Safari vehicle in Safari
Spirit of Kenya
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $300 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Trip of a Lifetime with Spirit of Kenya and Nesta
Our family of four including two teens had the trip of a lifetime with Spirit of Kenya in July 2021. We did an 8 day, 7 night safari with visits to Amboseli (2 nights), Masai Mara (2 nights), Nakuru (1 night) and Samburu (2 nights). Our experience with Spirit of Kenya from planning the trip (and having to delay a year due to COVID) to being on safari was excellent. Never having been to Kenya or Africa before and doing so during the uncertainty with COVID, we were so grateful that Spirit of Kenya made us feel comfortable and well taken care of throughout. Andre was thorough, professional and very responsive to our many questions in planning the trip. Our guide, Nesta, who was with us 6 of the 8 days, was exceptional and made our trip memorable and fantastic . We appreciated his deep knowledge of the animals and their behavior and his uncanny ability to anticipate their next moves. He worked hard to ensure we saw everything we hoped to and more. We learned a tremendous amount from Nesta including many details about Kenyan culture and customs and enjoyed his sense of humor and warm personality. A great guide is absolutely essential to having the best possible safari experience and we were so fortunate in that regard. We would also give high praise to our guide, James, in Amboseli who was kind, super friendly and likewise took great care to ensure we enjoyed our time at that park. Masai Mara was our favorite but we enjoyed all of the parks and the diversity each offered in terms of landscape, climate, animals, etc. The tent camps arranged by Spirit of Kenya were all good. Lerai in Masai Mara was the most special by far. A small, stunning property with few guests, excellent service and food, and beautifully appointed tent cabins. Ashnil in Samburu was our second favorite; we were so lucky to see an elephant buffet right outside our tents one night. Kibo Safari Camp was very nice with great views of Kilimanjaro (one morning) and had excellent staff who could not have been more warm and friendly. The only critique would be that it was a bit large for our taste and as a result had some larger groups as guests who were loud and somewhat rude. Flamingo Hill in Nakuru was our least favorite; the service was fine, same for food but the tent cabins felt a little shabby and there was nothing really unique about it like the other camps we stayed at. Overall, we would highly recommend Spirit of Kenya and would do another trip with them (and Nesta) in a heartbeat.
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Email Margaret | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy, restful, and memorable trip!
We absolutely loved our experience with Spirit of Kenya. Vanessa helped us plan our trip, and I cannot say enough about the flexibility of this company during the pandemic, how quickly Vanessa responded to questions, and the overall ease of planning. Our favorite hotel stays were The Cliff and Amani Mara. I recommend staying in the top tier hotels-just amazing service. Our driver was George. We enjoyed getting to know him-he seems to know everyone throughout all of the parks. He's been a guide for 15 years and is such a great resource. We would definitely have him as a driver in the future. Overall this was a much needed respite from the stress of the past year.
DE
Email Christian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very proffesional and what you pay for is what you get.
The moment I made contact with Tiago from Spirit of Kenya there was a sence of good vibes. He always answered the emails I wrote him in the same day. He understood evry question and never gave me the impression that he was feed up with me. (I asked a lot of questions)
Everything he told me was true and he made us a very special trip that we customized ourselfs.
As soon as we were on the ground our guide took over. Hes name was Franco Sego. The best guide and driver ever. He loved doing hes job and thanks to him we saw the Big 5 and much more. Franco made our trip super special.
I truly belive that thanks to the team effort of Tiago and Franco our trip was 50 % better.
I can only recommend going on safari with Spirit of Kenya.
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Email Krystle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari Experience
This was the trip of a lifetime and it owe it to this company. I did a solo trip- 7 day safari in Kenya. I did my first day touring the city of Nairobi with Moses. We went to the Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Sanctuary.Then off to my safari with Joseph which entailed a couple days in Samburu, A day in Lake Nakuru, a day in Sweetwater seeing the park and chimpanzee rescue center, , and then onto the Masai Mara for a couple days. All accommodations were 3 star of higher and I liked each place I stayed at. The food was great at each lodge/camp as well. Safari van was perfect for viewing and always keep clean each day for perfect viewing and Joseph made sure I saw every single animal I wanted to see and knew exactly how to make that happen. He was always prompt each morning when we would meet before we headed out on safari for the day. He was very knowledgeable about all the animals and polite the entire trip. If I return for a safari ever in Kenya then I would definitely request him to be my safari guide again. The road trip between each park was about a 5 hr drive each time and I actually liked that because it gave me an opportunity to really see the country of Kenya and how all the different villages live. If I had questions along the way about the different tribes Joseph had an answer and I liked that too. Covid testing before my departure was super easy as well at the last lodge I stayed at for my stay the covid testing company had someone come to my lodge to take my sample and within 1 day had my test results emailed to me and the lodge printed it out for me so I could have it for my flight departure.
