The team
African Breeze Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Lily | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
If you want a budget safari, this is definitely a budget safari.
Tour itinerary looked great and Cate was very friendly, but she neglected to tell us that the total payment for the tour was due on Day 1. This resulted in some scrambling to withdraw cash from an ATM but we were limited by ATM withdrawal limits. There was no option to pay online with paypal or with credit card! Finally at the end of the tour Cate had told or driver a different amount than what I truly owed (a $10 USD difference) and also told the driver that was should pay him extra for dropping us off where we were staying in Nairobi even though this was included on the itinerary (in addition to a regular tip).
Our itinerary told us to be picked up at George's Cafe at noon, by 12:30 we were still waiting and called Cate. Cate had apparently (forgotten?!) to call a driver and our driver finally showed up at 2:00pm with no clue about what our itinerary was. To his credit, he was able to take one look at our itinerary and then figure out what hotels he wanted to take us to. There were a lot of extra costs that were not described in the itinerary unfortunately. I ultimately didn't mind paying, but if a boat ride was listed on the itinerary I would have appreciated knowing that it would cost me $100 in cash. While the extra expenses were no big deal, a heads up would have been nice, unexpected expenses can be frustrating.
Our tour driver, Johnny, was friendly but apparently lies to KWS to try and get resident rates for non-residents (this was from a story he told us making fun of the stupid white people who "forgot" they were supposed to be going by fake names). This was disheartening to hear about because this is a big loss of money to wildlife conservation. I'm a resident and my traveling partner was not and luckily Johnny did not try to lie to get resident rates for her. It was a slightly odd interaction.
The hotels we stayed in were clean with excellent food but no hot water in any of them unfortunately. Johnny seemed to have a poor understanding of when meal times should be and how often people need to eat because lunch was at 4pm on Day 2 (he seemed to think we could skip it?!). He also tried to skip lunch on another day right before a long hike (who skips lunch before a long hike?!). He often told us dinner couldn't be ordered before 7:30 (resulting in multiple meals at 8:30 PM!) but the kitchens seemed to be open and working as early as 6 because there was always waitstaff ready to take our order when we arrived. He also often ate with us, which I normally wouldn't mind, but he would order too much food for us (even when we told him we couldn't eat that much) and then guilt us with cultural values if we didn't clean our plates. He subsequently also couldn't clean his plate, but would then offer up some excuse about the food being bad. Overall a bit odd.
Johnny was also getting a bit old and in failing health (coughing and wheezing which made us a bit uncomfortable) and it was clear by his driving sometimes that his eyesight is no longer the greatest. There were a few speed bumps he missed slowing down for and game driving in parks is not his forte! I spotted the rhinos and lions we saw and he stopped at a buffalo once thinking it was a rhino. He also bragged that he would find us a leopard but never did. (I've seen leopards before but the boasting was strange). In general our driver was friendly, but nothing like the kind of service I've had on other budget safaris.
We stopped at multiple curio shops and they are usually expensive, but I've never had someone try to sell me a shuka (usually cost 600ksh and never worth more than 700ksh) for 4,000ksh. I was surprised that knowing that I'm a Kenyan resident Johnny would still try and take us to a place this ridiculously expensive. After they tried to scam us once Johnny actually took us there a second time. (???). He also added in a random stop at a girl scout memorial for people that I know nothing about and the man there asked for donations of any size so I at least thought offer 100ksh but he then turned around and said that wasn't enough. Was getting a bit sick of Johnny taking us to people who were just going to ask us for too much money. Especially since we told him that were not interesting in gift shopping as we were planning on doing that in Nairobi.
The itinerary was great, but at the end of the trip I wouldn't recommend trying to cram as much as we did into one week. Spend at least two nights at every location so that you get a full day at each. Cate added a few extra things to my itinerary beyond what I requested and I trusted her to know what would make a good trip but now I wish I'd asked to cut some of those extra locations.
Good things: Because it was budget we ate a lot of ugali and nyama choma which I love. Food was always delicious. Parks themselves were beautiful and wonderful.
TL;DR: The organization and communication was poor. Driver friendly but not very skilled and in bad health/bad eyesight. Would not recommend. You can find better budget safaris than this, or just rent a car and do it yourself.
Reply from African Breeze Tours
Posted on Feb 2, 2017Lily with my help, tailored a 7 days budget safari. We finally agreed that they will be picked at the safari junction since Lily and her friend was coming from Masai Mara. I quoted her and gave her a budget of usd 1700 for 2. This was an all inclusive package. I was out to help them visit all the parks mentioned in the itinerary even with the low budget that that was. As much as i would like to attach the proposal here for prove,i find that there is no that option of attachment. In the proposal i informed her that if she paid using credit/debit card or pay pal,she will pay 5%pay pal / bank surge. I also let her know that , since she was in Kenya,a cheque/cash deposit would work out well without attracting further charges and for sure she choose the option of direct cashing to the company account.
