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
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour, a range of activities and fantastic value. Knowledgeable and helpful staff!
I used African Breeze tours to book a 5 day tour of Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Navaisha and Hells Gate National Park. The tour was fantastic value, accommodation was adequate and the meals provided were of a good quality. The staff were extremely helpful, prior to booking they communicate well and helped tailor the trip to my requirements. During the safari the staff demonstrated excellent knowledge of the local area and were able to spot and provide information on all the local wildlife. The tour company were very accommodating with pick up and drop offs in Nairobi. I would definitely recommend booking through African Breeze, they exceeded all of my expectations! I will be sure to use the company again if i am ever fortunate enough to return to Kenya. Thank you for making holiday a trip which I will remember for the rest of my life!
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
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.
JP
Email Mayumi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be careful.
I paid USD 300 in August 2019 via wire transfer as a deposit to join the safari tour but I had to cancel because they offered a really high price in last minute before I joined the tour in January. So, I did not agree to join the tour and they agreed that they will refund the full amount of USD 300 to me in January. Since then, I've tried to email them many times to get me refund but they kept saying there are finance issues(even before COVID 19 situation) so they will refund later, however it's been 10 months since they acknowledged and refund has not been done. I will try my best to get me refund of USD 300.
KR
Email Joshua Sanggyu Kim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This operator just took my money and didn't make a refund until now. Operating skills very poor too.
I would just write facts here. It is your option to judge.
In brief, this operator
1) Took my money(entrance fee) and made me pay twice. Didn't make my refund until now.
2) Didn't inform me about changes within the tour
3) Didn't pay hotel in advance
4) Doesn't keep promises
1. Just took my money and didn't make a refund
I met Cate(Operator) at my hotel before my trip to Masai Mara. I paid the remaining deposits to her, including Masai Mara entrance fee(280USD for 2 pax). However, when I arrived at the national park, the park rangers said no entrance fee was paid. I had to call her(several attempts since she didn't pick up the phone) and she said the queue for the bank was too long so I should pay the rangers 280USD and she would pay back my money once I get back to Nairobi. I told her to tranfer the money directly to my Mara hotel but she said that was not possible. I had no other choice so I paid the rangers 280USD and went for my tour.
Cate promised me to meet me at Wilson airport once I get back, but she didn't show up. (She was in Tanzania) I needed to keep calling her and check how things were going. (Why would I use a tour operator if I needed to do EVERYTHING by myself?) She promised me (again) that she would send someone to my hotel in Nairobi and give me back my money. She didn't. I came back home after my trip and requested online refund. She said she will but kept ignoring my emails and said she needs a month due to funding issues. (She obviously used my money elsewhere) So I waited with patience but she decided to ignore my email again. She knows that she owes me my deposit(she stated that in her own email) but keeps on refusing to pay me back.
2. Not a professional operator.
- This operator must have done hundreds of excursions but never notified me regarding which domestic airport I should book for Masai Mara. I used skycanner and searched an airport and booked it in advance, but Cate said it was another airport few weeks before my trip. Shouldn't I be notified?
- Due to booking a different airport, my hotel was changed to a more expensive hotel. However, since this was my honeymoon, I wanted to have a private game drive. That was why I booked this tour in the first place because it was all private. However, I found out that my game drive was shared by 6 people. I understand what happened with the hotel but nothing was informed. I needed to call her(again) to check.
She insists that she is making nothing from this tour due to a more expensive hotel, but this wouldn't have happened if she informed me about the aiport.
- When I was checking out at Masai Mara Hotel(Serena Lodge), they said my balance was not paid. I paid everything to Cate, but the operator didn't pay the lodge in advance. I needed to call her(again) and check what was going on. The operator was on his/her way to pay and I needed to wait until I was free to go. I had a flight coming up so wasn't comfortable with waiting.
I strongly recommend you to look for another operator. This is how this operator does business.
US
Email Marcia Gardner | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fabulous experience with African Breeze Tours
Catherine was experienced in what she does, and she does it with passion and excellence .. me and my family had an experience of a lifetime , our expectations were met, the price was competitive, the tour driver/guide and Catherine ensured that the trip was worthy more than what we paid for. we did enjoy to our maximum and carried memories of lifetime. I will surely travel back to Kenya for a safari through Catherine's company . I have highly recommended her company to my co-workers and friends.
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 !
Email Chloe | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid at all costs - nightmare tour operator!
DO NOT BOOK with African breeze tours – warning! Cate is at best, disorganised, unresponsive and manulipative, and at worst a con artist. AVOID AVOID AVOID
We booked our honeymoon with Cate at African Breeze tours – we were super impressed with her communication, putting together a bespoke package, and offering a great price.
We arrived at the airport, expecting a driver to pick us up from arrival. We landed at 5am, and Cate told us that we would have to wait until 7.30am for her and a driver – which we did.
The next few days were fine, although we hadn’t booked a private tour, no one else joined us, and it was great. We stayed at Treetops (highly recommend a stay here), Samburu Lodge (again a great hotel), and our driver/guide Solomon was good, he was a little maverick, and at times I wasn’t too sure if he was totally sure where he was going or whether we were lost.
