Big Time Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Budget & mid-range)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
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If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CZ
Email Karel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our expectations met
The trip met our expectations - organisation as promised, experienced driver, a lot of animals...
IR
Email Reza | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable trip
Everythings was good, only dinners at the camp was horrible.
I will be back to there at next year.
RS
Email lana | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
loved it:)
Just loved the Big Time safari in Masai Marai:) will always recommend them!
CL
Email Fernando Gonzalez | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic family vacations due to a very well planed journey with good sites and excelent guides
We had a very good previous experience during the planning of the safari. We were able to modify the trip and select the places and duration according to our request. Most of the success of the journey is because of the flexibility shown by BTS in preparation. Once there, both guides (in Kenya and Tanzania) showed a high acknowledge of the sites and were dedicated and warm.
Definetely, an awesome experience
CO
Email Marcela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful time in safari
I was on 7 days safari, Masai Mara, Amboseli and Lake Nakuru. Big Time safaris is a great company, they make your staying in Kenya easier, specially when your are travelling by yourself. Martha is such a kind lady, she cares about you all the time. Also John is such a funny and helpfull person. The best guide and driver is Animal, I had great time with him in Masai Mara; I don´t recommend Ben as safari guide. The relation price- service is very good, you can get into agreements with Big Time Safaris, no problem at all. Hope to be in Kenya again, asante sana!
US
Email Jacci | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good accommodations, good wildlife, good people.
I went on a three day Maasai Mara safari. For the price, I thought it was a great experience. About $330 dollars for transportation, accommodation, meals, and the guide. A few minor problems here and there with the vehicle and getting nickel-and-dimed for water. You stay in these cute little tents with private bathrooms, community meals in the morning and evening with a packed lunch on Saturday. I went alone and happened to get a pretty good group in my vehicle. Make sure you ask for extra time on Friday and Sunday in the park. If your group is willing, you can get up early and get a few extra hours. We had one passenger who was complaining, but honestly, a lot of people spent more than $300 per DAY for safari in this area. Definitely a steal for students, budget travelers, or anyone who doesn't need a luxury lodge.
JP
Email tomoya | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
reliable and reasonablly cheap
they can make flexible and cheap plan as a professional.
drivers are also reliable and good guide.
i stromgly recommend u.
Unique experience - value for its money
Safari with Big Time was an amazing experience, I can only recommend them! We had the experienced driver Richard who was able to show us the best (animal) spots of the Masai Mara. The first evening we got to see a lion family eating a freshly killed zebra. The day after we were lucky to see the leopard which is hard to spot. There were many other tourist vans, but Richard got to drive us to the best spot to see the leopard from a very close point of view. Tents are comfortable, a bed with matrass and musquito net are provided. There is a decent toilet with a lavabo and a shower. In the morning and evening, there is warm water in the camp. During those periods, there is also electricity provided by a generator. Food was tasty, as a man I had enough to eat during every meal. One of Big Time's added value is their hospitality. My flight got delayed with 4h. Their driver was still waiting for me in the middle of the night. Due to this delay my hotel got cancelled, but Big Time arranged me a hotel in the center of Nairobi at a friends price (17€ instead of 40€ official price). The day after just before Safari departure, as I just arrived, they guided me to an exchange office, helped me out buying a local sim card and assisted me to supermarket for groces. To summarize, a great experience definitely worth the money!
Budget friendly and kid friendly
Summary:
We had a great time with on the BTS budget safari with our young family. Our 1 and 3 year old children were safe, well-fed and cared for, and we got to see the Big 5 and more on our game drives. Food was good and plentiful, accommodation was suitable, guides were friendly. Not 5 star luxury touring by any standards, but it was better than expected and we had great service from Martha at BTS Kenya.
BTS:
- It's difficult to find a well-priced safari tour that allows young children, but Big Time Safaris provided us with a fantastic tour for our family. We traveled to Kenya with a 22 month old and a 3 year old, and BTS were very accommodating of their child car seats and general needs. Martha runs the show in the Kenya office and she's great. Answers emails and Whatsapp messages very promptly and she's very knowledgeable about everything. She was very understanding when our flight to Nairobi was cancelled at the last minute, and adjusted our tour so that we did not miss out on any game drives despite arriving 6hrs late and missing the original start time.
