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
RU
Email Boris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Hell's Gate trip
Trip was almost perfect. Mike (manager, I suppose) respond quickly at all time (pre-booking, appointment, etc.) and follow any my demands. Paul (driver) made his best during trip - comfort and safe driving, detailed explanation through whole journey. But I have one disappointed thing - in itinerary written what boat ride is inclusive - that is incorrect, they charge USD50 for this option.
IN
Email Radeesh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An experience unlike any other
We did this trip with out much planning and was so glad that we went with most of the recommendations of ancient wild safari. They are extremely helpful and very forthcoming with relevant information about each place. The only think i'm looking forward to in the next trip is the vehicle upgrade as promised ;)
Email alfredo | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice experience
The tour was well organized. Although it was flexible in relation to what was originally planned all the visits to the parks were done. Driver guides were very nice and always ready to explain and do anything we needed. They were always ready to search the animals we wanted to sea, and were always in communications with the organizers of the tour. They know very well the parks and the local communities. Lodges and tented camps were as expected; some budget, and some luxury, as well as the food.
We could see lots of animals, and the drivers always knew how to get close to them trying not the disturb them.
There is a nice way to see the geography of the SW part of Kenya and visit the parks in one week. Very nice place and experience. Thanks Michael, Joseph and Peter.
BE
Email Britta, Antwerp - Belgium | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bona fide organisation with good knowledge of what foreign tourists expect (quotation, safari, etc)
This company clearly has experience in dealing with foreign tourists asking all kinds of questions and requesting a detailed programme with segmented prices.
Good communication and also once in Kenya they are easily reachable (they actually return your call, not all companies do!) and they tend to any additional enquiry you might have.
We booked a car and safari driver for 4 days/ 3 nights (stayed in Tawi Lodge and Acacia Camps which we booked ourselves), the driver Mr Joseph proved a safe and careful driver who has good knowledge of his country and the animals in general, he's good company without being the pushy kind.
The car, a typical safari minivan, was in good condition and was cleaned every evening.
Ancient Wild Safaris profiles itself as a budget operator but I find they're perfectly able to handle more upmarket tours as well, just clearly inform them what your standards are and what you expect from the trip.
My next safari will be booked again via Ancient Wild Safaris and yes I recommend them to friends and family.
Thank you Michael for making our 1st trip to Kenya a memorable one!
IE
Email Bernie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
9 day trip - 5 days in Kenya, 4 in Tanzania
We travelled from Ireland in December 2017.
We would be keen to stress that this is a review of the booking company - African Adventure Safari, not of the safari itself.
The safari was, for the most part, brilliant. It would be hard to travel to the Masai Mara and Serengeti and not be impressed.
It appeared to us (and several others we met) that essentially, for the budget trips you paid a tour company who booked your place on a safari trip. Safari guides/drivers seemed to receive their assigned tourists each trip or each day. So, whilst the drivers (who seemed to work for several various companies) were very good, we couldn't credit this to the tour companies as there seemed to be little relationship between the two.
So, onto reviewing the booking company;
It was arranged and confirmed that they would collect us from the airport in Nairobi around 7pm. Upon arrival, there was no sign of anyone. We waited and eventually opted to use the mobile phone of a taxi driver. We rang Mike, who we had been dealing with us over email. He advised us that he was parking the car and would be with us in five minutes. After ten minutes, the random taxi driver came over and told us that Mike had called back and had asked us to wait by the road. Another twenty minutes passed, with the taxi driver waving to us every so often to indicate that it would be another five minutes.
Nairobi has a reputation and we were growing increasingly uneasy.
Eventually the taxi driver came back with the phone and handed it to me. It was Mike advising us that his driver had gotten stuck in traffic (odd, given that Mike said he was parking the car) and told us the taxi driver would take us. Given that I had just been handed the phone, I made sure to make him confirm a few of our details before we hung up. We were very clear with the taxi driver that we wouldn't be paying him for the journey as the transfer was already paid for. He wasn't very happy about this and made another call to make sure he would get paid.
The taxi driver asked us to wait while he got his car. Two cars pulled up (neither particularly looked like a taxi), he sent the first car away and the driver of the second one got out and our "taxi driver" got in. The route we took (presumably to avoid traffic) went through some very rough areas, with several fires burning by the roadside, through the outskirts of the city. We have travelled a lot (including countries like Venezuela, Colombia and Indonesia) but this was the most uneasy we have ever felt whilst travelling. The combination of being unsure about the taxi driver and the route we had taken had made us feel very apprehensive. This wasn't the start to our trip we had hoped for. As it was our honeymoon, we had booked through a tour company in order to avoid these specific issues.
