DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Many good things and a big negative
-We stayed with the owner of the tour, John, in his Masai house in the Olalaimuitek village for 3 nights which was in total a cheap and different/nice experience like living one of them wihout electricity and water in nature. As we arrived there at night, we had some problems with the driver who dropped us, John was very nice and calming us. The bed was very comfortable but without a mosquito net. The food prepared at home was delicious. One day we climbed up to the hill with his brother, he was a nice person. There were lots of children in the village, we and they were very happy to meet, play with them and take photos together.
-So about the safari, we planned initially a 2 full day safari tour. Since the price John offered us was good, we decided to do it with him. He doesn''t have his own 4x4, so it is kinda getting let from another person. On the first day we had a driver which was ok. And on the second day the actual owner of the car was driver. John was practically a guide there in the car on both days. Safari itself was nice, they were trying to find animals and going near and waiting for us to take photos. But here comes the big NEGATIVE on the second day. They told us that we will go to the 'deep parts of the park to see cheetas which we couldnt see on first day. What practically happened was, we went to another gate (Sekenani) after half an hour drive, instead of the nearest one (Olalaimuitek). The owner of the car told us that he is also working and living near that gate. So he knew a way to enter the park without passing through the gate, went basically though the quarters and didn´t pay 160 dollars in total, which they took from us to pay to the enterance. When we asked about it, they told that there was a line at the gate and they would pay it when going out. When we left the park after 3 hours through the same path, we asked again about the tickets. Then they -mostly the driver- started to find some excuses and lies about it. It was so irritating that we insisted on to get the tickets. Finally when they understood that we won't give up, they decided to drop us home and told that they are going to the other gate to bring us tickets. We wanted to go together, but the driver told us that 'it is forbidden for us to stay outside at that hour'' and refused. It was 7 pm and the gates were closed. Of course they couldt get any ticket and it was anyway not possible to get it for an early hour. So they found solution in buying us a new ticket on the next day with the money which we gave them before. In that way we had a free enterance for the third day which was actually good for us. But we payed them for the third day for the car again, so they profitted anyway. It was extremely irritating to feel that they are trying to fool us so cheap (and also their own community and villages, since a part of the money goes to them when you pay normal enterance on the gate).
-Again about the stay, the only negative thing for the home stay was that, people who were preparing the food were waiting in front of us and looking at us while we were eating. They were telling us that they would eat after us but at the same time were telling that all the food on the table belongs to us. So we didnt feel comfortable to finish the food of course. Sometimes the food was big enough for mayn people but sometimes not. Tried to solve the problem with communication but it was not very succesful. But i am repeating again, the food was very delicious and another plus for it, that they prepared all without a tap and practically any kitchen, incredible! Maybe this feedback can be helpful for them to make it better.
-So for the home stay i'd give 5 stars. For that issue on safari 1 star despite the good things. In total 3 stars. I am sorry for that, since i know that John is actually a warmhearted person but I hope this will not happen to anyone again in that way.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fast corrective action by Matoke
We organized a four day gorilla tracking in Uganda with Matoke. We left Kigali and drove to Rushaga, where we tracked one day and another day we tracked at Nkuringo. If your budget allows, we would highly recommend doing two days gorilla tracking. Our hotel in Uganda was Gorilla Safari Lodge and it wasn’t anything to write home about.
The problem was that Matoke subcontracted transportation to the lodge and the lodge took the outsourcing a step further and hired another company. This third company sent us a driver that could not communicate in neither English or French and had never been to the lodge. We got lost on the way. The lodge did not have a meal ready when we arrived. The driver never wore a uniform and when we met he did not even know the names of the people he was meant to pick up. On day two, our driver was nowhere to be seen and had to be called by the lodge. He eventually came to pick us up and drove us to the wrong entry point. Someone from the hotel had to get in the car with us to take us to the right place. Frustrated with the two days, we wrote to Matoke and the corrective action was decisive and swift. They were unaware that the hotel had outsourced our driver to another company and that they had sent an unprofessional and inexperienced driver. They immediately sent one of their own drivers, gave us a complimentary massage each, covered our laundry bill and were quick to follow up on how things were doing.
