masai mara
Bigmac Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Member Of:
- Kenya Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $300 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email MESQ | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
BEWARE!! Poor safety practices, will con you out of money throughout tour.
Nothing can beat the wildlife of Kenya, however we had the WORST tour guide, John and would not recommend BigMac safaris or John as a guide. He rarely spoke to us and quite honestly barely acknowledged us. He put us in danger by driving insane speeds on the roads and with broken seat belts. He was on his phone ALL of the time, if not talking then texting and looked like we were bothering him anytime we asked a question. He was frequently late for us sometimes at the expense of us missing meals. Go with another company, ANY OTHER company has to be better. He only spoke to us at the end when he wanted to explain to us what a good guide he was and if we didn't believe him we should "check trip advisor".
Reply from Bigmac Africa Safaris
Posted on Dec 3, 2018We regret that the safari you had did not turn out as per your expectation.
It seems that somebody sold you a safari under the name 'Bigmac Africa Safaris' and used one of our guides name which are on TripAdvisor or you are mistaking the company you used for your safari, this is because we are not able to trace any safari booked under your name and under the circumstances mentioned.
-First we do not have vehicles with broken seat belts, all our vehicles are well serviced and has speed limits gadgets.
-our drivers are not in-charge of sales and you mentioned driver adding amounts on prices.
-All our drivers are professionals guides and clearly the above description do not match any of our guides.
We are therefore following up on the issue above, we have reported to Tourism Authorities in Kenya. If you can also send us the contacts you used in booking to sales@bigmacafricasafaris.com we will appreciate as this will help in the investigation.
Even though we are not to blame, we feel sorry for what you experienced and welcome you to book with us in future to experience Better services.
At Bigmac Africa Safaris we value all our guests and treat them all as valuable since they are the reason for our existence!
SE
Email Mattias Ryd | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari with Bigmac African Safaris
We (6 adults, 3 children) booked our 4days safaritrip with Bigmac Africa safaris and Magdalene was superb with recommendations and information. Once arrived in Nairobi one of our drivers picked us up at the airport and took us to a restaurant for dinner and later to our hotel. The next morning our drivers (Anthony and Bernard) picked us up at the hotel for the journey to Masai Mara. Theese guy's are really great with explaining everything from the great rift valley to every animal in Masai Mara. I really recommed Bigmac Africa Safaris for a Safari trip of a lifetime! We'll book our next trip with them for sure!
US
Email Chelsea | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded expectations
Bigmac runs a professional and enjoyable safari. I went on the 3-day wildebeest migration safari in the Masai Mara. Anthony, our driver, went out of his way to give us the best photographic opportunities. We got close to a leopard, saw several cheetahs atop a photographer's van, and drove alongside herds of migrating zebras - and were often among the first companies to reach the scene. In addition to the usual lions, elephants and giraffes, the above shots really exceeded my expectations.
Given that I booked the budget option, the lodging was comfortable and the food decent. When one member of my group complained the first night about the bathroom, Bigmac rebooked us into a different camp for the second night. They were attentive to our needs. I highly recommend them to anyone going on a Masai Mara safari.
CN
Email Yinan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best driver, the best guide, the best cook, and the best animals
The trip last for 7 days. We went to Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli. Anthony's wife kindly picked us up and sent us to a place to change for Kenyan shilling. The safari van is comfortable, and it even has wifi! The food is delicious, healthy and enough. Our guide and driver Anthony was very professional and easy-going. He could name every animal we met during the trip, and he could find those rare ones. It's joyful to talk with him. The safari is wonderful. It's a memorable experience for me.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great adventures in Kenya
When planning our visit to Kenya going on a safari was one thing we really wanted to do. After sending our several emails there was almost instant reply from Bicmac Africa Safaris. All our questions were answered, always quick and very friendly. After booking a safari for several days we also booked a few day tours and we were not disappointed at all.
We were picked up on time and had great drivers for all the parks, they all knew lots about the wildlife and gladly stopped over and over again for us to get our pictures of zebras, rhinos, or lions.
For the big tour at the end of our stay we were able to leave some of our luggage at the office, before leaving for Masai Mara and the biggest surprise, they even managed to have a cake for my friends birthday at the camp we were staying at.
We really enjoyed our tours and our stay in Kenya and would always come back again.
RU
Email Tim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
That was GREAT!!!!
It was very good 4-days safari!!! The guide met us in Nairobi. There was wi-fi in the car so we posted photos every day. The organization was very well!!! And we saw all Big five!!!! Thank's a lot for an excellent adventure!
Email Nicholas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic tour - Masaai mara
My family and i enjoyed every moment of this trip. The planning was perfect, met the best driver and tour guide
and we managed to see all the big five. Accommodation was well organized just like what we expected.
US
Email Warren Thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding Safaris for Serious Wildlife Photographers!
