US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
21day tour 15 days very good last 7days not so much??
We started off so well in Kenya with SED Adventures contracting Gofan safaris for this portion of our tour. We were promptly met at the airport and transferred to Boma Inn Hotel. The grounds of the hotel are very nice and the adjoining hotel has a pool and several restaurants. Hotel staff advised not to leave the gated property without first removing all our jewlery. Our driver/guide Evans picked us up early for the 8 hr drive to Masai Mara. The roads are very rough- a dirt/muddy track for a good part of the way. We enjoyed our tented stay at Losokwan Camp and several game drives through their private reserve. We spent 2 days here and saw most of the big 5. Evans made sure we saw wildabeest crossing the Mara river- lost one to a crocodile, 2 cheetah chasing a zebra and a lion with a kill. Our next stop was Lake Nakuru to see the flamingos. While the itinerary says full day to view wildlife it takes half day to get there.
Lake Nakuru lodge was ok, not too memorable. Lake Naivasha had more flamingos. Hotel was Sweet Resort- not very nice. While I am sure we were safe the hotel offers temporary housing for those working the area. Our room was equipped with a kitchenette. Restaurant had very little to offer.
Next day was another 8 hour drive to Amboseli National Park- for 2 days of more game drives with Evans. Kibo Safari camp was very nice. Not sure why but we moved to the Amboseli Serena lodge for our second night.
Tsavo west national park- Here we finally saw the elusive leopard. That was the only highlight of this area.
Evans was with us for 7 days, just him, us and the amazing wildlife he spotted for us.
We now had Afran as our driver guide in Mombasa. Here is where things started to go downhill. We did not follow the program as described- there was no cruise on a dhow, no seafood tasting. Alfran dropped us off at the old Mombasa fort with a guide for a tour of the spice market area.
We had 2 nice stay at the Indian Ocean Beach club. Again not following the program nothing was arranged for us for another dhow sail, snorking and Swahili lunch. After a few phone calls by the hotel consierge to Walter, our contact at SED, a driver picked us up and we were taken to a pier and just told to get in line. We no tickets no idea which boat to take. After some hesitation we boarded a large boat and were take snorkling and to a restaurant for a Swahili smoked fish lunch.
Alfran got us to Tanzania border crossing where we were turned over to another driver guide. Calling Pepon Beach Resort a resort is a bit of a stretch. We were stranded here for 3 days!! Continuous rain made the roads impassable. The "resort" does have a pool and a beach. Dirt and in our case mud paths get you there and to the "dining room" . This was the only place for WIFI and you had to ask to have it turned on. Leaking roof made a large portion of the area unusable. We had no hot water for showers the entire 3 days, even after asking the staff. We were told it was available from 5pm to 8pm daily. Due to the rain and road conditions we never made it to Saadani National Park.
John was our next driver/ guide and he was a God send. Our stay in Bagamoyo was noneventful. We did not feel safe to leave the hotel premise. The Millennium Sea Breeze is very run down, food was minimal, liquor watered down, loud music till 3am. The reception staff spoke very little English. A late check out was a $25us charge. We were glad to see John the next morning.
After a fairly long drive we arrived in Dar es Salaam. Our hotel looked ok on the website- location was very undesirable. After a horrible previous 4 days experience with hotels and locations we refused to stay 2 nights at the Tanzanite Hotel. Walter refused to try to get a refund or book us else ware and basically we were on our own to find suitable lodging- thankfully John stayed with us and helped get us to the Four Points by Sheraton where we spent (at our own expense) 2 relaxing days and had great food and drinks. The front desk staff arranged a day outing for us.
Sooo.. 15 days very good last 7 days not so much. We were disappointed that Walter with SED was not able or willing to help us at the end of very long trip (at this point we had been on the African continent for 32 days). Be advised to check out hotels and resorts online, trip advisor, websites and etc. I did and still was disappointed and surprised at the condition of some place, others were a pleasant surprise.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
National parks good, accommodation and catering (for vegetarians) in need of improvement
Rainy October, Saadani NP flooded, therefore alternative route to Selous and Mikumi.
Vehicle in good condition and very suitable for difficult weather conditions, responsible driver. Accommodation in Selous good but food needs to be urgently improved (especially for vegetarians). The non-vegetarians saw it the same way. Accommodation in Mikumi not as planned in the chalet of Camp Bastian, instead in a tent with shower (cold) and external bath on Camp Bastian Ground. Very disappointing!