I loved seeing the Big 5 and the entire experience of the safari but I have to say the part of my trip that has stuck with me and really made it a life changing trip was my visit to the JudiMo Education Center in one of the slums in Nairobi to visit the children of the school. It was my last day on the trip before I got dropped off at the airport. My flight didn’t leave until midnight that night so in the morning Joseph and I left the Mara park early, did a little bit of looking for animals on our way out of the park then drove to the school for the afternoon to see the children. Moses set this all up for me and I’m so grateful he was able to do it for me. Joseph helped me buy a bunch of food for the 120 kids we were visiting and I got to spend 3 hrs with them before Joseph dropped me off at the airport.
I would highly recommend Spirit Of Kenya to anyone looking to go on safari. From day one when I inquired Vanessa was super helpful in answering all my questions and setting my itinerary up. Great customer service on her part, from Moses, and from Joseph. Thank you, Spirit of Kenya for the trip of a lifetime!
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Email Patrick | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spirit of Kenya made our Dream Honeymoon a Reality!!
My wife and I chose to go with Spirit of Kenya for our honeymoon adventure (based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback here in the reviews) and we could not be any happier! We don't have a single complaint and the entire trip was an outrageous success!
Our safari was 7 days. We started in Amboseli. Then, we went Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru, each for a night. Lastly, we went to Masai Mara. Vanessa was our fantastic planner. She was very responsive and extremely patient in answering my many questions. She even helped me with a special request in which I shipped some rice to their office so once I arrived I could fill my special camera bean bag.
Our trip was based off a pre-planned itinerary on the website but we added a night at lake Naivasha. The trip itineraries are fully customizable and I would urge anyone traveling to take advantage of this. In hindsight, I would have added more time to the Mara. There's so much to see and it is so vast that I don't think you could ever have too much time there. Keep the location of your camps in mind too at the Mara. Especially if you want to see the migration, choosing something near the Mara River allows you to get there earlier in the morning and maximizes your chances of seeing a river crossing. It might even be wise to ask to run your itinerary by your driver for this reason. They know the lay of the land better than anyone.
Our driver was Joseph. I can't say enough good things about him. He was a true professional with over 20 years of experience. He shared so many fantastic stories with us about the safari life and taught us so much interesting things about Kenya and it's people. Joseph understands your goals and makes it his mission to ensure you leave happy. He understood our top goals (photography/wildlife) and made improvements to our itinerary on-the-fly to maximize our time on game drives such as doing picnic lunches in the bush rather than going back and forth to our distant camps.
We drove in the van rather than pay extra for the Landcruiser. In the dry season, this did not make a difference at all. Joseph was able to drive everywhere the Landcruisers could go. Other companies will lie to you about this but Joseph and Vanessa were honest on this issue and saved us money. We were even hit by a major storm one evening in the Mara which instantly changed the trail conditions to very dangerous and muddy. It was impressive watching Joseph skillfully handle these slick and unstable conditions in the van to carefully get us back to camp safely.
Joseph found us every animal we wanted to see (even the leopard... if only for a couple seconds) and let us take the safari at our pace. Staying patient with animals we were most interested in and moving along past others when needed. He is amazing and gladly handled any request. There's a lot of driving on safari so this was such a relief to have a driver that we enjoyed so much and I can honestly say Joseph has also become a friend as well.
We couldn't be any more pleased with how everything turned out. When traveling on safari, you're really putting your safety completely into the hands of these companies and after such success with Spirit of Kenya, I'll never risk going with anyone else again for a return trip and I've already strongly recommended them to all friends and family who show an interest in one day going to Kenya.
CH
Email Selina and Carlos | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best field guide at the best Safari Tour Operator: James A. and Vanessa N. from Spirit of Kenya
We booked with Spirit of Kenya for a plan of 9 safaris and 10 nights.
We have no words to tanks Vanessa (Personal Journey Designer) for her highly appreciated kind attention to our many questions. She really help us to organize the perfect itinerary, and we really enjoy our days in Kenya in the hands of the best guide ever.
Our guide was James Arama (which we recommend to all serious wildlife lovers), and we cannot be more satisfied with his guidance, support and flexibility. James is an expert of the Kenyan fauna who only need to know your priorities in order to spot all the species you want to see. Thanks to him we got more than 150 species of birds, 10 species of Butterflies, 6 species of reptiles, all big cats including the normal Serval and the rare black Serval, both species of Rhinos, the two Giraffes and of course the famous Big Five that are easy to see during a tour like ours.
This is without mentioning all the many mammals inhabiting the reserves and parks.
I was particularly interested to see the 14 Eagles of Kenya, and leave the country with 13 species and 12 of them abundantly photographed.
In total, we took around 100 videos and 60'000 good pictures thanks to James.
Really, the real star of our tour with Spirit of Kenya was our guide and without him, we will not be able to make it as great as it was!!!
Thanks Vanessa and thank you James for this unique experience.
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Email Kelsey | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spirit of Kenya cannot be beat, and this will be the trip of your lifetime!
First, I’d like to give a big “thank you” to Tiago for planning such a wonderful safari for myself and two friends. He was truly the best coordinator I’ve ever worked with. He was very thorough and provided very quick responses. We wanted to do something slightly different than one of the pre-arranged safaris, and Tiago put together a great itinerary based on where we were starting (Mombasa) and ending (Watamu). Originally it was just myself and one other friend going on the safari, but we had another friend decide to join after we started building out the itinerary and details. Tiago added her without issue.
