US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect 6 Night Safari in Kenya and Tanzania
As an initial matter, Paul (who I believe is the owner and operator of KETS) is one of the most responsive people on e-mail I've met - which is saying a lot given that I'm an attorney in NYC. This was very much appreciated as my wife and I planned our honeymoon and constantly changed the accommodation and route we wanted to take. KETS is very flexible in that respect as well. We spent two nights in Maasai Mara in Kenya (at Ashnil Mara Lodge), two nights in the Serengeti in Tanzania (Mbalageti Lodge), one night in Ngorongoro (the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge) and one night in Amboseli back in Kenya (at the Ol Tukai Lodge).
In Maasai Mara, we had Daniel as our private driver/guide. He was very easy to speak with, knew the animals and where to find them, and was generally a great guide. Maasai Mara is significantly smaller than the Serengeti, but is beautiful and less regulated than the Tanzania parks - allowing us to get closer looks at the animals. That's not to say that KETS did any offroading or anything, just that there are more off-trail roads that get you closer to the animals. We saw a cheetah with a young one, a leopard with a young one, a lion pride resting after a kill, hyenas and jackals finishing the kill, another attempted kill by a lion at sunset, and huge numbers of elephants. We didn't see tons of wildebeests or zebras, but that came later. And Ashnil Mara lodge was beautiful. A perfect view over the river where you could watch hippos as you ate/drank. And the staff was beyond generous. The food left something to be desired, but not a whole lot KETS can do about that one. One note, and this will be common throughout this review - the drives are long. So be prepared. From Nairobi to Ashnil Mara took us about 6-7 hours. But the last 2-3 hours there is at least animal viewing. There are also a couple of stops where you can look at some African crafts if you're so inclined.
The drive from Ashnil Mara to the Mbalageti lodge in Serengeti was the longest drive. It was a full day. Although we stopped for lunch across the Tanzania border that was probably unnecessary (and I think KETS recognized it too, as Paul mentioned that for future tours they would not be making that stop). Without that two hour stop, we would have been in the park much earlier. Also of note, Kenyan drivers are not allowed to drive in Tanzania (well, they can, but it's a ridiculously expensive process). So we switched from Dan to Oswald (Ozzie) at the border. Ozzie was phenomenal. Very personable and again very good with the animals and working with the numerous other safari cars to do everything they can to show you the animals you want to see most. For us, that was cheetahs and Ozzie went out of his way to find them for us (four of them in fact...). The Mbalageti lodge is the most beautiful one we stayed in with views that can't be matched. And the western part of the Serengeti park is really beautiful with thousands of wildebeests and zebras. Can't say enough about that lodge and well worth the long drive from Maasai Mara. Even with the drives, we would strongly, strongly recommend seeing both Maasai Mara and the Serengeti.
After our second night at Mbalageti, we had a long drive to Ngorongoro (probably another 5 hour drive). But this one is the easiest drive as it's all in the park. And the central part of the Serengeti is a great chance to see leopards (we were lucky enough to see two). The arrival at Ngorongoro is incredibly impressive. And the crater offers your best chance to see the elusive rhino. The Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge left quite a bit to be desired, but I'm not sure what KETS can do about that. There are only a couple of lodges there and it does have an incredible view - the rooms are just very outdated and not the most comfortable. That might be an area where you look to fork up a bit more money for a four-star lodge if that's the kind of trip you're looking for.
Amboseli could probably be skipped. Ol Tukai is a gorgeous lodge, but if that's your last stop, you'll have already seen most everything that Amboseli has to offer except views of Kilimanjaro. It breaks up the drive a bit from Ngorongoro, but I think if we did it all over again, we might have skipped that stop. Ol Tukai is gorgeous though - so definitely not a bad place to just relax after a long safari. We switched drivers again at the border (from Ozzie to Duncan). We didn't have much time with Duncan since we were winding down and largely chose to relax instead of go on game drives in Amboseli. But he certainly seemed knowledgeable of the animals/area and fell in line with the other KETS drivers we had.
Long winded, I know. So to summarize, KETS was everything we had hoped for and could have expected. We would strongly, strongly recommend KETS to those of you looking for a Kenya and Tanzania safari!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Book Bella!
In August 2014 we had Bella as our tourguide on our trip through Uganda.
If you have plans to go to Uganda, I can highly recommend Bella.
Bella knows everything from Uganda, the animals, culture and everyone knows Bella.
She is a very warm person, always smiling and having fun. But also very professional.
