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
US
Email Jacob | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beacon Safaris is accommodating, flexible, professional, and provided an incredible experience.
We did a 5-day safari, including Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli National Parks. This was our first safari, and it was everything we hoped it would be. Booking and communication with Robert beforehand were great. Robert was quick to respond and answer our questions. He was even able to accommodate a last-minute change to our itinerary, which we were very thankful for. Our guide, Ken, was amazing. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating. He was able to answer all our questions and show us some incredible things during our trip. Roger and Ken were flexible and accommodating and helped meet our needs and requests. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. We would go again in a heartbeat. We highly recommend Beacon Safaris!
Email Clair | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top notch tailor-made family safari
Beacon Safaris were brilliant. We travelled as a family of four and were looked after from booking with Robert to the tour itself with our guide Samuel. Masai Mara and Lake Naivasha.
OM
Email Jerome | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operator and guide are very good
We , my wife and daughter planned the trip just a week before the actual travel date. Beacon safaris able to plan and arrange within couple of days. From planning till saying bye at the airport is very memorable. The guide Mr. Mike is a top class. He made all efforts to show us the Big 9s. The hotels were top class , stayed at SOPA group lodges. A very memorable trip.
DE
Email Irene | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wonderful experience that we will never forget
Left Nairobi for an 8 day tour early in the morning for Amboseli National Park, then headed for Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and finally for Masai Mara. So many impressions, so many encounters with a variety of wild animals (including rhinos, a leopard, cheetahs, funny birds...), so many opportunities to chat with locals. The Sopa lodges were not new, but very beautiful and charming retreats. Robert had organized everything, was very reliable, responsive and friendly. Anthony was our guide and an experienced and very cautious driver. We couldn't have had a better companion. He found all the hidden places, gave us every information on all the animals, but also on many other things and supported us wherever he could. Thanks for everything.
AE
Email Piers Thompson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Experience
Simply fantastic. The team are excellent and did their very best to accommodate every request (even driving hundreds of km for us).
Special mention for Peter and Ken who were brilliant. We saw so many animals and had a brilliant time, that we will remember for life.
We highly recommend them and think the value for money was excellent too.
Email Marie Robinson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service and communication
Wonderful safari experience. Easy booking and excellent communication. All ran very smoothly. Nothing was too much trouble. All accommodation during the safari was of a high standard (sopa lodges). We booked weeks safari and our guide, Joseph, was brilliant. He was polite, punctual and very knowledgeable. What a fabulous guy. The experience was worth every penny and I highly recommend Beacon Safaris.
CR
Email Natalie Lelchuk | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best Safari
Beacon Safaris surpassed all of our expectations. We are a family of five adults who booked a 10 day safari. Everything from the hotels to the game drives was amazing. Ken, our guide, made our experience unforgettable. He was extremely nice, knowledgable and accommodating. He made sure that we always had everything we needed and went the extra mile to make sure that we saw all of the animals we wanted to see. From the first day, we saw a pride of lions, a leopard kill and family of elephants right next to our car. Everyday after that, we continued to be amazed by all of the animals we saw. The hotels booked by Beacon were great. The only complaint would be in Flamingo Hill Camp, in Lake Nakuru, where our rooms where located near the town border and that night the music did not stop until four am. Apart from that, all of the other places were amazing.
When we began talking to Robert to book our safari, communication was great and very efficient. However, once we got closer to the date and during the safari, communication with Robert became more difficult as we wouldn't receive answers from him until days later.
Despite this, we would recommend Beacon for any future safari booking and we would definitely ask for Ken!
JP
Email Jamie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A remarkable experience!
October 2023, we went for the 7 Days Taste of Kenya Safari Tour.
Overall, we enjoyed it very much and it definetely became an unforgettable adventure!
Firstly, we appreciate Robert's thorough organization of the tour. Robert gave us great details on what to bring and what to expect! He also helped us with getting our visa's; email respondments were fast and reliable.
Our tour guide, Mike, was a standout star. Mike offered detailed insights into the wildlife and the tour's daily schedule. His knowledge of animals and the safari locations was impressive. Mike's sharp eyes even allowed us to spot elusive leopards, rhinos, cheetahs, those hard to find etc. Mike's driving skills were exceptional. He ensured we always had the best positions in the safari. Mike always made sure that we were able to get goods shots of the animals with our camera (attached are some photos we were able to shoot). Great communication, he answered all our questions (even questions regarding the safari cars!), time punctuality was perfect, and every though sometimes the road was crowded, his fast and safe driving made our trip seamless and enjoyable.
