Masai Mara game viewing..
Ewamanns Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Tour Types:
- Budget & mid-range tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $290 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Great safari experience in Kenya and Tanzania
Ten of us from around the world got together in Nairobi for 12 days of mid-range safari experience in Kenya and Tanzania. The whole trip was well organized and we had a great time. Erick was excellent with communication and updates. Erick also made alternate arrangements when we had one of us fall sick. I was skeptical about Ewamanns initially given that there were no tripadvisor reviews but Erick made sure that we were all happy in the end.
In hindsight, I think it would have been good to know about long travel in vans (Ambesoli to Arusha etc.) beforehand which we could have avoided given that we had small children and senior citizens with us. Also, it would have been helpful to set the right expectations about Kenya/ Tanzania (where everything happens at slow pace) & 'pole pole' attitude.
Overall, I will definitely recommend Ewamanns safari to anyone who wants to visit Kenya and Tanzania and I myself won't shy away from calling Erick again when I am ready to climb Kilimanjaro.
CH
Email Mischa Kaufmann | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Greate 12-days budget safari in Kenya and Tanzania
I booked a 12-days budget safari in Kenya and Tanzania with my girlfriend. The trip started and ended in Nairobi. Erick and his team was well taking care of us.
The driver picked us up at the Nairobi airport and drove us to the Decasa Hotel which Erick reserved for us. We met Erick there and discussed our trip in details.
The payment had to be done partly up fron in cash which as a bit difficult but we agreed to transfer the rest by bank.
The next day we met the rest of the group in the Nairobi city center and we started our trip to Masai Mara. The driver was our main contact person during the whole trip. If we needed something they have taken care of it. We slept in basic hotels or tented camps. In Tanzania we were sleeping 2 nights in a tent and a sleeping bag. Price quality is good.
The organisation was smooth and we enjoyed very much the trip. I would book again. Thank you Erick!
US
Email Bea | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Subcontracted safaris were great, transfers between them were not
We went on a 9-day safari that included Masai Mara, Lake Manyara, Seregeti, and Ngorogoro Crater. Each of the parks were very enjoyable and we saw a ton of animals, including all of the Big 5. However, all of our transfers between the parts of the safari were very stressful.
When we flew into Nairobi, there was apparently a driver waiting to take us to our hotel, but we were not told to expect a driver nor did we see anyone at the airport that seemed to be looking for us, so we took a cab to our hotel. When we got back from the Masai Mara leg of our trip we were staying at the same hotel for a night, but the hotel had to call Erick, the safari manager, to verify that we actually had a reservation because it didn't seem to be on the books. We then had no idea when we were going to be picked up in the morning to go on the next part of the safari. It turned out Erick was coming to the hotel to talk to us later that night, but we were not told to expect that. He told us he would be picking us up in the morning to take us to our bus to Arusha, but in the morning he did not show up, so we had to call him, and then eventually someone else showed up to take us where we needed to go. Once our bus got to Arusha, there was a crowd of safari bookers and cab drivers waiting to take the bus passengers where they needed to go. All the other passengers either knew where they were going, or a safari booker came on the bus and knew the passenger's name and where they were going. We were left on the bus with no idea where we were going and no idea if anyone was supposed to be picking us up, and then we were asked for our bus ticket, which we didn't have. We luckily had Erick's phone number from calling him that morning, but our phone's didn't work in Tanzania so we had to have someone else call him. Erick told them the safari company that was supposed to be picking us up, but they didn't answer their phone when called. We almost took a cab (that we would have had to pay for) to that safari company's office, but luckily the people who were supposed to pick us up arrived right as we were leaving and caught us. We had a similar experience when arriving back in Arusha at the end of our trip, and we had to have the hotel call the Tanzanian sub-contracted safari company (which we luckily remembered the name of) to verify that we had a pre-paid room, and then again in the morning to verify they were actually coming to pick us up. When we got back to the bus, we were again asked for a bus ticket we didn't have, and we again had to have them call someone to verify that we had a prepaid bus trip back to Nairobi.
A lot of this stress could have been avoided by giving us a detailed itinerary with all the information about the sub-contracted safaris, pick up times, and contact info for a person at each transfer.
