The team
Karibu Safaris In Kenya
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1986)
- Member Of:
- KATO, Tourism Regulatory Authority & Eco Toursm Kenya
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $80 to $280 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
RU
Email Max | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Thank you very much for the safari. Especially to Robert for his help in organizing and for solving additional questions.
Great organization. Very friendly and helpful staff.
It's a pity that it was only 2 days should have to take a safari for at least 3 days.
Highly recommend.
US
Email Daniel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour guide who made the extra effort to ensure we had a great time!
Overall great communications and flexibility during the tour. I felt the tour was a very good price for what was provided. The tour guide (James) was a legend and made the extra effort to make sure we had a great time and I always felt safe and in good hands. Lots of animals around to see, the guide made sure we saw them all and overall everyone was nice. Only two negatives:
1) This was not the Karibu part of the tour (it was with the Masai, which the tour guide hands us to) - after a short tour of the Masai house, three Masai men stood over me to try and sell me some trinkets, for a rip-off price. They bullied me and I felt pressured to buy one. I would rather have paid for the tour up-front. Left the safari on a very negative note and I would suggest Karibu tell them in the future to back-off or charge a tour fee.
2) The food was overall ok, but lacking a bit in meat - would be willing to pay more for dinner / lunch for slightly better food.
But, overall, great tour and I would recommend it!
IT
Email Gabriele | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The first and best Safari ever done. Castro the best driver
This experience has been fantastic. We did the 7 days safari with Hell's Gate, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. Every day has been full of emotions. We've seen a lot of animals, and with the driver Castro we did things i never expected. He's done all was possible to give us the opportunity to see the big five. And we've seen a lot of them. Excellent drive and excellent experience over all. We will never forget this.
the price is lower than other agencies and despite this we have been in excellent places, with a great van and valid restaurants.
Is it all well comunicated?? Thanks a lot Castro and Karibu
Questa esperienza è stata fantastica. Abbiamo fatto il safari di 7 giorni con Hell's Gate, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru e Amboseli. Ogni giorno è stato ricco di emozioni. Abbiamo visto molti animali e con il pilota Castro abbiamo fatto cose che non mi sarei mai aspettato. Ha fatto tutto il possibile per darci l'opportunità di vedere i big five. E ne abbiamo visti molti. e anche molti altri animali. Guida eccellente ed esperienza eccellente su tutto. Non lo dimenticheremo mai. il prezzo è più basso di altre agenzie e nonostante questo siamo stati in ottimi posti.
è stato detto tutto? Grazie mille Castro e Karibu
US
Email Michael Halberstam | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari!
Guides: Kevin and Raymond were terrific. They both have a wonderful and frequently uncanny knack for locating and finding significant animal sightings. They were diligent, friendly, professional, responsive to questions and concerns and they looked after us beautifully. Furthermore, they both went out of their way to make sure that we had an A+++ experience. Raymond was our driver for most of the Safari and he clearly has a gift for sensing when the major animals are going to be out in the park and where to find them. For instance, we got a spectacularly close up and rare view of two black Rhino's in Lake Nakuru because of his virtuosic tracking and driving skills. Kevin was so agreeable, particularly on our last morning in Amboseli, to take one final game drive and try and catch a sight of Mount Kilimanjaro which had decided to come out from behind the clouds that morning. Morris was splendidly supportive too!
Transportation: We visited four parks, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli. The first van we were in had clearly been run into the ground by its driver. The seats were uncomfortable and the suspension was shot. I was worried that this was going to be our transport for the whole Safari. However, when we reached Masai Mara, we traded that van for a better vehicle and the difference was night and day. We spent the rest of the Safari in much more comfort. It's important to have a vehicle with good suspension when traversing some of the bumpier roads and some of the driving distances are quite far - comfortable seats are very important.
Hotels: The first hotel JAMBO MARA SAFARI LODGE was quite beautiful, the grounds were gorgeously landscaped and the room was comfortable, clean, fresh and modern looking. The staff were all lovely - particularly the dining room staff who were superb. I wish I could say the same about the food. It was, alas, no where near as good as the rest of the hotel. I think it would be worth their investing in an upgrade. I didn't go on a Safari for the food but this was truly poor. This is a shame given how attractive and well looked after everything else was in the hotel. Even the lunch was terrible. The WATERBUCK HOTEL was one of the better places to stay in Lake Nakuru but I did have to pay a little bit more to upgrade to a more comfortable room with a window and a little more space. It is definitely a venue that has seen better days but overall it was fine for the one night. The unexpected and wonderful surprise was the food which was just superb. I had some of the best food I have eaten in Kenya at the WATERBUCK, both at dinner and breakfast. It was beautifully prepared and nicely presented and very authentic. As with my entire stay in Kenya, the people working at the hotel were amazing. My last hotel, AA AMBOSELI LODGE, was somewhere between the two hotels. My rooms was basically a spacious, clean and comfortable tent with a more permanent attachment on one end for the bathroom. Food was good and the grounds were lovely although bizarrely, the most important sight in the camp, Mount Kilimanjaro, is largely obscured from almost every location. Eventually I found a little seating area by the main meeting room with an uncluttered view. (The grumpy and inexplicably annoyed receptionist was very unhelpful in this area - literally the only unpleasant employee I met on my entire two week trip to Kenya.)
