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
CA
Email Betty | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Will dfinitely come back to David, for any Kenya trip
My husband and I had a safari trip in Kenya and Tanzania from June 25-July 7th 2016.
It was en excellent experience in Kenya. We started with a pick up from the airport provided by the company at 11pm as promised, very impressed. We saw lots of animals, the driver made effort to find exotic animals for us. We even saw Mount Kilimanjaro . Tent and bed were as advertised., clean and comfortable. Food was ok. I have recommended this trip to my friends already.
Disappointed for the trip in Tanzania. It was passed on to another company on Tanzania. We have lots of problems with the land cruiser provided by the company, food was bad, accommodation was dirty. However, the driver, his name was Salee, was very experienced, careful and dedicated tour guide. Even with all the beautiful and exotic animals that we saw, we would not recommend the Tanzania trip at all.
The reason we would go back to Absolute Holiday is because , David, the person we booked the trip with is very approachable, responsible, friendly and available all the time during the trip to help to solve any problem.
He did briefing before the trip, debriefing after the trip. He listened to all our concerns and was willing to help us to solve the problems during and after our trip. We felt being treasured as a customer and enjoy the service that he provided. Will definitely go back for his reliable service.
IN
Email Narayanappa Kodandaramaiah | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good. Ever rememberable, money's worth. I
Communication service excellent. Service good.living upto expectations. Safsri tour was very enjoyable.
IN
Email Tepa | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolute Holiday Safaris do know their territory, and their birds and animals.
It was a pleasure to do the safari with Asolute Holiday Safaris.
The booking of the hotels took some back and forth-ing and while responses were very prompt it did require constant input from us. We were fortunate to know friends who had been on a safari before and could guide us.
The vehicle was slight disappointing. We expected much better for the price considering the fact that we had booked the high end luxury tour. The guide was loud but good natured, and once we understood each other the holiday was good.
The biggest negative however, was being told how much to tip (which was exorbitant, by every standard), and not on the basis of the overall experience. We gave what we felt was very fair, even generous, but the guide's annoyance at this was not at all pleasant. Sadly it was not a happy end to a good safari.
Reply from Absolute Holiday Safaris
Posted on May 4, 2016Hello Tepa
Great to know the experience you had with us and really appreciate,we are concerning on what spoiled the good trip,i as the contact person am shocked to know that you were told how much to tip. Kindly we does not work like this as the clients experience determines how much to tip.
We are also shocked that the driver was annoyed..... Kindly you came for the Holiday while i was too on holiday and on behalf of the entire office i really apologize for that.
Kindly we will make a follow up and make sure this does not happen to our future clients.
with kind apology
david
FI
Email Mikko | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good safari experience
The safari was arranged in a group of about 8 people. Everything important worked fine. The driver/host was adequately on top of things and knew the masai mara area and wildlife well. There were smaller issues like we had to do some negotiations to get our waters and some hassle around they drives (expected in africa, though). I would really recommend this operator taken, of course, that this is a budget safari.
Recommendations:
- Surprise, surprise 1 litre of water is not enough per day -> buy some of your own
- The food is provided but sometimes the gaps between are quite long -> if you get hungry easily take for example protein bars with you.
- If you do participate the visit to masai village, prepare for an interesting evening but also some quite manipulative selling situations.
ES
Email Nuria | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We enjoyed a lot this experience. Everything was planned as in the schedule. We joined people from other agencies, (they work like that), so finally all of us did the same, but we should say that our plan was the one done (as others booked with other agencies they had different plan and some of the were dissapointed).
It is a really good value quality/ price, taking into account that this is a budget safari. Do not expect great lodges or food but we felt it like magic, being in contact with nature.
AE
Email Magda | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari
Overall we had a good experience with Absolute Holiday Safaris. Coordination, lodge bookings, communication, pick up and drop off - all very positive. And competitively priced.
The actual jeep we were allocated was rather time-worn, but (surprisingly enough) made it successfully to and back from Serengeti...part of adventure I guess! Our driver/guide was attentive and welcoming, however I would have preferred if he had offered insight/info about animals and areas we visited.
US
Email Pratt | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Splendid safari with gorgeous animals, great guide but mediocre lodging
We just returned from a 7-day safari with Absolute Holiday and Safaris limited to Masai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli. . They are a resource sharing group with Big Time safaris. We were quite happy with their service. They picked us up at the airport, transferred us to Sarova Stanley and we began our safari the next day with 4 others. Our contact person, David, was quite cordial and helpful. The highlight of our safari was Patrick, our safari driver and guide. We had requested for Patrick based on testimonials on the Internet and were truly pleased. He is a warm, nice person with a solid knowledge of the animals and the savannah. I remark on his ability because he was able to spot and land us as virgin spectators into various animal adventures. That was remarkable. Altogether it was an excellent trip. We chose the budget option to experience the savannah closer. However, in hindsight, I will opt for a bit less modest accommodations next time. Our camps and tents were too primitive with loads of plumbing issues and some dreadful-looking insects as natural lodgers. We plan to opt for a less-primitive lodging experience next time.
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
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.