US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
"Unforgettable Safari Trip!"
We were a group of 6 and booked our safari with Open Arica Safaris after visited thier website and read their good reviews. We visited Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and Serengeti National Parks. Our Safari guide Anthony was an amazing on spotting animals and showed us the best sites to take photos. We stayed at the Sopa lodges which were a god send after a long safari. I would recommend booking a safari trip with Open Africa Safaris. Thank you, we had such a great time!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experiance with Kenya walking
We had a Kenyan safari with Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris during August -2015 and indeed I must say it was a memorable event in my life ... Kenya Walking Survivors made everything possible with in my limited budget and made the trip a pleasant one even though we had lot of changes from the original plan and even we had some last minute changes. They accommodated all our preferences, changes, interests and suggestions with a smile..especialy Mr.Otieno , the man behind the success of Kenya Walking Survivors.
We had a 10 days safari and I travelled with my family that includes my wife and my 2 kids aged 4 and 8. Since I travelled with my family, I had lot of apprehensions about the safety, accommodation, food etc during the trip, but Mr.Otieno took care of everything and provided a set of 4 or 5 star category resorts for 3 star price and ensured our trip was a memorable one. On landing Nairobi on 20th august, we transferred to our hotel at Nairobi and we spent the night there and the next morning we headed to Samburu. Though Samburu is little far compare to other parks and just opposite direction of Mara/Nakuru from Nairobi , it's really worth a visit. Few animals we can't see anywhere else but only in Samburu and also the chances of seeing a Leopard is much higher here compare to other parks. We stayed at Samburu game lodge which is just on the banks of the river and the ambience of the resort demand you visit again and again. unlike other regions Samburu is dry and deserted, but animal sightings and birds are abundant.
We spent 2 days at Samburu and the third day we headed towards Lake Nakuru which was a disappointment as almost all the flamingos migrated to a near by lake called Lake Bogoria. Even though we were hinted by Mr.Otieno about this, we still wanted to visit Lake Nakuru for it's other attractions. We stayed at Sarova Lion hill Lodge and the next day we travelled to Masai Mara.
We spent 3 days at Masai mara and we choose to stay at Mara Keekorak region and I find Mara triangle is lot better than Mara Keekorak. This is my second visit to Kenya and in my last visit during 2011, though we saw the migration, it was not really interesting as we stood in a place from where we didn't have a clear visibility of animals crossing the river. But this time we were so close to the river and the migration was indeed a new wonder. We saw almost 10,000 zebras and wildebeest cross the river and I could click them from a close proximity. After spending 3 days at Mara, we headed to Lake Naivasha and we stayed at Naivasha sopa lodge and I must say, you should stay at least once in Naivasha sopa as the lodge is one of the best lodges we stayed and the food too was excellent. During night, the hippos, zebras, Giraffes etc will visit the lodge. It's a great experience living with animals in the wild and walking with them.
On our 9th day, we went to Amboseli and I got a good opportunity to photograph the Elephants at the backdrop of Mt.kilimanjaro. Altogether it was a trip remembered all thru my life.. Thank you Mr.Otieno and Kenya walking for made this possible...
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
9 days in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo; Gorilla, Chimp & Monkey trekking, overnight on volcano, Excellent
We had a great experience, right from the start of emailing to customising our itinerary, to being picked up by Ben (our excellent guide) in a very good quality vehicle to being settled into our last Motel before flying to the next leg of our trip.
Gorilla Trek Africa organised our Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda and Rwanda, our Chimp trekking Permits in Uganda, our Golden Monkey trekking permits in Rwanda and a 2 day hike to Mount Nyiragongo in DCR and it all went without a single hiccup.
Ben was a great representative of Gorilla Trek Africa, going above and beyond to make sure everything ran smoothly, even organising overnight repairs to one of our pairs of hiking boots and tracking down a replacement to a lost power adaptor.
He was able to answer all our inquiries about Uganda and Rwanda; flora and fauna, agriculture, infrastructure, education, health politics etc.
On the first day we met a very competent guide, on the last day we said goodbye to a good friend.
Highly recommend a competent and good value for money company.
