The Team Behind Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris
Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2003)
- Member Of:
- Eco Tourism & Kenya Wildlife Services
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $64 to $490 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CN
Email LangNiu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service with nice drivers
Everything is excellent with service and communications, all the people in that company are very nice. They always do all the stuff according to my time table. For the living, the camp is so good when we were in some park. Highly recommand to book with kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My experience with Kenya Walking Survivors is certainly pleasant, but there's room for improvement.
To start, I just want to provide a little background about the trip so that it's easier to understand the pros and cons. It was a 16 days trip that includes Safari(8-9 days) in both Kenya and Tanzania and Trekking in Mt. Kilimanjaro(6 days).
I thought the pre-trip communications could have been more effective provided that it's a fairly lengthy trip and that a lot of preparation is needed for the climb. The company didn't clearly convey to us regarding what to prepare and what to expect. Nevertheless, the Safari part of the trip went very smoothly with no problems. The lodging was mostly delightful and the guide was very knowledgeable and patient in showing us all the wild lives.
For the Trekking in Mt. Kilimanjaro part of the trip, the services that were provided to us unfortunately didn't live up to our expectation. Kenya Walking Survivors seemed to have contracted with a Tanzania local travel agency called Africa Royals in handling the Mt. Kilimanjaro part. Therefore, we were handed over to the Africa Royals immediately following the completion of the Safari. Africa Royals is disorganized at best. As you probably know, staying dry is one of the most important factors that play into whether or not one would succeed in reaching the top. However, our clothes got wet the very first day of the climb and, as a result, we were suffering for the remaining of the climb. Another area that invites criticism is camp management. Every single day, we were the last group to start the climb and once we reached the next camp site, we often have to wait for an hour or two for the porter to arrive and set up the tent. My last complaint is the fact that the principal guide doesn't sufficiently communicate the time table of activities of the day to us and even if he does, he's usually the one who doesn't abide by it. For instance, on the night of reaching the peak we were told that we would start climbing at 1am. and that someone would wake us up prior to that time to get prepared. We woke up ourselves at 1:30 am and the guide was still sleeping in his tent. We would have missed the sunrise at the peak.
All in all, I think Kenya Walking Survivors provided decent service for the Safari part, but partnering with Africa Royals for providing services to customers on Mt Kilimanjaro is in desperate need for improvement.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience in a life time!
We had an absolutely wonderful safari (9 day/8 night) and great service with KWSS in February. One of the crucial things we learned: your guide/driver matters very much. Go for an experienced one!
Before: Indeed, OT was always very prompt with his replies and I am glad we trusted the earlier reviews about KWSS on safaribookings.com. We were worried about carrying the balance in cash to Nairobi but there was no problem at all. We booked at least one night in Nairobi inclusive of the tour just in case any of our flight segments had been delayed. But we DID arrange with OT for an airport pickup and were able to meet him and finalize payment the following day. (Having SOMETHING pre-arranged for a ride from the airport was essential.
Guide/Driver: It turns out that a talented guide is SO important. The guide must be able to watch the road (constantly, all roads have terrible potholes), scan the horizon for animals or indicators of animals, understand where they are within each national park (without stopping and checking a map), frequently (safely) pass trucks on the roads between parks, and listen to the radio for animal spotting. We had Allan, and we were happy to spend 8-9 days with him. He was friendly and ethical; he was quiet when we were and talkative when we wanted to talk and ask questions. He could spot animals like nobody's business every time we were in the parks. He knew his way around, even in the Serengeti where there are many side roads with nothing posted. He drove so very patiently on the roads in between parks, passing safely when possible and always slowing down carefully for the speed bumps and the potholes. Allan genuinely wanted us to have a good experience, and had a real love for the animals. So he really WORKED at trying to figure day-by-day the best route or places to go within a park, and checked road conditions with all of his friends among the guides across all of the companies. We have no doubt that being with ALLAN was one of the most important reasons we enjoyed our safari so thoroughly.
We where three and the safari van 4x4 was seven saeter As other reviewers have noted, this permits us room to switch seats and to have luggage right in the back. BUT IN ADDITION, we think that the ride would have been even more smoother.