I’m happy to say the story ended well and our Matoke driver was everything driver one was not: he was polite, knowledgeable, spoke English, and knew how to get to our destinations. We felt in good hands with him. Matoke was apologetic and responsive, which we appreciate. Our only recommendation would be to choose outsourcing partners more carefully and ensure that if other companies provide one of their services, it is done with the same Matoke standards.
HR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Deeply explained positive/negative experience
We found Namayiana Safaris by google. I thought it is a nice place to stay since it was a home stay with the Masai people, for 15 usd per person per night (hardly you will find anything cheaper there and so close to the park).
There are some good things (food, seeing all the animals, experiencing life in Masai village, having land cruiser) and some less good (trying not to buy us tickets, organized bad transport for the way back, entering in our room while we were not there, idea that the tourist is the bag full of money).
In each section i will write both sides in details. My boyfriend Yekta already left a review (should be 2nd review under mine... I will also respond to Mr. John who found himself offenfed after reading the review of my bf).
We paid daily 120 usd for the land cruiser (car, driver, gas included). We rented if for 3 days (was supposed to be 2, i will explain under why 3).
If you will have extra questions, ask me on my Instagram @thismorningiwokeupin. I was in about 60 countries, made many tours, so i can tell i am experienced traveler.
Let's start from the beginning:
Arriving there - we were coming from Narok to John's village. John offered us to use matatu for 1000 KES, but we didn't know what time it goes and we missed it. It was very hard to find another transport to the village, we had a lot of problems (because of the rain and going with the car which was not 4x4). However, John was always available by phone. I recommended you to organize the transport before coming (John can help you).
Accommodation - Masai house, one room for you, one room for John and chefs... It was nice to stay there, meet the kids, talk with adults, "play" with animals... Walls in the house are thin, so whenever someone is speaking you can hear. There is no electricity (we had to charge phones in the car. Keep this on mind if you are carrying camera!) or mosquito net over the bed. Shower and the toilets were outside, in the nature. They can make buckets full of the warm water for you.
Lock your room (bring your own locker?) - we noticed that some food is missing in our room, i also found the package of my chocolate out of the house on the floor... John told probably kids entered and took it...
I suggest you to bring some extra food with you before coming to the village. Shops are limited with choice, there are some restaurants inside of Masai Mara NP. Kids will be happy too to eat some cookies :).
One thing what should be mentioned before coming - if it is raining, it is extremely muddy, slippery and not everyone would be able or want to walk there. (For me it was not a problem, maybe only for my snickers :D)
Food - breakfast was one boiled or fried egg per person, butter and toast bread. Sometimes with extra beans and pancakes. Lunch was the same as breakfast (egg, toast bread, butter). For the dinner we would get a lot of rice with vegetables, some meat, fruits, chapati... Normally they would ask if we have some dinner wish. In total dinner was delicious. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable that 1 or 2 of them would stand next to us and stared at us while eating (they would tell they ate before, but as they were staring we would offer them to eat, they would tell they will eat after us - it confused us - we were not sure if all the food is really only for us (as they told at the start... or they are waiting to eat and if we eat everything they would have nothing?? ).
Restaurant lunch - one day John told we will go to eat barbeque in the restaurant instead of home. We told ok, barbeque sounded good :). When we arrived in the restaurant, they told they don't serve a barbecue... 2 of our chefs ate with us - when the bill came, they didn't offer to pay their part, it was expected that we pay (again not a big money, but it is polite to offer to pay your own part or tell thank you after someone else pays for you).
Safari - Be sure that they buy for you the entrance tickets!
We were able to choose between 2 options - to have land crusiser in the morning (aprx 6 till 9am) and late afternoon (aprx 3 or 4pm till 6pm) OR for the full game drive (8am-4pm). In total, we saw big 5 and many other animals.
1st day - We went to the river and short walk with the scout. We got stuck with land crusier in the mud near the elephant with the babies - it was a bit scary (it can happen to anyone:). I was surprised that they don't have any protection with themselves (like smth to make animal sleep if it attacks), but i don't know what are the rules about it so maybe it is normal not to have.
