AMS Directors and Tour Guides
Amazing Memories Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, KATO, AMREF & Eco Tourism
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Vivian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly a safari filled with amazing memories! :)
We booked with Anne and the Amazing Memories Safaris team for our Kenya honeymoon in June 2017 for a group of 4 (joined by my sister and her spouse). As their name says, it was the most amazing experience we've ever had! Our driver and guide for most of the trip was Joseph, who was so friendly and fun and extremely knowledgeable. If we ever go back (which we want to do!) we want him to be our guide again for sure! We also had a special interest in birds and he knew and showed us so much.
Anne was prompt, professional, and very lovely to correspond with from the very beginning. She helped to tailor our experience to exactly the way we wanted it (we had a shorter time frame then the suggested itinerary and also wanted to make sure we had some beach time at the end). We had looked at 5 different companies through safaribookings.com in total, narrowed it down to 2, and ended up going with Anne due both to our interactions with her and the best quote we received.
We had some troubles getting our money wire through when making our initial deposit (this was not their fault at all, more so on our bank's end), but she stayed calm and was on top of it and everything worked out in the end.
Meet and greet went smoothly. The Eka hotel in Nairobi that we stayed in the first night was excellent - we appreciated the honeymoon touches (a bottle of wine, and flower petals everywhere!) they added. We had time our first day there, and ate lunch at the Carnivore buffet (not recommended to do after a long flight... none of us were able to eat much, and to be honest, other than the novelty of trying ostrich and crocodile, the rest of the meats were similar to steakhouses we have at home in Canada). We then visited the giraffe centre - highly recommended! - you get to feed the giraffes, learn more about them, and see them up close. Finally, we visited the David Sheldrick elephant orphanage in the evening (to do this, you must foster an elephant), which was lovely. They tell you about the amazing work that they do, and then you get to visit each of the baby elephants while they're feeding, a giraffe, and their one resident rhino Maxwell.
In Maasai Mara, we chose to stay (through a friend's recommendation) at the Little Governor's Camp for two nights, which was a bit more expensive than the lodge Anne had suggested, but totally worth it. Beautiful spot, excellent food, and very friendly staff. The security guards walk you to your tent at night and we felt very safe. We opted for the hot air balloon ride which again was more expensive but worth it! Absolutely breathtaking to ride over the river at sunrise. They take you for breakfast in the fields which was good and so fun - the crepes were amazing. The game drive back with our driver Jeffrey was also excellent. Our other game drives at the camp were with Moses who took us to see lots. The only animal we missed seeing was the leopard. We saw lions, wildebeest, buffalo, elephants, zebras, baboons, giraffes, different antelope, and 1 black rhino from afar. We did not see much of the wildebeest migration given the time of year we visited.
We then had a 7 hour drive to Lake Nakuru and stayed at the Sarova lodge. Loved this lodge. Good food, and a fantastic guitarist who plays at your table at dinner. The cultural dances in the evening were enjoyable. We were only here for one night. We were hoping to see lots of flamingos, and while we did see some they were quite far away. We did see 3 white rhinos here which was quite nice. In restrospect, given we only had 1 night and enjoyed the other two reserves more, we would have skipped Lake Nakuru given how long the drive was in between, and stayed an extra night in Maasai Mara.
After that, we had a 7 hour drive to Amboseli, at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was so interesting to see the different landscapes at each reserve. Amboseli has lots of swamps, so very different mix of wildlife. We saw lots of elephants, vultures drying their wings out, hyenas feeding, lions feeding, a good number of lions, cheetahs from afar, zebra, wildebeest, different antelope, giraffes, and lots of monkeys (many around the lodge!). We stayed at the Serena lodge which was also quite nice. Food was decent, a bit less selection then the other places we stayed at (but still plenty). The crepes the make are amazing!
Finally, due to traffic, it was a 9 hour drive to Mombasa. We stayed at the Serena resort. When we got there we did not have ocean front rooms as we had requested. The lady at the front desk was able to change this for us and we waited over an hour for them to get the rooms ready. It did turn out in the end that Anne had booked the standard rooms, but it worked out. Unfortunately, we did not actually spend time on the beach itself - there were not many people swimming, there was lots of seaweed close to the shore, and many people trying to sell items / outings that interfered with our experience. It was otherwise beautiful to look at. We did spend time at the pool and enjoyed our pizza lunch there. We also went for wonderful massages at the spa and played table tennis. However, since we were unable to actually have beach time, I would not return here. Instead, I would have done more days of safari, and simply utilized the pools available at each of the lodges.
