Maurice, Your Personal 24hrs Safari Consultant
Africa Safari Classics
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ASTA, NTA & FTA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Darla | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
African Safari to Kenya and Tanzania with a stop in Zanzibar
Service from Africa Safari Classics was excellent, I never had to wait long for a reply and no question was too small to get an answer. The booking and payment were also easy.
I can't say enough about how great our safari experience was! We loved all of the accommodation, food, game drives and abundance of wildlife. We saw the big five in each country, and each country had very special moments (baby elephants in Amboseli and a leopard close up in Serengeti). Accommodation at the Dongwe Ocean View hotel in Zanzibar was beyond excellent! The staff took such great care of us and the food and room were wonderful, definitely want to visit there again!
Boni and Saidi our safari guides were both fantastic, we really bonded with Boni in Kenya and he went out of his way to find us the big cats, even staying out later than the majority of other guides, so that we could find the leopard in Maasai Mara. We really enjoyed Boni's sense of humor and he fit in so well with our family. We'd love to do another Kenyan safari with him.
Saidi, our guide in Tanzania was excellent too, he was very friendly and knowledgeable and was excellent at finding the animals, he took us out an extra time to see cheetahs after everyone had left so we could get better pictures. Both drivers were very security conscious and took measures to make sure we were safe at wash room and banking stops and Boni went through the border checkpoint to Tanzania with us to make sure we were safe.
We are already planning our next safari since we had such a great time on this one, we're thinking of Uganda and Kenya for next time. I would definitely book through African Safari Classics, we felt so taken care of. It was so great to see you, Maurice, at the hotel and talk to you at points throughout the safari, we knew we could reach you at any time if we had a problem, although we had no issues.
I would highly recommend Africa Safari Classics for your safari. I always include the excellent service we got from you in my safari stories. Book your trip with Maurice at Africa Safari Classics and sit back, relax and enjoy your safari!!
DE
Email Tino | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great 7 days/ 6 nights Safari
Hello,
we (me and my girlfriend) did a 7 days/ 6 nights Safari with Africa Safari classics and had a great time (last week in September 2016). we visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro.
the game drives have been really good and we had enough time for the observations of all different kinds of wildlife. we never had the feeling that we are in a hurry and also took ways offsite the crowds of jeeps. our driver guide (Athman) was telling us many things about the animals and also about the cultural background of the people of Tansania.
All accomdations have been clean, in good coditionts and with friendly staff. we stayed in Lake Burunge Tented Camp, Manyara Wildlife Camp, Serengeti Tanzania Bush Camp, Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge and Migunga Tented Camp.
the only thing we would change: spend more time in Ngorongoro crater. We just had half a day there and would recommend to stay there for at least a full day.
best,
Tino
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Email Harry and Clark, Albany, Oregon USA | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
November was a great time of year to go on a safari in Kenya!!
We have been back home in Oregon for six weeks now following our remarkable and completely satisfying Kenya safari experience, which we had booked with Africa Safari Classics last spring. It marked our first trip ever to the African continent, and we have returned home determined to venture back to Africa at some point in the next few years, as we clearly would like to see more! All along, we had consistently pleasant, timely, helpful and highly professional communications with Maurice, the company's sales director, over a span of several months. We chose one of the company's exciting 9-day set itineraries ("Wildlife in Style"), which began and ended in Nairobi and took us to five national parks and game reserves. This company had some of the most affordable rates for their package tours that we have seen in more than ten years of keeping an eye out for such a travel experience. Maurice even upgraded one of our bookings, due to low season special rates, to the Maasai Mara Basecamp, where the Obama Family had stayed ten years earlier!
As others have shared on this site, we could not have been happier with our driver, Boniface (a.k.a. Boni). He was an absolute delight the entire nine days we spent with him. He had incredible vision, which led to numerous animal sightings that the untrained eye would easily have missed! We covered great swaths of the country, including a few 5- to 7-hour days of driving, and Boni answered our many questions about various cities, tribes, and Kenya in general. He also has a great sense of humor, and our days with him were filled with multiple rounds of hearty laughter. He apparently has been a safari tour guide for nearly 20 years, and he clearly knows what he's doing and where to take his passengers in each park and game reserve. When we make it back to Kenya, we definitely hope to have Boni as our driver and guide once again!
