US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Top Safari Operator!!! A+++++++++++ Joseph Mwangi is an Excellent Safari Guide
I visited four different game reserves in Kenya with Joseph Mwangi of Nature Wonderland Safaris in August of 2016. Joseph knowledge of the parks and its fauna was amazing. He knew exactly where to go for me to get the best photo opportunities. I spend 10 days trekking the great parks of Kenya and all 10 days where amazing. I'm going back to Kenya and will select Joseph's tour company again. I highly recommend his services. He is an outstanding gentleman with excellent knowledge of the Kenyan National Parks and Game Reserves.
SE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The wellplanned tour gave us the very best of Kenya together with your fantastic guide/driver.
Everything worked out very well. The tour was quickly confirmed. All our questions were answered. The service was excellent. Anthony, our guide/driver, was fantastic. The camps where we stayed in Mara, Lake Nakuru and Mount Kenya were all very nice. The food delicous. We stayed two nights in Masai Mara, one night at Lake Nakuru and one night at Mount Kenya. This tour is just great. It could be worth it to extend the tour with one more night at Mount Kenya. To relax and enjoy the view from the camp. We do hope to be back !
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Always ready to provide help and so efficient
The travel consultant had very well understood my needs and expectations regarding my safari experience. And finally, although many lodges were fully booked, she found an accurate solution for my family.
Same for the rented cars, thanks to her professional network, she found also cars even I had some special requirements.
Moreover, she was always ready to answer from my questions and to provide help/suggestions regarding my trip.
Obviously, she knows very well her job and the environment to provide accurate information.
Well down !
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing adventure
I knew I was going to need a travel agency to book our safari / Cape Town adventure after I spent a weekend online trying to figure out the ins and outs of South Africa travel.
I emailed about 30 different travel agencies with our budget and travel desires. Thierry from Biwakwango came back with the best offer in a timely manner :-)
Thierry was able to secure in country flights, transportation and seriously wonderful accommodations for us! We were not looking for luxurious resorts, he sent us to the Umlai and Shindzela camps and both were perfect! We then stayed at a lovely B&B in Cape Town. Thierry was always quick with a response to my questions and gave me many options to choose from. It was such a painless process, I highly recommend Biwakwango to anyone needing a travel agent when going on Safari.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Once in a lifetime
Encounter Africa went above and beyond all expectations. Joseph, our driver, picked us up from the airport at 1am and had so much energy and excitement, we knew we were about to have an incredible week. By the end of the week, Joseph was family. He always went above and beyond making sure our experience was a 5-star experience.
The chimp trek: This was a great experience because we had an experienced ranger who knew where to find the chimps on the ground. We were the only group that found chimps on the ground, everyone else only saw the chimps high in the trees. I would recommend spending $70 more to have a full day of habituation with the chimps. You end up paying $220 for the permit instead of $150. Once we finished the chimp trek, we were off to see the Wetlands near our lodge. This is a local non-profit that is protecting the wetlands from being developed into farmland. On this walk, you will see a wide range of birds and monkeys. If you are lucky you might even see some chimps.
The gorilla trek: Incredible. I know many people that have done gorilla treks and they end up walking all day and end up having to follow the gorillas as they move. I think our group was very lucky because we found the gorillas fast. The gorillas didn't really move once we found them, so we spent an hour with them and it was pure magic. We started walking at 9am and were done by 11am. Just know, the gorilla trek is at a higher altitude, so walking up a mountain suddenly becomes hard because you are trying to find your breath.
The lodges:
Kibale Forest Camp was a beautiful lodge with a nice atmosphere. The food was good and the staff was incredibly nice. They have a short 15-minute hike on the property, but if you go slow you will see different types of monkeys.
Broadbill Forest Camp was all about the view. Our tent had an insane patio looking out into the jungle. The food was good and the staff was amazing. The chameleon walk is a very slow paced walk that they offer where you look for the three-horned chameleon. The bathroom was a bit rustic and the tents have velcro doors. Overall, the people and the view are what make this lodge a comfortable place to stay.
Encounter Africa provides a unique experience because you are helping the local communities. Your money isn't being spent on a westerners investment property, it is being spent on small local businesses that ultimately contribute to providing good jobs to the surrounding communities. I highly recommend you use Encounter Africa for any of your Uganda/Rwanda travel plans. I know we will :-)
DK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything just went very well. Perfect trip
Communication good and quick response
The driver always came on time - the game drives were just perfect and the driver was eager to show as much as possible. The accommodation was perfect except that the staff was "too eager" to make our stay at Ashnil perfect.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Just as great the second time around!