After 40 minutes we pulled up at our hotel. Mike was there to meet us, with one of the safari guides. He wasn't very apologetic, but seemed friendly enough and gave us his mobile number to contact him through Whatsapp. We had booked the hotel through Mike and he asked for cash to pay for the room. We handed over the cash and it was only when we went up to our room and was able to check my emails that I realised that it was double the price we were expecting to pay. We checked the price on booking.com (which was also cheaper than the price we had been quoted). We texted Mike and he told us that the price he had quoted was per night, so was double what we were expecting and double the cost on booking.com. We were unhappy but there was little we could do.
After our trip to the Masai Mara and Hells Gate, which were both brilliant, we were taken back to Nairobi for a transfer to Arusha (Tanzania). We missed our bus, but that wasn't a problem because we just caught another one. We were met in Arusha by a taxi driver and taken to our hotel, which all went well.
The next morning we were starting a trip to Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We met the 'boss' and who asked us what our itinerary was (he didn't seem to know what we had planned). He asked about water, we told him it was included in our trip, he asked about our transfer to the airport at the end of our trip, we told him that was also included. We found out later that the 'boss' is the boss of all of the drivers/guides in Arusha, so manages all of the trips that leave from there.
There was clearly very little coordination between the tour companies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The first night of our trip we stayed in a really nice lodge, but one of the other groups (all of the vehicles will stop to eat and sleep in the same places, so you will see a lot of each other) had to stay somewhere else because there had been a mix up and the lodge was overbooked. The next morning, everyone was moved to different vehicles because there had been a mix up with the bookings. This wasn't really a problem for us, but did take a while to be sorted out and a couple of groups had to wait longer than us because people from Arusha were joining them.
Once on the trip, again it was amazing and the driver/guide in Tanzania (Estome) was brilliant. Estome had a couple of different books on the animals and answered every single question we had. He stopped when we wanted to take photos, spotted more animals and birds than you could imagine, and was a really nice guy. Overall we enjoyed the experience in Tanzania more than Kenya, although we saw more animals in Kenya.
Some people from the other groups had problems with their itineraries not being followed and accommodation not being what was expected (this seemed to be people who has asked for an additional stopover or to not be in a tent or a shared tent). When they were booking, they were told it was ok, but once they were on the trip, they were sent along with the rest of us. A vegetarian in our group had to remind them a few times. We hadn't made any special requests, so we didn't have any of these issues.
In Arusha, we had been booked in to the Cloud View Hotel for our last night. Our diver had asked us where we were staying and had been speaking to the 'boss' through the day. When we arrived at the hotel there was no booking for us. Apparently the 'boss' hadn't received the information or money from Mike so no booking was made (this hadn't been mentioned until we were at the hotel's check in desk though). We were taken back to Arusha Tourist Inn and stayed there for the night (this hotel seems to owned by the 'boss' so a booking wasn't needed).
We text Mike about this straight away, but didn't get a response until the following afternoon, by which time we were in Zanzibar. Again, there was no apology and Mike's response was that they are looking for a new partner in Tanzania.
Overall, the trip was amazing and the guides, particularly in Tanzania, were brilliant. The issues we had were with the organisation and, with the exception of the pick up from the airport, were annoying but had no lasting effect on us.
Whichever company you book with, our advice would be to reconfirm everything before you travel (dietary requirements, transfers etc), take printed copies of your itinerary, be prepared to stand your ground on what is already paid for and included as part of your trip, and unless you are booking a bespoke trip, stick to the basic itineraries because people who had special requests didn't seem to get them. And have a great trip.
Jeep got stuck several times - no compensation
We did a 3 day Safari in Masai Mara with Ancient Safaris at the beginning of September.
Our jeep already got stuck on the first day because of some mechanical problems, so we couldn't get into the park this day. Furthermore they didn't replace the jeep. Our driver promised that they repaired the jeep and that everything is ready for the next day, unfortunately we got stuck again for several times on the next day .
We spent a lot of time waiting till the car cooled down again. It was really annoying, also because nobody told us what was going on.
And we didn't get any refund or compensation.
All in all we are really disappointed. Our Safari with Ancient Safaris was definitely not worth the price and we can't recommend it!
AE
Email Sarah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not book with Ancient Wild Safaris
What was meant to be an amazing experience was tainted by our experience with Ancient Wild Safaris.
Fortunately we didn’t let the complete lack of management ruin our trip however it added an immense amount of stress to what was meant to be a relaxing break from work.
There was not a day that went by that I wasn’t worried about the next part of the journey and spent my time trying to get in contact with you or information from you.
