Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris Limited Staff Photo
Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
- Located In:
-
United States
Taiwan
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Member Of:
- KATO, Eco Tourism Kenya & KTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $60 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email TIMOTHY | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
"Fantastic , highly recommended"
This was the trip of a lifetime and it owe it to this company. I did a solo trip- 7 day safari in Kenya. I did my first day touring the city of Nairobi with Moses. We went to the Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Sanctuary.Then off to my safari with Joseph which entailed a couple days in Samburu, A day in Lake Nakuru, a day in Sweetwater seeing the park and chimpanzee rescue center, , and then onto the Masai Mara for a couple days. All accommodations were 3 star of higher and I liked each place I stayed at. The food was great at each lodge/camp as well. Safari van was perfect for viewing and always keep clean each day for perfect viewing and Joseph made sure I saw every single animal I wanted to see and knew exactly how to make that happen. He was always prompt each morning when we would meet before we headed out on safari for the day. He was very knowledgeable about all the animals and polite the entire trip. If I return for a safari ever in Kenya then I would definitely request him to be my safari guide again. The road trip between each park was about a 5 hr drive each time and I actually liked that because it gave me an opportunity to really see the country of Kenya and how all the different villages live. If I had questions along the way about the different tribes Joseph had an answer and I liked that too. Covid testing before my departure was super easy as well at the last lodge I stayed at for my stay the covid testing company had someone come to my lodge to take my sample and within 1 day had my test results emailed to me and the lodge printed it out for me so I could have it for my flight departure.
I loved seeing the Big 5 and the entire experience of the safari but I have to say the part of my trip that has stuck with me and really made it a life changing trip was my visit to the JudiMo Education Center in one of the slums in Nairobi to visit the children of the school. It was my last day on the trip before I got dropped off at the airport. My flight didn’t leave until midnight that night so in the morning Joseph and I left the Mara park early, did a little bit of looking for animals on our way out of the park then drove to the school for the afternoon to see the children. Ben and James set this all up for me and I’m so grateful they ware able to do it for me. Joseph helped me buy a bunch of food for the 120 kids we were visiting and I got to spend 3 hrs with them before Joseph dropped me off at the airport.
I would highly recommend Twinkle star tours and safaris to anyone looking to go on safari. From day one when I inquired James was super helpful in answering all my questions and setting my itinerary up. Great customer service on his part, from Moses, and from James. Thank you, Twinkle star tours for the trip of a lifetime
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Mar 16, 2022Hello Timothy,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer, for your 7 Days visiting Samburu National Reserve, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara and together with Nairobi excursion. We are glad and thankful you found your Tour Planner, James very communicative, responsive, and helpful from the beginning until you finished your safari. We also appreciate for recommending on our guides Moses and Joseph our who demonstrated incredible skills and knowledge during your safari.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya Safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Asante Sana.
US
Email Zach | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best tour operator in all of Kenya and Tanzania
Twinkle Star is, without a doubt, the best tour operator in all of Kenya and Tanzania. We booked a custom 3-week itinerary, and James, the Director, worked tirelessly with us to get our specifications exactly as we wished, even changing the itinerary 3 times throughout the trip.
Something to keep in mind is that there are basically three main components of a quality safari:
- The lodging
- The guide
- The logistics (itinerary, vehicle, etc)
#1, lodging, is mainly price-driven. We were fortunate to stay in luxury accommodations the entire time.
#2 (the guide) and #3 (logistics) are entirely owned by the tour company. Here, Twinkle Star shines above all else.
#2 - GUIDE
Our guide on the Kenyan side, David, was a sweet, patient, incredibly knowledgeable man who went above and beyond to give us delightful experiences.
Our guide on the Tanzanian side, Jose, was energetic, friendly, funny, and also incredible knowledgeable. He made our trip wonderful.
Both of these men were the best guides I met throughout the safari.
Additionally, the Director, James, is the kindest and most helpful man in the world. I cannot say this enough! He kept in close contact with us throughout the safari, always asking how he can help, and even giving us generous gifts.
