US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great staff, amazing sights
I enjoyed the trip to Masai Mara and time we spent in Nairobi. Our drivers were friendly and helpful, and became more than just drivers but spent time with us as we explored the city and the nightlife. They were flexible in their schedules to accommodate our plans, and spent large parts of the day with us.
The safari time was amazing, the guide was very knowledgeable, and we had a great time. The accommodations were actually nicer than I anticipated, which was a little disappointing. It may sound strange, but I was hoping for a more authentic experience vs. staying in a very nice resort that only caters to rich tourists. The trip to the Masai village was good, but it felt a little like the whole town was set up to cater to tourists vs. just the way that regular people lived. I suppose there is no way to avoid that since we were foreigners paying for the experience.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised
Will use them again well organised i have recommended them to my friend and colleague.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Andrew is a french sepaking driver : it was usefull for our kids !
Andrew reserved a warmfull welcoming for our family.
We enjoyed having him to get at the right place at the right time.
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
very competent,friendly and reliable
I've done several safaris and other tours,including private,with Chikoh Tours!it was always well organized!i can recommend this company with a clear conscience!!! {
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing !!
I've had the opportunity to do a SAFARI with Jocky Tour on december with my family. the guide was nice and took time to show us animals and explain whbat they was. He was answering to our questions. They took care of everything and we had a very good time. I recommand Jocky Tour to all who wants a weel organized Safari at a reasonable price !
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
very comfortable and knowledgeable and full of respect.
Communication was clear , service was good the driver and guide (Mike) wz knowledgable took good care of us and treated us with respect, very patient and if we complained of anything like heat or food he would take immediate action.
we took two tours with them first was a day trip to Zanzibar everything was very well organised
I am 80 years 0ld and comfort is very important to me and I got lots of it on the tour
I will recommend this company to other people.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great SafariExperience, despite the accommodations
We booked this private Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru safari online although it was a bit more expensive than others exactly like it, thinking the increase in price would upscale the experience just a little. But we had the same accommodation as others we talked to at our two overnight stops who paid less. The first, Manhattan Camp, in the Masai Mara, was very run down. Maybe thirty years ago when it was built it was a great place. All that left of ‘great’ is the gardens. The zipper on out tent did not work. The mosquito netting had holes in it. The bathroom was a shower I did not want to step in, a shelf mhammered together from old wood was hanging on the wall, and a toilet that had a lid but no seat! The camp entry/reception was a mud pit. This place has simply given up. The food was as basic as possible: either spaghetti, rice, mashed potatoes at every meal all served with the same ‘beef’ sauce. Over and over. The dining hall was big and uninteresting. It did however have a massive tv in the bar section which, when the electricity was on (rarely) was blaring soccer games. Pleasant-not! Hardly ‘dining’ experience. A safari camping experience is one thing but this camp has deceptive older photos and dares to call itself a ‘resort.’ Online it states that each tent has a kitchen. Not ours!
The second was a hotel at Lake Nakuru (City Max) in a very very sketchy neighbourhood. Secure but you don’t want to walk around here at night. Grumpy daytime front desk staff and manager. Night front desk was good. Restaurant with maître de and two uniformed wait staff. But, again, the food was miserable. I pushed away the dinner after a few bites as did a few of the other four couples in the restaurant. The room was good. The beds were good. But this neighbourhood is noisy, way into the night. Our room was directly above the kitchen early, so early mornings there was banging pits and pans, etc. I complained about this to the manager but all I got was a blank stare. As for the wifi, although this place claims to have it throughout - forget that. We just gave up on it. It does work sort of in the dining hall.
So, as far as accommodations are concerned, this safari is not just budget but very very budget.
The best part of the safari was Robert, our driver/guide. We had a safari van with openable roof all to ourselves. Robert was a great driver and an informative guide. He was sensitive to what we wanted and made sure we were always having a positive animal viewing experience. We saw almost every savannah animal you could think of . So that made up for the questionable acccommodation. Ask for him if you are still going to book after reading this review.
The owner of the tour company, Felistus, was quick to respond to our emails and even got us onward train tickets to Mombasa. So she is good. I am not sure however that she has recently or ever visited the two places we overnighted in. She and all others who use them should think again.
‘Budget’ does not have to mean ‘inadequate’!
MX
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good planning and help
The planning was good, and the recommendations were great. The lodges were very nice.
The communication could improve, on the planning, and the information could be more personalized, not only re sending information.
We had a problem with our visas, but they were really helpful managing a late pick up from the airport so we would be able to catch our Gorilla trecking, even though we arrive late, because of a change in our schedule.
US
excellent in every way
i went to tanzania with safarihub few weeks ago , ( with my family ) , we spent about a week there , everything was quite nice + the price was excellent as well
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mercury Zanzibar was a reliable tour operator, even thow there were some changes in the program.
We were picked up on time as prearranged in Dar es Salam. We felt always secure due to our very experienced driver, who was a knowledgeable safari guide. His english was quite basic, but over all sufficient. Accommodations were simple, but clean and for the price absolutely o.k. Unfortunately there was a lot of rain in January, what didn't allow us to drive the intended route due to a flooded road. We had to face a very long drive back to Dar es Salam and the next day to Mikumi. But everything was organized and we were housed in a good hotel. The really ennoying thing was, that for the last day our guide did not know that we were supposed to go to Udzungwa. So I recommend to check the program the first day of the trip with the guide. After some discussions and bargaining we found a good deal with Ndamungu from Mercury Zanzibar Travel for a compensation. All over it was a good experience with great game drives and due to the long drives we we saw a lot of the country.