Experience the Wildlife remains at Mara Masai
Ancient Wild Safaris
- Located In:
-
India
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2000)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $480 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IN
Email Sujatha | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very quick in responding to queries and meticulously planned all aspects
Mike is very professional and approachable to answer all queries and prompt in providing information. Overall experience on the safari was nice and good value for money. Even got upgraded to a room on the Tanzania side which was totally unexpected and really appreciate that gesture.
US
Email Don | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Driver for the afternoon.
I was coming into Nairobi in the morning and wanted a driver for the afternoon to visit the Elephant and Giraffe sanctuary parks. The hotel offered a driver but was 3 times the price than was the local going rate was. I contacted Ancient Safaris based on positive reviews from Trip Advisor. I arranged wit Michael to have a driver meet us at 3pm and stay with us for three hours. Michael was great communicating with me ebfore we made final arrangements.
On the day before our trip, I was busy getting ready to travel and didn't confirm the pickup right before we left. However, on the day of our arrival, a driver showed up at 3pm as promised and we had a lovely afternoon at a reasonable price. I would definitely use Ancient Safaris again and highly recommend them if you need a driver in Nairobi.
CA
Email David | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
great guide
Our guide, Joseph, was incredibly knowledgeable about the wildlife. He was also quite kind and had a good sense of humour. He picked us up from our Nairobi hotel and we went to Amboseli first. There were many elephants and a great view of Kilimanjaro when the weather permitted. Then we went to Nakuru, but for whatever reason, nobody around that time was seeing any rhinos, so it wasn't too worthwhile of a stop - everything we saw there could be seen in other parks. We stopped briefly at Lake Naivasha on the way to Nakuru and took a boat trip, seeing many birds and hippos. That was worth it.
The Kenya portion of our safari ended at Masai Mara which was so majestic. We saw the big 5 all quite close (except for rhino). Joseph was in constant communication with other guides on his radio to take us quickly to any interesting sightings.
He drove us to the Tanzania border to meet our new guide. That worked out smoothly, and was a much better alternative to what had been originally suggested to us by the Tanzanian tour provider - a drive all the way back to Nairobi and then the "tourist shuttle bus" to Arusha.
NO
Email Svenn | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A good budget option, but with some small flaws that could easily be avoided.
Made some great memories.
On the first days we went to Masai Mara and saw the great migration. I think we must have seen a million wildebest, and some of them crossed the mara river. We also saw lions, elephants, leopard, buffalos, cheetas, giraffe, sebras, ostriches, hippos, crocodiles, antilopes, warthogs and more.
On day three we went to Lake Naivasha for a boat ride. It was very beautiful, and well worth it. Not so many animals, but we saw hippos, sebras, wildebeest, and many birds. The main reason for going is the beauty of it.
On day four we went for a drive around lake Nakuru. Also a beatiful lake. The lake is famous for its massive number of flamingos, but unfortunately there was not many this time. However we saw rhinos, lions, baboons, sebras, giraffes, warthogs, antilopes, wildebeest, and more.
On day five we went to Devils Gate. We rentet bicycles and rode them through part of the national park with a guide. This was fantastic. On the bikes we past by many animals, and felt closer to them than in the safari car. We rode by gjiraffes, warthogs, buffalos, antilopes, baboons and sebras. In the end of the bike tour we went in to Hells gate canyon, that was very beautiful. The canyon is very narrow some places, and has natural hotsprings.
On day six and seven we was at Amboseli. This is maybe the best place to see elephants in the entire world, and is very scenic because of the dramatic view of mt Kilimanjaro. Here we saw more than hundred elephants, and the elephants was not so shy of humans, as many other places. This is a very beautiful place. We also saw some hyenas, sebras, gjiraffes, antilopes, hippos, baboons and more.
The food in general was ok. At the hotels and camps it was ok or even good, but we ate three times at the safari junction where the food was terrible. The accomodation, although budget was better than expected.
Miti Mingi Eco Camp in Masai Mara was right by the parks gate and rustic. The tents was quite big and had working hot shower, but no electricity. Some of the bedsheets should be thrown away. But overall a good camp with a very genuine safari feeling. The food was ok. We had two nights here.
Hotel Citymax in Nakuru was a nice and clean hotel with good food. We had two nights here.
Taphe Guest house in Naivasha was a nice quiet place. Friendly area, 15 minutes walk from town. However we did have a big outbreak of mold in our room. The food here was the best on the trip. We had one night here.
Kimana camp Amboseli was the best of the two camps. We stayed in a nice cabin with electricity and hot shower. The food was good, and both the cabin and restaurant had a nice view of mt Kilimanjaro.
The safari car was a rebuildt Hiace. The roof was liftet when on safari.
What could be better?
-The driving, especially the last 100km towards Masai Mara and in Masai Mara was terrifying. But to be fair, some of the people in our group did enjoy the ride.
-The day we where going to check in at Naivash we drove past Naivasha for 45 minutes, to eat at a restaurant at the safari junction. Everyone agreed that this place had terrible food, so why drive 2*45 minutes to eat here.
-Information was some times inaccurate. We where informed that biking in Hells gate would cost extra. The price given was the renting of the bike. But when we arrived we realized that in addition we had to pay to be allowed to bike in the park. And we also had to pay a bike guide.
