US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our tour Guide was on time , knowledgeable experienced and helpful.
I contacted Sureway Tours over Facebook in early May 2019, about two weeks before I arrived in Kenya. I didn’t think they were gonna be able to squeeze my group of 6 people in but they were happy to.Our your guide arrived on time and full of information. John was so helpful and very pleasant. What I loved the most is that he was very open to making sure that we were satisfied with our itinerary. The tour was amazing and I learned so much. Sureway Tours is the way to go!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great trip!
Did a one-day safari from Nairobi. Our driver and guide, Kim Ngare, picked us up right on time and took us out to Olpejeta. We saw 4 of the big 5 (buffalo, lion, elephant, and rhino), and Kim was super knowledgeable and dedicated to us having an amazing experience. Could not have asked for a better one-day trip. Highly recommend if you have limited time and want to see some of the amazing wildlife Kenya has to offer.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Face of Africa Adventure far exceeded all of our expectations!
Going to Africa had been on our wish list for decades. It is one of those big life trips that we said we’d take someday, but the thought of it was always somewhat daunting because of the expense, preparation time and distance. So for these, and a variety of other reasons, we waited. Well, this year, our circumstances aligned and our ‘someday’ finally came. This past July, my husband and I joined a safari group, led by Hamadi Ningaa and the guides from Face of Africa Adventure.
Logistics: There were 21 of us traveling together as a group, and I’m sure the logistics had to be complicated, to say the least! But Face of Africa expertly handled every detail of our safari. In the beginning, they sent us pre-trip emails including FAQs, itinerary details, and packing lists. (Hamadi answered my questions and emails personally). Face of Africa staff met us at the airport when we first arrived, guided us each day on safari, and transported us back to the airport for our flights back home at the end of our adventure. During our safari (ours was a seven day journey) our accommodations and meals for each day had been pre-planned and arranged so we had no worries. All we had to do was enjoy the sights and sounds of the wild.
The safari itself: The Face of Africa guides coordinated our four vehicles so that we stayed in close contact with one another. The guides were excellent ambassadors of their country and of the game parks. They greeted each of us every day with excitement and a sense of humor. They were all expert spotters, showing us and teaching us about the wildlife we came to see, even pointing out animals and birds that weren’t immediately visible. Hamadi and his guides were professional, polite, and patient. When one member of our group needed extra help in getting in and out of the vehicles, the drivers were attentive and treated her with extra gentleness and care.
I believe that our trip was a great success, specifically because we had Hamadi and the guides of Face of Africa as our hosts. If you’re planning a safari, don’t hesitate to reach out to them. This was our first trip to Africa, but if we ever have the good fortune to return, we won’t hesitate to join Face of Africa Adventure again!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Misleading Information + Unprofessional Response... Can book same safari with more reliable company
If you want to skip reading the review, here's just a quick list of reasons you shouldn't book with Seth Vincent and things that were PROMISED TO BE INCLUDED in our safari package that WERE NOT: First nights stay in Nairobi, visit to elephant orphanage, giraffe sanctuary, farewell dinner at Carnivore, a limited number of people in a van, and adequate amounts of daily drinking water. He just wants to find any way to take your money!
As two college students who booked a "budget" safari, and have been to Africa before, we went into our trip with no expectation, knowing that traveling over there is an adventure of it's own! We booked a 6 day safari through Seth Vincent and initial communication was clear. Once the deposit was paid, however, his communication became a little more sporadic and it was unclear how we were going to transfer the remaining balance, as we made it known we did not want to travel with that much cash. Anytime we sent an email asking questions about anything prior to landing in Nairobi his response was nothing other than "it will be fine."
In the email he sent with our itinerary, he said that our first nights stay upon landing in Kenya was paid for in the cost of our safari. He never booked us a place to stay, or gave us money from the safari package to put towards a hotel, so we booked and paid for our own hotel in Nairobi (which wouldn't have been a big deal if he wouldn't have told us that a room was included in the package and then lied when we asked him about it)
Upon landing in Kenya we were picked up by a driver named Samuel! He was great and according to him, and the itinerary that Seth Vincent had sent us, someone would be meeting us at our hotel to go over what the rest of the week was going to be and someone was going to take us to the elephant orphanage and giraffe sanctuary. No one ever came and we were instructed to be ready for pickup the following morning.
