Kenya Bush Excursions
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- American Society of Travel Agents
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Budget & mid-range)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
DE
Email Florian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bitter aftertaste of being scammed
My wife and me made a 7N/8D safari with KenyaBushExcursions going to Amboseli, Aberdares, Masai Mara, Nakuru and Naivasha in early December 2015. We paid a total of 2780USD.
Overall we made many enjoyable experiences owing to the drivers and the parks themselves, and I really would love to give a better rating. However we have the bitter taste of feeling scammed by KenyaBushExcursions as we did not receive what we paid for in terms of accommodation and transportation – partially due to being dumped on an ultra-low budget safari joining group.
The details
The good:
-Santos was very responsive and accommodating in providing us with a customized itinerary fitting our wishes; pricing seemed OK
-We got to see many animals, we always felt safe and we followed our itinerary (except Aberdares see below)
-Our drivers (Stanley and Jackson) were overall really great guides, very knowledgeable and it was a great time. Especially the drive with Stanley in Amboseli was amazing, Jackson in Masai Mara felt a little bit like working down a checklist (lion check, leopard check, Giraffe check).
The bad:
1.) Scammed by 600USD on accommodation:
5 nights out of 7 nights we slept in cheaper accommodations than what we were quoted
a) In Amboseli we slept 2N in AALodge instead of Kibo Safari Lodge. There is a huge price difference between the two – judge yourself on booking.com of 200USD/ night
b) In Mara we slept 2N in Miti Mingo Eco Camp instead of Rhino. Our specific tent in Miti Mingi was really a dump, dirty and molded (think they also have newer tents though). Though Rhino does not seem hilarious, according to the resort web pages there is a difference of 60 USD/ night
c) In Nakuru we slept in Miale Hotel instead of Lanet Matfam. Lanet is also twice as expensive as Miale.
2.) Overloaded minibus:
For 3 days we were cramped with 10 people in the minibus though we were quoted a maximum of 7 people (so that everybody has a window seat). Believe me that makes a difference if you spend a lot of time on the road and also if you go out for game drives.
Change of accommodation and the overloaded bus were partially caused by us joining on a super-low budget safari by BigTime Safaris for the part of Masai Mara and Nakuru. The other guys only paid 250USD for 3D/2N safari or 400USD for a 4D/3N safari. I understand this is possible only with the cheapest accommodation possible and sitting in an overcrowded bus.
3.) Bad planning around Aberdares/the Ark:
Not having the game drive and rushing through the most expensive hotel in the itinerary was waste of time and money in this itinerary: we couldn’t make a single game drive in the Aberdares as we arrived in the Ark around 5 pm in the evening and already had to leave again at 6 am the next morning to meet the joining group. If we had known that we would have skipped it
4.) Attitude/unprofessionalism:
All of the above wouldn’t have been a drama to me, if Santos would have acknowledged that there were deviations between what we paid and what we received (accommodations!) and if he had provided us with a fair financial adjustment. However, it turned out to be very unprofessional:
a) Santos joined the last day in the car and he provided us with a cost break-down on the itinerary we received, however that was clearly fudged to match again very close to what we paid.
Actually I just noticed later that the devil was in the details, it was inflated in terms of transportation (quoted us 10 days of transportation for being less than 7 days in the car on a 24hour base) and also the quoted park fees were not the amount paid by the driver I know for sure.
b) There were all kind of excuses, such as that he already had to pay tax on the money received, hotel prices were similar (obviously not)…. If I was harsh, I would say that I don’t care, risk of doing business.
c) When they dropped us at the airport it got insulting, I especially remember two phrases “what do you want, you got to see all the parks” and “you are just angry that [the other part of the joining group] paid less than you; you know this is a free market with free prices” –seriously? We simply didn’t get what we paid…
To date, I still wait for a fair offer from Santos, unfortunately no reaction.
QA
Email PETER | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent Safari by Kenya Bush Excursions
Message is- I am extremely happy with my experience on safari with Kenya Bush Excursions. we set out with the hopes of spotting the Big Five on the Mara - we did that and so much more. Our driver/ guide was very knowledgeable (Timothy), and very dedicated to giving us a great experience. We stayed at Kibo Camp in Amboseli, a very nice camp and our room was just perfect.