US
The custom safari delivered everything we wanted, while providing us the comforts and safety we need
The planning and communication leading up to the trip was perfect . Alym worked with us to make multiple changes and iterations to our itinerary, to get us and amazing final trip. During our time on Safari, the transpiration and transition between camps and airports was seamless. We always felt we were in good, safe hands. The highlight was the Legendary camp and Faru Faru. Though, we did think Legendary should have provided flashlights or walkie talkies incase animals got too close. Every camp was aware of Brooks' dietary needs, and were blown away with how prepared and accommodating everyone was. Zanzibar transportation from the Airport to the hotel was a bit confusing and was less professional than our previous experiences in the bush. In general, we felt a bit unprepared in terms of tipping, for example it was not mentioned how much to tip guides and servers / general staff, leaving us short of cash just halfway through the trip. We did not think the stop at the Bushback Safari office was necessary.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience varies with drivers/itineraries
I booked with Absolute Holiday Safaris based on price and the superb, friendly communication with David prior to traveling. I was so happy that David really is as kind and genuine as he seems through email! I was very pleased to meet him in Nairobi.
I booked 8-day safari: Maasai Mara, Nakuru, Naivasha, Amboseli. We began the trip with John AKA Animal for 3 days in Maasai Mara, and learned from other passengers that he is one of the best drivers. He was very knowledgeable about the animals, and very professional. Sadly, we only had him for 3 days and were bounced to 4 other drivers for the rest of the trip.
The other drivers were Sammy and Stanley. Neither of them was at the same level with Animal. They both sped in the parks, and Sammy actually almost hit 3 zebra (I was riding in the front seat and was horrified). There was also a small child in the back seat who was bouncing around and flying off the seat. Both Sammy and Stanley were on their radios talking and laughing (presumably not about animals, since we weren't really seeing much...) the whole day and it ruined the peace of the experience.
We were also abandoned one morning in Hell's Gate National Park. We were to be picked up at 10:30AM and were not picked until around 1PM due to miscommunications within the company. We luckily had David's business card on hand and the kind women working at the park let us call David several times until we were picked from the park. Other changes were: switching hotels in Nakuru with no notice, changing our itinerary around during the trip itself. We never got offered a boat ride at either Lake Nakuru or Lake Naivasha, and we missed one morning's game drive in Maasai Mara which was on the itinerary.
The overall experience was wonderful; I love Kenya and want to come back already! However, I would book with this company again only with guarantee of a great driver (Animal) for the entire trip. Now that I have more awareness of how things work I would try to lock things down a bit more.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic trip that far exceeded our expectations.
We were a group of six, myself and my husband in our mid 70s, our daughter and husband in their late 40s (who live in another country) and their children, a girl aged 9 and a boy, 7, on a 27 day (including the days of arrival and departure) trip through Namibia in late July through August 2015. The intention was to hire a self drive 4x4 vehicle and have a family holiday while we were still able to travel and our grandchildren would be old enough to remember it. However, I was unable to find a vehicle with six seats using the major operators. With time running out (about six weeks before we were due to arrive) I emailed multiple companies I found on the internet and received an almost immediate reply from Derek Jacobs at Blue Crane Safaris. He explained that we could do the itinerary I had sent him with a 2 wheel drive and suggested a van and trailer combo which he could supply but also offered to organise the whole trip with a driver and cook for a very reasonable price. We decided to take him up on the fully organised trip and after numerous back and forth emails an itinerary was settled and I sent a deposit. Then cold feet set in. I knew nothing about this company and could only find two small reviews on the web and I started to worry that the very reasonable price was, in fact, too cheap and that the whole trip was going to be a disaster. So it was with great relief and delight that everything went like clockwork. We were met and debriefed on arrival by Derek's charming mother-in-law Troudy. The next morning we were picked up by our driver, Rusten, and cook, Job, both of whom also guided, and then met the ebullient Derek, reviewed the itinerary and we were off.
What followed was a really fantastic trip - magical day following magical day, all of us enthralled by the scenery and the animals. We had a roughly 60%/40% mixture of camping and hotels, mostly small, simple hotels though some were more luxurious than others but all were very clean and pleasant and had everything we needed and the campsites were very well equipped with clean flush toilets and hot showers. We had good tents with thick mattresses and camp cots if wanted; the sleeping bags were rather thin but we had two each which we needed as nights were cool. A large camp table and chairs were provided and a camp kitchen.
