IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Experience, Good people
Our Safari Vacation was great with Kichaka Tours. They arranged our travel in a most logical manner & we enjoyed our 8 days tour. There was personal attention & follow up from them & our driver / guide was just great!!! He knew each trail & where/when to visit for better experience.
We are thankful to them.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A good budget option, but with some small flaws that could easily be avoided.
Made some great memories.
On the first days we went to Masai Mara and saw the great migration. I think we must have seen a million wildebest, and some of them crossed the mara river. We also saw lions, elephants, leopard, buffalos, cheetas, giraffe, sebras, ostriches, hippos, crocodiles, antilopes, warthogs and more.
On day three we went to Lake Naivasha for a boat ride. It was very beautiful, and well worth it. Not so many animals, but we saw hippos, sebras, wildebeest, and many birds. The main reason for going is the beauty of it.
On day four we went for a drive around lake Nakuru. Also a beatiful lake. The lake is famous for its massive number of flamingos, but unfortunately there was not many this time. However we saw rhinos, lions, baboons, sebras, giraffes, warthogs, antilopes, wildebeest, and more.
On day five we went to Devils Gate. We rentet bicycles and rode them through part of the national park with a guide. This was fantastic. On the bikes we past by many animals, and felt closer to them than in the safari car. We rode by gjiraffes, warthogs, buffalos, antilopes, baboons and sebras. In the end of the bike tour we went in to Hells gate canyon, that was very beautiful. The canyon is very narrow some places, and has natural hotsprings.
On day six and seven we was at Amboseli. This is maybe the best place to see elephants in the entire world, and is very scenic because of the dramatic view of mt Kilimanjaro. Here we saw more than hundred elephants, and the elephants was not so shy of humans, as many other places. This is a very beautiful place. We also saw some hyenas, sebras, gjiraffes, antilopes, hippos, baboons and more.
The food in general was ok. At the hotels and camps it was ok or even good, but we ate three times at the safari junction where the food was terrible. The accomodation, although budget was better than expected.
Miti Mingi Eco Camp in Masai Mara was right by the parks gate and rustic. The tents was quite big and had working hot shower, but no electricity. Some of the bedsheets should be thrown away. But overall a good camp with a very genuine safari feeling. The food was ok. We had two nights here.
Hotel Citymax in Nakuru was a nice and clean hotel with good food. We had two nights here.
Taphe Guest house in Naivasha was a nice quiet place. Friendly area, 15 minutes walk from town. However we did have a big outbreak of mold in our room. The food here was the best on the trip. We had one night here.
Kimana camp Amboseli was the best of the two camps. We stayed in a nice cabin with electricity and hot shower. The food was good, and both the cabin and restaurant had a nice view of mt Kilimanjaro.
The safari car was a rebuildt Hiace. The roof was liftet when on safari.
What could be better?
-The driving, especially the last 100km towards Masai Mara and in Masai Mara was terrifying. But to be fair, some of the people in our group did enjoy the ride.
-The day we where going to check in at Naivash we drove past Naivasha for 45 minutes, to eat at a restaurant at the safari junction. Everyone agreed that this place had terrible food, so why drive 2*45 minutes to eat here.
-Information was some times inaccurate. We where informed that biking in Hells gate would cost extra. The price given was the renting of the bike. But when we arrived we realized that in addition we had to pay to be allowed to bike in the park. And we also had to pay a bike guide.
The comunication was ok, but the information was not always accurate.
In Nairobi, Ancient Wild Safaris booked a table for us at Carnivore restaurant. We where told we had to pay in usd and that the price of 100 usd includet food and non alcoholic beverages. I also asked if this includet a provison for the company, or if this was the price the company had to pay the restaurant. I was told that this was the price the company had to pay the restaurant, so we decided to give something extra to the company for arranging it. Especially since it seems like it is a one person company. Arriving at the restaurant we found out that the price was lower, we did not have to pay in usd, and it did not include non-alcoholic beverages. We think it is very reasonable that the company takes a fee for arranging things like this, but doing it like this was not ok.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An outstanding Kenya Safarri Sojourn with Magical Retreats and Adventures Tours, NairobiSe
Seven Days/Six Nights Kenya Safari Tour covering Maasai Mara, Nakuru, Aberdare and Samburu, that I undertook from August 2 to 10th August 2016 was very pleasant, exciting and memorable. My appreciation and Thanks are due to Pamela, the Owner and Manager of "Magical Retreats & Adventures Tours" for her excellent organization of my ustomized private safari tour for seven days tour with persona attention and professional efficiency. I am very very pleased with with the exciting and exotic experince that I have Safari Sojourn with the Magical Retreats & Adventures Tours, Managed Pamela.
