HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Quick communications, professional, and able to handle issues/last minute changes
Our experience with Lilian was very positive. She was excellent in communications, from providing a quotation to our specific itinerary and requests, and during the trip as well. More importantly, she handled issues during the trip when things went wrong (as we experienced horrible issues with a third party company that she had to hire because we wanted an open jeep, or when Adventures Aloft overbooked our original hot air balloon date and we had to change dates at the last minute). She also handled well any late changes (such as when we decided to book a flight to the Mara from Nairobi one day before). This is a sign of a good agent as people can experience difficulties with companies in the tourism industry in Kenya (from our experience and also what we saw/was told by other tourists during the trip), so it is good to know she is reachable at any time. There was some slight miscommunication during one point with the itinerary/place we assumed we would go, so it is best to confirm beforehand the exact details and places you will travel to (do your research on where you want to go, to see what you want to see as I believe the normal packages in the industry is quite a rushed itinerary). Overall, I recommend Lilian, as you will be in good hands.
Our itinerary was a 6 day safari visiting Ol Pejeta and the Masai Mara (Lemek Conservancy and the game reserve), including hot air ballooning and flights to and from the Mara (both highly recommended).
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A safari company to goes the extra mile to satisfy its customers
Me and my family just returned from a fantastic 8 day Best of Kenya private safari organized by Amazing Memories. Anne was very helpful from the very beginning answering my questions and she was very flexible accommodating my requests. The lodges and tented camps she selected for this safari were very a good, specially the Serena Tented Camp in Ol Pejeta, and the staff in all of them was very welcoming and friendly. Joseph, the senior guide in our trip, must be one of the best guides in Kenya. He proved to be extremely knowledgeable about wild animals and their behavior, sharing that knowledge in a fun and entertaining way. He was able to safely get us very close to lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras, ostriches, impalas, gazelles, etc We were really impressed when other safari vehicles were crowding around two lions, and he took our vehicle to an empty spot were he correctly predicted we would be able get a close look at those lions because they would move away from the other vehicles and come to the place where we were waiting. Joseph was also able to avoid a horrible traffic jam on our last day day on the road back to Nairobi by taking a detour that many other drivers didn't know about, so that we wouldn't miss the activities we had planned for that afternoon. I summary, Joseph went the extra mile to make our safari trip fun, safe and free of any worry. If you book a safari with Amazing Memories, make sure you ask Anne to assign Joseph as your guide.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful and great tour company
Excellent communication, wonderful service, kept their promises and I have no hesitation to recommend this company to anyone. The van was excellent and driven by a very experienced driver.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great
I did the safari with Axis Africa Safaris. Lennox was the contact person via email. He always answered very fast and everything was as agreed. Kikutu was the guide and he was superb. The trip from Nairobi to masai Mara is long but went very well.
I would really recommend this operator and specially this guide (kikitu)
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It couldn't have been better.
I have to say we couldn't have been happier with our 8 day, permanent tented, safari in tanzania. Couldn't ask for a better considerate, fun, attentive, knowledgeable guide than Martin. He went out of his way to make sure we were satisfied with our safari. If you ever want to go on a safari in Africa, Tanzania IS the place. We saw elephants, leopards, zebra, gazelles, cheetas, lions, wildebeast. Martin detoured from our schedule to catch the migration of hundreds of wildebeast. We ate our lunch in our vehicle surrounded by them.
I highly recommend "It Started In Africa" tour company. The price was GREAT. The staff did everything i asked for. Very patient with all my questions and accommodated my every want. The food, the wait staff, the accommodations, the weather, were perfect.
Thank you Baraja.
Carol Conway
HK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience
My wife and I normally traveled by self-drive or train and we have never joined a tour. It was our first time experience of a guided 10 days package and we enjoyed it thoroughly as planning was done by the company and the guide did my normal job as a driver.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Amazing Trip, Can't Wait To Return For A 2nd Visit!
