Tekko Staff Group picture
Tekko Tours and Travel
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1998)
- Member Of:
- KATO, Eco Tourism Kenya & JATA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Jean | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Carol was very informative and at our services the entire trip!
Our trip was amazing. Although, we only spent 5 days between Kenya and Zanzibar, it was still a life changing & bucket list experience! We had seen the “Big 5” by day two of our safari. We swam with turtles in Zanzibar, Dolphin watched & went to Starfish Island. All amazing experiences! The staff was at our leisure & the safari’s & tours were beautiful. The only reason I give 4 stars is for three reasons. One, as beautiful and amazing as this was, it is pricey for the average person. Two, we had a slight hiccup with our return flight to Nairobi from Zanzibar. Make sure to double check all of your air plane tickets to verify the names of your party match your passport EXACTLY as these countries do not leave room for misspellings. Thirdly, I do not recommend flying with Precision Air out of Zanzibar. They delayed us for TWO HOURS for our flight to Nairobi & because of this, we almost missed our flight from Nairobi back to the USA. The third portion of this review was definitely out of Carol’s hands so we do NOT fault her for this but again, I HIGHLY suggest to ask to use a different airline if that airline remains an option. Overall, we would book with Carol again when and if we plan to come back to Kenya. Thank you so much Carol. Us having sn amazing time is an understatement.
Email Morgan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Well organised especially given late booking
From first contact communication was clear and efficient. I had contacted 3 companies as recommended and Tekko stood out on price point and accommodation. They were also the only company I contacted which differentiated on low and high season price and type of vehicle used which meant planning was easier. Maggie responded quickly and efficiently. She also was helpful in answering all my questions. I gave Tekko very little notice of travel but a well balanced personal itinerary was proposed and excellent accommodation was booked throughout. Much better than I anticipated in very nice lodges given the cost, which was very reasonable for 8 nights, especially as private vehicle and all meals were included in the cost. All lodges had pools bar The Ark ( if you go there you will understand why), outside seating and service and food at each was good. The transfer to the hotel in Nairobi was very long due to a local public transport strike but our driver , who had no control over this, was proactive in finding alternative routes and arranged for us to be met en route so we could get help
With our luggage and walk to the hotel. Had he not done this we would have been stuck in traffic for many more hours. The standard of driving throughout was excellent especially leaving Masai Mara after very heavy rains. The road was awful and I heard later that many cars got stuck but my driver got me through with what was clearly a very difficult road ( road being a generous description). He was excellent at finding the animals and I had some very special sightings often the only vehicle there. Also very helpful with shopping and getting medication for a very bad cold. I have been on safari before so have comparisons and I would have liked the driver, who is described as a guide, to have told more about the animals other than just their name. The driver was quite taciturn and it was quite hard to extract information. Also I fedback to him direct that he needs to know more bird names as a safari is about the big and small. He was good at suggesting changes to itinerary. As I had had plenty of game drives during the week this worked well for me but others might not like the loss of the last afternoon game drive , for which there would have been time, so be clear what the changes mean but bearing in mind driving on safari is a tough job. Also on the last day home he presumed we did not want to go to Carnivore as had had boxed lunch en route. This did mean we were at the airport very early with a substantial wait even before we could check in. I appreciate the traffic back to the city was building up badly and this would affect his journey home but we should have been asked. Overall a great safari but the guiding side of what was an excellent driver needs working on. I would recommend Tekko tours.
IN
Email Irfan Quader | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Positive overall, but some things could be improved.
Our overall experience with Tekko was quite positive.
Ms. Maggie Kariuki was always very response to our questions over email, and when we landed in Nairobi, she went out of her way to make sure we were comfortable. When we asked for a recommendation for a local restaurant (we wanted to try the local cuisine), she went so far as to accompany us there, and even helped us order. She event lent us two pairs of binoculars for our safari. The safari vehicle that we were given was spacious and comfortable, and had superb suspension (which we were grateful for during the long bad patches of road). The safaris in the parks were lovely (despite some disappointment about not seeing too many flamingoes in Nakuru)
A few things could have gone better, though.
1. Tekko could have been a little more forthcoming, and volunteered information that might have been useful. While we knew the drive from Amboseli to Nakuru would be long, we didn't realize how arduous it would be. We took nine hours, despite 'shortcuts' over the most horrendous roads, and got there just in time for a quick safari before it got dark. There were hardly any flamingoes to be seen, which we later learned had been the case for the last few years. If we had been told about these two things, we would probably have changed our itinerary.
2. Our driver/guide Stephen was knowledgeable and skillful, but not particularly friendly. He definitely wasn't rude, but we got the feeling that we were imposing on him by making him drive us around. A word of apology for bouncing us over a particular bad patch of road would have gone a long way. With my 80 year-old mother along, it would have been nice if had seemed a little more concerned over our comfort. Maybe a little guest-relations training is in order?
