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
EG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly and professional staff that give a lifetime Safari Experience !
I came to Know Catherine online where we arranged everything then I met here personally at Nairobi airport where she was waiting me despite my late flight .
She arranged 4 days Safari ( Masai Mara and lake Nakuru ) and later I extended it one day more as I found it wonderful experience .
Friendly staff and reasonable prices that will fit all the levels .
Was able to spot the all big five due to the so talented driver/guide ( plus some luck )
I strongly recommend it if you want a real African experience with very honest and professional team
ES
Email Irma Borrell | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Quick response, easy solutions and good serviec.
We make 3n Masai Mara + 1n Lake Nakuru. Communication fluent and useful before the safari, good service and guide during the safari, and good value for money and nice hotels middle range.
Just a comment of change on the vehicle when we arrive( from jeep to toyota) but the driver/guide was awesome, so no trouble at all.
Amazing experience in Kenya! what a incredible country.
MX
Email Sofia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most affordable agency (by far)
Cate was a good agent for us. We had a limited budget and she was able to organize a 9 day Safari for us. We would recommend her and our drivers Rufus and Francis.
Positive things:
- excellent prices
- reliable drivers
- she gaves us a private tour even that we only paid for shared safaris
- she also included an extra day in Nairobi for free where a driver took us to the Giraffe Center
Negative things:
- lack of clarity on which hotels we would be staying, mainly because some of them closed down.
- Samburu camp was really bad (Hamashi Best Camping was the name)
DE
Email T.S. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience with nice people
The safari tour was a really good experience, saw so many animals, that was amazing. But also the walk with a Masai to a Masai village was something special for me!
Our driver, Thomas was very nice and drove well. I’am happy that I chose this organization.
BR
Email Claudia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience with Big Fives
After to read some reviews about African Breeze Tours here I decided to book a 6 days safari tour to Masai Mara, Nakuru and Samburu with Cate and my experience was good. The payment of 15% was made in advance and once upon arrival the total amount in cash. My tour supposed to start in Samburu and end in Masai Mara but the order was changed and informed by Cate as soon as I arrived in Nairobi, but it was not a big problem because the group that joined us was very nice and we spent 3 days together in Masai Mara with our funny and expert driver James. After the first 3 days in Masai Mara the tour was private and Cate came to Nakuru to join us until the end of the tour and we had a good time to see many wild animals. In general the tour was very interesting thanks to James that was very professional and available giving informations and advises and also Cate that helped me with contacts to book transfers and hotels in Mombasa and Zanzibar.
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 !
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wide diversity and view of Kenya I had not seen before.
Cate Mbua helped me discover Kenya and its beauty in a way that I had not seen before. Informative and a very personal approach made my visit a one to remember.
Cate certainly goes the extra mile to help you enjoy your stay in Kenya and I would not hesitate in recommending her services for anyone visiting that wonderful country.
ES
Email Pablo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
several setbacks that have occurred during the Safari.
On Monday the 13th, ten minutes after departing in the van from Nairobi, Catherine, an employee and intermediary of African Breeze Safari, informed us that we were beginning the safari in a different order without prior consultation with us. Furthermore, she mentioned that there was no availability at the hotel we had booked (AA Lodge Masai Mara) as she had not made the reservations yet. The contract explicitly states that we were required to pay 25% in advance to reserve the hotels (Payment made on June 2, 2023). Despite this, we were accommodated in Masai Mara Camp, which was significantly different from where we had paid to stay. We didn't have water for personal hygiene and had to purchase bottled water with our own money for brushing our teeth and even showering.
Additionally, we didn't have breakfast on the two days we stayed because the camp didn't have enough food for all the people accommodated. Two of our companions even had to share a room despite having paid for individual rooms due to lack of available space.
Due to the aforementioned issues, from the first night, we contacted Catherine in an attempt to find solutions and prevent the situation from worsening. However, instead of helping, she sent a message saying, and I quote, "please focus on positivity so you can enjoy your Safari."
As I mentioned earlier, we booked this safari 3-4 months in advance, paying 25% upfront to reserve the hotels. Therefore, this should have been arranged and resolved well in advance.
I would also like to note that none of the guides had our itinerary. On August 15th, we were supposed to have lunch at Nakuru Sopa Lodge, a hotel we had already paid for, but instead, we had lunch on the way at a self-service restaurant that was nothing like where we were supposed to eat. We arrived at the hotel at 8:00 PM, leaving us only time to have dinner and sleep before leaving the next day, not being able to make the most of its facilities (which is the reason we paid for good hotels, to enjoy the safari and also relaxation).
We informed our guide (Sam) about this incident, and he mentioned that he was unaware since he didn't even have the itinerary.
The following day, the Lake Nakuru safari was rushed and completed within an hour. We didn't have time to enjoy the morning and couldn't even open the roof of the car to better appreciate the views, as it was broken. Not to mention the multiple breakdowns of the car, which required several stops to fix.
