US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful experience; stressful circumstances
First, I must thank Kenya Walking for helping my husband and I have the experience of a lifetime. We visited Tanzania and Uganda and were sincerely amazed by the African wildlife, scenery, and people.
We chose Kenya Walking because of Otieno's quick communication, the ability to customize our itinerary, and the price. We are still grateful to have experienced so much for the price, but feel that it's important for other prospective travelers to be aware of some aspects of unprofessionalism we encountered. They are mostly small things that added up to create an atmosphere of distrust for us.
Examples of unprofessionalism:
-Multiple last-minute hotel changes, including skipping Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda to stay at a poorly rated, loud city motel with water problems (original hotel was around $100, changed to $10 room)
-Incorrect itinerary dates. Even after reviewing our itinerary upon arrival in Uganda, both Otieno and our driver forgot that we were staying two days in the gorilla park to do extra hiking. We had to fight pretty hard to convince them to correct this.
-Over-worked, tired driver speeding considerably and close to nodding off during long drives (I would highly recommend flying into Kisoro to do gorilla trek, or at least requesting a Ugandan guide. Our Kenyan guide had to drive overnight from Nairobi before picking us up and continuing the drive. We also suspect he took a wrong turn which we followed for 90minutes before correcting.)
-Borrowing gas money from us. This favor was asked as a loan until our driver found an ATM, though we never found one. We ended up letting him keep the money as part of his tip, but the company never followed up to thank us or ask whether we got our money back.
-Other small inconveniences included late departures (2hours on our first morning in Tanzania with no communication on their end), spotty attitudes from guides (our Kenyan guide did not like Ugandans... and we were in Uganda), considerable time waiting for guides to deal with problems in banks, broken jeep roof in Tanzania (fortunately this didn't happen until our last day there).
I hate to make this list, because until Otieno asked me to write this review, I had managed to forget all the negative aspects of our trip and only think of the magic moments we had with elephants, lions, gorillas, mountains, and new friends. Even with all the drama of our trip, I don't regret choosing Kenya Walking as I'm not sure we could have packed everything into our time and budget with a different tour operator. I also suspect travelling with Kenya Walking Survivors may be an entirely different experience in Kenya, rather than Tanzania and Uganda where we visited. I have only the best wishes for our guides Mike and Jonas and for Otieno.
If you decide Kenya Walking Survivors is the best fit for your trip, please be prepared to respectfully advocate for yourself and your itinerary.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and excellent customer service
Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris organized a safari tour and a Kilimanjaro trek for us, inclusive of all the transfers between the 2 places We were really happy with the experience. The customer service was great! Mr. Otieno was very responsive at all times, night or day. The company is also very flexible and cares for the customers needs. The accommodation and food provided was up to our expectations too! I strongly recommend this tour operator!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dishonest, bad hotels and unprofessional
The 13 day safari we booked with Big time safaris was massively over priced for what we received. The hotels were poor quality compared to other similar priced tour operators. They advertise as covering Tanzania yet set us up with a completely different dishonest company that did not fulfil the trip we had paid for, cheated us out of our lodge that we had paid for and lied to us the whole time both about animal facts and our trip. Do not use this company under any circumstances.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Safari for Chinese people
It was my first family safari and we wanted a Chinese translator and Chinese food for our Safari trip to Tanzania. Safarihub assisted us with this and we had a very good time and I recommend them for Chinese tourists. Thank you Ed.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Content
My experience with Absolute Holiday Safaris was satisfactory. The safari itself, and the safari guide were amazing. The campsite however, was not anything described to us. When you first arrive in Nairobi you are taken to Absolute Holiday Safaris main office were a consultant explains the details of the trip and the camp to you. Unfortunately, main things he explained about the camp were completely wrong. I almost felt as if they had never been to the camp themselves, or lacked contact with the camp. Their was no free wifi as specified. When taken to see the Massa Mari tribe we were told a small donation of about $10 American was needed. This was not the case, as you have to paid 1000 shilling before the Massa Mari will let you into their tribe. Then they continue to push you to purchase jewelry and other goods from them. While it was a great experience, it was also a little uncomfortable. The food at the camp is mediocre. We had to demand our 'free water', and the water in our attached bathrooms did not work, and if it did for a moment was time was no were near warm.
I did overall enjoy my holiday, but would tell people not have the highest of expectations.
35-50 years of age
My Highest Recommendations
Instinct Safaris, namely Niels, made it possible for me and my girlfriend to hike the Mt. Nyiragongo volcano in DRC about a week ago. I understand the park has just reopened, so I am glad how smoothly visa approval and all important bookings went. After visiting DRC from Rwanda, we further connected to Uganda (Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi National Park, and Kibale National Park) for more wildlife and a second mountain gorilla track. Our guide was helpful and knowledgeable throughout :-) We recommend this company and if we travel to the region again, they are certainly the agency we will go with.
Markus
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing safari!
We had a very good week on the safari.
We contacted Kenya walking Sunday and Thursday morning we started the safari
Mr.Otieno was very quick to answer the emails even on Sunday's. We also changed the trip a bit so it fit to what we wanted to see. Even in the middle off the trip we wanted to go to a different place, we just call mr Otieno and changed it. It was so flexible, we have never experienced that before.
The cook made nice food and the driver did everything he could so we could have the best experience with the animals. The only thing was that we had to ask him about the animals, he didn't just tell about them himself.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful Service!!
Sylvester at Seven By Far Travel was extremely helpful, accommodating, and friendly throughout the planning and duration of my trip to Kenya. I went on their 3-day Amboseli Special safari, but was actually in Kenya/Tanzania for a total of 2 weeks. Although I only booked the 3 day safari with Sylvester, he was extremely helpful in answering any questions I had regarding my entire stay in Kenya, offering suggestions, and was even willing to arrange transportation to/from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi after my safari ended. He remained in contact with me during the rest of my time in Kenya even after my safari ended to make sure that everything was going well and was willing to help with anything I might need to ensure that my entire trip was safe and enjoyable. Hassan, my driver/guide during the Amboseli safari was a very knowledgable and experienced guide, friendly, great company, and very patient while I requested to just watch the elephants for a very long time (they are my favorite animal). I am very happy that I booked my safari with them and would not hesitate to book another safari with them in the future.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond Amazing!
Let's get the mundane stuff out of the way. The lodging, food and bar were outstanding. The staff was friendly and eager to please. The safari vehicles were open and as comfortable as one could expect. Our Ranger was extremely knowledgable and was great at getting us in the best position for photos while being respectful of the animals. As a private reserve, we had it all to ourselves. Most of the time, we were the only vehicle in sight. At most there would be one other vehicle (this is carefully controlled). That is HUGE! Great for viewing/photos and great for the animals.
Now on to the good stuff: The wildlife.
The abundance and variety of wildlife was astounding. The Sand River flows through the reserve and draws the wildlife to it. As we were being shown our room (all with a view of the river) a herd of elephants came down for a drink. It just got better from there. Our first morning game drive gave us the Big 5 before we stopped for lunch! Before the day was over we had also seen cheetah and wild dogs to round out Africa's Super Seven. Our evening game drive that day ended with a lioness and her three week old cubs on one of their first ventures out of the den. Absolutely amazing! I would return to MalaMala in a heartbeat.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Partnership with SpotKenyaSafaris as French Travel Agent was always excellent!
I was living for a few years in Kenya and worked with Spot Kenya Safaris in partnership, and everytime all was perfect: hours of meetings, spots to see in Safaris, where to sleep, drivers, minivans, rates...
Well Done Guys! Keep continue like this!
Best 'Souvenirs' from France
Mama Maasai Yvelise & Babu Bruno