Our Consultants in the office
Meektrails Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2020)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Joe Susi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The top value for dollar safari company that you can use!
I am pleased to file this report on my 4th safari with Daniel Waruri of Meektrails Safaris. Obviously, having booked multiple safaris with Daniel I have been very pleased with his services.
The first safari I was with Mr. Waruri he was sub-contracting with a different safari company but since has started his own company which specializes in safaris of a personalized nature.
The last three safaris I have taken with Daniel were ones specializing in bird watching. Daniel is an active birder and photographer in his own right and we have been to many parks and reserves on these excursions that he researched himself. During these trips his emphasis on the lodging is "value for dollar". It would be easy to schedule visits to all 5-star [and therefore more expensive] resorts and have clients be happy with the facilities. Mr. Waruri scouts places that are 'diamonds in the rough' resulting in substantial savings on the safaris without sacrificing quality.
As I write this I am planning my 5th and 6th safaris with Meektrails so I think that you can infer that I give this company and Mr. Waruri my wholehearted support.
IN
Email Anna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Highly recommend!
I have used Meektrails 4 times to 3 different parks in kenya. I Highly recommend them. Dan was great!
He's an honest man with clear communication and sets realostic expectations. He's taken us to some of the most exclusive lodges in Kenya. Very knowledgeable when it comes to birds and the wild animals
IT
Email Alessandro | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
7 Days Private tour 4x4 Minivan
We recently embarked on a remarkable 7-day private tour that took us from Nairobi to Ambroseli, Naivasha, Hell's Gate, Nakuru, and finally the renowned Masai Mara National Park before heading back to Nairobi. For our travels, we opted for a comfortable 4x4 minivan, which was perfect for the two of us. However, if you are traveling with a larger group, you may want to consider how everyone’s luggage will fit.
The roads connecting the parks primarily consist of one lane in each direction, often congested with truck traffic and occasionally in poor condition. As a result, expect a driving time of around 5 hours or more between parks.
Our accommodations were delightful. We particularly enjoyed the Sopa Lodge in Amboseli and Mara Kimana near Masai Mara, which stood out as top-notch options. The food served at the lodges was consistently delicious, except for the packed breakfasts and picnics. The Amboseli Sopa Lodge even features a restaurant within the park, offering meals that rival those at the lodge. It's worth noting that none of the lodges are located directly inside the parks, which necessitates a 20 to 30-minute drive to reach the park gates. This can slightly cut into your time for early morning game drives.
We scheduled our safari for the last week of October, just after the Great Migration had concluded, leaving only a few animals in the tail group heading towards the Serengeti. Nevertheless, we were fortunate enough to witness a diverse array of wildlife, with the exception of leopards.
Regarding the organization of our trip, there were moments of miscommunication between the office, our guide, and ourselves concerning the itinerary, activities, and special requests. This did leave us with a sense of disappointment. However, our driver/guide, Philip, was knowledgeable about the wildlife and local culture. He was also accommodating to our needs, such as arranging early game drives offering us his personal binocular (the company told us there were going to be binoculars available for both) and adjusting activities that had been unexpectedly canceled.
One particular activity we experienced but probably avoidable was a walking safari with the Masai Warriors, which began in a traditional Masai village located along the main road to Masai Mara NP. Here, we were provided with insights into construction techniques, cultural practices, and the local way of life. While there were attempts to sell artisan crafts (including a stick and a piece of wood used for old fashioned way of starting the fire for just 20 USD), we found the experience somewhat lacking in terms of genuine information and wildlife encounters. The walking safari took us through an area behind the village where we primarily observed Masai cattle, a few rats, and wild chickens, along with brief lessons about two plant species and a chance to use a traditional Masai bow and arrow. If you’re hoping to see zebras or giraffes during this activity, you may want to manage your expectations.
Lastly, we spent only one full day in the Masai Mara. Our guide did offer us the option to extend our visit for an additional half day before returning to Nairobi, which would require a new entry fee of $200 USD each.
In conclusion, our safari experience was indeed wonderful. With this review, I aim to highlight a few key points for future travelers, ensuring they have a clearer understanding of what to expect when signing up for such an adventure.
