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
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Email Patrick Andres | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
The trip was amazing! This was our first Safari and it lived up to all our expectations and more! From seeing the Big 5 to the Wildebeest migration and so much more. A cheetah even visited us in the Serengeti and jumped up on the hood of our drivers Landcruiser. Getting to add on the Gorilla trekking was a big plus and worth the extra travel. The only downside was being caught unprepared for the Visas to enter each of the three countries we visited. The visas took up much of cash that we had brought with us and we were not clear upon what type of visa to purchase on arrival. It was also a shock that the lodges in Tanzania do not accept credit cards at the Lodges. I wish that this information had been passed onto us in a more direct manner but other than these small matters this trip was unforgettable!
A side note, most drivers were there to get tourists pictures but Freddy our driver in Tanzania was so knowledgeable about the wildlife and helped educate us on all the wildlife.
Also, be aware that game drives in Kenya take place in two types of vehicles on rough roads. A Toyota van and a Toyota Landcruiser. The Landcruiser is much more comfortable for passengers on the roads but it also costs more. Since the roads are so bad, I believe that all tourists should get the Landcruiser.
CA
Email Loretta | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip of a lifetime from start to finish!
Our initial correspondence with Levis and the subsequent planning and fine tuning of our vacation went so smoothly; we were able to include many different places and activities and our trip was built just for us. Levis was available for all of our questions and responded promptly each time. Thank you! We had a variety of accommodations in both Kenya and Tanzania and each one had its own charm. The staff at every lodge, inn or tented camp were superb - the rooms were very comfortable and the meals always very good. The main attraction of course were the amazing safaris we experienced in Kenya and Tanzania. We had the best driver/guides around - Charles in Kenya and Amani in Tanzania. Both are so knowledgeable and freely shared so many facts about the wildlife, birdlife, plant life that surrounded us. We could not believe that each day was better than the last. These two men did their best to give us the ultimate trip and we most certainly had it. We always felt safe and looked after in both countries. We saw the Big 5, and twice saw rhinos and leopards! How incredible is that? We even saw zebras and wildebeest migrating over the Mara River. My description of our 13 days is "mindblowing". Thank you so much, Hallmark for a trip of a lifetime!
CA
Email Patricia Byrnes | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hallmark gave us a "Trip of a Lifetime" experience.
Right from day one, the pick up at the airport in Nairobi, our Hallmark experience was incredible. Levis had planned an amazing tour for us of Kenya and Tanzania, hitting all the spectacular "must see" national parks of these two countries. This was, without a doubt, our trip of a lifetime, it exceeded our expectations in every way. Our two drivers, Charles in Kenya, and Amani, in Tanzania were incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, polite and made our trip the most unbelievable adventure of our lives. They were so attentive, patient, and willing to please our every whim and desire, stopping whenever we asked for that "yet another" spectacular picture of one of so many beautiful animals, always educating us on facts about the animals. Our accommodations were amazing, from high end to more adventurous, (but comfortable) tents, sharing the open spaces with the animals. We always felt safe, protected and very cared for by everyone, lovely people wherever we stayed. I would highly recommend Hallmark Travel Planners, (and I already have), to our friends and family and anyone else wishing to travel to East Africa. I hope that I can return in a few years and have Levis book my next adventure. Kenya and Tanzania have left a mark on my heart, and now I hope to see a little more of Africa in the coming years.
Thank you Levis, Charles, Amani and Hallmark!
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Email Julie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Pain and worry free booking experience with exemplary customer service.
We booked our safari with Levis at Hallmark Travel Planners. We ended up with a 16 day safari in Kenya and Rwanda. Over the course of a year, Levis politely and quickly answered all of our questions (I think I emailed him around 60 times!!). He was always courteous and professional. He ensured that our requests for what we wanted out of our safari were met. Our accommodations and experiences were superb as was our private tour guide in Kenya, Anthony. The Gorilla trek in Rwanda was an amazing experience- I highly recommend adding this to your trip if you can spare 2 or 3 days.
I cannot say enough about how incredible our safari was and I am sure it had a lot to do with Levis experience and commitment to his customers.
Thank you Levis!!
