US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Agent Ute Sonnenberg very responsive/pleasant to deal with/knowledgeable or found out info promptly
Flexible re communication across time zone difference to USA. Prompt responses both prior to trip and while on trip. Totally seamless transfers and tour arrangements- excellent companies chosen. (So different from all the troubles we had with another agency on a different trip to Brazil/Argentina). Safari experience amazing- Highly recommend kirkmans kamp. Agent Ute Sonnenberg tailored trip to meet my exact requests. If she didn't know something, she researched it and got the answer. Would absolutely recommend Ute and Roho Ya Chui.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't search other agencies! Choose King Lion Adventures for the best Safari!
Gorgeous, adventurous and exciting! Thanks to the guys of the King Lion for these 10 days of Safari. They let us see all the Big Five, the cheetah and all the Savannah animals. They were attentive to our requests, answered our questions and endured our whims. The food? A wonderful surprise, we ate very well! They were also able to quickly solve 2 drawbacks to off-road vehicles. I mean, I recommend a Safari with King Lion! Thanks to Boss James, Antonio Inoki, the best Chef of Tanzania Yusuph and the best dancer Imma!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Masai Mara during the migration!
This is our third trip with Arch Treks and Safaris. James always goes out of his way to plan your perfect itinerary, and to find something that works in your budget. My travel dates changed a few times because of work, but James was easy to worked with via email and the payments were easily handled by wire. He also worked with one of my friends to plan a future trip up Kilimanjaro.
Our guide Charles worked very hard to fill our days with fun game drives, and to get off the beaten path to see the vast Mara. He patiently waited for elephants to walk across the road and to watch lions napping to give us some magical moments with wildlife without all the tour operators. He also kept us laughing on our long drives and looked out for our every need.
When we needed help to cross to Uganda overland, James arranged for all our ground travel plans — so they can help with all sorts of travel requests.
You can trust Arch Trek to show you an amazing time in beautiful Kenya. We absolutely loved all of the properties they booked, and the trips we've taken with them. Highly recommend.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Masai Mara Safari and Lake Nakuru - Wonderful experience!
We booked 4 days - 3 nights safari with Sunsplash in Masai Mara + Lake Nakuru (budget camp). Our contact was Erick Otieno but Daniel was our driver during whole trip. The experience in Masai Mara is been unforgettable. We were very lucky because we saw all Big Five in one day. Lake Nakuru, instead, has not been very interesting.
If you could go back, I'd do 3 whole days in Masai Mara and 1 whole day in Naivasha+Nakuru.
Do 4 days-3 nights means do one day and half of safari and half day in Nakuru (2 half days are necessary to arrive there). Not enough time for Nakuru and short time for Masai Mara.
For this reason I suggest 4 days - 3 nights for only Masai Mara Safari and 5 days - 4 nights for Masai Mara + Lake Nakuru.
My experience with Sunsplash was good.. I I recommend them.
I put 4 stars because some things are been changed respect our program... although not in relevant way.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Experience
All my experience with African Savanna Travel has been even over my expectations, both during planning and during the journey itself.
They helped me in figuring out the itinerary and accommodations that would have better fitted with my interests and desires with a particular care also about my cost target.
During the my journey they were easily reachable by phone and email to give me support.
I highly recommend African Savanna Travel
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
South African Based Agents who are Organised, Efficient, Local Knowledge, Personal & Informative,
We left it to Darren & Kate to arrange our accommodation in Capetown, Safari Camp in Kruger, Accommodation in Victoria Falls , Safari Camp on the Chobi River and each one was absolutely spot on. The Game Reserve In Kruger(Senalala) was absolutely amazing along with the Garden Lodge on the Chobi River. Darren assured us that we would enjoy the Safari Camps and they were way above our expectations. Our accommodation in Capetown and Victoria Falls were both outstanding as well. Darren followed up by email to make sure all was running smoothly. This can only be achieved by the personal touch. Compass Odyssey are to be highly commended for their expert and efficient way of doing business.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was a four nite, five day exiting family trip.
Very good and educative trip with variety of sites to tour. We set off from Malaba. Slept in Naivasha at Sopa Lodge, The second nite and 3rd nights were spent at AA Lodge with a full of game drive though Mara game Reserve. Fourth night was spent at Nakuru Sopa Lodge aft a game drive.