BE
Email George | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good 7 days tour with Meektrails with some room for improvement
We are experienced travellers in Africa, and this is our fourth safari destination. We had a good time in Kenya with Meektrails as we visited Amboseli NP, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara. Overall, Meektrails did well, we had good communication before our trip, our contact Eliud was very quick to reply, we had an experienced guide (Joseph) and they were punctual and professional. However, there were some small issues, many of which apply to most safari tour operators in Kenya. None of these issues, however, got in the way of the overall good experience.
Firstly - the car. We decided to save a bit of money and we went for a 4x4 minivan instead of the classic safari vehicle - Toyota Land Cruiser. We had done that before in Uganda without any issues and we were assured by Meektrails that their vans are new and in good condition. Well, our van broke on the first day, just 5 km after we departed. While this of course can always happen and there is never a guarantee that issues would not arise with any car, it was quite obvious that the van was not in the best condition and our guide was quite careful in driving it for the rest of the trip. Its important to say that they reacted quickly and another car picked us up (with other tourists) and we shared the car for our first day. Even though we had booked a private tour, sharing for a day was not an issue.
An important piece of advice we can give to any traveller is to make sure you have a clear understanding of how many National Park passes you have and for which days. Park fees in Kenya are especially expensive and safari operators usually play around with passes to make budget trips possible and of course have a better margin. We had some small misunderstandings with Meektrails on this point (on one of the days our programme included a game drive, but in practice, it wasn't because of a pass that Meektrails did not pay for). Overall I think it was a matter of misunderstanding and did not take a way of our experience, since on this day we had a long trip in any case.
What was a disappointment, however, is that we specifically requested that on the last day we do a game drive in Maasai Mara and our flight was very late in the evening - 01.30 after midnight. So we specifically paid for the park passes - a total of 200 USD for two people. Yet, both our guide and Meektrails themselves, on multiple occasions, told us that there was not much time for a game drive since we needed to have enough time to get to Nairobi. We insisted that there was more than enough time to get to the airport, and even if it takes 6-7 hours (which usually takes 5, especially on a Sunday), we could have a half-day drive. They didn't agree and it felt like they just wanted the trip to finish earlier, so we did not feel like arguing and our drive was only until 9:30. This felt like wasting 200 USD on park fees for a short game drive. In the end, we arrived in Nairobi at 17:00 (with several very long stops - we just felt that there is a lot of time to spare), or more than 8 hours before our flight.
DE
Email Elizabeth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not customer-oriented, only interested in own profits
Starting with the positives:
* Our driver exhibited exceptional friendliness and punctuality throughout the journey.
* We were consistently provided with excellent vantage points for capturing wildlife photographs.
* Despite encountering dangerous traffic conditions, our driver drove safely, though it's worth noting the necessity for functional safety belts within the vehicle.
However, handling of unforeseen circumstances by Meektrails Safari, particularly regarding our delayed arrival:
On the downside:
* Meektrails initially suggested omitting a day from our Masai Mara itinerary, a significant disappointment given its prominence in our plans and its associated cost, with no reimbursement offered.
* Contrary to their stated cancellation policy guaranteeing full refunds in such situations, we were informed that refunds were not feasible due to upfront payments for accommodations and entrance fees.
* During the safari we saw that these fees were typically paid upon arrival, contradicting Meektrails' explanation.
* Following considerable negotiation, Meektrails agreed to adjust our itinerary to two full days in Masai Mara, yet failed to compensate for the activities and accommodations we skipped.
* Additionally, the promised sightseeing activity in Nairobi on our final day was abruptly canceled without prior notice, leaving us feeling fooled
In conclusion, we recommend you to recognize the potential for abrupt changes in plans during such excursions. However, Meektrails' failure to stick to their refund policy and their apparent attempts to prioritize their interests leave a negative impression. Regrettably, we cannot recommend this agency.
Reply from Meektrails Safaris
Posted on Mar 26, 2024Many thanks for posting your safari experiences with all the people here looking for a good safari in our beautiful country Kenya. This is an eye opener.
I will point out what you did not mention, that your flight was delayed for over a day and it is busy season here.
