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 Tamara | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Kenya safari, great value, excellent communication
My husband and I had a great experience with Wildebeest Safaris. I was a little wary of booking online with a Kenya company, especially with Covid making so much about travel uncertain in these times. I dealt directly with Noah Kuti from the beginning and he was super about staying in touch and always responded very quickly to my WhatsApp texts. We flew to Kenya from Paris and were flying out to Cape Town. When Kenya Airways canceled our departure flight a couple of weeks prior, Noah didn't hesitate to move our booking up a day to accommodate the necessary rescheduling. He never pressured us at all for the final payment, and in fact, I had to ask for final instructions a couple of days before we were to start our safari.
Our driver, Dennis, was terrific. Cheerful, friendly, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in making sure we got what we wanted out of our safari. He didn't flinch we when decided to do one last, very early morning game drive in Masai Mara instead of making a more leisurely departure back to Nairobi. This paid off with my ideal leopard sighting: close, and in a tree (then stretching and hopping down to give us a lot more great photos) with only one other truck around. Dennis seemed as excited as we were. The safari land cruiser we were in was in good shape, very clean, and much nicer than some of the roll-side and open air vehicles we saw (not to mention the minivans). Moreover, many of the safaris I considered before choosing Wildebeest wanted ridiculously high extra charges for vehicles just like what we had. The electric ice chest in the back was nice, too. The only negatives were a tied-together seatbelt on my seat and an a/c that was either not functioning or not used. This meant long drives on the highway with the windows down. Seems to be a norm in Kenya, so be prepared. This also meant we and our luggage were ludicrously dusty at the end of some drives, especially Ambesoli. Oh well. Kenya is beautiful and the number of animals we saw awe-inspiring.
We were also very happy with the length of the safari. 4 nights/5 days might seem short, but we did so much, saw all we hoped for and then some, were pleasantly tired, and we would have been repeating ourselves if we'd kept on. We congratulated ourselves on our choice of stay length.
With regards to lodges: We stayed at Ambesoli Serena Safari Lodge which was nice, but not extravagant. Our favorite lodge by far was Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge at Lake Nakuru. This was an upgrade that we chose due to wanting a lodge inside the park. We were put in the endmost suite which turned out to be elegant and enormous (including a living area with a dining table, two sofas, a large chair and a fireplace and a huge front porch over looking the lake in the distance). With no neighbor on one side, we had views on 3 sides. Unfortunately, Lake Nakuru park wasn't as exciting after Ambesoli (which we loved!) as it's much smaller and so more crowded. Still, this is where we saw rhinos (very close) and it was lovely. Finally, Noah texted me a day or two before we left Paris for Kenya with an offered "upgrade" to Azure Mara Haven at Masai Mara from Mara Leisure Camp which he said was due to client complaints. When I asked questions, he assumed I agreed and I didn't argue. This turned out to be a bit of a disappointment because Azure is not actually in the park and we were in an upgraded cottage rather than a true tent, which I had wanted to experience. Azure is close, but being out of the park meant no lions roaring at night and a 20 minute or so drive on either end of game drives. Still, the Masai who work at Azure were excellent hosts and we had a pleasant stay in our riverfront cottage. Note: power goes out early every night at Azure. There is a Sarova lodge inside the park and, given how much we liked Lion Hill at Lake Nakuru, I wish we'd looked into that. Still, this is was a minor issue and I highly recommend Wildebeest Safaris.
Food at all the lodges was good and plentiful. Covid precautions were taken seriously by all.
An added concern in these pandemic times was the need for a PCR test to fly from Kenya to South Africa. I found a company offering these at Masai Mara and Noah agreed to be sure we got to the testing site. In the end, he actually arranged for the doctor to come to our lodge at the price of an on-site test. This was great until the expected results didn't come in within the 24 hours agreed. I started to worry as we neared 48 hours with a very early flight imminent. Noah never complained about my frequent texts and always responded quickly and reassuringly. He promised he'd get the results for me from the lab since I was having connectivity issues, and he did.
(Also: Yellow fever vaccine is smart for Kenya and required for entry to South Africa from Kenya. We also took malaria medicine. Research what is needed and allow time as you need at least 10 days between getting the yellow fever vaccine and travel to a yellow fever zone.)
