CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unsure solvency of the company - Definitively not a care free safari!
First of all: this review has nothing to do with the beauty of Kenya and Tansania nor our personal tour guides or cooks (they have been super helpful)! Both countries are beautiful and their people have been exceptionally friendly and accommodating!
However, if you want a carefree safari tour in which all bookings/reservations/parking fees are payed in advance (as discussed and payed for) then we suggest to book with a different company. We cannot express how disappointed and frustrated we were in regards to the organizational skills of Kenya Walking Safari's (KWS) management. It caused us many nerves/patience and most of all time during our 10 day safari.
In order to be fair with KWSS we would also like to say the at the end of our tour KWSS compensated us with approx 5% of the tour price for lost time and wrong calculations.
Anyway we would like to explain what happened:
We booked our safari tour in April 2016 for our trip in August 2016. We had extensive contact with KWS which gave us confidence because they were always very responsive and answered all of our many questions. We payed well in advance (a good amount of money!) and expected that all accommodations/services/park fees would be payed/booked for us in time for our arrival.We are very well aware that we can come across unforeseen circumstances and that flexibility is required. However only to a certain extent.
During our tour we encountered four issues which we would like to explain for others in more detail:
The first issue we encountered was during our first lodge in Maasai Mara. Taking KWS's suggestion, we swapped 1 day in our tour due to ongoing animal migration in the region (adding 1 day in Maasai Mara and take 1 day off from our Tanzania tour).This was a good idea because we were able to see the river crossing. However, we didn't receive the same standard room we booked for originally.We wrote KWS a mail to see how to proceed (since there was a clear down grade on our room).They didn't reply to us until the end of our safari tour.
Second issue:after wonderful game drives in Maasai Mara and a great time at Lake Navaisha we headed off for a very long drive (8h) to Amboseli National park. According to our itinerary (which was reconfirmed verbally and on print during our face to face briefing in the Nairobi office) we were booked at the Kibo Lodge (high class safari lodge). We were then surprised to hear from our tour guide that he had just received a text message from the office saying we would be spending 2 nights in the AA lodge instead of Kibo (another down grade as they have different room rates). Apparently Kibo was fully booked due to government officials.We decided to see for ourselves and were more surprised to hear onsite from Kibo lodge that they did have available rooms and no government officials! We of course did not take the room in the AA lodge and insisted on taking a room in Kibo (according to our tour program we had payed for). We then found out from the hotel manager that they no longer accept KWSS clients because the company has outstanding payments. We (including our tour guide) tried to call the KWSS office many times (including the "hotline number") because this was a situation we were not going to accept. We were not able to get the manager of KWSS on the phone and waited 4 long hours until we reached someone from the office.They suggested that we pay the 2 nights ourselves (400$) and we will get a refund. Obviously, after all that we had heard and experienced we were not ready to pay ourselves. Due to the kindness of the Kibo hotel manager and our persisting tour guide we were able to check in at 8.30 pm. KWSS had promised to send the money to Kibo the next day, which they then did the next afternoon.However, low and behold,we encountered another group from KWSS on the second night at Kibo. They had the same problem! Unfortunately they weren't as lucky as we were and had to go to another lodge.
Third issue: after transferring from Kenya to Tanzania,we slept a night in Fanaka lodge to be ready early morning to go to the famous Ngorongoro crater.We were supposed to depart at 8am.However, our tour guide told us that there was a problem because KWSS had again not yet sent the money for our accommodations and park fees for Tanzania. KWSS's Tanzanian business partner, contacted us and suggested we pay 440$ and KWSS will refund us as soon as the money has been wired (apparently there was a technical problem so money transferring was not available). As you may guess, this was not an option for us.KWSS's credibility was non existent. So we called the KWSS office and were surprised that they actually picked up the phone. However this wasn't very helpful and the Tanzanian business partner had to borrow the money from his relative (!) so we could go on with the tour.We waited for almost 3 hrs until we were able to leave.
Fourth issue: after all that had happened, we decided to cross check our past accommodations and realised that KWSS had double calculated the first hotel night in Nairobi. By the way: don't accept a booking at Henessis Hotel.This is a shabby hotel which by far did not meet the standards of our other accommodations. This could have been an honest mistake but we decided to list all the issues we had during our tour for full transparency.
To come to an end: After many emails and involvement of a 3rd party, KWSS management was cooperative and quick in refunding us (after we finished our tour) for wrong hotel accommodations and lost time (several hundred dollars in total).
In short:
- If you want to do a safari tour do it definitively in Tanzania and Kenya - people (incl. tour guides and cooks), nature and food are amazing!
- If you are looking for a carefree package KWS is not the best option
- If you insist and put pressure on KWSS you probably will get refunded for issues, however we believe this only worked for us because we involved a third party
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6 days in Kenya Amboseli, Nakuru and Masai Mara
We had an amazing time in Kenya.