To top it all off, before we even left our home country, Erick contacted us to inform us of some increased park entry fees, letting us know we should bring a little extra money to cover them. We did so, but when we settled our balance on arrival, the balance did not include these increased park fees. Then, on our second night in Nairobi (between the Masai Mara and Tanzania parts of the safari), Erick gave us a long explanation about how he sets the safari prices for the whole safari season even though Tanzania often increases their fees in the middle of the season. He told us that he does not force his clients to pay the increased fees since they agreed to a lower price, but that he tells his clients about the increased fees in the hope that, if they have a good time, they choose to pay the price increase. This made it sound as though he wanted us to think of a the increased fees as a tip that he should receive if he did a good job. Because of this long-winded explanation, I chose to see how the rest of the trip went before deciding whether to pay the fees, and since we had to convince people at every leg of the trip that we were pre-paid and have them call various people to make sure, the trip didn't seem like it deserved an extra tip. However, once we arrived back in our home country, we received numerous communications from Erick asking us for the money for the park fees. All of this felt pretty slimy to say the least. The ridiculous part is, if he had just included the park fees in the balance when we settled up at the beginning of our trip, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. Instead he had to make it seem like he was demanding a large tip for a very sub-par job.
HK
Email Matthew | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Erick Muli Ngala is a LIAR! Ewamanns Safaris is a SCAM!
I participated in a 12-day Tanzania and Kenya Safari with Ewamanns Safaris (US$1250) with the Tanzania part operated by its partner Sandland Tours & Safaris. The trip was extremely memorable not because it was greatly arranged but because we witnessed how the Director of Ewamanns Safaris, Erick Muli Ngala, could make so many lies, excuses, blackmail, threats and intimidation during the trip, which were even more exciting, hilarious and eye-opening than watching animal migration. If you scroll down, you would see that I previously gave Ewamanns Safaris a five-star review for the booking process because Erick seemed to try his very best to satisfy our budget and understand our preference. Everything, including his attitude changed after payment immediately. I am here to summarise how Erick has mistreated us during the 12 days. It is a very long list but I am trying my very best to provide as many details as possible.
(1) A few days before we depart for Nairobi we confirmed with Erick on our arrival details, including flight number and terminal. Erick said that he did not know his schedule yet as he might be in Arusha instead of Nairobi on our arrival date but he would notify me the pickup details one day before our arrival. We did not receive any updates from him so we emailed him again. He assured us that he would arrange the pickup accordingly. When we arrived Nairobi airport, no one picked us up. I had to buy a phone card to call but Erick’s phone was off. Finally we were picked up 3 hours later, that means we stood in the arrival area of Nairobi Airpot for 3 hours! Some drivers of other companies were kind enough to help us make calls or find someone who might know Erick but no one knew him. Even more hilarious, we have missed the shuttle from Nairobi to Arusha and they sent a car to drive us to chase the original shuttle. We were very scared, worried and frightened during the wait and the whole ride. Erick told us he could not answer our call because his phone had no battery due to power shortage. Even if this was true, he could have used other’s phone to contact us. This was his responsibility! I have also confirmed with other drivers that no such power shortage problem has occurred. Erick then said that he has indeed messaged my friend who was already in Nairobi that I should wait in the airport for 3 hours, thinking that my friend would have notified me about the wait. How could my friend notify me when I was already on the plane?
(2) When we arrived Arusha we finally saw Erick. We were forced to change from 2 days in Serengeti to 1 day in Lake Manyara and 1 day in Serengeti. Clearly this was for saving costs. We wanted to insist on doing 2 days in Serengeti but Erick said there were no other options. Why could Eruck suddenly change something that we have mutually agreed?
(3) Be careful that every itinerary Erick sends to you can be misrepresentation. Our itinerary clearly stated that there would be one evening plus one morning game drive in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and visit to Olduvai Gorge Museum. We did not do any of these and was already back to the campsite at 3pm, with nothing to do till 8pm for dinner. We complained to Sandland Tours and they said it was Erick’s problem in not updating the itinerary. We complained to Erick and Erick said it was Sandland’s fault as Tanzania’s people always lie. He said that he has changed operators in Tanzania for 3 times already and none was good. He said he would not cooperate with Sandland Tours anymore.
(4) On the day when we should depart from Arusha back to Kenya side, Erick told us that we would be picked up at 7:00-7:30am. We were finally picked up at 10:30am by a taxi to Sandland’s office, then were transferred by a taxi to a local bus station, then were sent onto an overloading cramped van heading for the border. Sandland said it was Erick’ fault and Erick said that Sandland has forgotten to pick us up. During the wait, we were very worried as we could not contact Erick. Fortunately, the staff at Zawadi House Lodge in Arusha were kind enough to make calls for us. After we passed through immigration on our own, we again did not see Erick and the driver. A driver from another safari company was kind enough to call Erick for us and Erick said he should arrive in 30 minutes. He again blamed the shuttle for not contacting him about our arrival time. We finally waited for another 2 hours. He stretched his arms, laughed and pretended he was innocent when we met. Later on, we heard from Paul the driver that he has indeed arrived at the office in the early morning ready to drive to the border to pick us up but it was Erick who delayed everything in the office. Moreover, Paul told us that when we called Erick it was impossible to arrive in 30 minutes and Erick lied.
