US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
So and so
I did a slight variation of the 12 day safari that the company offers in January 2021 as a solo traveler. I paid $2820 + 3% credit card fee. The trip included 3 nights in Masai Mara, a day at Lake Nakuru, a day at Mt. Longonot + Hell's Gate, a day in Amboseli, and 3 days in Tsavo (1 in West, and 2 in East). I had previously done a safari in Tanzania in August 2017 for 8 days in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngororongoro, and therefore I will compare this safari with the previous safari experience. There were both good and less good things about this safari in Kenya.
First, I think that visiting Kenya out of the high season in Masai Mara, which is July to October, may not be a good idea. I knew that the wildebeest will not be in Masai Mara in January, but I was expecting that there would still be many other animals. The wildebeest also had left Central Serengeti when I visited it, but there were still many other animals left there. In Masai Mara in January, though, there were very few animals with the exception of a small area near the gate. You could drive around sometime for an hour without seeing any animals. On the other hand, the animals migrate much less from the other parks, so the experience there was probably as expected.
The second issue to consider is that while the safari was advertised as 12 days, and there was some sort of game drive for all days except the last when we traveled from Tsavo back to Nairobi, the actual number of 24 hour periods for which permits were purchased was in fact 8. This is partially due to the long distances that need to be covered between parks, but also because the company wants to minimize the number of permits it has to purchase, so it includes quite a good amount of downtime in the itinerary, which is not evident when booking a trip. For instance, in the first day starting from Nairobi at 8AM, one could do a half day game drive in Masai Mara starting maybe from around 1-2PM at the latest. Instead, because of several stops along the way, including a half an hour stop a tourist shop right before the 1 hour stop for lunch, and also a stop at the lodge right at the gate of the park, one enters Masai Mara only at 4PM, for a relatively quick game drive. Similarly, on the day when we entered Amboseli coming from Naivasha, we could have entered the park at about 1PM, but instead, we entered at 4.30PM (we got to a lodge right at the park entrance and then stayed there for 1.5 hours). That was so that the next day, which was supposed to be a full game drive in Amboseli, we would not have to exit the park too early, because the company only wanted to pay for one 24 hour permit. These are just some examples - the whole schedule is affected by this. On top of that, the driver further cut the available time in the park. For instance, for the full day Amboseli game drive, he exited the park at 3.15PM, although the permit would have allowed exiting at 4.30PM. And he cut other days short as well. These being said, it is likely that other companies use the same strategy when setting itineraries in Kenya. What I can compare with is the itinerary that I had in Tanzania, where out of the 8 days I paid for, we actually stayed in parks for 7 days because they were very close to each other, and once we entered Serengeti, we stayed there for several days continuously, with the camps being right in the middle of the park.
Third, the accommodations that were offered varied quite a lot in terms of quality. The lodges where I spent 5 nights near Amboseli and Tsavo were very nice, while the rest where I spent the first 6 nights were much less so, with the hotel in Naivasha barely meeting the minimum for a tourist grade hotel. The food at the good lodges was good, but for instance, at the hotel in Naivasha, the breakfast was one fried egg, two pieces of toast and a little bit of fruit. This is very poor for an almost $3000 safari. In general, for the first 6 days, the food was quite poor in terms of quality and quantity, and I had to buy myself more food even though I don't usually eat a lot. The packed lunches during these 6 days were also insufficient. For instance, in Masai Mara, they were consisting of a small chicken leg, a banana, and a small vegetable sandwich the size of a closed fist.
Fourth, the van that was offered, while not a 4x4, as stated in the tour description, was relatively new and reliable. And since there were Land Cruisers to get us out when we got stuck a couple of times in Masai Mara, I would say that it was perfectly fine. In Tanzania all tours are run by Land Cruisers.