If you book Bella as your tourguide, you will definitely have a great time!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not satisfied
Please do not book at Krugerpark.com. We had booked the 3-days Safari. After several email contact we succeed to let them know we will drive by ourself inside the gate to the camp. That was no problem they said. Arriving at the gate we had to pay to enter the gate again (R560) The gate fee was in the package we booked, so we already paid for it. Arriving at the camp, nobody knows about us. There was no reservation. Tried to chat with Krugerpark.com, nobody responded. Then we call them, I couldn't understand a word they where saying because of the bad connection. They called me back and gave a reservation number. (The calles costed me R300) Back to the reception, nothing to find again even with the reservation number. Asked the reception if they can contact Krugerpark.com for us. Finally the found something. Krugerpark.com called the driver and he picked us up finally, already to late for our first game drive. Back in Holland again I started contact Krugerpark.com to get our money back for the gate fee and my telephone costs. Pff not funny anymore, I think I had to explain 10x what happened to the same lady. 3 months later (february), sending several reminder emails I finally got an email that they will refund my money. No it is june and I still haven't received any money.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing,unforgettable ,our best tour we ever made in Africa,real Africa!
"The world is a book,and those who do not travel read only a page."
Thank you to Around African Tours for arranging such an amazing trip and "reading" a further page of world..We were hosted well ,our guide made this trip to our highlight of the year!We experienced about Uganda more than we ever expected and for sure we will return !
The communication was excellent ,all our questions have been answered so quickly.Thank you to the whole team!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Trip of a Lifetime.........
On our ten day visit to Tanzania my group of three had the distinct pleasure of having safari guide George Mollel ("Mollel") as our host. This man is amazing.
Seeing "The Big Five" in under three hours, a Croc devouring a Zebra, a Lion taking down a Hyena, a Black Rhino from 25 feet away and a Puff Adder ready to strike were just a few highlights from our unforgettable journey. One hundred fifty Lions, thousands of Wildebeest, 200 birds, swarms of Cape Buffalo, a parade of pachyderm, a pair of Cheetah, seven Leopards & a business of Banded Mongoose were just a few more animals Mollel was always able to find.
During this experience we averaged eleven hours a day on safari, took over 5000 photos & learned about Tanzania's culture, customs and history from Mollel while taking full advantage of his first class customer service.
Our Tanzanian safari was truly the trip of a lifetime & if I'm ever fortunate enough to get back to Africa to do it again, my only choice for safari guide is George Mollel. He's got the eye of an Eagle & the instinct of a tracker.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They are courteous, professional, providing an awesome experience with a caring attitude.
Communication and service were awesome and the safari itself, we saw 2 different leopards and 4 of the Big 5 in 3 days!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Epic Ride- amazing experiences and scenery , horses with heart , people with tenacity, just do it !!
Very well done all round! (This was my 10th ride with NHSC ! ) All the staff are always helpful , caring and smiling! The guides ARE the best you can get ! The horses are keen, good condition, tough and willing, well looked after! Food fantastic( just how do they do it ?! )The routes are well thought out , making it and the camps so interesting! Very good communications! Ten out of ten experience every time!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 day classic safari - perfection
When we booked our flights to visit our friends in the greater Jo'burg area we were suggested to go on a safari while in S.A. We did a bit of searching around and asked for a few quotes, one of them from KrugerPark.com. While some of the other providers returned us impersonal emails, Andy from KrugerPark.com actually personally called me and asked for our expectations and wishes. He then sent a very competitive quote by email and followed up to see if all the details were correct for us etc. We decided to bite the bullet and I'm glad we did!
For the safari (organised by Outlook Safaris) we were picked up from our hotel by super friendly drivers and driven to Skukuza. On the way we already saw zebras, kudus, rhinos and giraffes (at a petrol station!). We were looked after extremely well throughout the visit and given very friendly advice and schedule by the team. The bungalow we stayed in was clean and did the job well - not that we spent more time there than for sleeping; busy schedule. As an aside, the restaurant and shop on site are very reasonably priced considering they're the only places you can buy anything in a 100 mile radius; no need to pack emergency rations.
As for the game drives, we had several drivers and types of trips during which we spotted so many animals and sights I lost count. Of the big five we only missed a leopard (by a few minutes, several times) but did see an impala in a tree, ripped into two parts by a leopard. My daughter was very impressed! She was also impressed by the lions, giraffes, mongooses, warthogs, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles, elephants and all the other wonderful animals.
Considering that we had no expectations beforehand we were super impressed and a bit disappointed we only packed our smartphone cameras with us. Good thing then that FJ (one of the guides) is a professional photographer and took amazing photos with his super camera - and all the photos can be seen on the Outlook Safaris' FB page.
All in all I would very, very warmly recommend booking a safari with KrugerPark.com.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Michelle is fantastic
Can't say enough good things about Michelle, she is so prompt and really helped fit my parameters for a safari in the Okavango Delta. Everything was done easily over email :)
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fun Safari
Bjorn was very helpful with making our arrangements especially since we were on a tight schedule. There was a little miss communication about where they were supposed to pick us up, but it worked out after we called them. The 5-6 hr drive from JNB to Tremisana Lodge was very long in a crowded van. It was exciting to see all the animals on the night and morning game drives. We saw 4 of the Big five. The leopard escaped us. The accommodations were adequate and the food was ok. The staff was great! Overall, we really enjoyed our safari.