Classic Journeys Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $280 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SG
Email Jun | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience with Classic Journeys Africa
Overall, the entire tour was well planned for and all the accommodation were better than we had expected. We would consider Classic Journeys Africa again, if there is another opportunity to go back to Africa.
We had Dickson as our guide and would like to personally thank him for his good service. He is flexible and is thoughtful towards his guests, he gave us thorough explanations and great insights to not just the safari and the animals, but also to the local culture and practices. He kept the car clean and make an effort to make the ride as comfortable as possible for us.
PT
Email Duarte Cruz | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6-Day Classic Best of Kenya 2019
This was an amazing experience, truly satisfying for anyone who enjoys wildlife. This was really a 4-day safari, since day one was spent nearby Nairobi and day six was the return to Nairobi. Ideally, this should have been a +1 day safari to spend one additional day at Lake Nakuru, since each day of travelling takes half day drive. To sumarize, this first day of safari was a 6-hour drive from Nairobi to Amboseli National Park )100% Savannah), where we stayed at Amboseli Sopa Lodge. The second day was a 8-hour drive from Amboseli to Lake Nakuru (100% Jungle), where we stayed at Flamingo Hill. The third day was a 6-hour drive to Masai Mara (75/25 Savannah/Jungle) where we stayed at Loyk Mara Camp.
Overall we were lucky enough to see the big five in two afternoons, which was fortunate, to say the least. Our guide (Sami) was 5 stars and had full knowledge of all paths and wildlife.
The only complain we had was twofold: 1) as we were being dropped at our hotel in the last day, our guide asked us 15 USD for gas, which was odd, since we had paid for everything but the tips; 2) we were briefed about the tips, including the tip to the guide, which we were told that should be between 5 and 10 USD per day; being very satisfied with our experience, we thought 70 USD would be an adequate tip, but the guide demanded a 100 USD tip, stating that was the amount referred by the company. We ended up paying the 100 USD, since we were very pleased with the performance of our guide and did not wanted to offend him. Nevertheless, we thought that we were not given adequate information on how exactly guide tips work.
Overall, the experience was amazing and the only thing I would recommend other people to do for this exact route is to extend the trip for one extra day and spend 2 days at Lake Nakuru, since a 3-hour afternoon is short for the potential of such an amazing jungle.
Definitely do it!
BR
Email Fernanda Beltrao Chammas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The experience of knowing the parks of Kenya has been wonderful and will be forever in our memory.
Fantastic experience. Fascinating places. Amazing lodgings.
Everything that was hired was fulfilled.
Information about the trip was made available by the company and all doubts were clarified in advance.
The script was unclear about the distances between the parks that were longer than expected. The safari at Lake Nakuru Park lasted only 1 hour, as we spent more than 2 hours on a traffic jam while passing through Nairobi.
The car (mini-van) served the other parks well but was not suitable for the Masai Mara, we had trouble getting to and from the park and the safari was a bit limited.
The drivers (Good Luck and others) who made our transfer from Arusha to Namanga were extremely polite and attentive.
Very different from the guide (Felix) who assisted us during the safaris, who was not attentive or pleasant. This was not clear about the scripts (it did not tell everything, changed in the way), in the pic-nick did not give us the cutlery we had available and did not extend the towel, like the other Classic guide that was in the car next door.
BR
Email Ana maria | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience, we were able to see many animals, all the big five except for rhinos.
The tour was excellent, the guides were very helpful and told us s lot about the animals, their behavior, the geography, trees and all.
BR
Email Ana Maria Bianchi | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a great experience, we saw lots of animals, hotels were excellent, guides and personnel frien
The only negative aspect was the trip back to Brazil. Our plane in Zanzibar was two ours late and we almost missed our connection to Johannesburg. Besides that, everything was awesome.
NO
Email Anne and Marlene | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing and highly recommended!
My mother and I went for a girls trip to Masai Mara National Park. We stayed at Loyk Mara Luxury Camp for 5 days and 4 nights. Overall it was the most amazing experience we’ve ever had! Our Tour guide, Charles Lepatoiye, was exceptional! He worked so hard for us to have the best experience possible! First of all he was a great navigator and driver, he made even the bumpy roads feel pleasant. Secondarily he was great at spotting and animal tracking. We saw the big five and so many more animals! Furthermore he had so much knowledge about different species, Masai culture and much much more! He spoke fluent English, Swahili as well as Maa (Masai language). He had a great sense of humor and told us many interesting stories and made such an effort in order for us to have a comfortable travel! We are overwhelmed by his efforts and feel like we’ve gotten a new friend! We will be coming back and when we do there’s only one guide we would want, Charles!