Some of the main reasons we choose Spirit of Kenya: excellent communication, ability to tailor the safari if there is something in particular you want to do (instead of a pre-set agenda), and several choices for lodging (you could do all budget or all luxury or mix and match like we did).
We went to Tsavo West, Amboseli, and Tsavo East. We saw so much!!! Hippos, lions, zebras, elephants, giraffes, etc. Samuel was our guide, and I really don’t think there is a better guide out there. Samuel has been doing this for over 30 years. He is extremely knowledgeable, very friendly, and one of the sweetest and kindest humans I’ve ever met.
I would like to go to South Africa someday, and I’m happy that Spirit of Kenya has operations in South Africa (and other countries) because I will 100% use them again.
RO
Email Bogdan, Codruta and Dan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jambo Jambo our friends of Kenya !!!
For an European, the dream to travel in Africa begins in the childhood, just after you learn how to read ! Jules Verne, Rudyard Kipling and other storywriters stay with us every evening before the sleep coming.
But we are growing up and the everyday routine put in a shadow the soul desires. But the dreams never die !!!
Finally, after so many years and so many trips around the world, we arrived to the roots of our modern life. The places where walked the first human being and the places described in very first books with our personal education begun: Africa !!!
As a greenhorn, it was difficult to choose between diferent countries and different places to visit. And, of course, the perpetual question: is it safe to travel there?
Fortunately for us, our romanian tourist agency named Atlantic, discovered on the Internet “Spirit of Kenya” and recommended us like a trusted company. After that, we begun to change messages with Tiago, a member of the team and his promptness and his personal involvement help us to gained the faith that we will be in good hands !!!
The trip to going there was not easy ! We arrived to Nairobi. From the first smile of the driver from the team “Spirit of Kenya” that took us to the hotel our fears went away and we begun to discover how friendly people can be and what an amazing country it is Kenya !!!
Everything was different from what we saw before: the plants, the trees, the animals ! Even the design of the Hilton Nairobi hotel was different from other Hiltons with a lot of traditional objects that reminded us of the first discovering trips in Africa.
Second day begun the Safari, with John, our guide who accompanied us all the days in our discovery of Masai Mara. He - sharp punctual, we - lazy tourists! Half of this beautiness of this trip was from the nature, but another half was because of John!! Our relationship begun as a profesional job and finished as a very good relationdship !!!
Ibsen said that a picture is worth thousands words, but John knowledge was worth more than thousands photos and a milion words together!! He knows everything about everything !! His speeches are always trusted. When there is something that he is not sure, he reads a book. He was patient with us (I know how annoying could be to stop the car every time when somebody wants to take a picture!) He helped us to discover not just the Mara beasts, but also to understand the ordinary life of Kenyans, very friendly people with a lot of joy despite sometimes hard conditions of living !!!
For our 11-year old son Bogdan, this trip was amazing, not only because of the geographical perspective, but also because of the interaction with warm people, extraordinary well prepared in everything they do !!!
Grace of the team of “ Spirit of Kenya” we left Kenya with just one wish: coming back soon !!!
There are a lot of things to see and to do here !! We want to visit the lakes with flamingos, we want to climb mount Kenya, we want to visit the seaside. And we want to see John , our guide of “Spirit of Kenya” again !!
We want to admire again how the wild animals coexist with the human peoples in a perfect symbiosis !!!
Africa is a fascinating continent, and Kenya an extraordinary country!!!
A big big thank you for all the help of “Spirit of Kenya” team !!!
Bogda, Codruta and Dan Iliescu from Romania
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Email Judy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding!
This is the website where I actually found Spirit of Kenya. I read all the reviews and am so glad I reached out. Vanessa and George arranged my trip and I would use them again. I spent 3 nights at Basecamp Explorer which is great for a person who does not like to camp. It was beautiful, clean and safe and the staff were so kind. My guide, Kennedy, became like a brother to me. He was so open and warm and very, very knowledgeable about all the animals. I was sad to leave him. I then went to Diani Beach and spent 4 nights at Waterlovers Resort which was paradise and would go back in a second. I loved that Spirit of Kenya tailored my trip to me and made suggestions when asked. They planned my dream trip exactly how I wanted.
AT
Email Teodora O. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you Spirit of Kenya - the best safari tour operator - for organizing our dream vacation!
From day 1 of the planning process, Tiago - our Personal Journey Designer - Spirit of Kenya was there to answer all our queries, customize our trip based on our preferences and make any adjustments required along the way. It was a real pleasure planning this trip with him and the result is exactly what we were after!
We had the same awesome experience with our driver John, who made our trip so enjoyable!
John, was very professional, courteous and prompt. He was a wealth of knowledge and enhanced our trip with information about Kenya, the reserves and the many different animals that we had seen.
The accommodation was comfortable and safe in all the three locations (Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara). Food was very good everywhere we went.
Thanks a lot Spirit of Kenya for making our vacation memorable. We will strongly recommend your services further!