2nd day - we again gave160 usd for the tickets to enter the National Park. We noticed that John and, the owner of the land cruiser, Steven didn't buy the tickets so in the evening we asked if we can get our tickets. They told it was crowded on the entrance (how crowded it can be in the low season?), they decided to avoid that entrance and go directly in (and they told that workers on the gate know vehicle registration plate, they will charge them later for the tickets, that if they don't pay they can have serious problems). John mentioned in the answer to Yekta that they went fast inside to see the leopard --> on that day we entered twice in the NP. We saw leopard around 16:30 (we entered in the NP at 15 h!). Cheetahs were seen next day. First time we entered was around 05:50 and i didn't notice many cars around. Also, one thing they told was that we were allowed to enter in the NP earlier than normal. If so, how it could be crowded? Notice the contradiction?!
John is telling they bought the tickets next morning - no, they went to buy it after we insisted on them to go for it the same evening (they were telling before how the ticket will be for that day, but as expected he came back with brand new tickets for the next day. It was obvious he got nervous about the whole situation).
3rd day - since we got one extra day tickets for free we decided to stay and use it. That is the answer on John's question why we stayed 2 extra nights. We had to pay again 120 usd for the car. In the afternoon John invited 2 more Masai people to go with us, but he didn't ask us before if it is ok. He asked when we were already inside the car and we had no option, but tell yes. Honestly, i would like that we were alone with him + eventually one extra person sitting next to him, not having someone sitting back with us - then it is not anymore a private tour.
Leaving tips - Sometimes they would repeat multiple times to "take a good care of chefs/whoever". I think tips are optional and we should leave according to our satisfaction with the service. It is ok to mention once at the start to leave tips at the end if we liked certain service, but to repeat it multiple times is pressuring. Once, we asked 2 of them how much we should leave for the leader from the another village (they took us to see it + dance, in total it took inside max. 30 min.) - they told us some tourists leave few thousand KES (means 50 USD or so). We left less than that and the leader of the village didn't seem very happy about it (and all of them were staring to see how much we left, he counted money in front of us). Before leaving Kenya, we talked with some Kenyans in Nairobi and we asked is it normal to leave tips and how much - they told it is not normal, but we can... They told us 500 KES is already a lot for tips, but we didn't have the same impression from the village. People there have to understand that not all of the tourists are bag full of money, it is already expensive to pay for the tour itself. I suggest you to bring envelopes and give tips inside of it.
Going back to Narok - John organized '"matatu". That "matatu" was actually normal car for 5 people (not a van neither 4x4 wheels). Inside there were 10 PEOPLE (including John and his brother)!!! 3 sitting in front, 4 behind and 3 in the baggage. 3 of 4 doors were not possible to open from inside of the car, window on my door was also not able to be opened... You could hardly breath and ride itself was very dangerous. Car broke down after the certain point and we switched to the new car. They asked us to pay 1000 KES (~10 usd) per person for supposed to be 2 hours ride in such conditions. We believe that they overcharged us, because we are tourists. No one can convince me that all the people in the car paid 1000 KES each, it would mean about 90 usd total. Even when we were coming from Narok to the village, regular taxi for 5 people charged normally 600 KES per person.
Mr. John - despite some troubles up, i believe he si intelligent and friendly person. I wish him a good work with the company and i hope he will not get poisoned by the idea that everybody are "tourists with lot of money" and he will work with people as "travelers" who want to see, feel and enjoy the local culture.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This is a pretty and intelligent tour company
I think they should develop more and more in order they could gain more work from the outsiders and get more experience which could help also to develop the company
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
PERFECT TRIP
After spending a long time searching through a variety companies for our family trip, we settled on Routes Kilimanjaro Adventures. A large reason to this was the helpfulness of Stella who was very quick to respond to our queries and plan safari so that it perfectly suited our requirements. From the initial planning stage, we felt like we were in safe hands.
We were collected at the airport by our driver and guide for the week, Nelson. He made the safari so special for my family and my self and his knowledge was incredible. He almost had a sixth sense where he could spot animals that we would never have noticed them, but Nelson did. He was very excited to see them and said it was exceptionally rare to spot a Leopard with the cubs running in the open. We sat and had our lunch with him every day and was great to find out about him and see how passionate he is about his job.
Our family trip was perfect and was thanks to the hard work of Routes Kilimanjaro team. There are many of tour agencies in Tanzania but we are so happy that we went with Routes Kilimanjaro Adventure.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
When it went well it went well but when it didn't....
