Africa Travel Waves Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 1997)
- Member Of:
- Kenya Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Ben Noutch | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
7 Day Safari - easy to organise and an amazing holiday
Booking the holiday:
It was very straight forward to arrange the holiday. Replies were always very quickly, although they didn’t provide much information about accommodation, timings, routes etc.
This is the perfect holiday for people who want everything taken care of for them. If you take comfort in knowing all the details of your holiday then this might not be the one for you.
The holiday:
From start to finish your driver will be responsible for getting you where you need to go safely. The driver also guides you in the Parks and provides info about the animals you see along the way.
I travelled alone and shared a minibus with 8 other people. As you’re in the minibus and same accommodation with these people everyday you’re effectively sharing your holiday together, so you better hope for good people! I got lucky and it made the holiday that much better.
The Maasai Mara was amazing and we saw the tail end of the great migration. Be prepared for a very basic campsite accommodation and very welcoming staff. Also be ready for lots of pushy locals selling souvenirs at every opportunity.
Lake Nakuru was beautiful, although the flamingo population appears to have migrated elsewhere so don’t expect to see too many. The black and white rhinos make up for it though!
Be careful if you’re offered a boat ride at Naivasha, the boats are slow and get far too close to the hippos. It felt very unsafe. Accommodation in Naivasha and Nakuru were hotel resorts with relatively basic facilities.
If you visit Hells Gate National Park, make sure to walk or cycle the route, it’s a good opportunity to stretch your legs after long days in the minibus. Be cautious before entering the gorge, the guides don’t appear to be as professionally trained to spot flash flooding as they make out.
Amboseli was spectacular. You have have have to get up early and witness sunrise in the park. Expect a basic campsite with very very friendly staff and if you’re lucky, views of Kilimanjaro from the front porch of your tent.
Overall it was a fast and busy week; truly a whistlestop tour of some of southern Kenya’s best offerings. You won’t spend long anywhere, but it’s the perfect holiday if you’re on a budget and aiming for the dry season.
I had a really unrealistic list of things I wanted to see on this holiday, e.g. lions hunting, cheetahs running at full speed, leopards sitting in a tree, elephants, even a honey badger. I ticked 90% of the list off on day 1!
Email Dr Premi Naidoo | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
OUR GUIDE THOMAS
Recently my spouse and I undertook a trip to the Maasai Mara in Kenya. We had a very warm welcome at the Nairobi Airport , driven to our hotel and pickled up the next morning.
We where then introduced to our tour guide and general factotum , Thomas Nudunda Kioko , who was to be our guide , mentor and all round advisor for the duration of our stay.
On the first day of our visit to the Maasai Mara , Tom dropped us off at the hotel and picked us up an hour later to take the group on an evening drive. I ( we ) thought well this was going to be just another game drive , but to our surprise Tom showed us 4 out of the BIG 5 in the Mara within an hour of our afternoon game drive.
It became quite evident that over the next few days which the group spent with Tom was going to be something out of the ordinary and special.
His knowledge of the Flora and Fauna ( check spelling ) was to say the least , very exceptional. He spoke with authority on the various animals on their way they hunted and ate amongst the many other bits of information that one could only glean from a textbook or a learned professor at a university. He always made our tour as pleasant and comfortable as possible . The manner in which he handled the vehicle was a sheer delight, something that I've never seen before. We are truly thankful for his insight into the animal world and for making our stay so enjoyable and pleasant.
A real asset to his company and to the Kenyan people as a whole.... well done Tom and hope that you prosper in the years to come and continue with your good communication skills .
We would whole heartedly recommend Thomas Ndunga Kioko to anyone wishing to get a very knowledgeable tour guide.
His contact details are :
Cellphone +254 722 751 268
Email : thomaskioko3@gmail.com
All the best,
IT
Email Lorenzo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience
I booked three days on maasai mara park with edwina( gently and willing to everything you want to know) The agency picked up us on our hotel in nairobi where we met with edwina and after with our guide peter we moved to mara.
The accomodation was excellent and near the entrance of the park.
We watched all it was possibile and this is thanks to Peter. Very professional guide, gently, willing to everythings, so human.
I am very happy for this experience and to met a person like Peter.