The comunication was ok, but the information was not always accurate.
In Nairobi, Ancient Wild Safaris booked a table for us at Carnivore restaurant. We where told we had to pay in usd and that the price of 100 usd includet food and non alcoholic beverages. I also asked if this includet a provison for the company, or if this was the price the company had to pay the restaurant. I was told that this was the price the company had to pay the restaurant, so we decided to give something extra to the company for arranging it. Especially since it seems like it is a one person company. Arriving at the restaurant we found out that the price was lower, we did not have to pay in usd, and it did not include non-alcoholic beverages. We think it is very reasonable that the company takes a fee for arranging things like this, but doing it like this was not ok.
AE
Email Veena | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience worth lifetime !
Our Kenya tour experience was truly amazing with Ancient wild safari. Mr. Michael is very professional and is prompt in replying to any query put forth. It was a seven day trip which includes masai mara, Lake nakuru, Naivasha and Amboseli. Our driver Mr. Paul, who picked and dropped us from the airport was very friendly. Our guides Mr. Wanjao and Mr.Joseph had amazing knowledge about the parks and animals, and made our experience really great! We learned a lot about Kenya and its people as well. We were on a budget safari. The accommodation in every place we stayed was really nice. We had our own private bathroom with a shower in our room, mosquito nets, power outlets to charge electronics, and we received three hot meals a day. When we were on game drives, we had packed lunch. We are pure vegetarians. Our guides made sure that we received only veg food at all times. Thanks for this. At the end of each day, our guides would brief us about the following day’s plan and let us know what time we need to be ready for the next day.
Thank you Mr. Michael and your team for making this trip truly memorable.
I would also like to thank the website safari bookings.com which helped me find Ancient Wild Safaris.
In our opinion, Ancient Wild Safaris is a reliable company and we highly recommend it.
US
Email M Pare | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bucket list adventure
My entire experience was amazing right from the original booking to the actual safari. Mike kept us well informed along the way. For the actual safar, Joseph was our guide and driver and did an amazing job. He gave us some options along the way and let us dictate the flow. Joseph already found us the "big five" on the first day and did his best to give us the best vantage point. By the end of the safari we had seen every animal on my list which was beyond my expectations. I highly recommend Ancient Wild Safaris!!
Email Kamal | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Bespoke tour! Many thanks to Joseph and Mike.
My wife and I went for a trip to East Africa and Ancient Safaris organised a tour for us in Kenya. I have been in contact with Mike months before our trip. He was very responsive by email and then WhatsApp. Our plan was to stay in Nairobi for 3 nights before heading to Tanzania and Mike offered us two private tours actually. One to Naivasha and Hell's gate for one day and another to Amboselli for one night (and two half days) + Drop off at Tanzania's border. To be honest we were not expecting such an excellent service for the amount that we paid. Our guide Joseph was very friendly and knowledgeable about wildlife in East Africa. Chatting with him was a real pleasure. We learned a lot about Kenya and its people as well. Accommodation in Amboselli was luxurious! We were offered a spacious and stunning lodge in Kibo Safari Camp. I need to highlight that Mike was very understanding and flexible as we changed dates and plan a couple of times. I think the fact that Ancient Safaris is not one of those massive Safari companies makes them more flexible and able to sort out tours tailored to everyone's budget and plan. Least but not last, Mike was very trustworthy as we paid most of the amount by bank transfer weeks before!
ES
Email Nieves | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A reliable company
We were on a safari trip for our honeymoon with Ancient Wild Safaris at the beginning of July. We have to say that Mike was really helpful from the beginning. We changed the itinerary several times until it was perfect for us and he was very understanding and gave us good advice.
Our guide, Charles, is a really good man with a really nice character. He took care of everything during the trip so we didn't find any trouble. He explained us the animals behaviour and answered all our questions happily.
Talking about accommodation, the tented camps and hotels were good enough for us (similar to a 2-3 star hotel in Spain). If you are looking for luxury lodgings you should request it.
In our opinion, Ancient Wild Safaris is a reliable company and we highly recommend it.
CA
Email Arjun | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Day Trip to Hell's Gate National Park and the Rift Valley
My wife and I did a day trip with AWS in December 2015. The tour and safari were both spectacular and the overall experience was excellent.
Joseph picked us up from the airport and made great time to the Rift Valley and Hell's Gate National Park. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and a great driver. While enroute we stopped at various picturesque locations and during the safari he not only found a wide variety of animals but also educated us on the flora and fauna of the area. The trip included a walking trip through an ancient riverbed canyon led by a local Masai. It takes a full day and is totally worth it.
Before the trip, the booking process and getting clarifications with Mike were very simple affairs and we would book with this company again, in a heartbeat.
An experience of a lifetime
Communication and service was prompt and Mike answered any questions or requests. Our Kenya tour experience was amazing.
Very basic information was given about arrangements to transfer into Tanzania and we often felt we did not know what was going on. Then on arrival in Arusha our itinerary was changed last minute by the contact in Tanzania (Abraham) this should have been addressed at the time of originally booking. Abraham stated that the time frame was not sufficient to do the tour we had booked. I feel that the change was also more convenient from Abrahams point of view.
However, our safari tours overall were wonderful and full of animals and unique experiences.