IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Very Cost-effective, Professional and Efficient group of Safari Designers !!
This is the story of the Kenyan dream safari which we undertook in mid-May. It was an enchanting trip covering most of its wildlife where we covered Amboseli, Nakuru, Naivasha and Mara within 7-8 days. Being well aware of Kenyans' polite and gentle nature and after requisitioning many quotations and online searches, I struck Gold with ‘Kameraz of Afrika’. To our delight, we found their Director, Carol Kendi, to be a gem of a person both as an individual and in terms of safari management. She gave me the most competitive pricing for top-of-line 4.5 plus rated Lodges, Hotels and Camps to stay. (I had cross checked with many online sources, they had the lowest of prices for same Lodge/Camp) Their agency had the most convenient payment schedules and methods all the while maintaining complete transparency about planning and costing. Along with this, she coped with my 1000 queries ))) while giving genuine inputs and suggestions while making prompt changes and reverting.
I found their Landcruiser as described and as comfortable as it can be. Our driver Guide was Geff (not Jeff), he was a total professional with adequate knowledge and was prompt with planning and suggestions for daily Game Drives.
Overall, I would recommend you to try them, you would be more than happy that you did. If you have a general idea Or a specific idea about a safari with a suitable estimate of budget Or how you imagine it to be from scratch, from zero, just discuss it with her!! She has a tight-knit team who will ensure that the only thing that you will be bothered about is getting up early in the morning to maintain an appointment with the wildlife waiting on drives.
Even now when I look back, it still feels like a dream sequence as it was flawless. Of course, mid-May isn't the season for migration, even then we saw everything, the weather was cool and Carol has ensured that we will visit Kenya again and will be choosing them for the migration season next year.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Je suis allé au Serengeti, une de mes meilleures expériences de toute ma vie
I strong reccomend this company to anyone want to visit Kenya or Tanzania! We went five days middle range program and everything was perfect .Thanks Hekima and keep doing what your doing
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Available, kind, attentive, good value for money.
Available, kind, attentive, good value for money..
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari in Kenya!
We started our Safari with an airport pick up where we were met by our driver and guide, Jeremy. He immediately made us feel welcome and comfortable despite having just had an overnight flight.
Our journey began at Amboseli National Park where we saw a ton of Elephants or "Ellies" as they are refered to here. It was incredible. We also saw a lion sleeping after feasting on a hippo, an incredibly rare siting.
What an amazing first day!
We had 2 days at Amboseli and day two was its own unique experience as well.
Day 3, 4, 5 were spent between Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru, where we saw hippos, rhinos and a Leapord devouring an antelope in a tree!
Day 6 and 7 were at Masai Mara where we capped off our game drives with a cheetah sighting and a group of young lions feasting on a buffalo. We could not have asked for a more incredible experience.
We stayed in Sopa lodges the entire time, arranged by Unscripted for our tour, and each one was special and unique. The meals were all buffet and similar at each resort with different options, I noticed a lot of vegan options as well. The rooms were nice, clean, and all had mosquito nets that were drawn by the staff when we went to dinner.
We upgraded our vehicle from a van to a land cruiser and I would highly recommend it. The roads can be very rough and you can see how much better the land cruiser handled it. Our driver/guide was great. He was extremely friendly, respectful, and kind. He let us do things at our pace which he seemed to enjoy as well and led to us seeing the young lions without another vehicle around despite it being the busiest park. When other vehicles were disregarding park rules or the wildlife our guide would not do so, which was very nice to see the respect for the area as well as the animals. He genuinely cares about the vehicle he is driving and the client as well. You can see it when comparing their vehicle to other tour companies, the windows were bigger and the vehicle in much better shape than some that we saw. He also had the vehicle washed and cleaned several times during the week instead of just allowing the dust to accumulate. 10/10.
We could not recommend them enough.
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
If you have found Early Kingfisher, you have found the best safari to book with
I had no idea what to expect when going into my family’s safari with Sam. But by the end of our trip, I knew that we could not have had any better experience with any other company.
The level of expertise, dedication, and passion is what makes Early Kingfisher so uniquely fit to provide the most enjoyable and memorable experience.
Over the course of our trip we found ourselves repeatedly grateful for having Sam as our guide. Having someone so knowledgeable about the bush, animal behavior, and everything in between made each moment particularly special. The Early Kingfisher name rings true, but for good reason. Though we were awoken before sunrise (to a good breakfast might I add), it meant that we not only had the opportunity to witness some truly spectacular morning skies, but it also allowed Sam to utilize his skills in tracking. We had the chance to witness a pride of lions relaxing after a meal and wild dogs searching for packmates, before any of the other safari cars made it to the spot and crowded around. If anything was an indication of Sam’s skills and keen eye to find animals and understand their movements, it was the constant call of “Sam Sam” over the radio by OTHER guides looking for his expertise and finds. The moments we experienced in the bush were also so dependent on the level of understanding Sam had. We had the incredible chance to see multiple ‘ceremonies’ of meeting and hunting as Sam knew when to hold out beyond snapping a few photos.
