Andrew will take you to remote places
Wildebeest Safaris
- Located In:
-
China
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1997)
- Member Of:
- ETT & TRA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Karl | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
good lodging
We had a 11-day safaris. Booking was easy. Easy to communicate with the company owner Noah over email. Good lodging arrangement. In Masai Mara, there was a 3-hour drive one way to the river from the hotel, but the hotel was good. The hotel at Ngorongoro provided a spectacular view that's one of the very best we have ever had in our trips around the world. We made a scheduling mistake and as a result we had to book, through the company, one extra day at Masai Mara at a different hotel. It was an expensive booking and the quality of the lodging that day was SO BAD that it got me sick and was not able to do much the next day. The lesson: don't change schedule in the middle of it.
I have mixed reviews on our guides. Our first guide, Geoffrey, was an experienced guide and an excellent driver. Boy, he knows how to drive on the rough roads! He was assertive, a little hard to negotiate - we were totally inexperienced with Safari so we basically took what he offered, and he indeed, most time, tried his best in searching for things for us to see. In Samburu, at one point he was driving like crazy in order to get us to the spot to see a lion. It was a beautiful seeing. Another day he was trying really hard in searching for cheetahs in Masai Mara - although it was not successful in the end we were happy with his effort. His English was good and we had many good conversations. He was a caring and responsible guy - insisting that we call him back after he handed us to our next guide to assure him we were okay all the way. We did and had a good good-bye conversation. That's professional.
Our next guide, Hans, was less qualified to be a good guide. He was inexperienced as a safari driver and he messed up with some documentation things - as a result, we basically wasted our only day at Serengeti. Serengeti has been always a dream land for us. It was a disappointment. I am not sure whether this had anything to do with the location of the hotel. Hans was basically driving us back and forth on the only road near the hotel area. The Serengeti hotel itself, for the lodging quality, was very good. We had our best dinner of the whole trip there. During our Serengeti trip, we met a guide of another safari company, who was with a couple of guests who obviously were of hard-to-please type and who spoke very little English, and we talked with both the guide and his guests. He was such a wonderful guide (enthusiastic about and in doing his job, super friendly, easy to talk and very accommodating) that made us feel that we should have done a better job in researching and getting good guides for our safari.
Our third guide, Nicolas, was okay until at the end at the airport, when, perhaps due to inexperience and a long, tiring drive, he dropped us off in the middle of somewhere in the area and let us find the departure terminal ourselves. We were not thrilled about that, especially after we gave him good tips for the drive. We had to ask several people for directions in a long walk to the terminal. On Safari, though, he was mostly patient, willing to oblige our requests on the way. He took us up to the Observation Hill in Amboseli. We appreciate that.
Overall, that's a wonderful and unforgettable trip to East Africa.
IE
Email Brian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our guide was very nice guy.
Very expensive.. 3days average - accommodation 1450 USD
Email David Knight | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional and very knowledgable guide
Apart from being one hour late for pick up at hotel, it was a marvelous experience. We were well looked after.
AE
Email Suzana & Lutz | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a great experience and Iwould recommend it to my friends with pleasure.
Everything was great.
We managed to see 3 out of 5, but it was a great fun and excellent time all in all.
US
Email Mohammed A | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful, fun experience!
We booked a 5 day Kenya safari via Wildebeest, and had a wonderful experience! Noah was very professional, was patient with our many questions, and provided the best price among all operators we've reached out to. Esty, our tour guide, was always on time, friendly, and very knowledgeable of the animals and parks. The jeep was in good shape, and had no issues during the tour. The only hiccup was at the hike of Mount Longonot. The hike (including going around the carter) took us 6 hours, and due to the lack of preparation we had no food, very little water, and when we got back to the car there were no lunch boxes either. It would have been a more enjoyable hike if we were better prepared.
Overall, we loved our vacation, took many many pics, and really enjoyed our time. Thank you Noah and Esty!
Packages are fairly cheap, tour guides good. Vans clean and reliable. Time keeping good
Communication was perfect, services throughout the safari was fine and hotels booked for my family was worth the amount I paid.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour guides very knowledgible and friendly.
We were two 50+ women travelling from North America. We were concerned with booking everything on line and not having TICO protection or personal contacts. Although it was tough at times to correspond thru emails with our questions Noah tried his best to answer all our questions. The guides were wonderful and we were lucky enough to see the "big 5" within the first few days of our trip. Noah took care of booking resorts, airfares, transportation and guides and although there were a few hicups the trip was more than we could hope for.
US
Email Kristine | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Some issues but guides went above and beyond
It seems like Wildebeest could have prepared better for our tour. I still believe it was a great value for the price. There were several small issues but the guides were very nice and the accommodations great.
US
Email Richard | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent itinerary with knowledgeable guides and good accommodations made for a rewarding safari.
The requested itinerary for an 18 day photographic safari by professional photographers through parks in both Kenya and Tanzania including the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti met most of our expectations and was very rewarding, due in large part to the expertise of the driver/guides Dennis and Hamza. They were excellent in locating game and getting us into position to best photograph the animals after a little coaching on how to position the vehicles. It appeared however, that they were not always adequately informed regarding the details of the trip that had been committed to us. Not everything was as advertised, for example, the first day two planned activities were not included, and a lunch on the last day was missed.
For the most part, the accommodations were as advertised with some camps better than others, however charging electronic devices was difficult in a couple of locations. The food was adequate to good and again the quality and variety varied by camp.
Optional additional activities, such as a photo safari on water at a lake and a visit to a Maasai village were offered and taken, which were very good, but the additional cost should have been advised before embarking on the adventures.
As there were some long and very difficult road transfers between parks, adequate rest and washroom stops were not sufficient on some legs. A six hour transfer with no bathroom break planned for senior citizens is not acceptable.
The largest complaint was the timing and execution of our departure at the Nairobi airport. Instead of departing our last camp at a time that would have allowed the proper travel time, with lunch included as advertised, and gotten us to the airport at a time coinciding with airport checkin, we departed the camp in the morning, did not stop for lunch and arrived at the airport at 3pm with a departure at midnight, and we were dropped without any guidance regarding the airport or facilities for waiting for a checkin at 7pm. We felt abandoned.
Given the few issues, we were satisfied with our trip and experience and would use Wildebeest again with a better understanding and agreement on some of the details mentioned above. We didn't expect anything beyond what we contracted for, but we did expect to receive what we contracted for.
Jeff's the man
Jeff was a friendly, informative and accomodating guide, making our trip really fun and memorable. No issues at all communicating with each other, and we agreed daily what time to start our day so everyone could be prepared and aligned with the schedule.