JOCKY TOURS TEAM
Jocky Tours and Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- AMREF & KWS
- 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)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Email Sara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best part of the tour operator was its guide Jimmy
- Jimmy our tour guide was excellent, patient and kind. Made the trip worthwhile. Always made every effort for us to get the most of the trip and seeing the animals up close in every given opportunity. Patiently attended to every request. Also, excellent driver. We saw other vans running up to issues and we did not had one. Jimmy always helped every one who needed.
- The tour operator was overall ok, but some things could have been better.
- Responses to emails was quick but sometimes did not answer to everything
- We were told that we could either pay by cash, or by a link provided that had a 3.5% bank commission fee or bank transfer with a 20 USD bank commission fee. We chose the latter, but when in Nairobi, at the office to proceed to the payment, the guy kept trying to negotiate a "bank fee" ranging from 3-5% over the price of the safari. We denied and managed to just pay the safari price, proving that there was indeed no bank commission fee.
- Accomodation was good, some more basic then others but overall good. Specially enjoyed Amboseli Manjaro Tented - lots of contact with nature.
Overall, great trip! If you are thinking about this operator highly recommend Jimmy as the guide
PT
Email Thomas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jimmy is an excellent guide however Jocky tours themselves were sometimes tricky to work with.
I'll first start by saying that our guide, Jimmy was absolutely excellent throughout the whole trip and went above and beyond to make everything memorable for us!
Initially upon booking, email responses were fast but a bit short. Sometimes I'd send an email with a few important questions and only receive answers for one. We were told we could either pay the $2600 dollar fee by cash in USD (not really comfortable carrying that much cash with me), pay by card and incur a 3.5% fee for "processing", or make a bank transfer and pay an extra $20 to cover bank charges. I chose the latter. Upon arriving in the office, we were told that wasn't an option and repeatedly had a card terminal thrust at us. He said the 3.5% covered bank charges but he could make it 3%, then 2%... (Dodgy). Finally he dropped the fee and we paid the $2600 by card with no fee - I'm still not certain whether this fee is genuine.
We were asked to take 3 guests with us on the 6hr drive to Masai mara. We agreed but feel like many others would prefer not to - having paid a lot more for a private tour - it is difficult to say no when put on the spot like that.
The tour itself was great - Masai mara was excellent and saw so many animals close up thanks to our guide Jimmy. He was one of the highlights of our trip - kind, knowledgeable and skilled at driving off-road. Where many others got stuck, Jimmy didn't. Lenchada tented camp was great - basic but that is what we bought. Hot showers and nice beds. Good food with vegetarian options.
Nakura accommodation was great. Good food and pool. Next morning was Nakura lake game drive which was a highlight - black rhinos and lions and much more. Naivasha lake was also cool with a boat ride to see hippos and other animals on the shore.
Hells gate national park was excellent where we rented bikes and cycled among zebras and gazelles to the canyon. Factor in an extra $20 per person for bike rental and a guide for this.
The long drive to amboseli was next but unfortunately Jocky tours had neglected to book our guide a room leading to him having to find accommodation some distance away from us. This meant the next days pre-morning game drive was delayed till nearly 10am and by then Kilimanjaro was covered in cloud. A bit annoying but I must stress this was not the fault of our guide.
Overall a great trip and amazing memories made, could have been a bit better on the organisation side by Jocky.
FR
Email Mathieu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organized. An amazing moment
The tour was overall really well organized, with a good balance between the time spent in the different parks and some resting time as well. The guide is passionated and was eager to share all his knowledge with us. A huge thanks to David who made our journey incredible. Despite the « budget » accommodation package, the places where we stayed were very clean and welcoming.
CN
Email Li | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantasy trip
Perfect journey! Hotels are extremely luxurious, and you can see all kinds of animals in the hotel. The tour guide is very responsible and punctual, and will consider the feelings of the guests to adjust the journey. Every day safari is unforgettable.
CN
Email Hu Yue | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best organizer and best guider
It’s our first trip to Africa. We love experience here. The whole trip Helen planed for us and our wonderful guide John and Albert.
The lodge perfect
Guide perfect
And they picked us from airport early in the morning. We feel safe and cozy.
We highly recommend the luxury tour Jocky offered!
