US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall, I give you 3 stars as customer service wasn't the best. Our safari driver was very good!
Last month our travels in Kenya were to Masai Mara (2 days/2 nights), followed by a hotel resort stay in Diani Beach (2 day/2 nights). Leading up to this booking with Purity and Bienvenido, I researched several different companies, some of which were not on safaribookings.com, etc. One of these companies had great customer service, and I was nearly ready to commit and book, however, given the fact he didn't take credit card payments, I backed out of it completely. I explained this to Bienvenido and was looking for good service and more convenient payment options. Despite the fact I mentioned this, I found it difficult to book since I was 2 continents away (and there was a 9 hour time difference). I had higher expectations with Purity, and customer service is so very important to me, I found the process of things very strange and just different. We were asked to send different information and documents later on and it just wasn't as organized as it should've been. The service was kind and courteous all along, but there was too much of a delay in getting back to me about what we needed. Perhaps it's due to experience and it's a newer company, but I don't know why for sure. However, I did appreciate (eventually) having our transfers all set up, but again it was very last minute that we received the info. We would ask Purity for the details, but then sometimes there was no response. Delayed again. However, she would always get back to us, told us to relax and be patient. I'm not sure why if I paid in advance and was on top of things and diligent, why we had to wait sometimes days after she originally said she'd get back to us. This was my first safari, and the actual safari was spectacular. The wildlife was out of this world! The tent in Miti Mingi was just okay, with some electrical problems at times and there was NO hot water. That definitely lowered the score. On the flip side, what did raise the overall score was our safari driver, Boniface (I hope I have this correct)! He was such a great driver, very personable, patient, and went out of his way for us. It was excellent customer service. Good job!
The second leg of our travels took us to Diani Beach. However, before we got to the beach, we had to travel 5.5-6 hours from Masai to Nairobi. Due to the hard rains the evening before, we had to take a detour, so this ended up delaying us far too long. Some of the safari group members were forced to leave early with us instead of staying one more day (one group member was not too pleased). It made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I tried to ease the situation for him. Whether he complained to management or not, I do not know. He became a friend to me however. :) Great members on the trip made for a fun time also! Anyway, Boniface dropped all of us off, somewhere about 2 hours from Nairobi (where each person picked up their transfers). I was getting nervous and he reassured me you guys will make your flight to Ukunda (Diani Beach). It turned out everyone else in both safari vans had been picked up for their transfers before us. That left us all alone still waiting! We had a 3:20 flight and it was not until about 1pm I believe before our driver picked us up (with our luggage). Imagine that. Not what either of us wanted for sure. He drove like a madman and obviously knew he was under pressure and stress. It was like the Daytona 500 (which is today as I write this), and he somehow got us to the airport about 2:45. At this point we still had to go through security and pass through the other one after being dropped off. We raced to the gate, said we were in a hurry, and somehow...with all of this craziness and stress of thinking we would miss our flight for sure...I asked the woman behind the check in counter if the gate was still open...and she said, "Yes!" Amazing. It was way too close for comfort, but we made it. It was a miracle that we made it. However, this could have been avoided with much better planning on the company's part. That's why it is best to get to the airport 2-3 hours beforehand, esp. when you hire a company to plan everything for you. I think I'd go with another company next time, however, the trip as a whole was priceless. My first trip to Kenya was incredible! Thanks for reading. I hope you publish this, because Bienvenido Kenya Tours can learn a lot from our experience, as well as others. I am appreciative for some of your efforts, we were just disappointed in some of the service as a whole. I had higher expectations than what we received.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not great info
We booked through this company without realising same trip half the price through company in Cape Town . The driver was ok but obviously ready to retire as seemed bored , Jeep very old and we had paid top dollar so expected excellent Jeep but not the case . We were told to buy all our equipment so after spending over a thousand dollars each discovered the lodge supplied everything for gorilla trekking and all info about that was not great . Our lodges were great and food and service but will not use this company again . Absolutely no follow up on return which speaks volumes
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ok
Food, transportation, guide were great... but the wildlife and safari experience was regular
RU
Can’t say it was the best experience in my life
Things I liked:
- beautiful nature and animals;
- accommodation was perfect;
- the car was new and safe;
And what spoiled my impression:
- our guide wasn’t a real guide. I would say that it was a driver. I don’t remember anything interesting he told us about wildlife.
- a lot of cheating everywhere. It would be nice if a travel company or a guide warned tourists against all those beggars on every step. In a massai village native people literally extorted 40$ from us. It’s one of the points of the tour and I felt unsafe there.
- 5-days tour is very long. In fact, 3-4 days is enough for what we have seen. On the 3 day in serengety the driver dragged time and we drove with the speed 20 km ph. At 3 pm he brought us to the lodge. The only thing we saw on the fifth day is massai village (15 min) and then at 11 am we arrived in Arusha.
- there were a lot of misunderstanding with the guide and the manager. They asked additional money for massai village (100$ pp) inspite it was included into our package. Only my email to another manager helped. Plus, initially we agreed to leave us at the border with Kenya after our tour. They said that it’s no problem, it’s on our way. At the end of our trip our guide asked 100$ for it. That’s so miserable.