The second half of the week though was horrendous, stressful and has really tainted my view of the honeymoon. We arrived after an 8hour drive from Samburu to Lake Nakuru (although Cate told us it was a morning drive, and we would be there by lunchtime – we left at 8am and arrived gone 4pm!). Our driver struggled to find the hotel (Eagle Palace), which was in the city centre, not a hotel you would expect on a safari. Once we checked in, the driver said we should go for a drive around Lake Nakuru, but Cate hadn’t sent all of the money, and so we would need to pay $200USD. With the park only open for another hour, we decided it wasn’t worth it, but we were now worried that our driver didn’t have any money for fuel, and wasn’t prepared to drive us to Maasai Mara until he was paid. Cate didn’t pick up anyone’s calls, said she was having bank issues, and couldn’t pay until the morning. She didn’t read the WhatsApp messages and we had a strife night in Nakuru.
Cate paid the driver his fuel money so we left Nakuru, and headed for the Maasai Mara. En route we switched vehicles and drivers, and it appeared that Cate had booked us onto a tour with another company (Bencia tours – who were amazing!), we checked into the lodge (Ol Moran) and went for a drive the next day. When we arrived back at the lodge the staff were waiting for us and said our agent hadn’t paid for the room and so we were unable to get into our room until we paid $360USD. They had tried to get hold of Cate all day and she had promised to pay, but didn’t. After over 2 hours we managed to scramble together all the money the lodge required and paid it over, only then did Cate pay the lodge and our money was returned later that night. The lodge had told us that Cate had booked us into the lodge on the day we arrived, despite us booking with Cate 9 months before we arrived, and she had confirmed the lodge name and booking with us.
Overall the Safari was great, but African breeze were a nightmare. The company address is a PO box at JIKA airport – and this should be a warning sign to anyone.
AVOID AFRICAN BREEZE TOURS AT ALL COSTS, if you already have booked with them, I suggest you double check that all the accommodation has been booked and paid for before you leave, and that the driver has all the money and park fees before you leave for Safari.
Reply from African Breeze Tours
Posted on Oct 4, 2019The world can judge by reading your review Chloe, BUT a careful reader will judge it fairly.
We appreciate that Chloe confessed, at least ,that they were super impressed with Cate's communication, putting together a bespoke package, and offering a great price and that You arrived at 5:00 am and Cate told you to wait until 7:30 am. The company's safari itinerary to you Chloe stated that departure time was 8:00 am. You were not late to be picked,at least Cate and driver were there before your pick up time.
You really appreciate the first bit of the safari as well, going to an extent of recommending the Tree tops lodge, Samburu Lodge and the driver Solomon.
The second phase is where you state that it was horrendous. You left Samburu Lodge at 8:00 am and arrived in Nakuru at 4:00 pm. Anyone reading this review can google the location of Samburu lodge and they can tell that the lodge's location is inside the park, so you definitely had an enroute game viewing as you exited the park before even getting to the main gate of Samburu national reserve. Leaving at 8:00 am from Samburu ,arriving to Nakuru at 4:00 pm totally depends with our roads, and that was no one's fault. The parks entrance fee to Lake Nakuru national park was usd 120 for both of you and still it is until now and the driver had all the park fees, you clearly state that YOU DECIDED it wasn’t worth a visit. It was your decision to have a restful evening since you thought you had a long day. Anyone can see that.
You forgot to point out that you had spoken to Cate that evening and she said she was coming from Arusha, though on the way the network wasnt good but atleast you managed to communicate. Chloe, the safari you took was a group safari but the company did go an extra mile of giving you half exclusively private safari, and when you were just about to complete your safari you joined a group, anyone can see you didnt like the last bit of joining other travelers but remember that you were very much aware that your safari was supposed to be a group joining safari.
We called the hotel and they confirmed that they didnt take any money from you,we can still call or email them if any one needs clarification,network in Masai Mara(the wild) is not always consistent and calling Cate from there and didnt get hold of her doesnt mean she didnt pay the hotel or she hadnt booked you on time, you were on the 2nd night and Cate forwarded the payment ref number that very evening. Anyone who has stayed in big hotels/camps knows that the billing is done only when you are checking out ! Right? The following morning you checked out of the camp without any issues, right? what does that imply? Did any one fuel you Chloe?
We tried to tried reach you out after you were back in your country just to see what you were not happy about since the last day of your safari you did not have time, your flight was departing sooner, but you said were not willing to say what exactly made you so angry. Was the other agent i work with my competitor instead of a partner ????
Treetops lodge and Samburu lodge are expensive lodges than Olmoran tented camp, The company paid those as well, if any one was a CON ARTIST as you imply, then you would not have had any of those! You didnt say you wanted to visit our office in the first place, we would have gladly taken you for a tour in there. its wrong to accuse anyone falsely.
We regret that you say your honeymoon was tainted, should you ever be ready to tell us exactly what transpired, we will be happy to listen to you and solve whatever problem that might have occurred.
Regards,
African Breeze Tours.
BE
Email Betty Dr Vroe | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent,very good Company
Few things command more respect than hard work,Integrity,dedication and ability to follow through.These are among attributes we experienced from start to finish when organizing our trip to MasaiMara with African Breeze Tours.
An excellent listeners and pays attention to details.The choice of Mara Ashnil tented Camp was perfect for us.Driver guide skilled and reliable and the vehicle was always clean and completely stocked with bottled drinking water.
We had a fantastic 3 days safari experience and would highly recommend anyone to choose the operator.
We promise to be back next year Cate and your team.