This Tour Is Offered By
Elevate Your Escapes
Splendid Vacations
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2023)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
-
ETKERWZATZUG
The Splendid Vacation team guarantees you an unrivaled African travel experience by offering safaris to unequalled tourism destinations in Africa. Our collection of safaris and lodges are advantageously located in Africa's most sought-after National Parks and Game Reserves.
Reviews111
US
Splendid Vacations always recommended, absolutely amazing experience
Hi,
We just visited Kenya and Tanzania last month, under the guidance of Splendid Vacations, from New Jersey, United States.
The trip went through, as promised, thanks a ton to Rachael, our tour coordinator, you did amazing job.
All our guides who drove us for 10 days were amazing too. Very significantly Joseph, covered, Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara and dropped us off to Tanzania. He was very knowledgeable and helpful even to other rides sometimes.
The 2nd guide was George, amazing young man and very patiently showed us all of Tanzania, Serengeti and Ngorongoro areas, and Lake Manyara, before dropping off back to Kenya. Also helped us with shopping at nice Indian place, where we bought Tanzanide.
Our 3rd guide was very knowledgeable as well, and patiently showed us Amboseli National park and Mt Kilimanjaro.
Overall, the hotels were nice and we loved our trip. Some wonderful hotel examples are Enkorok Mara camp, Sopa lodge, Mara Serena( we only stayed at Masai, but it has more locations at al parks), Seronera lodge, Olituku, Oilepo lodge etc
I definitely recommend Splendid and will look forward for future trips.
Perfect organising and booking of an unforgettable holiday
After looking at a few safari holiday companies I settled on Splendid Vacations. My wife and I wanted a safari holiday with a few days beach holiday at the end. The initial package was more safari than beach holiday so I asked Rachael at Splendid Vacations to adjust, which she did perfectly. Rachael was very quick and helpful in all requests and communications. When making the final accommodation bookings for us there was an issue with no availability at one camp but Rachael researched and provided us with detailed information about alternatives when letting us know. This made it easy to immediately choose an alternative.
Once arriving in Nairobi we were met at the airport by Rachael and a driver and taken to our very grand hotel. Next morning we were collected by Willy, our driver for the next few days of the safari. Having Willy as our driver was the best bit of luck for us as he was excellent. Due to his knowledge and skills we saw some unforgettable sights. Lionesses with their cubs, Leopards, Cheetahs (including seeing a Cheetah make a kill of a young Impala), Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeests, Warthogs, Hyenas, Baboons and various other monkeys, Hippos, Crocodiles, Buffalo, Jackals etc. The only one of the big 5 we didn't see was the Rhino. I think the highlight of our safari was an incredible close up encounter with Craig, the oldest super tusker elephant in Kenya.
All travelling during the safari was done in our own private vehicle, a comfortable Toyota Landcruiser. Travelling between national parts and camps was sometimes quite long but was very interesting seeing the country from the remote parts of the Masai Mara to the centre of Nairobi. Willy was perfectly accommodating with rest stops etc.
The accommodation on the safari was perfect. Zebra Plains Mara Camp was great with its restaurant and bar over looking the Masai Mara and its very comfortable glamping tents. Zebra Plains Mara Camp set a very high standard for accommodation. I would highly recommend the evening nature walk with the Masai tribesman. This was absolutely beautiful and a very informative end to the day. Please tip generously for this; some of the other guests on the walk didn't tip at all which I felt was very remiss after such a great couple of hours.
After a couple of days there we headed to Lake Naivasha and had a wonderful couple of hours on Crescent Island walking with Zebras, Giraffes etc. There we stayed at Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort which was very comfortable. Next day we headed to Amboseli National park and Oilepo Amboseli, another great camp. Here the restaurant and bar over looks a watering hole so you can watch visiting elephants, Zebras, Baboons etc while eating your evening meal. After a couple of days here we were driven to Emali train station where we were dropped off and said goodbye to Willy. Here we caught the train to Mombasa. The train journey was quite long, about 5 hours, but the train was more than comfortable with good food and drink services with clean, looked after toilets.
