women at Work, company co- director
Wecam Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- KAWT & TOSK Kenya
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Excellent service and great value
The 4 of us went on the 7-day safari by Wecam stretching from Nairobi to Lake Manyara to the Masai Mara, crossing into Tanzania and exploring the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. From our research online, we were hard pressed to find a tour that covered this much in Tanzania and Kenya with the relative comfort in accommodation (i.e. not pitching our own tents!) that we were looking for. Wecam's tour provided great value for money and they certainly delivered on their promise.
Their customer service was largely handled by a lovely lady by the name of Mercy, who was very quick to respond, able to answer our detailed questions on accommodation / itinerary, and generally a very helpful and courteous person to interact with. Thus from a management perspective, Wecam was able to meet almost all our needs - the only element that fell short of our expectations was their requirement to have the entire payment of the tour paid upfront (as opposed to an initial deposit and the remainder paid at the end). Luckily for us, we finished the tour highly satisfied with what we received.
Regarding the tour itself, we had two professional and seasoned drivers / tour guides covering each half of the trip (Kenya, then Tanzania). We particularly enjoyed our time with Peter (Kenyan half of the trip) who demonstrated a rich experience of these great national parks, animals, and local culture, but also shared a good sense of humour, kindness and friendliness. Both our tour guides were also registered with their respective country's tour operator community, providing them access to a radio and transmitter through which they could communicate any interesting sightings or call for help with breakdowns. We were lucky enough to see all the big five, but their radio communication in particular ensured we saw plenty of lions, a rare sighting of two leopards (being chased by buffalo!), four tiny cheetah cubs and more spectacular sights.
They also built in time for a few optional activities (such as a cycling / walking tour up to a picturesque gorge, time to explore souvenirs, and a visit to a local Masai village). The tour cars were the same models we saw most tour operators using and were reasonably comfortable and had a pop-up roof which offered great visibility / photo ops. Be warned that there are two days which involve particularly long periods of travelling in the car (~6hrs not including the game drive), but this is just a reality of having to cover large distances; not a reflection of Wecam. Many of the roads were very dusty and gravelly, so we actually recommend face-masks just for that reason; but again, this is advice for travelling through these parts of Kenya and Tanzania, not commentary on Wecam as an operator.
Accommodation was at the level of comfort we expected, with a decent hotel in Nakura and comfortable lodge at Ngorongoro. The tented campsites in Masai Mara and the Serengeti were a bit more basic, but contained beds, private bathrooms and electricity in the evenings and mornings which covered our essential needs at least. All meals were covered in the tour price and ranged from decent to delicious.
My entire group was very happy with our safari; it goes without saying the Masai Mara, Serengeti, and other parks we visited were spectacular and, at times, breath-taking places to visit. If these are the destinations you would like to explore, we would be happy to recommend Wecam as an operator that gives you great value for money with good people working for them, altogether delivering an excellent service.
VN
Email bac | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good
We arranged a personalized safari which was all that we expected and more. The places recommended by the agency were fantastic. We did not encounter any problems with what was promised and all went according to plan. We even saw a place which was not in their recommended list but they still arranged to book it for us without hesitation. Again, all was as promised.
Wecam: Highly responsive, okay service, some missed key details
Wecam was mostly good but got quite a few significant details wrong, so I give them 3 stars to make a point that the operator in a situation like a Kenya/Tanzania safari trip should come with strong experience, clear recommendations, and quality equipment to soothe over the difficulties of a trip like this. Wecam overall provided okay service, were honest and responsive, but fell short on the details. I emphasize the details missed below.
Starting with the positive, Wecam was the most responsive of the operators contacted, which counts for something. They also were honest enough to pay for an error in a flight booking that I showed via old emails was there fault. While that represents missing a detail, on the flip side, they were honest enough to pay for the flight even having already paid for the safari in full at that point. So the positives of their service along with one strong lifts them from below average.
We chose a safari and beach vacation. The first vehicle assigned for our safari was the oldest we saw around and a bus rather than jeep-style, better suited to the terrain. More importantly, the windows did not shut well to keep out the cold morning draft (which the limited heat could not offset sufficiently) or dust, with one periodically even falling out when I opened it to take photos. Nor did it have air conditioning as an option to keep drafty windows closed and prevent my girlfriend from coughing from a mild allergy to the dusty road. The second vehicle assigned in Tanzania was significantly better, though it may have been a governmental requirement. It also lacked air conditioning, plus the trunk stopped working, which would have been a big problem if we were more than two people. The first vehicle advertised that it had wifi, but they didn’t send the driver with the wifi unit so that it could work. The second vehicle didn’t advertise wifi onboard though the driver had the unit, and didn’t clarify it was available until we were out of range of towns anyway and then ran out of airtime promptly and couldn’t get it back working. The first driver wasn’t that great with English or explanations, although the second one was outstanding, raising Wecam from two stars.
Another significant detail missed was that I specifically made it a much more expensive two-country safari to see the Great Migration in action, which was heading from Masai Mara to the Northern Serengeti. However, they had the itinerary skip right past the Northern Serengeti. Good thing we were lucky enough to see a decent number of wildebeest including a river crossing in Kenya and so many lions in Central Serengeti, or we’d feel really miffed.