On the same day, we stopped at a shopping center to eat, paying for everything ourselves, as the picnic mentioned in the guide was once again not available.
DE
Email Sascha | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Messing up accomodations
Best experience of our safari was with our guide Isaac. He is a safe driver, very good game spotter and a lovely fellow. Asante sana to him.
With the accomodations Kate was supposed to organize we were not so lucky and happy.
We did the 7 day's safari with drop off at kenyan coast.
About 8 months prior we agreed with her on an itinerary that was finally matching the offer on safaribookings.com in terms of accomodations.
We paid her the deposit of 25% to make all the reservations.
When we arrived in Nairobi we've found out that there were just reservations made for the first 3 night's!
The rest of the hotels such as Sentrim Amboseli, Ngulia Lodge and Voi were not booked for us but completely full at that time in high season.
Kate is a very emotional person and was very pissed that we've found out about that prior.
We belived her to get us the acomodations of our intinerary as she promissed once again. So we paid the 75% balance of the tour in cash on the day we started, just as agreed prior.
We started without knowing where we would stay the other night's. For most of them she found somehow comparable stay's.
Except for one night. We had to stay in a
lowest budget sh*ty zero star place called "Kilimanjaro Cottages Amboseli" https://www.google.com/travel/hotels/s/3yQTuqmxLhfF4mkE8
instead of the exclusive Sentrim Amboseli Lodge, https://sentrim-amboseli-lodge.hotel-mix.de/
We requested a refund of 150$ for that.
She did not refund for that!
We didn't tip for that.
We told her to give the refund straight to the driver, so everyone is happy again.
She didn't.
We can not recommend to book through her.
Reply from African Breeze Tours
Posted on Aug 29, 2023Sascha and his partner booked a 7 days joining safari for 7 days months prior to their arrival. On this particular time, he would use a certain wire transfer and sent me a link that would show me that the money had already arrived in the company account while as, it did NOT reflect in reality. He did it just before the Christmas season and a busy season it was and he would tell me that the cash is already in the company account. i was keen to follow on this transfer particular transfer for some reason! it was tricky.
Now again when he arrives in Kenya, he contact me to say that he has arrived in advance and he was living in an area called Kiambu in a certain airbnb. and he insists that we pick him up in Kiambu the morning he is departing for safari on August 5. So i agree but request him to deposit the balance of 2000 $ in our company account since it was on Friday, a working day for the banks in Kenya and some hours prior to the commencement of the safari, Sascha doesn't agree to deposit the cash, infact he connects me with a certain local lady who advices him how we should operate his safari, she calls me and she gives me some funny points to meet with the quests in Kiambu and its here that i again become very suspicious and did not agree to meet them on those point. I requested Sascha to take a cab from Kiambu to the central Nairobi at City market and again, he disagree saying that City market place is very UNSAFE for them. Anybody who has visited Kenya knows that city market area is at the central of Nairobi and one of the safest place and many companies operating safari, there departures, start from here, so many tourists moving around the area.
So for some reason, Sascha and his team found another point that they wanted us to pick them up and collect the balance in cash but i didnt fall for that. Anyone can google the History of Kiambu and would surely judge me from my disagreement! After not falling to all the traps, Sascha and the local lady that evening of Friday started calling all the accommodations that were on his itinerary! Unfortunately, when they called about 2 hotels, they were informed by the hotels to having worked with our company for more than 10 years and they were asked to trust us. They were not very happy. Its here the hotel teams called and informed me what was happening and i called Sascha and informed him the information i had gotten from the hotels and i told him that if he did not trust us, he had a right to cancel the safari and get his refund back.
So to cut the story short, Sascha, his partner and the Kiambu lady arrives at city market in a small car on August 5, we decide to give him a full 7 days private transportation as a wise decision for a total of 2,666$, comfort hotels and all park fees and everything included but he still went ahead and said he would not recommend us. WHY? During peak season, hotels are usually fully booked to an extend of having some overbooked and if you have not completed the payments in full, their system will end up throwing some upaid bookings and since, Sascha did not agree to pay the balance on time, we missed out in 1 hotel booking, i put effort and booked them in Sopa lodge Amboseli for 1 night and with the money he had paid that wasnt enough for such a class of a hotel!
He admits the driver having done a good job, but he did not even show a sign of a appreciation for 7 days they had been together! Wasnt that mean in anyway!
Sascha finally told our Driver that he had lived in Kenya some years back and he understands everything going on here, he wanted a refund, but kindly judge us from this piece!
When it comes to money! The world should be careful about Sascha and his Kiambu team !
MX
Email Salvador | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not a good service.
I had bad experience with African Breeze safaris in Kenya. First. I paid part of the tour in cash in Nairobi, but they did not wanted to accept some USD bills issued before an specific year. Finally they accept it but only after they charged me an extra amount. Second. In part of the tour they put an extra person in the vehicle, 8 passengers, instead of 7 as in their brochure. It was very uncomfortable for several of us and we almost had a fight! Third. They changed two times my hotels during safaris, one of them of lower quality. In general not a good service.