TH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life changing experience
I started at Victoria Falls and travelled through Botswana and Namibia, camping for most of 21 nights. I was a bit apprehensive as my trip had been delayed 3 years, but Bruce and Grace's communication was helpful, friendly and positive and made me feel happy.
The trip itself was magnificent, it surpassed any expectations I had. My guides, Patrick and Moses were knowledgeable, humorous, hard working and catered meals to a high standard. I was well briefed each day about the itinerary, what to expect and lists of highlights. Geography, political and social information as well as superb information about the wildlife was constant and I gained such insights. I was comfortable in my tent and in the van - P and M always made sure to check I was okay.
I really felt like I saw what was special, the itinerary was well set. I left Livingstone and Africa feeling like I left home, with a love that grew because my experience was so enriching. I can't thank Sunways, Patrick and Moses enough for the experience of a lifetime. My tour was NB21 and I would do it all again - though I have been told of the Malawi Mozambique tour and am saving my pennies.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The entire journey exceeded expectations and it was wild and exhilarating.
The journey exceeded expectations, offering unique and thrilling experiences, unlike many places I've been to. It was wild and exhilarating, and having been to Kenya, other destinations didn't seem as captivating anymore.
We were extremely pleased with the Safari company we chose. They assisted us throughout planning the itinerary and selecting hotels/lodges based on our preferences and schedule. We highly recommend OL TUKAI LODGE. The arrangements for airport pickups and drop-offs were spot on.
Our guide, Dennis, must be the most handsome in all of Kenya. Tall with a great physique, he gave us a strong sense of security! The vehicle was kept clean and tidy every day. Ultimately, we each tipped about $120 for the seven days. Having a competent guide during a safari is crucial. Dennis has a keen eye and was always the first to spot signs of animals in the plains, leading us to lions, leopards, and other creatures. Whenever he received notifications from others, he would rush to the location immediately!"
Here is some advice for safari：
The sand is so thick it feels like suffocating in the dirt.
I wake up every day between 4 and 5 AM.
I set off at 6:30. Before 6:30, it's so cold that I have to wear a thick fleece hoodie.
The car ride is extremely bumpy. Sitting in the last row, I could even bounce off my seat and land back down, haha!
It's very sunny at noon. Wearing just a tank top isn't too hot, but don't forget sun protection.
The sun sets around 6:30 PM, and by 8 PM, the temperature drops.
Amboseli isn't cold. You can even shower, put on makeup, and apply face masks inside. However, in the Masai Mara, it's so cold in the evenings and mornings that I didn't feel like showering or putting on makeup. You can hear various animal noises at night.
The stars are stunning, and you can even see the Milky Way with the naked eye. If you're interested, bring a tripod.
It's worth bringing a telescope to see animal expressions and actions up close.
Sunglasses and contact lens solutions are essential, especially when there's a lot of wind and sand which can dry your eyes.
I wore long pants, but some of my companions wore shorts/skirts. Two of the four of us developed rashes, possibly allergies, or perhaps from mosquito bites.
I wasn't bitten much by mosquitoes (probably because they were all after my travel mates, haha!).
Bring vitamins or immunity boosters since the daily early starts and late returns can be exhausting, potentially lowering your immunity.
From 6-10 AM and 5-6:30 PM, you'll see more animals and they are more active. During other times, they mostly sleep. It can be frustrating at noon when it's scorching hot and animals are hard to spot.
The gift shop at the Amboseli Lodge has the most variety, including T-shirts. I regret not buying more to take home.
You can usually see all the animals. When one vehicle spots animals, the guides quickly communicate via radio, and everyone rushes over.
A long-focus lens is essential. A 70-200 lens might not be enough for enthusiasts, but it's okay for amateur photographers like us.
I exchanged $300 in cash before the trip, and after tips, there wasn't much left.
Even though they say it's not a tipping culture, tips are always accepted. For services like helping with luggage or walking safaris, tipping is customary.
