#You Deserve An Adventure of A lifetime Experience
Wild Race Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Pamela Brennan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This company was very responsive to all of my questions. Very honest.
Everything lived up far beyond my expectations. I have not one bad thing to say.
CH
Email Daniel & Viona | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 5-day Amboseli/Masai Mara safari
We did a 5 days / 4 nights safari tour to Amboseli and Masai Mara with Wild Race Africa and we had a great time.
As it was a last minute trip for us, it was helpful that Simon was very responsive and helped us organize the trip rapidly by email. Also they were flexible when we asked to do 5 days instead of 6.
They picked us up when we arrived at the airport and drove us to our hotel in Nairobi even if the safari only started two days later.
George was our driver for the 5 day safari. He was an excellent driver and very knowledgeable and friendly. He knew the parks very well and gave us lots of information on the animals. And he did his best so we could see many animals and so we could have a great time.
The two lodges they booked for us in the two parks were excellent. In Amboseli, we stayed at Kibo Luxury Tent Camp, a great lodge just outside the gate. In Masai Mara, we stayed at Mara Keekorok, a lodge inside the park which was very helpful as the park is very big. For the car, we picked the Land Cruiser instead of the van and we feel we made the right choice as the road was quite muddy and we could not have gone on the same tracks with the van.
We were very happy with the whole trip and the organization. We really recommend going with Wild Race Africa and with George as a driver!
DK
Amazing experience for 5 day safari Amboselli, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara
We booked a private mid-range 5-day trip to Amboselli, Lake Nakuru, boat trip on Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara.
Booking experience: The booking experience was easy, and Simon Milambo was very helpful in organizing everything and accommodating to our dates changing, picking us up a little later than usual, and provided multiple payment options. Note, there is a 5% fee if you want to pay by credit card.
-------
Guide: Our guide Obama was amazing! He was both our guide and driver, so there was no separate driver or tracker in the package.
Despite having to work extra hard doing both jobs. He really went out of his way to make sure we saw as much as we could on our 5 day trip. He woke up early every day to start our game drive before anyone else so we could catch the animals in the early mornings around 6:30am when they are more active. He was prompt, very friendly and always made sure that we were happy and comfortable during our entire trip. He is a very knowledgeable guide and was eager to answer any questions we had. Amazingly we managed to see the big 5 (all of them very close up) as well as the wildebeast migration and the crossing of the river!
-------
Car: Since we booked a "mid-range" tour, our car was a 2-wheel-drive minivan with a pop-up roof and we opted out of the 4x4 which was an additional $250 pp. Although our minivan was noisy and we almost got stuck in the ditches a few times and had to detour, Obama did his best to maneuver the vehicle around the ditches but without his good driving skills we would have not been so lucky. We would 200% recommend booking the 4x4! We wished we were given more information about the cons of the van and pros of booking a 4x4.
-------
Camps:
We stayed at 3 camps during our trip:
Kibo Safari Camp.
- By far the best one. We were very happily surprised with the accommodation here, everything was great. It is a "tented" camp but it basically felt like a very nice hotel. This camp also had a show of the Maara people dancing.
Lake Nakuru Lodge.
- This is a more "hotel-style" lodge. Despite being proper hotel rooms, It didn't feel as luxurious as the Kibo Safari Camp. However the food here was incredible, and we were able to hear the lions roar in the early morning. This is about the comfort we expected from a mid-range tour. This camp had a fire acrobatics show in the evening, although we didn't attend it being so tired from the Safari drives.
Enkorok Mara camp.
- This was the only camp we stayed at for 2 nights and by far the worst of the bunch. It was also a tented camp, but we were disappointed as everything about it felt budget and not at all "mid-range". The food was decent but the shower was very very dirty and there was nothing particularly noteworthy or interesting about the camp. I will say the Maasai people who work there were very friendly.
--------
Driving: In total, we ended up doing more driving between the parks than actually being in the park. We spent most of every day driving between the parks, about 5-7 hours between each destination, on very rough roads. This was quite tiring so if you have the luxury of being able to choose more days we would recommend at least 2 nights at each park. However we only had a few days for the trip and we were happy we got to see Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, and Maasai Mara.
You definitely need at least 2 nights in Maasai Mara or it will not be worth it. You need to drive for many hours into the park to see the exciting wildlife like lions, leopards, cheetahs, etc which requires a full day game drive.