DE
Email Ingrid Koester | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Informative and pleasant day-trip around Nairobi
After a conference, I had 1 free day to spend in Nairobi. Hallmark Travel Planners made several suggestions of which I chose the National Park, Giraffe Center and the house of Karen Blixen. The driver/guide Josphat was punctual and friendly and very knowledgable about the animals to see in the Park, their habits and behaviour. We had ample time in the Park and still enough for the other attractions, so the tour was well planned. It was an excellent experience.
Email Scott & Amanda | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Well Organised amazing experience of a lifetime!!
First of all I would like to thank Levis for his time and efforts in organising and amazing trip. Everything was done via email but Levis made it all very simple, with quick responses. He customised a tour to suit our needs, dates and what we wanted to see.
We visited 3 countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda over 16 days. We managed to see the big 5 several times over. In total we saw over 100 Lions, 8 Cheetahs, 2 Leopards, 4 Rhinos, a Family of 30 Mountain Gorilla's, and countless other magnificent animals and wildlife.
Our guides in All 3 countries were amazing, friendly and very knowledgeable, especially our guide Fred (who was a standout) we had during our time in Tanzania. The accommodation we had, from the tented camps to the lodges were all very good and of a high standard.
We highly recommend Hallmark Travel Planners and would definitely use again.
CA
Email Marah Stubbert | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Levis is professional, accommodating, and wonderful to work with!
Our trip with Hallmark was absolutely incredible! A friend and I met in Africa for a 10 day tour - Amboseli, Masai Mara and Gorilla trek in Uganda. It was my first tip to Africa, and I was a little concerned because I could only find reviews for Hallmark Travel Planners on the Safaribooking site, nothing on tripadvisor or google reviews, but our trip was incredible and Levis was wonderful to work with. He was very patient and considerate as I explored many options for my itinerary and everything ran smoothly when we arrived. We had one night of heavy rain at Masai Mara that made a road impassible for a few hours. This caused us to miss our flight to Rwanda, but Levis rearranged our flight and hotel immediately and was able to do that without any extra cost, we really appreciated his quick problem solving and communication with our driver. Our guide, Anthony was awesome! He was very knowledgeable about the animals and he worked hard to make sure we had some wonderful experiences in the parks. His English is excellent and so is his sense of humour! We really enjoyed spending the days with him and he gave us lots of space to enjoy our evenings and meals on our own. I would highly recommend Hallmark.
Email Michele | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Answered emails promptly and helped ease any banking glitches.
Right from being picked up at the airport in Nairobi until we were returned there at safari's end we were more than happy with the experience. Our driver guides were very good and went out of their way to show us their animals. Food and accommodation in the safari camps was of a very high order, with the one at Lake Manyara outstanding in every respect.
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Email Mark | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful safari, great guides, smooth logistics
The responsiveness and attention to detail during the initial planning over email was representative of our experience to come in Africa. Great service, great people, and very organized. Very professional. Highly recommended.
We travelled on a 17 day safari through Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. We were met at the airport in Kenya and taken care of from the beginning. Guides were fun and freindly and spoke English well. In travelling to a new destination every day or two, and navigating through various parks and flights to different countries we always were properly escorted to ensure we arrived were we needed to be. The individual guides catered to our day to day needs and amended our itinerary and schedules to accommodate us.
Levis was patient to answer all of my numerous questions during the planning process and I was pleased to awake every morning is the US to his email to my latest question as he was diligent to respond quickly the same day.
I was a bit nervous to wire funds ahead of time as I wasn't able to find much on Hallmark online, but everything went as well as I could have hoped.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our expectations in every way
Everyone we dealt with conducted themselves in a professional, courteous and helpful manner. They were very helpful in providing a first quote and then adjusting it until we had fine tuned it exactly to our liking. All of the accommodations were excellent. Anthony was our tour guide in Kenya and he was very good. Paul was our tour guide in Tanzania and he was something special. We could tell that he was one of the most experienced guides in Tanzania because many of the other tour guides were consulting with him and he was treated him with a great deal of respect everywhere we went. Both of our guides had excellent knowledge of how to be at the right place at the right time to have the best experiences. We were able to photograph and take videos of many scenes that would be worthy of a TV documentary (We have put together a 45 min slide show and video presentation and we have had amazing reviews from our family and friends. We have seen the presentation many times and never get tired of reliving these experiences of a life time).
Hallmark gets top marks and we would not hesitate in recommending them for your safari.