~ I've been on two exceptional safaris with Bigmac Africa Safaris — one in February, 2014 and the other in October, 2014. In both cases the guide/driver, Mr. Anthony Gitau, exceeded all expectations, in terms of getting me near to rare bird, animal and plant species in order to take high quality photographs. As Anthony himself is a gifted photographer, he understands the special requirements of birders, big cat specialists and those who love wildflowers and foliage. In Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Navaisha, Samburu and Meru, Anthony was highly familiar with the terrain and with the habits of the species there. Bigmac Africa Safaris and Anthony arranged world-class safari programs which emphasized long game drives to observe and photograph rare species in optimal settings. In every respect, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Bigmac Africa Safaris to all who have dreamed of visiting East Africa with fine camera gear to take the photos of a lifetime. Anthony Gitau will make your dreams come true, as he's done for me. Contact him...you won't regret it!
US
Email Upset customer | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
CHEATS AND LIARS
I had a safari tour with my family and from the United States through email communication I felt as if though I was booking with a reliable and trustworthy company. I had communication with Magdalene. Our driver Steve tried to cancel part of our safari tour in order to try and pocket the entrance fees we had already paid the company! He confronted us during our family dinner to try to talk us out of it! How disrespectful and unprofessional! I never felt so insulted in my life. I contacted Magdalene who informed me I would be refunded and once I replied to confirm yes send me back my money I never heard one word back!! Do not trust this company. You should not have to go through this when visiting an unknown third world country. Of course safari is a great experience but you can experience all the wonderful things with ANY other company who has reliable staff and drivers, there are so many which shouldn’t try to cheat and steal from you! I tried to be calm about it but after all, I highly discourage anyone from booking with BigMac!
Reply from Bigmac Africa Safaris
Posted on Sep 29, 2021Hello Joyce,
Thank you for taking your time to give your feedback.
But i don't understand why now the review is different from the one you wrote on TripAdvisor.
As per our conversation earlier, all the park fees were paid and we have the receipts hence company owes you no money. You even wrote to Pesapal that you want a refund of the money you had paid as deposit lying to them that we had overcharged you and we owe you $240. You went on to say that we don't know how to use their system hence why you want them to refund directly to you. this is a week after you have finished the safari and gone back to your country.
You have mentioned 'the driver tried' to cancel your safari' but he didn't cancel, you did all the game drives as per the itinerary but the last one was little shorter.
I will copy paste the reply i did on TripAdvisor below:
Dear Joyce. Thank you for the chance to serve you for your 5days Amboseli-naivasha-nakuru- masai Mara which started at 3pm at the airport hence quite rushed according to the number of parks you wanted to accomplish(some which were squeezed into the initial program) We also thank you for taking time to review us and expressing the dissatisfaction, we really regret for not meeting your expectation.
its unfortunate that we were in contact on whatsapp and you never informed this until after a few days when you went back to US despite telling you to contact me incase of anything. Also, in your email you sent, you had indicated below but am surprised you omitted it here: " I want to thank you so much for your kindness throughout the booking process and for the great gesture at Amboseli Lodge with the birthday cake. All the accommodations were wonderful with very kind staff and comfortable lodging. It was wonderful to work with you."
Point to be taken: the tickets are always paid on the first day for the number of nights you will be in the park so that you don't queue every morning, the tickets for the whole 2nights were paid and i have the receipts with me as mentioned to you earlier. He couldn't be allowed in the park even for a few minutes without payment for the second night on the third day, also, masai mara park management take such offenses very seriously and have very heavy & strict disciplinary measures on its clerks including jailing them and banning drivers from the parks, and hence even the clerks cannot collude to allow him without paying.
Regarding gates, Masai Mara has many entry & exit gates hence drivers don't necessarily leave from the same gate they used to get in especially when there is one close-by. i understand on the first day you arrived at masai mara from nakuru is was almost park closing time hence he used the nearest gate to ensure you get a game drive but he left on a different gate.
As i mentioned to you earlier, i had to outsource the Spanish guide (Stephen njoroge) from another company when you said last minute that you need your mum not to miss anything hence we provide a Spanish guide whom we didn't have at the moment as all of our own were engaged. But having outsourced does not mean bad service since he was representing Bigmac and for this we really apologize for not meeting your expectation and for him not meeting our standard of quality. Doing a game drive on the last day for shorter time and not talking to you (which he gave an excuse of being extremely exhausted for the rushed and very tight itinerary) is however not acceptable and its so unprofessional, we sincerely regret this.
The driver having misconducted, the company has dismissed him, we have also launched a complain to the Kenya tourism board for action. Once again thank you for choosing us and i promise that if you give me another chance to serve you or your friends, i will do better
IN
Email Dr Hajra | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We had an excellent experience with big Mac 3 days 2night Masai Mara safari. magdalene is too good.
Magdalene was constantly in touch with us and made our trip very comfortable right from airport pickup till dropping back to Airport. The driver was very good and informative.