This was our second 8 day camping safari with Armadillo, and yet again it was an unforgettable experience...
Morris our tour guide/driver/cook was brilliant throughout our safari and worked constantly for the 8 days to ensure that our family group of 6 was very well looked after. Morris has excellent local knowledge as he has worked within Kruger Park for many years and was able to answer any question we threw at him! Not only about the animals but also about living and surviving in the bush.
We were very impressed with the food provided on the safari, all food was freshly cooked by Morris and he was able to fully cater for 6 people including one vegetarian/gluten free guest without problems.
All camping and other equipment on the truck was clean and in top notch condition, all the camp sites we visited on our safari were lovely with clean, great facilities.
Kruger park is a beautiful place, and Truck Norris is the best and most memorable way to see it! We would highly recommend Armadillo and we will surely be using them again on our next Kruger Adventure!
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Right people for the right place. We could not ask for more!
I was a little bit nervous at the time of booking our trip. We were seven of us. My husband and I don’t travel often, so I wanted this, may be a one time, to be really memorable. A relative suggested Kikwetu Cultural Adventures. Kenneth of Kikwetu was so attentive, he answered each and every query I had, and this made me feel that I was in touch with a “friend” rather than a tour company. He promised that we would take back good memories and yes we did. We appreciated the fact that Kenneth took pains to meet us on the last day of our trip to bid us farewell.
Musaga our smart and friendly driver and guide picked us up from Nairobi and headed to “Keekorok Lodge” for our 3 day safari. The hotel was lovely and the food was good. The staff very pleasant.
Musaga did a fabulous job on the safari. He was particularly keen to please us and show us which ever animal we wished to see. He would continuously keep in touch with the other guides and would race cross country over bumps, bushes and rivulets, which made the trip more exciting,, to get to the spot where the animal was. Musaga was ever so obliging. Thank you Musaga we will not forget you.
The maximum rating is 5 star, but I would rate Kikwetu a personal "7 star", and recommend Kikwetu to anyone wishing to have a memorable safari like we did.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An Excellent Trip
My wife and I booked a 5 night safari visiting Aberdare, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara and Naboisho in late January. This was followed in mid February by a visit to Naivasha and Hell’s Gate and then a ½ day safari in Nairobi National Park.
Tropical Valley provided a guide/driver and an appropriate vehicle as well as booking our accommodation in Aberdare, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara and Naboisho.
The whole programme was very professionally handled by Tropical Valley and everything went smoothly to provide a highly enjoyable experience. Not least this was due to our guide/driver Franco who was a good safe driver who was punctual, knew the roads and parks and was highly knowledgeable about both the wildlife and birds that we encountered.
I would certainly recommended both Tropical Valley and Franco – particularly since they are highly flexible and can customise any programme to your own specific requirements.
Great , attentive service.
This is our fifth safari and first time booking with Rose. She was very attentive and responded to all emails promptly. The itinerary she came up with was flawless - she even managed to get us a walk-through of Kibera (something I pushed for and she definitely did excellent research to find just the right person to take us). This was definitely something different and she rose to the the challenge and succeeded. After our stay in Nairobi, we started our safari at Sasaab, then Sirikoi and ended at Cottars Camp. All three were great and met our needs - we wanted cultural activities, game drives, and enough activities to keep three young children busy. Rose understood that and delivered. As for the camps, Sirikoi was our favorite in terms of the management and facilities. Tom and Nikki are in their own league of camp managers. Wow. We suspected there were twin Toms running around the camp - he was everywhere, making sure our needs were met before we even knew we needed it!
In addition to Rose's excellent planning of our itinerary, she set us up with a pro-guide, Sam Stogdale. I had no clue what that was and he has turned out to be the key reason as to why this safari has surpassed our others. His knowledge and passion for Kenya's wildlife is unsurpassed and infectious. Instead of just pointing out animals and giving us a few facts about each animal, he weaves stories and jokes and makes the African bush come to life. He is great with children and a genuinely kind person.
Overall, an unforgettable holiday. Our children have come away with such great appreciation for wildlife. Thank you, Rose!