our company director
Kameraz of Afrika
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2013)
- 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)
Reviews
MK
Email igor | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not bad not terrible.
Too many added costs to the tour. The basically give a driver that knows bits and pieces about animals and he just drives you like a taxi driver from place A to place B. No value for money for some of the "attractions" we saw.
Email Linda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be careful!!!
Overall the safari was an amazing experience. Our driver Tony was always punctual and went out of his way to ensure we saw plenty of animals and always from the best vantage points.
However, we specifically booked this tour to stay on the game reserves, but at the last minute, the accommodation was changed to a substandard hotel in town. We spoke with the office about this and the woman there wouldn’t help and was extremely rude, yelling that we should read the small print. There were also issues with the final payment , and despite sending proof the payment had been made, the same woman again yelled down the phone demanding to be paid again and threatened us with the police. Not a pleasant experience.
IT
Email Luigi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice experience in Kenya
My friend and I had our safari organised by this tour agency from the 6th August till the 16th August: it was our first safari and, overall, we enjoyed it, even though some aspects can be improved. The communication with the agency was really quick and efficient during the all time and our accomodations were good (budget option), except for the first one in Masai Mara, where we spent two nights and both food and bathrooms (scarcely essential and with unstable hot water) were not the best.
Our driver, Newton, was a nice guy and he used to provide adequate explationations during the game drives, but he was not always on time, so the timing in general should be optimized, also considering few but proper stops and the time for meals, and we didn't always feel safe while he was driving, because he was constantly on the phone. A very negative aspect about the organisation is that the driver didn't have his accomodations booked for the night, so it happened twice that we had to leave earlier from the game drive in order to let him find where to sleep (and of course we agreed to leave because we didn't want him to sleep in the car, but it would have been more appropriate to book it in advance, maybe through the agency, so that we could enjoy the whole day at the park). In addition, during our first game drive in Masai Mara the car broke down twice (at first there was a problem with a bolt of the tyre, which probably wouldn't have happened if there had been a proper check-up before the start of the safari and this inconvenience made us waste more than 1 hour to solve it, while the second time was just a damage in the tyre, which of course can happen and was quickly changed).
Our programme also included a visit to Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha: they are not bad, but I think two days are too many and it's better to skip at least one of them and to have more time for a game drive in a park (Amboseli for example, where we spent just half a day at the end) and when we realised this during the trip, they told us it was too late to change our schedule. I would have liked to spend more time in Masai Mara too, because, even though we were supposed to spend two days of game drive there according to the programme, we actually had one day, since we arrived in the afternoon on the first day and there was only the possibility to visit the Masai village, which we preferred not to do.
So, on balance, I would suggest to see less spots, but to spend more time in the main parks, maybe also providing more packed lunches to be taken in the morning when it's time to change accomodation in order to avoid waisting time in reaching the new place, doing the check-in and having lunch, but going straight to the new park for the game drive and then doing the check-in directly in the evening.
At the end, we went to Diani Beach, where we spent a very nice and relaxing time at our resort. Anyway, apart from the previous points, we had a good time.
MY
Email happy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professionalism of the Tour Guide
Overall experience from the tour agency, the reply on pre-sales is in advance. They patiently designed the all needs and wants of the customers. But the experience during the safari with our tour guide+ driver, I think the professionalism will need to improve, they are always late, I can understand the traffic issue in the cities, but as a driver you will need to know the prediction and arrive earlier to keep the customer satisfy. Due to our late reservation, we did not manage to book a nearer safari hotel in masai mara, thus we not able to got the chance to go on the center of mara triangle, suggest the tour agency if so, please arrange the tour to enter to deep middle of the safari earlier, but not keep taking round at the outside area.
SE
Email Linnea Andersson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Safari was absolutely amazing, but the company needs to work on some points still.
Kameraz of Africa was incredibly quick to respond to emails. They put together a package for us exactly according to our wishes. The safari was absolutely magical and the accommodations we had booked were very good. Our driver was nice and very good at his job. He knew what he was doing and where he was going. We wished he would have told us more and interacted more. He was more of a driver than a guide. He was unfortunately a lot on his phone and did not pay attention when we tried to talk to him and ask him to stop because we wanted to take pictures. We often had to stand and wait for the driver as he was late in the mornings. The first day he was late for over 1 hour.
We were very disappointed that we didn’t get informed about the new rules of the park that affected our schedule.