I had started to get concerned before we left when I had to continually chase up the details and request copies of tickets and bookings. We were assured everything was in place and that a file of the printouts would be provided in Nairobi. It wasn’t.
1. Our 1st driver thought he was taking us back to Nairobi and it wasn’t until he asked how many days we were staying in Nairobi after Amboseli that he called and was made aware he was driving us to Lake Nakuru
2. After chasing and chasing on the booking receipts we needed one of your team met us before we flew to Mara and promised that we would get a copy of the remaining documents we needed at Neptune. I made it clear at this time that I was not happy and that you should be making sure I had them emailed to me
3. Our 2nd driver who was meant to pick us up from the airstrip didn’t show up - he had been sent to a different airstrip
4. The Masai village experience was terrible. We paid the 100 USD each and then they tried to charge us 450 USD for souvenirs. They then also asked for money for their school. All in all it was a 600 USD excursion and not worth it one bit.
5. Our 3rd driver was not aware of when we were flying out to Zanzibar and neither were we as we still didn’t have any flight details
6. I called and emailed a number of times once we reach Ngorongoro as again there were not details as to our flight the next day
7. Your manager on the ground in Tanzania said he would meet us before we got to the airport. He didn’t. He then asked us to come to the office. He then called and said he would send someone to the airport. 20 mins later still no one. The driver called again and he then said he would send ticket numbers through. Another 20 mins and no ticket numbers. The driver then called back again and was told to take us inside even though we had no tickets to show the security.
8. We then arrive in Zanzibar and there is no driver - we have to pay 60 USD on top of what we had paid you for the transfer and arrange a driver ourselves
9. We then get to the hotel and they ask for our booking voucher which we didn’t have as we still had not been provided any details in paper or email form
10. The new contact in Zanizbar, Kondo, then called and was at that time the 1st person who had actually apologised for any of this - there had been no apology from Mike and his team at Ancient Wild Safaris only excuses and blame pointed to the Tanzania operations
11. Kondo again apologised as he was not able to get us the VIP seats that should have been booked for us on the Ferry on the way back - if this had been organised properly and booked when we paid our deposit then we would have had the VIP seats we wanted
12. Thank fully there was a man with a sign to meet us in Dar es Salam which was a relief……this was no thanks to Ancient Wild Safaris but to Kondo and his company who had taken over managing the last part of our trip.
US
Email Dorian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our private safari was ruined due to the incompetence of this company!
I booked a private 3-day safari in Amboseli National Park with a friend at the end of November. I spent six months arranging all the details of the safari via email with Michael, the owner of Ancient Wild Safaris. This was my fourth safari, so I was very clear about the services we wanted.
I was coming from Tanzania and met my friend Sergio and the driver Joseph at the Namanga border. 15 minutes on the road to Amboseli the car broke down. The driver was clueless how to fix the problem and didn't communicate any information to us. We waited for two hours on the dirt road until a taxi arrived to take us to the entrance gate of Amboseli, an hour away. The driver, Joseph stayed with the broken down car. Once at the park entrance, we waited another hour for a van to take us on our first "game drive". We booked a private safari, but were forced to join a Danish couple's tour. This game drive was really just driving across the park to our hotel, on the opposite side.
I contacted Michael several times during the first day, but he never communicated to me what the plan was for the next day. Eventually, Joseph told us that we would join the Danish couple's safari again the next morning. This became our second group game drive during the trip. Also, it was not our driver or tour company, so we had no choice in what we visited or where we stopped or for how long. We were just along for the ride.
After the morning game drive, we were dropped off at our hotel with no driver and no car. I had originally arranged an all-day game drive on the second day. Instead, we spent most of the morning and afternoon being bored around the camp. Eventually, Joseph contacted us to say he would pick us from the camp at 5pm! He arrived with the mechanic and we did a one-hour game drive before the park closed.
The next morning we did the only full, private game drive before returning to Nairobi. So we got 1 proper game drive out of the 4 we paid for. In Nairobi, Michael failed to show up at our hotel to discuss the poor service. He kept trying to make excuses instead of taking responsibility for the problems with the safari. I kindly requested a partial refund since we didn't get the private safari that we paid for and he refused. There was zero accountability!
I would never use this company again due to the lack of professionalism and costumer service. Throughout the entire ordeal, there was almost no communication and direction from the owner.
IT
Email Sergio | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Didn't get what I paid for!
I have booked a three days and two nights private safari to Amboseli National Park.
On our way to Amboseli the car broke down (I understand it happens). We waited for a taxi to take us to the park and then we finally joined a couple who was on a private safari and not so happy to have other people joining their safari.