Seth arrived as we were departing for our safari and took us to an ATM where he had us withdraw the remaining balance for our safari after we had asked multiple times if we could just wire the money the same way we had paid the deposit.
After taking our cash he dropped us off at a van where he told us that the van would exceed no more than 6 people. Well, after just a few minutes of waiting the van was completely full (9 people) and we were stuffed elbow to elbow with people from a different tour company that Seth evidently partners with. So, the number of people he told us would be on safari was false, which at the start wasn't a huge deal, but after being stuffed into a van for numerous days on bumpy roads, it got a little too crowded and very uncomfortable.
Then the amount of water that was promised to us each day was not given... to the point that I was so dehydrated I was vomiting (there is water available for purchase at the camps so we just ended up buying water for ourselves... which also wouldn't have been a big deal if Seth Vincent would have just been honest about the amount of water we were going to receive)
Upon returning to Nairobi after the safari, we never heard from Seth (he would have never known if we even made it back to Nairobi) so we reached out about the "complimentary dinner at Carnivore" that is promised in the itinerary, along with the visits to the elephant orphanage and giraffe sanctuary. He told us that because we didn't go on the first day (BUT THE REASON WE DIDNT GO IS BECAUSE HE NEVER SHOWED UP) he wasn't required to take us to see the elephants and giraffes (and was incredibly rude about it), but he offered to arrange to take us AT AN ADDITIONAL COST (to something we already paid for!!) and when I asked about the farewell dinner at Carnivore he flat out told me no. When I asked to be compensated for the first night's stay in Nairobi he also told me no, even though HIS INITIAL EMAIL STATES THAT HE WILL PAY FOR IT. He asked for additional money to arrange visits to the elephants and the giraffes and dinner. So we just took an uber and planned a day for ourselves.
The safari itself was magical. We absolutely loved our first driver, Jeffery Bruce. Everything about the Maasi Mara is absolutely breathtaking, but you can book the same safari with other companies for cheaper (: We were put into a van with another company and everyone who booked through them paid less than we did (and seemed to be given what they were told in their itineraries)
Our second driver, James, was AWFUL. He drove on the wrong side of the road on a busy highway on the way to Amboseli and didn't notice until someone told him... and FELL ASLEEP multiple times while driving on the safari.
Our safari went to the Mara, Nakuru, and Amboseli... we both agreed that if we had to do it all over again we would book a 5 day safari (through a different company) and only go to the Mara and Nakuru (: Amboseli is cool, but not nearly as fascinating as the Maasi Mara and a lot more work to get to than it is worth!
Go on a safari... just book it through someone that's honest!
US
Just OK.
Tanzania is gorgeous and the safari experience is truly “once in a lifetime”, plus the staff in the lodges especially porters, waiters, chefs etc are simply excellent. All of these factors make a Tanzania safari an amazing vacation.
As a tour operator there are 100s of options and most appear to be similar. I don’t think we got anything commendable from Asilia Africa (ground operator for Audley) but we don’t have anything to compare as this was a first time. We figure most operators have the standard packages and they just sell the same to every customer, so nothing exceptional or noteworthy about this company.
Two concerns -
1) the final day of our trip was a mess with no planned activities/meals or even the willingness to help us - while we were on our own to figure out our day until the 10pm flight. We purchased a package and expected they would pay attention to all the details or at least bother to help when we reached out to request some assistance (via the guide). Very frustrating to feel abandoned, hungry and stressed even if it’s just the “last day”.
2) perhaps our mistake in trusting them/the guide - but the guide took us to a store to buy tanzanite and we spent a considerable big amount. Shockingly he hung out right next to us as we shopped affording no privacy despite requesting that we will be out in an hour, and then he collected money as commission from the store as we left with our purchase! Are they (asilia,store, guide) all into a scam or did we make a genuine purchase. Left a very poor taste about trust and reliability for us at so many levels.
HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
'A Frican' Good Time ;)
Our 1st Safari—and an experience we will never forget. Malini’s organisation of every detail and on the ground support, ensured that we had a truly unforgettable holiday. We were 3 families, with people ranging from 5 to 74—and everything we could imagine was planned and catered for. Highly recommend going through Malini for a worry-free and enjoyable African safari.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow, what an adventure!!!!!!!