(5) Erick told us that it would take at least 13 hours to drive from Namanga border to Amboseli National Park when it should indeed take only 2 hours at most. He lied to us that the roads there were bad. We asked the driver of another company and he told us that the road has always been good for that part and Erick was just trying to save a day of park entrance and game drive fee.
(6) This is the highlight: on the last day a dinner at Carnivore Restaurant should be included. Erick said, “We need to make new agreement. We cannot include Carnivore Restaurant and your airport transfer tomorrow because I have no money left. All my money is finished. So what do you want to do? You want to sell me? You can write me bad reviews but I have no money. It is time for you to help me as I have helped you guys enough.” Finally we bargained and got the Carnivore dinner as originally agreed, but we reluctantly had to pay our transportation to the airport.
(7) There are many other problems that I cannot even list them all here - we paid for 5 day park entrance fee but we only went into the parks for 4 days so he saved 1 day park fee (US$80) for himself; for the full-day game drive in Masai Mara, we finished at 3:30pm with nothing to do afterwards; Erick did not pay drivers for sufficient water and we had no water on the last day; etc.
Yes, it is clear that Ewamanns Safaris offers the cheapest price. For US$1250 only, I got exposed to not only animals, but the dark side of human nature. If you still want an adventure with Ewamanns Safaris, be prepared: (i) Nothing will be on time; (ii) Don’t care about contractual agreements; (iii) You would not understand Erick’s English in email; (iv) You don’t need a watch. Your concept of time and Erick’s concept of time should be very different.
Reply from Ewamanns Safaris
Posted on Aug 29, 2016Hello Matthew.,
I wonder what I lied you.!?First of all you were selfish and anytime i tried to explained to you,you didn't listen to me.Second nothing I failed to offer you as we agreed.
Please read all reviews clients have made for me,do you mean I lied them all and if so why only you with a problem after helping you doing a tight budget.!?
Read also below your first review and hope will proof your wrong.
Wish you all the best.
US
Email Thomas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic safari
Erick was an amazing operator. His drivers were very professional and got us the best looks at the animals as possible. Erick picked me up from the airport himself. The camps had everything we needed and the value I got for the money was second to none. It was so good I plan on using Ewamanns again next year. Rest assured you'll get great value from Ewamanns.
AT
Email Dr. Hannes Paulus (full Prof. in Zoology-Evolutionary Biology) | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
well organized safaris to a moderate price with excellent drivers with a good knowledge of animals
In spite of the late time (end of dry saison) we saw nearly all animals we could exspected. As a professional zoologist (I am Professor in Zoology at the University of Vienna) I had high exspectations. We visited Massai Mara, Naivasha, Nakuru and Amboseli in Kenya, and Tarangiri, Serengeti and Ngorogoro in Tanzania. All accommodations have been good, even the two camp sites in Tanzania. In the Serengeti camp we had visits from 5 lions who looked at the washrooms for water. It was amazing. In total I was pleasantly surpriced from the well organized trips, all hotels and camp sites reserved, all game park entrance prizes includes, taxi transports from Nairobi airport to our hotel and back (even their had been at 2 in the morning !). We had different drivers with a really good knowledge of the parks and their animals. I can highly recommend Ewamannssafaris. You will be satisfied in all points of importance.
AT
Email Urte und Maria | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
From the first moment on we have felt like family
My daughter organized our trip. And from her I know, that the communication before hand with Erick was excellent. He was there for any questions and guidance.
