Reviews

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Naheed   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: August 2017 Reviewed: Nov 4, 2017

Email Naheed  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Naheed and not that of SafariBookings.
Disappointing....waste of money... major let down!!!
1/5

Having come close to the end of my tour in East africa, and having had an amazing time, i couldn't leave without visiting the masai mara. So I enquired about the 1 night 2 day tour with safari line defenders, Rose was helpful at that time and gave me lots of details about the tour regarding timings and what I should expect. Pleased with the information I had received I booked the tour...only to find out everything she had told me was a lie. She had basically falsified the details just to make a sale. She claimed the game drive would be 12hours over the 2 days, which I thought was a bit of a stretch for 2 days but it's her job she knows best, right?. No,  We drove for a maximum of 3 over the 2 days, so much time was wasted waiting around. We arrived at the campsite on the 1st day at 3pm ( although Rose said we'd be there for 1pm) and we waited around wasting time for the driver to take us on the drive at 4.30pm. Inside the masai mara,  the driver didn't make an effort to point out any animals or provide information about any of them. After 2hours of driving we returned to the camp...disappointed is an understatement of what I was feeling at this point, but I had the following day to look forward to. Come the second day we were ready to leave as requested at 6.30am. We made our way to the mara, drove around the same area again with not much of interest. The driver had told me the night before I would have to change groups, as the group I was with was not return today so I had to join a different group to return back. So he rang another driver to find out if I could get into their vehicle... in the middle of the masai mara I had to get out of my vehicle an into another. So the tour/ nightmare  continued so we drove around spotting some lions n cheeters on the way. At 8am the driver said we will now drive back. I was shocked I had paid a grate deal of money for this?? So we returned. The driver was to drop each of the group members back to our hotels, I said I wanted to go to the office as I wasn't happy with the tour. He decided to make a phone call to let the office know. Personally I think it was to forewarn Rose about how i felt. On arrival at the office, surprise surprise Rose was nowhere to been seen. The guy at the office said it was Rose's sale so he couldn't do anything and said Rose would call me that evening ( I was flying out of Kenya 5am the following morning). The evening came and went and I received no form of communication from Rose. I wasn't going to miss my flight so I packed my bags and returned to the UK. Rose did message and her resolution was to offer me a free tour the next time I came, I wouldn't be returning to Kenya any time soon to a couldn't take the offer, I told her. I requested a refund, but she refused and said I had to email the director of the company about my complaint, which I did. Did I get a response? No, no surprise there.
All in all a very disappointing experience and waste of money. I wouldn't recommend this tour company to anyone. If you want to experience a real game drive don't use this company.

Reply from Safari Line Defender
Reply from Safari Line Defender
Posted on Feb 28, 2020

We are sorry for the misunderstanding. you booked 2Days 1night joined safari.. As usual, The safari starts at 8:30AM. and get to the Masai mara at from 3pm. depending on the the road and weather. If you arrive late in the Masai Mara then there will be no time to drive to the Mara river which is quite a distance and that is schedule for the following day and evening game drive is done. According to the national park rules, The check out time is 9am otherwise you will have to pay the park fee for another day.

When joining a group,not everybody is doing the same days. so interchanging car is normal. and this is made clear before the safari starts.

The driver explained to you that going to The Mara river would not be possible due to the time limit. An overnight safaris is quiet limiting. Sometimes understanding is the key to happiness....

Akshay   –  
India IN
Visited: October 2017 Reviewed: Oct 30, 2017

Email Akshay  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excellent service; complete value for the price charged
5/5

Rose and David were exceptionally good ; we have no complaints. The tour is excellent for budget travelers; hotels are good for the price offered. David is excellent at spotting animals and tells a lot of details about each of them. Recommend them for everyone who wishes to explore masai mara without a huge dent in their wallets.

Jimmii Shin   –  
South Korea KR
Visited: September 2017 Reviewed: Oct 21, 2017

Email Jimmii Shin  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Such a lovely 7 days
5/5

I wanted to see Masai Mara, Hell's Gate, and Amboseli and I found this item. I actually contacted several other agencies but SafariLine Defender was most kind, so I decided to go with this.
Every day was so wonderful, each day had its own surprises, crews were nice, and group members were young and cheerful. (I am young and I was expecting people of my age) At the end at Amboseli, I almost disappointed, of course, you have already seen all the animals and nature on your previous 5 days, but on my last day sky was clear enough to see Mountain Kilimanjaro very clearly so I was satisfied.
Everything is as described, well.. wonderful driver/guide was not on description. Our guide 'Papa' made our trip even more great.
Hotels in Nakuru and Naivasha are really nice, although in Masai Mara and Amboseli it's difficult, of course it is budget range and it's campsite. If you are not up for tent accommodation, I think you can always ask for upgrade.
I definitely recommend SafariLine Defender. Thank you Rose!

