The amazing feeling you get by standing in the midst of a herd of wild Elephants...
Amboseli is a pretty nice park for game-drives. It is not the park you want to visit if you have to see the "big five", because you won't find any rhinos or leopards here. But if you want to experience the incredible feeling you get when 20-30 huge african elephants silently passes by your car, this park is for you. If you are lucky you may get the oppurtunity to get a glympse of the largest free-standing mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro. The mountain is oft visible in the morning or evening hours. Though Amboseli is several miles away from the top, it still amazes hugely.
As for accomodation I can highly recommend Kibo Safari Camp. This is a luxury tented lodge, minutes from Kimana Gate. The staff, food, location etc. were excellent.
Per March 2015 the park were not overcrowded by cars, but only a few. This is much because of the reduction in tourism Kenya is experiencing. I personally prefer not to be part of a swarm of buzzing Toyotas when on game-drives, but rather have the oppurtunity to feel like in the only man-made creation in sight. This enables one to connect with the wildlife and nature in a special way. Nothing beats the sense of peace you get when the driver switches of the engine, and all you hear is Amboseli herself.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Jinja by KVaughn49
Jinja is more of a 'rest' area and viewing the Nile River than a wildlife destination, although we saw more monkeys and smaller wildlife there.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent itinerary, but could have used better communication prior to travel
Our itinerary was just right. Suggestions made by Giltedge Africa (formerly Southern Africa Travel) were generally very good.
All travel connections worked and all guides appeared as planned. Our guides were all quite knowledgeable, well-spoken and very pleasant. I think some of the extras that we incurred should have been included in the package price or more clearly stated, but this was a minor issue. My only real complaint is that pre-travel communication should have been better. The information provided was more for appearances than substance. And the wallet provided at landing was embarrassingly short on any substantive materials.
Our hotels were all excellent, except for &Beyond Xudum which suffers from the necessity of a 75 minute drive each way over bumpy roads between the air strip and the lodge. They also had our poorest guide. Otherwise, the staff and food were very good.
We especially enjoyed Singita Boulders and the Views Hotel, although the food at the Views could be improved. The Harbor House restaurant on the Cape was outstanding.
I'm not sure a guide was needed at Victoria Falls, although he did get us to the falls at a good time of day for viewing which we might otherwise have missed. The river cruise was only interesting because of the wildlife on the banks.
I also want to recommend the Fat Fish restaurant in Plettenberg. It's a little more casual, but the food was excellent.
Our guides at both Singita lodges were terrific, as were our guides in Cape Town and Joberg.
Overall, we enjoyed a wonderful trip.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience!
Me and a friend were looking for a budget Safari starting from Arusha. The alternatives were a lot, and is really imposible to do a good choice with all the guys taking you to diferent offices to tell you the same speach, but we ended up picking the one we felt more faithfull.
We were really lucky, the couple Driver/Cook was supreme (Godfrey and Alifa). They were young, funny, helpfull and really profesional guys, and I think that there lies most of the quality of a Safari. If I could do it again I'd maybe avoid some of the smallest parks to spend 1 or 2 days more at Serengetti.
I'll surely recomend the company to my friends.
NP
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing, best out put
iIt was the excellent experience in my life to visit MASAI MARA. Management of BIGTIME SAFAI was well. Thank you all who were attending for making our travel much more adventurous. Specially DAVID, TR GD STLIN, N NJERI.
Review about Victoria Falls by Bill Snypes
We were in Victoria Falls at the end of the dry season, and the falls were low, but still very impressive. Victoria Falls in a town, so there is not that much wildlife walking around. However, one evening returning from the Zambezi River, near the town, we encountered a group of elephants eating vegetation by the road. The wildlife is not very far away anywhere in Zambia.
A rugged place with beautiful rivers.
My wife and I went in November at the beginning of the rainy season. The weather was generally good, and not too hot. We saw a good number of animals, but with the coming rains they were often staying in the forest more. However, we did see cheetahs, lions, giraffes, hippos and a variety of birds. They come down to the river more during the dry season.
The river camp we were in was in a beautiful spot, with permanent tents and an open covered common area. The staff was very accommodating and the food was good. The guides tried very hard to find the animals for us to see, but they were scarce at times. We also cruised on the Kafue River and some people went fishing. The river was pristine and quite beautiful.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They made our honeymoon experience feel like heaven on earth
My wife and I have always wanted to visit Nairobi Kenya and so after our wedding we decided to go there for our honeymoon. Initially, we didn't wanna go for a Safari since we thought we couldn't afford but then we visited the offices of Surf Africa Tours to look for alternative hotel accommodation. As we were waiting to be served, we over heard a price quote for a gentlemen who had a son called Daniel and immediately my wife jumped on it and sure enough we got a very reasonable price for a complete Safari which included a tour from Nairobi - Masai mara- Naivasha- Nakuru and back to Nairobi. We had a blast through out, they were professional. knowledgeable and fun people to be around. Some parts of the roads were a little rough but the drive was extremely good and careful. We would like to come back and use tem again and again. Thank you Surf Africa Tours, you rock...:)
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Simply the best choice we made on a Safari
We made the best choice ever: Surf Africa Tours was highly recommended by our friend (Frances) who used them in March, 2015 and what a wonderful time my 6 years old son and me had. The choice of accomodations has been excellent, nice cars, safe driving, great care to satisfy our desires and reasonable price.
We strongly reccomend especially for a safari with children and probably will be back someday to see other areas.
Amazing experience, true african felling
Our guide was very helpful and cooperative, when we were planning the trip. We were traveling with small children, so we needed to make some adjustment. We still saw the big five and we even did not go to Serengeti. Everything went according to plan and there were no additional costs as the one agreed at the beginning.