The team
Karibu Safaris In Kenya
- Office 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
US
Email Michael | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A total wreck
Before booking this tour I had some communication with Robert. I clearly asked if Karibu had a tour on my dates and he said it did. On my arrival date I went to the office, paid my balance and was subsequently sent to a car that would shortly transfer me to join another group with another company. Karibu never contacted me again.
At a transfer point myself and two other passengers joined a group of 6 other passengers for a total of 10 people (9 tourists plus the driver) The vehicle was so full we all had to sit with our own luggage and supplies between our legs and on our laps as the small space in the rear of the vehicle was woefully inadequate. Despite the fact that the tour was supposed to be maximum 7 people with everyone being offered a window seat and rooftop space, for the long drive to Masai Mara, the first evening game drive and the second day morning game drive we were 9 cramped passengers with three people having to use flimsy extension seats in the middle of the bus (ie. no window seats) and not receiving good views. After 2 passengers left after the morning drive it was still not possible for all 7 passengers to have a window seat and rooftop space as promised as there was only window space for 6 in the back. If you sat in the front of the bus with the driver, there was no rooftop space and you were situated lower.
At the camp, no towels were supplied to us. I only mention this because a few days before I left home I wasn't sure if I needed to bring my own towel so I e-mailed Karibu to see if towels were provided at the camp sites. They told me they were so I didn't pack one. I don't know if this was a lie or because the company they dumped me with used a different camp site with different standard.
On the third day I was supposed to visit Lake Nakura. The night before I reminded the driver since all the other passengers were going to Amboselli. He said he was aware and that I would be dropped off at a transfer point. After we left Masai Mara on the third day, I again reminded the driver about my transfer to Lake Nakuru. His reply was "You are not going, you will be going to Amboselli with us because there is no tour group going to Lake Nakuru today" There was no discussion with me at any point prior to this and had I not said anything to the driver, I don't know when they were planning to tell me. I asked him to call my tour operator (Karibu), but he refused saying this is what his boss had told him and that he was driving now and couldn't call (this despite the fact that he later picked up his phone while driving multiple times). I called Karibu's office on my personal cell phone which was very expensive as I did not have a local SIM card. Robert picked up and was very well aware of the situation. He suggested that they could refund some money which really wasn't a good option for me. He then said I could still go to Lake Nakuru on my last day instead. This would have meant backtracking a very considerable distance and spending about 12 hours in a car to go from Amboseli to the Tanzanian border to Nairobi to Lake Nakuru. It was never a real option as an evening tour at Lake Nakuru would have been impossible. I ended up taking an extra day in Amboseli, which is not something I really wanted to do as I felt one full day there was sufficient. What makes this even more frustrating is that the group that I joined for my second day in Amboseli had been in Masai Mara the previous day. If Karibu had communicated with me that going to Lake Nakuru was not be possible BEFORE I left Masai Mara, I would have much rather preffered to spend the extra day in Masai Mara.
Karibu failed miserably both in terms of communication and in terms of delivering what was promised. When my trip ended I wrote them an e-mail describing my experience and asking for a manager to respond. No one ever did, but after what I experienced, I really wasn't expecting anybody to. A complete disappointment.
ES
Email Daniel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
THE WORST EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE
After much comparison on Internet, I decided to book my trip to the Masai Mara for 3 days with this company. Big mistake.
Despite they took their time to answer my emails (great 'pole pole'), the reservation was made without major problem, for a single room in the Mara Springs, which I took charge of checking in person at his office in Nairobi, two days before the start of the trip (where they tried to trick me).
The problem came on the day of the activity, where they tell me that I will have to share a room with a stranger because there is a lot of traffic in the park this season, that they feel it, that I must have empathy, that I must be proactive, that they fuck me and that I can stand it . Well, no. Because one thing is that there is a last minute setback and quite another is that there is no seriousness here. But of course, one takes the trip programmed to the fingertips and I could not afford the pleasure of looking for another company that left in less than 10 minutes to the park, so I agreed to go with them, they made me a ridiculous price reduction that I would gladly have paid for 20, so as not to share a night with the boy who played for me, who had also paid for a single room and to whom I scarcely frightened entering his 'tent' to usurp the next bed.
Regarding the planning within the Masai Mara say that it was not fulfilled at all. The first day we spent 1 hour and a half at the door checking our passports (we were 9 people, so you calculate the slowness), and we spent half an hour in the park, which gave us a dreamy reddish sunset that I asked the driver to photograph and he did not leave me, answering me in an edge way and driving to the opposite side.
The second day was quite well and the guide seemed to change his character. However, same result trying to photograph the sunset of the previous day. Like they give bad luck to man, I do not want to prejudge, first of all empathy.
The last day, which was presented as to take advantage of to see the sunrise in the park, forced us to visit the Masai community, with no option to reply, and return to Nairobi, where they left me in a place that was not the agreed . I complained and they said I cause a lot of problems.
Regarding the VAN where we traveled all the time, although basic, it was comfortable a priori, it did not turn out that way since we were in it the top of possible people, bothering one another in many moments, inevitably.
On the other hand, the accommodation was finally carried out in the ENCORO WILDLIFE CAMP, which I will break down into another opinion, but which I can summarize in precariousness, dirt and loose snakes.
SULTRY.