Absolute Holiday Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- Ministry of Tourism Kenya & Kenya Tourism Federation.
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Helen Iddenden-Smith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari experiences
David in the Nairobi office did all the bookings for us extremely expertly. He also dealt with my numerous emails, each of which contained numerous questions. Thank you, David. Due to financial restraints my partner and I choose the cheapest accommodation. However, this did not mean that we lacked anything. On the contrary, everything was mostly good. Food was fine. Better than expected. I came down with a stomach bug on the penultimate day, but this could have been caused by a number of things... and not necessarily due to the food. Our main driver for the safari drives was Richard. Lovely knowledgeable man. He made sure that when there was something to see, he drove us to the appropriate place. At times there were lionesses with cubs merely feet from where I sat. Money can't buy that experience. Stanley, who drove us on the last 2 days was also very good. Learnt a lot from both these men. This holiday was due to my partner being 50 while we were in Kenya. In fact it became even more special when I proposed to him while we were in the Masai Mara. Certainly a holiday neither of us will forget.
MY
Email Elmy Ismail | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari Trip!
Absolutely awesome & excellent! David from Absolute Holiday Safaris is very helpful, he answered all my question in professional way (one of the reason why I choose Absolute Holiday Safaris). During the safari trip, Jackson (driver) always try his best to give my group (5 adult + 1 children) the best view to see all the Big 5. He is very helpful and always on time to ensure we always on track and follow the schedule.
David also help me to buy train ticket from Nairobi to Mombasa at no extra charges (some website might charge you $20 fee). He also help me sending driver & communicate with bus driver (during my trip back from Mombasa to Nairobi) to ensure I did not miss the flight!
Thank you for the hospitality and the great experience! Strongly recommended to all...
DK
Email Jackie Rasmussen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best budget safari our family could have
Thank you!!!! - says the family from Denmark!
My family and I had the best budget safari in Maasai Mare, Amboseli (Nakuru was disappointing no flamingos, but many rhino)
David is as everybody write very quick on mails and he is very friendly and extremely helpfull in real life to :-)
The budget tent camp was very fine in Maasai Mara, bit more "rustic" in Ambolseli - but it worked fine.
Patric our driver was a very good driver, and told us a lot about the animals, and had an answer to all our questions.
We were a Danish family who found this company on the Internet, took the chance by the reviews and that's why I write this..... You can count on these people! They handle all were well:
Pick up in airport
Hotel in Nairobi (budget, but ok)
Tours in Nairobi with Bon'fiss a nice young driver, who drove us round town.
I highly recommend this company!
IN
Email Mayank Gwari | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Extraordinary Safari
We four of us went on the Masaimara safari in Sep end this year. It was an experiance beyond description for us. Absolute holiday safari truly lived upto its name and we were overwhelmed by their hospitality. Strongly recommended for all........
DE
Email Philipp | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari. We got to see the big Five and many more
We used David as the contact person, he is a very efficient and helpful person. He answered all mails on time, even on Sundays, and even adjusted our safari exactly to our wishes.
The driver (Jackson) did a very good job getting us to and through the parks. He always did the best he could to give us the most direct views (sometimes even more). It seems like he is the best driver out there. We really enjoyed the safari. Thank you absolute for the great experience
Email Valentine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stressful Safari
We went throught Absolute Holiday & Safari To book a 6 days safari going arounf Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli.
At first organisation seemed good, David our contact was very nice and answer all our questions (and we had lots of them). When arriving in Nairobi, we went to the office (discovering Absolute holiday & Safari and Big Time Safari are located in the extact same office) and David explained to us the schedule of the Safari in details.
For our first day, instead of leaving Nairobi befor 9am we were delayed until 10 am, going with the driver pick up food and oil....
We were 6 people in the van at that time: 2 coming from Absolute Safari, 2 coming from Big Time Safari and the other 2 coming from Savannah Jamboree Travel. The bus was managed by Big Time Safari but what I understood is that many budget companies work together in order to incease occupancy rates of the vans.
