Destinations Kenya Safari
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1991)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Joy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an amazing experience
The scenery was mind blowing,we took pictures and had a very good experience
NL
Email Judit | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible experience
Worst tour organizer and company ever. This is a Kenyan company and we booked a combined Kenya-Tanzania safari in March 2025 for September with a shared tour in Kenya and private tour in Tanzania on comfort level.
While before our safari date the company replied readily to our questions, from the first day of our actual safari we experienced lack of organization and support: several accommodations didn't have reservations for us, the company changed 5 of 6 accommodations in total, cancelled 1 park in Kenya and 1 park in Tanzania, modified the length of our stay in the accommodations and our game drives, didn't arrange appropriate border crossing, changed the entire schedule in Tanzania compared to the booked itinerary, had shared tour in Tanzania as well.
From one day to another they changed something but promised that all other parts of the tour would remain unchanged, then the next day they modified something again. Never asked our permission, just informed us about the changes and expected us not to complain and forced us to do the tour the way they wanted. When we tried to get an explanation and told our concerns and the conversation turned inconvenient for them, they simply went silent, didn't reply to our messages, or hung up the phone. We couldn't relax, and spent hours every day arguing. They left us with no support at all, never apologized for any change they made and kept lying during our safari about the upcoming days.
Seemed like they just took our money but didn't organize anything in time, leaving everything for the last minute. Later on we got connected to the Tanzanian co-partner company who told us that the pre-booked trip doesn't even exist, the Kenyan company booked a tour for a day later and they didn't even pay enough for a private tour.
Complete disaster and nightmare.
CH
Email Isabelle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor communication, unclear terms, and inconsistent service
We communicated with Frank prior to booking the tour and initially everything seemed fine. We tailored the itinerary together and eventually agreed on a trip. Before paying the deposit, we specifically asked for the cancellation terms and conditions. These stated that cancellations made more than 120 days prior would incur a maximum fee of USD 300 per person cancelled. There was no mention of hotel cancellation penalties. Based on this, we paid the deposit in March 2025 for a trip scheduled for the end of December 2025.
Originally three people were travelling. On 19 August, before the 120-day period, I informed the agency that one person had to cancel. When the revised pricing was eventually provided, it included a hotel cancellation penalty that had not been mentioned in the original terms. It also took several months and repeated follow-ups to receive the revised price, which only arrived on 8 December, just weeks before departure. By then, we felt uncomfortable but had already paid a substantial deposit and could not change plans.
Upon arrival in Nairobi, Frank picked us up at the airport, though there was no sign displayed by Destinations Kenya Safari. The safari itself was outsourced to another company, Super Eagles, and our driver/guide was Derick.
In Amboseli, we were supposed to stay three nights at Sopa Lodge but were instead taken to Penety for the first night due to an alleged overbooking. We were not informed of this change in advance and only learned of it from the driver. Penety is a lower-standard property than Sopa, with an approximate price difference of USD 100, which was not refunded.
On the morning of 27 December, just before starting the trip, Frank informed us that our Masai Mara accommodation needed to be changed due to an issue involving snakes, we did not fully understand, but we were flexible, provided the replacement was a tented camp. It took three days to receive an alternative, which we did not find suitable. We then researched options ourselves on Booking.com and suggested two camps. One of these was discouraged by our guide due to access and flooding concerns, and we selected the other. Because the booking had to be handled by the agency, we could not benefit from the discounted rate on booking.com. We were informed that the hotel cancellation fees of the first hotel were refunded to the agency; however, we did not receive any corresponding refund.
We later learned that typical safari schedules include both early morning and afternoon/dusk game drives as these are the peak times to see the animals. In our case, we were often back at camp by 2–3pm with no late afternoon drive. On our third Masai Mara day, after the hot air balloon activity, a full day game drive was part of the programme but initially not offered until we specifically requested it.
Derick was generally punctual, a capable driver, and the vehicle was decent. However, there were instances that raised concerns about transparency, including having no change very conveniently and charges that seemed high. For example, we paid USD 120 for two people in Lake Naivasha for a one-hour boat ride and a one-hour land tour (not Crescent Island) - because no official prices were displayed, we had no way of verifying whether these charges were standard - and USD 30 for a simple roadside lunch. We were only informed after eating that the lunch was not included.
While we enjoyed Masai Mara, we frequently observed vehicles going off-road and large numbers of cars surrounding single animals, including situations where rangers were present. We observed money being exchanged between drivers and rangers. This gave us the clear impression that enforcement of reserve rules was inconsistent. Sometimes 10 vehicles would be surrounding one animal or following them to the point of disrupting what they were doing. We would ask our driver to leave that animal in those cases.
Positively, the food quality was good, accommodations were generally comfortable, and the wildlife and landscapes were exceptional.
We also noticed after our trip that many of the agency’s high-rating Google reviews come from profiles with only one review and limited detail, which made it difficult for us to assess their reliability.
We doubt this review will change any of the quality of the services provided, but we wanted to leave an honest review regardless.
In conclusion, while the trip itself was interesting and we saw everything we hoped to see, the organisation and communication - particularly on the agency side - were poor. Only because we saw everything and had good accommodation and food this is a 2-star review rather than 1.