I cannot overemphasize Sam’s knowledge. Every question I asked about the animals behavior, evolution, and more—often times unsure there would be an answer—would be answered expertly in turn. And if you are an ornithologist, Sam has got you covered with his specialty in bird identification (even those not particularly keen on bird watching will find themselves interested I guarantee!).
This utter commitment to craft extends to everyone in the Early Kingfisher team. I truly do not think I have had better food (seriously delicious), more comfortable sleeping arrangements while camping, and service than what Sam’s staff provided. Honestly, it is something you just need to experience firsthand. You will never for a moment worry about being hungry or tired, with hearty meals and tea-times well-timed.
Our safari lasted seven days, and I believe that is the bare minimum that you should go for. I cannot more highly recommend Early Kingfisher, in all aspects imaginable. The opportunity to encounter Botswana’s beauty in such a powerful, well-attended way should not be passed up.
I would love to give a massive thank you to Sam and his team for giving me and my family an experience that will not fade from our memories!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A journey that i will never forget
Although the trip to Kenya lasted only two days,We will never forget in whole life. we were very lucky to choose Africa Starpal Safaris, Paul's reply to every email was timely and polite, our driver was James, he took us to Amboseri, although he looked young, but he was very experienced. Took us to all the animals we wanted to see, especially a lot of elephants, and will choose this agency next time
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I had the best experience with Africa Starpal safari
Paul organized a great 3 day safari trip for me, not only he was so patient and flexible with my booking but also offered a great service and good value for money. Manu, the guide, went the extra mile to made the safari so memorable. I am very happy with my choice and my experience, totally recommend it.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Small operator with excellent level of personal service.
We hade a 4-day safari with 3 nights at Ashnil camp. Everything was awesome (cannot believe that so many hours spent in a car felt so good). Jeremy is an experienced guide and excellent driver. We spent most time in the Western part of masaai Mara and it seemed less crowded than the eastern parts.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kind and attentive to our needs
My friend and I were so lucky we got to experience Safari with Memorable Vacation team. They were kind and attentive to our needs. Evance was always by our side to answer our concerns. The driver was also nice because he would give us explanation of what we were seeing. I totally recommend working with them
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
My partner and I booked a 7 day 6 night safari tour in Kenya with Explorer's Wild Adventures starting on the 3rd June and finishing on the 10th.
We were nervous because we'd never booked anything like this before and obviously it's a large amount of money to transfer to a foreign company. Communication could have been a bit more frequent, as we were anxious about being scammed, however we understand that the company was busy, possibly due to limited staffing, so took a bit longer to reply to our emails.
Once we were there however things got much better. Our driver, David, picked us up from our hotel and we were off to the races. Honestly we cannot fault David, he was very passionate, considerate, and make every effort to make sure we were comfortable and looked after.
Our first destination was Lake Nakuru. Our highlights included seeing both a black rhino and a family of white rhinos, a lioness hunting zebra, Rothschild' giraffes up close, and flamingos on the salt water lake.
Then our next two days were spent on the Masai Mara. We were lucky enough to see two cheetah brothers, and pride of lions eating a buffalo, and having a picnic under a tree inside the savannah. David was very much on it with his radio, communicating with other drivers, and getting us to the action. Just a word of warning, the chicken in the packed lunches here and at Amboseli (if with the AA Lodge) was VERY dry, obviously we had our expectations, but still, like DRY.
We then spent one day at Lake Navaisha, where we did a boat trip followed by a nature walk on the island. Our boat driver managed to lure an eagle up close by throwing a fish into the lake so we got to see it hunting. The island is a must-go in our opinion because you can see zebra, giraffe, wildebeast and water buck up close by foot, which is a very different experience to seeing them by car. They are used to people, I was literally within touching distance of a baby zebra.
Our last two days were spent in Amboseli, this is a smaller national park which is actually a good thing because it meant the concentration of animals felt a lot higher compared to the Masai Mara. We saw cheetah's stalking zebras here, but the main stars of the show were the large herds of elephants as they migrate between Mount Kilimanjaro and the swamps, and a very special hippo which comes out during the day and eats non stop, honestly we were within 1-2m of it and it did not care at all!
On the morning of the return journey we took an early morning walk. Again a very unique experience, being out on foot is a nice change to being stuck in the car all day. We got the see the sunrise and Mount Kilimanjaro without any clouds obscuring the peak. Our guide Julius showed us the different tracks of wild animal species and we manage to spot some baby giraffes, which we hadn't manage to see before, as apparently this area specifically was where mother's hide their calves. Just be careful to bring higher heeled boots if possible or just wear sandals without socks like our guide, as there are plants which spit out their seeds, which cling to socks etc, and they are quite thorny!
We finished with a meal of local chicken with chapati, fried vegetables and chicken soup, honestly our best meal of the week, and as per Kenyan customs we gave David a healthy tip for his services, very much well deserved. We got dropped off at our hotel in Nairobi and then he gave us an extra life to the local Galleria to do some shopping.
Overall I highly recommend this trip and experience, and if he's available ask for David. June is some ways is better than July in my opinion as it's not as hot, as there is far less competition for the action (5-15 cars compared to 30+ cars I've been told?). Obviously though the great migration is a special spectacle which only starts late June early July.
