CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The guide made our experience pretty disapointing
The organization and comunication with Karibu has been great. The lodge we stayed at was also very nice and price for the services was also fair.
We are disapointed at the guide. Was not explaining anything to us unless we were asking for something specific and even then he could be wuite rude sometimes. He did not explain what was our program, what we were doing that day, what were we trying to see....nothing at all. He was in the phone all the time and not cooperative at all. Even after the lunch break all the people would be ready and waiting for him to keep going and he would be talking to others, or just chilling or on the phone.
We gave him tip just because we were suppose to and was highly recommended to do so, not from the heart. If I would go back in time I wouldnt give him a cent. He did not do a good job and he knew it, and despite that he was acting quite arrogant. So sad that such a experience was not enjoyed to the fullest.
HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour itself was great. However booking staff were not particularly attentive
We joined the regular safari stuff with kilimanjaro day hike. The safari process was great for the most part but occasionally the guide would start driving as we were standing on top of the seat for photos- that wasn’t a particularly nice way to get us to hurry up. Other than this I do not have any major issues with the guided safari. The booking staff however really seem to have difficulty in paying attention to our request, with us reiterating twice that we would require a twin room but we were given double bed for some parts of our itinerary. They compensated us for one meal of dinner for that mistake. Overall it’s a decent experience but I wouldn’t call it phenomenal
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good experience at low-cost
5 days, 4 nights Safari- Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru National Park, Maasai Mara
9 Friends
Our journey began when Musa and Evans, our guides, picked us up at the airport. They were punctual, and we were promptly escorted to the office from the airport. We settled the remaining payment, albeit with a delay caused by a credit card transfer issue. Eventually, we had to withdraw cash from ATMs in Nairobi, and it was nearly 11 a.m. by the time the payment was completed.
Initially, our itinerary included a visit to Ol Pejeta Conservancy and a late arrival at Lake Nakuru. However, due to the late start and the considerable travel time to Ol Pejeta, we opted to modify the plan. Instead, we visited Lake Naivasha on Day 1 and arrived at Lake Nakuru by late evening, a change we agreed to.
Couple of things to note here, in the itinerary, the hotels mentioned were changed citing upgradation, complaints etc the moment after the payment was done. We were in the office from 7 am to 10pm and we were told about these changes only after the whole payment has been done. We were disappointed about this as we expected these changes to be informed before hand.
Then the drivers were called and the MD had told the whole itinerary in front of them so that everyone is on same page (continue reading)
Day 1 was amazing, Lake Naivasha boat ride is worth the visit. Simply put, it's a curtain raiser to what is coming ahead. Got a chance to see Giraffes, Zebras, Water bucks, Hippos very closely. We were taken to hotel close to Lake Nakuru. The hotel was amazing. 3 Triple rooms. Great food, good accommodation and everything went well.
Day 2 Lake Nakuru early in the morning. Flamingoes, Rhinos from far, few Giraffes, bunch of Baboons, few Zebras, African buffaloes. Overall 3/5 given the great experience the previous day at Lake Naivasha. Started from Nakuru late in the afternoon and had a brief stop at Narok to shop snacks. Reached Hotel Mara Ndovu by late evening. 3 triple rooms, 2 rooms close to each other and one far off. In one room, there was no power supply and no hot water in 2 rooms. After complaining repeatedly, they were given another room the next day.
Day 3: Since there was running hot water in only one room, everyone had to take bath in only washroom
"The Washrooms are bad, bad, bad"- No latches, no hot water, only few power sockets working. The food was bad, very bad.
On one day, we made to wait for more than 2 hours for dinner.
Coming to Safari, the best day in the whole safari, Maasai Mara is amazing, one should visit Masai Mara to appreciate it's beauty. No photo can translate its beauty. 5 minutes into the Safari, spotted a Cheetah. A pride of 15 lions was spotted by afternoon. Giraffes, Zebras have become very a common sightings by evening. Went to the Great Migration spot, sadly, the migration was not happening. Clicked photos at Tanzania border
Day 4: Again the struggles with taking bath continued and we are used to it by now. Game drive in Maasai Mara, this day was bit disappointing as it didn't match the previous day's experience. Didn't spot animals until afternoon. Spotted a few lions and a cheetah by evening. We asked the guides to return after 2pm to Nairobi the next day to which they disagreed. We tried contacting the office and they have become irresponsive by this time, no proper response was given. The guides wanted to start before 11am the next day( as opposed to what was discussed on the first day)
Day 5: The closing day: Started early in the morning to Masai Mara. Spotted a few lions and other animals in few hours and returned from Masai Mara to Nairobi.
Made necessary arrangements for packed food.
Special mention to Guides- Musa and Evans, very knowledgeable and have done everything possible to help us and make our experience memorable
Overall, our safari experience was good, although there were understandable hiccups along the way
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operators had done good arrangements. Appreciate for all the arrangements.
Safari was good but due to some miscommunication it was not as per the expectations. Still all other arrangements were good.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and on time.