Email Graham | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well planned and executed safari with great accomodation and a guide who worked tirelessly.
Family of four with older children. Our first safari experience lived up to expectations. Kenya was amazing as was viewing so many animals from the safety and comfort of a well specified land-cruiser. Highlight was the numerous animal encounters in their fantastic habitat. Our driver and guide, Dixon, worked tirelessly - sometimes driving for 8 hours a day. We always felt safe, even when being 'encouarged' to back-up by agressive elephants!
Our only negatives were self-inflicted; we sometimes travelled for 6 hours a day, before spending two hours on safari and then heading off to a new location the next morning. Bear in mind the distances between various locations and that the travel times will be long and road and traffic quality poor in many places - we had one 70km treck down an unmade road which was a real bone-shaker and very tiresome. Also of note was traffic in Nairobi is a *nightmare* and the location of our first hotel meant our first day had an extra 2 hour's drive time as we stayed on the wrong side of the city and needed to negoiate the rush-hour traffic just to get back to the airport we landed at... One of our stays did not have the promised swimmingpool which was missed and had on-going building work which ditracted a bit from the ambience. We'd definately happily use Classic Journeys again as the trip was organised and executed well.
US
Email Robert Hoffman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very knowledgeable and friendly.perfect
Perfect experience and time i have ever had just.Very thing just went well.
BN
Email Todd McPherson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great customised trip with a guide/driver and land cruiser with just ourselves for the duration.
The communication with the company was excellent. They worked hard to understand the kind of trip we wanted and made good recommendations on where to go and where to stay.
We were met my our guide in Nairobi and we had this guide and the truck to ourselves the entire seven days. The land cruiser was beautifully outfitted with a fridge to keep drinks cool, a power supply so we could charge phones and cameras, and even WiFi.
We visited Amboseli Park and loved it, but Ol Tukai Lodge felt a bit like a tourist mill. It was larger and busier than we expected. But the location was great and we had no complaints about it. We had driven from Nairobi to Amboseli, then drove to Lake Naivasha, going through Nairobi again. So, we had a few long days of driving along the busy highways of Kenya with less than careful drivers in other vehicles. In hindsight, we would have preferred to organise the trip so there was less driving, maybe even flying between parks.
The Lake Elementaita Serena Camp was outstanding and highly recommended. The food and accommodation were above and beyond expectations. On the way there we stopped at Lake Naivasha. That was a bit of a disappointment since we spent some time walking around a small private piece of land with a number of animals on it. It was not the experience we expected, but it was nice to boat along the lake seeing the wildlife.
Lake Nakuru Park was excellent. The drive to Maasai Mara was again long (very long) but it was interesting to see the country. Mara Bush Camp was outstanding. The personal attention and level of service was exceptional. The luxurious tent was amazing, especially as it sat just above the river overlooking dozens of hippos.
We recommend Classic Journeys. They did a great job. Be sure to state the kind of accommodation you're seeking, and they'll point you in the right direction if you're clear enough. Check about driving time between parks and try to minimise that.
Thanks for a great trip.
RU
Email Artem Efimov | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience! Friendly and intelligent guide Sami, smart-managed tour.
Me and 3 friends of mine (male) were on Safari with classic journeys in Kenya in February 2019. We took a van for only 4 of us and it was very comfortable - a lot of space. In the whole this tour was perfect in price/quality - 8 nights, 9 days, apper-medium and premium accommodation, Masai-Mara, Nakuru, Naivasha, Amboselli - enough to see everything and not to much to get tired. As a bonus - original hats and dinner in Carnivore restaurant in the end of the journey. Everything to feel Kenya.
We expected akuna-matata in service but fortunately the Safari-company was very responsible and well-managed - everything was in time, accommodation - comfortable, all our wishes came true throughout the trip.
Special words for our guide Sami - professional biologist, intelligent and friendly man, great driver. And also optimistic Patriot of Kenya - we respected him for that. He did everything he could to make us satisfied.
Recommended!
