Beacon Safaris Team in Masai Mara
Beacon Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
DK
Email Allan Hyldal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Kenyan Safari!
Visiting Africa and going on a Safari for the first time, you really don’t know what to expect. Through Safaribookings.com we quickly zoomed in on Beacon Safaris as they offered the locations we were looking for and they had amazing reviews. Robert, the owner of Beacon, was quick to respond and very flexible in accommodating our special requests: we started out with an 8-Day Best of Kenya Safari and ended up with 9 fantastic days through which we feel we got a good understanding of the true Kenya.
In the morning of our first safari day we were picked up at the hotel by our guide Daniel. We were going to spend the majority of the next 9 days with him, so no wonder we were a little anxious to meet him: what if we didn’t get along - that would make it 9 very long days... Now, Daniel turned out to be one of the nicest persons we have ever met; very knowledgeable about his country, it’s parks and animals, and it’s customs and politics (when spending so much time together you do get to speak about topics other than the Big Five). Make no mistake about it, your guide is the most essential part of a successful safari and Daniel is the best ambassador his company and his country could ever ask for.
And how did our safari go? We saw everything we came for - and several times. We saw big families of elephants and giraffes grassing the savannah and crossing rivers. We saw a leopard with her cub chilling in an old tree top. We saw lions hunting and eating a wildebeest. We saw a huge group of hippos hanging out in a mud pool. We saw lots of black and white rhinos (in Ol Pejeta we even got to feed sugar canes to the old and blind black rhino Baraka). We saw thousands and thousands of wildebeest migrating from the Serengeti through the Masai Mara - including their spectacular crossing of the Mara river. And we saw cheetahs, buffalos, gazelles, crocodiles, hyeanas and many, many other animals. Daniel made sure we were always at the right spot at the right time!
Finally, a few pieces of advice:
Make sure you go for the Land Cruiser; is does cost a little extra but it is money well spend (regardless, however, you will be aching all over after the long and bumpy drives).
Make sure you pick a least a few tented camp; it’s a unique experience to hear the sounds of the savannah at night and you feel as if you’re almost sleeping with the wild animals (which is a good thing on a safari...).
Be aware that the roads in Kenya can be as bad as you can possibly imagine. As a consequence, getting from one park to another will be quite time consuming.
And make sure you ask for Daniel to be your guide and everything will be just fine!
AT
Email Peter | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Spectacular trip with a great guide.
Me and my girlfriend did a "6 days through the rift"-tour in early Oktober 2019 with Beacon Safaris. This tour was nothing short of amazing. Especially the masai mara was so overwhelming in its beauty that we would describe this holyday as one of the best ones we ever did. We where also very lucky because we saw a lion kill, wilderbeast river crossings, cheetas sneaking up on prey....and so many more incredible sights. Our guide Peter was very nice and knowledgeable. Unfortunatly one of the camps overbooked us and Beacon Safari had to relocate us in the last night. They did give us a refund for the room price difference and also the other camp was very comitted in making us feel good. Hotels overbooking is a very rare occurance though so we cant really fault Beacon for that. We definatly recomend beacon and if you book a tour take the slighly more expensive 4by4 Car option instead of the van. With this you can take more direct routes and get to places easier. The prices for the tour was very fair considering what you get.
CR
Email Natalie Lelchuk | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best Safari
Beacon Safaris surpassed all of our expectations. We are a family of five adults who booked a 10 day safari. Everything from the hotels to the game drives was amazing. Ken, our guide, made our experience unforgettable. He was extremely nice, knowledgable and accommodating. He made sure that we always had everything we needed and went the extra mile to make sure that we saw all of the animals we wanted to see. From the first day, we saw a pride of lions, a leopard kill and family of elephants right next to our car. Everyday after that, we continued to be amazed by all of the animals we saw. The hotels booked by Beacon were great. The only complaint would be in Flamingo Hill Camp, in Lake Nakuru, where our rooms where located near the town border and that night the music did not stop until four am. Apart from that, all of the other places were amazing.
When we began talking to Robert to book our safari, communication was great and very efficient. However, once we got closer to the date and during the safari, communication with Robert became more difficult as we wouldn't receive answers from him until days later.
Despite this, we would recommend Beacon for any future safari booking and we would definitely ask for Ken!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime
Jambo! We used Beacon Safaris for our 10 day Kenyan safari in late December 2016, and it was the best vacation that we have ever taken. From our first online contact with Beacon Safaris, Robert was always there to quickly answer our questions and offer suggestions. He put together a custom safari that covered a varied mix of luxury tent camps and luxury lodges in several national parks and reserves. He also made recommendations about optional adventures not normally included in the standard package. These included a boat ride on Lake Naivasha, a walking safari on Crescent Island, a biking tour in Hells Gate, and a balloon ride in Masai Mara. The highlight of the trip was Eustus, our driver and guide. He began and ended every day with a handshake greeting and big smile. He was always customer focused and intent on making it a trip of a lifetime. He laughed at our jokes and comments even though he had probably heard similar lines dozens of time before and he made us feel special. He could spot animals more than several hundred yards away and even though he consistently put us in a position to get the best views and pictures – we always felt safe. Partly due to luck but mostly due to Eustus’ tracking expertise, we saw the Big Five several times on our tour – in fact, throughout our day in Masai Mara, we were able to get within a few yards of each one of the Big Five multiple times. What great pictures and memories! Eustus was an expert on the animals, the habitat, and the history of the region. He also informed us about the customs, politics, and economics related to Kenya. If you have a chance to choose your guide, make sure that Eustus is at the top of your list.