#3 - LOGISTICS
In the logistics, Twinkle Star also shined brightest of all. The entire process was smooth - from incredible safari vehicles, to great meals, smooth transportation, easy check in and safari bookings. Everything was perfect.
I seriously cannot recommend Twinkle Star enough. Our experience with them was lifechanging. They are leagues above other tour operators.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Mar 16, 2022Hello Zach,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer, for your Great 3 weeks Kenya and Tanzania long-range Safari. We are glad you found your Tour Planner, James very communicative, responsive, and helpful from the beginning until you finished your safari. We also appreciate for recommending on our guides David and Jose in both kenya and Tanzania who demonstrated incredible skills and knowledge during your safari.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya Safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Asante Sana.
US
Email Irina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Went well above and beyond to make sure we are taken care of and have a world-class Safari trip!
Went well above and beyond to make sure we are taken care of and have a world-class Safari trip!
My best friend and I went on a 17 day Safari trip through Kenya and Tanzania with Twinkle Star Tours. James, the company's Director, and our two guides, David and Jose (David on the Kenya side, Jose on the Tanzania side) were absolutely delightful! In those 17 days we really felt like we became family.
David and Jose were extremely attentive to our needs, considerate, and highly knowledgeable of the flora and fauna we saw, which enhanced our experience ten-fold.
We would recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking to do a Safari in East Africa.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Mar 28, 2022Hello Irina,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer, for your Great 3 weeks Kenya and Tanzania long-range Safari. We are glad you found your Tour Planner, James very communicative, responsive, and helpful from the beginning until you finished your safari. We also appreciate for recommending on our guides David and Jose in both kenya and Tanzania who demonstrated incredible skills and knowledge during your safari.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya Safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Asante Sana.
AT
Email Paula & Philipp | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly recommended! Perfect safari, wonderful tour guide, professional planning & communication
If you’re looking for the perfect safari tour operator, stop looking – this is it!
One reason why we opted for Twinkle Star was the smooth and professional planning and correspondence with James, who assembled a perfect 2-week safari for us. We totally trusted the agency with the hotel picks and didn’t look them up before and I do not exaggerate when I say that we absolutely loved every accommodation we stayed in and we always had the feeling that James booked the best room (or tent) in the hotels for us.
Of course, a good tour guide plays a vital role in a successful safari holiday, which is why we are so so thankful for our most wonderful guide Abu. He not only was an outstanding animal spotter (really unbelievable what he spotted!) and a fantastic driver (the roads in the parks really require a supreme level of driving skills), but he also impressed us every day with his extensive knowledge of wildlife, culture and Kenyan history. With Abu being so kind, funny and professional, we always had the best time and honestly couldn’t have wished for a better guide.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to our tour operator James for planning the most perfect holiday for us and to our guide Abu for making our safari so special and unforgettable.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Jan 25, 2022Jambo Paula & Philipp,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer, for the 13 Days Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Tsavo West, Tsavo East and Malindi Safari. We are glad you found your Tour Planner, James very communicative, responsive, and helpful from the beginning until you finished your safari. We also appreciate for recommending on our guide Abu who demonstrated incredible skills and knowledge during your safari.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya Safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Asante Sana!
James Oketch
DE
Email David and Jan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Twinkle Star is client-oriented, flexible and offers high value tours.
I am currently a resident in Kenya and my brother David visited me over the Christmas - New Years' holiday. We spent most time with our friends in Narobi and at the coast, but also wanted to make a safari to a national park which was a completely new experience to my brother. I wrote to some safari companies and James very quickly responded to offer detailed solutions for the planning of our safari and time line as we envisioned it. We eventually settled for a four-days trip from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara. Our resort was a very beautiful luxury tented camp with a fantastic view over the planes and very friendly and accommodating staff. Our safari guide Simon was very experienced and knowledgeable and took us for a couple of unforgettable game drives through the Mara where we got to see the big five in addition to many other animals. The organizer also accommodated our request for a morning safari walk and we visited a Maasai village on the second afternoon. We will definitely consider to choose Twinkle Stars again for future safaris.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Jan 18, 2022Jambo David and Jan,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer, for the 4 Days Masai Mara National Reserve. We are glad you found your Tour Planner, James very communicative, responsive, and helpful from the beginning until you finished your safari. We also appreciate for recommending on our guide Simon who demonstrated incredible skills and knowledge during your safari.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya Safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Asante Sana!
