greg | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 Day Masai Mara Safari. Most incredible experience of my life
I visited Kenya on a solo trip with the sole intent of doing safari. I booked my safari in Masai Mara with Beacon after seeing other people have good experiences with them. I dealt with Robert through email and text to set the trip up. Robert was excellent about getting back to me despite the 8 hour difference in time. Once I was there I didn’t have to worry about a single thing as Robert and Beacon Safaris had everything arranged for me. I was picked up by a guide by the name of Ken who I highly recommend. I spent basically 3 full days with him and he was nothing but great. He made the entire experience that much more enjoyable. He was very knowledgeable about the everything from the Kenyan culture to details about all the animals we came across. I would 100% recommend booking a safari through Beacon Safaris!
ES
Email Octavian Nedea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience. Extremely efficient. Always went that extra mile and beyond all my requests
After comparing dozens of safaris operators, I have chosen Beacon and had a wonderfully amazing experience with them. Robert was very efficient in organizing my solo, private 11 days safaris, very attentive and extremely responsive to my requests, questions and demands. Eric the guide and my travel fellow during the safari was extremely helpful and efficient, never tired, always willing to go further. Ask for an animal and he'll find it...We saw leopards 4 times in 6 days of our stay in Maasai Mara. Lions ...every single day, with our best record of 25 lions in one single day: two prides of 13 and 8 and two hunting pairs of lions. Witnessed twice the, never to be missed, Mara River zebra and wildebeest crossing, including 3 crocs preying on wildebeest. Saw even 4 white rhinos at the same time grazing together...Just to name few of the many sightings experienced with Beacon safaris. While sighting wildlife can never be guaranteed, if there are chances to spot it in an area, Eric will find them. Perhaps I'll hardly be able to improve these records and the amazing pictures took there, soon to be available on IG, but I know which is my favourite safari company in Kenya for the years to come. Left Kenya leaving many friends for life there in all the lodges and campsites I stayed and places we visited. Asante sana to all of you !
US
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!