One of our experienced guide and staffs
Bienvenido Kenya Tours and Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1992)
- Member Of:
- American Society of Travel Agents
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $110 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
IT
Email Isabella | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable Safari in Kenya - August 2024
I just finished an incredible 5-day safari in Kenya with the company "Bienvenido Kenya Tours and Safaris" and I wanted to leave my review because I had read them all before leaving, so I hope it can be useful to someone!
We spent the two days exploring Lakes Naivasha and Nakuru, and the next three days in the Masai Mara. The places we visited were truly spectacular and worthy of documentaries. Seeing all the "Big Five" was a breathtaking experience, and the Masai Mara gave us landscapes and encounters with wildlife that we will hardly forget. So in general the lakes are beautiful, but the Masai Mara is absolutely not to be missed.
A special praise goes to our driver, who demonstrated extraordinary skill in driving even on bumpy and dangerous roads. He was friendly, kind and always available, happily accommodating our requests to stay longer to observe certain animals. His punctuality and professionalism made the trip even more enjoyable.
However, it is right to highlight some aspects that could be improved. Low-cost safari organizations, and I mean all companies in general from what I perceived, are very disorganized. We often changed groups and found ourselves having to wait for the time to collect participants from different hotels, which caused delays and an increase in the time spent in the car. Also, on the first day we had to use a private car due to the lack of available seats in the compartments, after waiting two hours at the meeting point, creating a bit of confusion at the beginning... Finally, of lesser importance, it should be considered that in group safaris it is possible to come across different types of people and the group dynamics can influence the general atmosphere.
Despite these small inconveniences, I would do the safari again tomorrow without hesitation. It was a unique and fascinating experience, which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to live an unforgettable adventure in Kenya.
(automatic translation from Italian)
EC
Email Milena Suarez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fast attention
I discovered the operator online, at first I obviously had doubts, however, Kennedi helped me a lot with all her answers. The transfer was punctual, the Meals (8/10) and spectacular activities.
Thank you very much to the team, I hope to travel with you again soon.
(automatic translation from Spanish)
NL
Email Ian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience and amazing nature. Communication could be a bit better.
We had a very satisfactory experience during our 8 day tour that included Masaai Mara, Tangarire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. The safaris were amazing. Although we opted for the budget tour, we were surprised a few times with upgrates in our accomodation. Food will not be a highlight of this trip as it's not usually not very varied.
The guides drove us around the parks and they make a huge effort to show us all the animals. They would always stop if you ask for and wait for you to take pictures. However, they not always provide a lot of information about the animals all the organizational details. They mainly focus on driving and show us the animals.
In general the tour was very well organized and everything worked out, but the communication could be a bit better. Bienvenido mixes a couple of other tour operators, which was not clear to us, so a few times we didn't fully know where to go or who to follow. We also didn't have enough information of the logistics to move around and we had some last minute changes, although we understand that it's not easy to put such a trip together. We have to say though that Kennedy answered all of our emails and messages straight away and was very helpful.
Great Round-trip Kenya and Tanzania
Fantastic experience! We watched the big 5 and many more animals. It was a rough travel because of the roads!
AR
Email Jesica | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We had a great experience with Bienvenido. We hired a private safari to visit Amboselli, Lake Nakuru and Masaai Mara. The van was in good conditions and our guide, David, was really helpful. He was willing to answer all our questions and search for the best places to see the wildlife.
We highly recommend this company :)
US
Email James Miller | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome experience at Masai Mara and Amboseli
I had my awesome safari in Kenya with this company and I enjoyed from airport transfer to the days in the wild. I had an awesome driver guide who had knowledge about the animals and attractions. This company made my visit to Kenya enjoyable and worthy.
They are the best to offer tours! My experience was one of the best.