Despite your flight being delayed for over a day we managed to rework your itinerary making sure you did not miss out on anything without charging you extra for changing some of the dates despite the hotels considering your booking as a last minute cancellation. We actually paid more for the change, some places 100% for the room.
The 100% refund is for us protecting our clients, in most cases we cover the losses as you well know the hotels have different policies, we look at it in a positive way that no one will book a holiday in Africa with the intensions to cancel last minute. We only do it to protect the clients, rarely do the cancellations occur.
This is the same thing that we did for you, just did not find it necessary to tell you we are paying some of the hotels afresh for the changes since yours was considered a last minute no show and we had to push every place a day ahead. Rarely do such cases occur.
I think honesty is very important everywhere as the only place that would not fit inn was a night in Lake Naivasha because of your Flight back home.
Many thanks for choosing our beautiful country Kenya for your holiday.
DE
Email Mirko | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unreliable
I went on a 10 day Safari with this company last July, unfortunately we did not like it.
Before booking they promise
Before departure they promise you whatever you want, but once there you don't get it. We asked to have a jeep instead of a “minibus”, we even paid money on top but we did not get it. It was told we will receive binoculars, so we did not bring ours and even those were not available. For the last we asked for a guide expert in birds since of the group is an experienced researcher in forestal ecology, as you can imagine the guide was not an expert in birds. So we felt like children, promised a lot but it was all a bunch of lies.
Other issues, the plan was changed without even informing us. We were supposed to spend 2 days in a park, but the company changed the plan and neither gave us an alternative, so we spent a day basically doing nothing.
As cherry on top, because of some departures issues, we arrived 2 days late. We kindly asked for a “discount” for the activities not done, and were told that was not possible cause everything was already booked, only later we discovered that the tickets of the parks are paid once only at the entry so our tickets were booked. When we pointed that out, it has been told to us that we will be reimbursed, and as you can get from this review, it has been more than a year I'm still waiting to be contacted.
Reply from Meektrails Safaris
Posted on Nov 13, 2024Meektrails safaris Limited (owner)
9 hours ago
Hello Marko,
Your trip was long ago. You raised a complaint and we compensated you despite having paid more for your hotels changing the whole itinerary despite being in the peak season. We did not charge you extra for the change of dates. Pushing you forward your dates in each place.
You have posted a review each year on a different platform. We refuse to be Blackmailed as our reviews on all platforms speak for us. Telling us to pay you money so you pull down the reviews is not within our ethics, as a culture and an honest company so we want everyone to see everything and judge for themselves.
Many thanks for sharing your experience.
CH
Email Marco | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They may change plans unexpectedly and without informing the clients.
We booked a ten day safari. The original program was changed without informing us and without our consent. The vehicle was downgraded without informing us. They also decreased the number of safari day to 9, leaving us one day without activities. This is especially bad since they erased from the program one day in the Masai Mara. We found out about all of this during the trip, not before. Communication was virtually non-existent.
Reply from Meektrails Safaris
Posted on Jan 8, 2024Many thanks for sharing this with other travelers, we take every review in a positive approach to help us get better, some negative will assist us in knowing how we can do to make it better for clients travelling with us now and in the future.
In Kenya we have 2 vehicles for safaris, 4 X 4 safari minivan and 4 X 4 safari land cruiser, it is important to know which you are booked even by asking for photos for the safari vehicle. The price between the two vehicles is considerably different.
I do not understand what you mean by your tour being cut short yet we dropped you guys at the airport on the same day you were booked for your flight home, you almost did not meet me because of time since you were rushing to board the flight. The flight itinerary was not changed, how could you have missed a day?
I agree about missing a game 1st night in Maasai Mara, I personally asked you what we could do about this since our parks had changed from 24 hour packages to 12 hour packages. I have many clients who have had this issue but we advised them to do something different on this evening to avoid paying a full days ticket that is only used for an hour or so and most picked my advise, you also picked this as there was no need to pay an extra ticket. Had I known you had an issue believe me we would have paid that extra ticket for you to make sure you spoke positive of us and our our beautiful country.
ALL IN ALL THIS WILL HELP US IMPROVE AND THANKS FOR SHARING.