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
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kind, Flexible and great communication.
I'm from Italy. I will travel to Kenya in August 2014 with 9 more people. So this is a Pre-review.
Up to today I have only positive things to say about Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd. They were really fast to answer my first enquiry and also open to changes and ready to solve all our problems.
Mr Otieno answered all my e-mails at lightning speed (some safari operators answer after months), always ready to answer questions and doubts. We also had a phone call (and will have more) which is positive to have a better "human" connection. I also found the prices very convenient compared to many other operators. Especially the ones selected by travel agencies.
We can't wait to start the adventure.
US
Email Cynthia | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Tanzania part of the trip was a disaster
There was no driver at Tanzania border for us. The group before us also had no driver show up. The company would not tell us what was going on, and eventually would not answer any of our our calls. So the communication was horrible. We had to spend the night at a hotel by the border and pay for it ourselves (they say they will reimburse us). The next morning, they said a driver would be ready by 10am, but we sat around outside the hotel until 4pm with no word from the office. They were ignoring every call. We were finally met by a taxi driver who transferred us to another driver in Arusha and we had to drive at night to reach the hotel at Lake Manyara at 9:30 pm. As I write this, we are sitting at gate to Manyara Park where we have been waiting for nearly 2 hours, because Kenya Walking Survivors has not transferred money to the Tanzania company so our driver cannot get us in the park. We have no idea how much longer we will wait. They seem to have forgotten to make the necessary arrangements and preparations for our time in Tanzania. Park will not take my credit card because we are in a tour van. So we have lost 2+ days and morning light for photos. We are very unhappy now, and feel that we are wasting a lot of time with only a few days left in Africa.
Our Kenyan driver was very nice, and the Kenya part of the trip went smoothly. Oddly to me though, on the first day we were picked up, driven to office to pay last half of cost, then to get gas, and then to pick up water. It would have been nice if they had gotten gas and water before picking us up. They had half of the money up front. Our lodgings were nice and the Kenya part went well. I was not expecting the very long long drives on bad roads between the parks. It usually took all day (6-9 h) to go from one place to the next. The law does not allow driving tourists in the dark, so we used up lots of daytime to get from park to park. However, that is the nature of traveling in this area.
Our main problem has been the horrible experience getting into Tanzania, and getting into the park this morning has been just as bad. Horrible communication, and nothing has been prepared beforehand.
ES
Email Ana paez | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware!!! Fraud
We arrive today to a 10 days trip, already payed and they didn’t show up! We when to their office and there was no one. They dont get the phone... we went to the police and we found 3 more persons as us.
Now we dont have the money and we dont have vacations!
What you do in this cases?
Email Buddini | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
an insight into East Africa
There is nowhere in the world like East Africa for immersing yourself in nature and appreciating your true place in the animal kingdom! When guided by the right people who know their land and culture, it is a humbling experience. Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris exceeded my expectations of the Uganda Gorilla Tour, which was more than a hike in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to come breathtakingly close to one of our closest relatives - it also included the wildlife of the magnificent lakes, the Rift Valley, and a most memorable insight into the culture of East Africa that can only be fully conveyed by a locally owned and operated tour company (I know, I have used a UK company before!). The trip from Nairobi to Kibale went seamlessly - comfortable travel and good, affordable meals and accommodation. I was impressed by the professional standards of KWSS - in particular the flexibility in the face of a last minute change of plans by other clients of the tour group. I felt I had a private tour specifically tailored for me for the price of a group tour, that is how much attention KWSS paid to my needs!
CH
Email Tobias | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unsure solvency of the company - Definitively not a care free safari!
First of all: this review has nothing to do with the beauty of Kenya and Tansania nor our personal tour guides or cooks (they have been super helpful)! Both countries are beautiful and their people have been exceptionally friendly and accommodating!
However, if you want a carefree safari tour in which all bookings/reservations/parking fees are payed in advance (as discussed and payed for) then we suggest to book with a different company. We cannot express how disappointed and frustrated we were in regards to the organizational skills of Kenya Walking Safari's (KWS) management. It caused us many nerves/patience and most of all time during our 10 day safari.
In order to be fair with KWSS we would also like to say the at the end of our tour KWSS compensated us with approx 5% of the tour price for lost time and wrong calculations.
Anyway we would like to explain what happened:
We booked our safari tour in April 2016 for our trip in August 2016. We had extensive contact with KWS which gave us confidence because they were always very responsive and answered all of our many questions. We payed well in advance (a good amount of money!) and expected that all accommodations/services/park fees would be payed/booked for us in time for our arrival.We are very well aware that we can come across unforeseen circumstances and that flexibility is required. However only to a certain extent.
During our tour we encountered four issues which we would like to explain for others in more detail:
The first issue we encountered was during our first lodge in Maasai Mara. Taking KWS's suggestion, we swapped 1 day in our tour due to ongoing animal migration in the region (adding 1 day in Maasai Mara and take 1 day off from our Tanzania tour).This was a good idea because we were able to see the river crossing. However, we didn't receive the same standard room we booked for originally.We wrote KWS a mail to see how to proceed (since there was a clear down grade on our room).They didn't reply to us until the end of our safari tour.