One last note: I wanted to visit the optional Masai village, but was braced for a cheesy touristy experience. In reality, my husband and I were the only tourists there as things are still slow due to the pandemic. The Masai did have a tourist-ready presentation, but then we had a lot of one-on-one time to talk, visit a home, and walk around with the chief. My husband is tall and several of the men challenged him to a jumping contest. Everyone got a kick out of that. The Masai really do need the income and were grateful for our visit. Do be braced for a run through table after table of similar goods for sale at the end. Still, it was a fun experience and well worth the stop.
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Email Michael | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They are professional and simply amazing.
I went on a safari in 2019 and it was such a super experience. Wildebeest safari made all things possible. We managed to see all the big five and other animals too. My wife and kids were super happy.. We are planning to come back
NL
Email SB Jansen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional company - good contact with Noah - great, friendly and professional guide (Hamza)
At first, I was a bit holding back when it comes to arranging my tour locally. But in the end, all tour operators from the Netherlands make use of local operators and add their bunch of profit on top of it. I found Wildesbeest Safaris on Safaribookings, did some research and had a good e-mail conversation with owner Noah. He made me a good deal despite the rising high-season fees from 1. July.
My guide was Hamza. I did a 5-day/4night tour with him. Hamza is very nice to talk with. If you have a lot of questions, he is your man. If you just want to rest and not talk, no problem either. Hamza is very professional, spotted great sightings I would have definately missed. It was a great time!
The only very small downside were the Serena lodges. The food (buffet), both dinner and breakfast, was OK but not as expected for the price paid. But ofcourse this can NOT be charged to Wildebeest.
This was my first visit to Tanzania, but definately not my last. I have lots of other plans to do and I am sure Wildebeest Safaris will be my first to contact to make me a nice quote :)
Email Sullivan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
WORTH EVERY PENNY
Had an awesome experience.
They have knowledgeable guides who take you right where thye action is.
Their passion for adventure and great time is remarkable.
They do their best to make the client satisfied
our Travel agency started working with Wildebeest Safaris , They are really in duty all the time , usually they are doing their best to make the clients totally satisfied , They are doing their best to get the best offer for you which can be convenient with our client
RO
Email Mihai Luca - Travelsmartinfo Romania | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Passion for excelence & customer oriented
I am a touroperator from Bucharest - Romania and had a group of 12 pax with Wildebeest Safaris in mid April 2021, covering 4 days/3 nights safari in Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli. The clients were very happy with the services they got. The drivers/rangers didnt skip anything from the program and even they ran for "extra miles" in order to offer to the clients the best experiences (animal viewing, lanscapes, view points, photo stops ).
At the end, we encountered an operational issue with Kenya Airways (flight cancellation due to country lockdown) and the owner of Wildebeest Safari led the effort to get the people in time from Mombasa to Nairobi for boarding international flights.
RO
Email Daniel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good, I loved working with him.He was very careful
It was an amazing experience, with a very good and friendly guide.
We saw a lot of animals, such as 13 lions!
It was very good organized, and I will 100% come back.
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Email Ayenza | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent, Fun, Precise , Helpful, Fullfilled my expectatives and more
Times has been difficult for everyone during this Covid Pandemic, but it was good to know that in the middle of chaos and confusions I had Wildebeest Safaris LTD, to hold my hand all the way with my travel plans and they were willing to make adjustments based on the circusmtances that rise during these time.
I spend a total of 7 days with the team traveling to what it has been a fantastic experience visiting the cities and the Safaries.
Not only the fact they took care of my needs but as a solo traveler it was great to have Guide Dennis as my companion and we had such a great time
Touring and he became my shopping and photographer partner.
For sure Dennis went out of the way to make my stay in Kenya to be a dream come true.
I highly recomend Wildebeest Safaries for any travel accomodations desired and more.
If you want to see the fantastics Places where I stayed you can visit my Instagram at ayenza_matthews
Great Migration Safari in Maasai Mara
I had been the Maasai Mara Migration experience in my bucket list for many years. This year , we took advantage of the ongoing local tourism promotion and the great deals (almost 70% discounted) that tented camps are offering in Maasai Mara. Our tour was organised through Wildbeest safaris. I must say that it was an amazing experience for my colleagues and myself as we had never been on safari before, at least not in August and during the peak Migration season. Zebra Plains tented camp was a wonderful choice for accommodation. I would highly recommend Wildbeest safaris especially to local tourists to visit our beautiful country and support local Tour companies during this difficult moments. Asante sana Noah Kuti for organizing an amazing tour for us.
Email Nick Gitau | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Super
The Safari was well organized and planned with experienced guides