Hallmark Travel Planners
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- ASTA & KATO
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting
Very committed and organize. I would change only the packed food.
Email Mike B | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good reliable service
I had limited time available at the end of a business trip to Kenya, and enquired about my specific requirements from several tour operators.
Hallmark replied promptly, with a reasonable quote, then again responded quickly to a couple of additional queries.
The day before my 3-night stay at Masai Mara, I did have to telephone, to check that everything was arranged for pick-up the next morning. (A courtesy call to my hotel would've been appreciated.)
That aside, all other arrangements worked very well, with the same driver picking me up from Wilson Airport, taking me to hotel to collect large suitcase, then to international airport for departure - at no additional charge.
US
Email Becky | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4.5 star - Great safari holiday with only minor hiccups
We really enjoyed working with Levis to plan our safari holiday. He is super responsive and flexible. We planned an itinerary in Feb for end of May travel, but my father got sick and we had to delay the trip. Levis was very supportive and flexible in helping us to replan the trip for an August travel within a very short period of time. He also helped to reduce the cancellation penalties as much as the policies allow.
The hotels and guides of the trip were quite good with only minor hiccups, which is completely normal in a 5 country long trip (3 weeks). Levis has been actively working with us to address them as they came up.
Looking back I wish we should have communicated our goals better to Levis and our guides early on (eg see all Big 5 in game drives). Hope this helps other users in their planning.
Overall it's a great experience, thanks to the Hallmark team.
AT
Email Franz | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
very good experience 3 days Masai Mara
We ( 3 pax) booked a 3 days Safari to Masai Mara from Kisumu. Organisation was flawless with very quick responses to inquieries and in finding solutions. Everything went smoothly and was well organized. The driver/tourguide Lukas was an excellent driver and we never felt insecure even in crowded traffic. In the park he had an excellent knowledge of wildlife. He was also very interested in showing us as much as possible. The safari vehicle provided was the only thing which was not to our full satisfaction. For the safari it was fine, as it was an old but very robust 4WD bus with a push up roof and a very hard suspension. Which was the big disadvantage for the 6.5 hours road trip to and from the park. It would be wise to consider providing a better transport - including one with a fuctioning air condition - for the long distance drive and swich to the safari van only for its purpose. In total we had a nice experience, saw a lot of animals - of course the agency cannot be credited for that - but it must be credited for the very good organisation and the selection of the excellent driver-guide.
DK
Email Claus | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything just went very well. Perfect trip
Communication good and quick response
The driver always came on time - the game drives were just perfect and the driver was eager to show as much as possible. The accommodation was perfect except that the staff was "too eager" to make our stay at Ashnil perfect.
US
Email Michelle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy and responsible booking company
Communications were efficient and excellent. We always received very speedy replies and confirmation of any further information we sent. Regarding our service, I think we got a little spoiled by our last international tour company who handled all of our Visa requirements before our arrival. With Hallmark, however, we had to handle them all on our own. My ideal set up would have been for our itinerary to include the Visa requirements, types of Visa needed (single journey vs. multiple journey in Kenya), and prices that would let us know the amount of USD we would require. We had brought cash for tips and more than 60% of that cash was quickly used in Visas. We appreciated that our guides took us to ATMs in each country to help us bridge our spending, but it was a general point of concern and stress. Additionally, we had counted on being able to use credit cards at the hotels. We wish we had been informed ahead of time that credit cards were not accepted in Tanzania- requiring more cash. After spending so much on our trip, we just felt like there were too many pricey unexpected expenditures and we could have been better prepared by Hallmark. Our guides were good- some are just drivers but we had two guys who acted more like guides and were knowledgeable about the animals. Many of the roads (even main highways and thoroughfares) are not paved, especially in Tanzania. We were much more comfortable in the Land Cruisers than in the Toyota vans, but apparently the land cruisers are more expensive. Most of our lodging was as expected, except for the AA Lodge that was not as nice as we had hoped. However, it was near the Amboseli park and the animals were worth it.
As for our safaris, we feel so blessed to see everything we wanted, including the Top 5 and the Wildebeests migration. We could not have asked for a better safari!
My only other small complaint was being treated to a local restaurant that did not cater to tourists- although we appreciated the attempt to seek a local experience, within 24hours, both my husband and I were ill and required using our emergency antibiotics to recover. That was a bit of a damper on our vacation and honeymoon!