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
Review about Safari Kenya Walking Survivors
In July 2018 we have had a wonderful safari to Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Naivashu with your organization. It has been marvelous and we want to thank you for all you have done for us. Peter was an excellent driver (which is very important) and a good guide who led us to so many spectacular wild animals. We have seen the big 5, except for the panter and many other animalspecies which are just as interesting. Also the hotel-arrangements were nice and comfortable, with good meals.
The Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd. has done an excellent job which was worth every penny and more!
Email ANTHONY WATTS | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
THE SAFARI OF A LIFETIME........WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT!!
My wife and I have recently returned to the UK following a 12 Day Safari visiting Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Ambosseli, Lake Navashia and the Maasi Mara, concluding with a full day tour in Nairobi.
We booked the safari with Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd. in the early part of last year (2018). At the time we paid in full to receive the maximum discount on an already competitive price for this package.
Our reason for choosing KWSS in the first place was the value for money price quoted for a safari that had a full itinerary together with the excellent reviews from previous satisfied clients.
Then in September 2018, very poor reviews were beginning to show on their web pages and on Trip Advisor which put a lot of doubt in our minds that the company was not all what it portrayed. After a short while, KWSS issued a statement that their CEO, Mr OT. was involved in a horrific road accident and was hospitalised. It then became apparent that without Mr OT at the helm, the everyday running of the office was thrown into turmoil as there was no 'Plan B' set in place to deal with client's problems and payments to safari lodges and park fees.
We contacted the office via emails enquiring about the validity of our safari and was assured by a gentleman named Kenneth that Mr OT would sort out all the problems as soon as he recovered and was well enough to return to the office. A month passed and we contacted KWSS again for further news and confirmation that KWSS were still in the business of providing a customer service to satisfy our contract with them. By now Mr OT had made a good recovery and had now reorganized the office so as in the event of him not being able to carry out the everyday running of the office, there would be a system in place that would never again see issues with future safari bookings. Mr OT assured us that we would indeed have a 'safari of a lifetime' and not to worry.
We were travelling from Tanzania prior to our safari in Kenya and contacted Mr OT a week before to obtain joining times and briefing details. We received a prompt email setting out these details. We were picked up from our hotel on time in Nairobi and the safari commenced.
Our driver and guide, Zachary was very polite and spoke excellent English. In the field he had very good eyes and was able to spot animals that my wife and I did realise were there (African Eyes!!). His knowledge of the parks was exceptional and on two consecutive days we were treated to the 'Big Five'. We saw so many animals, it was such a joy for us as we were also both celebrating major milestones (big birthdays) in our lives and boy oh boy, what a way to celebrate!!
The programme was for the most part kept to, allowing for the long road journeys between parks. The lodges were of a very satisfactory standard as was the food throughout the 12 days.
Any doubts we may have had before leaving the UK quickly disappeared after the very first day, so to anyone who has been put off by bad reviews, please be assured that Mr OT and his company KWSS, WILL provide you with a safari that is set out on their web pages and you too will have 'the experience of a lifetime'
Thank you KWSS, thank you Mr OT, you were never in any doubt that you would provide a first class service and you kept to that promise. We wish you all the best for the future of your company and we will definitely use your services again should we return to East Africa again.
BE
Email Akif | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top quality service with best price!
We had an amazing 8 days safari tour, Amboseli Nakuru Masai Mara Bogoria and Naivasha.
This company deserves all the best reviews as many people commented in here!
Mr Otieno and his team was very professional and organised from the first time contact.
Thanks to our driver Paul we managed to see the big five, Paul is a great driver/guide,we were very lucky to have him.
Tip: hotels are ok but budget tents might be below your expectations so choose wisely, ask for an upgrade.
Last but not least DO NOT forget to tip your driver, they have a heavy job, it is not easy to drive many hours and on top do the game for you and keep everyone happy.
Respect to this company, these people does their job with their heart!
BE
Email Angeliki | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
With WSS Ltd we felt that someone was taking care of everything while we were enjoying Kenya!
Mr Otieno was always prompt in his communication ahead of our trip which made us feel very comfortable and the whole organisation was really good. Paul, our driver, was a great companion in our journey, always available to help and at the same time discrete, giving us our time together with my partner.
CN
Email Poor Communication | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The guide was great but the rest was lacking
The communication was poor. We did a Maasai Mara tour with this company and the guide was excellent, the food was poor though as we had lunches that we a slice of tomato and a slice of onion between three pieces of bread. Despite this we decided to book another safari from Mombasa to Nairobi with stops in Tsavo West and Amboseli. Although we sent them a map showing where the pick up would be, the company went to our previous hotel in Nairobi. They tried to skirt blame over this putting it squarely on us, even though on several occasions we made it clear where we would be. Thankfully we were able to find another tour company which provided us with great service.
