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!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Well Customised and Personalised
This is my second review of Elida - I held off writing it until we were back in Australia since I noticed there was a 'credibility deficit' to a review if it came from Kenya. So a quick note first to note that the earlier review about Kilimanjaro and Amboseli is also from Australia even if posted from Kenya.
We used Elida Tours and Safaris again, this time for a customised self drive trip across Kenya and Uganda. David organised all the vehicle particulars/paperwork for us to allow us to cross the border, secure insurance and so on. It was well priced, but its the local knowledge and management which pays off. His firm advice about where to buy insurance for example meant we paid what was required, not what people asked. His provision of a 'fixer' to help us through the madness which is the Malaba border crossing (thousands of trucks, no signage, no guidance) made that experience (to and from) as pain free as anyone could hope.
Once again David was easily contactable, got us what we needed, gave us good advice and was helpful in every way.
I am very happy to be emailed about any of the reviews I have posted about Elida Tours and Safaris.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Emanuel, Geoffrey were good to work with in booking our Safari. Paul was an excellent driver/guide
Overall very good. Took the 3 night 4 day tour from arusha. Clearly spelled out the itinerary and we were thrilled with the animals that we saw.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari to Tanzania with Born Free Safaris
I cannot say enough about Born Free Safaris. From the time we contacted Alana and her staff they were with us all the way. We told her what we were looking for in an African Safari, the fact the I was an avid photographer and we wanted the "real" African experience. We told her the level of accommodations we were interested in. After that she went to work and came up with a plan. After some fine tuning we had our trip to Tanzania set to go. She held our hand - literally every step of the way. Everyone at Born Free is a true professional, answering all of our questions - and we had a lot!!
Everything on the trip went off without a hitch. We hooked up with Rashid of Mount Kilimanjaro Safari Company who would be our guide for 9 days. We traveled to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. We were constantly amazed at his knowledge and his ability to spot animals from a far distance while he was driving. No question was too trivial.
On a 1 to 10 we rated this trip a 14!! The best trip we have ever taken - and we have traveled a lot. Our hats off to Born Free Safaris and Rashid at Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Personally the only thing we would do differently would be to not stay at Olduvai Camp. It was not our style. Others really liked it - we didn't. No plugs, animals scratching at our tent all night long keeping us awake. Maybe a fluke, but wouldn't do that again. Also probably didn't need 4 days in the Serengeti -2 would have been enough. Still loved every second of it though, just saw the same animals over again - but you never know if you'll see some situation that you haven't seen before. That's what's so interesting about a Safari!
So many things stand out it's hard to say, but watching 2 lions mate was amazing and seeing the wildebeest migration go on and on was fascinating. I could not get enough of the monkeys and baboons and my wife is in love with the giraffes. With so many photographs and videos, we will relive these memories for years to come.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great week!
We had a truly wonderful time with a great guide. Thank you to him and the team at Armadillo for a wonderful holiday.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10-Day Luxury Wildlife Safari & Zanzibar Beach Holidays met all my expections plus!
This trip lived up to my expectations and beyond. I saw everything that I wanted to see and more. My tour guides went beyond the call of duty. Abraham was guide in Tanzania. He could spot animals that I would have missed, He taught me so much about the animals and the Tanzanian people and culture. He was a pleasure to be with. Ubezi was my guide in Zanzibar. He made sure I learned everything about Zanzibar. When I went on the Blue Safari, I got ill. I asked to go to the hospital. While there Ubezi stayed with me until I was discharged. All went well and by the next day I was almost 100% back to normal. It was comforting to me, knowing I that I was in good hands. The memories I have are wonderful. I hope to be able to come back again.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
My girlfriend and I used Boundless African Jourmeys' services to go on a safari in Kenya and Tanzania. They were professional and very easy to work with from the get-go. We were initially dealing with four safari companies, and settled with this company because of exceptional customer service and value for the money. We were in contact with Annette who responded pretty fast and helped us to plan the whole trip. She booked some amazing hotels and provided us with a great guide (Joseph). It was the best trip we've had and Annette and Joseph made it all possible.
There were few things that tainted our great experience. One was the vehicle! we requested a 4x4, but ended up getting a van. So, make sure you stress about this, if you decide to go with this company. The other was the Maasai village that Joseph took us, to. It was a village very close to the Sekenani gate, right before you enter Maasai Mara game reserve. We were exploited in this village! Those greedy youngsters over charged us during village tour and almost forced us to buy their goods. My girlfriend and I kind of felt helpless while we were there and just wanted to get the hell out! So, save your money and stay away from this village. I've seen some better villages in the Tanzanian side.
Overall, I would highly recommend this company! They are very service minded and thrive to make sure their customers have the best time in Africa.
A general hint: don't buy any soverniers from roadside shops. They are crazy expensive. You'll get a much better price at the hotels or the airport. Also, if you are going to Massai Mara, try to book your stay at Ashnil Tented Camps. You will not be disappointed!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great and unforgettable time in Uganda with Mamalandsafaris
If you want to feel a little touch of Africa- so you should book with Mamalandsafaris Uganda, despite the fact that you always will be a tourist and be treatet as a tourist. Moses Wabwire, our guide, read every wish from our eyes and was always polite, helpful and respectful. In addition he acted very professionally and his profound knowledge about Uganda, its nature and people was a treasure for us tourists. We loved all places and accomodation like Kidepo NP, Murchison Falls, Budongo Eco Lodge, Pumba Lodge, Apoka Hostel Bandas (very lovely place with animals coming very close like elefants, zebras, warthogs etc.- great great experience!!!Bwindy NP was one of the highlights when we met with mountain gorillas deep in the rain forest. Great accomodation there as well- Gorilla Mist Camp...Too nice to be real...Great views.. Unforgettable. Despite all of that beauty we should never forget how people live there, what their life is like and do something...help somehow...By the way.. we always felt safe and welcome...Friendly service everywhere.....While writing this I could start packing again.....