35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent wildlife access and a standout guide
We added this safari to our honeymoon late, and I Artist Adventures pulled it together on short notice and landed us in the northern Serengeti just as the Great Migration was moving through. We flew in directly from Zanzibar and split four days between the northern Serengeti (two days), the central Serengeti (one day), and Ngorongoro Crater (half day). We saw the migration and all of the big five.
Planning was easy. Maria, our coordinator, ran communication over WhatsApp and answered quickly and warmly throughout booking. That responsiveness carried onto the ground: when beer we had discussed in advance was not stocked on our first day, she had it fixed by the next, though it did take a drive into town to sort out.
Our driver and guide, Jimmy, was the highlight. He knew how to put us in position, asserting himself at a sighting so we had a clear line rather than a view of someone else's roof rack, and he worked the radio network with other drivers to track down what we specifically asked to see. He dropped everything to get us to a mother cheetah with five cubs. That is the kind of thing that makes a safari. Where he was lighter was interpretation - strong on finding animals, less so on telling us much about them once we were parked.
My one real piece of advice is to nail down specifics before you sign, because a few things in the proposal ran ahead of what actually showed up. The lodging we originally picked turned out to be both unavailable for our dates and priced optimistically, so we chose from a set of alternatives - fine on price and well within our budget, but a step behind what we thought we were getting. The Land Cruiser was noticeably older and more rickety than the vehicles around us, and the A/C we were told to expect between game drives was not there.
A smaller note on the first afternoon. Our flight ran three hours late, which is nobody's fault, and we asked to keep lunch quick so we could get into the park. A full sit-down setup went ahead anyway, and the sundowner that followed was a flat spot with no real sense of where we were or why we were there. My wife is vegan, and her meals were handled without fuss, just without much flavor.
We would book with them again, with an upgraded vehicle and the lodging confirmed before we commit. The thing we came for was excellent, and Jimmy is a large part of why.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very good safari with some organisational hiccups
The safari tour itself was, generally speaking, very good. We could see a lot of animals and most of all, we could see the wildebeast crossing the Mara river. The guide and driver was very knowledgeable and fun. He could have provided proactively more information on animals and nature. In some occasions, he was not very consistent pressuring us to be fast taking pictures or not stopping for animals in order to see more / better animals later that day, and the next hour, he would stop for more than an hour to help another car having a brake down... At the Mara river, we didn t have a very good sight spot as all other drivers were faster and rushed to the best spots close to the shore. Apparently our driver didn t want to get fined for being too close to the shore. Logistically speaking, it went mostly well as the safari jeep was very good and we didn t have any technical issues. The tour, unfortunately, didn t start very well as the airport pick up was late (flat tire) and then wanted to drop us up at the wrong hotel (realized that 5min before arriving at the wrong hotel). For 3 out of the 8 nights, the reservation was for a double bed instead of twin beds as requested when booking the tour (issue was solved with hotels on the same evening).
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mixed Experiences
It was mixed experiences with African nut safari.
Good things : Booking experience was superb. She guided and suggested everything what we need and planned with us accordingly.
Our Naivasha and Mombasa experience were as per planned too. We did book boat tour and cresent island tour in naivasha and mombasa we booked hotel transfers with additional requests which full filled properly
Nairobi picnic lunch was also good
Bad things: which almost ruined our safari in lake Nakuru was the van and driver provided for safari, that was way below the expectations. Even they asked more money at the last moment for safari and transfers which costed us to drop visit of equator point which we booked initially even after adding a topup amount, thats what the lowest point of our 10 days safari in kenya.
Otherwise overall good.
Absolutely fantastic
What a fantastic safari. Our tour guide Sharif was very knowledgeable and was so helpful. He was brilliant in spotting animals on our safari game drives. Very accommodating would not hesitate to book a safari through this company.
Highly recommend.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly Recommend Booking with Ozon Light Tours
Deus is great to work with! He’s literally available around the clock and has mastered the craft of great customer service. I came to Ozon Light Tours after nearly getting scammed by another agency. He was able to get all of my preferred accommodations booked in the high season.
The safari itself was amazing!! We had the pleasure of having Innocent and Godlisten as our tour guides. Innocent absolutely loves his job. He matched our excitement when we found hard to spot animals. We were able to see the Big Five because of his navigation!! Innocent is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate—you can literally ask him anything. Godlisten was also a huge help on the trip and worked quickly with Innocent to navigate issues. He’s also full of fun facts about birds!
Overall, this team went above and beyond to ensure we had a lovely honeymoon and communicated with all of our hotels to ensure top notch hospitality.
