The Chalo Africa Inc Team
Chalo Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATTA & APTA
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $500 to $1,600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IN
Email Bijal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
unprofessional
Very poor service.
I had talked on the phone with their Delhi office.
This was an inquiry for a trip I was planning.
But they didn't bother to even reply to the email.
Reply from Chalo Africa
Posted on Dec 28, 2017Dear Bijal,
We were very saddened to read your review on Safaribookings. It was never our intention to ignore your email, but it so happened that we received your enquiry on the very day that we welcomed Tanvi's new baby to the Chalo Africa family, and the enquiry seems to have fallen through the cracks in all the ensuing excitement.
Please accept our sincere apologies for the oversight, and should you still be looking for help with your trip to Kenya, we will do our best to make it up for you.
Best wishes,
Team Chalo Africa!
Wonderful Kenya trip thanks to 'Chalo Africa'
We just had a wonderful Safari trip in Kenya thanks to Chalo Africa team. We are extremely happy with all the help Chalo Africa provided in planning our itinerary, making sure that lodges/camps could meet our special food requirements, ensuring that we had a knowledgeable and helpful local guide/driver (Charles O..) to take us around from the time we landed in Kenya to the time we left. It was also nice that Chalo Africa set up a What’sapp group so we can communicate with Chalo Africa team and our family in the US while we were on the trip.
Sangeeta in the Chalo Africa USA office was very helpful from the planning stage to the time we were back from the actual trip. We changed the itinerary a few times and she patiently suggested different options and answered all our queries. Chalo Africa provided good details of what we will see/visit each day, information for Kenya VISA and vaccination requirements and suggestion on what to bring with us for the trip. While on the trip, the local Chalo Africa office person did call us to make sure everything was okay.
US
Email Anthony | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent and efficient service
Chalo Africa was not only efficient but also very responsive and were able to handle our situation which was complicated by the fact that we were traveling with little internet access and cc payment difficulties. i highly recommend them.
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Email Karim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most Amazing Family Trip!! Excellent Service and Organization
We went on our first family safari to the Masai Mara in Kenya with our six children in late August during the peak of the wildebeest migration. Sangeeta understood our family needs and requirements and arranged an itinerary that was comfortable, kid friendly, and educational. As a result the family was able to experience Africa in a way that we never imagined. We witnessed the wildebeest migration river crossing, saw the big 5, visited a local school, went on walking and night safari tours, and much more all in just 5 days. Our tour guides were extraordinary!!! They kept the kids engaged and excited at all times. Sangeeta and the Chalo Africa team were communicating with us during the entire trip via a Whatsapp group chat to ensure that everything was always perfect. I highly recommend planning your next safari with Chalo Africa.
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Email Fm | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an amazing experience and one of the best vacations I have ever been on.
This was probably one of the best vacations that I have ever been on. Our tour was especially geared to children. I have gone on many vacations with Disney Adventures and Disney Cruises and this tour beats all of them! My kids learned about animals, the ecosystem and the culture. I highly recommended this tour to everyone.
US
Email Amita | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Trip
I spoke to more than 10 travel agents in the US before I came across Chalo Africa - and my search ended with them. Sangeeta and Smita know what they are doing - and helped plan a trip that was beyond what we had imagined possible. With my unending questions and revisions, I was in touch with them so frequently, think I can safely say that Sangeeta and I are now friends!
They were so amazing, my family in India also booked a trip to Kenya through them.
Everything run smoothly and the fact that they have teams in different time zones really helped.
Can't recommend them highly enough.
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Email Farha | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best vacation ever!
Chalo Africa team especially Smitha was very helpful in planning my holiday to Kenya and Tanzania. Everything went as planned and we had an amazing time. The team was very patient in answering all my queries before the trip and a WhatsApp group during the trip helped us in sorting out any small issues that we encountered In Africa.. The entire team of Asilia Africa and Chalo Africa coordinated so well to ensure we had a comfortable stay. I highly recommend using Chalo Africa for planning your African adventure :) Falwless team. Thank you once again ❤️
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Email Pamela | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Sangeeta has the patience of a saint and made our first family Kenyan safari the trip of a lifetime!
I have wanted to go on a safari for 24.5 years and decided it was time. After deciding on Kenya, I reached out to about 8 different safari operators. Two gave me what I had asked for but only Sangeeta really focused on my biggest concern- keeping our our teens, 13 and 15, engaged . She provided a customized 2 week safari for us that provided activities for the children for the first 4 nights in addition to game drives for the remaining safari.
Our first stop was to be Sosian, and this had to be changed due to regional instability. She was immediately responsive and we were able to change our lodging to the Sanctuary at Ol Lentillle, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Here we visited a school, did a camel safari, atv rides and our absolute favorite, a village visit. After, we moved on to small tented camps in conservancies at Kicheche Laikipia for 3 nights and then Kicheche Mara for the final 4 nights. They were all teen friendly camps and our children were included in meal time conversations. She specifically requested guides that would work well with our family. She also made sure we had reservations at the Rhino Sanctuary which other guests had to miss out on because it was fully reserved.