It's a good idea to bring earplugs and a neck pillow. The ride is so bumpy that your ears will feel it's too noisy.
My total expenses were around 3.5-4k (not sure of the exact amount), including cash and card payments. I found the safari group on XHS.
Masai is safe, and so is Nairobi. There was a disturbance during our trip, so the last half-day of our safari was canceled. We left for Nairobi at 4 PM to rest. Once back in Nairobi, everything was fine. Without the disturbance, it's a safe place with a mature tourism industry.
It's a good idea to bring snacks. You won't feel hungry often, but sometimes you'll need a bit of energy during long drives.
Good eyesight is a real advantage! One of my travel mates with 20/20 vision often spotted small animals. For those of us with myopia, spotting animals felt like an exciting game, collecting sightings.
After buying a SIM card, don't restart your phone. Keep the PIN card safe, because if you restart your device, you'll need to re-enter the PIN. Without the PIN, the SIM card becomes unusable.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bad driver did not deliver tour itinerary.
Maybe this experience is idiosyncratic, but our driver was not delivering the booked tour itinerary.
We booked a 3 days Amboseli safari, with a morning game drive on the last day.
The driver refused to deliver the morning game drive even though it was clearly on the itinerary. He also got aggressive ans insulting when we brought up the topic. My conjecture is that the driver wanted to pocket in the entrance fee for the park.
Further, on the way back, driver did not pay toll for expressway in Nairobi, letting us stand in traffic jam for 2 hours and unnecessarily prolonging the journey.
Also the convenience fee they charge on online payments is unreasonable.
Otherwise the service was okay but for the price I would expect differently.
Stay away from this provider.
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ruined experience
This was the worst trip ever in our ecperience and i apologise for the long write up but too much happened...So here it goes...
We booked 11 days shared Kenya and Tanzania safari with this company. The quotation was provided by and communication was held with Evelyn.
While said quotation was provided swiftly, we had to chase her to acknowledge/issue an official confirmation of the deposit payment, as according to her such are not typically provided (weird, isn't?). Since I insisted, some sort of confirmation was issued and she then disappeared without providing any details in terms of pick up or any other details. This silence continued up until the very last moment where although I requested information regarding the time of pick up (she didn't ask about our flights at any point before this), who shall be picking us up and where(it was our first trip to Nairobi, so we were not experts) by email to which no reply was received up until literally last day when I then messaged her again on whatsup (communication couldnt have been attached herewith unfortunately). So on this point a reply was sent and we communicated well upon arrival, where we were picked up by Evelyn at the terminal and 'handed over' to William who took us to their so called office which was closed so we were waiting for the driver outside(at this point we were saying how nice of her to meet us and William was great _he provided so much info on trips, acrivities, etc). Some half hr later the druver arrived and we thought we will proceed but no. We've been sitting and waiting for over 2 hrs and none carred to explain what's that we are waiting for since all 6 people were in the jeep. Here to our surprise although in all our agreed terms we were told that we will be up to 6 persons, 7th person joins instead of a guide! We the proceed to Masai Mara. Since we departed late, on the first day we only had 1.5hrs game drive close to our lodge despite itinerary indicated whole afternoon drive.