In terms of weather/clothing: Weather was mostly warm in June (their winter - equivalent to Canada's summer in June!), with 1 day with some mild rainfall, and somewhat cooler in the mornings so thin long pants at that time were helpful (however, you could still wear shorts and be very comfortable). Found myself wearing long sleeved shirts mostly to cover up from the sun and dust (it's very dusty on game drives!). Also be aware that some of the roads are quite poor and bumpy.
Also to note - at souvenir shops (stopped by for bathroom breaks during long drives), be prepared to bargain! We actually ended up paying more at the first shop on our way to Maasai Mara from Nairobi at the lookout point for stone animals than we did at the hotel lodges gift shops, which was a bummer (this was despite bargaining down as hard as we could).
Not related to this review so much, but I thought I would mention - we flew with Ethiopian Airlines from Canada, and while the trip there went smoothly, the trip back was hectic and poor. The attendants on the airline overall were fine, the food was not great but they do attempt to feed you a lot which we appreciated. On our way back, because we were stopping to Addis Ababa and then had a very short layover in London, we wanted to get our boarding passes in advance in Nairobi. When in Nairobi, the airline rep who was supposed to check us in was very rude (he was upset that all 4 of us who were traveling together were checking in together - not sure how it could have been faster if we split up? He kept smirking at us and continually mentioning it). He told us that he was unable to give us boarding passes for the layover in London, but that he checked us in. When we got to Addis Ababa, they were only able to print out 3 of 4 boarding passes for us. It was such mayhem at that airport - one customer service rep for a LOT of people - people kept budding in trying to get help, and the lady was clearly overworked. They also clearly did not have enough people covering the security check and also had several flights delayed and then chaos trying to get people on to their planes. It was an experience, and we will definitely not be traveling anywhere that requires us to stop over here again. When we got to London, there was a lot of running involved and when we found out we in fact had NOT been checked in by the rude rep in Nairobi. Luckily - it all worked out - almost missed our flight but did not, and got home safe with Air Canada.
In summary: Anne, Joseph, and Amazing Memories Safaris was truly amazing all the way through and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience. We hope to book with you again in the future!
IN
Email Satish | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, Indeed!
Right from day 1, back in January, when we started getting quotes from various tour operators, Anne was very professional. This being our first trip to Kenya, she was responsive to loads of curious questions that I had and she patiently answered them. While we were negotiating for the best price (? ) , she impressed me with the approach and I decided to go with Amazing Memories Safari though I had lesser price from others. I truly appreciate her efforts in organizing a fantastic trip. She and her team were kind enough to pick us up from the airport, in spite of a delayed arrival late in the evening the last week of June.
Since we had kids traveling with us, I had requested an itinerary that was spread over 8 days/7 nights. This ensured that we wouldn’t have to deal with rushing from one park to another and avoid long journeys. We visited Samburu, Sweetwaters, Lake Nakuru & finally the ultimate Mara triangle. The rooms were carefully chosen to accommodate the 4 of us including extra bed. The beauty of all these stays was that the tents/room were right in the middle of the park that gave us the advantage to (i) spot animals closeby & (ii) saved time to start our game drives at convenience. Separate request was made for vegetarian food. This was taken care of to the minute detail and we felt at home, with Indian Cuisine at every restaurant we visited and for every meal.
Special word of mention to our guide & new friend Daniel. He was very friendly, soft spoken and quickly adapted to our expectations. He was very experienced in spotting animals & feathered species alike. One of the biggest advantage was the operators being connected via radio to pass on message of games being spotted. This helped us to get to the location quickly and enjoy the moment. On one occasion, Daniel drove almost 70km past the Mara bridge to spot a Cheetah, which was on top of my list, resting behind a bush. He was persistent in his quest to spot the cat despite his peers advising him against. A similar incident while spotting a leopard, that helped us complete viewing the Big Five in first 2 days. Being an avid naturalist, he provided information on all animals based on different locations across Kenya.
I strongly recommend Amazing Memories Safaris to anyone looking for a good tour operator in the Kenya region. The staff is very thorough in their job, professional in handling their commitments and will go the extra mile to bring cheers to their customers. In my case, the kids were ecstatic on their surprise dream vacation. My family and I felt confident we were in safe hands. Please feel free to email me for any specific questions/information on our experience.