As for itinerary, boat ride in Naivasha (which Mike helped us for the payment) and lunch picnic in Masai Mara was superb.
Accomadation was great too!
Here's some points that didn't turn out quite well:
-Mostly our fault, but we encountered an issue with the payment process as we decided to pay half of the money beforehand through bank transfer and another half on the day we arrived, with cash. Trouble happened because we forgot to bring the cash and was in need of currency exchange (We asked the staff members if we can pay the other half by card, and were told they were in need of USD cash). So on the first day of our tour, we were first taken to the airport to exchange money which I thought was a bit unrealistic (as I do not expect cashiers in the airport would have $2000 USD). Finally after sometime at the airport which did not result in good results, the staff told me that Robert would be able to send us a link so we can pay the rest of the money with our card. This resulted in an additional cost (around +30 USD to the original price) which was a bit unexpected. We did not get any reasoning for the additional fees from the company, so we assumed that it was due to commission fees for the financial company behind the payment system. It was a bit disappoiniting as Beacon Safari's gave us great quotations and that was one of the reason we decided to choose this company, but since it was our oversight, we accepted it without asking much.
-Unforeseen changes in government rules affected our safari experience. We weren't able to go to Masai Mara for the last day, and the original cost included all park fees (also for the last day), but no explanation or refund was provided for the adjustments. Still, we understood that flexibility is essential in such situations and we got the last day to chill and go some souvernior shopping so all was good (thank you to Mike again)
-The tour didn't always stick to the planned itinerary. For example, "early morning drives" started a bit later at around 8 AM. Despite this, we were fortunate to see a wide array of wildlife, including the Big Five, which compensated for any deviations :)
In summary, our safari tour, despite some unexpected financial and itinerary adjustments, was a remarkable experience. The standout element of our adventure was undoubtedly our guide, Mike, who made the journey informative and unforgettable. Thank you so much.
If I ever get another chance to go to Kenya (and it's other national parks/reserves), would definetely want to go with Beacon Safaris and Mike again.
FI
Email Gregory | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience of a lifetime
My wife and I booked the 7-Day Taste of Kenya tour with Beacon Safaris and the experience was wonderful. Truly. We flew into Nairobi and met Daniel, our guide and driver for the week. He is a knowledgeable and very professional guide -- friendly, informative, easy to be with for extended periods, accommodating to specific needs, and highly experienced. He knew the parks we visited like the back of his hand and was masterful in positioning us time after time at just the right spot to capture great photos. The tour package included visits at Amboseli, Naivashu, Nakuru, and Mara. There are somewhat lengthy drives between locations in some instances, e.g. from Nairobi to Amboseli was about 5 hours and from Amboseli to Naivashu about 6. But that is largely due to the road system in Kenya which doesn't have many connecting routes without returning to Nairobi and can be narrow and in some places rough because the counties have a lot to do with the road conditions, we were told, and different counties have more or less capital to maintain them. But the travel was interesting and not a burden in any sense. There is nothing much to see or visit along the way. And we skipped Nairobi entirely because it doesn't have much to offer international tourists. But the national parks are world treasures and really worthwhile to visit. Don't rush it. It takes time and the time is well spent.
On our tour we saw so many and such an amazing assortment of animals and birds. Amboseli has an astonishing number of elephants at all stages of the lifecycle, from enormous bulls to charming calfs. We saw hippos, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and much more, as well as a variety of beautiful birds. At the lakes we visited we saw even more birds, enormous flocks of pelicans and flamingos, cranes, herons, maribou, sandpipers, gulls of various types, and much more. Masai Mara is a very large territory and was amazing. We saw hyena feeding on a zebra, several lion prides with some huge males, hippos in the Mara as well as crocs, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, topi, eland, and much more. We saw playful Vervet monkeys, troops of baboons, and even a rare Columbus monkey. The experience is transformative, really -- one gets a sense of what the world was like, and could be like again, if humans stop screwing it up.