Diptiman Sengupta   –  
India IN
Visited: September 2017 Reviewed: Oct 5, 2017

Email Diptiman Sengupta  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

An amazing Masai Wonders with Safari Line Defenders
5/5

I am a Travel Consultant from India by profession and an avid Amateur Wild Life Photographer. I was long looking for a good Service Provider for a business relationship to promote tourism in Kenya and had been in line with plenty of operators. Finally came across Safari Line Defenders and though before starting a business relationship, I should personally have an understanding of the quality of service. Thus, booked a 6N 7D Trip covering Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Naivasha, Hell's Gate & Amboselli trip with them. I would if not 100% would surely rate them 99% for their prompt service delivery and quality. I would recommend all to try them out for your Wild Life trip to Kenya for sure.

Jordi Cardenas   –  
Spain ES
Visited: August 2017 Reviewed: Aug 15, 2017

Email Jordi Cardenas  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Everythings it was fine.
4/5

Your adress in internet is not correct and i was stay in Nairobi looking for your office by taxi but we can not found in this adrees. The rest of our trip is was very well.


Best regards

Piotr   –  
Poland PL
Visited: July 2017 Reviewed: Aug 3, 2017

Email Piotr

Nice for backpackers!
4/5

Nice safari considering short time sacrificed for it. Guide was really experienced! I can recommend it for backpackers :)

Jacques   –  
Kenya KE
Visited: July 2017 Reviewed: Jul 24, 2017

Email Jacques

A great experience
4/5

Very good driver and guide, unique views of wild animals, interesting meeting with Masai people, good food and normal tent camp.

Fahad   –  
United Arab Emirates AE
Visited: April 2017 Reviewed: Apr 26, 2017

Email Fahad  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

2 days Masai Mara - road trip & safari experience
4/5

Initially while booking this trip i had requested for some changes in the itinerary as some of our friends were flying back early & it was planned accordingly with a reasonable price USD 200 per person (group of 5). Rose came to pick us up at the airport shows her dedication towards clients. Next day early morning we were off to Masai Mara in a VAN which was a bit old & you can hear the loud sound of shaky windows specially when the journey reaches the bumpy part, however it wasn't too bad if your not traveling with kids because you get to see nice views and animals even before reaching national reserve (6 hours journey). By mid day afternoon we reached our camp miti mingi eco camp, we were warmly welcomed by camp staff & get to choose the tents as we wanted. Lunch at the camp was a bit disappointing, no choices specially for those that doesn't eat red meat although the chef PAPA made it up for Dinner & next day breakfast. Its advisable to request the food preferences in advance. The best & most amazing part was the national reserve game drive, our driver James was the best loads of experience & all the requests were fulfilled as we saw almost everything with close encounters. We were very lucky that day :)

Overall good experience, dedication to improve the experience. It can be better the with few fixes.
I will definitely refer safari line defender to my friends.

Anouk   –  
Switzerland CH
Visited: March 2017 Reviewed: Apr 25, 2017

Email Anouk

The review below is the personal opinion of Anouk and not that of SafariBookings.
The experience was good but could be more knowledgeable
3/5

Going to the Masai Mara at the end of March was a great idea, the landscape is green, beautiful and few tourists are there.
The tour I booked with Safari Line was worth the price. Food was good, the place where we sleep was okay, otherwise I thought the guide could have told us more about the wildlife and also stop a bit more on the way to see other animals than the big five. This probably depends also on the group you are with.
In general, I think we should be careful not going too close to the wildlife so that we do not disturb them, but it was clearly not the case in Masai Mara, that's also why tourists are happy at the end of the day...

Petter   –  
Sweden SE
Visited: March 2017 Reviewed: Mar 6, 2017

Email Petter  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

A nicely arranged trip where everything worked as expected.
5/5

I think it will be difficult to find an equally well-arranged safari for a lower price. For 300 USD (or 30.000 KSh, in our case), we got transport, accommodation, meals, and three days of guided safari (evening + full day + morning). The arrangements are not luxurious, but absolutely fine. Simple beds, Kenyan foods and bumpy roads are just perfect to me.

While some people in our group (who had booked through another company) were annoyed that their itinerary did not correspond with what they actually got, everything in ours was spot-on. They even managed to handle our weird food preferences with only a little confusion (vegan, gluten-free). Rose at the Safariline Defenders is very accommodating and helped answering all our questions before the trip.

When it comes to the safari, a lot depends on luck, but the guides communicate via radio and will make a good effort to show you what there is for the day. We saw lions, elephants, buffalos, hippos and giraffes up close, plus all the beautiful gazelles and other stuff. We were also lucky to have very nice company in our car!

Average User Rating
4.8/5
Rating Breakdown
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  • 3 star 2
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 2
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