US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful Country - Lovely people - Eradicate Government Corruption
Enjoyed the parks! However, entry took 40 minutes of struggle to buy a ticket through the https://www.kws.go.ke/. Website kept erasing username and password. Visitors do NOT want to keep track of passwords. They want to enjoy vacation. Need to be able to just pay with credit card and there will be a record of the purchase for the government without all the hassle.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Amboseli National Park by Cindy
Enjoyed the beautiful wildlife! Would like to visit Masaii Mara for more of the Big 5 viewing
FI
Great customer service
Well organized tour. We visited Masai Mara and lake Nakuru. Nice drivers and hotels were as described.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Saw the big 5 despite it all
Serengeti smile is a organised safari company who took care of us. Our driver Puis took us to multiple parks including Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, maximizing our chances to see diverse wildlife in different habitats. Puis also went to great lengths to give us the opportunity to see all of the big 5 and
Many of the lodges and camps we were booked into catered well for food and comforts.
Going on EARLY (5.30 -6am) game drives was a highlight as you are able to see the animals first and enjoy the day. Avoid the 9am starts... its just way too busy then.
The vehicles used are subjected to hard terrain and must travel long distances. So it is to be expected we experienced some mechanical issues which did not delay us in anyway but was concerning.
Communication is an area that needs a great deal of improvement. Whether is be about accommodation bookings and or the daily schedules of events to ensure guests are enjoying more time at the park than sitting at the lodges or driving on tar.
PH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic
The organization was very personalized and hands one. We customized our itinerary and Simon was very patient with us. The tour was an amazing experience. Despite some flooding, Simon was quick to rebook us new accommodations as well. The guides took care of everything and made sure we saw the best of Serengeti, cultural tour, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. We were a big family of 9 and were well taken cared of. The accommodations and food were amazing as well. Highly recommended tour company
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Precision end reliable
The safari was very nice and we were lucky enough to have a 'great Guide and also lucky enough to see many animals. It is an experience to try, challenging for the long road you have to face, but in the end it is worth it.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Knowledgeable Guides
Booking the 4 day Tanzanian Safari to Tarangire, Ngorongoro, and Serengeti was very easy and the having the representative waiting at the starting and ending hotel was very convenient and made the whole trip feel secure. My favorite place we stayed was the Suricata Boma Lodge. Absolutely gorgeous accommodations and the food was delicious. The staff were so friendly and willing to help. There was some confusion about other accommodations since the ones listed on the brochure were different but they were very pleasant and the staff were very accommodating, especially after long days of safari. Our guide Amiri was super knowledgeable and made sure we saw all the animals and got close enough to get pictures but not uncomfortable or unsafe for the animals.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari
Unfortunately no view on mount Kilimandscharo, but contact with guide and organization was top.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour, great guides, great facilities but some planning issues
We are a late 60's couple from New Jersey. Benson put together an excellent 16 day personal tour for my wife and I. We travelled from Nairobi across southern Kenya to the Massai Mara and then south to Tanzania, the Serengeti, and many other national parks. Benson arranged for a separate tour company (Raven Tours) to escort us through Tanzania. Finally, our Banok guide met us at the Namanga border crossing near Amboseli National Park to finish our tour and return us to Nairobi Airport. Both transfers at the international borders went smoothly thanks to the guides. Both guides were excellent and really made the trip a once in a lifetime experience. We cannot recommend Robert in Kenya (for Banok Tours) and Rajabu (Roger) in Tanzania (for Raven Tours) highly enough!
In all cases, the accommodations and meals were excellent. Facilites were always clean and comfortable. We stayed in both lodges and glamping tent sites. All rooms and tents had running water and flush toilets, even in the most remote areas.
We were scheduled for a hot air balloon trip in Tanzania which we had paid for in advance. Unfortunately, it had to be canceled due to very high winds. Benson arranged for a complete refund for us before we left Tanzania.
The reason for the 4 star rating comes from the tour planning. Although most days went as planned, there were some instances where we could not visit a park or wildlife area as planned because travel times and distances were much greater than had been indicated in our tour itinerary, requiring us to forgo a stop or shorten a visit. Our tour guides worked out the kinks in the itinerary as needed. Roger was particularly helpful in this regard.
Overall it was the an excellent experience and the tour of a lifetiime. We would certainly go with Benson and Banok tours again.
IN
The guide is great but the operator could have organized better.
The guide is very passionate and well informed about the land and the animals. This was the biggest positive of the tour, as we got to learn a lot about everything we saw. But the vehicle was quite old with no air conditioning and leaking water. Because there was no Ac, we had to leave the windows open, which made everything very dusty and difficult to breathe. Also the first stay leaves much to be desired in terms of safe food and service (the rooms and amenities can be given a pass since we were in the middle of the plains). I also feel like the distances between the two stays could have been coordinated better. Overall, the sights were great, the guide was super, but the logistics and vehicle needs a lot of work.