US
Email Aly | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing animals and nice accommodation, but poor guide communication and incomplete itinerary
My boyfriend and I did a 3-day safari into the Maasai Mara on a private tour. I chose Beacon Safaris because they were quick to reply to my request for information, thorough in their response, accommodating to my customization for our trip, and reasonably priced within my budget. Overall, we had a nice trip - we saw a ton of animals and stayed in a nice accommodation just outside the park gate. The pop-up van was nice and it was great that it was just my boyfriend, our guide and me. Our guide was nice and did a good job of finding the animals, including a leopard, and getting us close to the animals.
There were a few things that made the trip less enjoyable:
1)We were told during the planning that the van had 4-wheel drive, but it did not. Instead, our guide had another van/guide travel with us and when we got stuck (2-3 times), the other van pulled us out. It was fine, but I would have preferred to have been told the truth up front.
2)We were disappointed with our guide, Eric.
* He had shared that he had just come off a long safari trip prior to ours and appeared to be very tired and trying to do the bare minimum.
* His communication left a lot to be desired - He didn't talk with us much and never discussed our plan for the trip or for each day. This was our first safari and it would have been nice to know what to expect each day (e.g., the overall day plan, how long the game drive would be, when we would be back to camp, when we would stop for lunch, etc.).
* During the safari, he seemed rushed and often didn't stop even though we had asked to stop to watch the animals. He would start driving off without warning and while we were still taking photos or observing the animals. Part of this could have been due to our short safari tour and him feeling rushed to get where we needed to go, but he could have communicated this to us. We were in the dark.
* Our guide was late starting every morning, at least 15 minutes. The second day, we were waiting out front at the meeting time, and he had just walked into the lodge to sit down for breakfast. The third day was a mess in the morning (described in the next point.)
* Our guide did not follow our defined itinerary. Our itinerary dictated early start times, but he attempted to start later than planned which we pushed back on. Our itinerary specifically said we were supposed to have a game drive in the early morning on the third day and then a visit to the Maasai village before heading back to Nairobi; however, we were told by our guide that we could do one or the other. Although, from the first day, our guide suggested we do the village tour on the first evening instead of on the last day so he could get back to Nairobi earlier on the last day, leading us to believe that he had never planned to do the drive the last day which was agreed during the trip planning. We disagreed and told him we wanted to stick to the itinerary. I had attempted to get the itinerary from my tent to show him what was agreed, but when I came back to the lodge, he was gone and there was no way to get a hold of him (he wasn't staying at the lodge).
On the third day, he told us to do the village tour in the morning and he would pick us up at 7:30 AM. He did not show up. We waited for 30-minutes before the hotel offered to call him, only to learn that he had intended for us to walk to the village without him, but this was never communicated. Our guide said the village tour was supposed to be 2-hours, but it was barely one hour. When we met up with our guide at 9 AM, he told us it was too late to do the game drive, he had never looked at our itinerary and didn't remember we were supposed to have a game drive. However, early in the trip he had been pushing us to get back to Nairobi as soon as possible on the last day.
Through this experience, we learned that the guide can make or break the experience and you don't always know who you are going to get. We also learned from a later safari (with a different company) that a lot of the safari company's hire independent contractors as guides. I recommend proactively reviewing the itinerary with the guide from the start and sticking to the plan.
Despite the shortcomings, we really enjoyed our experience and time in the Maasai. The abundance of animal life was incredible!
IT
Email Alessandro | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
In Beacon Safari we trust! Unforgettable 5 days safari (with BIG 5)
Duration: 5 days (February 2019)
Private tour (2 person)
Location: Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha (Kenya)
Accomodation: Fisi camp (Budget), Masai Mara - Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Nakuru
Vehicle: pop-up roof minivan
Going on a safari in Africa is a new experience for me. I approached it with some trepidation, and chose the safari operator based on reviews on the internet. It worked out perfectly! Communication with Robert (the owner) was courteous and ABSOLUTELY clear. But, the most important part of the safari, in my opinion, is your GUIDE. He is the one that will make or break your trip. Our guide Eric definitely contributed to make this trip unforgettable, thanks to his professionalism, friendliness and great commitment to show the best of this beautiful nature and wildlife in Lake Nakuru and the incredible Masai Mara. Yes, we were able (and lucky) to see all Big Fives! Perfectly organized and conducted Safari. We found the itinerary, camps, food, etc. all to our satisfaction. All the accomodations they recommended were very good (a special mention for Fisi Camp in Masai Mara).
Beacon Safari made our stay in Kenya feel easy, fun and safe. So, based on my experience, I highly recommend this company.
If you have any questions or would like to see some safari pics just message me or visit my website: www.amphotography.it
Good luck!
Alessandro
US
Email AD from NJ, USA | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
DID NOT RETURN MY DEPOSIT
Beacon Safaris (Robert) failed to refund my deposit. I had written agreement with him that he would return within 2 weeks of request.
I have been following up for 11 months now. He has been evading with different types of excuses. Now stopped responding to emails as well.
Pl. do not send him any advance.