Email Andrew Ahn | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mixed bag.
I already passed this onto our tour rep at mufasa tours.
The trip was mostly good.
Read on:
I note there's no star rating above for accommodation?
The driver (Joe) was great. No complaints there, he did a fantastic job, very happy with him.
AA Lodge Amboseli was not good. Badly run. So many things wrong with the place, mostly at the restaurant such as
- starting one meal an hr late with no excuse or apology given
-bones in the pork stir fry
- running out of food (specifically bacon and pancakes) 20 minutes before the end of breakfast service
-napkins always damp
- sometimes we had napkins, sometimes not. I saw one table with 7 places have one napkin in the table
- cutlery laid out randomly, I once had 2 knives 3 spoons and one fork.
-swimming pool not nice at all
- WiFi available only at cheetah bar, and very slow
-in our packed lunch there was a sandwich with one Slice of cucumber.
-no butter anywhere, only blue band
-OK selection of food but no chapatis or kachumbari
-waiters were often slow to ask us for drinks and to clear our table
-the layout of the restaurant meant it was difficult to get from our table to the food stations, as we had to squeeze through tables
-poor level of English spoken
On the plus side, the room was big and the bed comfortable.
I would recommend new management or remove them from your package tours.
In one game drive we stopped at serena lodge to use the bathroom and have a coffee. And the difference between the 2 places is simply _ridiculous_ .
Amboseli Park itself was great. Very enjoyable.
In Tsavo east the hotel we stayed in (name? ) is a bit old but the service and staff were MUCH better, and the restaurant was much better run.
Despite being older, and needing some refurbishment, this place was simply better in every way. And we managed to see a leopard.
The manager (Dennis) and all the staff were attentive and spoke good English.
Only recommendation for this place, other than refurbishment, is to use insecticide more liberally, as the insects are numerous. Not a problem for me but my partner hates insects. Also, new mosquito nets.
TH
Email Nipon Voramethkul | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
when I recalled the tour, I recognized this is a dangerous country.
the capital Nairobi is a city full of gang of robbers. be careful! better skip the capital or other big city.
RS
Email Mihail Petreski | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience, the devil lies in the details
We took a three days safari in Tsavo East and Amboseli National parks, starting from Diani Beach. Seeing the wildlife in their natural habitat is really great experience which could have been even better if we took care of some details.
During these three days, we spent approx. 24 hours in the van, either traveling from one place to the other or within the national parks. It is very important to rent a good car, with good suspension and air conditioning. The air conditioning is not going to help much in the national parks, since the roof is open for watching the wildlife, but it is essential on the way back from Amboseli to Diani Beach (11hours in the car). Make sure the car is in good shape since we had two car problems which required us to leave the vehicle (in the national park) and stay on the road in the middle of the day. The people were very friendly and helpful. Our guide/driver was doing his best to fix the problem, even colleagues from other agencies stopped and helped. But we could have been much better without that experience.
Altogether, it was challenging and unforgettable. :-)
Email Francesca Holmes | under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6 day tour of Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha
Considering we booked a ‘budget safari’ and were a little sceptical about how it would be; it was absolutely fantastic! The communication beforehand with Robert (the email correspondent) was great, he gave fast and thorough replies. Our guide for the 6 days was Aruni and he was amazing; so good that we were able to see all of the big 5 in two days! He was a great guy, very experienced, with a great sense of humour and his knowledge of all the animals was incredible .
The accommodation was basic but clean and fully fitted with mosquito nets; the staff in all places we stayed were very friendly and helpful.
The food, although nice, was often the same and after a while got a little boring, lots of rice, beef and spinach.
My recommendation would be to bring lots of snacks, as some days we would have breakfast at 6:00 and then lunch was not until 14:00.
Another great thing about the safari was that as we booked in advance and are a family of 5, we were able to get a private tour for no extra cost! This was really great especially as talking to other travellers through different companies, they said that often the logistics with van sharing was complicated and meant time was wasted helping people to swap vans.
Thought it was worth a mention, currently you cannot enter the gorge at Hell’s Gate, Lake Navaisha. However we thought the boat trip on the lake was amazing and a fantastic way to spend Christmas Day morning.
US
Email Yohannes Hagos | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
unbelievable
the wildlife was beyond belief; was very scenic. Accommodations with respect to the tent could be a little better; also, the food at the site could be improved. Also, luckily our drive, Aron, was not only a very friendly but answered all our questions and went beyond the call of duty to accommodate everybody in the van. We were so blessed to have him around. We have referred his to all our friends visiting Kenya Safari in the next couple of years.
AE
Email Maefel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Affordable!
We are very unfortunate on our way to Masai Mara because our car had a problem and we were waiting for 2hrs to get it fixed. But despite of the misfortune, we had a good game drive. Masai Mara is so magical! We have seen Lions and Cheetahs, amazing! The camp we stayed which is the Enchoro Wildlife Camp was fantastic, they have a nice food too! Just one downside of the tour is the guide is not so informative.
PL
Email Bartosz Guzy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildlife at your fingertips
The weather was poor due to climate change - the short dry season was supposed to be starting, but there were heavy rains and floods. Because of that there were less animals in Masai Mara than usually, but still there where plenty - I saw lions, leopards, cheetah, elephants, giraffes, hippos, gazelles, antelopes, monkeys, crocodiles, lizards and many species of birds. On the plus side - no mosquitoes and dramatic skies over the savannah. It was definitely worth to go.
AE
Email Maikko Ibale | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The place is very cool
The beauty between the animals inside the cage and the free ones are way different. You will feel them alive and happy. It was very beautiful place to be!
However, there are part of the tour that we didnt do and did not advise us earlier why we are not doing it so. And im talking about the spring or thermal bath. We could have spend more time cycling than bringing us back to Nairobi, there are still plenty of time.
PL
Email Agnieszka Rzeźniczak | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We did Lake Naivasha and Masaai Mara with Eliud in 4 days. Lake Naivasha was really nice with great accommodation at Sopa Lodge. The hippos came at night near our house, the food was great. The weather was ok.
In Mara the accommodation would be good as well (Sarova Mara Game Camp), but it was raining some of the time, interrupted one of the game drives and was cold in the tent. Mara is too crowded, even in the shoulder season, you feel like in a big zoo rather than in the wild. We have a comparison as we traveled alone after the organized safari to Tsavo, which is peaceful but has far less animals to spot.
Eliud was a great companion to talk to and spend time with, professional and helpful. Would recommend his service to anybody as well as Amazing Memories Safaris as the organizers.
US
Email Mara de Marchi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing to see the big 5 in their habitat.
The wildlife, weather, our guide Stanley from Venture Savannah were excellent. Most of Lodges we stay were great.
The biggest disappointment was to be caught on a FRAUD by the company “Kenya Walking Survivors Ltda”, I paid 50% 4 months in advance , had communication with Mr Otieno but 10 days before my trip all stopped. Ann at Ibis Nairobi help me to rebooked my Safari with Ms Pauline Mwarari from Venture, wonderful lady.
I’m a teacher from NY and love to travel.
