CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive, reasonable price & planning, great driver and problems solving proactiveness
The overall experience with Madukha was pleasant. The travel planner William was responsive both thru email and WhatsApp. The itinerary was revised based on our preferences a few rounds and William was there patiently with us re-arranging everything for us. We had a little hiccups along the 12-day journey, which was solved by our all-rounder driver Steve and the strong back up Joyce at the office.
Our hotel at Naivasha Lake - Sopa naivasha had no room for us when we arrived. Turns out, the booking date was one day later. The itinerary was modified when i discussed with William, not sure which side (madukha or sopa hotel) didn’t correct accordingly. However, our driver Steve managed to find us the equivalente hotel - Simba lodge with the rooms we hoped for.
We wanted to have night safari experience, so William suggested us Ol pajeta sweet water and arranged serena sweet water hotel for us at first place. The hotel was changed to another great hotel Maisha by the time we final confirmed the itinerary. However, William didn’t check for us if night safari was available with this hotel. It was only one day before we went to Ol pajeta did we find out the night safari was not included. Again, our driver Steve and Joyce from madukha office in Nairobi helped us get the last spots before it was too late. Great it was eventually settled and the night safari exp with the ol pajeta conservancy was unforgettable.
I want to give great credit to driver Steve, he’s very experienced. Great driving skills, knows all the roads in the national parks, has abundant knowledge of the animals and very humorous. We enjoyed our time with him along the journey.
Overall, I’d recommend this agent, but you’ll need to be more remindful of the upcoming itinerary, better check from time to time with the driver about the exp so to avoid last minute loopholes.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Solid, but not punctual
Overall it was a good tour. We saw a lot and got minimal hints an explanations about the animals we saw. The organization wasn't great the drive back took way longer than expected and we did a a lot of stops were the driver changed in the middle of the night. That was a bit annoying.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Recommended guide Anthney
Out of 5 points, 5 points go to Anthney, the driver and guide, he is really nice. And 3 points go to Robert, he often answers questions that are not relevant. And he is very slow to respond, and he was even slower to respond after signing the contract and paying the money. One time, he even took 15 days to answer our question. Moreover, we agreed in the contract that the total fee includes the landing fee of Crescent Island, but when we arrived at Crescent Island, we were still required to pay the landing fee ourselves, which is really too much.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Quite good!
The Safari was incredible, especially the night one. When we finished everything and, once there, already knew everything about the costs, i think we paid too much for what we did…but except for this, everything was nice
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
our guide was very kind and helpful
it took us about eight hours from dar es salaam to mikumi due to traffic. We left very early and this allowed us to visit the Masai village on the first day. on the second day we did the game drive which was very nice, the safari guide Stan was very good and explained many things to us about the animals (we saw hippos, giraffes, zebras, elephants, antelopes, lions, crocodiles, wildebeests, buffaloes) .
the resort was really nice and the food very good. I recommend a walk in the village. on the third day we left early as we had to leave for zanzibar and take the ship to dar es salaam, our guide helped us a lot in getting tickets and checking in. Fortunately, the driver was very careful and good.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari trip followed by lovely days on Zanzibar
We had booked a 4-day safari in Selous Game Reserve followed by a holiday on Zanzibar at the Reef & Beach Resort. The safari was an extraordinary experience, sleeping in the middle of the wilderness, delicious food, very well-organized excursions with great guides, lots of great animals. The holiday on Zanzibar was lovely, the hotel complex was a bit overcrowded at times, which was noticeable when you sat by the pool. The staff were generally friendly, but we were unhappy with the cleaning staff, as they only cleaned the room if you left them a tip. On the days when we didn't leave a tip, our towels were taken away and not cleaned. Otherwise, we were very happy with our stay at the Reef & Beach. We were also very happy with the food.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He was rather a quiet person but attentive and very nice.
Brian briefed us very well and kindly before the tour and we felt that we had all the information we needed. The safari was beautiful, we had time to see the Big Five and so many other animals and we were given background information about them. Ngorongoro was a great experience! The only negative aspect was the pick up and arrival at the hotel. We didn't really leave on time and arrived several hours late because the drivers had changed without us knowing. This is perhaps important to know so that you don't plan on continuing your journey for the day. You should not take the times so precisely, but rather be flexible.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It's a lifetime experience that we will always remember
Our driver/guide Moses is very professional in both driving and looking for animals. We have seen almost everything we wanted to see, including lions, leopards, giraffes, etc. We also enjoyed the hotels very much as some of them allowed us to interact with animals closely.
The only thing we were not very satisfied with is the Land Cruiser which was too old and it was not very comfortable for us to sit on it all day.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Efficient
Our trip was well organized and we got to see a lot of the Kenya has to offer. Traveling in group was an experience !
The hotels are simple but clean, however the meals could be improved.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Vast wilderness and wildlife
I went on a mobile safari to Savuti and Khwai (which I especially loved because of the scenery next to the river) and one day in Moremi.
I was a solo female traveler and felt well protected and looked after by the crew of my tour operator Xaa Safaris. I had a spacious tent with an en-suite bathroom and loved hearing the animals at night: lions roaring, hyaenas howling, elephants rumbling and hippos barking. I was great to watch the elephants strolling through the campsite in Khwai during the day, and I even encountered an elephant drinking out of a my wash basin while I was inside the tent! We saw lions a few times in Savuti and Moremi, came across a pack of wild dogs and a bat-eared fox couple and had a great leopard sighting where we spent quite some time with the animal. Apart from that we enjoyed spotting many gracious giraffes, a lot of hippos and elephants, but also saw also the rarer sable and roan antilopes and ground hornbill. It was good fun and excitement to track lion, leopard or hyaena.
After the safari I spent a few days in Maun and went on a one day trip to Okavango delta.
I can recommend Botswana as a travel destination for its vast wilderness and wildlife. Looking forward to return and see other areas like the salt pans and Kalahari.