Communications from the start were excellent. We had many changes due to family schedules and Emma addressed each change flawlessly. For our safari's, we stayed at Lion Sands Narina at Kruger Park and Phinda at the Beyond Phinda Forest Lodge. Each stay was different and wonderful in it's own way. Our trip was beyond our expectations and every need was taken care of. Victoria Falls was beautiful and we were able to include a couple special events (Tiger Fishing and Sunset Cruise). We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Cape Town. Ryan Strauss was an amazing guide and wonderful companion. Our only wish is we should have booked more time to explore, maybe next time! Truly a trip of a lifetime! Thank you for making this happen!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Priceless!!!
What a trip, Africa. What a travel agent, Matt. Priceless!
Matt planned an amazing 2 week adventure for 2 families to SA, Zimbabwe and, Zambia. Going to a new country, you always expect some hiccups, but nothing in our case. Everything was perfect .... from transfers, to personal chefs, to Safari's, to kids entertainment ...everythign went smooth and perfectly.
We visited CapeTown, VicFalls, The Hide (in Zimbabwe, a must do), and Madikwe (in SA). Matt took personal care and went above and beyond to meet us personally and chauffeur us from Johansburg to Madikwe and back.
For people planning Safari Trips ... The Hide in Zimbabwe is a magical place, and must do.
I cannot recommend Matt enough ... give him a call, and he will take the best care of you and your family at a personal level!!!
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The complete adventure was extremely well organised.
We were very impressed with the whole trip. A special mention to our guide for 25 days, Anthony "Ants" who was so accommodating to all requests. His wealth of knowledge about all facets of the trip, including his enthusiasm to share the African way of life as well as his cooking expertise of many braai and bush camp fire TV moments were a great way to end the busy, tiring long days.
The accommodation was a very well thought out variation with clean, comfortable 4* plus lodges as well as the glamping which made us appreciate we were really amongst the wild life.
Throughout the whole trip, to hear and see the animals so close to us was mind blowing - a photographers paradise with so many opportunities to capture the animals & birds up close was beyond our expectations.
The only criticism we would have is the excessive long dusty trips - particularly as we headed for our last days of glamping. There was very little to see along the rough, dusty roads - arriving in the dark to a camp not yet set up, eating our dinner after 10pm and leaving again before daylight to travel back over the similar route to exit the game park was hard to understand why.
The local guides within the parks were wonderful - sharing their expertise to track down the various wild life was impressive.
The Chobe vehicle was uncomfortable over a very long distance because of poor rear suspension. The Tui Game Reserve vehicle was definitely better to ride in, considering the rough, challenging terrain we encountered to seek the wild life.
The Masihambe vehicle was comfortable - a suggestion would be for Ants to have a speaker so as passengers at the back of the vehicle could hear the information he was relaying.
We would thoroughly recommend this experience to anyone - it is exceptionally good value for a safari experience of a lifetime.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We had a wonderfull safari through northern Tanzania, excellent in every aspect!
We have just returned from a truly wonderful trip to Tanzania that exceeded all of our expectations. And we have traveled quite a lot in the world with good organisations like SNP. We met African Wildcats at the Vakantiebeurs voor Bijzondere Reizen in de Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam and immediatly liked the idea that it is a company owned and run bij two Tanzanians who also support their Masai community with it. One of them, John, we met at the Beurs in Amsterdam and he made a very capable, friendly and enthousiastic impression. Preparing and organizing the trip in advance was allready a pleasure, corresponding well with Jacob who helped us make good decisions about how to organise our safari to meet our very personal wishes ( we for example traveled to a town called Sengerema because I lived there as a child). Arriving in Arusha we met John again who was our guide throughout the trip. He did a magnificent job. He was an excellent and very safe driver and allways cared very well for our safety in every circumstance. He had great enthousiasm and patience with all our interests in animals, birds and trees and had good knowlege of them all and he himself was also a real animal lover, you could detect that. He was a good leader of the group and with his good communication with us and all the people around us and his good sense of humour the atmosphere was very nice. The tented camps, lodges and hotels were all excellent and the food was allways of very good quality. The program of the trip was a very good mix of culture and nature and spotting animals and we learned a lot about the masai and their habitat in a unique and authentic way. Our trip was full of wonderfull highlights and we agreed it was the best vacation our family has ever experienced. We absolutely recommend African Wildcats to everyone who wants to visit Tanzania. Thank you John and Jacob!