The vehicle was quite new and in excellent condition with good seat belts for every seat and we pulled a trailer for the camping equipment. We had only one flat tire despite many gravel roads, some quite rough.
But the best part was our great crew, Rusten and Job, who are friends and work really well together, so there was never any tension and always a lovely atmosphere. Rusten is an excellent, careful driver with great decision making skills so we had complete confidence in his ability and judgement. He knew the country and the routes very well and was also able to give us many insights into Namibia and its peoples. Job cooked up good, tasty food every day while we were camping; cereals and eggs for breakfast, nice crispy rolls with cheeses and cold meats and salads for lunch with an occasional hot dog much to the delight of our grandchildren. For dinner, grills or very tasty big, one pot stews with rice or pasta - all on a wood fire so we had the added delight of a camp fire to sit around at night. Both Rusten and Job were excellent spotters so we saw lots of wildlife all over the country. They were also really good with the children, both of whom became very attached to them and were sad to leave.
Our trip was a counterclockwise circuit from Windhoek - Waterberg Plateau, Etosha, Opuwo, Sesfontein, Palmwag, Twyfellfontein, Skeleton Coast at Terrace Bay and Cape Cross, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Sossusvlei, Luderitz, Orange river, Fish River Canyon, Mariental and back to Windhoek. The extra side trips that Derek had suggested over and above those I had requested, turned out to be some of the best of the trip - a 4x4 day trip up a dry river valley from Sesfontein in search of desert elephants, and a walk in the bush with the San people, speaking their click language. He was also very accommodating when I made a couple of last minute changes the day before the trip started - no problem!!
In summary, it all turned out to be a really well organised but very relaxed trip through an amazing and very beautiful country which far exceeded our expectations in every respect.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice, friendly, well organized and experienced team. Customer friendly & excellent service
My husband and me did two tours in Namibia. One in 2010 and one in 2015. Both tours were booked and organizied by Blue Crane Safari. The whole team is well organized and experienced. From our guide we learned a lot about the nature, history and the differnent cultures. They know the right places, the most beautiful lodges and included customer spezific extra tours if possible. We highly recommend Blue Crane Safari for your next trip to Namibia.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Travel Service
We have just returned from a 5-week trip in Southern Africa that included 2 weeks in Botswana (Okavango Delta) and Namibia (Windhoek – Etosha – Twfelfontein – Swakupmond – Sossusvlei – Windhoek). We had the dates arranged and a rough idea of an itinerary when we contacted Cardboard Box Travel for help in filling in the details and finalising arrangements. We found Cardboard Box to be very efficient and helpful. They made many invaluable suggestions and were very open and responsive to our needs. They made all the reservations for us, including three nights in Etosha and two nights at the Desert Camp at Sesriem. Our consultant (Allison) was amazing and guided us through the whole process – she advised on an SUV rather than a sedan and that was a great suggestion. . Everything went smoothly on our trip – no problems or misadventures. Cannot recommend Cardboard Box highly enough and would definitely use them again wqhen we return to Namibia or Botswana.
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Camping Trip
I and my friends plan a safari but we did not know how to go about after contact many tour operators, then i came across to Safaris Packages Services after email then they replied very fast with a lot of safari ideas plus good rates. We loved it and book our safari trip travel to Tarangire then Lake Manyara before descend to the ctater floor of famous Ngorongoro Crater. We had a new experience, memorable and enjoyable safari organized by Nhojo, thank you Nak. 3 days camping safari our trip package i recommend to all holiday makers.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari operator
A big Thank you to you and your team for arranging such a wonderful
customized safari experience for us . We had a great time and we are sure
we will visit Kenya again . We were happy to meet such nice people and so
happy to know that Africa is not what people think it it . It is a
beautiful continent filled with lovely people around. We are happy that
we chose your tour company . Peter and Jacob were very good and polite
with us . Peter knew Masai Mara well and because of him we have some very
pleasant memories of the game reserve. Jacob was polite as well and made
some very amazing food. I was thoroughly impressed by hi culinary skills
and how well he could cook dishes that are so close to Indian taste.
All in all we had an amazing time and we will love to visit again