The following day we had a full day in the park, but to our all disappointment we were then advised that the 3rd day game drives in Masai Mara will not happen as parks changed the rules ( instead of 24hr to 12hrs ticket validity). None of the 7 people on this trip had been informed of this ahead and none had been reimbursed for this either! we were not even given an option to purchase a new ticket ourselves (some 80 USD for the jeep would be nothing between 7 people when we already spent so much on the whole trip).Instead, the driver advertised a trip to Naivasha Lake as being great 1.5 hrs boat ride to observe birds with a stop on the island to feed animals. Since nothing else except for driving was to happen on that day (since 3rd day of Masai Mara game drives had been cancelled by the company) we decided to go and see the highly recommended lake (note that we didnt have internet so couldn't have checked ourselves and relied on the driver). To cut the story shorth we paid 30 USD each at the place in cash (only accepted in such manner) no tickets or receipts were issued. we spent 53 min exactly on that and saw a max of 10 birds, the lake looked dead and none stoped us at any islands for any animals. Upon return to the shoar the driver bluntly asked if we saw hipos and crocodiles to which quite shockingly we replied that no such live there and he shouldn't have advertised something unless he knew what that really is! Perhaps a suggestion to the company at this point to send your drivers for such trips so they know exactly what is happening?! So even more disappointed we move to the hotel to yet again be shocked to hear that we will be left at some other place than the one we paid for (as specified in the itinerary)! Since this was stated when we were dropping of 2 guys at that place we took the opportunity to connect to the internet and check what's being offered to see that the place we booked showed eur 67 on booking.com while the one the driver told us to stay was 36 eur! We then refused to leave the jeep explaining that it's not our hotel and we want to go where we should! The driver following numerous calls with the office advised that the place we booked is fully booked so we must stay in this new cheaper place which all 5 of us yet again rejected. After some 45 min arguments the driver agreed to take us to the place we actually booked as we insisted that the place showed being available on booking.com and if anything, it must have been booked for us already. We arrive and...the place is nearly empty (why tell us its fully booked???) and we were also given options to change rooms! So lie no1 and we were not only disappointed regarding the cancellation of 1 day of Masay Mara, lost time and money to see dead lake and even more time wasted on arguments regarding the accommodation that we paid for!
The last day in Kenya we went to lake Nakuru where we only had 2.5 hrs so yet again disappointed with the schedule as we should have had more time we proceed to Nairobi to be put on a public bus!!!!! For the transfer to Arusha. At no point in time were any of us informed that the transfer to Arusha will be through a public bus!!but surely it cost peanuts so more money to the company!
When in Arusha, the bus driver surprisingly dropped us at the hotel directly and we were informed regarding the pick up times for the following morning. So far so good.
In the morning the guy comes on time (impressive!) I told him my name and the name of my fellow traveler, he checked his phone and put our bags in the jeep. Here we were informed that since we will be going to the bush, he will stop at the shops if we want to buy some wine and beer so he offerd to get it for us cheaper. We wondered how come he suggested we buy drinks ourselves when drinks were listed in our itinerary as all included but we just let it go and went to withdraw some money to buy something. In the meantime he comes back stating that we should be going back as we are not his passengers! Why did I give him our names and what he checked remained mystery but here we are again wasting our time which we could have spent driving in the park. When he drives us to the office to exchange us, a guy there shows us a map and explains that we will be going to serengeti, ngorongoro and etc. I then specifically open my itinerary and read with him to confirm the details and accommodation which he confirms to me and to my fellow traveller. All good we proceed. In the evening, the driver announces that we shall be going to again diferent hotel than that indicated in the itinerary!!! Again no Internet and same explanation _ fully booked! We endup there where we didnt like to also then get to know during dinner that another 5 people ended up the same as us_we had to be at the hotel that the company stated was fully booked when it was showing yet again available and same story was now sold to 7 people! Although we had water, beverages and wine and beer included in our package, when we asked for water/wine during the dinner we were all told that we must pay for them.