All the route OT choose was excellent and great. So I think you can trust OT (OTIENO)judgment in choosing where to stay and go
I am so incredibly glad we did it in this order.it was such an awesome introduction to Africa for me. I know that what you see varies, and that different safari reviews illustrate different experiences. We had plenty of lions, elephants, water buffalo - all up very close - and our best look at the shy warthogs, plus many different hooved animals and birds at ngorongoro crater. Also, great baboons. At Tsavo West, we picked up great leopard viewing - not just the leopard fed at Ngulia - especially one that walked along the vehicle! We also had fantastic elephant viewing. By Amboseli, ironically, we never had the close-up views of the elephants that we enjoyed
Based on OUR experience, I'd say that Maasai Mara are "can't miss". But I couldn't have skipped any of the other places - except Bogoria. The water levels are deepening at Nakuru and so it is now a free option to spend the morning driving up to Lake Bogoria to see the thousands of flamingos. We did this - and while the sight was really great and enjoyable, it did not offset the long, long drive and the tough sections of road. We'd have been better to have more time in either Nakuru park or Naivasha park - and seen the huge flamingo flock via National Geographic TV. The Mwangaza tented camp Mara is just inside a gate at Maasai Mara, rather than just outside, but also had a long, really punishing approach between deep within the Mara and the lodge. Again, the Sopa was probably worth it but next time we go to Maasai Mara I'll be tempted to to stay in a different area of the large park.
In summary, we strongly urge you to use OT (OTIENO)and KWSS (Kenya walking survivors safaris ltd. And try to get Allan .
Don’t forget they are pocket friendly
I really recommend KWSS to anybody
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience - very exciting - always safe - very good value for money
I had a great time with KWSS in January 2014! OT - the company boss - cares a lot about his clients.
To be in touch with them - via email and in person in Nairobi - is very important to him. He's the one who normally picks you up at the airport and explains to you, what is going to happen.
The communication via email in advance was very fast! (which is VERY different from other tour operators I know..)
The driver, Mike, did a very good job. I've seen A LOT during our game drives in Lake Manyara N.P, Serengeti N.P. and the Ngorongoro Crater. The cook, Sami, did an excellent job!
It was very impressive to see what he was able to provide for you in those simple kitchens. I've gained weight, that's for sure...
About staying overnight during the tour: We talked about improving the tents and mattrasses - but that's it. Everything else was great. I especially enjoyed those little huts next to Lake Manyara N.P.
The Toyota Landcruiser with pop up roof is the ideal game drive vehicle. In ours it was even possible to charge camera batteries during the drive! (How awesome is that???)
I'm looking forward to travelling with KWSS again!
Thanks a lot once again, Gentlemen!
Ben, Stuttgart, Germany
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The company was very accomodating and helpful and the experience overall was really excellent.
Everybody tried to do their best to make us feel comfortable and give us the Kenya experience, that did not go unnoticed! Very few misunderstandings regarding expectations. Good job.
IT
20-35 years of age
Voyage of two naturalists in Africa
We paid for a small groups safari (15 days Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania), but they gave us the chance to be just the two of us, and planned the trip to help satisfy our needs (we wanted to see a lot of animals! And we did!). we made two major changes in the program. Very easy to keep in touch before the trip. Accommodation mainly good (especially the masai mara tented camp (wonderful food), and the campings in tanzania (wonderful places, good cooking, night wildlife encounters!). Just one disappointing night in Boungoma (disco night very loud!!). We didn't expect the trip to Uganda to be so long! But the experience with gorillas was amazing! Some problems in payment from Italy through Western Unions… the guides have been always present and kind and helped us through border customs. Overall, very good job!
SE
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A nice experience with certain beginner's mistakes
The tents on our walking safari was not rain proof. The description of degree of strain during walking was not entirely accurate, it turned out to be much more difficult (e.g. walking for 10 hours one day in 40 degrees heat) - you need to make sure that people understand what is expected.
Everyone involved were always very nice, accomodating and helpful.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari!
Before the trip many times I wrote letters and called to Mr.Otieno about our route. He helped create the best route. In nine days we visited 5 parks in Kenya and Tanzania. Total we had four people from. When we arrived Otti already waited for us in airport. He took us to a nice hotel and organized a tour of Nairobi. All hotels and campgrounds where we stayed was consistent with price and quality. The driver was a good guide and very well known parks. Addition to the driver , with us the whole trip was a great cook who always cooked delicious food. During Safari had no problems, we saw all the big five, made the best photos and went to rest on Zanzibar. If you need more information, Otti have my contacts.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Booking my safari
So far I have only gone through the booking process with mr. OT from Kenya waking survivors safari and I could not be happier. Mr. OT has helped me tailor my trip around my budget with compromising on what I want to see and visit on safari. After contacting so many other tour operators over the past few months who keep putting forward obstacles, Mr. OT instead tries to find solutions and I booked a solo trip with my own private driver and guide for 23 days within 6 hours of my original contact. Every email was replied too with such speed. Thank you OT. I shall write a follow up review after my trip
HU
Email Eszter & George | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Communication with Kenyawalk
We found KenyaWalk on this website and we chose to contact them because of the excellent reviews we read here. Though our safari is due in July, we can say that we already have very good impressions on KenyaWalk and the company's boss, Oti. He is very quick and effective when it comes to communication and it is also easy to contact him on Skype. We think he is funny, open, flexible and patient with his clients. We are very excited and can't wait to meet Oti and his team and go on a safari with KenyaWalk.