Three members of the team on safari near Nairobi
Transtrek Safaris
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- TTA & TRA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $220 to $380 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Jeanne | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour company
Daniel customized a trip for my husband and friend. They started out in Nairobi and then traveled to Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Lake Naivasha and the Maasai Mara. From the first contact, to making plans and payment was spot on. The activities, the vehicle and the lodging were excellent. Tony was a friendly and knowledgeable driver/ guide. Daniel was easy to get a hold of, answered all questions and made some really good suggestions that made the trip even more enjoyable. I would highly recommend Daniel and Transtrek.
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Email Terry | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Only one word to describe our Transtrek Safari with Peter as our guide....INCREDIBLE
Susan, Jen, Laurie, and i (terry) booked our safari with Daniel at Transtrek. Susan having gone on a similar safaris with them last year. The communication was excellent, every question answered in a timely manner. Additional items like plane travel back to Nairobi, additional game drives, dinner reservs in Nairobi, etc were handled without much involvement on our part and totally met all of our expectations. Peter the driver/guide was stupendous ! such a joy to be around and so knowledgeable about the areas and animals we didnt need id books ! He anticipated our photo positions and always had the animals best interests at heart. Peter had a close network of other guides who communicated with each other to get us to where the animals were instantly. All of the accomadations were great, wouldnt have changed a thing. If anyone reading this would like more detailed info or to see our photos feel free to contact me [email protected].
BR
Email Eduardo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awsome
My wife and I visited Kenya in early 2018 and we absolutely loved every single bit of it. We went to Masai Mara and got to see all the big five animals, excluding the Rhino, multiple times. In fact, we saw most of the wildlife.
Peter our guide and travel companion was exceptional, very kind and patient. The accommodations in the park were top notch. Thanks to Transtrek and Daniel’s efforts, I was able to have a horse riding experience inside the park and it was amazing.
Email Susan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
2nd trip with Transtrek, ready to book the 3rd!
After an amazing trip in 2017 with my partner, I had told my friends about the best holiday I had ever had, this led to our safari in March.
Daniel is amazing, after months of emailing back and forth to get all the details in place and choosing an itinerary that matched everyone's ideas, we had everything in place for our trip.
We were taken care of from the minute we left the airport, being met by a representive from our hotel and then being met by Peter in the morning to start the adventure. This is the second time Peter has been my guide, he is incredible! Very patient and goes out his way to find the best sightings and ensure we were never rushed, giving us options of staying with the viewing we were with or moving on. Peter took care of everything, ensuring we were ready for all our activities and had plenty of water during the days.
We stayed in a mixture of accommodation, but the tents were my favourite - although calling them tents does not give a true reflection of the comfort and space we had, including fully function bathrooms. All the places we stayed we very welcoming , the staff were so helpful ensuring every need was met and checking that we were happy at all times.
Transtrek provides a personal, dedicated and flexible service that ensures you get what you want from your trip, I have enjoyed both trips with Transtrek and have already requested my next itinerary from Daniel.
DE
Email José Alexandre | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical
My partner and I spent two weeks in Kenya where we visited Nairobi, Masai Mara, Amboseli and Tsavo West. In Nairobi we spent most time in David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and in the Giraffe Manor, whereas in the other locations we were located inside the parks and doing morning and afternoon Safaris or full day Safaris.
While we were preparing our trip Daniel was incredible helpful, giving us all the insights and tips he had from all his experience organizing Safaris, and was super patient and great to communicate with.
When we got to Kenya, Peter, our driver, was waiting for us and he was for the remaining of the two weeks our guide. Peter is a super interesting person, very good communicator and very well informed, and it was a delight to share these two weeks with him and talking over about the Kenyan wildlife and several other topics around Kenyan culture.
We are definitely going to go back (hopefully soon!) and definitely booking again with Transtrek, as the experience could not have been better, totally recommend.
