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
JP
Email Yuka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly
The tour was overall good. Kiki is the best tour guide. However, there was one issue: We were told that the visit to the Maasai village was optional, but it felt almost mandatory to participate, and during the tour, we were heavily encouraged to purchase many items. If you do not wish to participate, please be cautious about this.
US
Email HS | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly
The safari game tour was amazing but we were guided to the masai village although we did not request the option. We had to pay additional fee which was a little disappointing to end our tour.
PL
Email Artur | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari experience with some logistics drawbacks
Firstly, the operator is reliable, no problems with booking, payments etc.
We are happy with the 6 day Safari,
that was organized by Jocky Tours. The tour I will describe includes Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli.
Among the factors that stood out and made the trip such pleasant experience was the guide crew. Travelling as a couple, we’ve joined other 5 travellers, but we felt well taken care of. During the game drives and the cross-country transfer the crew ensured to adjust to our preferences (photo stops, toilet breaks etc.)
We were lucky to have two guides, both great. Sanzi James, aside from all the good job he was doing as a guide and driver, was keen on answearing our questions related to daily life in Kenya, its communities and opportunities.
Kikitu ensured that the atmosphere in the car was on point and the smile on his face was irrestistible.
I highly recommend choosing this safari and operator as your first trip of this kind, but there are a few things to consider, broken down into pros and cons:
Pros:
- Great crew
- Actual wildlife, the best in Masai Mara, choosing it you will see countless species and the big 5, due to the experience of the guides, who are great in both: tracking animals and communicating with other cars
- Diversity - each of the places visited during this tour is different
- Accomodation - two out of three hotels booked by the trip operator are worth visiting
Cons:
- Logistics - poor planning on the side of operator’s office: in our group there were 7 people travelling and 4 different hotels to drive to as to pick us up and drop off. It seems that we all chose different accommodation level, but it could have been resolved easily, if one vehicle had only people from the same accomodation standard. It seems possible, as there were other vehicles doing this trip in parallel to us, most likely with people of mixed hotels. To help picturing how frustrating it was: in Amboseli, the hotels are located far from each other. In order to pick travelers you need to drive around for 1.5 hours. It meant that the people staying in the last hotel had to drive around other hotels for 3 additional hours considering both way travel in a single day.
- Vehicle standard - the cars are not what european would consider designated for long, cross-country travel. The seats are uncomfortable, there is no leg space, missing hand and arm holders. The cars shall not carry 9 passengers at once. The group size shall be limited to at least 7 people in order to make the transit managable.
- Amboseli Sopa Lodge - it is not the operator to blame, but their partnership with the hotel should be ended. The value for money is low, there are insects everywhere, the staff is rude and they don’t bother insects getting into lunchboxes that they later wrap and hand out to hotel guests
- Activity distribution: One day you will find yourself doing nothing after 3 pm am the other you will have two Parks + 6 hours cross country travel
CA
Email Michael | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Good budget safari, 6 days in Maasai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli
I came to see the animals. There were lots. The accommodations were rustic, semi-permanent tents and one well worn hotel. Meals were okay, nothing fancy. The guide, Moses, was knowledgeable, good at answering questions. He spent much time on his mobile phone while driving when he should have been concentrating on the road or talking to guests. Tour organization was spotty, beginning at departure when guests embarked then disembarked from the vehicle. Guests were divided between 2 camps, requiring a 15 to 20 minute commute morning and evening for pickups. If you are considering the 6 day trip be ready for hours of driving between parks. All things considered, an enjoyable trip, good value for money.
DE
Email Johanna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari
Denis our tour guide was great, he enabled us to see every single animal that we wanted to before arriving in Africa. All of the big 5 and many many more amazing animals. He had a good eye for spotting them and gave us plenty of time to watch the animals.
He is a good, and safe driver. Also kind and helpful.
Food was mainly okay, just the same every day gets a bit boring.
Few mishaps with accommodation, but the tour company resolved this.
Communication could be better.
We felt safe and well fed throughout.
Would recommend if you want to discover Kenya but stay on a budget, with basic, but clean accommodation.
IT
Email Adriano | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We saw every single animal we wanted, on a budget
Denis our tour guide was great, he enabled us to see every single animal that we wanted to before arriving in Africa. All of the big 5 and many many more amazing animals. He had a good eye for spotting them and gave us plenty of time to watch the animals.
He is a good, and safe driver. Also kind and helpful.
Food was mainly okay, just the same every day gets a bit boring.
Few mishaps with accommodation, but the tour company resolved this.
Communication could be better.
We felt safe and well fed throughout.
Would recommend if you want to discover Kenya but stay on a budget, with basic, but clean accommodation.
JP
Email Alice | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari tour!
We could see lots of animals like lion, cheetah, elephant and so on. It was unforgettable moments ever. Our guide driver Albert, he explained every animals and try to get close. He was amazing. Camp site was also nice, just we couldn’t use electricity in our own room so we needed to go to kitchen to charge our mobiles and camera but it’s still acceptable.
But we booked a car which can ride max 6ppl but actually it was 8people.
We were 4ppl group so 6 and 8 was big deference. If they explained before we would booked private one.
Anyway at total it was amazing trip, thank you so much!! Special thanks to Albert:)))
CA
Email Richard | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great tour guide, bad organization
We booked this tour online. Communication was through WhatsApp and it was unorganized at times. We were meant to be picked up from our hotel at 7:30-8 but the pick up did not happen until close to 9 with minimal communication. Once we were picked up, we were dropped off to our tour guide, Andrew. Andrew was absolutely fantastic the entire time and made the experience much better. We booked the mid range tour and you get what you pay for. The accommodation and food was not amazing but it’s what we expected. I would probably not stay there for more than two nights. Once on the safari though, everything was fantastic and again, Andrew made the experience much better going above and beyond to get us to see different animals. Would recommend if you are comfortable with the accommodations.
US
Email Anar | Experience level: first safari
Alex was very knowledgeable and made sure we were able to get close and see the Big Five!
We had a wonderful experience on our 4-day Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru tour! We upgraded our hotels to the Jambo Mara Lodge and Sarova Woodlands in Nakuru and highly recommend doing that. The food at Jambo Mara was okay and was very good at Sarova Woodlands. The staff at both hotels were very kind and felt very secure. There was hot water at both and nice bathrooms. For the safari, it was not always clear what our plan was and the plan would change without enough communication and we ended up not going to Lake Naivasha because of an timing issue. Alex was really great at helping us see all of the animals and letting us get close and watch without rushing us. I highly recommend doing the balloon safari (it is a VERY early start) and is very worth it and the breakfast after was stunning. We visited the Masai village as well which is very nice to learn about but be prepared to spend a bit of extra money with the souvenirs and donations to the school. Also, we really enjoyed spending time with the other people throughout our tour and saved a good amount of money by not doing a private tour.
DE
Email Julia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jambo Mara Shared Safari
I went on this safari in August 2024, so technically at the end of the great migration, but we were still able to see many many wild beast and all the other animals! I saw 4/5 of the big 5 (rhino unfortunately did not want to be seen on my dates, but I'm still so very happy!)
Our driver Solomon was amazing and very knowledgeable with all the animal facts and where they could be found.
In the beginning there was a mix-up with my accomodation, but it was fixed in less than 30 minutes - so I'm happy about the customer service.
As a solo traveling female, I was anxious at first, but this group joining Safari felt very controlled and the Jombo Mara Lodges have locks on their doors so I felt safe at night.