James Oketch
NO
Email Siri | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful holiday arranged by Twinkle Star Tours
We had a wonderful holiday arranged by James in Twinkle star tours December 27th to January 8th. We started with safari in Masai Mara, followed by Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and Tsavo west and east, before we headed for the beach in Malindi. Twinkle star gave us the idea to safari the way down instead of spending more days in fewer parks and fly down. This way, we got to experience different parks which all had their own characteristics.
Our driver Abdul was an experienced safari guide, and knew how to give us an unforgettable experience where we got to see all the big five in addition to everything else. He also helped us out several times in Malindi with scuba diving and other stuff we needed. The lodges were the standard we expected to a reasonable prize, and James did a excellent job to find out what we wanted and put together a trip that was perfect for us. I would definitely use Twinkle Star Tours again if the opportunity comes by.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Jan 18, 2022Jambo Siri,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer for the 13 Days Kenya Private Safari Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Tsavo West, Tsavo East and beach Malindi. Thank you for recommending our great services to you and acknowledging Abdul your guide during the safari.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya Safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Asante Sana!
James Oketch
US
Email Evelyn | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operator was amazing and super knowledgeable
I booked the Tour from Miami. I Received a Quote. I agreed and made payment for down-payment. I had a few inconveniences as my flight was delayed and James was super helpful with accommodating our safari. We arrived in Arusha, and was greeted by the Driver Ruben. Ruben was on time and off we went to the start of our Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro and Serengeti tour. It was an absolutely perfect Experience and definitely would chose Twinkle Stars again. The Driver Ruben was amazing and super accommodating to our schedule and had an unbelievable knowledge of the serengeti.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Nov 1, 2021Jambo Evelyn,
Thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd as your Tour Organizer during your 4 Days Luxury Tanzania Safari Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. We appreciate for commending James who made your tour package alterations go as smoothly as possible, and Reuben your super incredible tour driver guide who drove you during your great safari.
Thank you for your recommendation!
We look forward to your next safari with us!
Asante sana Evelyn.
US
Email Irmgard Christine | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Absolutely awesome 5 stars all the way
I booked the Tour from the USA. Received a Quote. I agreed and wired the down-payment from my Bank to their Bank in Kenya. I arrived in Kenya, was greeted by one of the Employees, sign the Contract and the next Day, Simon, the Driver was on time at 7.30AM and off we went to the Masai Mara. It was an absolutely perfect Experience and definitely would chose Twinkle Stars again. The Driver Simon had an unbelievable knowledge of the Masai Mara.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Aug 31, 2021Jambo Christine,
Thank you very much for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris Ltd for your 4 Days/ 3 Nights Masai Mara Safari. We appreciate a lot for sharing your experience and rating our services. Thank you for acknowledging Simon your 4 days safari guide who demonstrated a lot of skills and knowledge during your safari. We welcome you again in the future with your friends. Asante.
Best Regards,
James Oketch
SV
Email MANUELA | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
WONDERFULL SPERIENCE 15 DAYS KENYA AN TANZANIA-GREAT MIGRATION
I have been traveling through the great natural settings of Africa for more than 30 years. I love all of its great national parks. I was in Kenya and Tanzania some time ago and this year I decided that it would be a good time to go back and make my trip coincide with the Great Migration that takes place between Serengeti and Masai Mara. I planned a 15-day trip the first half of August and wrote to several tour operators to prepare an itinerary and a budget for two people. TWINKLE STAR TOURS responded to me immediately and with a much better budget than other tour operators. During the preparation James, his contact, responded efficiently and quickly to my requests and, finally, I opted for TWINKLE STAR TOURS on this trip to Kenya and Tanzania which has been wonderful. One of the reasons why I chose TWINKLE STAR TOURS was that most of the safaris were full day so the possibility of seeing the national park and its animals better was greater. On the other hand, the chosen accommodations had good recommendations and the final price was very good.