I have rated the Safari highly because I think I got truly incrediblea value for my money. I paid for a midrange Safari and joined a group tour which kept the price affordable. This covered 6 days and five nights, all drives, all transportation, all accommodation and all meals. I saw all of the big five along with many other wonderful animal sightings. I experienced the trip of a lifetime, enjoyed the company of the people I met on the Safari who were lovely, had a 100% good experience with the staff. I am filled now with memories that will last a lifetime and am completely in love with Kenya as a country. It was the perfect balance the week I spent in Nairobi working before the Safari. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
A couple of notes if you are planning a safari: Amboseli is worth visiting for the elephants and the possible sightings of Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain however does not always come out to play, and as with most volcanoes of this scale, is not always visible. We were very lucky however and Kevin was very accommodating in ensuring that I was able to get some good sightings early in the morning and in the evening. It is worth nothing however that the park has recently been ravaged by drought. Although there are still many elephants there, a quarter of them have died and most of the wildebeest have also died. This is due to climate change. I would go to the park again in a heartbeat but you should be prepared. Lake Nakuru was a long drive and one of the great pleasures of the park is seeing the millions of flamingos. Unfortunately, most of them had migrated by the time we got there and although Raymond salvaged the trip with a rare black rhino sighting, the rest of the park didn't have much to offer and it was a long drive to get there. Lake Nakuru was lovely and we took an excellent boat ride and had a close encounter with a family of hippos which was wonderful but I'm not sure it was with the time it took to get there. (It should also be noted that both lakes are heavily polluted and experiencing significant environmental damage as a result.) Unless you are able to see the flamingos - which are amazing, I would skip it.
SK
Email Marek | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional tour operator with friendly staff and people on the right place.
We already finished our 6-days safari with an amazing feelings. Thank’s to Robert (the manager), Harun, Lillien and especially to Aruni - our driver, guide and fixer in one person, for making this experience unforgettable. We saw 4/5 of BIG FIVE animals and many more from the breathtaking Kenyan wildlife. Each national park offered to us something different and it was really worth it to choose the itinerary, which include Maasai Mara, Lake Naivasha (Hell’s gate), Amboseli and Taita Hills. I can highly recommend the accomodation in Mantjaro camp, where we felt like at home (thank’s to Henry) with a spectacular view to Kilimanjaro, even we had a great time at Taita Hills, where they served delicous food and drinks. To be honest, where I see a room for improvement, is in Enchoro Camp (Maasai Mara) and Newstead Hotel (Lake Naivasha), where staff was very friendly and helpful, but the rooms should be renowated. I hope this feedback will helps Karibu Safaris in Kenya to grow their business, because they are customer first agency.
BG
Email Stefan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Big 5 encounters with Collins
It was a great experience and had a great guide Collins! Saw the Big 5 and many others. Great value for money as well :) Best game drive
BG
Email Mihaela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great experience in Masai Mara and Nakuru
The game drive was amazing! Our tour guide Collins was very knowledgeable with a great attitude:)
We saw all the big 5 from very close and learned a lot about the wild life.
NL
Email Leonie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A wonderful and amazing experience
Kevin showed us the beauty of Amboseli. We saw the amazing elephants, Lions, hippos and the cheetah. It was a dream and we loved every second of it. Thanks you Kevin!
JP
Email Yui | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Hospitable
It was such a great time! We charged the plan that we went to masai village on the first day and full day hame drive on second day.
Thanks to out best driver Edward we were able to see BIG5 in a day! He always check the radio and spot for the animals even for a rhino! He has so many knowledge not only for aminals but also masai culture, kenya culture too. After the game drive we went back to our hotel earlier because Edward thought it would rain soon. And he was right. Right after we went back, UT started raining. If we continue safari we would totally get soaked. I heard some of the other tours stuck in the mud and couldn't get out so they ended up staying in a car for a night. Thanks to our guide we didn't have to do that.
Anyway I really enjoyed a lot and it's worth going!
US
Email Rebekah and John | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very friendly and accommodating, went out of their way to give us an unforgettable experience.
Fantastic and cozy tented camp with amazing views of Kilimanjaro. Henry, Sophia, Joshua and crew were so attentive and made us feel at home. The food was really tasty and dinner always ended with a campfire.
Kevin, our guide through Amboseli, was fun, informative and very attuned to spotting the wildlife.
We would love to come back.
