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
US
Email Chintan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome safari experience!
Me and my wife did a 9 day safari in Kenya with KWSS; our first safari ever. Otieno is a very soft spoken, hardworking entrepreneur. He was the point of contact for all reservations and took care of us very well. He was responsive and answered all our questions. Before landing in Nairobi, we knew what to expect throughout the safari.
All our lodges were amazing, especially the Samburu lodge. Being vegetarians, we were skeptical about our meals but were surprised to learn how delicious our meals were. At several lodges, we were actually consulted by the chefs before preparing the meals.
Our driver/guide Nguta was very knowledgeable and since it was a private tour, he was very accommodative with our schedule.
Overall, I would say we had a once in a lifetime safari experience with KWSS. Thank you KWSS!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful experience; stressful circumstances
First, I must thank Kenya Walking for helping my husband and I have the experience of a lifetime. We visited Tanzania and Uganda and were sincerely amazed by the African wildlife, scenery, and people.
We chose Kenya Walking because of Otieno's quick communication, the ability to customize our itinerary, and the price. We are still grateful to have experienced so much for the price, but feel that it's important for other prospective travelers to be aware of some aspects of unprofessionalism we encountered. They are mostly small things that added up to create an atmosphere of distrust for us.
Examples of unprofessionalism:
-Multiple last-minute hotel changes, including skipping Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda to stay at a poorly rated, loud city motel with water problems (original hotel was around $100, changed to $10 room)
-Incorrect itinerary dates. Even after reviewing our itinerary upon arrival in Uganda, both Otieno and our driver forgot that we were staying two days in the gorilla park to do extra hiking. We had to fight pretty hard to convince them to correct this.
-Over-worked, tired driver speeding considerably and close to nodding off during long drives (I would highly recommend flying into Kisoro to do gorilla trek, or at least requesting a Ugandan guide. Our Kenyan guide had to drive overnight from Nairobi before picking us up and continuing the drive. We also suspect he took a wrong turn which we followed for 90minutes before correcting.)
-Borrowing gas money from us. This favor was asked as a loan until our driver found an ATM, though we never found one. We ended up letting him keep the money as part of his tip, but the company never followed up to thank us or ask whether we got our money back.
-Other small inconveniences included late departures (2hours on our first morning in Tanzania with no communication on their end), spotty attitudes from guides (our Kenyan guide did not like Ugandans... and we were in Uganda), considerable time waiting for guides to deal with problems in banks, broken jeep roof in Tanzania (fortunately this didn't happen until our last day there).
I hate to make this list, because until Otieno asked me to write this review, I had managed to forget all the negative aspects of our trip and only think of the magic moments we had with elephants, lions, gorillas, mountains, and new friends. Even with all the drama of our trip, I don't regret choosing Kenya Walking as I'm not sure we could have packed everything into our time and budget with a different tour operator. I also suspect travelling with Kenya Walking Survivors may be an entirely different experience in Kenya, rather than Tanzania and Uganda where we visited. I have only the best wishes for our guides Mike and Jonas and for Otieno.
If you decide Kenya Walking Survivors is the best fit for your trip, please be prepared to respectfully advocate for yourself and your itinerary.
Reply from Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd
Posted on Oct 20, 2014Hi Sarah, thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear you were disappointed with your Part of the trip while on safari.
ACCOMMODATION
I would like to confirm with you that before you use the facility ,we had to talk and discus with you and you agree, This was because you took a lot of time at the equator stopover and by the time you arrive at the town which is 12kms from lake Bunyoni Resort it was late in the evening and due to the security alert I could NOT let you Drive to your booked Hotel at Bunyoni Resort due to security on the way.So I had to give you the briefing and also alert my Driver and we did this because We value our clients life after discussion with you.Then the following day you where transfer you your early booked Hotel
The loud music was from the Neigbour hotel and the accommodation was well and it was the same rate but in town compare with lake Bunyoni Resort which was at the lake side,I admit thus was the difference. And we apologized for that difference if you did NOT like the facility
ITINERARY
I would like to Re-confirm with you that we discus with you all the program in Uganda and all was fine,And I accepted you to add your Exra activity which you did the following day trek to the Rwanda boarder at no Exra cost to the company.
Secondly our drivers always wake up early and sleep early,They are to have at least minimum sleep of 8hours.I apologized if truly you saw him nodding ,because he is the same guide who has been doing a lot of the trekking for Gorilla tour to our clients
GAS
You remember when you ask the driver to drive you upto the boarder of Rwanda to go and see the Batwa tribe.