In fact, after a successful day out in the Mara, Tomothy suggested that we do a safari of Lake Naivasha and his suggestion proved to be spot on the wildlife by the Lake was very different and definitely worth seeing. I can't also forget to mention Santos O. who was replaying our emails and he also help us choose the best destination in Kenya that we can sport the BIG 5.
I heartily recommend Kenya Bush Excursions to anyone looking for cheap and good safari experiences to Africa without hidden cost.
SG
Email Paul Goodweather | Experience level: first safari
The Great Adventures With Kenya Bush Excursions
Kenya Bush Excursions is well organized with an incredible staff. Santos our Travel Consultant his experience is on top, he was attentive to our needs from Months before our trip and we got in touch till our final date. During the trip she was available at every moment and also help us resolve the issue that will come up. The campsite was good especially Amboseli i recommended Kibo Tented Camp its awesome. I really recommend Kenya Bush Excursions to anyone needs to explore Africa.
Email Peter Samuel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
12 Day Safari in Kenya & Tanzania - Incredible Experience!
We recently went on a 12 day budget safari through Kenya and Tanzania with kenyabushexcursions.com. The process from the pickup point at our residential place to finish and back to our residential place was incredible. In the early planning process they helped us cater the tour to cover exactly where we wanted to go and package it to our budget and time constraint. (Santos) was quick to respond to us and helpful in all communication. Before the journey starts they were so friendly and made sure we were very comfortable throughout our stay. Our tour guide/ Driver Timothy were AMAZING! The Vehicle we used was very strong and we were also been given 4 binocular whilst doing game drive. (Timothy) our Driver/Guide was so knowledgeable and really made our trip a once in a lifetime experience. I would highly recommend this company to anyone who is looking for the best safari company in Kenya. We had no any complain from our driver and the company, only disappointing thing was the traffic in Nairobi and at The View Point (Mai Mahiu) we stack in the traffic for about 2-3 hours heading Maasai Mara.
Email Philip Amuse | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 Star Excellent Service Best African Travel Agency
The service was excellent from the initial booking process to the safari itself. Our travel agent Kenya Bush Excursions tailored the safari to our existing travels plans and interests.
Santos was very quick on response of the email as we beat the deadline of our personal Job leave. The Itinerary was good, and on the pick-up date at our destination at Nakumatt The Junction that is located at Ngong Road Nairobi we meet Santos and The Driver (Githinji) They gave us few minutes to do some small shopping.
They were very professional and responded quickly and in detail to our enquiries that we enquired through their website portal. I had absolute faith that the safari would be professionally conducted. Driver/Guide (Githinji) was an excellent tour guide with experience, knowledgeable and flexible, he enabled us to get the most out of the experience. I highly recommend Kenya Bush Excursions.
Philip Amuse
JP
Email Damian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Poorly organized, attempted price increase/bait & switch, change of details, unnecessary delays
I have some really mixed reviews about this operator, I honestly wanted to give them a good review and communication during booking was good, but then just before we arrived in Kenya things started to quickly unravel. In short, I can't in good conscious recommend this operator to anyone after the experience we had with them. I went with a 4 day package that was to include Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. Our flight arrived in Nairobi after noon and most package tours leave in the morning, so I emailed several about this and most were receptive to taking us straight from the airport to our first stopover point right away (we didn't want to waste a night in Nairobi as we had limited time on the trip). Santos from Kenya Bush Excursions got in touch with me and they were the first one to offer the Lanet Matfam resort in Nakuru for the first night rather than the budget hotel in town that most operators seem to use, so I went with them because of that reason. I sent the requested deposit and all was well.
Problems:
1st) 2 weeks before our arrival Santos emailed me and said there was a problem, he said another client cancelled the Nakuru part of their trip and wanted to do Masai Mara only and tried to convince me to do the same, or else pay more to keep our scheduled trip as a private safari. I simply said neither option was acceptable, that Nakuru was part of our plan and we still wanted to go but I saw no reason to pay more since it was already agreed from the start that we were going to Nakuru in a private group due to our mid-day arrival at NBO and our minimum booking number was only 2 for that price anyway. I asked that he either honor the original agreement or cancel and I'd rebook with another operator. (There were no shortage of operators willing to offer nearly the same price). He then said he would work on it and get back to me. A week later he still hadn't gotten back to me so I followed up myself and he said all was fine, that he'd arranged to drop us with another safari operator on the second day to go to Masai Mara with their group. Generally that was fine with me as all operators to Masai Mara were pretty much the same from the quotes I received.