-----
The Maasai Village. On the last day of our trip, we were taken to a Maasai village. We were told the entrance fee was 3,000 KSH. Again being new to Kenya we didn't know that was a price per person and not per group, so for just the 2 of us, the entrance fee was 6,000 KSH ($60 USD). They did a traditional dance for us, showed us the inside of one of their huts but the rest of the time was spent trying to sell us cheap souvenirs at steep prices at the marketplace area built specifically for tourists. We ended up buying a necklace and a wooden bowl for them which they wanted 5,500 KSH for around $55. We negotiated it down a bit.
----
The itinerary. The itinerary laid out sounded very exciting but it was just impossible to do it all in the time we had. Our guide was honest with us and helped us choose the best things to do and we were very happy with the experience we got! :)
DE
Email Andreas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top safari experience
When we started the tour, we were picked up by a driver and brought to their office in Nairobi for the payment. The day before we noticed that our cards have a daily withdrawal limit, and Simon arranged that the driver brings us to an ATM first. That worked without problem and we managed to pick up the full amount in KES. When we arrived at the office, there seemed to be some miscommunication, since the office was closed, but the driver eventually reached Simon, we paid what was agreed beforehand, and were brought to the tour van.
We picked Wild Race Africa Safari Tours due to the overall very good reviews on Tripadvisor and Safaribookings and were not disappointed.
Simon was quick to reply, and arranging/negotiating the tour from home wasn't a problem.
When we started the tour, we were picked up by a driver and brought to their office in Nairobi for the payment. The day before we noticed that our cards have a daily withdrawal limit, and Simon arranged that the driver brings us to an ATM first. That worked without problem and we managed to pick up the full amount in KES. When we arrived at the office, there seemed to be some miscommunication, since the office was closed, but the driver eventually reached Simon, we paid what was agreed beforehand, and were brought to the tour van.
Our driver John took us to Masai Mara (there were 3 other tourists in the car besides us), dropped us off at the lodge and then picked us up again in the evening for a game drive.
On the next day we would have had a full-day game drive, but that had to be canceled for us, since I got sick. We let Simon know via Whatsapp and agreed that we would stay one extra night in the lodge, and do the game drive with another group the next day. This extra night in the Mara Chui lodge + park fees cost $150 per person. The lodge staff was very helpful and friendly and even upgraded us to a better type of house for that extra night.
The next day we managed to do the game drive with another group in a Landcruiser. Even though the tire broke twice, we managed to see many animals over the whole day!
After that we went to Lake Nakuru (Lake Nakuru Lodge). The driver from the whole-day game drive ended up bringing us to somewhere halfway to Nairobi where we had lunch, after which another driver (Alex) picked us up. In that case we were essentially upgraded to a private tour, as there were no other passengers. Alex showed us the Lake Nakuru NP and explained us very much about the animals, and about life in Kenya in general. Alex was very attentive and made a real effort to find all the animals (rhinos, leopards, lions especially). That was all very interesting!
Alex drove us to the airport and helped us buy our flight onwards at the counter.
Overall, we can definitely recommend Wild Race as a tour operator.
US
Email Linda and Ron Jones | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operator Simon was very responsive as we had to reschedule from July 2020 to June 2021.
Wow! Our Kenya trip was fantastic and this tour to Masai Mara was a big part of that trip. Our pickup from our hotel to the airport for the plane ride to Masai Mara was right on time. The flight was very smooth and Tony our guide was at the Masai Mara airstrip to greet us and take us on our first drive en route to the Sarova Mara Game Camp. Tony was a member of the Masai tribe and was a superb driver and guide. We would highly recommend him. We saw lots and lots of animals and all of the big five. Two of our group of four went on the hot air balloon excursion. It was also fantastic. They usually only do the ride if there are at least four people but because of Covid and needing the business, they took only the two of them. They even did the champagne breakfast for just the two of them. All in all this was a fantastic safari with the guide, flights and rides all very punctual and customer oriented. We very highly recommend using them if you are planning a safari to Masai Mara.
NL
Email Mirjam van der Heijden | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A well organized trip with very good guides, fine accommodation and well organized transport
A well organized trip with very good guides, fine accommodation and well organized transport
We have made a great trip through Kenia with Wild Race Africa. We saw so many highlights, it was amazing! We saw the great trek from the gnoes twice, we saw lions in love, cheetah's on the hunt, more than enough zebras and wildebeasts, the most beautiful birds, leopards eating a wildebeasts. And a lot more! Our guides Simon and Barack were great. They know almost everything from what we saw. They even know what the best time is to see the great trek, around 11 o'clock! The accommodations where very good in all the parks.The transport was also good. There was a good balance between price and quality. We are looking forward to come back to Kenia, a wonderful country.
