JOCKY TOURS TEAM
Jocky Tours and Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- AMREF & KWS
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $200 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
Email Amelia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best week on Safari, exceeding all expectations!!!
We - a family of 3 adults and 2 children- planned our trip to Kenya at very short notice (less than one month), so used this website to select Jocky Tours based on their great reviews, itineraries on offer and budget. Minneh helped us to build a 6 night / 7 day tour that covered all the places we wanted to go (Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli). Jocky were great on the emails in the planning phase and quite patient with me while I adjusted the itinerary a few times. At times after that the communication was a bit more "relaxed" which made me start to worry a bit, but all was well in the end.
Being from Australia and booking directly with a tour operator in Kenya I was apprehensive about making payment online, and Jocky allowed me to make a small deposit and then pay the balance in person on the morning of departure from Nairobi. We were collected from our hotel and driven to the Jocky office, where payment was made and we set off. It all went really smoothly so I was relieved! We were advised at this point that a small change in the itinerary had been made (Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha nights switched around) due to accommodation availability. I had expressed that we wanted to stay in a particular brand of lodge in one place as opposed to another that was offered, and as this was not available at short notice the nights were swapped around. Whilst this wasn't particularly a big deal, it did result in a few hours of extra driving as it was not the most efficient circuit between the parks. If we'd been advised a little earlier we may have chosen a different lodge that would have meant we didn't need to do this swap.
Our driver was Yasin, and he was UNREAL. He was friendly and accommodating, and with almost 20 years of driver experience, really made our tour so wonderful. I highly recommend you request Yasin if you book with Jocky! Yasin knew the names of every tree, plant and creature that we came across. His knowledge was next level, and there was not a question we had that went unanswered. We learned so much about the animals and habitats we visited just from driving with him. He knew where to go to find the more elusive animals and was always chatting on the radio or phone to other drivers in order to get us right to the action. We knew that when Yasin put the pedal down without warning it was time to sit and hold on because we were headed for something very special! He got us to lions, cheetah, rhino and even a leopard! Having an experienced and enthusiastic driver is definitely a must for a trip like this, and he absolutely was both of those things.
We stayed in Sopa lodges in Mara, Naivasha and Amboseli. Naivasha was a highlight- there are giraffe and zebra just wandering through the hotel grounds! The pool and kids play area was also excellent, and the rooms large and comfy. Mara and Amboseli were a little more tired in the room department, and there was quite a bit of trouble with electricity going on and off at Amboseli in the rooms. Bathrooms are tired and showers a little unreliable with water pressure and temperature but overall more than comfortable enough for a night stop between big safari days. There's lots of choice at the buffet and the staff were always really lovely. In Nakuru we stated at Lake Nakuru lodge and again the staff were wonderful, and the view from the pool and restaurant is fabulous. Wifi is quite sketchy in most places unless you're in a public area. Some resorts have no wifi at all in the rooms, nor a phone in the room to call reception, with is a bit tricky when the power goes out at night and you're a long long walk back to the front desk!
Lake Nakuru is definitely worth the visit as that's where we saw the Rhino and the Leopard. Amboseli was a long drive (6+) hours so we spent a whole day just getting there, but we particularly wanted to see Mt Kilimanjaro, and the large herds of elephants. We did see both of those things and they did not disappoint! I can highly recommend splurging on a hot air balloon ride with Kilimanjaro Balloon Safaris, it was so so beautiful and peaceful, and a nice change of pace from safari by road. It is also a good way to see the mountain if there is early morning cloud cover as sometimes the pilots will pop above the cloud layer for the view of the peak.
If you're not fussed on seeing the mountain, I'd probably not bother with Amboseli if coming from Mara/Naivasha/Nakuru though as it really is quite a trek to get there, and another 4 hours back to Nairobi at the completion. Spend an extra day at one of the other stops instead.
Other optional things we did were: Lake Naivasha boat ride (definitely do this, we saw so many hippos and beautiful birds), and a visit to a Masai village (also very cool, albeit a bit of a tourist trap but amazing to see what a village is like).
It was quite sad seeing our week come to an end and saying farewell to Yasin. It was the most wonderful week and it wildly surpassed our expectations!