On the proposal there was information of paying the total cash just before the safari departure,she had only deposited the 30% of the total amount on the departure day yet she had all the information. I allowed her to pay in bits since she was not going to come in the city to run her card and with the fact that she had all the company bank accounts.
I believe that all will agree with me that the exchange rates keep on changing and i didnt add any extra coin from what we had agreed,i just converted the dollars with the rate that was changing then,i even ended up paying the park entry fees with a higher rate than the one i had used to calculate the balance she had in Kenya shillings. The boat ride was clearly stated as an option,i paid for their hells gate entry fee which was what i was supposed to do. i disagree with her when she says that we over charged her on boat ride,curios and the rest of shopping was not in the itinerary or proposal,that she was supposed to negotiate on her own,not sure why she would stae and say that the company was involved. i bet anyone reading will agree with me that if the sellers give you unfriendly pricing,you would not go for the item.
She says that she called me and i had forgotten . I really dont understand what that means because i had organized and the driver had left Nairobi for the safari Junction where he was supposed to meet them,Lily and her friend had alighted at a different location other than the one agreed.
The driver communicated so well with her and had to go for them from they had alighted.
Just to conclude, Most of the things she has written here is not true,i personally left airport and drove 10 km to go and meet with her and her friend after safari, I did it because i always want to find out the out come of the safari.
She didnt raise any complain of any sort,the girls told me they were very happy. i trust that the world has away of judging this.
Good experience with capable operator
Cate is good with responding to emails and helping you organize a pleasant African safari ! One needs to be flexible anytime they go to Kenya. My one suggestion would be to book 3 day tours separately if you wish to do "joining tours" as there are too many variables that can affect doing a six day or longer tour, and many of the tour operators in Kenya share the same camps and drivers anyway. Also be aware that you'll need to pay for your safari in cash ( no visa or paypal ) so plan in advance. All in all you'll be in good hands with African Breeze !
ES
Email Marijo Urteaga | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip with africanbreezetours
Me and my son, ten years old, we have enjoyed a lot the tour. Cate has try the best for us and the tour drivers-guide (Anthony and John) and the cooker Fred as well. The relation price and service really good. If someone want to go to Kenya I would recommended booking through African Breeze. Thanks a lot for doing the trip so agreeable.
MX
Email Juan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excelent service. Excelent trip
This was my best tour ever. All was perfect. Receiving in the airport, hotel in Nairobi, trip to Masai mara National Park, Lodge with tents, food and the most important, we could see 4 of the big 5 (we miss the rhino), many of then, in addition of giraffe, cheetah, zebra, etc. etc. Catherine is a very nice person. Good relation between price and service.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A good experience in nature, well organised and according to the price.
Well organised and they try to please you in all senses
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great times in kenya
I by chance found african breeze tours online before i headed over for my safari in kenya. Cate was especially hospitable and gave me great guidance and advice on the national parks i visited. i saw all the big 5 and the small 5 on my 15 day safari that involved 6 national parks. i highly recommend Cate and african breeze tours for your safari needs.
Email Bilha K | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best company!
Best team! Great organizer! Very good guide! Simply everything went well as per the itinerary. We found value for our money and carried wonderful experience.
RO
Email Ekra Hughes! | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Service! Best operator
We had very nice time! Joseph picked us at the airport as expected & dropped us at our city hotel! Move n pick. Its a hotel in a nice location if you will be travelling for safari. we were so excited and couldn't wait to set off for our safari , eventually we did and Sammy was a great guide and a careful driver.
Our 7 days safari was the best experience ever, we saw the big five & we witnessed the lions hunting ! Everything went as planned, we were dropped off at a train station in Emali to transfer us to Mombasa! We will surely use the company again !
DE
Email Sylvia Hartwin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The right choice for a beautiful experience
We choose a 6 days safari in kenya as honeymooners and it was beautiful.our(excellent) driver isaac guided our group through Maasai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli parks to let us see zebras,monkeys, crocodiles, hippos, all the big 5 and more! The planning was perfect, we could enjoy this beautiful experience in safety, taking alot of pictures. It was a pleasure to watch live all this with great spottee Isaac, taking care of us . Highly recommended!
US
Email BKumar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Certainly recommend this tours
Cate is a reliable and trustworthy African safari tour agent. I booked my safari with her online through Safari Booking from California, USA. It was my first time in Kenya and I wanted to make sure I was dealing with a reputable agent. Cate managed my trip professionally, and I had a wonderful experience. The budget I provided was worth it, and I would highly recommend Cate to anyone planning an African safari.