CKC Guide on Safari
CKC Tours & Travel
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2001)
- Member Of:
- ASTA & KATO
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $280 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
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Email Trish & Bill | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nairobi, Amboseli, and Masai Mara
We needed help setting up a week in Kenya and John with CKC tours delivered. We wanted to attend a family wedding in Nairobi and then see the beautiful parks in Kenya without breaking the bank and we couldn't have been happier with the service and accommodations that John set up for us. We arranged our own air travel to Nairobi and John was there with Julius to pick us up. We stayed at the Nairobi Serena Hotel while in Nairobi and really enjoyed the hotel and found the staff and the restaurants quite good. Julius, our guide and driver while in Nairobi was excellent and had a wonderful knowledge of the city. Because our time was limited, John arranged for us to fly on Air Kenya to both of our lodge experiences. Our first flight was to Amboseli where we stayed at the Serena Lodge. The accommodations were lovely, the park was truly amazing and the the food was very good. We were well cared for the entire time. After 2 nights there we flew back to Nairobi and then on to the Masai Mara. We really loved the Masai Mara! The views were spectacular and the wildlife was amazing. The lodge was top notch! (But be careful around the baboons!) John was so easy to work with! With his help we were able to have such a wonderful and memorable trip. I can't recommend his services enough!
Email Karyn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic trip and very well organised with great guides
It was our first trip to Africa and after doing some research we chose CKC Tours. All our queries were responded to promptly and any changes we made were done without any trouble. We spent 10 days in Tanzania and Kenya.
John met us at our hotel in Nairobi and reviewed our safari, then introduced us to Vincent, our guide. The whole trip went without a hitch and Vincent and our guide in Tanzania were very capable and extremely informative about the wildlife. We were also transferred across the border by other people who were also very efficient getting us through customs and to and from the necessary airports.
All the hotels and lodges were of a very high standard.
We have no complaints and would highly recommend this company.
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Email Lisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Honeymoon
We did a safari through the national parks in Tanzania and ended the trip with some beach time in Zanzibar. It was the perfect experience. Our guide was knowledgeable, dependable, and so much fun. Thanks for everything!
BE
Email Daniel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent personalized safari
This was our first safari and it felt slightly strange to plan everything with an operator that did not have a website or online reviews. Everything worked out perfectly. We were picked up at the airport, everything along the way worked like a well-oiled machine. We had customized a route that was slightly unusual with Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Amboseli. The different crews were all very nice. Food was always good and accommodation really quite ok.
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Email Dave | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
"a wonderful East Africa safari experience"
We had a fantastic 10-day safari to Kenya and Tanzania in July 2016 through CKC Tours and Travel. Our trip planning began with weeks of searching the Internet for the best places to go in East Africa and the right company to work with. After a month or so we were able to narrow the search down to three companies. We made a request to three companies for a quote. We were most impressed with CKC’s prompt and very informative response, as well as their very competitive price. As this was our first trip to Africa, we had several questions regarding such things as how long (miles and time) would the vehicle drives be between parks we wanted to visit. We’d heard from friends that many roads between parks were unpaved and 4-6 hour driving time between them was not uncommon. After a few back and forth e-mails, John M. (CKC’s managing director) was able to modify the initial proposal to better accommodate our desired maximum daily travel time by dropping out one of the more outlier parks (Samburu) and adding a flight between two of our “must see” parks (Masai Mara and Serengeti). John’s knowledge of the region, ability to customize the proposal to best fit our interests and clarity in communication were key factors in deciding on CKC. Going with a local tour company was also important to us. Our private safari had guides very knowledgeable about the parks, their wildlife and local peoples and customs. Vincent was our driver/guide in Kenya (Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara and Amboseli) and Abdul and George in Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara). All three had over 15 years of experience, had good communication skills and seemed to be well respected by other guides - the latter being important in receiving up-to-date sightings on special wildlife happenings. We had many, many highlights on the trip, but seeing hundreds of wildebeest crossing of the croc infested Mara River was perhaps most memorable. In summary, we would recommend booking with CKC to our family and friends.
TH
Email Sheena | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mesmerising experience in Kenya
We took a 4 nights 5 days Kenya Private Tour Holiday with CKC TOUR in January 1, 2016.
CKC Tour was very responsive and quick since the beginning when we were trying to book the tour online. When we arrived to Kenya, John came to greet us at the Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport and introduced us to our tour guide/driver and the vehicle that will be with us in the next 5 days. They drove us to the Serena Hotel and John assisted us to check-in and everything went smoothly.
