Guide Ken with one of our 4x4 Land Cruisers
Spirit of Kenya
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $300 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
NG
Email Ete | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exhilarating
The tour was very nice, it provided an in depth insight into the sights and sounds of Kenya which I probably
would not have experienced if I travelled by air. The tour guide was absolutely amazing ,he was constantly
assisting to capture some breathtaking pictures
of the scenery.He deserves a 5 star applause. He was also very knowledgeable about where to find the animals
because I managed to see lions,elephants,giraffes and hyenas on the first day of my tour.
The hotel accommodation was simple and adequate with the lovely sights of the hippos and crocodiles.
It was a wonderful experience and I hope to do it again soon.
ES
Email Carles Serra | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you
Thank you for this experience
Thank you for an amazing experience. Your team were very knowledgeable and made it a very enjoyable experience too.
PT
Email Isabel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Massai Mara (fantastic game drive) - Zanzibar (the best vacations in my life)
At first i loved the trip, well worth it flight times!
About the tour operator "I Started in Africa" liked the monitoring of Helder throughout the logistics of reservations (flights, stays, visas, vaccines, etc.). Excellent!
About the trip was a dream, it was little short, but very rewarding.
Africa has civilization and a lot but a lot of poverty. I felt a lump in my throat several times ....
On safari, the best treatment possible, camp at LOYK MARA (nor should call camp for luxury;)), good food, good reception, loved the Masai tribe.
The guide of the best, always ready to help and clarify, good traveling companion!
Animals ... veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ..... the big five .... we saw almost all (except the rhino that is very hard to find) was a unique experience ... probably the only of its kind that I will have in life .. . the nature reserve of Masai Mara is huge with Kms out of sight, out of words to describe such a vast expanse of land and wildlife.
If something changed, yes, changed the hours of shipping out the nature reserve Masai Mara to Zanzibar ... it was a long day, really tiring. However, after waking up in Zanzibar the next day everything changes, that beach, sand, people, sea, sun, hotel ... a paradise ... I changed also stay in Nairobi .. in Confort Suites .... it was not the best ... the opposite.
Overall returning there for sure ... one day maybe ... by the same agency of course;)
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Great Migration - A timeless safari experience with a full complement of African wilderness
My trip to Masai Mara with ‘ It Started In Africa’ was everything I expected of an Africa wilderness & much more. Never ending planes, rocky roads, the most stunning sun rise, flowing river filled with hippo & crocs & a land where animals & humans live in harmony with each other.
Masai Mara was a destination which was amongst the top ten destinations on my Bucket List. So there I went planning a trip & trying to get quotations for many local travel companies in Kenya. That’s when we came across ‘It Started In Africa’ who offered us the best packages & deals.
Particia from ‘ It Started In Africa’ was our only point of contact while I was planning the trip and she did a fabulous & commendable job. We were a group of 4 people & our plan was to visit Lake Nakuru & Masai Mara for 7 days trip & she planned our itinerary offering us amazing & comfortable stay in the lap of the nature & all in our budget.
Our guide, driver & a person with fabulous experience & knowledge Alex from the company was our companion from day 1 to day 7 and thanks to him that we witness all the drama of the Mara jungle – migratory heard of Zebras marching across the river while the hungry crocs were awaiting for their meal, a cheetah making a mad dash through the grassland attacking wildebeest or croc dramatically rising from the waters in the Mara river…. We also witnessed the Big 5 and amazing species of birds.
I could go on and on and on about our trip to the Masai Mara, and by writing this comment I just wanted to thank ‘It Started In Africa’ team, Patricia & Alex for an unforgettable experience. Keep up the fabulous work & marvellous client services. I would highly recommend ‘It Started In Africa’ for any safari trips to Africa.
Cheers.
Vidhi
Trip Date: 25th - 31st August
MA
Email Celena Gilbert | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great, with the ride guide!
I went on this trip as a solo traveler, which was a great choice for me because everything was pre-planned. I had a generally fantastic time and saw some amazing sights and animals! Overall, I am very happy with my experience!
