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 Keith | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Jocky Tours and Safaris, administration staff MAUREEN and driver STEVE are 5 Stars!
My review and resultant rating is based on a (7D/6N) budget tour with Jocky Tours & Safaris covering Masai Mara-Nakuru-Navaisha-Ambolesi.
I have also used my 2013 & 2020 experience at quite a few safaris in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya (twice), and once in Southern Ethiopia to compare with the present one.
I have split up my review as follows:
1. Planning Stage.
Prior to and after making my selection with Jocky I had a few communications with MAUREEN (Jocky Administration) to clear up a few matters. Each time I not only received satisfactory answers but also very promptly.
The whole process I have to say was a breeze. I never had reason to doubt the honesty of the company.
2. Tour Cost.
The tour was good value for money and to my surprise all Jocky requested was just US$100 deposit to secure my tour, the balance payable on the morning of the tour which commenced on exactly the day I specified. (I planned the safari tour more than 2 months in advance).
3. Accommodation & Food.
The accommodation more than met my expectations and the food was reasonable considering the conditions. Bottled drinking water was available all the time.
4. The Expedition.
We were provided with a road worthy Toyota LandCruiser (4W drive) which seated up to 7. It was clean and functional.
STEVE our driver spoke excellent English and kept us informed of all the arrangements - accommodations, food, and most importantly drove us diligently in search of game. We were given ample time to view all the available sights. I have to applaud his effort over and above his normal driver obligations.
Best of all over the 7 days he was always cheerful. And despite being relatively young his driving was extremely safe and mature.
(He also helped me in his spare time to secure a bus ticket from Nairobi to Arusha for which I am tremendously grateful).
If ever I ever return for future safaris, for peace of mind, I would use Jocky Tours and Safaris again and would request STEVE to be my driver.
HK
Email Eddie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari by Jocky was smooth, enjoyable and memorable!
From the moment we were met by a colleague from Jocky at the airport upon our arrival till we finished our 7-day safari in Nairobi, everything was so smooth, enjoyable and memorable. Most grateful that we had Albert taking care of us during the whole trip. He is very knowledgeable with all the animals, tracking animal movements all the times to make sure that we saw as many animals as possible, pointing us to different directions and locations for animals and birds that we otherwise would not spot. On many occasions, he drove us to vantage points to view the animals up close. Most amazing happened on the second last day in Amboseli NP, Albert managed again to get us to several positions to witness how a lioness hunted down a zebra. He explained the strategy - how the lioness would approach and catch her prey. The whole event lasted for almost an hour, made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience to conclude our expedition that we will not forget. My sincere thanks to Albert (in the picture) who made an effort in reaching the Manjaro Tented Camp by dusk, an exceptional driving experience!
US
Email Vlad | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Peter was awesome, great driver and guide!
Had a great experience doing the safari! I did the 3 day option and it was incredible! Got to see many cool animals and several different families of lions! Very pleased!
My guide was Peter Nding’ai
CH
Email Amro | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We couldn't get better than Jocky Tour and our iconic guide Moses.
My wife and I truly loved the service. From the very beginning, Moses made us feel comfortable and at ease. He is very professional, highly experienced, kind, attentive, friendly, and extremely competent. We really appreciated his excellent work.
Kindly,
Amro and Yasmine
IE
Email Ruth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Private 5 Day Safari! But read notes below :)
Had a 5 day safari with Jocky Tours, private tour with 3 nights Masai Mara and 1 night in Lake Nakuru.
Picked up by our guide and driver James.
Headed to Masai stopping at the Great Rift Valley viewpoint along the way. The trip took 6 to 7 hours, the jeep was quite old with seatbelts not working very well, seats not super comfortable for a trip that long. Arriving at Lenchada Camp we were greeted by the owners and brought for lunch. The food for the 3 days was good, rice, beans, veg. Happy to have Vegetarian option everyday.
We headed on an evening game drive & then had 2 full days of game drives. Then we left for Buraha at Lake Nakuru. We arrived at 3pm and had the evening free. I had thought we had a game drive that evening (my mistake upon re-reading the schedule info from Jocky Tours), but again we felt that this should have been communicated by our guide, a simple "today we are driving here, we will stop here and here, let me know if you need additional breaks, upon arriving you will have the evening free to rest for the game drive the next morning".