I know people rave about this company. And, I guess, if you didn't have any problems with them then they were good. But if you do experience a problem with them, they don't really want to hear from you with the what the issue was. I had a 6 day safari booked with them and it was good until I got to the Masai Mara and then things went off the rails. They gave me an incorrect park permit which the rangers would not honor. I contacted the person in the US who did my booking and she wanted to know why I was calling her about this. I mean, she did take my money for the trip so I thought she could quickly contact the Nairobi office for me and get this straightened out but no. After spending over an hour on a desolate air strip in the Masai Mara arguing with park officials and in order not to be sent back to Nairobi on the next plane, I had to pay the entrance fees again even though it was included in my safari payment. When I did speak with the head of customer service for Gamewatchers, she wouldn't confirm to me that I would be refunded for something I had paid for twice (ultimately about a week later I did get a refund). But then, because of this debacle at the park entrance, I missed a game drive which the hotel blames on me for not showing up for (because I couldn't get in to the park due the Gamewatchers giving me an incorrect permit) and neither the hotel, Mara Serena, or Gamewatchers will refund that. As a matter of fact on this issue, Gamewatchers has gone completely silent. So no, this is not a tour operator I would recommend.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Almost there but something is just not right
Throughout the planning stages Gosheni was very helpful and overall the safari was nice. But I am writing this review with mixed emotions. During the planning process there was a huge emphasis placed on the company having new vehicles and permanent guides. The vehicle that we had for our safari was fantastic and new, but it was not owned by Gosheni. Instead they had subcontracted our safari to another company. The guide was friendly and gave us a great trip but is not a an employee of Gosheni, and instead works for another company. In the end we were delivered with a great trip, but I am left with a bit of a sour taste. Their website is really focused on how great they are because they employ the best guides. They claim to be a reliable and honest operator.
We traveled in low season so it still seems very strange that they subcontracted our trip to another company, named Masai Safaris. I read several bad reviews about companies that Sub-contract safaris to other companies and the mess it can end up it. So we specifically chose a company that seemed to run their own trips. Apparently this is not the case, so I can't recommend this company even though the safari was well planned and delivered.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience with Routes Kilimanjaro Adventure
Enjoyed it. Great organization. Good communication and food. Enthusiastic and informative driver guide. Good condition safari vehicle. Highly recommended.
We were the group of 8 adults, did did an eight days safari with Routes Kilimanjaro Adventure in mid December 2017. Pick up and drop off was from JRO. Weather cooperated on most days except the one day which we were delayed due to over flooding. But our driver guide Godfrey was helpful. We chosen medium accommodation which exceeded our expectations and was excellent (especially in the middle of the Serengeti). Food was great. It was mixture of local cuisines and some international dishes. Plenty of veg options available. Picnic lunches during game drives were good to.
Now for important stuff - Godfrey was excellent both as a driver and as a guide. He made sure we followed all the park regulations and observed wildlife safely and respectfully, while being able to enjoy. Godfrey had an amazing eye at spotting birds and animals from distance. His knowledge of their behavior, habitats and patterns was superb. However, watching wildlife is always a game of chance and of lucky according to Godfrey. We saw a herd of more than 100 elephants on one day while no elephants on last couple of days.
Overall we were extremely happy and satisfied with our first safari experience. Routes Kilimanjaro provided excellent service and good value for money. We will definitely choose Routes Kilimanjaro again for future safaris.
Thanks to Stella for organizing this wonderful safari. Having done all the bookings and communications online, and a continent apart, there is some apprehension. But Stella and Routes Kilimanjaro were patient and answered all our questions and accommodated requests.
AR
Great stopover
I asumed it was going to be a mediocre experience with just a good location but it ended up having a nice variety of animals: zebras, giraffes, impalas, topis, waterbucks, warthogs, monkeys and ankoles. Not the usual big 5 but very enjoyable nonetheless. Convinced my guide to drive by since I had some hours to spare on my way to the airport and it was delightful. Great stopover to complement what I had already seen.
Some sceneries were amazing while other sections of the park were too bushy, but they seem to be "taking care" of that since there were big chunks of the side-road having been burned down, or something like the sort. Roads were bad.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Wildlife, no so great Driver
The Safari was very nice, and we were really lucky, despite rain season. However, out driver always seemed to be in a hurry outside the park and the extra-activities seemed to a nuisance to him