We had little idea that traveling to Kenya in November was an absolutely ideal time of year to visit! It marks their “short rains” season, following the long, hot dry season. It was like a spring-time trip, with temps in the 70’s or 80’s F, intermittent rains generating new greenery everywhere, and new water holes for the animals to play in. Most days started with brilliant, blue and sunny skies, puffy white clouds floating by, and occasional singular afternoon thunderheads floating over the plains. No problem for us rain-battered Oregonians, as we only wore our raincoats ONCE, for about an hour, the entire trip. It’s considered low season in November, so there were relatively few fellow tourists to contend with; usually no more than 10-20 other guests staying at each lodge we visited. (During our night at the Treetops Lodge in the Aberdares, we were the only registered guests, and got the full royal treatment of the staff!) We had not understood that many of the animals bear their newborns in Sept., Oct, and Nov., so we got to see LOTS of babies in every park we visited. We also did not know that Kenya has outlawed hunting of wildlife all across the country, which seems to generate a climate where the animals are not particularly bothered by safari vehicles and tourists. We had more “close encounters” than we could count, getting to within 15 or 20 feet of many animals, without them being spooked, including one instance of being right in the path of a stampeding herd of wildebeests. Boni took us out on anywhere from one to three game drives per day. We had countless opportunities for great photos and videos of the animals, likely getting enough footage and material for generating a new, amateur National Geographic documentary! We could not have been happier with the animal sightings we experienced, despite being in Kenya officially outside the annual migration season.
I should also add that we were extremely pleased with ALL the lodges and accommodations Maurice had booked for us throughout our time in Kenya, in Amboseli, Aberdares Treetops, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, and Maasai Mara. The food was consistently good and tasty, and the service was consistently outstanding. We had no stomach problems at all. I might add that most of the lodges we stayed at were a good distance off the major highways, often a good hour or more down fairly rough and poorly maintained dirt roads. Boni warned us of when we would be getting "good back massages" from the bumpy, bouncing drives along the way. This was the only aspect of our trip that was a bit of a downside. In all other ways, our trip to Kenya exceeded our wildest imaginings!
On our last night in Nairobi, before starting our long flight to Seattle (via Dubai), we insisted on taking Boni out to dinner, and Maurice was able to join us as well!. It was a very fitting and pleasant ending to what was likely the single greatest adventure my partner, Clark, and I have ever taken together! We have spoken so highly of our trip to many friends and family members, and we hope to be able to generate some more travel clients for Maurice as a result, in addition to making a return visit ourselves in the next few years!
Email Rikki | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari fun
We were very happy with our choice of Safari Company with Africa Safari Classics. Maurice was on the ball from the start, helpful and prepared to go the extra mile in transporting a box back to Nairobi by road when we had luggage restrictions.
The guides were knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The Lodges comfortable with delicious buffet meals in 2 of them. While the other had a set menu but the food was just as good.
We didn't see as much wildlife as we had expected (not without our guides trying their best). As we had been on safaris before we put it down to the time of year. Tsavo West is a great place to get bird shots.
Email Jenna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful time, can't wait to go back!
My sister and I went on an East African 9 day Safarai in Kenya and Tanzania with Africa Safari Classics and have finally got around to doing a review (almost a year later, whoops)! We had a great time - loved the people and the environment. We'll attempt to give you a brief, or not so brief summary.
First night we stayed in EKA hotel in Nairobi, which was lovely, clean and had good food. Maurice, our contact for Africa Safari Classics met us at the hotel the morning of departure for safari and went through everything with us again, prior to introducing us to our first guide, Mackenzie, who looked after us very well in Kenya and taught us our first Swahili words.
The next morning we headed to Maasai Mara reserve, where we stayed for 2 nights at Basecamp Mara, which was amazing! We were blown away by the welcoming staff, fantastic accommodation and mass amounts of food (delicious, but a bit too much for us - 3 courses 3 times a day). Grounds were beautiful, 'tent' was amazing, loved the eco side of things and the positives for the environment. Also note Obama and his family stayed at Basecamp Mara too. We were warned to lock our tents to stop the Baboons 'taking our passports' and going through things. Basecamp is mostly fenced, however one sides boundary is 'fenced' by a river that also backs onto the reserve. You can often see animals passing through the reserve from the camp grounds. The Maasai staff also danced for us one night too, which was great to see their culture. Reflecting back, I think Maasai Mara was the best animal viewing we had. We managed to get up close to Lions, Cheetahs and many others. We managed to see a small crossing at the Mara River also, and Mackenzie did a great job getting us good spots while not interrupting the animals or other viewers. I liked the accessibility of Maasai Mara - there were a lot more tracks that meant you could get to other spots more easily if you saw something in the distance.