The following morning I decided to write to Evelyn regarding all the above and ONLY asked her to ensure that the remaining part of the trip remains unchanged. She never replied but she asked the driver to pass his mobile to me and she started explaining that nothing changed, that the drinks had to be provided by our chef not the place itself (like we would have known who and what and why he didn't offer if he had to?) that according to her when in the office, we were explained that the accommodation was changed and we never complained about anything etc. At this point I got seriously annoyed with her and their lies and I told her bluntly that i do not trust one single word she says as I told her in facts what happened and there were more people with me who heard all this. She then treated me to cancel the safari as according to her I was lying, none of this what i was saying was true and that in their T&Cs there is indicated that they can cancel safari for whatever reason should they wish so. She told me that she will send the car to pick us up and bring us to the office where she will refund us for the safari to which again I explained to her that I didn't ask her for anything but just to stick to our itinerary and provide what we paid for! She insisted that this is impossible as I said that I don't trust her so consequently i cannot go on safari with their driver and she just cut the cinversation. We then spoak to the driver as he seemed lost and she called again and again and from the treats to cancel us she then decided to proceed with us and while on speaker she confirmed that we shall continue as per schedule and even herself named the places that we go and stay at. This as you can already imagine was another lie as on the way back from ngorongoro we were told that we are going to be taken to that same place where our argument started!! Here we refused to go again, another call another useless chat where she for the second time accused me of lying when the only lier was her and none else and we ended up in the situation where I stated on speaker that her driver also heard her confirming that we will be going to the place that its written in the itinerary and he confirmed this to her in front of us! After some shouting and screaming by her at the driver we were told Nsya (the place we had in the itinerary) is not happening in any case and we were offered 2 other places.i insisted that if she wants to put us in diferent place again she must then upgrade us as we fed up having all these issues after paying for something that we are not getting! Guess what_ no point taken. Here we try to check on booking.com but the Internet was awful so we struggled. When asked the driver to check on his phone all of a sudden his Internet wasn't working and the only options were we were to go where he wanted to take us and we said no. He then took us to yet another diferent place to show it to us but we didn't like it and there was no Internet, he then took us to another place where the office stated that only 1 double room was available while we needed a twin room and when arrived _ triple room was showed! Another lie! Here we were just sick and tired so we said fine we'll stay there but we want dinner and breakfast with all drinks as per itinerary. The hotel rep stated that this is not happening as the company only agreed to accommodate us on room only basis! Another half hr arguments and they decide to leave the company's chef to cook for us but we won't get hotel's food, and also that we won't get any wine as that according to the driver we finished already while on safari! On this point when we were to proceed to serengeti the driver asked us if we like beer, wine or konjak and we told him that no strong alcohol is needed some like beer but mostly wine so we asked to get an extra bottle of wine (he had 1 box of beer in the jeep) and he came back with 2 bottles_ 1 red and 1 white (this for 6 people for 3 days). As said on day one we were not given any wine and the company said that the chef forgot to offer but then they only got the wine the following morning so something doesn't click again! Anyone is still surprised?
So during the dinners on these next 3 days we only saw 1 bottle of white wine and some remaining little of white from the other jeep, while red wine disappeared. When we asked on the last night, the driver stated that he give 2 bottles to the lodge (which wasn't the case as we spoke to people who stayed there and they were paying for their drinks there, it would be weird that someone paying 200 eur a night would gake a bottle of cheap wine to tbe lodge
SA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional
I cannot speak more highly about this Expedition. I went to a tour spanning 3 locations Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar over 9 days.
I honestly had everything covered. Paul is an excellent manager who was available 24/7 from a year prior to the safari (when we first booked it) until the last day as we flew back.
The team was OUTSTANDING we felt safe, and taken care of at all times and all accomodations were unbelievably well priced
Thank you so Much
I would recommend our game drivers who were exceptional
Raphael and Ellie
Thank you
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome
We were assisted by Paul to plan and help make all the arrangements including hotels. Our safari guide Idris was very professional and amazing as well. We saw the big five and a lot more. My kids really enjoyed the holiday.
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bad safari, indifferent to the clients
The agency didn't provide value added to our trip. On the contrary, they ruined it from the beginning.
1. Misleading statement. I booked this agency because its competitive price given the same package. But unfortunately they didn't provide what they promised. I asked for an open-sided vehicle, which is more expensive than the normal Landcruiser. To make it happen within my budget, I even asked them to downgrade the hotels. They confirmed they can provide the open-sided one as I asked. However, what they provided is just a Landcruiser with the windows replaced with canvas cover. This was not even closer what we wanted. How they explained? They told me the open-sided vehicle that I asked can only be used in the park. Do you think it justified that you claimed you have the open-sided one? If you don't, why not telling me in the first place?? Moreover, at least other 2 agencies provided this option(opene vehicle) with extra fees over than the normal land cruiser.