Fifth, the experience with the company's manager, Silas, also had good and less good parts. The communication prior to the trip and during the trip was very efficient, most times with almost instant responses. However, there were some things that were not as expected. For instance, he agreed that I would make the payment with the credit card upon arrival in Kenya never mentioning that he would expect me to pay a 3% fee until right when I had to make the payment, even though there were plenty of opportunities to do so during our prior communication. Normally, if the seller expects the buyer to pay that fee, that is clearly stated when agreeing on a price and payment method. Second, while he promised prior to the trip that I would be able to set my own game drive schedule during the trip since I had booked a solo trip, in practice that did not happen. As mentioned above, that was partially to avoid paying too many park fees, but also because the driver, Nelson, did not really care about what Silas had promised even if I mentioned that to him, and exited the park when he wanted to exit it even when I explicitly said that I would want to stay more on that day. The driver basically said that whatever I discussed with Silas has no bearing on him and I should talk with Silas if I have anything to discuss on that topic, that "this is Kenya and promises don't mean anything", and so on. While I can say that I did see enough of each of these parks, maybe except for Amboseli, I would have liked to make the most out of the time in Kenya and spend it in the parks even if sitting around looking at some animal, rather than in lodges. In Tanzania, I had no problem accomplishing this, unlike this safari in Kenya. However, for people who are fine spending more time in lodges, this may not be an issue.
As for the guides/drivers (I had two of them since the first one had a family medical emergency after the first 5 days), they also had good parts and less good. They were both very knowledgeable of the parks and of the behavior of the animals, and while in the parks, did their best to show me the animals and the various landscapes. The first guide, Jackson, was also perfectly fine to interact with. The second guide, Nelson, was quite weird. Much of the time, he was a perfect guide, but when contradicted or disagreed with using some objective facts, he was starting to say some really unpleasant things that I had never heard on any other guided trips I was on. Like if you were to tell someone that 1+1=2 instead of 3, as they claim, and then hear him telling you some unpleasant personal things because you dared to contradict him even if you do it in a casual way. I tried to not be too affected by these and I was mostly able to accomplish that, but it may ruin the trip for people who would be a little bit more affected by such discussions. Also, worth mentioning that both drivers were saying at times things that were clearly not true when it was serving their purpose, as I could tell from other sources of information, like asking other people there. But probably this is not too surprising.
Overall, I obviously enjoyed this trip through Kenya, although it could have been better on several dimensions. However, for people who think that they may do only one safari in their lifetime, I would personally recommend to do that in Tanzania in July-August, with time in Tarangire (which is a really special park even if less known), Serengeti (including a day in the North part at the Sand River to see the wildebeest crossing) and Ngorongoro Crater. You can do that in 8 days for less than the cost of this 12 day Kenya safari. That safari I did in Tanzania was perfect - it couldn't have been better - and was probably 10 times better than the one I did now in Kenya. On the other hand, if you have already been to Tanzania and want to also see another country, then Kenya also has interesting places and somewhat different landscapes and it is also definitely worth visiting if time and money allows you. As for the operator I booked with, it may well be that in that price range, all companies offer similar services, but just prepare yourself to be a little bit disappointed every now and then relative to what you would expect or was promised. However, you should still be able to enjoy the trip eventually if you can get over these issues.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very accurate and serves are above any expectations. I can’t wait to travel soon
All was perfect save for only one issue, I hard travelled with Friend from France who wasn’t familiar with English.
IR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The sky,this is an endless land
kenya is beautiful and peacful country.
traveling in this country , its easy,
it has good people
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Overall it was a good experience but dealing with mechanical car failures is not ideal on vacation.
The overall experience was good but we had concerns with the lack of social distancing & mask wearing & sanitising throughout the trip. Considering the global crisis we are facing I would expect tour operators to do the most they can to ensure the safety of their guests. Our guide, for example, would stop to pick up random strangers next to the road & these individuals did not wear masks or anything of this sort but would drive with us for long durations. This was quite concerning.