One one exception, we were booked for stays in Sopa Lodges. The best was the lodge at Lake Naivashu. There your accommodations are in the middle of a park-like area with animals roaming the grounds (nothing dangerous). The view was wonderful at Lake Nakuru because we had a balcony overlooking the lake. At the lodge in Amboseli we could see Mount Kilimanjaro! The staff are friendly and helpful everywhere, providing warm hospitality and service. Our luggage was always taken for us and we had no problems of any kind. The downside is poor WiFi at the lodge near Amboseli and limited hot water there. I took one cold shower. There are too few electrical outlets in some rooms, which makes charging technology something of a timing challenge if you need to charge multiple phones, computers, cameras, etc.
The one exception was the stay at Masai Mara. The Sopa Lodge was part of the package proposal we accepted and paid for, but it was apparently fully booked and we were instead booked into the Pride Inn. It was fine but not in the same category. Whereas Sopa is 4-star level, in some cases perhaps even 5-star, Pride Inn would be 3-star in my opinion. I felt a little let down by this only because we paid for better and got less. But in fairness, Pride Inn has unique charms as well and there was a 'family feeling' to the place that we liked a lot. No WiFi in the rooms, however, and a weak signal overall even in the main lodge area.
The food is okay. Nothing exceptional anywhere, except for the fruits. We have only had pineapple this good when visiting Hawaii. Kenyan cuisine has evident influences from Indian cookery, which we like. Lots of stews and vegetable dishes, as well. We always found several things we liked at each meal, but it's all served buffet style which can be hit or miss. I should add that the fried fish was the best dish just about every time. The cooks really know how to make good fried fish dishes. I recommend avoiding boiled eggs, however. I had one at the Amboseli lodge that was off and consequently suffered for a couple of days with stomach issues. We realized the source of the illness when we saw a cook at a different lodge checking the eggs they fry or scramble before cooking them by breaking them into a bowl first. We saw that cook toss four eggs out of a dozen as bad. No one can check a boiled egg, so skip that to be on the safe side. And only drink bottled water, including for brushing teeth.
But the focal reason for visiting Kenya is to experience a safari adventure and in that regard Beacon Safaris was a great fit for us. We are an older couple and have some issues that were taken into consideration and accommodated kindly. Daniel was excellent, as noted earlier. I tipped him extra at the end because he was so good, kind and helpful. It felt like saying goodbye to a friend when we left. Robert took care of the booking and payment issues and everything went smoothly, with good communications as well.
Be aware that the roads inside the parks are unpaved very rugged dirt roads, and very dusty in the dry season. We chose the 4WD option instead of a van and were glad of it. They use Land Cruisers that are built like tanks. The tops can be raised so you stand inside the vehicle to view from a good vantage point and in safety. I found I could rest the zoom lens on the side of the top when standing and did not need a tripod. But the ride can be bone-shaking and there are plenty of places where the driver must navigate carefully. When I returned home I needed to take my camera and lenses to a service center for deep cleaning. It was that dusty. But the photographing was a joy and I look forward to processing the 1,336 digital photos I returned with!
On the whole, our experience was excellent. I was only disappointed with the last accommodation, which is not to say I was disappointed by the Pride Inn but rather that we thought we agreed to and paid for was not delivered in that case. But this is small potatoes and even feels a little mean to say. The food isn't excellent, but we are foodies so our expectations are higher and our reviews more critical than for many people who aren't. The meals were fine and we enjoyed the dining experience in every location.
We would recommend Beacon Safaris to anyone planning a visit to Kenya to tour the national parks.
Email Riaan Swart | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Kenya Safari Kings
I requested quotations from 5 tour operators and got their standard packages back. We wanted a customised, private tour and Robert, the owner, was very accommodating. Emails were going back and forth, with our requests and then his recommendations following. I was, at one stage apologising to him, because I felt very demanding. Robert came up with the goods and very soon I did not bother to discuss tour options with other operators, as I felt he was very honest in his replies and we soon struck a deal. At the end of the day, his quote was the best value for money.
Our guide, Peter, became a friend, from picking us up at the airport, to dropping us off 9 days later. He was punctual, knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. Kenya's roads and traffic was much worse, compared to what we are used to, but he negotiated all situations like a pro.
If ever I can afford to go to Kenya again, I will not hesitate to (only) contact Robert, from Beacon Safaris and insist that we want Peter to be our guide again!