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 IR from MA | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized, interesting itinerary and a knowledgeable guide
The initial communication with Twinkle Star was very good. All questions and concerns were quickly answered. There was a mix-up about our arrival time that caused us some stress when we were not met as planned but that worked out ok. Our guide/driver was friendly and knowledgeable. The itinerary was followed closely. The only animal on our list that we didn't see was a leopard. The most exciting were lions feeding on a buffalo carcass surrounded by hyaenas waiting for the leftovers. The accommodations were clean and comfortable. The meals were mostly buffet with many food choices. I had no problem finding vegetarian options. All the different camps seemed to have the same food. The boxed lunches were also satisfactory. This is the only travel of this kind we have done so don't have anything to compare, but we enjoyed the experience. When researching Kenyan safaris Twinkle Star was competitive in price. We arrived home exhausted but since having time to rest and review and share our photos we only remember how much fun we had. It met our expectations.
We knew there would be a lot of time spent travelling between parks. Seeing Kenya outside the parks is part of the experience. But it was even more than anticipated. One drive was 12 hours instead of the 7-hour estimate. The two seatbelts in the middle row of the Landcruiser didn't work so when outside the parks we had to use the back which was not as comfortable.
FYI - Tipping was a problem that we weren't prepared for. US dollars seemed to be preferred over Kenyan shillings. Having small bills would have been helpful. We overtipped at times and sometimes didn't tip at all. Sometimes the tip could be added by credit card to the hotel bill.
US
Email Evans | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful and Memorable
Hi James , I know it is long since i came back from Kenya. Our safari was short due to the Covid 19 that has just started but we are happy that the three days we took safari to Masai Mara was memorable. Our plan was to do mountain climbing but to the pandemic we had to take flight back home. We are also happy that we were not tested positive and we are well just hopping to come back to Kenya soon. We were happy with the accommodation and transport arrangement and we promised to come with bigger team. Debra, Tera and Nicole and I can not wait to see you soon. Evans
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Jun 3, 2020Jambo Evans,
Thank you for reviewing your experience you had with us.
Your safari was wonderful and going on well as planned but cut short by Corona Virus. We are really sorry for that.
We hope to see you again in Kenya after everything resumes to normal.
Stay home, stay safe
Regards,
Benson.
US
Email SUSAN NGUYEN | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
" PERFECT BUDGET SAFARI
My husband and i first time at Kenya safari operated by Twinkle Star Tours . Our guide/ Driver by young men name Jeffrey , he was Excellent , and knowledgeable in his work . We very much enyoy it , and we looking forward on next trip soon with you.
Reply from Twinkle Star Tours & Safaris
Posted on Sep 27, 2019Jambo Susan,
First of all we want to thank you for choosing Twinkle Star Tours and Safaris in your 7 days budget safari in Masai Mara, lake nakuru, lake naivasha and Amboseli National Park.
We are delighted to here you had a wonderful safari and thumbs up for reviewing your 7 days safari experience in kenya with us
Thank you also for acknowledging your driver guide Geoffrey who made your safari excellent.
Asante Sana and we welcome you again to Safari with us.
DE
Email Paul | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great tour, lots of impressive animals, unorganized schedule
We booked a 4-days tour through Masai Mara NP, Lake Naivasha with boat ride and Nakuro NP with 2 nights speeping in a tented camp and on night in a hotel.
lots of animals
great driver
unorganized scheduling
acceptable accomodations
respectful treatment of animals
It was a gorgeous journey and our driver, James, was one of the highlights beside the impressive animals! We saw nearly everything we dreamed of, elephants, lions, a cheetah, rhinos, different types of giraffes, a lot of different beautiful birds, hippos, monkeys, buffalos, antilopes... only the leopard we missed, but James gave his very best. We saw the most animals incredibly near, for example lions or giraffes with a distance of less than 5m or rhinos with less than 10m. But it never seemed to injure the animals freedom.
It was just a pitty, that we needed to discuss with different people so often about what be booked, what was included and how the plan for the tour was. For example we didn‘t have a walking/cycling tour, we didn‘t get 3l water per person per day but 1l instead, we didn‘t visit the Hells gate NP, we didn‘t see the promised baby elephant in an extra area, we didn‘t visit the giraffe center.
All in all, the tour was quite different than described. The tour was described very detailed with certain timeslots and in a specific order, but nothing matched to that schedule, which does actually not matter, but nobody told us so. So we expected for example to drive to the lake Naivasha, but arrived at the Masai Mara NP and wondered if we took the wrong tour bus by accident...
The booked accomodations were acceptable, espacially for the price we paid, ~400 US $ per person. The first one at the Masai Mara NP was a tented camp with a nice areal and quite delicious food. The second one at Nakuro NP was in the Hotel Citynax with very friendly personal. But in both accomodations it lasted ~20 mins until we get warm water in the shower. While the water in the hotel just got semi warm to still too cold ~20 celsius degrees. This hotel also didn‘t have the promised standard as descibed with „Gilden Palace Hotel or similar“.
Nevertheless it was a great experience and I would book another tour with your company again.
AE
Email Muthu kumar | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good Experience!
It was a very good safari. Mr. James was very responsive, always provided quick feedback at the stage of booking and he came personally to pick us from the airport. Safari was organized very well and made some good friends. Our driver was great - special thanks...
DK
Email Trine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fast response both over phone and mail and very friendly, flexible and helpful staff
Communications went smoothly, however the car broke down a couple of times on the way from Nairobi to the Miti Eco Camp, but it got fixed everytime and people were friendly and helpful. The sleeping arrangements and food was also fine and the safari was great - James the driver knew everything about the animals and their habits and he stayed within respectable distance to the animals but still made sure we got so many different kinds to see.
all in all very satisfied and if you want to save a little money on the safari budget you can for sure go with this company.
DK
Email Jesper | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super friendly staff and service minded. Very good safari experience
Staff was service minded and even picked us up in the airport a few days before the safari started. Safari was very good and we saw all the animals. Safari driver was very good at explaining about the animals, however he had a couple of technical issues with the car, which resulted in delays. Overall recommendable.
CA
Email Simon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great value for an amazing tour
Great tour driver, amazing locations, great amenities. We did the 5 days camping tour and the food was good, the camping grounds were amazing and the driver knowledgeable and skilled.
The only critic is on the light fabric of the sleeping bags. Make sure you pack warm clothes for the night in Ngorongoro since the sleeping bag will most likely not be enough.
We also had somewhat of a messy ending since the local team in Tanzania were not aware that our drop off at the Killimanjaro airport was included. It took a phone call and a bit of back and forth to get everything rolling.
In summary I really recommend the trip.