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
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
DE
Email Manuela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Experience
We had the 6 day safari which included masai mara, lake nakuru and amboselli.
First of all David was a very nice person that cared much and answered all our questions. He helped us even during our time that we stayed in Nairobi.
The driver (Jackson) was okay. I think he had good and bad days.. Sometimes he didnt tell us anything about the animals without asking - but when we asked he always had a good answer. Sometimes he was driving to fast in the parks. But all in all he was a nice guy. We were most of the time only 3 people in the bus so that was really nice. We could make stopps and breaks whenever we wanted and had a lot of space in the van.
Also we had some difficulties with the shedule. We left "late" from Nairobi - but i guess thats just Afrika.. You are always late and you always need to wait!
But on the third day our driver changed the shedule without really asking us (he wanted to go to another park where we didnt want to go - of course we would have need to pay more) so we did have some difficulties there but i didnt care much and we only had to wait in the car until the other person was done with a boattour.
But we did see sooooo many animals! We saw almost everything we wanted and didnt expect to see that much. The parks are all diferent and i think a very good mix!
The camps and hotels were really good. Everything was new and the people in the camp were very caring. Food was also good just the lunchpaket was a bit small and always the same. So if you dont like meat (like i do) there was almost nothing. Breakfast and dinner was mostly in buffet so you could take what you want.
I think the price here is reasonable and we are really happy we did it! It was the best time that we had in Afrika because its just an really great experience.
I do think that with another driver it would have been perfect and i would give 5 stars. Our driver was fine but i would have wished that he talkes more (also about his life and the culture etc..)
But all in all i would defenetly do it again!!
KW
Email Ines | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
patient and taking care of our sugests
The company makes all the ofer things, also the people from company was on charch during the safary
DE
Email Jasmin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 day Safari
Communication: driver talk very little with us, didn't get information where we going, what we are doing, ...
Service: Which service???
living up to expectations: on the 3 day, moses (driver) told us we're going back by tomorrow. In my opinion he wanted to cheat us and steel one day from safari. We booked a 5 day safari and payed for it!
Safari tour itself: Very poor driving style on the road and the masai mara, driver didn't stop for other animals then the big five, didn' t respect the park rules (speed limits etc.) and sometimes didn't answer questions. Camp was in a very bad condition.
Reply from Absolute Holiday Safaris
Posted on Aug 19, 2015Hello Jasmin.
Hopeful all is well with you over there? Thank you so much for this review?We wish to find out if you booked your holiday with other please and from our data your email is not there and name not there?
Please who was your contact person please and when did you go on this trip please?Your clarification will be highly appreciated.Thank you.
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.
AE
Email Rasida Sakherwala | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a great experience. Definitely worth experiencing!
Our trip was well organized by Mr. David, from start to finish. He always replied by emails
and lived up to our expectations. Our guide Mr. Gibson was knowledgeable, punctual and cooperative.
Overall, we enjoyed the safari and highly appreciate his service.
OM
Email Roshan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari experience with Absolute Holiday Safari team
We had a memorable vacation with Absolute Holiday Safari team in Kenya. we (me with my wife and 3 yrs old son) chose for a week long safari trip. Pre-travel communication and arrangements by David was excellent. he is a real professional. he accommodated all our requests and provided necessary information/ suggestions as we were travelling with a child. Airport pick ups & drop, hotel transfer etc were on time. Our driver/ Guide, Patrick was the best guide one can ever get on a safari trip. he is very knowledgeable & ensured we saw all animals in our wish list so close and on action. He took a good care of us throughout the trip. we spent two days each in Masai Mara and Amboseli and one day each in Lake Nakuru & Nairobi. we could see all big five and many more than we expected. his experience and patience helped us to have a close encounter with cheetah and witness a live hunting chase, was so close to a group lions with 3 cubs, group of elephants with 3-4 baby elephants, leopard with its kill(baby zebra) on top of a tree, both black & white rhinos, Hyena, giraffe family, etc and most importantly the great migration - thousands of wild beasts & Zebras.
we are happy that we chose Absolute holiday safari and recommend them for any your Kenyan Safari.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience
I would definitely recommend booking your Kenya safari experience with Absolute Holiday Safaris. David and our driver/guide, Patrick, made my safari experience pleasant & enjoyable. When I first contacted David by email, he responded very quickly in a professional and attentive manner. Some dozen email messages later (mainly due to my indecisiveness which safaris and accommodation options to choose), we managed to decide on the itinerary that met my needs and budget. I must say I never felt that my emails bothered David and he was happy to answer all my concerns. The real test for the reliability of Absolute Holiday Safaris came after I missed my flight to Nairobi in Doha and had to take another flight next day which required making drastic changes to my itinerary. David was there for me all the way communicating with me by email or phone. I was picked up from the airport and driven at least to the countryside where I met up with the rest of the group. This wasn't on my original itinerary as I was supposed to be picked up from my hotel in Nairobi. Because of my missed connection in Doha, David had to sent an additional car to drive me some 100 miles to catch up with the tour bus. I call this being flexible and accommodating.
I also liked the fact that I wasn't required to pay for my safari by a money transfer. I simply paid the full amount after my arrival to Kenya.
Patrick, our driver and guide, was relaxed, polite, and friendly. He had a very good knowledge not only about the Big 5 but also other fauna (especially birds) & flora. I also enjoyed my conversation with Patrick about local customs and way of life during a long and exhausting road trip from Nakuru to Amboseli. I was the only person who wanted to go to Amboseli and was very grateful that Absolute Holiday Safaris agreed to take me there as I don't think this segment was profitable for them. In fact, other safari companies didn't want to work with me on this part of my safari.
All my accommodation choices turned out as described in David's emails. In fact, they were better than I expected. Once again, based on my experience, I would highly recommend Absolute Holiday Safaris.
US
Email Jessica B | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome!!
We had a superb safari! David arranged everything beautifully and saw to it that our dietary need were met. Animal was our driver. He is an honest man of integrity. He is a skilled driver, very knowledgeable about the animals, and took great care of us! I couldn't have asked for a better experience!