For me it was my first safari and I ended up seeing a lot of wildlife and the car wasn't even stopping or explaining anything (it wasn't my safari of course).
The next day I had my own plan but since I had no car and no guide (that I very much paid for). I joined the same couple again and I had to comply with their plan. At 8am on the second day I returned to the hotel after a morning drive and until 5pm I had nothing to do! This day I wanted to do a full day game drive but again, no car and no guide and most of all no words from Michael. He didn't try to call me even once (despite he had my kenyan number or he could have contacted the hotel). I wasted a whole day and no apologies were presented nor different activities were planned for me. Simply nothing, just abandoned.
At 5pm Joseph the guide finally arrives after fixing the car and took me on a game drive (1 hour). The drive was awful as we only had 1 hour before the park closed. So we couldn't go deep inside the park.
On our last day we had finally one proper game drive (one out of the 4 we paid for).
Again we contacted Michael and tried to get him to meet us in Nairobi. He agreed and then once in nairobi, of course he was not available.
He apologized over the phone but I wanted a partial refund. I paid a very expensive private safari with a private guide. I didn't get what I paid for at all and then he tried to talk about religion and making excuses.
They don't don't how to deal with customers and I practically paid $540 for a 3 days private safari with 4 game drives (I got one real game drive). As my first safari experience it was awful and it was disrespectful to be treated this way.
Reply from Ancient Wild Safaris
Posted on Dec 23, 2016Mr. Dorian and Sergio, Greetings and Merry X-mass from Kenya! Thanks for your feedback regarding your 3 days trip to Amboseli with us in November. It is always very good to express yourself and honest feeling about the services your had with us. To start with you booked with us 5 days with us on Tanzania side Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara and Tarangire on group tour + 3 days Amboseli Kibo safari camp private for 2 persons. Ok the positive side of the trip was that we did arranged your pick up from Kilimanjaro airport on 11th November to hotel Mvuli at 20:50hrs. Then you did the first 5 good days with our partner company with no confusion at all under our rules and terms.
On 17th morning we, especially Mike arranged well your transfer from Hotel to the boarder to meet Sergio and Joseph. Negative side of the trip: We did and again apologized for the breakdown of the safari vehicle few Kms from the boarder. A day before the trip we did met with Sergio at the Hotel to brief him about the safari since he had no ideal which company is taking him on safari since all arrangement was done by you. Joseph our guide arrived on time at the hotel early 17th and picked up Sergio by 7:00 am to make sure that you meet together on time at the boarder. All this happened. Until the time when the car broke down on your way to Amboseli. At least i (Mike) had no your personal contact since all communications are done through the guide to let the office know of anything. The time we were informed that the car already broke down the first thing we did was to get the quick solution on how you get to the park for better rescue.
At the point where the clients are in problems at the middle of the bush the first thing is to look for any safest way, that is why Joseph was to rely with the very few companies that used the same route which is not always busy to give rescue only that were going to the other directions. It is very true you had booked the private tour and once we realized that were only about 4 hours time before the park close we had to look for the small car from Namanga boarder to transfer you to Michenani gate and then we relied with already a company that we had the contract with to come and get you from the game to proceed to Kibo safari camp.
The few companies at Amboseli park we only requested the car that had the 2 persons only so that you have space too for game drives. We did this because there was no enough time to send another car from Nairobi to the place of breakdown since things would be tough and not recommendable to drive during the night. Always for those whom have visited Amboseli knows that always bad network connection that is why Joseph communication to you was easy as Mike could do due to close network from Namanga to Amboseli.
We used the same car to offer you morning game drive which was done on time and very necessary and by 9:00 am you were taken back to the Lodge where you were given the Masai people to give you a walk and have lunch then to wait for third game drive from 4:00pm but Joseph picked you 1 hour late this was as per the final agreed itinerary. You already mentioned that you did booked the full day game drive the second day, Kindly see the request you made on August 18th at 11:31 pm
"Dorian Statom <
Aug 18
to Ancient
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your patience in answering all my questions. Just for clarity, let me state below what I would like for the game drives/Amboseli private safari.
Day 1 - pick up from border, drive thru Amboseli to Kibo Camp (we can view some game along the way), arrive at Kibo Safari Camp for lunch and to relax, late afternoon (4pm) game drive, overnight at Kibo Camp.
Day 2 - early morning game drive, lunch at Kibo Camp, visit Masai in early afternoon, late afternoon (4pm) game drive, overnight at Kibo Camp.
Day 3 - morning game drive, drive to Nairobi
Let me know if this works."