US
Email Jay | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He went above and beyond to ensure we had a comfortable and memorable experience.
Richard was an excellent safari guide. His knowledge of wildlife and the area was impressive, and he was always patient and enthusiastic. He made sure we had the best possible experience and went the extra mile to find interesting animals. Highly recommended!
US
Email Om | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extraordinary and knowledgeable
I highly recommend Jocky Tours and Safari. They took care of all of our needs, and our tour guide Richard was fabulous. He went out of his way to make sure we had the best safari experience and all transport, food, and accommodations were great.
RU
Email Olesya | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fast answers and pleasant communication
Our tour started on 30.01.24 and lasted til 02.02.25.
The overall experience was amazing.
Our driver Denis knew everything about animals and surroundings. He could provide interesting facts during the safari.
The safari vehicle was really nice and spacious with possibility to open the roof.
We stayed at Lenchada Camp for the first two nights (in Masai Mara). The accommodation itself was good, with nice tents, hot water. The provided food was pretty average in taste with almost no choice, but it wasn't that big of a deal.
In Nakuru we stayed in Hillcourt resort which was very nice with very good food and a big room.
We definitely recommend Jockey Tours and their "4-Day Masai Mara Lake Nakuru Budget Safari" (with Denis as a driver)
DK
Email Elisabeth H | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great guide - good communication
We were two friends going on a private safari, and after getting different quotations, we chose Jocky Tours and Safaris, and we did not regret it. We had an absolutely amazing experience during our safari in Masai Mara, Nakuru and Naivasha. From the very start, the communication with Jocky Tours was easy, they replied swiftly, and were very flexible in accommodating our wishes and putting together an agenda to fit our expectations and to change one of the accommodation options as per our request. Our guide Charles was great - friendly, knowledgeable, good driving, on time every time, and while we never saw the elusive leopard, we got to see more rhinos than we had ever imagined. We were not very fond of the safari jeep circus around some animals, as is just the case in Masai Mara during peak season, so we instead asked Charles to take us a bit further away from the crowds, and we had a good time, still having some great animal experiences, but being much more on our own in the vast wilderness of the plains. All in all, I can only give my best recommendations for Jocky Tours.
CA
Email Alain Bonnardeaux | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful Amboseli
Good travel operator, reliable. Excellent guide with exceptional eyes to spot the wildlife and anticipate big cat actions as well as positioning for photography. He listened to all our wishes and was very helpful.
US
Email Kristen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dennis was the best tour operator because he has so much knowledge and a great eye for animals!
Jocky Tours is a great budgeted safari and all the workers were so nice! Our tour guide, Dennis, was very knowledgeable and has the best eye looking for animals. He made the trip a great time and I highly recommend!
US
Email Abhaya | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dennis was an excellent tour guide! He took us to see all the best animals
This was such an incredible experience! I went with my four friends from college and as students we were looking for a great and affordable safari. This was both and exceeded expectations. Dennis brought us to see all of the big 5 animals, along with amazing extra excursions in Naivasha and Nakuru! Would highly recommended
LT
Email Arminas | under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best guide Kikitu! Budget friendly and interesting safari in Masai Mara
We liked Jocky tour 3days safari to Masai Mara. Our safari guide&driver Kikitu is the best, the funniest, the friendliest, the talkative guy, and he is also the best driver and guide. He is optimistic and always in good mood trying to make every second that tourists and surrounding people would be happy. The experience was the best. Kikitu is the craiziest driver I know. When he hear for e.x. the rino or lion is in the location, he is trying to reach it and make us see animals. He is trying his best to make every second more and more comfortable. He even bought us a corn on the street! We feel that he like us, especialy kids. By the way the jeep was also comfortable and clean. Kikitu opened the roof max to us that we could see a lot of animals. Also he was explaining about every animal that we saw.
We will recommend him always as the best❤️ However Lentchada camp is very basic, and mornings cold 14Celcius in January, but we came for safari not for sleeping and eating.
US
Email Julianne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience, great service.
The entire tour was so well organized. Everything was taken care of from when we landed in Nairobi to when we left. Dennis was a great tour guide. He was very kind and knowledgeable and always made sure we had everything we needed. The sights were incredible.