There also were problems with estimating time. Drivers generally under-estimated amount of time to arrive, while the central office person initially estimated our timing to arrive at the airport four hours early for merely a domestic flight. The second driver was better at estimating time. Wecam booked internal flights without engaging us as requested with respect to flight time, they ignored one message with a specifically-requested time that was available, and they communicated a slightly incorrect flight time. They also put us at a hotel a 90-minute drive away from the airport after a long day of driving and flying when much closer options were available, even if without quite as nice a beach, turning a long, tiring day into a late, exhausting one unnecessarily. Wecam did not provide clear recommendations from among mid-range hotel options, forcing me to try to review choices and advise though without sufficient time while working a busy job to check accurately, leading to staying in a couple second-best stays among the second-rate places.
Overall, there were a number of positive elements in their service and strong responsiveness. For the price paid though, I expect stronger assistance with providing recommendations and smoothing out the details.
IN
Email Moumita | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great first time safari in East Africa - thank you Wecam
I really feel it is almost a moral duty now to write an honest review, because such reviews helped us a lot to plan our safari in the first place.
We (2 people) went on a safari of Kenya and Tanzania in August 2016. It was a 12-day itinerary. Merci was very patient with our queries etc and throughout the arrangements. The safari overall was great, smooth, well co-ordinated and we thank wecam for the same. We loved our guides Gibson (very smart, knows where to get what and showed us the best in Masai Mara), Peter (exceptional hospitality towards visitors) in Kenya. Our guide Humphrey in Tanzania was also good but needs to be a bit more organised and careful (he got us a ticket from traffic police for speed and once forgot his wallet etc in the Twiga campsite, luckily we found it). However, Humphrey also showed us some exceptional sights in Tanzania parks and had deep knowledge of wildlife.
Also a couple of things for future travellers' benefit - 1) we tried to customize our itinerary dropping Nakuru and fitting in Naivasha etc. creating some route which none of the operators had. It creates a mess, because their logistics people will eventually follow the one they have been following. So, best to stick to their route and may be work with the number of days etc. 2) Before the start of safari, check and confirm with them/Merci all the places of accommodation so that there are no last minute confusions or inadvertant changes.
Our stay arrangements were very good, wecam provided a good blend of stay options.
Overall, it was a most memorable experience and we sincerely thank wecam team.
SE
Email Per | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent and pleasant day-trips to Lake Naivaisha and Nairobi national park
Me and and friend asked Wecam to arrange a weekend-safari around Nairobi. The first day we went to Lake Naivasha visiting Hell's gate national park and taking a boat trip on the lake. The second day was only a half-day due to an afternoon flight back to Sweden, and was spent in Nairobi National park. Communication with regard to both booking, setting the time and place for pick-up etc. was both efficient and quick. We were picked up on the time decided and dropped off at the hotel/airport as scheduled. The service during the tour was very good. Both of our lunches were both good and socially rewarding. I especially want to give thanks to our driver and Judy for such a nice company during our two days together. The driver's driving skills as well as his knowledge about wildlife was impressive. I have already started to think about my next visit to Kenya and my dream to visit Tsavo, and will definitely leave that trip in the hands of Wecam.
NL
Email Anne and Jasper | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience 11 day safari
We absolutely loved our 11 day safari through Kenya and Tanzania with Wecam safari. Mercy is very nice and professional, she arranged everything perfectly and checked in with us all the way through our trip to see if we were happy.
We chose this company because they had a perfect combination of basic tent travel and nice lodges/hotels for a very good price and were happy to change the itinerary for us.
One thing you should know though is that all the budget safari companies work together, so we were put in the same car with people from other companies due to low season. We were the only people who did the 11 days so we changed drivers 4 times, which was a bit much, but they were all very good. Especially in Kenya we felt very safe with Peter and Patrick who drove very well and are also good animal spotters. During our trip I got sick and Peter was so helpful to bring us to a doctor late in the evening for which he had to drive an hour through a national park though he hadn't even eaten his dinner yet.
Our favorite parts of the trip were Masai Mara, where we were able to get to the animals very closely. At Amboseli it's a little harder to spot animals, and the Kilimanjaro often hides behind the clouds but the kibo safari camp was one of the most beautiful camps I have ever seen. Then the pinched tent camping inside Serengeti and Ngorongoro definitely was one of the most adventurous and amazing things we've ever done!
So altogether we were extremely happy with our trip and would definitely recommend Wecam safari!!
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Planning
Last year i decided to pay Kenya a Visit and chose Wecam safaris to organize a nice budget safari. They organised a smart six days safari where we visited Masai Mara, Nakuru Tsavo and Mombasa. All the hotels i was booked on were good. The game drives were awesome. We had the opportunity to sport all the big five animals Thelions Elephants in big numbers Rhinos and many more animals. Our Mombasa Safari was my best. Especially the boat ride to Wasini Island. The crew was fantastic. We were able to spot some amazing dolphins at Kisite marine Park and also we were able to see some nice sea creatures with the assist of the crew.
The way we were received at the JKIA was cool. I once felt at home in a foreign Land.
I can boldly recommend the services of Wecam Safaris to anyone.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Super Tours and Safaris Company Whose Services are Geared towards Client satisfaction
I and my friends used Wecam Safaris for a Three Nights Four Days Great Rift valley Safari. They made us tailored Safari that suited our needs perfectly. We were amazed by How the staff was so considerate. A truly dedicated team who listened to us always. They worked extra hard to make sure that we got the best services at the hotels. Finally we will be wrong if we dont give a big laud of applause to their driver who acted as both driver and guide. One could tell that the guy was passionate about his work
NO
Email Einar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We had an amazing experience with WeCam Safaris! From the booking, throughout the entire trip everything went smooth and easy. Would highly recommend WeCam Safaris to anyone!
US
Email asa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing arrangement.
We did a family trip to Kenya last month using this company and they delivered beyond our expectations.
Thank you team Wecam for your service.