2. Overpriced package. To have an open-sided vehicle, I proposed to downgrade the hotels. After their recalculation, the total price was almost the same. However, as I said above, they didn't provide the "upgraded" vehicle but they downgraded my hotels range. In terms of the same package with a normal landcruiser, this agency charged USD500 more than the quotes we received from other agencies. I wouldn't booked with them if I could know their open-sided vehicle was a lie.
3. Vehicle with bad conditions. You know what? They can not even provide a normal vehicle. What they provided was one without popped-up roof, which means you either close the top cover or leave it completely open. Among the vehicles we saw, ours was the ONLY ONE that didn't have the popped-up roof . If you want to stand up to see the animal, you have to suffer the strong sunlight for the whole game drive because it's not adjustable on on the road.
3.Unprofessional and undevoted guide. The guide hired by the agency was unprofessional and undevoted because
1) He is always on the phone calls, private ones, joking on the calls. When the vehicle stopped to wait for the animal to move. Other guides usually were explaining the animal to the clients or kept silent, but you know what our guide was doing? Making calls. Sometimes we had to interrupt him to ask him to move forward. Even when we were quite close to a lion, he was still talking with someone in the phone. Using phone always made him distracted, so he drove very slow. When I doubted the slow drive, he responded safety was the priority. How come using phone while driving could be safe?
2) he was not experienced enough to know where to find the animals, we were often wandering somewhere not even had any aninals at all. When we only missed leopard and chitah, what he did was just idling away in the park Instead of trying to find the animals. Of course we were not demanding that he must find every beasts, but we didn't feel he was devoted to meet clients' expectations.
3) He was not customer-driven. Since the 3rd day, never opened the door for us. In Nakuru, we started safari inthe morning, however we didn't go for flamingo first, instead, he chose a way in the woods to wander about. Until we saw flamingo, it's noon, which the sunlight was not good for taking pictures. When I doubted why we didn't go to see flamingos first, he questioned if I know the way and asked me to trust him.
4. Bad problem-solving altitude. The agency never solved problem we raised, only explained and pretended to understand your feelings. They provided a Landcruser without popped up roof, I asked them to solve. Then they told me the driver will sort it out. However the driver was not able to sort it out. And they just ignored our complaints. This is how they treated the clients.
Never ever choose this agency!
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Family Holiday in Kenya
Thanks to Trav-Interactive we spent two amazing weeks in Kenya. David was great, listening to what we wanted and respecting our budget. He put together a fabulous program which included a ten days safari in four different parks, and then a few days at the beach in Diani to finish up. The various lodges were fun, comfortable and all different. Our driver/guide Carlos was professional and knowledgable. All in all a great trip with memories to last a lifetime.
ES
Patrick is a great guide, always willing to help and make the safari unique
The experience with Shanjoy tours has been incredible. We have traveled the Masai Mara for two days and we have seen all the animals that can be seen but also a lioness hunting a gazelle, the migration passing through the Mara river and the crocodiles stalking their prey, a cheetah eating and while the jackals and the vultures waiting their turn, a lion or a lioness mating... it has been a spectacle and Patrick made it possible! He explained many things about life in the Masai Mara and helped us a lot with a problem we had with our luggage.
With Shanjoy you have the possibility to also visit parks in Tanzania such as Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. There are few operators that will organize a safari outside of Kenya for you.
I totally recommend this safari with Shanjoy! It has been a great adventure!!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most honest caring punctual operator Brian made our trip!!!
Please understand we are in no way connected with Brian We are Australians living in Australia!
We never knew Customised until we arrived into Zim - Brian was at the airport waiting!
We are available for any referrals you may require inreference to Brian - he was marvellous you will not be disappointed!!!