We saw all the big five. Three Lion prides, Buffalos, Wild beast, Rhinos, Zebras, Elephants and Flamingos.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was an experience of a lifetime, we all had mad fun, from the ride from Nairobi and back.
Pick up is on time, very friendly customer care. They deliver on their promise.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good time with our driver Joshua during our 7 days trip
We had a nice time with Joshua during our 7 days safari. He was punctual all days.
He drived well in allthe parks we went, even when the roads were in bad conditions.
He managed to drive and look for animal at the same time, what we found really impressive.
I recommend you to book a safari with Jocky tours because of the quality- price relation.
I was happy with the price we payed after negotiations because all the people we talked with had payed more for similar packaged tours (same campings, food, itineraries).
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A well-run and friendly company
We did the six day Maasai Mara-Lake Nakuru-Amboseli safari, and an honest review is complicated. (1) The company itself is five star. They are reliable, honest and easy to deal with and I cannot recommend them more highly. It is a little scary making arrangements with people half-way around the world in a place you've never been, so please let me assure you that if you use Flash McTours you are in good hands. (2) The Guide. He (I think they are all hes) is the most important part of your trip. Ours was top-notch. Leonard was knowledgeable and friendly, and he made our safety and enjoyment his priority, often going out of his way to make things right. He is undoubtedly a five-star guide and is probably a five-star human being as well. (3) The equipment. Here we didn't fare so well as two out of our six days were marred by car trouble. This happens. However, we spent two hours standing by the side of a dirt road on our first day due to electrical problems, and finally had to be sent on to our camp in two other vans kind enough to stop and give us rides. At the end of our game drive the second day, the problems resurfaced and although we wanted to go back to camp, we had to join another group willing to take us and spent hours more crowded in with them before we could get home. Leonard did his best under the circumstances and he deserves to be commended. Owner Peter apologized for the inconveniences, but of course it did detract from the trip. (4) Itinerary. It's hard to hold the tour company accountable for travel difficulties, but not offering more options and information is my one complaint. I do have suggestions to help others. You need to ask a lot more questions than I did! (4a) Travel time. Maps and tour descriptions gave me the idea that driving between game reserves would be a 3 to 4 hour process. This is NOT TRUE. Four out of the six days we spent 8 or more hours just traveling from place to place. Not game viewing. This is the time (not mileage) equivalent of deciding to drive from New York City to Salt Lake during a six day vacation meant for other sight seeing. The time on the road itself is exhausting. (4b) Road conditions are worse than you imagine. In particular going to Maasai Mara involves over four hours BOTH ways on a highly rutted single lane dirt road. I live off of highly rutted single lane dirt road in the mountains of North Carolina, so I'm pretty comfortable with one, and I thought the drive was brutal. (4c) Lodging. We all want to travel cheap but it isn't always wise. We paid $90 apiece to upgrade lodging for our single night in Lake Nakuru after reading reviews about the budget alternative, and we are so glad we did. The standard lodging in Amboseli was wonderful. But for our two nights in a budget camp outside of Maasai Mara, we got a substitute for the Rhino camp called Lenchada and we found it to be awful. (Read my review for the many reasons why.) I don't know what options existed for upgrading there, but I highly encourage prospective travelers to ask about them, or at the least to insist on the Rhino camp ahead of time.
Suggestions. Mitigate the driving situation. I wished we had cut out Lake Nakuru completely. While it was lush and pretty, we saw no flamingos and few rhinos and it had nothing else unique to offer. Cutting it would have eliminated 2 entire long days of driving, and another day in the massive Maasai Mara reserve, and one just relaxing in the beautiful Amboseli resort, would have been so much better. Also, consider flying either into or out of Maasai Mara. We were told it is about $300 per person and it would have eliminated one brutal 8 hour drive. Or consider upgrading to one of the jeeps. We thought about it, but it was about $300 more per person and according to Peter, just provided a little better suspension system. Trust me, a better suspension system would have done us a world of good in retrospect.
In summary, Flash McTours is a highly capable company dedicated to showing you as many animals as possible in a short time at a reasonable cost. You need to take responsibility to turn that into an enjoyable vacation. I found Peter to be quite flexible in making modifications that I asked for. I just didn't know what all I needed to modify. I highly encourage others to work with them to design an itinerary that is right for you.