When we booked we were given a schedule of what our days would look like and after seeing the schedule we confirmed the booking and paid accordingly. On the evening before our last day, the driver told us that we would be heading back to Nairobi in the morning. While we thought we were going on our last game drive as it was the one we had in our schedule and booked.
Apparently, the park's fees have changed and we had not been informed about this before. So we were very disappointed. And when we took this up with the company, they just blamed "the government and park authorities". They didn't take responsibility for what they could have done for us, or apologize for not informing us. It felt like they couldn't understand our disappointment of missing a half day safari. Before this, we received a very good treatment.
The experience during the safari was so fantastic that it outweighed our vacation. Would give Kameraz of Africa a rating of 3,5.
US
Email Michael Gulbraa - M&M Photo Tours, Inc. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trying hard but not there yet
I've been on over 200 safaris to East Africa in the last 25+ years.
When my first 2 vendors were not able to assist me on this trip I turned to these guys.
I was told they worked with many photographers in the past and understood what was needed.
We struggled to get our guide to do what we wanted/needed for the right shot - all within the rules. He was nice enough and kind BUT he was often on his phone making it difficult to communicate with him as we had to repeat ourselves almost every question/statement.
The guide did not even have binoculars - how can you be a guide and not have binos?
The vehicle was not in great shape. It did what we needed but for only having 3 in the car it was tight, narrow, and the way the rear seat was positioned it meant that the person riding in the back often hit their head on the top of the interior - this was often with the way our guide drove - often going way too fast over certain parts of the roads.
The camps we stayed at were all fine - I'd stayed at them before so knew what to expect.
The value was OK as their price was very aggressive, but the overall level of service was not up to the standard I like.
I give Kameraz a 3.5 out of 5.
CN
Email Wutchee | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
High cost performance！
Overall, it was a pleasant journey, especially because of the nice cost and the good quality of the resorts and camp! But still, some aspects for improvement e.g. inadequate information of guide are sent to us only one day advanced after repeatedly urge. Moreover, we choosed miniVan but it seemed to old, the tire and battery of the Van both failed in the road, we waste many times to fix it up. In all, the journey of Kenya is worthy！
US
Email Vanessa | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They did everything they could to make our trip smooth after our flight was delayed 3 days.
Carol was very helpful in putting together a tour for us. When our flight got delayed 3 days they worked very hard trying to rebook everything and make sure we got the best options available. Unfortunately we missed out on a few of the awesome hotels, but that was not their fault at all. They did respond and try to make our trip as smooth as possible at all times. We loved all of our safaris. We didn't enjoy the two lakes we went to as much, and would have skipped them altogether and spent more time on the safaris, but keep in mind the drives are long and take a long time (they can't drive over 80km/h, so do the math like that), and the lake stops were more strategic. Next time I come, I will choose to go to less places and spend more time in each place, for sure.
US
Email Mike | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Booked us an excellent safari but communication during the trip itself could be improved
Booked an andbeyond safari with kameraz of afrika and had an amazing time overall. They charged a fair price, and communication in the planning stage was great.
My only complaint is that approaching the trip and during the trip the communication was much worse.
For example, they booked us a driver but didnt give us any details on the day of like a name, vehicle, eta, etc. We also had a change in our airline company last minute that neither us or the driver was aware of until we got to the airport and had to drive to another terminal. Finally, there was severe flooding that might have impacted our safari if it was a few days earlier but we didnt get any clear or detailed updates from them, and I had to reach out to our camp directly to get details.
Overall they did a fair job and i wouldnt let those minor communication issues deter someone from booking with them for a good itinerary at a good price!
CN
Email Maoting | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Generally good.
My positive feedback is for our guide Dennis, although there are some minor flaws, it does not affect him is a guide worthy of recommendation. Thanks to Dennis's professionalism and hard work, we were lucky enough to see the Big Five and Five Ugly on the trip,and he ALWAYS gave us the best position to take photos!We were so happy and appreciate!!There were also some unsatisfactory points in the trip. In Masai Mara, we stayed in Serena Safari Lodge, the roof of our room leaked severely due to heavy rain at night. The leaking place happened to be in the position of the bed, causing the sheets and quilts to be very wet, and the dripping noise kept me up all night.The next day, I reported that to the reception and received a response like "OK，I will change your room then". There is no sincerely formal apology at all! It's so frustrating,I informed Dennis and Candy about it,they both replied that they will communicate with Serena, but I have not received any further response from either them or Serena regarding this matter. I think a good safari operator is not just about making us to have fun,but more importantly, to protect our rights and interests, because accommodations are booked by operator. Unfortunately, Kameraz failed to do so for us.