The scheduled tour was as follows: SAMBURU (Kenya), LAKE NAKURU (Kenya), MASAI MARA (Kenya), SERENGUETI (Tanzania), NGORONGORO (Tanzania), LAKE MANYARA (Tanzania), TARANGIRE (Tanzania), AMBOSELI (Kenya).
During the tour we had two driver-guides: Willie in Kenya and Hoza in Tanzania. We did the part of Kenya with Willie in a convertible vanette which, for two people, is sufficient since most of the parks in Kenya do not require a Land Cruiser and that, logically, makes the trip cheaper. Willie was an excellent driver-guide. He was always aware that we had the best service, the best room, the best position to see and photograph wildlife and he showed great solvency in solving situations that, without his action, could have turned into big problems. Thanks to his recommendation, we were able to see the Great Migration from the sky, as Katlen Blixen would say ... "With the eyes of God". On the third day of our stay in the Masai Mara, we took a balloon ride to admire this magnificent spectacle from the air. It really is an overwhelming natural spectacle. A 10 for Willie. He is also tremendously friendly and funny. We did the Tanzania part with Hoza, also an excellent driver-guide. He was always aware of locating fauna and placing us in the best position for photographing him. He gave us excellent knowledge about the national parks and their fauna and also about his country, Tanzania. With him we use a Land Cruiser since in Tanzania if necessary to move around its national parks.
The accommodations chosen by TWINKLE STAR TOURS were very nice and of good value for money.
In short, everything was wonderful, from the first contact with TWINKLE STAR TOURS until we said goodbye to their services at the airport. If I decide to return to Kenya and Tanzania again, which I do not rule out soon, or someone asks me for a recommendation, I would not hesitate to advise you to contact TWINKLE STAR TOURS. They are excellent professionals. And, without a doubt, I would return with Willie and Hoza as guide-drivers. They made the trip very easy, enjoyable, and instructive. And, it goes without saying, that Kenya and Tanzania are wonderful destinations to always visit and especially in this time of COVID, when the safest and most fabulous vacations are in nature, on safari.
Thank you very much TWINKLE STAR TOURS, Willie and Hoza for this magnificent experience and see you soon.
Gloria and Manuela
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Aug 23, 2021Jambo Manuela,
Thank you for traveling with us on our 15 days private safari in Kenya and Tanzania and taking your time to provide good feedback about your safari experience.
We appreciate the positive feedback of your experience on, the organization and planning of the safari handled by James and your Safari guides Willie and Hoza who were very knowledgeable, accommodating, and also great at spotting animals in the parks.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya-Tanzania holiday safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Best Regards
James Oketch
US
Email Marlene | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best
I highly recommend Twinkle Star Tour. We started planning in 2019 for 2020. We had sent our payment in and the pandemic hit. Everything closed. James kept in touch with me and assured my the Safari would take place when I was ready. Our dreams came true this July 16th. They were there to pick us up at the airport and through the entire 10 days. We love Abu our driver. James was very detailed kept making the changes I requested. He came to meet us an say goodbye. Brought gift to my husband and I. It was the most wonderful experience. The resorts were all beautiful and everyone was super attentive to our needs. We couldn’t have asked for more. We will definitely return and bring our family. They were the most honest people you can meet.
We love you James and Abu.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Aug 23, 2021Jambo Marlene,
Thank you for traveling with us on our 10 days private safari in Kenya and Tanzania and taking your time to provide good feedback about your safari experience.
We appreciate the positive feedback of your experience on, the organization and planning of the safari handled by James and your Safari guide Abu who was very knowledgeable, accommodating, and also great at spotting animals in the parks.
Hopefully, this shall not be your last Kenya-Tanzania holiday safari with us. We look forward to hosting you and your friend and family in the near future.
Best Regards
James Oketch