After our morning game drive at Lake Nakuru we headed back towards Nairobi stopping along the way for lunch at one of the Curio shops.
Safely back to Nairobi around 3pm.
Positives:
- Saw the big 5 + a plethora of animals, birds, lizards, was truly fantastic.
- James was a safe driver, was great for spotting animals and he was a chill guide for people who want a calm atmosphere.
- Lenchada camp had everything we needed, hot water, plenty of time to charge phones / cameras, amazing wifi, mosquito net (definitely needed).
- Buraha Zeoni resort at Lake Nakuru was great to stay.
- In all places staff were very friendly, helpful + accommodating.
Room for improvement:
- The jeep was old & unclean even when we were first picked up, seats extremely dusty since day 1, seatbelts not tightening properly, seats like rocks, very uncomfortable for a 7 hour drive.
- When we were picked up we headed to the Jocky Tours offices in the city centre, this was not communicated when booking and it felt a bit odd leaving the jeep open with many people around, with all our luggage inside as we headed to the offices, this needs to be communicated to your customers as I was not expecting this and created some apprehension.
- Really felt that information was limited from the guide in terms of schedules, plans for the day, info on animals was very basic. Would have been nice to hear more about the animals, their migration patterns, why certain animals graze together, who is nocturnal v not.
- Would also have been nice if we had been told about the Masai people, their culture, why they wear red etc found ourselves googling a lot as we were not being told by our guide.
- Buffet food at Lenchada camp is not kept covered and is left open for hours in the morning and at dinner. Many flies and insects landing on food.
- Despite communicating that we were vegetarian, our packed lunches on 1 of the 2 days were meat and we couldn't have our lunch that day, which was not great considering it's a 12 hour day out.
- On the second day of our full game drive, we returned to camp earlier than the previous day (2 hours earlier) this was not communicated to us, we just began the journey back to camp and it was disappointing as we had planned to take some pictures of the sunset on our last day in the Maasai.
FR
Email Sook Sian, Cherry CHAI | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A very reliable company, with a wide and varied choice of safaris, and great value for money.
Our 7 days-6 nights safari tour covered 4 different national parks and reserves which allowed us to see a wide variety of animals, including of course the Big Five, although unfortunately we missed the Great Migration which had ended exceptionally earlier this year. That is something that only Nature can decide!
Steve, our capable and enthusiastic driver-guide, made the trip particularly interesting and enjoyable by his wide knowledge of the country, its history and geography, inhabitants and wildlife, knowledge which he shared with us often in a humorous manner. He always chose the best spots for our animal sightings and manoeuvred the vehicle expertly so that we could take the best photos. He readily answered all my questions on the Swahili language, and didn't hesitate in using his own off time in the evening to help my friend and me in booking our onward travel arrangements. He really takes good care of his group of travellers!
HK
Email Antonia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Have best tour guide
The value for money was excellent. Aside from the water quality at the first hotel,everything else was excellent. Our guide, Papa John, was especially helpful. He was a great driver, actively searched for animals, explained the differences and characteristics of each species, and was very attentive to our well-being.
CA
Email Natalia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Robin, absolutely amazing. He was the best we would have asked for
Robin as our tour guide was absolutely great. The tour was everything we wanted, we got to see so many animals and he really made an effort to ensure we saw all the animals we wanted to. I would 1000% recommend the tour and Robin as your guide
US
Email Mounica | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely amazing!
We truly enjoyed the Safari. Papa John was our guide and his expertise made our trip very memorable. He went above and beyond to make sure we view all the animals! Totally recommend this travels and Papa John as the guide!
US
Email Nilay | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly the best experience because of our guide Papa John!
A great guide is a must when visiting Masai Mara. Its not easy to spot animals and only a good experienced guide will be able to make you see all the animals specially the big 5 up and close.
Papa John is the best guide we could have asked for. His passion towards making us spot all of the Big 5 was incredible. He is professional and also very knowledgeable.
Highly recommend booking with Jocky Tours and requesting for Papa John as your guide!