Then going to Masai Mara, we saw lots of animals as it was migration season, the schedule was nearly respected, we were all very happy.
After we were inroute for the Lake Nakuru park, stoping at Lake Naivasha our driver tell us he has to pick 2 people more, with no more explaination I call our contact David (we had local sim), he is not aware of such things and is not at the office, promising to contact me again, it is around 3pm at that time. 3 people come back with our driver, the mini van is now full and we are supposed to end our safari with them, 3 and half more days to go at that point.
Calling back David, he is very nice but does not give me any answer he has to deal with personal matters first and then will go back to me.....
We all go the Lake Nakuru for diner, throught our driver we call the transport manager of Big Time Safari (Alfred) and the president (John) to tell that was not the agreement, indeed in one of our email we ask David how muck people max will be in the safari, and his answer is very clear, 7 max. Big time safari does not want to hear anything, saying to us that if we are not happy a car will come pick us up and we will leave the safari without any refund, nice people!
Finally around 9pm David goes by the office, 6 hours after the first phone call... He says every thing fine and tomorrow we will have another mini van to do the game drive and respect previous engagement.
The day after, nothing is there, we do game drive with the 9 of us....
Going back to Nairobi (you have to go throught Nairobi in the itinerary), another minivan is expecting us, so we are all happy again.
If you want this company to respect their engagement it's very hard because once you began the safari you already paid the all amont so you don't have a lot to bargain with and somtimes the drivers completely refuse to call their office so if you don't have a local sim, your stuck. Also, the drivers are always trying to reduce the game drive schedule so you have to argue with them again and again for them to respect previous engagement.
I would defenitely not recommand this company if you are looking for zen holidays.
Be carreful when choosing your Safari, I'm now very sceptical of having good budget safari.
Reply from Absolute Holiday Safaris
Posted on Aug 18, 2015Hello Valentine
Hopeful you are doing really well and great over there? Thank you so much for a great review,we agree during your holiday there was some hiccups on day 3 and this come up for the rescue purpose and as it was a bit late we could not get a safari van at the same time.
Kindly to be honest on day 1 you started in a group of 6 pax while the other 3 safari van started with 7 pax.We listen to you and value you highly.Please being honest you know this bothered us as much as it bothered you and we finally made sure there was a car on standby for you.We once again apologize for the hiccup,we know we are not the best operators but we know we always deliver what we promise as we are always concerned with our clients...Thank you.
BD
Email Adiba | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reassuring, friendly and quick at problem-solving
Had an amazing 7-day Safari tour with Absolute holidays. David was our contact point for the whole tour and when we arrived in Kenya and met him at his office in Nairobi we felt tremendously reassured. He helped us exchange currencies and arranged for one of my missed luggages from the Nairobi airport to be sent to Masaimara on the following day. We booked the 7-day tour package (amboseli, masaimara, nakuru) and saw all the magnificent animals in all its glory. Our tour guide Richard even took us to an additional place out of the itinerary --Lake Elementeita -- where we got amazing views of flamingoes. We spent a lot of time on the road but it hardly seemed tiring because the weather was fantastic as was the driving by Richard. All in all, an incredible experience that I will cherish for life.
CN
Email FU | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
Due to mailbox problems, it's only two years later to evaluate absolute holiday safaris. It was a great travel agency. The arrangement was perfect. My friends and I felt very happy. I saw a lot of animals, zebras, lions, elephants, giraffes on the prairie. It is completely in line with the imagination of the grassland, and I hope to go again. Thanks to MR. David of Absolute Holiday Safaris for answering the questions in the mail. Thank you driver Peter, thank you for your 8 days of companionship and service.
Email Roger Simmons | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good communication, great animal safari for the budget - but lots of travel and a moving itinerary.
I travelled with my sister on the 12 day safari in Kenya and Tanzania.
David is an excellent communicator, which made booking informative and simple.
Collection from the airport prior to the safari was a nice complimentary service.
When we were collected to pay our itinerary was changed.
