Reviews
BH
Email Abesh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review of Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara trip
We had visited lake nakuru and masai mara through Visit Mount Kenya ours and Safaris. We got their contact from our friend who had taken safari through them earlier. I contacted Rufus from the company and he was really helpful in planning our trip and provided his valuable inputs and different options as per our budget. When we reached Kenya he was waiting outside the airport for us ad the car was also heir on the airport. The driver John was also really helpful. He took us to various corners of the parks always with a smile and provided us lots of inputs on wildlife. We were able to spot almost all type of animals including the Big 5. Overall a 5 star for the trip managed by Visit Mount Kenya.
AR
Email laura teran | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
hi ! this is my 3 times with visit mount kenya tours, everything was ok as allways!! thank you very
jambo! we are very happy wirh your services, i did 3 trips in Kenya with (mr. rufus) and everything was ok, even i recomended 3 family friends who came to kenya and use your service, all of them were very happy with you.
thank you very much and see you in my next trip!
Bye !
NL
Email Antonio | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst experience ever ! Total scam.
We met with mr. Rufus in Kenya to discuss our tour and our accommodations. We booked luxury tented camp accommodations during our safari and when we met with Rufus he told us the reservations for these camps were confirmed and we paid him. However on our first day of safari we got dropped off at a different very low budget tent camp which was not the camp he promised us we would stay at. 2 days later we went to a different national park and also there Rufus had arranged a totally different accommodation (less expensive and more basic) than was described in the booking. The last two days we would go to amboselli national park and we were supposed to stay at kibo Safari camp. However on our drive there we asked our driver where we would stay and suprisingly he was told to take us to a very low budget, crappy tented camp. We called Rufus to discuss this problem (again) and he told us we were on a waiting list for kibo camp. We didn't believe him and called Kibo camp ourselves and they told us they had plenty of tents available and they never had been in contact with "visit mount Kenya tours" or someone named Rufus. As Rufus was not answering his phone anymore we told our driver to go to kibo camp. Eventually the driver paid our first overnight there as Rufus was not responding to any calls. However the next day we called Rufus again and he was very aggressive and yelling that we costed him too much money and he wasn't going to pay our last night accommodation (even though we already payed him for a 6 day safari in advance. In the end we had to stay at the kimana amboselli tented camps, the camp Rufus wanted to accommodate us in the first place. This was the worst place I ever stayed. The toilets were disgusting with bugs in them, as was the shower (cold). Furthermore we both got sick from the food, as did others in the camp and our tent was full of holes and the sheets of the bed were full of stains. In short: don't travel with this tour operating company, it's a complete scam !!
Email Meg | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 days safari
I and my boyfriend have just come from a 5 days safari with Visit Mount Kenya Tours and Safari and we had a wonderful time with one of their driver Joseph.In Masai Mara we stayed at Mara Wajee camp which had excellent staff with a big family self-contained tent.In Naivasha, they took us to Fish Eagle Camp which is next to Lake Naivasha where we did a boat ride beside doing a bicycle ride in Hells gate National.In Amboseli we stayed at a camp called Amboseli Kimana camp which also had good self-contained cottages besides having good staffs who are very friendly and informative.I must admit that we really had a very enjoyable safari and i would recommend other visitors to use them and especially Joseph who told us that he has been a tour guide for 18 years.
TR
Email Cem | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disaster !
We went to Amboseli and Masai Mara between 11-18 Septembre with Visit Mount Kenya Tours.
This was a terrible experience especially in Masai Mara as
- The company's minivan broke down on the first day as it was a very old and neglected car. They took us to Safari with a normal car where naturally it was impossible to enjoy savannah . The next day we refused to be in that car and we discussed with the driver and hardly found a land cruiser
- The driver (he told his name is Justus) never came to hotel to pick us up at agreed hours for the morning and afternoon safaris , he was always late 1-2 hours. The hotel management told us later that he was drunk on the first day he took us to the hotel
- Although we bought the tour by agreeing that we will stay in Sopa Lodges, the driver in Masai Mara tried to place us in a different hotel saying that Sopa Lodges is full , we discussed with him, He talked on the phone with company owner/manager Rufus then they accepted to take us to Sopa Lodge which was already what we agreed upon. If we did not object hardly, we would miss the opportunity of staying in a really very good hotel ( Sopa Lodge). The driver told us he would place us in a sister hotel !!?? of Sopa Lodge
- The last day in Masai Mara, the driver did not show up at all, we stayed in the hotel, we missed 2 safaris
- The last day when we were leaving the hotel, the hotel did not let us leave because Rufus (owner/manager of visit mount kenya) did not pay to hotel the money we had paid him a couple of weeks before our visit. so we argued with hotel management and they accepted that it was a problem between them and visit mount Kenya , and we left with another car hotel management found for us. We did not return to Nairobi with that driver of visit mount Kenya.
I wont write everything we experienced but my recommendation is that never use this agency!! We will make our officials complaints too.
US
Email NH | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Total disaster
I have travelled extensively for many years and this has been the worst experience by far. Departure to Amboseli was delayed by 8 hours which I had to spend hanging around in Nairobi because infamous Mr Rufus kept making up incongruous excuses every 10 minutes. Before paying, Mr Rufus categorically confirmed I would not be sleeping in tents. Instead, he said I would be sleeping in a lodge made with "local materials", "like a proper house". The reality was that I had to spend two horrible nights in the filthiest cheapest tent I have ever seen. Mr Rufus did not make arrangements for me to leave Amboseli. After making up loads of stories and delaying the agreed departure time by about two hours, he offered me the option to take a matatu (unsafe public bus) back to Nairobi by myself, which I had no choice but to accept since Amboseli is in the middle of nowhere. Do not trust the positive reviews because I suspect they are fake. Simply do not take the risk of going on a safari with this agency.
NL
Email catharina maria anna gerald | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent service. Very informative guide.
Contrary to what i had read in the review,i found this company to offer good safari with knowledgeable guide.i have just did a 4 days safari with them and their service was excellent and up to my expectations.
NL
Email Peter Doeveren | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trips with Rufus mnt Kenya
During my visits to Kenya i made several tours. The first was a visit to mount kenya departing in Nairobi and included a hike from Nanyuli to Chogoria. We had the luck to reach the top early in the morning and enjoyed a marvelous view. It was a nice trip with a good guide and porter. A great companion with enough knowledge to tell about the nature around. In those days they also organized a trip to thr Masai Mara to see the willife
Some years later we had less luck a beautiful hike through the valley...but snowstorms imade it impssible to reach point Lenanathe last trip was with my daughter to Tsavo am looking back at a wonderful country with a great toirguide. Hope the readers will get the oppurtunity to see what i was able to see.
Email Peter Day | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Visit Mount Kenya Tours always makes our safari trips memorable
I run student trips from the University of Brighton to Kenya every year and have done for the past 10 years. On each visit we conclude our community collaborations wih a safari and I happily employ Visit Mount Kenya Tours every time. I have gotten to know the proprieter, Rufus, very well over this time. He is reliable, honest,helpful and very friendly. As are the people he employs as safari guides. Each year is different but every time the safari amazes me. Rufus and his staff are very knowledgeable and use their knowledge and expertise to communicate with you to make your safari a special and safe udenttrip that will live long in your memory.
Vist Mount Kenya Tours offer great value for money. Because our trips consist of students with very little money we tend to stay in economy campsites but these are clean and comfortable with all the facilities you could want. As long as I run these student trips to Kenya I will happily continue to employ Rufus and his staff to organise our safaris for us. It gives me great pleasure to offer this recommendation.