AE
Email Deirdre | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience!!
A safari has always been top of my list to do, and this company gave me the best I could have ever imagined!! From contacting directly with Anne via email, sorting out the details etc, to spending 4 days with Joseph, our driver and guide! Everything was incredible. We seen every animal we could've hoped to see, and even seen a stand off between lions and hyenas! It was amazing! Joseph was brilliant from start to finish, he searched for all the animals and always gave us so much interesting information about the animals and the parks! Anyone thinking of doing a safari, I couldn't recommend this company anymore!!
US
Email Sesi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly Amazing...
If you are looking for a good, affordable, private vacation with a luxury touch, you may not find a better choice.
Good communication, honest policies and value for your money. Quite a few times, those are sufficient for a worry-free vacation. Add to it what folks at Amazing Memories do - Management that takes the time to custom fit your experiences and Drivers that seem to really enjoy and care about their work - and you have all the ingredients for a super vacation.
True to their name, these folks gave us some truly amazing memories. Thank you.
One more thing, I want to give a special shout out to our driver - Danial.
He was a pleasant surprise. Intelligent, knowledgeable, informative, curious, caring and kind to the kids - perfect combination for us. We learned a lot from him about life, people and politics in Kenya.
Advise to management:
Please provide itineraries that can accommodate flight choices - at least for some segments of the journey. Infrastructure in Kenya is not to a point where road journey is feasible for all folks.
US
Email Laurena | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Memories Safaris Provides an Outstanding Trip
Traveling to Kenya is not new to me. This trip in March 2017 was my 7th visit. When trying a new trip operator, I have typically put them under the microscope. For the last 3 trips, I traveled with All Seasons Safaris. My first trip went well so I traveled with them the next 2 trips. All went well with only a couple of minor issues revolving around the mPesa system. More recently, a couple of clients I had referred (which I have always followed up with) had more significant issues. Based on those issues, I decided to get quotes from other operators.
I requested a quote from Amazing Memories Safaris. From my initial contact, Anne was extremely helpful and communicated professionally. For this trip, a slightly shorter one, I decided to go to only 2 different camps but stay 4 nights in each. The most significant change was that instead of traveling in a van with the same driver/guide throughout the whole trip, I opted to fly to locations. This was a big challenge to me because of the total weight restriction of 15 KG (33 lbs total for all luggage). My camera gear weighs almost half of that allowance. Anne assured me that I could do it, but also offered to store anything I wished to leave in Nairobi with her to decrease weight to the bush. Excellent. The challenge was on.
Originally I was thinking I’d travel in June but the international flights were a lot higher in price. By traveling in March, the low season, I took advantage of the lower air fares, as well as one camp (Offbeat Mara) offered a special, pay for 3 nights, stay 4. The other camp (Laikipia Wilderness Camp) had low season rates. And the best part, both camps did not have a single supplement which is good because I travel solo.
On my initial arrival into the Nairobi airport, although the plane was on time, clearing immigration (with my eVisa in hand) took 1 hour plus 20 minutes. I was one of the first persons to exit the plane but due to some sloppy handling of the lines, one of the last to clear their check point. Luckily my bag was still there waiting for me. I was never so happy to see my tour operators waiting for me. It was a very late night for them as we didn't arrive at Southern Sun Mayfair until 12:30am.
Even though I had been to Kenya 6 times, I had many questions for Anne, especially those that involved the air travel portion on the domestic flights. I was unaware that during the low seasons, often the small planes either don’t fly or if they have only 1 passenger, that person has to purchase a 2nd seat (the policy on Safarilink). Now I’m all for feeling like you have your own plane, but I didn’t want to have to book an extra seat. Anne said she could find a solution. What she was able to do, was to have me fly to Nanyuki and then instead of flying directly to the Mara (where I was the only passenger), she had me fly back to Wilson and then fly from there back out to the Mara. That solved purchasing the extra seat. She also said someone from the company would come to Wilson on that day I had to make the transfer to another domestic airline to help me with my luggage so I wouldn't have to carry it and strain my back. I was impressed. As it turned out, there must have been a change on flight passengers because I was the only person on the flight from Nanyuki back to Wilson but Anne said they would take care of the charge.