In Mombasa we were met by a driver who took us into central Mombasa for lunch. We only stayed in Mombasa for lunch but it looked like a city worth spending more time in to explore. After lunch our driver took us to our next stop, The Baobab Beach Resort and Spa in Diani, where we spent the next few days. This resort is deservedly award winning. It's a very beautiful, well designed and maintained resort staffed by extremely helpful and friendly people. Plenty of pools, including one that was a no kids allowed pool, great spa, an amphitheatre with entertainment each evening, a good selection of restaurants and bars and straight on access to a perfect white sands for miles in each direction beach. And who can forget the entertaining monkeys roaming the grounds getting up to mischief. Most of the restaurants were all inclusive and the food quality and selection was excellent. We also dined in one of the premium restaurants which was extremely good with the chefs coming out to speak with the guests and the occasional visit in the roof area by Bush Babies!
During our stay at The Baobab Beach Resort Rachael had also organised a day trip out snorkelling in Kisite Mpunguti Marine Park where we saw dolphins and had a great time snorkelling in the reefs. The day included a Swahili lunch on Wasini Island which, after the food was presented to us with traditional song, was served by Swahili women . My only regret is that the food was kind of disappointing. But a minor point in an otherwise wonderful day.
At the end of our stay we were picked up by a driver and taken to Diani airfield where we caught an internal flight back to Nairobi where we caught our flight home.
Everything was perfectly arranged by Rachael with all trips, lunches, train and internal flight tickets all sorted. We didn't need to pay additional fees or fares; just tipping as we saw fit. And Rachael answered all questions promptly. This was an unforgettable holiday. Many thanks to Rachael and Willy.
TR
Attentive and reliable
Splendid Vacations planned and executed a week-long tour for my family. We had a rough plan in mind as an experienced traveler friend engaged Splendid and explained what we wanted to do and when. Splendid executed very well. The communications were very quick and responsive as they engaged with us through WhatsApp. Our guide and driver was always on time, and very responsive to our wishes. He had good friends among other guides and was always updated on the recent animal sightings.
FR
Perfect vacations in Kenya!
I had a wonderful experience with Splendid Vacations in my safari trip to Kenya. From the organization and planning with Alice, who was always very responsive and happy to discuss the best itinerary and hotels for us, to the trip itself with Joshua, our wonderful guide! He was always taking us to the best spots in the parks and very knowledgeable about the wildlife and life in Kenya. In our next safari trip we will definitely book with Splendid again!
US
The tour guides were personable, kind, and so engaging!
We had a wonderful experience with Splendid Vacations. Our tour group had 21 people aged 26-62! Given how large and diverse our group was, Splendid Vacations did everything they could to give all of us a wonderful experience. We did a 6-day-safari and went to Amboseli National Park (2 nights), Lake Nakuru (1 night), and Masai Mara (2 nights).
James, from the central office, worked with us to help plan the trip and was incredibly responsive, accommodating, and helpful. He answered all of our questions and made sure the trip ran smoothly. He also helped us with some last-minute adjustments and changes.
Our tour guides: Alex, Timo, Masila, and Malolo were all amazing. Our group got to know all 4 tour guides and enjoyed their company. Each of them was engaging, easy to talk to, and comfortably able to communicate with our group. They were very knowledgeable and taught us about things along the entire way. We were able to see all of the Big 5 and also got to see a cheetah eatings its hunted gazelle, a lioness feeding her cubs, an antelope giving birth, and more crazy things. All thanks to the guides.
The Jeeps were very spacious and were able to transport the baggage for all of our groups. One thing to note is that some of the travel times listed are variable and may take longer than written depending on weather, traffic, and other circumstances. Also, the rides can be bumpy so it is worth carrying a neck pillow or something to protect your joints if you are prone to neck/back pain.
Many members of our group had various dietary restrictions and practiced vegetarian diets. Splendid Vacations was helpful in accommodating that diet and all of the lodges we stayed at were super friendly as well.
I absolutely recommend booking Splendid Vacations for your next trip!!!