I would like to inform all the travelers that due to security we don’t give or make our Drivers carry more than USD$200 .why?Due to security , if they miss/lose the money the clients will be stranded and they always carry the money which is fine for them for the fuel depending on the distance,
Now you made a decision of the change of itinerary after the Gorilla trek that he was to drive you about 80kms one way for the Batwa tribe ,there was no ATM anywhere he could get money for fuel and he inform you ,But he had to do this because you told him you will top him up the gas,because he wanted to drive back to look for the ATM to top up the Gas,
So im again sorry for topping the driver up at no Exra cost for your benefic and he Refund it back ,But at the end of the day when he wanted to refund the cash you told him this was his tip the money which you gave the drive was totaling USHS.150,000 which is equivalent of USD$58.
EXPEREIENCE
As you said you suspected the driver to take wrong side,but what happen is that he was told that the route you took was block a head so he had to turn back for another route which was NOT block.so thus why he return and took another turn,
Most of our drivers are over 15years in this land and very experience on guiding and driving.
If he did not communicate on this We apologized that next time you will have the communication on any small change on road from the driver to any clients.
LANDCRUISER 4X4
I would like to inform all our travelers that we have bad roads in Africa especially in the parks which make vehicle both 4x4 and 2x2 breakdown i.e on the wheels,body parts, engines so you should expect this as part of Africa Road which we don’t have nay control but should we have any breakdown we always make sure we fixed them to control the waste of time for the game Drive.We again apologized for this and im happy you where happy when it was solve very faster.
REVIEW.
I would like to confirm that I ask you to write a review on this trip ,so that both positive feedback to be maintain and improve and Negative feedback should be check on so that the next group don’t get to the same problems again.
Otherwise im very happy again that you are fine with our organization and we apologized for any aspect which did NOT make you enjoy your trip.But you are still welcome to East Africa next time. We promise all our clients will NOT have the same mistake.
Thanks you again for all the positive and negative feedback you have given us,This will make us to be on our watch list on the services we provide our clients.
Thanks a lot Sarah and Partner
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great experience with Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris
We love the experience. Professional and dedicated staff, good driver, good accommodation, very good food.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and excellent customer service
Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris organized a safari tour and a Kilimanjaro trek for us, inclusive of all the transfers between the 2 places We were really happy with the experience. The customer service was great! Mr. Otieno was very responsive at all times, night or day. The company is also very flexible and cares for the customers needs. The accommodation and food provided was up to our expectations too! I strongly recommend this tour operator!
US
Email Dr David | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
EVERYTHING WE ASKED FOR
We booked a 4 day safari and had an amazing time. Mohammed the driver and Jacob the cook were very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The accommodations were comfortable and the sights were amazing. The roads were a bit bumpy at times, but we were out in the middle of no-where so ...
Anyway, if you want a good safari experience, I would recommend Kenya Walking Survivors.
SA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Guides, well organized and fun!
For a low budget safari, it was great! The cook and the guides that we had a great attitude and were very knowledgeable. Even without all of the extras (balloon, boat ride), it was well worth it. Food was excellent and the accommodation wasn't bad at all. I would totally come back and go on safari again with these guys!
CA
Email Jeremy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service, experience, food, price
Great service, food, experience, price. Picked me up at airport,hotel. Dropped me off. Accommodations were good. Recommended. Maasai Mara is incredible.
wonderful wildlife - quite an adventure
The safari experience was great - wonderful, incredible wildlife - 2 day Masai Mara trip (overnight camp) and half day in Nairobi National Park - saw everything we wanted to see. Peter, our driver, looked after us well and he was very skilled at both driving off road and in finding the wildlife. Minor quibble, but water and T shirt was not provided despite being specified - check with owner, Mr Otieno, very carefully what is included and not included in the price.
KW
Email Lora | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Value, Amazing Sights, Great Experience
It was easy to set up a tour via email, and we were able to pay on arrival, which was also convenient. My friend and I booked a group package but essentially had a private tour. There were several other companies on the same route, and I was pleased that we chose a more affordable company, as we received essentially the same services at a lower cost.
We were a little frustrated about having to pay extra for the giraffe center (we paid almost $100 each for admission, lunch, and a driver), but the experience was incredible, despite us being substantially over-charged.
The guides were friendly and knowledgeable, and if you have the opportunity to ask for John for the walking-tour, I'd highly recommend it.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience that I would repeat in a heartbeat.
CH
great experience with a great and knowledgeable guide as well as a superb cook
The service was great. Both the cook and the guide were extremely helpful and eager to show us more of their country. It was a great experience that exceeded my expectations.