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Email Dan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded Our Expectations - Seven Day Tour, Rift Valley Lakes and the Masai Mara
My wife and I took a seven day private tour which included Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley, the Masai Mara, and the Mara Naboisho Conservancy. Our trip spanned the end of June into July. From the outset, Daniel’s (with Transtrek) communications were prompt and helpful. He addressed all our questions and concerns, while offering suggestions without pushing to up-sell. Once in Kenya, we met our main guide, Peter, when he picked us up from the Nairobi airport Hilton. The tour was conducted in a seven seat Toyota Land Cruiser with a pop up canopy for 360 degree viewing. Peter was friendly and professional throughout the trip. He was always more than willing to talk about the country, people, and wildlife, make arrangements, and keep us well stocked with bottled water. Daniel made planning and booking our first trip to Africa as painless as possible and Peter saw to it that the tour went smoothly. We hope to return to Kenya in the future and fully intend to book with Transtrek again.
Parks:
The tour began with a roughly four hour drive from Nairobi hotel to Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru National Park is a pretty park consisting mainly of wetlands and forested areas. In contrast to the tan savannah of the Mara, Lake Nakuru was vibrantly green. In addition to many other species, we saw both black and white rhinos. After two nights, we traveled a bit over two hours to Lake Naivasha National Park. At Lake Naivasha, we took a private boat tour to an island which allows bush walks due to its lack of large predators. The lake is home to an impressive array of bird species. For the final three nights of the itinerary, we drove the five plus hours the Masai Mara region. While we enjoyed the Rift lakes, the Mara region was the highlight. The national reserve, with its grand sweeping grasslands and wild abundance of life, is rightly iconic. It can get crowded (particularly around big cats) but it was not nearly as bad as I feared. In early July, it was still possible to find areas with no one else in sight. The Mara Naboisho Conservancy, lacking the vast open spaces of the national reserve, is mainly covered in groups of shrubs and smallish trees. The conservancy offers a different experience in several respects because it is privately operated and visitor numbers are controlled: night game drives and bush walks (with armed guides) are permitted and it does not get crowded. In addition, it has one of highest concentrations of lions in East Africa. The cost to stay in the conservancy is higher than the nearby national reserve; however, once we saw what was offered, we did not regret the expense for a moment.
Accommodation:
We stayed at five properties while in Kenya: Hilton Garden Inn Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge, Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort, Basecamp Explorer Masai Mara, and Basecamp Explorer Eagle View. The Hilton was our airport lodging before and after the tour, which we arranged separately. Daniel did offer to book on our behalf but my wife had Hilton points to burn. The hotel is new, clean, comfortable, operated by friendly and efficient staff, and has a very good restaurant. The two Sopa properties were similar. Both consisted of a restaurant/reception area and chalets with two to four rooms. The rooms were spacious and well appointed. The bathrooms were clean but hot water is limited by design. The food, mainly served buffet style, ranged from fine to good and there was variety. The Nakuru Sopa Lodge is situated on a ridge and has a lovely view over Lake Nakuru. The Naivasha resort has zebra, giraffe, impala, waterbuck, several species of monkeys, and (at night) hippopotamus on the property. The Basecamp Explorer properties are both tented camps, though with electricity and showers in every room. Basecamp Explorer Masai Mara sits in a wooded area just over the Talek River from the Mara, within sight of the national reserve. The tents are a bit spartan but contain what one expects in a hotel room, with two odd exceptions: there are no mirrors or trash cans. Basecamp Explorer Eagle View is arrayed along a ridge with the Naboisho Conservancy. The dining/reception area has a fantastic view over a lightly wooded valley, regularly populated by herds of zebra, wildebeest, water buffalo, and impala. In contrast with Basecamp Explorer Masai Mara, the tents at Eagle View are certainly not spartan. This is a luxury camp. Both Basecamp properties serve excellent food, usually in 3-4 courses. Lunch and dinner typically consisted of soup, bread, entrée, and dessert. There are no options, you receive what they prepare for a given meal but we were never disappointed. I bought head chef’s cookbook.