We had a blast with Benson Safaris. Communication with Benson before the safari was very good with quick responses to requests and questions.
Our guide made the trip special. He was dependable, a great driver on dirt, mud and stream crossings, and was always there for us. He was patient and gave us as much time as we wanted for pictures. He has great eyes to find animals and continually tried to get better angles and lighting for us. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife, including cubs of lion, cheetah, and leopard. He also went way out of his way to get us close to a rhino late in the day when most other guides were taking their customers to their camps. He made the whole trip a fantastic adventure.
Accommodations were generally very good. Generally they were comfortable and everyone was so friendly and helpful. Only the migration camp in the North Serengeti was a little rustic but still okay considering where you are. I understand that more luxurious accommodations are available if that is important.
If you want a tour guide who continually talks, providing information and trivia, then our guide would not be for you. But, if you want someone who works very hard for you and gets close to lots of animals, then Kessy is for you. We were thrilled with our week with him and our total experience with Benson Safaris.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worked out but stressful
I used Flash Mc Tours to do day trips in Nairobi and to provide driver service as we were flying in and out of Nairobi to Zambia and Tanzania. The first driver went to the wrong terminal. Fortunately, my son had a phone that could make international calls so the driver finally was contacted and provided the ride to hotel. The next day, a different driver picked us up on time and did a great job taking us to Amboseli NP. Our main contact Peter seemed disorganized and wanted us to provide flight information repeatedly. He also forgot to schedule a driver for one day until we reminded him.
The last day we had a city tour. Our driver was nearly an hour late with Peter and the driver pointing out that it was the other's fault. Our city tour driver told us that he specialized in city tours but really turned out to just be a very pleasant driver. He provided very little information.
If you are going to use Peter and Flash Mc Tours, I suggest that you constantly remind Peter about your needs. Perhaps our problems would have been less if we had a continual safari instead of needing services over 2 weeks as we flew in and out of Nairobi. However, I was upfront and contracted with Peter for the services before arriving in Nairobi.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our Moriti Private Safari was the MOST STUNNING adventure in my life's travel experiences.
Shaun's communication and attention to detail made our planning the Safari almost an effortless process. He kept in touch with information and updates and setup a safe internet option for payment. The lodge he selected as our home based was beautiful and comfortable. With just three of us in our little group we enjoyed Shaun as our guide and driver and an amazing chef who Shaun arranged to prepare delicious meals. As a main goal of our trip was photography, Shaun also added a wildlife photographer to his team so we had the benefit of truly one on one, in the moment teaching and coaching as we sighted animals. Shaun is skilled at tracking animals but we also had a local tracker riding on the front of our vehicle. With all this support, knowledge and skill of the entire team, how can one not look forward to every minute of each day!
The schedule for us a hobby photographers was perfect. We went out for several hours pre dawn and then again for sunset and early evening. Shaun is a determined tracker. On one day in particular there was a sighting of a leopard with a kill in a tree on a nearby property. Shaun put heroic effort into finding the leopard in an area that he wasn't as familiar with and we were able to spend about 45 minutes photographing the scene with no other safari trucks because they had to get back to their lodges at a particular time for breakfast. That is the beauty of a private safari where you time is your own.
Shaun always stopped for morning and evening break with beverages and snacks that made it very special to get out of the vehicle and enjoy the camaraderie of our group. After a few days together, it felt like we were with a group of old friends. Shaun and his team are very knowledgeable about wildlife, their behavior, identification of tracks, scat, flora, fauna and much more. Most importantly, safety is his prime consideration. We even went on a walking tour from our lodge to arrive at a beautiful sunset with a bonfire and wine. I was hesitant to go on the walk but Shaun has a way of putting you at ease because of his safety skills.
I could go on and on describing the special touches like a surprise full breakfast waiting for us at a picnic table setup "in the field" or the fireside chats after dinner but I think you get the idea of how amazing this Moriti tour was. Give yourself a gift and schedule a safari with Moriti!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful time
All the bookings for international and local flights, hotel and lodges came together well to deliver a wonderful holiday experience. We saw the big 5 in northern Tanzania as well as exploring some amazing parks. David, our driver was amazing and knew the area like the back of his hand. Good service is what we wanted and that’s what we got. Thanks guys!!