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A not so good experience. What was promised and communicated on mail and whatsapp, was not delivered
The communication with George was very good via email and whatsapp. The itinerary that we both agreed on was not followed. As soon as the balance of the payment was done before the journey, things were changed randomly. I had specifically asked George to start with a night at Nakuru and then 3 nights at Mara. The plan was reversed without being informed. After 2 nights in Mara, we were informed that we would be heading out to Nakuru and Naivasha for a day each. I had to put my foot down and show them the itinerary which clearly said 3 nights at Mara. The driver obliged and put us into another van. In 5 days, we changed 3 vans and drivers which was a put off. Also, the camps and lodges I had specifically asked for and agreed upon by them, was changed. Although luckily, we ended up being in a good camp. Unfortunately the lodge at Nakuru was pathetic, to say the least.
The safari itself was a fantastic experience. Maasai mara has to be seen to be believed. The sheer vastness of land exclusively for animals is something that blew us away. Will surely make it a once a year affair.
IE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by James Moran
Very few flamingos, apparently the water levels have increased over the last few seasons making it unattractive for the flamingo who have subsequently moved on.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tarangire National Park by Jim and Monica
Tarangire National Park might have great options for birders, but we found the other parks to have more wildlife, birds, and scenery to keep our attention and build our knowledge.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Sebastian Spoke
Lots of birds and monkeys, not many larger animals.
RU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Service needs improvement
We got interesting experience and knowledge, having been on Safari in Selous. Familiarity with the nature and wildlife of East Africa will remain in our memory forever.
Safari with Selous Kinga Lodge can not recommend to other travelers.
At first there were problems with payment. The amount of the first Safari bill is less than 2 times the agreed amount. The Manager explained that it is necessary to pay the second part in cash on the spot. The day before departure, the accountant requires to make a payment through the Bank, but there is no Bank near me. Long corresponded, agreed on the first option.
Then the Manager changes the declared direct flight Zanzibar-Selous to another with an additional landing in Dar es Salaam. Additional landing on the way in both directions, which complicates the procedure of the trip.
No one met us when we arrived in Selous. Half an hour later, we drew the attention of one of the locals, at our request phoned the Lodge and notified them about us. As a result, we were picked up 2 hours after our arrival.
During the Safari, the driver drove off the road and got stuck in the mud. With the help of other people in 1.5 hours we managed to get out of the mud and continue on your way.
On arrival at the Lodge in the evening wanted to swim in the pool. The pool floor was very slippery. To go into the water failed. No one uses the pool and it is not cleaned.
CL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip but tour guide below expectations
We book a 5 day "High End" in Amboseli, Navaisha and Masai Mara. The email comunication to prepare the trip was tediuos. We expected the executive to give us better recommendations for planning the trip. They never let us know that they were going to pick us up at the airport in Nairobi! I had to made the transfer on my own.
Regarding our guide, he comply with the schedules and he was friendly. He was very worried that we could see all the animals as well. However, he did not communicate much with us during the games drives and did not keep us informed of what we were going to do during the day. Moreover, he was not very open to listen to questions or explain. Finally, the day we were arriving at Masai Mara's tented camp, the guide got lost along the way.
Accommodations were great. Excellent attention, great food, very comfortable rooms and very relaxing surroundings.
We had lunch outside our acomodation just once. The last day, when we went from Amani Mara to the airport we stopped for lunch on the way in a restaurant that was far from being the standard of the tour I booked (High End). I will not extend talking about the supposed high-end binoculars and the surprise charge of 3.5% to pay by credit card (unacceptable).
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Parminder
Lacked chater and wildlife birds.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our guide Ben was nice but disinterested--he drove us to each place but stayed in the car mostly.
Communications from our coordinator Francis were great. He was responsonsive and great at answering our questions. The safari tour was a bit below expectations. Our guide would start driving when we were still trying to take pictures when we did see animals and overall didn't have much patience to go find/wait for more.
We also ended up getting to the baby elephant sanctuary 10 mins late for the show and the guide did not help us find a good spot. Spent the whole show looking between people's shoulders trying to get a peep. Very frustrating.
Giraffe conservatory was very fun and probably the highlight as we got to feed the animals but he was again not involved at all.
We made some random stop at the Kazuri beads factory which was sorta interesting but was just a stop to have more tips extracted from us.
Karen Blixen museum was okay and a self guided tour. He didn't even know that was in the itinerary and we had to remind him to call his boss to verify. He then tried to pawn us off to another guide at the museum which would just give us yet another person to pay which felt kind of weird.
Overall the guide Ben was a nice guy but just not engaged at all with providing us a good experience. Everything felt very transactional and very different from the safari/Kilimanjaro experience we just had in Tanzania.