FR
Email Ghislain Guillochon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Tour Operator, quick to react, very professionnal and reliable
The proposition Safaris from Transtrek was exactly what we had asked (specific circuit in various parks of Kenya)
Very quick to react to answer our questions and to prepar the trip
Excellent choice of Lodges in the best rates
Very professionnal guide
To summarize : excellent tour operator, to advise very strongly
Email Sue and Keith Fitz-John | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb from start to finish!
My husband and I have just returned from the Transtrek 12 Day Classic Safari.
Everything from start to finish was superb. From our initial enquiry, Daniel, from Transtrek was professional, helpful, friendly and patient. He initiated a phone call between us so that we could discuss the plans and he was able to use his expert knowledge to advise and alter some of the details of the safari to satisfy our wishes. Dan was always quick to respond to any questions we had during the planning stage, which gave us total faith in his arrangements. Our faith was justified as everything, from the initial pick-up, when we arrived at Nairobi Airport, to the final airport drop-off at the end, went like clockwork.
The safari was absolutely amazing. All the reserves we visited, our day in Nairobi and all of the lodges and camps we stayed in were first class.
We had the best of drivers in Peter. He met us early one morning, at the Airport Hotel and was with us throughout our time in Kenya. His knowledge of the wildlife of Kenya is amazing and his expertise enabled us to see all of the, “Big Five”. Nothing was too much trouble for him and we enjoyed listening to him talk about life in Kenya. We only hope that he enjoyed our tales of life in the UK just as much. Peter is, without doubt a real asset to the Transtrek Safari experience.
If you are reading this review because you are unsure of who to book your next safari with, don’t hesitate in contacting Transtrek, Dan will take care of every last detail for you.
We fully intend to return to the wonderful country of Kenya again some day and will not consider any other company to take us there.
Thank you Dan and Peter, you both made our first safari an unforgettable experience.
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Email William | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service with a Superb guide, bar none!
Great service, door to door. The organizer worked with with us on all modifications we wanted. We were picked up day one with no issues and the trip went on seamlessly from there on out. Our guide Tony, was extremely knowledgable on the flora and fauna, but geology, history, etc, as well.
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Email The Pordes Family | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A life-changing experience, beautifully planned and executed by Transtrek Safaris
We are giving Transtrek a five-star rating because our experience - ten days in Kenya - was so exciting, beautiful and memorable. We asked three tour operator to send us offers. Not only was the offer by Transtrek the most varied and interesting, Dan even called my mobile phone within an hour of my posting the request, to check and ask us what we really wanted. Our safari took us to the highlands north of Nairobi as well as to the Masai Mara in the West. Each day was more exciting than the previous one and we actually saw a couple of Cheetah kills that were absolutely stunning. Our guide, Peter, was superb at finding interesting animals and we saw all the Big Five. He is also an excellent driver who managed to avoid hurting our necks and backs (we were a senior group) by carefully negotiating all major bumps and tranches. A few minor complaints: We should have skipped the Chimpanzee sanctuary (sad and a bit boring) and the tame, blind Rhino at Ol Pejeta (you are supposed to be able to pet him but he never showed up) and used the time to do more game drives. The Balloon Ride was hellishly expensive but really worth the experience. The Masai Village visit was exploitative of tourists and we felt pressured to buy gifts. In the Mara, we thought Ashnil Camp was somewhat dated and decaying, with a dilapidated swimming pool, but Eagle View was fantastic! You have to pick and choose your Camps with care. But overall an outstanding experience and Transtrek are the ones to go with!
Reply from Transtrek Safaris
Posted on Oct 22, 2018Thank you for taking the time to write a review and we are pleased to hear you had such a great time. However we were disappointed to hear about Ashnil Mara, as you know this wasn't our first choice of camp which was unfortunately fully booked for your dates but it should have been a more than satisfactory alternative. I have contacted Ashnil to share your comments and I will share with you any response I receive and I hope that the bush breakfast we organised for you went some way to pacify your disappointment with this camp.