My only critique is for the itinerary. We booked an Ultra Luxury trip, but I wouldn’t say it was ‘ultra luxurious’. Time is the biggest luxury, and I felt like we did not utilize time well. I came to Deus with accommodation preferences, but I wish he suggested alternatives. The first hotel we stayed at was nearly two hours in the opposite direction from Ngorongoro, which we needed to drive through to get to the Serengeti the next day. We should have stayed in a hotel either close to or in Ngorongoro. Alternatively, we found out that there was an airport in the Serengeti but we flew into Arusha. Arusha is 3-4 hours from Ngorongoro. When I asked why the other airport wasn’t an option proposed, Deus stated cost. If I booked an ultra luxury trip and I’m staying at The Four Seasons, an additional few hundred dollars is a drop in the bucket. We also came during the migration of the wildebeest. That’s a phenomenon that we didn’t get to experience because we weren’t told nor given the option to add on an additional day to go out west to see it. When I asked to change our itinerary to see it, I was told that it was too far and needed accommodation out there. The Four Seasons offered same day tours out west. The possibility was there.
Depending on the season you decide to book, do research and give explicit feedback on the itinerary that they propose to you can make the most out of your trip. While we got to luckily see everything we wanted to see, we spent what felt like 60% of our time just commuting (literally lost a whole day).
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Comprehensive Experience
Brilliant Adventures and Safaris did a fantastic job. Our group was always well taken-care of and looked after. We felt very safe throughout the safari and never had to worry about food/water/travel accommodations, etc. Brilliant Safaris made sure we had a very competent driver who knew the best spots to see all the animals. We ended up seeing every single animal we wanted, including all the elusive big cats and even rhino. Would highly recommend using Brilliant Adventures and Safaris for your trip and going to both the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. We ended our trip in Zanzibar where we had relaxing days on the beach, as well as did some scuba diving. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
CN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The West Wild is a travel agency you can fully trust.
The travel contract was detailed and clear, and the entire itinerary was strictly carried out in accordance with the contract. Throughout the entire trip, communication with the travel agency was seamless, ensuring that our African Safari journey was a complete success! The travel agency is professional, meticulous, and efficient, with reasonable pricing—highly recommended as a five-star choice!
Everything was handled professionally and efficiently and the overall experience was excellent
Excellent service from the start to finish. Julian our tour operator and Erick our driver guide we’re both friendly and professional throughout. Erick’s passion for wildlife and ability to spot them was amazing ! We would happily use kojuu safaris again and would definitely recommend them to others!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic, communicators, and outstanding guides
From the initial communication to the final drop off, we had excellent communication and excellent care. We had a Guide in Kenya named Jackson. Jackson was extremely knowledgeable and extremely dedicated to finding as many animals as possible. He was very kind, caring and enthusiastic about answering our many questions. We then had a Guide named Moses during our Tanzania portion of the Safari. Moses led us through Serengeti National Park as well as the Ngorongoro crater. He had 15 years of experience and did an outstanding job locating animals and educating us about the beautiful natural environment and its interaction with the animals. He was also very kind, caring and enthusiastic about answering any questions. Both of our guides were interested in what we wanted to see and completely catered to our individual requests for what we wanted our Safari itinerary to be The accommodations were beautiful and comfortable. We stayed within the national park. The food was excellent. The service and staff at each site were outstanding. Everyone was available to assist you with any need at a moments notice. Everyone always with a smile.
Truly, an adventure and journey of a lifetime filled with inspiration, kindness, love, and hope
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disappointed
We booked a safari with this company, months ago. We communicated with Jose who put this trip together for us. This was our 5th safari, but our first, with Boost safari, and it turned out to be a disaster.
1. We were told, Steve was our guide, but Steve appears at the airport with Joseph and introduced him as our "guide" There was no communication whatsoever!
2. The accommodation we had confirmed at Sentrim Amboseli when we booked this trip, was changed without prior notice, and we were dumped in an awful hotel, which was a two hour round trip to the game park, and this was additional to the six and a half hours to get there! We were told by Jose that it was an upgrade, but later admitted they overbooked, hence the change. Again, no communication! This was the second change. The first, was our accommodation in Lake Nakuru Lodge because they overbooked. They changed our accommodation which we already paid a deposit for to a cheaper accommodation which we refused. They then changed it to a better lodge, which we agreed to. The accommodation in Amboseli was not an upgrade.
3. We were not given a "guide" He had no knowledge of the animals and never made an effort to look for or track the animals. There was a Masai guide in our safari in Masai Mara for two days, which was not planned, and Joseph admitted he didnt have much experience. His CB radio was broken, and looked like it wasnt working for a long time. The animals we saw were spotted in plain sight. He didn't even know how to get to planned destinations. He stopped and picked up a local for directions. A three and a half hour trip took more than five hours and we missed lunch completely. There was no time management or communication. He was on his phone all the time, even whilst driving, which made us feel unsafe. He had no interest In providing the service he was hired for. The safari vehicle was not well maintained. It was hard to open the doors from inside. At one stage he was driving so fast, the boot opened and was banging so hard, he didn't even realise it until we alerted him. That's how rough he drove!
There was no communication, transparency or professionalism from this company! We were given the short hand of the stick again and again. Jose for a period of time, didn't answer our messages. He never checked to see how we were doing and Steve never showed up as promised after the safari.
Integrity is a great moral attribute. If you are deciding on who to go with on a safari, think carefully before parting with your hard earned money.