KR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
There is something kind but something to be desired
I searched several companies for a four-day safari. I communicated with some of them, and chose Sereneti Wakanda because it had the fastest feedback and the best reviews. The young president tried to help us in every aspect, including hotel reservations other than safari. As everyone knows, safari tours are expensive. The payment is based on a contract with the company to establish a trust relationship. But we had a different tour from the contract from the first day. I had to go to Tarrengirre on the first day of the contract, but they took me manyara lake saying that the lake was better. In fact, I was a little embarrassed because I chose to exclude some of the companies that didn't go to Tarengirle. They said there were more animals in Lake Manyara, but even if it was true, I wanted to go to Tarengyre, so I was sorry about that. The guide(Simba) was not very kind to us who could not speak English. The problem occurred on the third day. Apparently, the contract said that on the third morning we were going to a game drive to watch the sunrise. But our group was divided into two lodgings, so the guide came to pick us up only after the sun had already risen. On the way, I asked why I didn't go to see the sunrise, but the guide said, "Sunrise? The sun is already out.' I was Angry, I emailed boss to complain about this. the guide who spoke to the boss didn't apologize to me but rather got angry. " Instead of telling him, I told the president right away," he said. He also said that it would have been difficult to see the sunrise anyway because of the bad weather today. Even if it was true, it had to be carried out in accordance with the contract. Satisfaction is a matter for me to judge. Personally, I expected the sunrise the most during the safari tour. And if he couldn't drive a sunrise game, he had to explain to me in advance that he didn't do it for some reason before I complain. Before I left the tour, I was told from boss that our group's accommodations were divided into two. When I heard the story, I was worried that the guide could waste a lot of time picking us up from two places. So I asked how far the two accommodations are from each other. The president said they were close. However, the guide said, "It was hard for me to come and go because it was an hour away from two lodgings." What the hell is true? Of course, we watched all of the Big Five. However, it was quite regrettable that I did not go to sunrise or Tarengirre, which I expected. And I am not quite satisfied that I did not follow the contract and did not seek any concessions from me in advance. But our chef Suleimani was quite friendly and kind. The nature of Serengeti was so wonderful and beautiful, but some of them left something to be desired.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Haavard
A lot of elephants. This is the place where you come clostest to the elephants. There is some gaselles and monkeys here, but not that many other animals.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Made us a spectacular Safari, but communication was very poor.
The good: East Cape made us a truly spectacular safari and trip to South Africa! It was a dream come true, and for that we are grateful. We were put up in top of the line hotels and tents, with delicious food and wonderful people. Treated like royalty the entire time. We told them what we wanted, and they arranged the entire thing. Originally, we were put up in a different accomodation which seemed stuffy to us, and when I voiced we wanted an upscale tent with about 10 days to go, it was arranged for us (Best thing we ever did!). So, the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible, and I thank East Cape wholeheartedly for memories that will last us a lifetime and beyond.
The bad: Communication with East Cape was on pointe until they received payment. Once that happened, it was like pulling teeth to get answers. At initial contact, the owner Colin actually called us from South Africa, asked us our preferences and budget, then asked if we wanted to pay in Rand or US Dollar. Being naive, we said "US" which turned out to be an expensive mistake. He should have told us to pay in rand, though I understand he needs to make money too. Readers take heed; pay in Rand, your dollar will go exponentially further. Colin was super friendly, and then we were turned over to Denise, who's communication skills were poor. At one point about 3 weeks out of trip, we still didn't have a completed itinerary, and after multiple attempts to get it, I reached back out to Colin, who told me it was the "time difference." We were inside of one week when I finally got the itinerary, which consisted of our flights, and I had to go back to the initial proposal and type the entire thing out myself. I knew airport transfers were arranged for us, but had no idea we had a private driver until he picked us up - which was a pleasant surprise, but a detail we should have known. There were more small details that we didn't get, but that's the jist of it. Overall, I would recommend East Cape Tours, but would ask for somebody other than Denise to help you along.
NZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The contact were amazing, immediate replies all the time and they were so lovely in every step
not the best time for a safari... we didnt get to see a lot but our driver tried his best to hunt the animals down for us. really loved and appreciated his service
TR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bucket List Ticked
I loved my Safari with Best Day Safari...they were terrific ...magical experience...thankyou to all that made such a great trip!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Addo or Addon’t ?
After several trips to Kruger, Etosha and the KTP, I decided to give Addo a go.
I have to be honest, it was a disappointment . A small park with little real bush vibe due to the da t that you can see the surrounding farms, towns and wind farms from large parts of the park.
The vegetation isn’t the most attractive either, and the large open areas looked more like fields, giving a “safari park” feel.
There is no doubt that the elephant encounters are the highlight, but a day trip is probably enough, with maybe a night at the excellent Addo main camp to give the best chance of an early morning lion encounter.
But it’s not Kruger, a totally different experience and the 30 minute drive and access to boat trips are probably the only reason for choosing it.