As per the above yes we failed the first day to car breakdown and this was due to "FORCE MAJOUR"
The second day we did as per the above only 1 hour late between 4-5 pm.
The Third day was excellent.
To make sure that you recovered the few hours wasted, we did requested Joseph to make he talks to you after the second day game drive and arrange to have longer game drive on third 3 so that you have time recovered and see all you needed where you were to leave the park after lunch, Only that you told him you want to be at Nairobi by around 2:00pm, We already talked to Sergio before the tour that his flight was late night and no need of getting earlier at Airport to stay longer before the flight so was to stay even more the third day where all this turned opposite. It is then on the way to Nairobi you mentioned to Joseph that would like to meet Mike then once was called of course it was on Sartuday 19th was out of Nairobi so i told Joseph to let you know that i am not within but will try to get Nairobi and come to Hotel.
I could not manage to arrive on time though before drop off i asked you through Joseph Phone to get in touch on Whatsapp since is easy and faster communication. Later after we arranged with Paul whom picked Sergio on time back to Airport and then Dorian on the following day back to Airport.
We really apologized very much for this, as same car Joseph has used for the many trips he has done and most of our clients have been happy, this was just something Un expected occurrences which we hope will not happen again to you.
Anytime there is problem we ask all our clients to communicate, with both positive aspect and Negative as well. We take all our clients with much dignity, so We would like to wish you a happy and merry Christmas and prosperous new year 2017. Best From Ancient Wild Safaris.
KR
Email PARK | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not recommendable
It occurs to me quite clear that this travel agency has very little inflence to the guide, who normally works as a freelancer. Don't fully believe agency's word, once payment is being made and hit the road, only person you could argue or meet is a guide whose working relationship with agency is quite limited.
We've got confirmations of many things from this agency before we made a reservation, only few were true. Every day, guide were showed-up late, travelers were being instructed to take different vans every day or every trip, usually up to 7~9 people on one van which made people quite cramped.
Drinking water were provided, as promised, but at first day for 3~4 days, therefore every trip and acommodation we heaved heavy weight luggages along with given bottle of waters.
At Masaimara, accommodation were overbooked and moved to another camp which provide no water and no electricity inside the tented camp. Notwithstanding, no one felt sorry about it although some of the traveller contended heavily.
Guide was less likely acting as a guide but more like a boss or merely driver. Almost zero explanation was given regarding the schedule.
Unnecessary detour or idle time happened due to the fact that groups all had different itenery.
Kenya itself was amazingly nice place but my trip was degraded by all abovementioned facts.
It might be impoved if you select private tour.
Reply from Ancient Wild Safaris
Posted on Sep 20, 2016Mr. Park, Hey from Nairobi Kenya. Hope the rest Maverick are fine. We have gone through your feedback about the experience you had in Kenya during your 6 days trip. We accept the mistake for the trip and apologize for this. Actually from the point of view you had booked the tour 3 persons. It is confirmed that you had 1 driver guide Joseph whom you used for the rest 6 days and there was no change of vehicle you did, The season was very busy and talking on behalf of other tourists from different agencies is giving us a lot of downfall. This because People sell various packages and upon agreement has to a bid with it. Please confirm that you had Joseph as your guide and the car you used was 4* 4 safari van. If you check at the review posted on 8th Sep 2016 by Mr. Lukas, you can write to them since they did safari with same driver guide/ same vehicle.
We are sure 100% that those other travelers whom have used our services/our agency will prove to you right that our guide Joseph is not a Free lance guide sorry for this. It is because you met with lot of travelers whom you shared the experience together and their agencies could not meet clients satisfaction. You had the special request even before coming that you prefer to have one guide for the last 6 days trip which was fulfilled. You were about 7-9 in the car at Masai Mara which actually has daily departures and the rest part Nakuru and Amboseli were 4 persons only. This is something still to be mentioned since group tours do have a lot of challenges. Once you have confirmed the tour at times you get the last minute cancellation and nothing to do rather than making sure that the few clients you have must go on safari as agreed.
You did mentioned to us on the way to Amboseli about the few things on the same trip but for the sure reconfirm to us that your itinerary went smooth as agreed starting on 10th Sep Saturday at 9:00 am and ended on Thursday 15th direct at airport by 2:00pm for your early evening flight same guide Joseph.
If there was not enough information regarding the Flora and Fauna from your guide we shall look on that, very sorry to hear this. At sometimes when the expectations are too high kindly any time let us know about it for us to work extra hard to meet your need. We shall always value you all as our esteemed clients. Our main objective is to meet our people as clients and leave each other as friends for tomorrow business. Thanks for everything you remain great to us.
Kind Ancient Wild Team.