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
FI
Email Matti | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nine days safari experience
This was our first visit to Africa. The Safari was found and reserved via internet, which always cause some consern but everything was very well organized and followed the given descriptions. During the reservation and planning phase company responded rapidly. The safari itself was wonderful. We saw the big five and many other species in different national parks. The only blame is underestimated travel times due to high traffic and long distances. We had very experienced driver/guide and good chef for us.
IN
Email Sutanuka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience of a lifetime
Thanks to Mr. Otieno and his team, we came back from Kenya with the experience of a lifetime. We were a bit apprehensive about the tour, given the high crime rate as publicized regularly in social media and other online resources. But Kenya Walking Survivors made us feel at home on our first meeting. From the point they picked us up at the Nairobi Airport to the moment they dropped us at our hotel in Nairobi after 7 days, it was like a dream. Mr. Otieno and his team arranged the entire trip with flawless efficiency. The accommodations were clean and cozy, the food was continental and good, the vehicle was well maintained. We got to see “The Big-5” within one day in Masai Mara. We booked a group tour covering Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara & Lake Naivasha. But fortunately for us there were none else with us on that particular trip for that particular period. So it became like a private safari and we had a lot of fun.
I am especially thankful to Mr. Ibrahim, our Driver-Manager-Guide-Wildlife Expert bundled into one. Being with him was a wonderful experience. My 7 yr old daughter still talks about him. His patience and demeanor was exemplary. We shall always remember him.
IN
Email Ankur | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience!!!!
We had an unforgettable tour of Kenya. We were five family members including my seven-year-old son. This was one of my dreams to travel and see the wonderful parks of Kenya. We traveled with three different guides Robinson, James and last but not the least Peter, all of them are fantastic guides. Thank you, Mr. Otieno for all the arrangements and efforts to make our trip a successful one. He upgraded our stay from Lake Nakuru lodge to Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge, which was a pleasant surprise. All the parks Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha were a fantastic experience. I will also like to specially mention about the last day walking safari at Green Crater Lake, our guide Anna was very knowledgeable, I enjoyed walking through the jungle and enjoy wildlife. I would surely recommend them for Safaris in East Africa. For me, they will be my guides for any of my future tour to East Africa.
US
Email Ruby | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Vacation!
OT was the best! We planned a trip at the last minute in high season and OT pulled off an amazing vacation for us! We wanted a custom 2 week vacation, staying at luxury hotels. We had a private car and driver for the entire trip and we saw the Big 5 several times! Because we had the time, we were able to see most of the areas in Kenya that are stunningly beautiful. I definitely recommend Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris for a wonderful and affordable vacation. OT is honest and planned a vacation of a lifetime!
Outstanding service which guided me from initial inquiry to changing home bound flight:
It was like having a friend in the business: comforting to say the least
EG
Email Myriam Raymond | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unique experience and professionalism
I am back to my home country and we would like to thank you for a wonderful trip.
The souvenirs we will keep for life time are unforgettable.
ALthough we did not expect to be on the road for so long, each and every attraction was unique and special.
Kenya walking Survivors planned well our trips, our pick-ups and accompagnement.
Your services are remarkable and the people you work with are so professional.
We will never forget David who was our guide and I would like to thank him so much for taking care of us.
He was particularly attentive to our requests and to what we wanted do.
The flexibility the company showed is also remarkable given that this was a set program.
Finally, the choice of hotels and lodges are just Great.
Hope to be able to do more next time.
US
Email Michael | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Value for your money for 21-day, 3 country safaris (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania)
Had done extensive research on Trip Advisor and Safari Bookings. Trip Advisor does a great job with reviews, but didn’t find it helpful for the tent camps we wanted for our experience in several countries. Would recommend using Safari Bookings since they have an easy search engine for your destinations. https://www.safaribookings.com/
20-Day Safari to Kenya Maasai Uganda Gorilla and Tanzania
Nairobi (Start), Masai Mara NR, Lake Nakuru NP, Jinja (Town), Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Lake Naivasha, Lake Sonachi, Arusha (City), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro, Tarangire NP, Zanzibar (Town & Beach), Nairobi (End) We took out beach portion and added Sambura at his recommendation which was the highlight of our 21 day trip.
Pros: KWSS had the flexibility to cater to our destinations for a reasonable price. Many places charge double what we paid for, but you do get tent camps out in the middle of nowhere a few times.
Drivers Marcus (Kenya), David, Richard (Uganda), and Michael (Tanzania) - all averaged about 15 years’ experience in travel guides. All showed above average knowledge and provided for above average gaming experience.
Cons: The hotels we did stay in cities were mostly concrete and noisy. Do not recommend Sky Hotel in Nairobi, Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala, or Sky Hotel in Lake Bunyoni area I believe. We awoke to noise in each of them. Silver Springs had 2 parties at 1:30 am in the morning. Also had call to prayer at 2 and 5 am from a distance at Octagon Lodge, but we were tired enough it didn’t matter much. Ask for other accommodations before you pay since we had early starts most mornings.
Forget the itinerary time tables – they were almost always off. Lunches and game drives were wrong in many cases even though they were cut out of their standard programs he used for our custom trip.
Road to Masai Mara was miserable, but they are paving a good part of it in 6 months or so. These African safaris are not for you if you can’t take a rough bumpy ride half the time.
Mr.O had promised 4x4’s the whole trip. We got stuck first day out and had our time taken up some and scary crossings due to sudden thunderstorm. Big .5 drop in ratings due to broken commitment. He attempted to make it up which is why it’s not a 1 point drop with extra activities on last day not scheduled.