2nd) After arriving at NBO, our driver and Santos met us at the airport. I quickly noted that the car picking us up was not a 4x4 Safari van as quoted, but a small Toyota station wagon unsuitable for a game drive. After leaving the airport Santos again tried to convince us to give up Lake Nakuru and go to Lake Naivasha instead, which I again declined since we wanted to see the flamingos at Nakuru. He was trying to say that maybe the roads in the park at Lake Nakuru were too difficult since it was rainy season (they were fine BTW, and if they would have had the promised 4x4 van then it wouldn't have been an issue anyway). After paying the balance, we had expected to be on our way immediately to Nakuru, but instead they had to take us into the City Market area so he could exchange dollars to shillings on the black market because he didn't have money to pay the driver and our park fees. He was completely unprepared, and if he wanted paid in Kenyan shillings then he should have said that in the booking emails as I could have easily gotten them at the airport saving A LOT of time. It took them over an hour to get the exchange done and payments sorted out as we drove around the city market over and over in the heat with no A/C. Now finally it's well after 3pm and finally we're on the way out of the city. We arrive in Nakuru well after dark.
3rd) After arriving at Nakuru and checking into the Lanet Matfam resort, our driver said that his boss wants to talk to me. I get on the phone and it's Santos again trying to convince me to give up the Lake Nakuru game drive in the morning and just to do Masai Mara because he doesn't have the cash to pay for it all. He said if we want to do Lake Nakuru in the morning (as per the original itinerary) that he wanted us to pay another $150 for the park fees. Of course I refused and said I still don't understand why he's trying this again and reminded him that I gave him a chance to cancel 2 weeks before. I also reminded him that if we were to cancel the Lake Nakuru game drive then it was a complete waste of time to drive there that night, since it's a good 2 hours north of the turn off to go to Masai Mara from Nairobi. Finally he said it's fine and he'd pay the difference out of his own pocket. (I will never believe he paid anything out of his own pocket, maybe he didn't make money on us since other people cancelled but I added up all park fees and they are about 50% of our total package cost, so there was plenty left to pay drivers and budget accommodations).
4th) The Lake Nakuru game drive was in the Toyota station wagon that picked us up from the airport. It was poor because it doesn't have the proper ground clearance for the dirt tracks in the park, no pop-up roof for taking pictures, and is low to the ground hurting chances at seeing animals at a distance. Where was the 4x4 van we were promised?
5th) We'll skip to the last day when arriving back at Nairobi since the part of the tour after joining the other operator and group to Masai Mara was really good. When we got back into Nairobi the driver we were with was already planning to go to the airport to drop off someone else with a similar flight time as us. Instead of leaving us with them to go to the airport, Santos brought his own driver to meet us in the city center to take us to the airport. That in itself was fine, however once again they were totally unprepared. To drop off other people, the van we were in drove through the city market area and went to another parking area about 15-20 minutes away (in traffic, really only about 1km in distance). One parking, Santos and the driver were there waiting, but informed me that the car was actually "a few" meters away. Turns out after walking and following them, the car was actually parked well on the other side of the city market where we had just driven through, at that point nearly an hour before. So here we're dragging our luggage through hot and crowded Nairobi center streets to a place we had already passed once and if he had communicated with the driver of the van we were in, could have been dropped at that spot as we passed earlier. To add insult to injury he made us wait on a street corner for a good 15 minutes after getting back to the city market area waiting for the car to show up from its parking spot. Needless to say I was extremely irritated at this point since the van we started in was going to the airport anyway and all of this was completely unnecessary, my impression was that he was intentionally causing us delay in retaliation for not cancelling Nakuru. There was no other excuse or explanation for it. I was frankly ready to just call in an Uber car and be done with him at that point, the nearest Uber car though was about 15 minutes away and the regular taxis nearby were all pretty shabby looking. His driver did show up finally with the car but by this point the heavy traffic on the road going out to the airport had started and it took forever. We made our flight but had little time to spare thanks to these antics.