Second issue:after wonderful game drives in Maasai Mara and a great time at Lake Navaisha we headed off for a very long drive (8h) to Amboseli National park. According to our itinerary (which was reconfirmed verbally and on print during our face to face briefing in the Nairobi office) we were booked at the Kibo Lodge (high class safari lodge). We were then surprised to hear from our tour guide that he had just received a text message from the office saying we would be spending 2 nights in the AA lodge instead of Kibo (another down grade as they have different room rates). Apparently Kibo was fully booked due to government officials.We decided to see for ourselves and were more surprised to hear onsite from Kibo lodge that they did have available rooms and no government officials! We of course did not take the room in the AA lodge and insisted on taking a room in Kibo (according to our tour program we had payed for). We then found out from the hotel manager that they no longer accept KWSS clients because the company has outstanding payments. We (including our tour guide) tried to call the KWSS office many times (including the "hotline number") because this was a situation we were not going to accept. We were not able to get the manager of KWSS on the phone and waited 4 long hours until we reached someone from the office.They suggested that we pay the 2 nights ourselves (400$) and we will get a refund. Obviously, after all that we had heard and experienced we were not ready to pay ourselves. Due to the kindness of the Kibo hotel manager and our persisting tour guide we were able to check in at 8.30 pm. KWSS had promised to send the money to Kibo the next day, which they then did the next afternoon.However, low and behold,we encountered another group from KWSS on the second night at Kibo. They had the same problem! Unfortunately they weren't as lucky as we were and had to go to another lodge.
Third issue: after transferring from Kenya to Tanzania,we slept a night in Fanaka lodge to be ready early morning to go to the famous Ngorongoro crater.We were supposed to depart at 8am.However, our tour guide told us that there was a problem because KWSS had again not yet sent the money for our accommodations and park fees for Tanzania. KWSS's Tanzanian business partner, contacted us and suggested we pay 440$ and KWSS will refund us as soon as the money has been wired (apparently there was a technical problem so money transferring was not available). As you may guess, this was not an option for us.KWSS's credibility was non existent. So we called the KWSS office and were surprised that they actually picked up the phone. However this wasn't very helpful and the Tanzanian business partner had to borrow the money from his relative (!) so we could go on with the tour.We waited for almost 3 hrs until we were able to leave.
Fourth issue: after all that had happened, we decided to cross check our past accommodations and realised that KWSS had double calculated the first hotel night in Nairobi. By the way: don't accept a booking at Henessis Hotel.This is a shabby hotel which by far did not meet the standards of our other accommodations. This could have been an honest mistake but we decided to list all the issues we had during our tour for full transparency.
To come to an end: After many emails and involvement of a 3rd party, KWSS management was cooperative and quick in refunding us (after we finished our tour) for wrong hotel accommodations and lost time (several hundred dollars in total).
In short:
- If you want to do a safari tour do it definitively in Tanzania and Kenya - people (incl. tour guides and cooks), nature and food are amazing!
- If you are looking for a carefree package KWS is not the best option
- If you insist and put pressure on KWSS you probably will get refunded for issues, however we believe this only worked for us because we involved a third party
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was a great expierience
We did a 8 day safari, 4 days walking in Loita Hills, 4 days Gamedrive in Nationalparcs.
We had a cook and a driver and the car was always available. The walking with the Masai was a great experience and the Gamedrive was also nice. We had the luck to see Hunting dogs.
The cook prepared excellent food and we were always well lokked after.
Thanks OT also for your help the last day in Nairobi and bringing us to the airport.
Email Preeti Krishnan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing discovery
This safari was organised as part of an overland tour. The safari operator Oti had everything organised and made us feel extremely safe. We did a 3/4 day tour of Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. He was very well informed and spoke excellent english. We managed to get upclose to 4 of the big 5. Even though we were camping, we were still very comfortable. Meals were all provided.
Since that trip my friend has been back for another tour and I intend to do the same in the near future. All in all we had a fantastic time and can't recommend this tour enough!
IT
Email Tiziana | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Discover Kenya,Tanzania and Zanzibar together with local people
We travelled through Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar with "Kenya Walking". They are wonderful countries, to get to know them with expert local guides from Kenya Walking is a unique experience, they were very kind and succeeded in letting us see all the big five!Arrangements were almost perfect, we had a budget and they managed to mix budget (but nevertheless fascinating) with luxury lodges and hotels.Our group was 2 adults and 2 teens, we had 2 (two!) guides always with us, ready to accomplish our every wish, they even cooked for us typical meals!I would strongly recommend a travel with Kenya Walking!
US
Email DLM | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari tour company in Kenya
I arranged a four-day safari with KWSS over the internet. I was traveling on business and I was impressed that they did not charge me a single supplement. The communication with their office was very fast. After establishing a departure date I provided the 50% deposit via Western Union without a problem. They picked me up exactly when they said they would. Because I was traveling alone, I had a private safari van and driver/guide. My driver/guide provided excellent information about the land and people. In the Maasai Mara, he got me as close to the animals as possible and let me spend as long or as short a time as I wanted in any one particular spot. He listened to the CB radio on which other drivers reporting sightings of hard-to-find animals and got me there quickly. A pride of lions walked directly in front of our car, which was spectacular. KWSS provided exactly what they described in the itinerary. I felt they were honest and treated me well. I would definitely recommend them to others.
AE
Email Cris | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fraud!!!Be aware
We booked a 4 days trip safari for Kenya 3 months ago. I already payed and have received an email saying:
The company
has technical problems and therefore cannot give the required
services.You will receive the funds
between 45-90 working days...I am calling them and nobody answer..We are going to the police office.