Day 3 we drove from Maasai Mara (Kenya) to Serengeti (Tanzania). This was a very long day of driving, including through the boarder and immigration. We joined a small family and their guide for some of this day, who had booked with the same company. At the boarder we found our new driver, Abdul. Abdul, like Mackenzie, is a veteran at tour guiding and was a pleasure to be with. He joked with us and answered our many questions.
We arrived in the Serengeti with a little game drive and arrived at our accommodation at Serengeti Tented Bush Camp. Upon arrival it looked like a bunch of canvas tents in a field, but the tents were simply amazing! My sister was actually speechless. We had the most comfortable mattresses there compared to everywhere else on our entire trip (including Singapore). We each had a double bed to ourselves, accompanied by a writing desk and sitting chair with footstool. The ensuite had a flushing toilet, but you need to give notice when you want a shower so they can fill it for you. Worst shower we had, but they made up with everything else, plus what else can you expect in the middle of the Serengeti?! The staff were very friendly and loved teaching us Swahili around the campfire. The food was lovely, but not quite as great as Basecamp Mara. Most of our stories are from our time in the Serengeti. We loved just being with the staff, learning the language and seeing the animals pass through the field. This accommodation is not fenced at all and we loved it! The first night I saw our guard chase away a Hyena over dinner. The second night I woke to hear a pride of Lions killing something right outside the staff tent (roughly 150m away from us), then heard all the Hyena's calling and fighting the Lions for the carcass. Hence why many of our stories come from that time.
Day 5 we left Serengeti and headed to Ngorongoro Crater in the hope of finding a Rhino. The Crater is worth a look as it's quite fascinating. We did see one Rhino from afar, plus many other animals. We stayed at Bougainvillea Lodge, which wasn't the best accommodation we had, but still quite good.
Day 6 we departed for Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara was probably the prettiest park in my opinion due to the rainforest-like trees. Despite being the most beautiful, unfortunately it had the least animals and was quite anticlimactic at this stage in the trip. It's worth noting that we apparently did the cheaper route - Kenya to Tanzania, rather than Tanzania to Kenya, but therefore meant the smaller parks were at the end. We didn't see Lions in trees, which is unique to this park. We were told this is reasonably uncommon to see; not rare, but uncommon, mainly due to accessibility of cars. We stayed at Manyara Wildlife Camp, which was gorgeous once again!
Day 7 we headed to Tarangire National Park, which was quite pleasant. Stayed at Lake Burunge Tented Camp, which was fabulous! We had time to relax with a swim. The staff sang a version of happy birthday to someone, which was joyful, cheeky and simply beautiful!
The only day I felt unsafe was the day we crossed the border. I found the people, it was mainly the children we noticed, were less friendly than in Kenya. Of course some were great, but others yelled at us as we drove past and seemed angry we were there. A few matters later dawned on me. Basecamp Mara in Kenya works well in conjunction with the local Maasai people, and many Kenyan's have experienced the good of tourists and missionaries, and realise the good it brings to their country. However the roads we travelled on our first day in Tanzania went through many secluded villages. The tour cars travel on these dirt roads, generally varying 60-80km/hr, which creates mass amounts of dust and disruption, while the locals are just trying to live a simple life and move their herds from one place to another (generally on the roads).
I would definitely go back (if I ever save the money). The people are fabulous - kind and funny. The culture is fascinating and the animals are marvellous. Thank you, Maurice, for a wonderful time!
[Flights: We flew Melbourne to Nairobi (Kenya) with Qatar Airways via Doha. Loved Qatar Airways - so polite, give you everything you want and free care packages! We left Mt Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), also with Qatar, and flew to Singapore for a relaxing stop over (not realising how relaxing Africa would be).]
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Email Romina Bella | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kenya by Kenyan
The trip was organize by Kenyan who love their beautiful country. It was an amazing trip, an experience that will always remain in our hearts. I recorded the sounds of Samburu and Masai Mara during sunrise and I have played them every morning since we left. Maurice and his staff from Africa Safari Classics was extremely kind as well as the safari drivers. I am definitely recommending them I am already talking with my friends and family to encourage them to visit Kenya with Maurice and his team.
