Wonderful Kenya Safari Experience
We are an expatriate family living and working in Uganda.We were referred by a friend who had used this company. We booked a private tour just for the two of us to Samburu, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. We were given a reasonable deal and our designated driver guide went out of the way to make sure we were happy. The company also planned a surprise birthday gift at our lodge in Samburu. The entire safari was professionallly organised and executed. We recommend this company to any potential Kenya safari seeker.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 days 4 nights private Safari in Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park
We booked with Usambara Expeditions a couple of months before our trip in July. The communication was ok from the start and we booked a private safari with Alex - the owner of the company. We paid 30% deposit upfront and got confirmation on receipt of the money. We got picked up at our hotel on the morning of the safari and were introduced to our guide Afra who spent the whole 5 days with us. He is very knowledgable and explained a lot to us during the tour. We felt really lucky to have such good company and couldn't fault him in any way. We decided for a budget safari and stayed in two different cottages in the parks which were both absolutely fine and the food was good in both. The game drives in Selous Game Reserve were our highlight as you can go off-road to look for the animals whereas you have to stay on the roads in any National Park. We saw all the animals we were hoping to see and Afra wouldn't give up until we had seen it all :) I would definately recommend Usambara Expeditions. The only reason why I haven't given a 5 star rating is that the communication before the trip could have been more pro-active and responses could have been quicker - however, having been in 'the bush' now I understand that having access to mobile reception and internet access can sometimes take a couple of days. Thank you for a very memorable time!
PH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip indeed!
After careful considerations between different operators, my friend and I decided to go with Maturaf as he provided the best rates with the most amazing choices in accommodations. Although there were small lapses during communications while working on the itinerary, Maturaf had been very cooperative working on our requests. The guide that he sent us named Peter was also amazing. He was as well cooperative and made things work all throughout the Safari trip. Except for the rhino, we saw the rest of the Big Five and made close encounters with a bunch of lions.
The safari accommodations were great. We stayed in Zawadi House in Arusha upon arrival, Lake Burunge and Serengeti Kati Kati tented camps, Serena Hotels in Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro, and Tloma Lodge. We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti National Parks.
The Zanzibar accommodations we stayed in were also amazing although personally, we prefer La Gemma dell'Est over Hideaway of Nungwi as it provided guests activities that they can join in such as beach soccer, water polo and beach volleyball. La Gemma dell'Est for me is more family-oriented but the facilities in Hideaway of Nungwi are more luxurious, as well as the food spread in their buffets are better. We stayed 2 nights each in both hotels.
The only downside, as my friend has been pointing out the whole trip, was that most of these accommodations failed to "sell/market" local cuisine but rather serve the usual intercontinental dishes.
Overall, the experience was amazing and proud to say this trip checked two places/activities in my bucketlist.
I highly recommend this team. KUDOS to Matural, Peter and the rest of Regional Tours!
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
More than satisfactory
I've engaged Kenya Budget Holiday for a 9d8n safari tour in Kenya and Tanzania. Communication pre trip was all through e-mails, they are very responsive and helpful! The arrangement in Kenya was good, from airport pick-up to sending us to Tanzania, they have taken good care of us and arranged nice drivers. But for the Tanzania part, our tour was "outsourced" to another agent and due to miscommunication/I don't know why, we were not able to visit one of the parks as stated in the itinerary. Through numerous correspondences, we were given a refund of the entrance fees when we were back to our home country; we are pleased with the arrangement and the operator is truly reliable. If you're looking for some budget options, be sure to look for Kenya Budget Holiday.
EG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tarangire National Park by SRIDHAR
Decent wildlife experience
EG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by SRIDHAR
Limited wildlife but quite scenic
EG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Serengeti wildlife experience
It was quite a wildlife experience with lots of animals to see in their natural environment and also their natural instincts. Food and lodging quality was of a high standard. Transportation and guide was very good
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great assistance in finding a foot safari for us
Natasha was very responsive to her email. The trip was perfectly organized by her.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience - but with technical car problems
It was a great visit to Mikumi where we saw many animals - lions included. Our guide spoke great english and was very informative about the animals and country. We were picked up at the right time and the Swiss hotel for sleep over was also very nice. The only problem was that the jeep had several technical problems. First we had a flat tire twice and then two more technical problems which took a lot of time to fix. We were probably just unlucky - and besides that we would like to recommend the company. If you don't have plans for a big safari but just want the experience this two day trip with Kanuth is very nice.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Day trip to Pilanesberg
Go Safari did an excellent job organising and taking us on Safari at Pilanesberg and dropping us back to the airport at the end of the day. It was an excellent day and we saw so many animals.
Our guide for the day was Glen who was brilliant and had plenty of knowledge not just of the animals but also the areas we passed through on the 2 hour drive to the reserve.