The communication was very much ok.The service was excellent
I and my friend we decided to visit the Bienvenido Tours and Safaris .we connected Nakuru,Masai Mara
Bienvenido Kenya Safaris is very nice and a better place to stay
US
Email Nicolette | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bumpy start but great execution
The trip started as planned. I received help straightening out my flight and required documents for 30 dollars a person. The transfer ride was on time but cost 15 dollars coming from a few minutes outside of Nairobi (a rip off). When we arrived at the bus, it was filled completely and somewhat squished but as expected. Before leaving, the tour group notified me that I had an unpaid balance and when going to pay my 75 dollar balance (flight help for two people and a transfer fee), I was told that I owed an additional 50 dollars because they forgot to add a surcharge on the credit card I originally paid with. Arguing over this delayed the start of the trip by about an hour and left everyone frustrated. After leaving, everything was smooth again. The guide was friendly, made sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed. We stopped for self serve lunch at restaurants and were provided food but not drinks. When arriving at the park everyone’s passports were collected and taken out of sight for over ten minutes for check in. That was alarming, but worked out. Our tented cabin was double layered and did surprisingly very well keeping out bugs and rain. The room had a full sized bed and a twin bed, both canopy styled with netting to also keep out bugs. We had a bathroom with a flushing toilet, but the shower nozzle didn’t work. Also coming during a rainy season meant black outs and inconsistent WiFi access. Our things seemed to be left untouched when leaving for the safari run. The guide was enthusiastic and dedicated to finding all the interesting scenes. He made sure to get as close as possible and made sure we had the best angle to see everything and get good pictures. He gave brief synopses on the animals and answered all our questions. He was a fantastic driver and knew his way around the park and how to get through the muddy patches without getting stuck. I would definitely go again but I would pack tons of my own snacks and liquids, and I would pay for everything in cash and refuse any additional services.
CA
Email Megan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Chaotic and not according to plan
Would absolutely not recommend doing a shared tour with this company or its sister companies.
Whatever company you book with (there’s a large number of them under the same umbrella), it doesn’t seem to matter, they all send you off with drivers where you’ll be flip flopped to different groups and drivers every day based on where they can fit you. Everyone in the groups were given different itineraries that were never followed. Usually you picture joining a shared tour where you and the other few passengers all get on the bus doing the same itinerary, for the most part. But no. I felt bad for the drivers having to juggle so many ppl with different plans and most ppl were frustrated as they didn’t get to do the itinerary they were given, and the drivers have to deal with all the frustrations when it’s not them who planned everything so poorly. And it got annoying being moved constantly to different vehicles and groups, sometimes twice a day, or waiting so long in roadside stop places to meet with other vehicles to switch passengers.
Your itinerary will change from what they tell you, and when you inquire about it they just say too bad you’re on a shared tour, no flexibility. Also they just seem to put random things in the itinerary that they must know are untrue. Like a few times writing “you will arrive at your next hotel in time for lunch”, yet the drive is double that time and lunch is on the road and we don’t arrive till evening. Unless the driver takes much longer routes than needed due to dropping different passengers off places etc. either way, receiving accurate info in the itinerary should be made a priority. Itinerary said arriving in Nakuru hotel in time for lunch then evening game drive. We didn’t even make it in time for game drive, and arrived at hotel at 7:30pm. No possible way with the route we took would we have made it in time for lunch at hotel. We left Masai around 8am. It also says this about amboseli but we didn’t leave till late morning and arrived at 7pm. And it said game drive in amboseli in afternoon yet we got no drive. Just drop to hotel. When I asked they said we’d make up for it by doing drive on last morning, since we paid $60 park fee, yet the “drive” was just racing from gate to gate lasting an hour and barely stopping for animals we briefly saw in our speedy exit.
They pack the vans to the max, despite website saying max 7 pax. It’s so cramped and sweaty, there’s not enough room for everyone to see out at the same time to see the animal sightings. So some will sit while others sweaty armpits are pushing into your face. One will sit in front with driver so not even having the option of standing to see out the pop up roof. The only way I’d do a shared tour again would be if the company guaranteed max 6 passengers.
The 12 hour days in the van are not ideal. Most lodges and everywhere I went in SA was sunrise, and sundowner drives. Leaving you some nice time at the lodge to rest and enjoy lunch. Even if your itinerary says different (like mine did), you will be doing 12 hour drive and not returning to lodge mid day. Mid day is so hot so it’s sweaty in that van with 8 ppl and the animals are often not out in the open when it’s that hot mid day.
There were a small amount of ppl I talked to on the trips that were happy with the way they organized. Well maybe not happy but they just were chill and didn’t mind. So if you’re very easy going and don’t really care about sticking to the itinerary provided, and don’t mind the constant change ups, and aren’t picky about personal space in the van and better viewings, then it would be fine for you! I know some backpackers and travellers who aren’t fussy and it would work out great for. I’m just not one of those people, as were many ppl on the trips. In one of the instances where we had to leave our vehicle to join another group as ours had to drive half the group elsewhere, we got into a Jeep. That was a much more comfortable vehicle, so I’d definitely recommend spending the extra to go in one of those.