My only feedback, and why I'm not giving 5-stars, is because my guide was knowledgeable, but hard to understand and communicate with. He sometimes seemed a bit harsh in his tone and when it's just the two of us for 7-days, it would have been nice to have a more personable host. Also, there were times when he didn't know what was scheduled and this led to uncomfortable situations; for example, I had booked a walking tour at Lake Naivasha and the guide didn't know about this, until he was putting me on the boat. This lack of knowledge led to me taking the walking tour in flip flops instead of close-toed shoes (I still have scratches on my feet) and I was carrying a heavy bag. Additionally, the vehicle was not what I expected; very old and uncomfortable.
IT
Email Sergio | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very excellent guide and hotels, but not exactly a “luxury safari”
We started Safari with a van that, fortunely, had a problem before we started the road to Masai Mara. They kindly give us a jeep to excuse of it, but to reach the car the travel was very long and “adventurous”. First guide was very helpful, but for a “luxury safari” we were expected to have a different treatment.
When we reach the jeep in Narok, our guide was excellent. He knew very well masai mara and show us bigs 5 and all possible kind of animals live in Mara.
Ilkeliani camp was very good, in service and for food!
Lunch for the last day we were expected Spirit of Kenya provide a en route lunch packed by the hotel, but we payed a full day safari but Did only 2 Hours in the morning without a hotel meal.
Last thing that can’t allow to us to define this a Luxury Safari was the cars condition ( vero vero old) and lack of uniform for guide.
CL
Email Agustin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip but tour guide below expectations
We book a 5 day "High End" in Amboseli, Navaisha and Masai Mara. The email comunication to prepare the trip was tediuos. We expected the executive to give us better recommendations for planning the trip. They never let us know that they were going to pick us up at the airport in Nairobi! I had to made the transfer on my own.
Regarding our guide, he comply with the schedules and he was friendly. He was very worried that we could see all the animals as well. However, he did not communicate much with us during the games drives and did not keep us informed of what we were going to do during the day. Moreover, he was not very open to listen to questions or explain. Finally, the day we were arriving at Masai Mara's tented camp, the guide got lost along the way.
Accommodations were great. Excellent attention, great food, very comfortable rooms and very relaxing surroundings.
We had lunch outside our acomodation just once. The last day, when we went from Amani Mara to the airport we stopped for lunch on the way in a restaurant that was far from being the standard of the tour I booked (High End). I will not extend talking about the supposed high-end binoculars and the surprise charge of 3.5% to pay by credit card (unacceptable).
AE
Email Bree | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Could have been better
We booked a 4-day safari in Amboseli and Tsavo with the company. The initial booking of the trip was a bit tedious with us having to call them a few times since we were not getting responses to emails, they explained this was due to an overload of bookings.
They failed to inform us that one of the safari camps they suggested, Kibo Safari Camp, (which we chose from the list of options they provided) didn't have electricity for most of the day, which would have been nice to know in advance. And there was a small mess up on our return airport transfer.
Also, since we were first time visitors to Kenya, it would have been great to have some expert advice from them on the various options for safari locations, hotels, food, etc.
However, the rest of the trip and the other hotels were great. The driver-cum guide they provided, Steve, was a very nice guy with a wealth of information about everything around us.
SG
Email Jan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Glorified accomodation booking service
The booking process with Spirit of Kenya started positive. However when trying to get more detailed information on the accomodation booked, itinerary specific etc things started to get less impressive. I never managed to get booking details from our Tanzania accomodation from the operator. So we tried to get this info from the accomodation. However without the booking confirmation code ( which Spirit never provided) they could not helps us either. So it became a guessing game in what kind of room, which what inclusions we would stay. Worst part was that Spirit seriously understated all travel times. As I read in a few other recent reviews. This seems to be serial. A quoted 1.5 hrs drive would be 3 hours. And a 6 hour drive became a 11.5 hrs on the road!!!! On top of this they forgot to book Serengeti entry tickets. Causing a 90 minute wait at the gate while our guide was trying to sort this out.
In regards advise on what parts of the parks were good or not to stay in we received absolutely no recommendations leading to very long drives from accomodation to known hot spots for animals.