Sangeeta was amazingly responsive to my many emails and phone calls. Honestly, it was our first 2 or 3 calls that made me decide to choose Chalo Africa. She really listened to my wants and the end result was a trip that was better than we ever could have hoped. We all agree it was our best trip yet. Thanks so much Sangeeta and the Chalo Africa team.
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Email chandrasekhar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Chalo Africa made our dream of an Africa holiday into a Dream African Holiday !!!!
My experience with Chalo Africa has been absolutely super from my first mail and then telephonic conversations.The phone calls and email conversations helped our group plan our holiday meticulously without even the slightest glitch. Sangeeta, Smita and Tanvi were on top of whatever requests we had and were very prompt in replying to all our queries and also providing alternative choices for our stay quickly which helped us make our decision quickly enough.I must compliment the Chalo Africa team for their patience as we had a lot of queries and could not decide on a travel plan.They gave us so many alternate plans which really put things in perspective for us to decide.their service throughout our planning and during the trip was exemplary.They were in constant touch with us all the way which was very reassuring to us as we were first time travellers to Africa.Their attention to detail in picking the right place for us to stay and fixing up the right guide since photography was a big part of our trip.All our expectations were met and beyond..we have never ever been on a vacation that was so well planned,well balanced with wildlife,visit to CapeTown and their advice on places to visit and restaurants to go were perfectly aligned with our expectations.They also picked the best places to stay at Manyeletti Reserve (Tintswalo Manor House) and More Quarters Hotel (Redcliffe House)in CapeTown.It was just perfect for our group. The plan for CapeTown was not rushed and at an easy pace so as not to tire us and at the same time we had a great time with our guide Eugene who was perfect just as our guide Darren in Manyeletti.Clear communications,prompt replies to all queries and a detailed trip dossier prior to our trip prepared us well in advance and there were no apprehensions at all.Best of all we never had to call them for any problems or queries in between as there were none !! I have no hesitation in recommending Chalo Africa to anyone who wants to plan on an Africa trip ..i intend to do more trips to Africa with them !!
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Email Prabhakar Baskar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Want a dream safari planned? Look no further!
Right from my first call to Sangeeta enquiring about a safari in Kenya to arriving back home after 9 eventful nights, the experience has been top notch. Chalo Africa provided me with all the options available and I am so happy that I followed her advice and stayed at Mara Encounter and Topi House, both run by Asilia Africa. Sangeeta provided us with quite a few options within just a couple of days. Her knowledge of the African bush is unparalleled. Chalo Africa is prompt with their service including providing vaccination requirements, visas and so on. Once you freeze a plan they execute it with perfection; no follow ups required. If you are looking for a specialist safari expert that caters to a range of budgets, Sangeeta and Chalo Africa are the ones to rely upon.
We stayed at the Eka Hotel at Nairobi prior to our flight to the Masai Mara. Eka is a good hotel with excellent food. A practical option close to the airport. We then flew to Naboisho where the adventure began. Wilson and Nabala at Mara Encounter were excellent guides. I have been on safari before at Sabi Sands and Botswana and the standard of guiding here is the best I've ever experienced. The camp is at a prime location with sweeping views of the plains and a river flowing just by the fence. The tents are spacious with bucket showers. The food was sumptuous. We had breakfast in the bush on each morning game drive. Wilson and Nabala know the bush very well. They tracked for over 5 hours one morning to see the 5 male cheetahs. We had given up by 11.30 am after driving from 6.30 am but they persevered until we found the cats. We learnt a lot at the walking safari. The visit to the local village was very educative for all of us especially the children. The night drives at Naboisho were thrilling, especially seeing lions on the hunt. Sammy and Peter who run the camp are very warm and excellent hosts. Go to Naboisho to see the big cats especially Lions and the Cheetah. Asilia has 2 camps - Mara encounter and the more expensive Naboisho camp which provides a better tent etc.... but the game drives are the same at both the camps.
From Naboisho, we went on a game drive to the next stop on our itinerary: Asilia's Topi House. Perched on the very top of a hill that is in turn wedged between a Conservancy and the Mara, Topi House is the sort of hidden gem every safari lover ought to seek. What stood out about both properties is the quality of the guiding and the unique spin that each one had despite being very close to each other. Our guide at Topi, Fred Ronko, is a veteran Maasai guide with more than 20 years of experience in the bush that includes guiding both tourists and well-known documentaries. Fred is that rare sort of guide that can predict where exactly a particular leopard is moving through the dense forest, anticipate its arrival at a particular clearing and then position the car to get the best shots possible whilst avoiding the numerous vehicles that throng the Mara. Fred also correctly predicted that a lioness is going to kill a wildebeest and we waited till the kill happened and were well rewarded. He knows the pulse of the bush. Topi house is fantastic for families as you get the entire house to yourself. The entire team from Chef Isaac to Jackson and others treat you like family. A must if you can spend a bit more at the Mara. Asilia also runs Rekero camp within the reserve but Topi House is more strategically located.
We were so happy we chose Chalo Africa and Asilia ! I have given overall rating of 5 stars as " Excellent ". But the whole experience exceeds 5 Stars. We look forward to visit Tanzania and other places with Chalo Africa and Asilia.