African Comfort Zone Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Best for solo traveler
I booked two tours with African Comfort Zone Safaris as a solo traveler and although I was scared to travel alone John assured me that everything will be fine. First I did "1Day Hell's Gate National Park & Lake Naivasha Trip" with John himself who made me feel at home and taught me alot about Kenya. This tour was introduction to Kenya wildlife, I was surprised to see all that wildlife right from the highway as we drove to Hell's Gate. John had to stop for me to have a close view of giraffes that were on the sides of the road. Hell's Gate is a beautiful park where one can ride, drive or just walk among the wildlife! I would recommend this park to anyone traveling to Kenya.
I also did 4days Mt. Kenya Climbing with ACZ safaris and this time Julius was my guide. He and his team of chef and porters made me feel so comfortable however I was the only lady in the group of 4 people, I must say that I was over pampered. They really assisted me in hiring and purchasing all the gears that I needed. I really regret that I didn't booked the rest of the safari to Masai Mara and other parks with them. I wish I knew them before booking it. Thank you all who made my holiday unforgettable.
Amazing 3day Safari Safari
We chose ACZsafaris among several companies we had contacted and they never let us down. Joshua replied all our emails on time and perfectly, John was a perfect driver guide who managed to show us all the big5 including the elusive black rhino. Our unforgettable moment was when we witnessed a pride of lions successfully hunt a buffalo. I would however recommend a private safari instead of group joining package. We hope to come back soon for the migration. Thank you team ACZsafaris.
Dream come true
My wife and I booked a 7 Days Aberdares, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli mid range safari with African Comfort Zone (ACZ) safaris after we were referred by our friend who had used this company the previous year. ACZ safaris's team made it easy for us from the first email. John was quick to answer our numerous questions. We made payment 6months earlier through wire transfer and they booked everything in advance. There was an option to pay via creditcard or paypal but we found it alittle high at 7% transaction surcharge.
We saw all the big 5 and even got a chance to stay at the hotel where Queen Elizabeth slept as a princess and woke up as a queen after her father died at night. John was kind enough to even organise for us to be allocated the "Queens Suite". A staff woke up us at night so that we can see a black rhino that was at the watering hole just outside our suite. We also had a chance to see more rhinos at Lake Nakuru, both white and black that live freely at this park. We also got to enjoy the Rothschild's giraffe which we learn't was endangered spieces. There was a variety of birdlife including a few flamingos too.
Our highlight was at Masai Mara where we got a chance to see a cheetah successfully hunt a Thomson gazelle and then lose its meal to a pack of hyenas. We were also lucky enough to see a coalition of 5 cheetahs and a leopard on a sausage tree feeding on impala carcass . Masai Mara was outstanding and I recommend it to all who are passionate about wildlife, from grazers like elephants, Masai giraffe and zebras to mating lions, hyenas, leopards and cheetahs it was really fascinating.
We also visited and had a boat ride at the beautiful Lake Naivasha full of birdlife including the fish eagles and pelicans and giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, waterbuck, impalas and other grazers browsing around the Lake. We finally ended our safari at Amboseli the home of elephants. Here there were big heards of elephants almost every corner of the park. The views of Mt. Kilimanjaro at the observation hill where we had our packed lunch are outstanding. Our Guide Martin did surpassed our expectations and we were thoroughly satisfied. We will be back next year, Thank you ACZ safaris.
US
Email Guriix | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Experience
Maasai Mara African Comfort Zone Safaris
By Guriix J
We booked our 3 day trip with John from ACZ Safaris. He was very prompt with questions we had for the trip. They had 3 accommodation options with basic camping at Lenchada Camp, Jambo Mara Safari Lodge for mid range and Mara Sopa for high end. We chose the mid range option and were not disappointed. John informed us there is a daily trip to the Mara and were flexible with our dates. We met Joshua from ACZ on the morning of our trip. He introduced is to Evans Ngige our Driver and Tour Guide for the trip. We got the BEST. We stopped at Great Rift Valley View Point for a break and Narok for lunch. The drive from Narok to the Mara is very rough and dusty. Be well prepared. We left Nairobi at 9 and arrived in camp at 1530hrs. Went for an evening game drive and saw a pride of Lions and other regulars. Our next morning started at 0400hrs as we decided to do the Hot Air Balloon ride. It costs USD 450 pp. It was well worth it and was one of our Bucketlist items. The ride is an hour long. We saw sunrise in the air and saw lots of Elephants and the only Hyenas during the trip. We landed 50 metres from a herd of Elephants. Super cool. We'll do it again for sure. We had a bush breakfast with Champagne afterwards. The Captain Gena sold is a flash drive with go pro footage of our ride for Ksh. 4000.Well worth it. We linked up with Evans and our group and continued with our game drive. We saw a pride of Lions, 2 Leopards, Hippos, Buffalos, Cheetahs and all the prey
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Email Torbjörn Forster | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized and awesome safari trip
We booked the 3 days Masai Mara group migration daily safari. It is a budget safari but it exceeded our expectations.
Everything was well organized. We had a very good communication from the beginning, we got a lot of information and Joshua replied our emails quickly.
We did our payment by bank transfer, a very smooth way to do it, and the cheapest.
