FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari of a lifetime!
Having already done a great safari in Tanzania a few years ago, I had pretty high expectations this time around, taking alone my two children (12 and 10) to their first safari in Kenya.
Simon from Wildrace Africa was by far the most professionnal and responsive operator to get back with a quote, a competitive, tailor-made 8-day itinerary in a private 4x4, covering four parks (Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli & Tsavo East) with a drop-off to our resort in Diani Beach.
Simon answered all logistical questions I had within hours (when not minutes!) via Whatsapp, and offered flexibility (downpayment through Paypal, balance in euros rather than USD...).
On departure day we met the whole Wildrace Africa team as well as our guide/driver Pascal, whose friendliness, experience, competence and professionalism truly made this safari a unique lifetime experience.
Pascal was totally dedicated to our every needs and went out of his way to take us to as many game sighting spots as we wanted, when we wanted. His keen eye even made us witness a live lion hunt moment, an extremely rare scene during daytime. We saw just about every single animal one can see in Kenya, and more!
Pascal is an excellent driver, we felt safe throughout the trip, and he regularly shared his extensive knowledge on fauna, flora, kenyan customs, traditions, and language. He was fantastic with my kids.
Due to our limited budget we stayed at basic tented accommodations either very close to park entrances, or just inside. All were fine and offered great surroundings, you felt in the middle of wilderness being woken up by exotic birds.
The itinerary sold on paper was fully respected, we really got our money’s worth. Everything went smooth and perfect.
Needless to say I highly recommend this operator to any western tourist looking for value for money, safety, and comfort. We feel lucky we chose Wild race over the plethora of other operators in Kenya.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent wildlife density
Chobe National Park is one of the great natural reserves of Africa. It is a rather arid environment kept alive by the Chobe River which helps to concentrate wildlife and permits excellent viewing of large and small animals. Elephants, buffalo, and antelope are common and often in large groups. The river attracts birds, hippo, crocodile and one of the best vantage points to view animals is by boat. Surrounding the river, vegetation can be dense and animal viewing must be from vehicles on defined roads which may limit visibility of animals but provides more privacy and less environmental impact. July is dry season, and probably the best time of year to visit Chobe because they must seek water from the river. I stayed in a tented camp hosted by And Beyond Chobe under Canvas which created an immersive experience with the land, and the sounds of yapping jackals, roaring lions, and other animals provided nighttime entertainment and wonder. Food was prepared by campfire and the roving camp was specifically designed to cause low environmental impact. Our guide and camp team were knowledgeable, friendly, and seemed genuinely concerned about our experience. Nights were cool and the days were warm to hot so preparation is needed. Choose is an excellent destination for photographers. Consider the animals may be farther away then some reserves and a long lens is advised. I primarily used a 100 to 400mm. Chobe can offer a wide variety of experiences; the best thing about safaris is that you never know what you will see, but almost certainly, the magical experience will never fade in your mind.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Expansive views and stunning diversity, including black rhino!
Ngorongoro Crater offered the most incredible & expansive views I've ever experienced. I had the privilege of staying in the Serena Safari Lodge with a floor to ceiling view of the crater from the dining area, and a deck view from the room that is not to be missed. While I personally prefer bush camps, I will definitely return to the crater and this specific view in years to come. It was the nicest accommodation that I've ever stayed in.
At the lodge there was a chance to mingle with the Maasai, who sell many of their arts and crafts.
Wildlife viewing in the crater brought me close to the magnificent dark-maned lions, many cape buffalo, tons of flamingo, and a black rhino with calf! While most animals were represented in the crater, these were the ones that stood out as differing slightly in number (more) from what I saw while in the Serengeti.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a place that I hope to revisit many, many times.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Kruger maintains a beautiful landscape that homes a vast amount of amazing biodiversity.
I my own experience of the Kruger, many species were seen including The Big Five, Black-backed Jackals, Wild Dogs, Crocodiles, Hippos, and all your more common herbivorous species, as well as a large range of birds including Vultures, Yellow-Billed Hornbills, Ground Hornbills, Ostriches, Secretary Birds, a lot of raptor species, and many many more smaller birds. The scenery during winter is lovely and the temperatures are much more bearable. All of my accommodation and food within the park was fantastic and wholesome.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing wildlife, excellent lodges.
The safari with Best Memory Safaris was amazing. We did a 10 day tour visiting Nakuru, Masai Mara, Lake Navaisha, Ambroseli, Tsavo West and Tsavo East (finishing on Mombasa Beach).
All lodges were great and in privileged areas with good food. The drivers/guides were very kind and thoughtful. Real great value for money. Isaac the owner of BMS was great, he helped us fantastically in getting our lost baggage back and also with an other problem we had during the trip. He is great.
Outside the national parks there is not much to do, the roads are realy bad and rubbish and dirt all around, very disappointing.
We will go back to Kenya in the future but only flying directly into the National parks. We will make the reservations with BMS again for sure.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Most awesome game spotting ever!
We were three days in Imbali and two days in Arathusa, Sabi Sands. Imbali was a regular game viewing experience, Arathusa was tracking. Both were awesome. Lodges were top notch, service very good, but in both segments the safari experiences per se were really outstanding. We saw Big Five several times over. Extremely close-up encounters. Much better than I had expected. The logistics worked like clockwork, including local flights, transfers, etc.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari was amazing and exciting!
South africa in late June, early July ia beautiful! The weather was a little chilly in the morning, but warmed up to the 60's during the day. Our lodge at Hazyview was clean, comfortable and the staff were friendly and accomodating. The food was very good!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience that all should have - a must on everyone's bucket list
A beautiful country with friendly people. The safari was an amazing experience and made so even more memorable with great accommodation and food. Our guide Nova was very knowledgeable and patient and made sure we saw as many animals as possible
The Tortillis camp in the Serengeti was especially unique in terms of its location, nestled as it was within the park . Their staff and service was excellent.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very responsive and professional
From the beginning of setting up the tour until the end, Harriet was always very responsive and helpful. Everything worked on time and well (with one car breakdown that was immediately fixed with another car/driver). The gorillas, of course, were amazing, but I really appreciated how well everything was coordinated and taken care of. My recommendation is to ask about other potential tours you can do (we went to the lakes on our drive back and really enjoyed that - but arranged that on our own), because the gorillas and monkeys only take up the first half of the day, so there is plenty of time to do other things.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Compass Odyssey exceeded all my expectations.
I can not say enough good things about Compass Odyssey. I had always wanted to go on a safari but had no clue on how to go about it. After deciding it would be best to use a travel company rather than trying to organize everything myself; I found Compass Odyssey on SafariBookings. All the reviews I read were very positive so I felt comfortable reaching out to them. Darren got back to me immediately and proposed an excellent itinerary based on my budget and interests. He was always quick to reply to my emails and answer any questions I had (there were a lot) with total patience and professionalism. I have never worked with a travel company that was so attentive to my needs and detailed in every regard (info, activity planning, flight arrangements, etc.). They took care of everything and relieved any anxiety I had in advance of the trip. From beginning to end, they made me feel as if I was their only client and that my satisfaction and enjoyment was their only priority and concern. I couldn’t have been happier with my accommodations, activities, and wildlife experiences. The good times I had will last a lifetime. Darren is a class act and raised the bar for what one should expect when working with a tour company. I highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone interested in a top-notch, stress-free, experience in Africa. I look forward to working with them again in the future now that I’ve been bitten by the African bug.