Now, the good parts... as far as Kenya Bush Excursions goes, there aren't any, but the operator they passed us off to for Masai Mara was excellent. I didn't get their company's name unfortunately (certainly wish I had because I'd give them a great review), but the driver is Joshua and knows the Masai Mara very well. The first day evening game drive and the last day morning game drive were so-so, but I will blame that mostly on the part of the park near the camp we stayed in, he said the Maasai people drive their cattle through there and it scares away a lot of the animals. The full day game drive he led us on however was really good. He was on the radio the whole day getting locations on big cats and really made an effort to get to them before they disappeared into the bush. We saw more lions than one can count (at least 20 in total), a cheetah mother with cubs, and finally a leopard. Of course plenty of all the common animals too (elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, etc.) but the real gems were the big cats. The cheetah, leopard, and at least one of the really good lion sightings would not have likely been found on a self-drive without someone on a radio.
All in all we had a really good Masai Mara safari and a really poor Lake Nakru one. But the frustrations of dealing with Kenya Bush Excursions were terrible and uncalled for. They are absolute professionals at trying to convince you not to take what you've already paid for or pay twice for the same thing. There is no shortage of tour operators willing to offer the same price with a minimum booking of 2 people. For people doing Nakuru with other operators, I highly recommend requesting the Lanet Matfam resort instead of the budget hotel in town. Considering where we were at, the Lanet Matfam was actually pretty decent (far from luxury, but nothing like the terrible reviews the budget hotels in town get).
Reply from Kenya Bush Excursions
Posted on May 12, 2015Hi,
What brought the confusion was about the group that you have to join, This safari was a budget joining safari and its a 50/50 tour joining a group makes the safari to be affordable including a vehicle transport and the accommodation. so we decided to put you on the small saloon wagon car because our tour van left at 8:30am in the morning so we cannot take 2 people on a van at the afternoon hours because of our terms and conditions, and we can delay other guest to wait for others to arrive.
2nd) The dollar that was paid was old (below 1996) rate is very low when you exchange to our local currency.
3rd) Below was the break down for the safari that our guest Daimian takes
- Lake Nakuru Park fee= 80USD x2= 160USD
- Masai Mara Park fee= 80USD x2= 160USD x 3 days= 480USD
- Accommodation Lanetmart Fam= 140 USD sharing
- Accommodation Masai Mara = 80 USD x 3 = 240 USD sharing
- Fuel and Driver allowance= 160 USD
The total cost is 1180USD
Initially the cost subjected from the website portal is 1040USD for 2pax (only on budget joining)
I added 140 USD from my bank account to fix the gap....
So Damian that is how the safari cash flow was.
Santos Ogonda.
Travel Consultant
Safari Holiday
I checked out many companies before I decided to go with Kenya Bush Excursions. Communication was fast and clear, and Doris took the time to explain things via email. Our airport pickup was there when we arrived, and there were no unwelcome surprises. Our guide Pius was the best, and when we got to Serengeti in Tanzania after being in Kenya at Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara Game Reserve for a week, we missed his company. He was very friendly, and had a lot of knowledge to share with us. He also gave us advice on what to do and what not to do. All in all, we were (couple + friend) would really recommend Kenya Bush Excursions
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Tour!
Went to Kenya with my wife for our honeymoon after our wedding in Beijing and had an awesome time. My wife always wanted to travel and see Africa especially the animals and when our safari tour stopped and we actually got to see giraffes up close we knew we were making memories that would last a lifetime. My friend recommended Kenya Bush Excursions from when he went and they delivered.
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Service
My family and I had a great time with the excursions that we booked through Kenya Bush Excursions. The staff were friendly and insightful and helped us to decide on the perfect itinerary, as with so much to see and do we were not sure if we would have the time to do everything that we wanted. We would not hesitate to recommend their services for anyone who is planning a trip to Kenya.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Offer 1 Day Nairobi National Park Trip
Hello,
I have rated Kenya Bush Excursions Excellent star for the package they offer to me and 5 my workmates, for a Day Trip in Nairobi National Park,
Cheers Guys ....