50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not as expected
Had to pay in cash in USD, reason given, that all park fees had to be paid in cash USD. Some on the tour had paid online, but using another company. Would be great if Karibu accepted online payment.
Supposed to be 7 passengers, with window seat for all. Day one we were 9, of which 2 kept us waiting after lunch to join up. Lunch was in Narok town not at the camp. We were delayed for the 7th to 9th passengers. One insisted on seating next to the driver and was accomodated after lunch, so all had a seat. No game drive after lunch as promised, but we managed to see some animals on the way to camp. 4th bed added in a 3 bed tent, no mosquito net. Lights from 6:30 to 10 and from 5:30 in the morning. Bathroom basic but functional. Towels provided. Second day, we were promised 2 would be left at camp. Did not happen. Very uncomfortable full day safari with 9 in the van. The promised water was distributed at midday. 6 bottles per person at one time, quota for the whole tour. This after correspondence with Karibu. Guide was not informed on the first day, so we bought our own water. He was very good on the safari, trying to get us the most out of it on this day. Night was spent in another camp close to the Masai village. Horrible, 3 beds touching each other in a 2 bed tent. No mosquito net. Had to squeeze between a bed and the wall to get into the bathroom. No towels or toilet paper provided. Not polite people running the camp either.
Day three was mostly spent on driving around dropping people off and picking others. Morning was an optional 10$ Masai village visit and evening was an optional 20$ boat ride at lake Naishava. No game drive. One stop at a souvenir shop and lunch at a road side restaurant. Unhygienic place, flies in the buffet lunch and impolite wait staff. 2 unpleasant lunches here.
Night was Hotel Citymax in Nakuru. Nice people, comfortable hotel, internet worked. I could not see AC or fans, but the weather was pleasant and mosquito net available. Meals were basic, served at the table, but adequate.
Day 4 started good early game drive and then long drives to swap people. Car supposed to do that at the lunch stop didn't turn up. Our driver was driving like crazy, quite a lot off the road to beat the Nairobi traffic. We reached Amboseli after dark, but safely. Day 5 was good in Amboseli, only 5 in the bus, much more comfortable than being cramped up like before. Guide was also in a less stressed mood. Camp was better, shared hut with a female, but she didn't mind for 2 nights, so all well. Nice camp workers too. Got stuck in the swamp, but guide handled in quite well.
Day 6 morning short game drive on the way out of the park, back to Nairobi. One couple had to catch the 10 am bus to Mombasa. Luckily mount Kilimanjaro was visible.
Driver/guide did the best he could, much appreciated. Poor organising and not enough support given to him. I feel the answers to my messages were less than honest or uninformed. As a courtesy to your co passengers please come to Nairobi a day early and leave a day after the safari. This way others are not waiting for your flight to turn up or hurrying back on day 6. Just carry the baggage you need. Excess baggage in the cab is uncomfortable. Snoring at night, with strangers in close proximity is not going to make you friends.
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect service and management on the steps of booking; nothing to see and to do on place.
I booked 3-day-2-night mokoro trip, and it was the most expensive and the most disappointing part of my 16-day-travel. To start from good, the manager, Nobantu, was nice and helpful, she replied to my emails fast and for details. Also, the camp was designed in a wise and nice manner: every tent is spacious and equipped with en-suite portable shower, bio-lavatory, bed, and blanket. The food was good, and the cook did his best to please us. But this is where good points end.
On the first day, we were sailing on a motorboat for about one hour and then on a mokoro, the little canoes, for about three hours. Under the baking sun. But all of that would be fine enough if we could see at least something except a couple of birds...
Then we came to the camp and spent the afternoon doing nothing. After we had a 'Nature walk' seeing a lot of excrements of different animals and some insects. The local guides could tell 3-4 sentences as maximum about each species, and we were lucky to have a professor of zoology in our group. From him, we received 90% of information about the Delta and its wildlife.
During the night, in the camp (or village, I don't know) that was not far from us they had a kind of party till 3-4 AM and they make such a bad noise, that if I would have been an animal I would run away as far as I could.
Next day we had a 'safari walk' on another island, where we saw a herd of zebras and a heard of antelopes. It was early in the morning and from 10 AM to 4 PM we were just sitting in the camp. We were not allowed to walk around because of the 'dangerous wildlife'. I walked a bit at my own risk and saw heaps of rubbish and plastic. Probably that was why it is not allowed to walk around because there is simply NO wildlife in this area, I didn't see there even one simple impala. And I don't think that any wildlife will come there if they won't stop night orgies and pollution.
Coming back I found that my bio-toilet is not working. I asked the staff to do something.
In the evening, we had a mokoro cruise to the lake with the hippos. They were far away to make good photos, but at least we've seen something - I thought. But at that moment people from this camp/village came on their mokoros shouting so loudly that my group mates started to worry about our lives since hippos are not so tolerated to that crazy sounds as people are.
When I came back to my tent I found my toilet clean, but it was still not working.
Next day after the breakfast we just went back to Maun, without any morning activity.
Honestly, I was expected from Okavango Delta much more. Before that safari, I went to Chobe National Park, for the 3-days-2-nights tour, too. But there we had two safaris every day and just a couple of hours to rest, the staff was experienced and did their best to make us see as much as possible, and we've seen a great number of different animals. In comparison with that, this trip was just for wasting time and money. For this amount, I'd better book a flight and I'm sure I would be impressed much more.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
The trip was amazing! This was our first Safari and it lived up to all our expectations and more! From seeing the Big 5 to the Wildebeest migration and so much more. A cheetah even visited us in the Serengeti and jumped up on the hood of our drivers Landcruiser. Getting to add on the Gorilla trekking was a big plus and worth the extra travel. The only downside was being caught unprepared for the Visas to enter each of the three countries we visited. The visas took up much of cash that we had brought with us and we were not clear upon what type of visa to purchase on arrival. It was also a shock that the lodges in Tanzania do not accept credit cards at the Lodges. I wish that this information had been passed onto us in a more direct manner but other than these small matters this trip was unforgettable!