My solo hike with Dennsland was an amazing experience. I was alone with the guide, porter and cook which make it unique experience. The 5 days hike was beyond expectation. The landscape, the view and going to the summit. I unfortunately didn't get to see the sunrise due to the weather, but experiencing the summit with the frost was a first time for me. Sam the guide was supportive and encouraging me. The only this missing was the preparation for the altitude sickness and better cloth for the cold.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Needs quite a lot of improvement.
I did the 4-Day Unforgettable Tanzania Safari with 3 friends in August 2023. Communication with the operator was sporadic at times and it was hard to get answers to the questions I asked. However, we were collected on time from our hotel in Moshi and out guide Christian was very good. The vehicle however left a lot to be desired. It was an older 4-seater land cruiser which was very cramped for 4 adults and had small windows which made spotting animals and taking photos difficult as not all 4 of us could stand at once and get a clear line of sight. There were some long driving times particularly from Mkomazi NP to Tarangire NP which left us with only a couple of hours in Tarangire. As a result, we ended up doing a slow drive around a small circuit which gave us limited game viewing opportunities (we did see a leopard in a tree, but it was a long way away - not a fault of Chirstian). We did have a good interaction with a black rhino in Mkomazi and same good viewing in the Ngorongoro Crater.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and helpful, Tanzanian side not very good!
We had a 11 days private Kenya and Tanzania safari. Silas is very professional and helpful. He was in his car in the carpark when we arrived. The flight arrival was delayed by one hour but after contacting him on the phone he promptly arrived to get us to our hotel.
The Kenyan part of our safari was excellent. The driver/guide Samuel is a very knowledgeble and a nice guy. But the disaster started the moment we crossed over to the Tanzanian side. We were made to pay $50 each to get the yellow fever certificates at the border. The person just took cash in Euros and filled in the yellow booklet. No vaccination was given. Upon asking for a receipt they gave some vague reasons saying that the internet was not working and that we shall get it by email, which, of course never happened. A Tanzanian driver received us and we started our Tanzanian journey to the Serengeti park. Within about one hour the left rear wheel of the rickety Toyota Land Cruiser just came off while we were driving! Luckily no one was hurt. We were in the middle of nowhere on a village road. The driver managed to change the wheel with the help of few villagers and we resumed our journey. After every 15 minutes of driving the driver had to tighten the screws of the wheel. This happened a few time. Then suddenly that newly changed wheel had a flat tyre! The driver just could not change it. He had to arrange an alternative private transport for us from the nearby village, who was kind enought to take us till the Serengeti gate. In the process we lost many hours. Ultimately we could reach our camp site after 8PM, eight hours after the border crossing!
The new Tanzanian driver gave a very unprofessional and unfriendly impression. The game drives in Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater were excellent. On our fourth night in Tanzania we were dumped in an extremely low level hotel near Lake Manyara. A very depressive place indeed. Certainly the lowest level of acommodation we had during our entire trip. The driver did not know that we needed to make a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. There was no time for that any more. The next day we had to leave for Tangerine National park. The only solace on the Tanzanian side was that the national park game drives were really worth the trouble.
We had a sigh of relief after crossing over to Kenya without much trouble. The last two days in Kenya were very good with game drives in Amboseli, and transfer to Nairobi for our return flight home.
I requested Silas to reconsider his contract with his Tanzanian partner "Seven Wonders Safaris" in Arusha, Tanzania, which prompted him to end his contract with them. Thank God.
I hope this small review is helpful.
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall fair satisfaction
We were not advised to avoid online visa application..that was costly!!
Few misguided information as to what expected to see at the safari games and the standard of the lodges! Some were excellent and some were very poor with no hot water to shower in the morning!
Our Guide was lazy overweight and more on his mobile than guiding us ...with the operator instruction to Tip him 10 usd daily ..not good !
Overcharged for luggage extra weights at domestic flight from Arusha to zanzibar..
However after all ..very good holiday with lovely Tanzanian people.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good company bit car had issues and started safaris late each day
I went on a safari with them in November 2022 and overall the experience was really good, but I didn't find it as amazing as everyone writes in the comments. First, the driver wasn't the friendliest and we started our days much later than I had been told (8 am leaving time from the camp where it should have been 6 am for example). The car had issues and broke down on the way back.
I feel like a lot of tour providers are out there and you need to get a bit lucky as well, but don't think spending more will automatically mean better quality.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trying hard but not there yet
I've been on over 200 safaris to East Africa in the last 25+ years.
When my first 2 vendors were not able to assist me on this trip I turned to these guys.
I was told they worked with many photographers in the past and understood what was needed.
We struggled to get our guide to do what we wanted/needed for the right shot - all within the rules. He was nice enough and kind BUT he was often on his phone making it difficult to communicate with him as we had to repeat ourselves almost every question/statement.
The guide did not even have binoculars - how can you be a guide and not have binos?
The vehicle was not in great shape. It did what we needed but for only having 3 in the car it was tight, narrow, and the way the rear seat was positioned it meant that the person riding in the back often hit their head on the top of the interior - this was often with the way our guide drove - often going way too fast over certain parts of the roads.
The camps we stayed at were all fine - I'd stayed at them before so knew what to expect.
The value was OK as their price was very aggressive, but the overall level of service was not up to the standard I like.
I give Kameraz a 3.5 out of 5.