When we arrived Nairobi I sent Joshua a message to confirm the pick up at our hotel the next morning.
They picked us up as agreed at 9 am.
We had a 6 hour drive to Masai Mara and had a stop around 1 hour at Rift valley.
When we first arrived Masai Mara we checked in at Rhino camp. It is a very simple accomadation, many tents with connected bath, and some few huts in a nice area.
After we had unpacked we went for a sunset safari for 2-3 hours. A fantastic experience where we saw girafs, elephants and lions and much more in an amazing scenery and light.
We had dinner buffet in the evening and started the next morning with a breakfast buffet.
At 8 am we started our full day safari. It was a great day. We saw the big five, the migration and much, much more! We had an awsome day and experience. Our driver and guide, Bernard, was great and did all he could to find the animals, to our satisfaction.
For lunch we had a picnic under a tree on the savannah. That was great.
The last day we started at 6 am and had a sunrise safari for 2 hours, where we were lucky to see cheetah and lions again, and a beautiful sunrise.
We arrived Nairobi around 3 pm the third day.
This is a budget safari, but we experienced so much for a low cost, and can recommend this trip and ACZ warmly.
Trustable, friendly and good staff.
Email Gary | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Truly an incredible experience helped along by professional guides
Communication was clear and concise from pre booking right through to our drop off in Nairobi.
The service provided was fantastic and had everything needed for the 3 days. The accommodation offered was of excellent standard, as was the meals on both days at the campsite.
The Safari was excellent as they usually always are. Our driver was brilliant and also had vast knowledge of the area and the wildlife we were viewing.
I would defined recommend this safari experience to anyone interested in this sort of thing!
Email Gaby van Beek | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari tour
The communication with Joshua was really good. He is a fast and good communicator. He even did a daily check with our driver om how we were doing and feeling.
Our driver Amos was really great! He is a really good driver especially on those rough roads in Kenya. He was very open about the country and his own personal life. On top of that he shared a lot of knowledge about all the wildlife we were spotting during the Safari. For us he was the perfect guide and driver. We would like to thank him for an great experience.
We will advise this safari company to everybody!
ES
Email Charles | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
ACZ tried to change agreed conditions several times
After agreeing on conditions and contracting tour for Amboseli 3 days in lodges, and paying in advance 50%, they contacted to say that it wasn't a lodge but a luxury tent and that a suplement was needed for a lodge. We refused and referred to agreed terms, finally they admitted it would be lodge without suplement.
One or two days before the tour, they called us to let us know that they had problems with the vans, and that they were changing our open-roofed van for a jeep... we refused, and finally got the van as agreed (which is more spacious and permits a full experience).
During the tour, they disturbed us during dinner and argued that they had problems again with vans and proposed to change the safari drive of next day for a visit to a Masaai village. Again we had to refuse, really upset of being bothered by their logistic problems that we are not responsible of.
Last day in the return trip which had lunch included, the driver stopped and told us that the company had given him some money for us to buy food. The amount was ridiculous, so we had to refuse again and as in other tours asked to go to a proper place where the meals are arranged for tourists and we don't need to care about prices.
None of these things happened with other safari tours that we contracted.
Not directly related to ACZ, but to the AA Lodge, we found several cockroaches in the lodge, not only in the bathroom but also inside the sheets. We had to move to a tent that night.
Apart from all of that, we enjoyed Amboseli a lot, and the driver was really nice (in these tours, drivers generally do the hard work in an excellent way and get the less of the money; managers just arrange conditions and pickup the money).
Reply from African Comfort Zone Safaris
Posted on Oct 2, 2018Hello Charles,
I would like to, on behalf of the ACZ Safaris Team, apologize for the misfortunes that occurred during your safari. We are doing a follow up with the tour Guide. Everything was arranged as per your itinerary. I even settled all unresolved matters you raised on the day before the start of your safari. On the day of your safari, I met you personally to ensure everything is in order.
We have also contacted AA Lodge regarding their rooms.
From enquires, planning, to execution of a safari program a lot of team work is needed. It’s not only drivers who do the hard work and it would be unfair on your side if you pointed out that drivers do an excellent job and get less pay in return.
We have a passion to serve and every member of our team is happy to participate in ensuring our travelers get value for their money.
Yours sincerely,
Joshua.
Life changing tour. 100% Recommend
Excellent tour guide - patient, personable and very experienced. They went over and above what was asked and even helped me when I got back to Nairobi. We saw some beautiful wildlife at the masai mara. I would fully reccomend this tour guide.
Email Alison & Ellen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service and value for money
Joshua was brilliant at responding to emails prior to the safari, replies were always speedy and he was happy to go very advise on where to stay what to wear etc. He even stored our large cases for us whilst we were on safari and personally delivered them to our hotel after the safari. We did the 4 day safari to maasai mara and lake Nakuru. Solomon our guide was excellent very knowledgeable and got us so close to the animals which was amazing. We saw all but the elusive leopard. I would highly recommend the visit to the maasai village it was so interesting to learn about their culture and to see the school and beautiful children. There were six of us on the tour bus which was a nice number and not too cramped, some vans looked very full! We had a second guide kikito who took us to the lakes he was also excellent and great fun. We truly has an amazing time and ACZ provided a first class all round experience and I would not hesitate to recommend them