A side note, most drivers were there to get tourists pictures but Freddy our driver in Tanzania was so knowledgeable about the wildlife and helped educate us on all the wildlife.
Also, be aware that game drives in Kenya take place in two types of vehicles on rough roads. A Toyota van and a Toyota Landcruiser. The Landcruiser is much more comfortable for passengers on the roads but it also costs more. Since the roads are so bad, I believe that all tourists should get the Landcruiser.
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience!
A world class service, thanks to Caroline’s restless effort and dedication!
The attentiveness, responsiveness and passion of Caroline has brought us an excellent gorilla trekking experience. Moreover, the whole trip was planned thoroughly and we were well taken care of by Robert, who is a great guide with good knowledge and experience.
We have no doubt to recommend Gorilla Link Tours to our friends who is considering to visit Uganda.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional Guides are hard to find
Isa at Extremely Wild is a Professional Guide. You can not decide to just be a guide, there are several hard steps you must take in order to be a guide and Botswana's standards are very high. Having worked with some of the best in the business, it is no wonder why this young man has risen through the ranks so fast. Highly competent, super friendly, he can take you on a safari to track wildlife (most fun) and get you in position to take amazing photographs. He understands what people want, and he knows how to get at it.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy and Fabulous Indeed!
Alice was my contact from the start and she was extremely helpful in planning a custom safari tour for our family of 5. Easy Travel was indeed easy in all aspects. Their website was easy to navigate and very informative. My endless questions were answered promptly and the bank transfer process was easy to do with their instructions which I was nervous about having never done so. We had a fantastic guide named Erasto and could not have been more pleased. Everything was handled smoothly throughout our 8 days and constant game drives with multiple camps and accommodations. My gluten allergy was also well addressed at breakfasts, dinners, and packed lunches. We were able to see the big 5 along with countless other animals. This was a fabulous trip and indeed the trip of a lifetime for my family. Well done and thank you. Asante Asante!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing adventure
First of all we want to thank our guides Francis Karika and Patrick. Traveling around Kenya for just over a week with Francis in the safari beast was like traveling with a friend who knew his job well.
He provided us with great insights into the Kenyan animals behaviour and we saw most of them close up, including some mating. We also watched lions etc eating their prey.
The whole tour was well organised and we would recommend it to anybody.
The accommodations were good as was the viewing from the 4WD.
BS
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They are excellent to work with and I can’t wait to use them again.
Nick Buys and his colleagues were extremely attentive to all of my requests and they put together a 3 week Luxury multi-country Safari that became an unforgettable experience. They were consistently flexible and accommodated all of my last minute requests and changes. They were also excellent at troubleshooting and solving problems as they arose. This was my 5th trip to Africa and Nature Travel is, by far, the best Travel Guide I have ever worked with. I will certainly use them again in the future.
TR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The hotel was changed to a very bad one with no info ,no resv made for the night we arrived,norefun
We planned, communicated through mail, skyp for months.
We told our expectations and hotels we wanted very clearly,many times.
The day before our arrival, upon our call to the agency learned that the hotel at Zanzibar wasnt available, it was changed to a place which is like a hostel.After a 7 hr flight,2 hr drive, we arrived that place at 4 midnight and found out that no resv made for that night.We paid the sama amount that was told, eventhough it was a ver bad cheap hotel, no refunds was offered.
We were not given any proper info about the road conditions and distance in terms of hours, between parks
So the trip was very tiring and far below our expectations
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy and responsible booking company
Communications were efficient and excellent. We always received very speedy replies and confirmation of any further information we sent. Regarding our service, I think we got a little spoiled by our last international tour company who handled all of our Visa requirements before our arrival. With Hallmark, however, we had to handle them all on our own. My ideal set up would have been for our itinerary to include the Visa requirements, types of Visa needed (single journey vs. multiple journey in Kenya), and prices that would let us know the amount of USD we would require. We had brought cash for tips and more than 60% of that cash was quickly used in Visas. We appreciated that our guides took us to ATMs in each country to help us bridge our spending, but it was a general point of concern and stress. Additionally, we had counted on being able to use credit cards at the hotels. We wish we had been informed ahead of time that credit cards were not accepted in Tanzania- requiring more cash. After spending so much on our trip, we just felt like there were too many pricey unexpected expenditures and we could have been better prepared by Hallmark. Our guides were good- some are just drivers but we had two guys who acted more like guides and were knowledgeable about the animals. Many of the roads (even main highways and thoroughfares) are not paved, especially in Tanzania. We were much more comfortable in the Land Cruisers than in the Toyota vans, but apparently the land cruisers are more expensive. Most of our lodging was as expected, except for the AA Lodge that was not as nice as we had hoped. However, it was near the Amboseli park and the animals were worth it.
As for our safaris, we feel so blessed to see everything we wanted, including the Top 5 and the Wildebeests migration. We could not have asked for a better safari!
My only other small complaint was being treated to a local restaurant that did not cater to tourists- although we appreciated the attempt to seek a local experience, within 24hours, both my husband and I were ill and required using our emergency antibiotics to recover. That was a bit of a damper on our vacation and honeymoon!