What to bring:
Toilet paper always with you. Drivers try but many times we had to use squat toilets and no privacy for men urinals. Sometimes “bush” toilets were necessary. Driver usually has extra toilet paper. Not an issue for us, but can be a big surprise to many. Long lenses for cameras – standard lenses will not work in many areas where you cannot travel off the road. I purchased a new attachment for my Samsung 6 with no reviews on Amazon (look under telescopes – takes about a month to get and fits onto many phones with clasp over lenses – a bit of a risk, but fit my Samsung 6 – Ccloon Professional HD camera lens kit -$60 USA – does need refitting several times a day but competes with the thousand dollar lenses)
Flashlight for head is very handy for $15 dollars Energizer Vision HD LED from Amazon – one each. Portable chargers for phones since many tents shut down power after 10 or so.
Get your yellow fever shots a few weeks before going. They are out of stock currently and do check several sources for alternative shot. Nothing else was necessary according to OT. We purchased Deet and mosquito long sleeve shirts. We didn’t need them much in Oct./Nov.
Ponchos or rain gear for Uganda mostly.
Also bring an open mind for local cultures and lots of patience. We are 64 and 59 and in good shape (for Uganda jungle hikes).
ES
Email Veronica | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amaizing company
At the beginning we had our doubts, they have prices that are much lower than the rest of the safaris, but the truth is that they are wonderful people, super competent, kind and serious. We had certain problems that they knew how to solve and they got our trip to be unique and unmatched, the wonderful hotels, the unbeatable guide, mr otiendo is a wonderful person has behaved great with us, we would repeat with them for sure.
US
Email Caroline | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience - exceeded expectations
When we started our search for a safari we made a list of what we needed:
-Professionalism
-A specific itinerary- 10 days making a wide loop from lake Nakuru -Maasai Mara-Serengeti -ngorongoro-amboseli starting and ending in Nairobi. I'd done a lot of research and thought this made for a nice kenya/Tanzania highlight reel
-Private vehicle and guide
-accommodations with Private ensuite bathrooms with hot water and clean, critter free accommodations with decent food
Aside from that, our requirements were minimal and we were trying to stick to a budget, so I think this puts in the solidly midrange category. I reached out to about 20 companies (i am neurotic): mr. Otieno at Kenya walking survivors was one of the first to respond with clear answers to all of my questions and a package that matched our needs perfectly. About half the companies responded with offers that didn't match my request at all; among the other half kwss was actually 10-40-% less than anything else with comparable lodge/camp quality, so it was an easy choice to book with them.
Throughout the booking process I received reliably prompt clear answers to all my questions and was provided with contact information for my driver well in advance of our arrival. We actually arrived the day before the elections and had received several state department warnings; I reached out to kwss and they provided clear reassurance with explanations and offered to allow us to postpone even though it was unnecessary - i am so glad we didn't!
Our experience on the ground was excellent and exceeded expectations. The lodging was actually significantly nicer than I expected overall: photos don't do several of the places justice. I have done medical work abroad and stayed in many pretty spare/rustic places, my husband is the picky traveler and he was very happy throughout. Even in the tented camps we had very lovely, well decorated rooms with nice en suit bathrooms, plenty of space and even turn down service with a hot water bottle. staff were universally friendly and helpful although we had one negative experience at our camp in serengeti it was related to a single employee. The food ranged from acceptable to extraordinary - packed lunches were just ok, but some of the dinners were top notch - shout out to the steak and curry at lake Nakuru sopa lodge, the entire buffet at octagon lodge. This was even more impressive given many of our meals were cooked to order and not buffet due to the high number of election-related cancellations. Also- not a single mosquito ever in any room we stayed in- key!
The game drives were amazing. We didn't have the fanciest vehicle and might've had a slightly bumpier ride than some people (we were in a pop up van in Mara and a land cruiser in Serengeti and we noticed a difference for sure) but we didn't care. Our guides were all incredibly nice, patient, relaxed and approachable. They were also all open to answering all questions- not just about the animals but about politics and life in Kenya and Tanzania. Their knowledge about animals varied and they weren't all necessarily high grade naturalists. They all could definitely identify every animal and were all agggressive about making sure we saw as much and possible were each genuinely excited for us when we spotted something unique (mating rhinos!) They really all had great attitudes and senses of humor and I'd argue that's more important for spending ten hours a day with someone. Shout out to mike and Abel our two guides in Tanzania - I have rarely gotten better vibes from two people. Mike's amazing laugh and smile seriously put us in such a good mood. When we did have a small incident at one camp he advocated for us with incredible professionalism. THE BEST!
The overall efficiency of the operation was extraordinary. We actually changed our itinerary mid trip! We originally planned on spending 4 days in Masaai Mara and 2 in amboseli (with three in Tanzania in between) but after 2 days we felt we had a full/incredible Mara experience so decided we would prefer to do 3 and 3. I emailed and asked if this was possible assuming it probably wasn't and to my surprise mr otieno responded immediately that he would be happy to make this change if it would make our trip more enjoyable.
That was really the sense I walked away with overall; that Kenya walking survivors safaris and all of its employees and affiliates genuinely wanted us to have a great experience. Friendly, professional, flexible, responsive and well-run operation. If I ever went back I'd use them again in a heartbeat. Thank you!
Amazing Experience! Awesome Guides!
My experience was wonderful! The guides were awesome and found the big 5 for us. The lodges were so nice and the communication was excellent.