PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything was great!
It’s been an amazing experience. We liked absolutely everything about it:
- communication with the owner of the company, Peter prior to and after the safari;
- our amazing guide and driver John who took really good care of us and was very knowledgeable, answering all our questions about the animals, and who is also just a very kind and positive person who was interesting to talk to and told us a lot about Kenya;
- the safari itself, where we could observe a lot of animals from a close distance, enjoy the gorgeous views of Amboseli and Kilimanjaro (when it wasn’t covered with clouds :);
- Kibo safari camp where we stayed that was a very cozy and beautiful place with a unique atmosphere and offered a range of tasty and nutritious vegan dishes (among others, of course, this note is for the vegans who are worried about their food options ;) for buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner;
- a visit to the Masai village where we could learn about their culture and pay directly to them (the money would be spent on school supplies for their children) and buy some crafts made by them (bring more money if you want to contribute to their community, the 20$ you pay in the beginning is for the school, but they also want some for themselves :D).
Overall it was a great experience, something you tell your grandchildren about.
Besides, the company is owned by a Kenyan, so there is one more way to benefit the locals.
Highly recommended and would definitely go with them again, as well as send my family on a tour with them if they ever went to Kenya.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing
The staff was very hospitable and friendly
The safari tour was really amazing, it reached my expectations and surpassed them
Experience level: over 5 safaris
Experienced and flexible - phenomenal guides!
I'm surprised to read some of these negative reviews, and glad I didn't see them before and back out. I also booked through a different operator and Kenya, and there were some small changes to my itinerary, but a part of travel is being a bit flexible, no?
Innocent and his team were thorough in explaining my day-by-day tour, and why it was set up in that fashion. It was a budget camping safari, which I knew booking it - and it was all very comfortable!
The guide for most of the tour, Lazaro, was spectacular, he had a great sense of where animals were, how to get in good spots for photos, and how to answer our wishes and questions! Mike - the guide for our first day - was also great. The food was delicious, and they catered well to my dietary restrictions.
I know that luck is a big part of what you see in safaris, but the company and guides also matter. We saw everything we could have wished for, and were so glad that InnoAfrica was able to make the experience even better. I'm already trying to find a way to come back, and do another safari or tour with them!
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kaije Safaries gave us the best Uganda experience I ever could imagine!
Before the trip I have several mail contacts with Ronald. He was very quick to response to all questions I had.
Ronald was an experienced and very social tour guide. His knowledge gave us an extra dimension to this journey and we learned a lot about Uganda life. We had long conversations over the dinners and it was really nice.
The chimpanzee walk was great, so as the game drive in Queen Elisabeth National Park. But the highlite was, of course, the gorilla trek. To be able to sit within 2 m from a silverback was just amazing!
But the safari was so much more than just the animals. The every day life of Uganda was just as amazing to be part of, and Ronald stopped wherever we wanted to, e.g I had a skirt sewed in one of the villages where we stopped. We also tried different food along the way; i never had banana beer before :)
The lodges were excellent and an extra plus for The Bush Lodge, where we had Hippos crunching into our lodge and sat and had dinner under the stars, what a great experience!!
Ronald have wifi in the car, which was great, and aircondition and water bottles, so no lack of that. He also had availability to charge the phone/camera
We had an extra day in Entebbe before we left, and a tip is to take some days extra just to relax before you get home, the safari is great but also very busy. It would have been great to just relax for some days before going home.
Uganda is a very nice and pleasant country. We felt very welcome of the locals and felt safe to stroll around. we will definitely come back again!
Excellent 5days safari with ACZsafaris
My husband and I had an amazing 5days Mt. Kenya, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara safari with John's team. We had a smooth booking process with an option of paying via creditcard which made it more easier for us as we do have limited time and didn't have to go to the bank. We learnt about ACZsafaris through our friends who traveled with John hence we were confident enough to make full payment a year before departure.
We were really interested in seeing the big5 and learn more about the Masai culture, we not only achieved this but also had a chance to see the ugly5 among many other wildlife however I would not really refer to them as ugly as they are beautiful and wonderful animals. The area around Mt. Kenya is really beautiful with amazing sceneries. John also organised for us to spend a night at Masai village where Alex the Masai Moran taught us amazing stuff. All our hotels were amazing with great hospitality. This was a lifetime experience that I can recommend to all.
OM
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Gorrila trekking experience with Mamalamd Safari
I did 3 days Gorrila trekking with this company and I really enjoyed every moment of it. First they are very ORGANIZED, PROFESIONAL AND RESPONSIVE with the emails and made sure that I choose the right package from the beginning. Moses, who was my tour guide, he was very flexible and patient. He met with me at my hotel and explain the plan for the trip a day before. Along the way to Bwindi he stopped many times so I can do photo shooting. My accommodation at Mist lodge and lake Bunyoni exceed my expections and also the view from the balcony was perfect. Both Edrisa and Moses are excellent and I highly recommend Mamaland Safari!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Great safari! Great team, magical activity, very correct accommodation, hearty and delicious meals!
I recommend safaribooking!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Most amazing once in a lifetime experience
From the beginning to the end we had an amazing experience. It is just one of those things you must come out to do. We had a really warm welcome from Zera and his crew. We did the Tamarind canoe safari (Chirundu to Mana Pools). Viewing wildlife from the river is a whole new experience. The guides were all very well skilled and knew what they were doing. It is incredible how much knowledge they have of the area and how much we learned along the way. Thanks a lot once again Zera, Ranga, Thomas, Clever and of course the office crew for the excellent time we had together.
FR
under20 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
exceptional on all points of view
The Kiliholidays team is very competent, always attentive to travelers, we had problems with our and plane and they came directly to our "rescue", it's really a great team totally dedicated. Regarding the safari, the guide was very attentive and gave us his experience as much as he could, the meals were excellent and the accommodation perfectly adapted, I recommend kiliholidays to all fans of adventure and thrills.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An incredible trip perfectly planned by a highly experienced agent!
Simply, 'unbelievably exceptional!'
as follows, the email I sent to our agent (Encompass Africa) on our return.
Hi Gen
We returned from our trip last night so I wanted to shoot you a note whilst things are fresh.
We are as you know pretty well travelled with this trip landing us on 51 countries visited to date. To that end we have also used a fair number of travel agents putting things together.
I can honestly say this trip way surpassed our wildest expectations for what you delivered.
Travelling for nearly three and a half weeks with a variety of places, activities and free time to schedule whilst also nailing flights, tours and availability isn’t easy, but with this trip it was absolutely spot on!
Your recommendations for where we go and where we stay were an absolute delight and it astounded us that every hotel stay was simply amazing and a wonderful surprise, way beyond our expectations.
All this before we turn our attention to the locations themselves, which in Pondoro Lodge’s case was somewhere between inspirational and life changing both from the closeness to wildlife, the unbelievable accomodation and the pampering we received by the wonderful staff.
Our entire schedule was seamless and perfectly balanced with only two small glitches; 1. The KAZA visa didn’t cover us returning back through Zimbabwe and 2. an unfortunate gentleman who had a heart attack and delayed our final flight home. Neither of these things were an issue.
All in all we thank you Gen for your exceptional work and would be delighted to repay your professionalism by being a reference for anyone you care to send our way.
Incredible as it may seem we came upon you via the net and haven’t met face to face.
Please also convey our sincere appreciation to Katie and the rest of the team and again thank you for making our trip to Africa so very special and truly memorable.
Encompass Africa really are the Africa specialists!