CH
Email Ayako | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
good value of tour and customers service
It was an amazing trip. One of my dreams has come true. I really appreciated the guide George as well as the tour company Simon for all the work to make my trip fantastic! I want to come back soon to Kenya with my mother or husband or maybe even alone again.
Here are some points to further improve the service:
Positive: 1. the itinerary was perfect. 2. the guide George was a super star! he was professional and always thinking about a customer. 3. the first three accommodations (Ark lodge, Nakuru lodge and Julia’s camp) were great in terms of service, people, food and locations. 4. thanks for providing me a private car! which was awesome. 5. Simon always answered my questions immediately via whatsapp.
I can't write all the positive points as there are a lot!
Negative: the two accommodations have been changed without informing me. one of them was quite good at the end. However Dove Nest in Naivasha was down graded from the lodge originally planned. Dove Nest is said as 3 stars. The people were nice but not for 3 star hotel unfortunately. No wifi available. They could have been by far better with another management who knows how to take care of international tourists.
Overall, it was a really nice trip and I keep telling my colleagues and friends that my trip was perfect and recommend them to travel to Kenya for Safari.
AT
Email Viviane | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience
We've booked a 12-days tour in Kenya and Tanzania with Wild Race Africa Tours. Our route was Nairobi - Lake Naivasha - Lake Nakuru - Masai Mara - Serengeti - Ngorongoro - Lake Manyara - Amboseli - Nairobi.
First we hesitated because of the pandemic situation we are living right now - but we didn't regret our desicion. Simon answered all our questions we had prior to the journey and with Alex we had the perfect guide in Kenya. Alex wellcomed us at the airport and cared very good for us. He is a great troubleshooter and you are lucky to have him as a guide. We've learned a lot about the places we've visited and about the country and its people. Also in Tanzania we had a great guide with China and his son Shidi.
We were concerned about the border crossing Kenya-Tanzania-Kenya, but with the help from our guides everything went smoothly. For every border crossing a negative PCR test was required, as well for the return flight from Kenya to Europe. So keep in mind to calculate the waiting time for the results.
We booked a budget tour, but at some places we upgraded to a mid range lodge. It's great that you can customize your tour the way you like it. Normally we are individual travelers - it was our first experience with a organized tour. We enjoyed to just sit back - and don't worry about were to sleep or eat next. The organization was perfect - the food was yummy - the lodges were fine too! So we could 100% focus on the beautiful nature and spotting wild animals.
If you think about doing a safari in this complicated times, but you're unsure about all the covid regulations - I really recommend to do it. Of course it's a bit more complicated and bureaucratic - but it definitely is worth!
US
Email Liz | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wild Race Africa is very professional and a pleasure to work with.
We had an excellent 5-Day trip to Aberdares NP, Samburu NR, & Ol-Pejeta NP, led by our amazing guide, George.
Wild Race Africa made sure all our needs were covered and went above and beyond including an airport pick-up and extra game drive to seek the elusive leopard!
We saw incredible animals in the mornings, afternoons, and at night and enjoyed our time with our guide and at the lodges. I particularly enjoyed the natural diversity of the locations that we were able to see by visiting multiple parks.
I would highly recommend this tour group -- the prices are reasonable and the quality is very high.
Reply from Wild Race Africa
Posted on Apr 14, 2022Dear Liz & Rachel;
Thank you so much for the online feed back. All these were made possible by your kind understanding and flexibility. I did find it very easy to work closely with you to come up with a perfect trip itinerary for you and Rachel.
The 5-Days kenya trip; Aberdares, Samburu and ol pajeta sweet waters, actually takes you off the common beaten tracks and home to the wild cats.
It’s one of the best kenya safari circuits that never disappoint. All you need is a super special private guide like George. He is not only one of our best but also the best guide in the industry.
It was indeed an honor to be at your services and we look forward to hosting you once again, not only in kenya but entire east Africa.
Thanks and stay blessed
Email Simon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Big adventure
It was really a very nice experience and a real evening adventure.
The organisation was problem-free and everything worked out well. Good value for money
The only thing we would have liked was for the guide to tell the other guests how to behave, for example not to call out to the animals or to try to lure them with a water bottle.