All the trip was well organized and we really enjoy our vacations. We only wish we could stay longer
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Pre-Honeymoon!
Last August we have made a 4-day safari with bestday safari and it was simply the best experience we ever had wit my fiancé!!!
Our driver-guide, Godfrey was so knowledgeable and incredibly great to spot the animals. We had the chance to see the "big 5" even if the Rino in Ngorongoro was quite far we went very close to lions, leopards, elephants and buffaloes :)))
The food and accommodation at the lodges and the tented camp was perfect! Sleeping in a tent with all the confort in the middle of Serengeti Park is surreal!
We definitely recommend this tour and travel agency!
Steve & Natalia
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 day Gorilla Treking
The team from Katona Tours and Travel were very professional and helpful throughout, ensuring that I had the best experience, tailor-making the tour to my requirements and organising everything. The accommodation was superb and I had never imagined that I would get so close to a family of Mountain Gorillas. This was amazing experience and something that I will never forget - thank you so much.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
it was totally awesome full of adventure our guide was very skilled and knew places for sightings
Our guide Karisa made us feel comfortable having 15 years experience with the company he was very knowledgeable knowing spots to get the best viewing. He worked well with the other team liaising with them while we were out in the bush and answered every questions.
I would not hesitate to recommend Gametrackers for any Safari and when reading this we need to save Masai Mara game park from farming.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience!
I was on a 12 night safari with Ulinda Safari Trails in September 2016. The adventure started in Kasane, from where we drove to the Chobe Riverfront (3 nights camping), Savuti (3 nights), Khwai (4 nights) and Moremi (2 nights). On the last day I was dropped off at my hotel in Maun.
This was my first safari and camping is not something I do often either, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. And surely enough the trip exceeded my expectations in all aspects! The wildlife was amazing – so many elephants!, lions with cubs and hunting buffalo, zebras, and eventually feeding on an elephant, wild dogs, leopards feeding on impala, hippos, crocodiles and so much more! Nature at its best! In total I had 8 leopard sightings which is something exceptional! The sunsets and sunrises in Botswana are breath-taking and you never miss one as the days start early, with 5:15am wakeup. We also had a boat trip on a Chobe river and mokoro trip in Khwai. Both very relaxing.
The camping was comfortable, and camp moves very efficient. Food was delicious thanks to Gassie – a great vegetarian choice. We had various visitors in our camping sites, including honey badger, elephants, leopard and a civet, and in the evenings sitting by the fire place you could hear lions roaring and leopards grunting. Unforgettable experience!
And something to highlight – the closed vehicle (with opening roof) – is really the way to go. I was protected from the morning cold, and the wind and dust, yet had no issues taking great pictures through the open roof. I didn’t see many vehicles of this type around, and I really felt bad for people in the open cars at times!
Jane, Gassie and Alex were super friendly and professional. They made the trip an unforgettable experience for me, and I can wholeheartedly recommend safaris with Ulinda Safari Trails!
AT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very serious company with a clear tour programm wtch is the same as it is in real
Great thanks to Ute Sonnenberg for the good communication
All lodges were real nice ( Ilala Lodge, Bakwena Lodge and Kadizora Camp)
great thanks to KB from Bakwena Lodge and OC from Kadizora Camp they were excellent guides.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lovely first safari
I had a great safari with face of Africa adventures. I had arranged it quite last minute but everything was organized very well. The program was not exactly the same as in the itinerary but in my case it made my safari even better. Compared to other safari companies this one had a really good price.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I had a wonderful safari.
The safari definitely lived up to my expectations. Ruaha National Park is an outstanding park, easily rivaling any of it's more famous northern counterparts. The accommodation was great - I couldn't recommend Tandala more highly. Paul and Hannah at Paul Tickner Safaris are lovely people, who are passionate about what they do and have fantastic local knowledge. Communication was a little slow at times, and they are probably not the cheapest company, but they are extremely trustworthy, know what they are doing, and will make sure you are well looked after.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dusty Roads gave us the most beautiful experience we could imagine !!!!
Our Tanzanian safari was the trip of a lifetime for us and Dusty Roads Safaris and Tours made our dreams come true. From their efficient help with the planning, competitive rates to accommodating our special medical needs, to applying their expertise to the scheduling, they bent over backwards to meet our needs and make this the best trip ever. Mr. Lodaru Mollel was great at responding to our questions and working to get our itinerary just right for what we wanted to do and see. Our itinerary took us to Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara parks. Our driver, Geoff, made each day special for us by being punctual, knowledgeable, safe, fun and he has the best eye sight in the world for spotting animals! The two major things we wanted to see were leopards in trees and the wildebeest crossing the Mara River. Both happened, and in addition we saw so much more spectacular wildlife that made this an extra special trip to remember.
Would we use Dusty Roads for another safari? Absolutely! Out of a 5 star rating, we give them 10!!!! Thank you Mollel, Geoff and Dusty Roads for an awesome safari! You guys are the best of the best.