The next day John came back to send us off of Nairobi. He explained about the tour and revised our prearranged schedule again before we left Nairobi to Lake Nakuru with our tour guide, Simon.
We had an amazing time driving through the Eastern Rift Valley, and stayed overnight at the amazing lodge in Lake Nakuru Sopa. The drive to Masai Mara is a bit of a bummer as the road is all pebble and rough. However, our tour guide/driver did a fantastic job in making it fun all the way to the game reserve. The experience in Masai Mara, the safari and the hot-air balloon is worthwhile the effort to wake up very early and be WiFiless.
We had a mesmerising experience with the tour because of, first of all, Simon, who knows what he is doing. He is full of knowledge in any area about his country; history, geography, wildlife habitat, politic and so on. He is very responsible and virtuous. He is also a great driver. Secondly, because of John, who took a very well care of us from on-line correspondence, managing problems, to the arrival and the departure, it was a smooth tour ever. John is very friendly and accountable and I have no hesitate in recommending this tour operator, John and Simon as one of the best team in Kenya.
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Email Xuan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized safari trip!
We had a great experience from August 7th-17th on the 10-day safari in Kenya & Tanzania , which was organized by CKC. John was a great help in getting everything organized and was very responsive to our special requests. Our guides in Kenya , Sami & Kennedy , were really friendly and always seemed to find the animals before any of the other drivers. And our guide in Tanzania, who is also name John, was very responsable too, We enjoyed the experience immensely. Thank you!
IL
Email Asaf | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a great orgenized Safari with very good guides
Our Safari included 6 days in Kenya and Tanzania. John is very helpfull and quick to answer.
We had two Safari guides (Kenya and Tanzania) both were very experienced and knowlagable,
with well spoken english.
We chose to stay in tented lodges selected by CTC-John, just outside the reservations. It didn't matter at all, because once you in the car, animals are all around and the fun begins. and the lodeges were good and clean.
Email Ben | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really Well Organised Tour
We are really pleased we chose CKC Tours for our first experience in Africa. John met us at the airport and was happy to arrange transfers for our departure once our 8 day safari had concluded. Our safari included 2 night visits to Amboseli, Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater National Parks. We stayed at Serena Lodges throughout the trip and the experiences at each venue were really unique.
We managed to see the Big Five as well as many other animals. Our guide, Joshua from Serena Masai Mara went above and beyond to ensure we saw lions and cheetahs up close, which was amazing considering we traveled during the ‘low season’.
We would recommend CKC Tours, as the whole safari experience was made an easy and enjoyable one thanks to the professional and friendly service of John and his team. Even when an airline company cancelled an internal flight, John was available to do the rerouting.
Email Paddy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
CKC Tours – Safari to Amboseli and Masai Mara
This was out first safari and we were delighted to have chosen CKC Tours to organise it for us. We wanted to fly to avoid long tiring road transfers, and stay in quality but sensibly priced hotels and the package put together satisfied our requirements at a cost significantly less than some international luxury operators.
John met us personally at the airport and was very friendly, thorough and professional. Our private transfer to the Serena Nairobi was an opportunity to find out a little more. He gave us our detailed arrangements the following morning with flight and hotel vouchers and advice regarding the trip. He safely stored out excess luggage for our onward trip to Zanzibar as the strict 15kg weight limit applies for the light aircraft transfers and met us again at Wilson airport at the end of our trip.
The flights to Amboseli and later Masai Mara were an enjoyable experience with some fantastic views, but the small aircraft may not suit some. We saw herds of animals around the swamp in Amboseli and tracks of animals heading toward the Mara River from the windows.
The hotels were perfect, relaxing with good but not gourmet food and lovely views. The views from the Masai Mara Serena Game Lodge are amazing- you don’t need to go on safari, just look out the window as the animals pass having crossed the river.
We enjoyed the BBQ bush dinner at Amboseli and the breakfast with the hippos on the Mara River – would highly recommend both.
The game drives were fantastic, we were in 4*4 pop up vehicles. In Serena were had 3 of 4 game drives with no other passengers and had completely private tours in Masai Mara (we did not chose private tours, just got lucky as the season was coming to an end – late September).
Our drivers were fantastic – as first time safari goers we kept asking to stop and look at zebras initially! We saw the amazing Elephants in Amboseli, the crossing of the wildebeest on the Mara river , lions, hippos, and everything else including a leopard. The sceneries in the two locations are excellent and going to Amboseli then Masai Mara is the best order to enjoy these two locations.
Overall I would highly recommend this safari and would happily go with CKC tours again. We’ll be back!