But we definitely enjoyed ourselves. Thank you, Tekko and Ms. Kariuki for organizing such a nice trip for us. If the two points above could be addressed, I'm sure your future guests will have an even better time.
CA
Email Hannah | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari to Masai Mara
We used this company for our safari to Masai Mara in December. It was great that they organized everything, but it was expensive for 3 nights. Once we got to the hotel, we couldn’t figure out why it was so expensive because our camp wasn’t too great. The safari was amazing though, the guide and driver were amazing and made our trip, but they were more affiliated with the hotel rather than this company. We were told there would be WiFi, but there wasn’t. Only a few hours of electricity each day. Carol was great, and I asked her to reschedule my trip many times, but I think the company is charging too much. If you use credit card you also have to pay a large fee. We had a lot of fun though. You need to have a positive attitude though, like expect to get stuck in water. We stayed 3 nights at the same place which was great because we got to do more, and weren’t so exhausted moving around. We also flew on a small plane which was interesting but I’m happy we didn’t drive that far. We saw the buses that people who drove in had, they didn’t look as great as our land cruiser, more like a van.
FR
Email Patrick | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible experience with the guide Stephen !!!
On the day of our arrival in Nairobi, the guide was over 1.5 hours late at the airport. Then we had to walk and wait another time 20 minutes because he had parked his car outside the airport parking lot.
Barely on the road leaving for our safari he stopped to fill up with gasoline (couldn't he do it before picking us up when we had 12 hours of theft in our legs?).
On the way he said to us "why are you coming when it is raining?" January is not a good time to come (contrary to what we can read on the net).
Are we responsible for the weather? He replied that we had to call before coming! How then to organize a 15-day trip with hotels planes...
Finally at the arrival of the 1st park (Tsavo) before doing our 1st game drive, he asks us if we can take 4 people (Poles I believe) with us because they have a problem with their Jeep. To that we answer no because a little tired of his attitude and not to mention that we had arranged a private safari just for the 2 of us. Suddenly he does not like much and it was the climbing ...
He didn't like to repeat himself (we are not specialists in the animal world and even less English speakers) and allowed himself to think about us or downright hikes of your "I already told you!" Style. or "Close the open roof now and don't discuss!"
I forgot ... We had a problem with the police because he had not updated his car insurance (3 hours to wait at the police station)
His Jeep did not have the 4 * 4 system either (supposedly broken on the way) and he had lent his tools (shovel and bars) which would have helped us to get out of a stuck in the mud instead. we had to clear it by hand. After getting dirty, no thank you from him ... In short, a horrible experience with this guide probably close to retirement age and who did not want to take this tour but are we responsible for it?
No compensation or commercial gesture on the part of Tekko tour despite the kindness of Carole with whom I was in contact for the organization.
Finally one thing shocked me: the guide lied about the number of game-drives made by his replacement (a freelance massai) who was not paid as he should. I learned about it a few months later and I made a complaint by mail and the problem was resolved without Tekko Tour ever acknowledging their fault.
Lamentable...
Reply from Tekko Tours and Travel
Posted on Mar 24, 2021I would like to apologize in writing even though I had already apologized to you in person. What you went through with the driver is unacceptable. The issues you raised were thoroughly looked into and the driver was finally let go.
AE
Email Yamen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
we don't recommend this company
we just done Safari with this company, and it was very bad experience:
we booked a Land cruiser, it was very very slow, and it has almost no power, when overtaking its very dangerous, and the driver need very long clearance distance to overtake (sometimes it takes 20 min waiting behind a big truck who is driving 30km/h).
Driver was not exceeding 50-55 Km/h on the highway, for 6-7 long driving hours everyday ( this is according to my accurate Garmin GPS)
the worst part of the trip is the driver himself, we don't feel comfortable at all with him, he speaks English well, but he doesn't want to talk or explain anything about the country or the trip,and the way he answers any question it will make you think 100 times before asking him again.
he complains every time we ask him to stop for toilet, and he claimed that there is no toilets all over the way, until we forced him to stop.
he never ever give any straight answer when asking for the distance or timing to arrive to the camp,
we drive daily 6-7 hours from park to park, whenever we ask him where are we, or how long we still need to arrive?he answer ( we are not far). this is so annoying, so we start asking the locals when we stop in the petrol stations, and he also complains, and he said ( stop asking them they will not know).
we been in many many countries with privet drivers, but nothing was like this.
the driver is very important in such a trip, because you are all the day with him inside the car, and its serious problem if they make you feel uncomfortable.
Reply from Tekko Tours and Travel
Posted on Sep 11, 2017Dear Yamen,
Thank you for taking time to share your experience and feedback on your recent safari tour with us. We regret to hear that our driver was not pleasant and could not answer your questions and that your experience with him made you NOT enjoy your safari. This is very unfortunate.
I would request you to contact us directly and look forward to the opportunity to welcome you back to experience the high standard of service we have become known for. I take this opportunity to thank you again for the feedback.
Sincerely
Eliakim Okiddy
Managing Director