My Tourist guide cum Driver Peter through out my seven day Safari tour contributed to enhance my Safari experince in a pleasant manner by being, punctual, professional and patient to take me on Game Drive in every National Park and National Reserve visited to facilitate sightings of not only the Bug Five African Animals in the wild but so many more animals that inhabited the National Parks and Reserves of Kenya. I strongly recommend Magical Retreats and Adventures and Tours to aspiring Safari Tourists contemplating to go to Kenya from any where in the world. You will find service and price provided by Pamela, the Manager ofMagical Retreats and Adventures Tours, astonishingly friendly, fair and reliable. Thanks to Magical Retreats and Adventures Tours for making my recent Kenya Safari Tour of Seven Days package a pleasant and memorable one.
Dr. Jayaram Muthanna,
Ph.D. Canada, CFS., USA
Canadian and Resident Waterloo, Ontario, and Bangalore, India.
SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Timbavati Private Nature Reserve by Ben Johnson
Timbavati was fantastic from an accommodation and guest experience, however the animal population felt much more sparse than at Sabi Sand. Overall still a great experience and I would love to go back.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kafue National Park by Lorraine
The Busanga plains in the northern part of the park was a highlight for me. It’s absolutely beautiful, with amazing sunrises and sunsets. It should be a UNESCO world heritage site.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice Safari in Masai Mara!
Me and my family we went to Masai Mara for 3 days, 2 nights. We didn't have much time and no large budget so we asked Travel for Change for advice. They suggested to go to Masai Mara because you can see many animals in a short period of time. We had a great time!
We stayed in Loyk camp in northern mara and the camp was very nice. We slept in a canvas tent but in a very nice bed and waking up among the animal sounds is lovely.
The drive through mara was a bit long in our safari van because the road is very bad, but our van was strong and the driver was friendly. It also turned out later that our driver had a lot of knowledge about the wild life as well. That was really nice. Also a big plus for us was that a friendly lady from Travel for Change came and see us when we were in Nairobi and were to meet our driver. That was a comforting start of our yourney.
As for the animals we are aware that you have to have some luck sometimes but we felt we really saw a lot of different animals. Lions, Wildebeast, Giraffe's, Bufffalo's and many other. All in all we were surprised that we could have such a lovely safari with such a tight budget.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari
Dealing with Wildebeest safaris was an easy experience. I booked my 2 night 3 day safari last minute (the day before I went safari!). I negotiated a good lodge and price with Noah. I was nervous about doing a joining safari as you can't guarantee the other people or driver will be good. However all worked out well. The Driver (I forget his name) was excellent and got us close to the animals. Sadly only 3 of 5 of the big 5 were spotted. Overall it was an incredible experience!
HK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Enjoyable!
Communication during the planning phase was excellent. Less than a 12-hour turnaround time (allowing for time zone differences). Instructions on pick-up location, what to pack, what to wear, etc was all very detailed. All the drivers we had were pleasant to deal with and confident regarding what they had to deliver. Professional yet friendly.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
value for money
From my first submission of an enquiry with Karibu Safari's in Kenya, I was contacted promptly and made aware of what was on offer and the booking was made simple. The email communication was great.They also helped us with an airport shuttle and overnight hotel stay before the safari began.
Unfortunately, we were not introduced to our driver/guide on the first day, and I believe that this is an important part of the whole Safari. The second issue I would like to raise, is that the drivers should be more personal (eg getting to know the people on the van), and informative advising us of a comprehensive daily itineracy and also offering more information regarding the animals we encounter and some history/knowledge on the routes we take during the day and the places of interest. The driver should also have introduced us at the hotels that we stayed at.
Overall I would recommend Karibu to my friends & book again with them
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good value
We went on a safari with Amani. He was a great driver, host and guide! We managed to do 3 safari parks in 3 days! Me and the 5 friends I was travelling with had a great time and would recommend this company!