A big concern I had during this trip had to do with the disputes going on between the cattle herdsman and the ranch owners in the Laikipia area. I was extremely nervous not knowing what was happening on the ground. Anne stayed in continuous contact with Annabelle from Laikipia Wilderness Camp as to the situation and said there were no problems there and there were currently guests at the camp. This reassurance from Anne went a long way to making me feel more comfortable (as well as my husband at home who was very concerned).
Anne also communicated well to the camps about my preference to have a larger bed as well as my dietary requests. On arrival to the camps, they verified this information.
Upon arrival at Wilson (coming back from Laikipia) Anne and company co-owner Joseh met me at Safarilink to assist me with my bags to SAX airline. Since there was some time between flights, we had the opportunity to talk more. They wanted to know all about my experiences so far and was there anything they needed to correct. No, all was perfect. They waited until my flight was called to make sure I was off on the next part of my adventure, the Mara.
When I arrived back from the Mara, Anne was there to greet me again. I had a day room at the Eka Hotel and she got me checked in, even getting them to extend their normal 6pm check out time to 7pm to give me some extra time prior to my flight home at midnight. At 8pm, I was picked up promptly by my driver for the short trip to the airport and the long flight home.
My experience with Amazing Memories Safaris was excellent. They are very professional and go the extra mile to make sure all your desires are met (and then some). They have bumped to the top of my list of tour operators to use when I return and I would definitely refer others to them.
CN
Email Peter Y | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful to take this Safaris with Amazing Memories!
I always like showing my friends the photos about this Safaris and Anne helped us so much.
Low costs, top quality guide,beautiful parks, great experience.
Recommended.
Excellent: Amazing Memories Safaris
We spent two weeks in Kenya in December 2016 and have booked the entire trip with Amazing Memories Safaris. Anne helped us with the planning. She is very knowledgeable, efficient, friendly and she always answered our questions immediately. Anne and Joseph (the driver and Safari guide) picked us up from the airport in Nairobi. Joseph was our driver and safari guide for the entire trip. He made the trip an amazing experience. He is always friendly, on time and he is a great safari guide.
We can highly recommend Amazing Memories Safaris.
AE
Email Satheesh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really amazing memories safaris
All the communications was crystal clear.our travel guide Mr.Daniel was very flexible .We really enjoyed our trip
Memorable journey in to the wild
A safari is always a different experience and to enjoying it in full you need to rely on your chosen provider and relax. Thats what happens with amazing Anne. A great experience. Recommended.
Email Rick | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A holiday to remember, a truly memorable experience
Our 13 days trip to Kenya was our first experience in Africa, Kenya and on Safari. As we didn’t know what to expect we did research and found Amazing Memories Safaris to be the best choice for our holiday (based on client reviews, proposed programs, flexibility in adjusting proposed programs based on our requirements and general level of professionalism).
We did our trip in September 2016
Anne was really helpful in configuring our holiday. We ended up with a program making it possible to visit all top rated parks in Kenya spanning over 13 days. During our trip we visited Tsavo West, Amboseli, Aberdare, Samburu, Lake Naivasha, Nakuru and Maasai Mara. On paper this looks like a great trip, actually doing the trip is an experience of a lifetime.
A big part of this experience is dependent on the guide you get. Joseph, our guide for the 13 days, was amazing (which is important as you spent a lot of time in a car with this person). He did everything he could to make us comfortable, feel safe and make sure we got the most out of this experience. The fact that he knows Kenya, is a good driver and knows the parks, animal behavior and movement was perfect. We managed to see all of the big 5 (including both white and black rhino’s), cheetah’s hunt (2 times), pride of lions hunt, wildebeest crossing of the Mara (and a crocodile just missing the opportunity to grab one) and an Impala being born.
Tips: As a starting photographer I didn’t take a lens cleaning kit, this is a must due to the high amount of dust. Take warm clothes, it cools down in the evening. Make sure you have the local currency (Schilling), preferably in small denominators, to tip all the people that help you in the lodges.
Travel tip: Most of the main roads in Kenya are fine (decent tarmac), however to reach the parks you will have to leave them, which means you will find yourself on dirt roads. Dirt roads greatly increase travel-time, however we took this in account when configuring our program (we left out 2 parks and decided to spent more time at others (Samburu and Maasai Mara were our choices) to avoid driving every day). The only really bad (and long…..) dirt road was on our way to Maasai Mara, but…. it is all worth it when you get there.
All in all probably our best and most special trip ever and, on a sad note, it made us realize that our kids are probably not able to see the same animals in 20 or 30 years.