US
Email Philip C. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flexible, friendly and fun, KWSS helped us get such a great first impression of the country!
January 2019 started out tough for Kenya, especially in Nairobi which was the target of a terrorist attack early in the year. About one week before our tour the attack happened which made us worried. We contacted Otieno (KWSS Manager) who helped rearrange the itinerary to keep us closer to the big city in case we needed to leave in an emergency and graciously moved us to hotels he knew had better security. This little hiccup aside, the entire trip was a breeze and extremely enjoyable. Our itinerary brought us to Amboseli, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, and Samburu.
Accommodations: Overall very good. Each park presented clean and well kept accommodations. Staff and attendants were all very friendly and helpful throughout the short stays we had. Unfortunately when you are further out (i.e. Amboseli, Masai Mara, Samburu) the parks do not have electricity full time and depend on solar power for energy through most of the night. This wasn't much of an issue other than having to wash up in the dark sometimes, but just something to keep in mind while packing and budgeting time.
Food: We never missed a meal and always were provided with three meals per day. It actually became tough because many of us don't normally eat a breakfast! Food was exceptional, albeit probably catered to our American taste. None of the members in our party got sick from any of the food, and still felt great when returning home. Don't drink the tap water, but bottled and boiled water all was fine.
Game Drives: KWSS provides 7 passenger vans, each with a pop-up top for better visualization of the animals. We talked to our tour guides about why certain groups prefer land cruisers and why some prefer the van, and mainly it is maintenance and cost. Our ride was comfortable nonetheless, and did not hinder our viewing of the animals. We were still able to get up close to lions and cheetahs without them even batting an eye! Our vans did get stuck in the sand, but just another bonus to the adventure as we tried to un-stuck them. The guides are very flexible and willing to move game drive times to better fit your preferences. We tended to do early morning and late afternoon to avoid the mid-day sun, though the weather was never really too hot or humid in January. The guides are also very knowledgeable and skilled in their identification and detection of animals on the drives. They even said they take classes and continuing education to keep up to date on animal knowledge so they can better answer your questions.
Miscellaneous: make sure you use permethrin on your clothes beforehand! Our entire group treated our clothes with permethrin and no one got more than 3 mosquito bites. Weather is pretty ideal in January, feeling dry and hot in the day (90F max while we were there) and dropping to cooler temps in the evening (50F low). Safety was never an issue and our guides did a good job of tipping us off if they felt we needed to leave an area.
Overall a very smooth and fun trip! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience, though it left such a good impression on us that we may go back someday!
NZ
Email Sarah | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised, reliable and professional.
We were a party of 5. Three adults and two young teenagers. We had the time of our lives. Communication was always prompt, nothing was a problem, Our driver/guide John was great. We felt very safe and well looked after. The Kenyan people are wonderful - always friendly and welcoming. The wildlife was plentiful and the accommodation in the mid-luxury range was great. The balloon flight was awesome. We highly recommend this company.
Email Andy and Karin Beaver | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely well planned tour with awesome and knowledgable guideculminating in the trip of a lifetime
From: A 50 year old man... ( please note we visited 5 parks over 11 days driving 1800 Km)
Thank you for the most amazing trip you organised for my family. It
was my 50th birthday on the 20th of Feb so we came to Kenya to
celebrate that and to spend time seeing the beautiful animals your
country has. I must say that you delivered on all levels way above any
expectations any of us could have had. On top of providing our best
holiday experience you provided us with David our guide. He truly is
exceptional! He has educated us as a family about your amazing
country, animals, people and politics, and for him I cannot thank you
enough!! He has spent 11 days with us and has become a part of our
family. We will not forget him, his comments, your animals or your
country. We are very privileged to have spent time with David here in
Kenya. He is a real asset to your company and I hope you value his commitment fully ! !
I will share with you the reviews separately from our two children below.
From my 16 year old daughter
This trip was by far the best out of all the trips I’ve ever gone on.
We where lucky enough to see the big five and so much more. There’s
not a lot that we didn’t get to see. But I don’t think it was only
luck. It was also based on the fact that our guide David was so
amazing. I’m really thankful for him because he made this trip
eventful, educational and just fantastic. Not only did we see loads of
incredible animals, we got to see Kenya and how Kenyan people live.
I’m really happy about all the places we stayed at too. I didn’t mind
the long drives between hotels because that made sure that we got to
see a lot of different types of habitats and animals. It was a very
well balanced vacation. Everyone here is so kind and lovely and I really hope to come back to Kenya in the future.
From my 12 year old son:
David has been a really good driver and I have learnt a lot about
Kenya too. He doesn’t just talk when we are in the park. He talks all
the time teaching us about Kenya and the people who live here. David
is very funny and he is very nice. The safari was very good I loved
it. We saw the big five. That was what I wanted to see. I love all the
people, they are very nice and I love the countryside and I love the
parks. I love Kenya. I hope we come back again. Thank you (Asante).