DE
Email Meg | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Simply the best!
It will be a long review from me :) I love to write honest review in detail!
About Jocky tour, at the beginning I don’t really like them, they sent me “copy and paste” quotation in a sentence form not in pdf and without photo of the accommodation. I don’t like the way they replied me, I wrote 3 questions and the answered me just one or two of them in a very short sentence.
So I decided to go for another agency which I feel that they are more treasure to their customer or at least I want to feel they want to do business with us.
Somehow they got mistake of the start day and they have no tour on the day we want to go. So I decided to pick jocky because they have thousand of positive reviews.
We started our 7-day-Safari with a guide who is called Jeff (there are three Jeff’s at jocky, so ours is spy girl Jeff). He looks very kind to me. We have 7 people in the jeep. The jeep is in good condition and clean but we got twice flat tire, it’s an adventure lol. You can charge electric devices but not in every seat. There is also free WiFi provided by Jeff. We get small bottle of water every day, all you can drink. 6 nights accommodation, we stayed 4 nights in 2 different tent camps, 2 hotels which surprised us because they are all good, well equipped and clean. About the camp, we loved and could gain experience sleeping in the nature. The last camp in Amboseli was a highlight, we arrived at night in dark. The manager of the camp greeted us from heart. Next day morning we woke up and kilimanjaro appeared clearly in front of us. All staff of all accommodation are amazingly nice and helpful. We thought our tour is in low budget, we will get towels, toilet paper in tents. So that we brought everything with us. In fact, there are private bathroom, toilet, toilet paper and towel provided. In case you are planning to bring these stuff with you, you can just leave it. In the first tent in Masai Mara was very nice but they provide electricity not 24 hours. Which was okay for us. In general, all meals are delicious.
Regarding the itinerary, some people said it’s hard for a 7 day tour because you will be spending so much time in the car, almost 2 days without game drive. My personal experience is, worth it and I don’t feel uncomfortable, we can see the view of kenya, Jeff is a funny guy who you can joke with. During the game drives, he stopped when we ask to, he works 14 years as safari guide, he is experienced who tells you lot of information about different animals, birds and even though plants and trees. He dreamed to be tourist guide when he was kid, so he helps us all the time from his heart. He shows so much his passion and patience. On the last day on the way back to Nairobi, we got flat tire again but it was not easy for him to repair on his own. He wanted to make sure we have no problem of our oncoming journey, he arranged another driver to bring us back to Nairobi, that driver called him right after we go into the car and that driver told me that Jeff was worried about us. Once he knows we are safe and on the way to our destination, he felt relieved. I felt touched and he was really caring about his clients. Thank you very much Jeff, your sweat on the road on the last day hasn’t be vain. You are simply the best and a wonderful tour guide!
Dear all, I highly recommend Jocky tour and if you can request to book a specific guide, try to book Jeff, he will make your memory in Kenya even more special and unforgettable.
Hi Jeff, greetings from Tanzania and we miss you already!
US
Email Ben | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great time on the safari, wish office was communicative.
Had a great time on the 5 day budget safari to the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Navaisha, and Hell's Gate. Raheem, our driver, was a great guide that tried hard to find animals and get us close.
I wish the office was a little more communicative after booking the safari through the phone, received little to no information or communication until the morning of and that was only what time the driver was supposed to should up.
DE
Email Angie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jeff is the best guide you can get! #Spygirl
Jeff was a really good guide! he will answer every question also the silly ones. He make sure we get good pictures and still stay safe in front of the animals. He don't want to get us in danger. He is funny and really patience. He told us a lot about the animals and the kenian culture, i learned a lot this days and can tell some names for the animals (i would not remember if watch a documentary lol) I highly recommend if you wanna book this tour with Jockey Tours that you book it with him. He made this trip better than it already is. And Jeff if you going to read this big big thank you for this 7 day trip it was a pleasure to meet you and i wish you the best for you and your family!
GR
Email Kiriakos | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator was very hepfull
It was worth it.we had great time.the camp was super. and Joshua our driver was the best!!
incredible
A rich and magnificent experience, thank you to Julius for sharing with us his knowledge about animals and his happiness ! It was an unforgettable 3-day stay