In terms of the guiding & the park - this was great. The guide was knowledgeable and made extra effort to ensure we were able to view the animals as best we could.
It was very disappointing when the vehicle broke down on our last day. This meant we were unable to go into the park on the morning safari as scheduled. There was no alternative, no other arrangements to ensure we could still enjoy our morning drive. When the vehicle was finally fixed the guide suggested we immediately return to Nairobi while the vehicle was working as he didn't know whether it would break down again. So our whole experience was overshadowed by this. It is a once in a lifetime experience to visit the Masai Mara & to be told that we are unable to experience our last game drive was simply unacceptable.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Average
I did the 6 days safari. The parks are nice, it was a good experience, but I'm a bit disapointed about the tour operator.
Firstly, my plane was late, and I got blame for that because other people were waiting for me, but it's not my fault and nobody told me before the hour of departure of the tour, so I couldn't know.
Then, few times during the trip, we lacked of water and I had to insist to them to buy me some (it's supposed to be included).
The accomodations are very "basic", but it's the same for all tour operators within this range price.
The overall organization was pretty bad, I can understand it was during the COVID pandemy and it was harder to fill groups, but still.
I had to check the day by day program on Safaribookings otherwise the tour guide would have skip some parts.
The tour guide for the last part (Ambelosi) was from an other company and was pretty bad. He was not honest and just rushed the tour.
I guess if you want something really serious, you have to pay much more.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Information about Safari and Hotel was very weak, we had a good driver who did his best
Agency has provided very weak information about trips, hotels, what to expect, and considerations. There was no wifi connection in the hotel, our MTN sims were not working to connect to 4G. We have not been offered an Airtel sim, which is very cheap and had 4G connections in the area. Agency was not aware that Ryno park is closed, there is a bridge construction in the Murchison so the road is suspended, etc. SO, the trip was full of surprises. There were no plugs in tents/rooms. I have been asked for meal preferences, but the only available sausage for breakfast was pork, etc.
Once we arrived at a Murchison Fall, the driver asked if we have anti-insect spray/cream with us. Apparently, we have not been advised to take one, but luckily I had a cream.
The only positive thing was the driver. He was experienced and was doing his best to make us enjoy the Safari.
It doesn't worth of money paid.
I will never choose and advise this agency to others.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He could have provided more information on ALL the animals.
Great safari! The location was great. We were able to see all big 5 animals! It was timed out just right where we were able to rest for a bit after lunch. The hotels/accommodations were very nice. The food was very good while at the resort and they had excellent service. However water was not provided on our trip and we had to purchase drinks if we wanted them. And the tour guide was very short and didn’t provide us with very much information about any animals. After 3 days of drives he didn’t even bother to ask our names or get to know us on any sort of personal level. The experience would have made a difference if our driver put in some effort for us to have a good time.... As far as location and number of animals we saw in tsavo west and amboseli they were great!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari experience with Paul
I booked with world Escapes back in December for a three week holiday in Kenya and Tanzania which included a Maasai Mara Safari, a stay at the beach resort at Karafuu in Zanzibar. We also toured other smaller towns in Kenia including Lake Naivasha and lake Nakuru. All I can say is that Paul and his team at World Escapes not only gave us the best price for the safari but also A1 service. They took took care of us right through our stay in both Kenya and Zanzibar. Mohamed was our guide in Zanzibar. He organized our tour of Jozani forest and to see the dolphins.
I however would not recommend traveling in a minibus. We wish we had been briefed earlier about the state of the roads and Type of car to use.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve by Brenda
Game is wonderful, the accommodation very much below par. Staff not much better
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
They were professional, insightful and made the tour enjoyable.
The staff at First Class Africa were very professional and hands-on with everything concerning my trip. From the very first time I reached out they helped me with getting my accommodation and all the necessary payments and documentation I needed for my stay in Tanzania. They facilitated my safari drive at the Serengeti National Park as well as my tour of Zanzibar island. Their service was impeccable.