CA
Email Ruth | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Excellent Adventure - The Trip of a Lifetime
My husband and I just returned from a trip with Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris to Uganda to hike with the Mountain Gorillas and to Kenya for game drives/safari. It was an outstanding trip - well-organized, with excellent guides, good lodges and incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It was the trip of a lifetime.
One of the things that really stood out to us was the professionalism, knowledge and absolute dedication to make sure that we were having a great experience of both the owner of Kenya Walking Survivor Safaris (Mr. OT) and the guides. In Uganda, we had Peter - who went out of his way to make sure we saw everything we could and who took such pride and delight in sharing his knowledge and love of his country with us. This young man has such heart - and he really cared about our experience. In Kenya, we had John - we affectionately nicknamed him 'Smilin' John" because - you guessed it - he always had a big smile and was FuLL of positive energy. He made sure we were well taken care of and he patiently answered ALL of our (many, many) questions. He also was exceptional on game drives - he knew every animal and his behaviour AND within the first 12 hours of being in the Maasi Mara - we had seen the big 5 (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and Cape buffalo). Actually we saw four of the big 5 - on first game drive on the way to the lodge. He is a master tracker. And an incredibly kind and caring human being. We enjoyed our time with both Peter and John - in fact, they added so much to the trip, I can't imagine it would have been as good without them.
I know it's not easy to choose a tour company for Uganda and/or Kenya. It can feel overwhelming and - especially when you choose one that is local - you worry about everything. Kenya Walking Survivor Safaris is an excellent company - and worthy of your trust. Before we left, I must have sent Mr. OT more than 2 dozen emails asking questions about specifics (I am a planner and a worrier!) - and he answered every one of them with care and kindness - and very quickly. I often wondered if he ever slept or was just there answering emails to me! This is a company filled with people who want you to have a trip of a lifetime and who go out of their way to make it happen.
Everything was organized and efficient, we always felt safe and secure - and the tour we choose with Kenya Walking Survivor Safaris provided HUGE value for our money. If you are considering booking with them - do it now! You will have your trip of a lifetime!!
--- Original review (Jan 6, 2019) ---
I am going on a safari and silverback gorilla tour with Kenya Walking Safaris in mid- February. I just want to address a few comments I have seen online because I feel that as a result of a horrific car accident, this company and its people are being criticized unfairly. (I will update this review post-tour). In my experience to date – this is a great tour company with exceptional people who care about giving their clients an amazing experience in Africa.
The owner of the tour company (Mr. OT) was in a terrible car accident in the fall of 2018. He was in a coma for several weeks. As a result – there were some issues with communication. As soon as Mr OT was able to return to work (thank goodness he recovered!) – he began working to sort everything out. Were mistakes made by his staff – yes. But a) they were trying there their best in a very difficult situation and b) as soon as Mr. OT came back, he went to work putting everything back in place.
One person in our group had to cancel for personal reasons and it took a bit of time to get a refund. She got her refund – and Mr. OT apologized many times about the time it took for her to receive it. Let’s give this man and his team a little bit of compassion and cut him some slack – I have read all of the reviews and everyone who needed a refund appears to have received it, they are working hard to sort out anything that happened because of Mr. OT being IN A COMA!! And it matters to them.
This was a serious accident that almost took Mr. OT’s life. That he is back at work – making sure everyone is taken care of is a testament to his – and his company’s – integrity and honesty. He – and his team care – and are responsible, responsive and proactive. I have emailed them with A LOT of question of over the past few weeks. They answer quickly, provide information that is useful and have gone out of their way to ensure that the trip we have planned will be great.
I own and run a small company and if something horrific like what happened to Mr OT were to happen to me, there are many elements of it that would abruptly come to a halt. And some of my clients would likely be inconvenienced. That is just how life plays out sometimes. In my experience with Kenya Walking Safaris, they have done everything possible to make up for the issues a very small number of people faced because Mr OT was so seriously hurt in a car accident. They care. And – they have been more responsive and professional in their communication and planning with me than many other tour operators I have worked with on other trips.
The best thing I can say about this company is that if a member of my family or a friend was considering booking a trip with Kenya Walking Safaris, I would encourage them to do so.
I have posted this on several review sites because I feel strongly about the integrity and honesty of this company and Mr. OT.
CA
Email Karan Patel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing service! Fabulous! Definitely recommend!
Amazing service! The owner Otieno replied himself for every questions in a very polite manner and with detailed explanation!
The lodges provided were of nice facilities. I went with my mom and she loved the arrangements! The drivers were great and respectful too!
I highly recommend Kenya Walking Survivor for a Royal African Safari experience. They are best to customize safari tours.
Thank you!