Definitly reccomended
IT
Email Carlotta | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
Really good agency! Edwina replied to all my emails and helped me with payment issues. They picked us up at our hotel and Peter, wonderful guide and driver, brought us to Masai Mara park. We spent 3 amazing day; thanks to Peter we learned a lot about animals and we managed to see almost all of the Big 5. Enchoro camp is a very nice accommodation, super clean and the people make you feel really welcomed. Definitely recommended!
US
Email Howard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome Trip of a Lifetime
It was a pleasure to deal with Edwina pre-trip and upon arrival and departure. The guides. especially Tom, were top notch, great at finding animals and providing information. The accommodations and food were amazing. I highly recommend this company. They provided me the trip of a lifetime.
NL
Email Family De Waal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience
We booked online with is alway a bit risky but from the start till the end it was a fantastic experience. The pick up time was spot-on and the friendly manager was the frinedly asisitant took both the efforts to be present during the early pick up which was appreciated. We continued the trip with the driver and the cook. The driver was very expereinced and knew the roads in the Masai Maara very well, with thanks to him we have spotted the big five and many other animals which we never would have seen without the experineced driver!
The cook was excellent as well, he is friendly and makes good meals with limited resources. I would higly recommand Africa Travel Waves Safaris in Kenya. Thank you for giving us such a great safari experience.
Email Karen McDowall | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous safari experience at a great price
From my initial enquiry up to a follow up email upon my return, Derrick at Africa Travel Waves was terrific at keeping in touch and answering my questions. He made every effort to ensure I had the safari experience I was looking for. The trip was great. Our driver Peter was very knowledgeable and worked hard to make sure we saw as much as possible. We saw many, many animals and birds and the scenery was spectacular. Accommodation was basic, but very comfortable, clean and very well run. I would definitely travel with this company again.
US
Email Vidya | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Customized, Targeted and Great Safari
We traveled as a group of 3 families (with kids from 10years to teen adults) and did our safari in Aug3-13 2018. We tailored and customized our safaris to fit the likes of three families ranging from 2 families on their first safari and third family on their 5th safari focused on wildlife Photography. We chose the three parks - Masai Mara, NAkuru and Laikipia
Organization, Service, communications : Perfect from day one (a year back in AUg2017) when we started looking at the options to the day we left, communications, service were excellent. Edwina did a great job of keeping us in loop and even arranged an additional birding guide in our car for us (Francis was excellent). Tom was our guide / driver, excellent in guiding and took great pleasure in meeting customer expectations. This year was unique in the sense that the migration arrived late, and when we saw the crossing, Tom exhaled and you can see he was carrying our wishes on his sleeve.
We did not stay at the crossing but always looking for other animals but Tom kept in constant touch with other drivers if there was any gathering of animals near the crossing points - he also took a lot of effort to locate cats, birds and had the pleasure of going to the Kenya-Tanzania border. Tom, Thanks for the wonderfull safari.
Overall we would love to go back again and would not hesitate to use Africa Travel Waves
SI
Email Jan Horvat | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent organisation
My wife and I had a really great time at our 3 day safari to Masai Mara. We had quite a few problems with our flight to Nairobi being cancelled, and Edwina put a really tremendous effort in accommodating all the changes that appeared as a result. Since our luggage has been misplaced by an airline company, she even took care and get it for us from the airport while we were at the safari. At the end, safari was organised perfectly and we saw almost all the possible animals that are to see in Masai Mara (even Leopard!). We stayed in a nice, clean camp, food that was prepared for us was also excellent.
I would also like to mention Tom, our driver, who was really kind and always in a good humor and is also very knowledgeable, not just about Masai Mara and animals but Kenya in general, which was a great plus for me.
I will definitely use this operator next time when I'm Kenya and would definitely recommend it to anyone.
US
Email ashfsk | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience
I took the 8 days safari with travel waves. Initially, I was a bit skeptical since they required me to make a deposit for the booking. This is the norm among the tour operators in Africa. so don't be alarmed. I did do some research before paying the deposit. They are registered with KATO which always is a good sign. Once I landed, Edwina was there to receive me. Tom was our guide and he was great. Both Edwina and Tom were extremely professional. Tom was extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife. All the accommodation bookings had been done and I did not have any trouble on the tour. Moreover, the tour was within my budget. Overall a great experience and I highly recommend Travel Waves. One improvement I can think of is the vehicle which seemed quite old. Everything else was perfect.