From the moment we arrived we were in good hands. And this kept during the hole low budget 12-day trip (Kenya and Tanzania). The game view was fantastic. We had so much luck with our guides ("Animal" in Kenya and Essau in Tanzania). We saw soooo many amazing things, not only the animal (Big five of course too) but also a cheetah hunting a Thomson gazelle and a crocodile catching a zebra. Since we were well prepared, we know that it could be really cold not only in the car watching the animals in the morning but also at night (especially at the top of the Ngorongoro crater in 2300 m). The temperature changed during the day from 28° to next to zero° Celsius). We had our own sleeping bag with us, a small towel for the camping sides in Tanzania, winter clothes and always enough toilet paper in our trouser pockets. We also had some spare water with us. For the tour everyone got 1 litre in Kenya and 1.5 litre in Tanzania per day. In the camps and in the hotel you could drink a lovely bear at night to refill your electrolytes. And we really loved the popcorn for dinner in Tanzania! Our accommodation were home stay (self organized in Nairobi), hotels, tents with included bathroom and tents with extern washrooms at the public camping sides in Tanzania. The tents were much larger than we expected and very comfortably. And so were the hotels. The food was also good and always, especially at night, far too much. For the next time we learned to protect ourselves in a better way against the dust. We would using a dusk mask rather than just using a scarf. For us the hole trip was an unforgettable experience and for this we want to thank Erick and his team very much. We hope to see him in the next future again. For all the wildlife friends out there we can highly recommend Erick and Ewamanns Safari.
EG
Email Amy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very accomodating
Wonderful experience with Ewamanns. We needed to change plans last minute and they were so accommodating. Communication was quick in response and comprehensive. The whole operation was very slick. I would recommend them for their flexibility and attention. The safari itself was such an amazing experience. I would definitely use Ewamann as a safari operator again.
CA
Email BruceF | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a Great Time
Me and my 2 travelling companions had a Great Trip/Adventure. Sure there was a minor change to our itinerary in Tanzania, but it turned out to be for the better. And we also had a bit of a mix up on the return trip transportation... but nothing to get all excited about. Saw the Big 5 and then some. Erick was good and helpful to us. And Erick's team of Ken, Paul and especially our Driver/Guide - Patrick were wonderful.
We did an 11-day trip in Kenya and Tanzania. Stayed in a couple of Hotels, plus large and small Tents. We roughed it a bit as not all the camps were up to par. But it's part of the experience. If you are expecting 3 to 5-star accommodations, you'll be disappointed. So just go with the flow. Food was good all around (especially in Tanzania where we had our own 'cook' with us).
Saw lots of Lions eating fresh kill, Elephants crossing the road right near us. Leopards and Cheetahs, Giraffes, Zebras, etc. Bring a good Zoom lens as you sometimes are a bit distant from the animals. Glad I went and not sure why I didn't do this trip before.
Amazing trip - the guides ensured that we had many memorable experiences.
We booked an 11 day trip through Ewamanns Safaris. Our intinerary in Kenya included the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli in Kenya and in Tanzania - Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Our Kenyan driver Patrick, was excellent. He ensured that we saw the "Big 5" and went out of his way to allow us to experience some very unique animal encounters. He had a text book knowledge of the animals. Communication through Ewamanns Safaris was very good. As we were planning our trip, Erick was very prompt in replying to our emails. Paul met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel where Erick met us the first night. Paul also was a great tour guide as he spent two days touring us around Nairobi (this was not included in our trip price) but was something we had requested. Ken, a very knowledgeable tour guide did an excellent job of taking us on a three hour walking tour of Nairobi. That evening we met with Erick when we discussed expectations for the rest of the trip. Erick arranged our trip to Tanzania through 7 Wonders Safaris. We followed the itinerary closely except for the last few days in Tanzania when the itinerary was changed from 2 days in the Serengeti to 1 day in the Serengenti and Lake Manyara National Park was substituted for the second day. We were fine with this as we saw different ecosystems. Our driver, Victor (from 7 Wonders Safaris) took us to see some beautiful sites in Lake Manyara and while in the Ngorongoro we even saw lions mating! An interesting experience to say the least. The jeep we travelled in was not as comfortable as the van we had used in Kenya. Having our own cook in Tanzania was a nice added touch. Evelyne (7 Wonder Safaris) had a driver pick us up from the Hotel in Arusha and take us to the bus stop where we were to board a trip to Nairobi. The bus driver did not know that our bus trip had been pre-paid. When we gave Eric the receipt for our bus fare, he apologized and promised that he would reimburse this bus fare to us via paypal (I have faith that he will do that).
As we had booked a "low budget" safari we did not expect luxurious accommodations. The hotels were clean and safe. The tenting experience was very basic and often the showers were not hot. I would suggest if you want a little more luxury, then you book a higher level safari (we could have had more comfortable accommodations buy paying more but we could never have had better opportunities to experience the animal sightings we did).
Thank you Ewamanns Safaris for an experience of a lifetime!
We would definitely recommend Ewamanns Safaris and especially enjoyed getting to know our new friends - Erick, Paul, Ken, Robert and Victor and our cook in Tanzania.