Our driver in Kenya, Stanley (Stano), was fantastic. He knew where to go to find the animals and was always happy to pause so we could take photo's. The accommodation in Kenya was varied from very nice to functional. Keep in mind its a budget holiday so manage your expectations on the temperature and volume of water in your shower.
Do take a power bank to recharge your phone - electricity access is variable. I took a solar charger and power bank and didn't need any mains supply.
Minivan transport in Kenya was fun as we shared with 6 other people, who helped make the holiday. The roads are bumpy and some of the driving styles are not what you might normally expect - but its fun.
We did the hot air ballon, which is very expensive for an hour's ride and it is hit and miss what you drift over. The champagne breakfast is also nice and we were glad we took the opportunity.
The transfer from Kenya to Tanzania was lengthy and involved a series of transport changes. The shuttle bus is public transport to Arusha and would have been improved by a dedicated tour operator vehicle.
We were issued a revised itinerary in Tanzania, same places but in a different order - which was fine. It appearered this part of the safari had been subcontracted out to another company. Our booking of tents with bed and bedding was downgraded to tent with mat and blanket. We did ask for the original but when we got to the camp we still got the mat and blanket.
Accommodation in Tanzania was mixed, some very nice and some a basic tent which you take with you on the 4x4.
More great travel mates - 6 of us plus the driver, Gervas - who was excellent and the cook.
The food is mixed but good considering its travelling with you and cooked on site.
The trip back from Arusha to Nairobi is again very long after a long safari, but I must say both companies were very helpful in adjusting our travel arrangements after my sister was unwell and unable to travel.
Overall I would probably just stick with Kenya for safari. I'm not sure adding Tanzania added to what we saw but did significantly add to the travel time. As long as you can go with the bumpy roads and 'flexible' itinerary its a great budget holiday.
US
Email Ben | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stick to Kenya and don't expect great customer service
We had combined 10 day safari in Kenya-Tanzania. Everything was great on the Kenya side. Driver was fine, would answer questions if you asked, but you did have to ask. Accommodations were better than expected with private bathrooms and actual beds in tents. They definitely work to find animals and make the most of the time in the parks.
Tanzania - nothing went right at all. We were supposed to be met by the director Abraham at the bus depot and he was not there. So very confusing getting us to our hotel in Arusha.
Day 2 the driver, George, brought us to Lake Manyara when our itinerary said to go to Serengeti NP. We were dropped off at camp around 430 near the lake, not in the Serengeti. He refused to t call anyone to check on the mix up for us. Basically that it was not his problem and we were stuck.
Day 3 We should have had a full day in Serengeti national park. We did not arrive until 2 or 3pm. George told us breakfast was at 730 and we would leave at 8. . We did not depart until 10am. No one could give us an update on when we would leave. They claimed the delay was due to the chefs. Who produced fried chicken so burnt we couldn’t eat it at lunch. We had our driver changed 3 times that morning. Though Etome ended up as a very good guide. The Serengeti camp ended up being far superior to where we stayed near Manyara
Day 4 The game drive was very good this day though it was only 6 hours not the full day we paid for. We had a brunch and dinner instead of 3 meals. No time on the trip were we given the chance to visit Olduvai gorge and the museum. Also no evening nature walk was offered at the Simba camp.
Day 5 The game drive this morning was very good. However we did not enjoy a picnic lunch in the crater as described. We were driven back to camp to have lunch which was not as scenic. David did meet at at the border for our transfer back to Nairobi airport and did not ask us for additional money when the police pulled over our car and asked for bribes to continue on.
However, he claimed that he would rectify the situation that had happened in Tanzania and we would hear within a week. When we contacted him a week later he said he was still working with his Directors and Abraham in TZ. 2.5 months later and we have never heard from him again. No refund or any other compensation for going to the wrong park and wrong lodging.
Kenya was great but avoid working with the TZ company. They will lie and not stick to the paid for itinerary. And once on the trip you have paid and are stuck going where they bring you. Very disappointing that David appears to communicate greatly until they have your money then they don't care what happened to you.