The tour:
- the tour was great. We were prepared for very budget lodgings given the cost of the tour but were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tented camp in Masai Mara. the budget hotel in Lake Nakuru was quite nice too. The Tanzanian side was more in keeping with the 'budget' title, and we slept two nights in the public camping grounds near the Crater and Serengeti, but the facilities were fine and we had no complaints.
- you get different guides in Kenya and Tanzania. Both sets of guides were very kind to us and our kids, and we enjoyed the game drives immensely.
The kids:
- The vast majority of Kenyan/Tz tours available on Safari Bookings had age restrictions to >8 or even >15yrs. Clearly that wasn't going to work for my family, and we had very few operators to choose from. That said, BTS were really excellent.
- Camping/budget safaris will obviously not suit every toddler, but ours really enjoyed the experience. They had fun camping and we were sensible and prepared extensively - we brought snacks and toys for them, installed our own child car seats so that they could sleep on the drive and were securely seated, etc.
- Be aware that the public camping sites get pretty cold in the evenings, particularly the Crater. We brought toddler sleeping suits and sleeping bags and the kids slept well.
Note:
- We chose a tour that covered Kenya (Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara) and Tz (Lake Manyara, the Crater, Serengeti). Be aware that the Tanzanian part of the tour is not conducted by BTS, rather it is run by a separate Tanzanian company. We did all our correspondence through Martha in Kenya, and I would recommend that other travellers do so, too, to avoid any confusion or payments issues with the Tanzanian office.
CA
Email Carter | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great first time experience in Africa with Big Time Safaris
We did the ten day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater tour. Right from the start we were picked up from the airport, which we felt more comfortable with than finding our own taxi. We had an extra day before our safari started and John Obae, the CEO/President of Big Time Safaris, came to the hotel to make sure that we were alright and made sure we would not be bored during the day. He set up a wonderful day touring the different attractions around Nairobi. I was very impressed that they made this extra effort to ensure that our visit was excellent.
The drive to Masai Mara is long and rough, but there is no way around it. Great experience driving through rural Kenya. The Eco Lodge was more than satisfactory as we had our own tent, which included a large bed and private bathroom. Food was great. Our guide made every effort to ensure that we got up close to all animals (Thanks Patrick). You have the opportunity to go to a Masai Mara village. Allen, the Masai man who shows you around, speaks excellent english, but be prepared to purchased some of their merchandise.
Arriving at Lake Nakuru, the hotel that we were supposed to check into was full, but we were quickly taken to another hotel next door and given rooms. The water level of the lake has risen substantially over the past several years to the point where all of the flamingos have left to a different lake. The itinerary says that there are flamingos there. It was still a nice drive around the lake and we did get to see a group of rhinos.
At Lake Manyara, the accommodation is absolutely sensational and far exceeded our expectations. The name of the accommodation was Panorama Safari Camp and we had private "igloo" rooms, great views of the Great Rift Valley, electricity, wifi, very clean bathrooms, full service bar (accepted major credit cards), singing/dancing, and an acrobat show. The game drive itself is a little slow, but you can't expect to see animals constantly.
Camping in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are both more than adequate with the Ngorongoro site being a little better equipped (warm showers and plug ins to charge electronics). Remember to bring warm clothes as it is quite cold over night and in the early mornings. Both game drives were good, but not quite as good as the Masai Mara Reserve only because there are fewer roads, limiting close access to animals.
Our guide, Lenus, and chef, Hodgie, were great. Hodgie can really cook and we were never close to being hungry. Lenus was very easy to get along with and liked to joke around. He was also very knowledgeable about the animals.
Budget hotels that are provided are also more than adequate. Warm showers, wifi, breakfast, etc.
Just allow yourself to go with the flow while on the tour. Things can change quickly, but you are always taken care of.
Lastly, not enough can be said about Martha at Big Time Safari. We were in contact with her for many months leading up to our safari and also during our safari. She is always quick to tend to all our needs, such as booking hotels and arranging drivers. Her customer service is truly exceptional and she made our time here run smoothly.