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Email Daniel Taillant | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Once in a Lifetime Experience (or twice!)
Wonderful experience. Maurice (from Africa Safari Classics) helped us out from beginning to end. Waited for us upon arrival in Nairobi, ensured we got to our hotel safely, picked us up the next day and took us to the plane waiting for us to go to the Savanna! We did a 5 day safari to two camps (Ashnil and Il Moran) in Samburu and in Masai Mara, respectively. They were both great, and complimentary. We saw all kinds of animals, except the elusive Rhino (which gives us a reason to return!). Food was great, sunsets spectacular, service stellar. Make sure you take binoculars and a good, high resolution camera. Don't rely on cell phone zoom or live shots, they are horrible and you'll regret it on your return when you want to blow up that awesome picture of the Lion eating a Giraffe! We went in March, and if we return we'll definitely aim for June-August for the big migration. You may want to take a few electrical adapters to charge equipment. Remember to tip your guides!
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Email Nathan N | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flawless planning for trip of a lifetime!!
Maurice planned a flawless trip for my wife and I in Tanzania that included a 6 day safari and 5 days on the beach in Zanzibar. From the second we landed until being dropped off at the airport to leave, we did not have a single worry as all transportation, food, and lodging was taken care of! Would recommend Africa Safari Classics services to any friend. They allowed my wife and I to plan a perfect trip at gorgeous accommodations and we saw the big 5! Zanzibar was amazing and the resort where we stayed was unbelievable! Thanks Africa Safari Classics!
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Email Ken | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Three days in Kenya's Maasi Mara National Park
I've been on Safari in several countries across different continents, and this was the most like a fairy tale. From the moment we touched down on that remote grass airstrip I was amazed to see - through the single prop airplane window- giraffe sauntering up to feed on the treetops, and elephants grazing alongside the ubiquitous Wildebeest.
Kenya's free-range safaris are reputed to be the best in the world, and of Kenya's parks, the Maasai Mara to be the most diverse. The Serengeti ecosystem of Tanzania is much more expansive, but during the dry season migration, the animals follow the green grass up into Kenya, crowding themselves into the "Mara".
In our three day excursion we witnessed non-stop animal activity: A herd of Wildebeest crossing the Mara River, a pack of five cheetahs run down a juvenile Wildebeest, a Leopard, three Lions resting in the shade, hyenas galore, troops of baboons, and flocks of every kind of hoofed animal. We literally were driving through herds of beastly cape buffalo, scores of Zebra, Topi, Tommy Antelope, etc. At times the herds were so vast they dotted the Savannah as far as my 45 year-old eyes could see.
We never saw a rhino, but hey, it gives me something for which to return.
It was difficult to choose a booking company. From my computer screen in the 'States every company promised the best. There are many operators as this is big business in Kenya. Through a friend of a friend we stumbled across Africa Safari Classics, and they delivered the goods. They set us up in a great camp that was within our budget. Our luxury tents overlooked the Mara river. So after our morning game drive we would return to camp for our Noontime meal - only to observe more game! From the camp itself we could watch Hippos staying cool in the Mara River while a baby and a giant crocodile sunned themselves on its muddy banks.
After the sunset game drive we returned to a buffet meal which always satisfied. Our rooms were spacious and comfy. A system of window screens and bed netting calmed any fear of nighttime mosquitoes.
Mr. Maurice was only a phone call away when we needed transit hotels in Nairobi, ATMs, and flights in and out of the bush. I can't wait to bring my wife and kids next time.
Email Michaela, Sharon & Trish | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Trip of a Lifetime!!
Words can not discribe the unbelievable Safari we had and it's all thanks to Maurice for organising a great itinerary and Jones (Muli) our Guide/Driver for not only meeting, but by far exceeding our wildest expectation of what our first African Safari would be like! We especially went in SEP to witness the great Wilderbeast migration in the Maasai Mara, and what a spectacle it was! What we did not realise was that we would see mating Lions, Cheetahs chasing and killing a Wilderbeast, a lone Waterbuffalo charging 4 Lionesses with their 12 cubs and the list goes on! Driving to several different areas and parks in Kenya was great, as they were all quite different from one another and we got to see the beautiful countryside and got more of a feel for the country and it's people. We fell in love with Africa and hope to be returning in the next few years to explore other parts and will definitely be asking Maurice to once again organise another awesome and epic adventure for us!