Amazing Memories Safaris

NOT recommended especially guide Richard in Kenya - AVOID AT ALL COST.

We booked this company for Kenya + Tanzania safari trip, Strongly NOT recommended especially guide Richard in Kenya- avoid at all cost

Here’s what was advertised:

1. Full-day game drives running from 8am to 6pm.
2. Experienced and professional guides.
3. Close coordination with the hot air balloon operator to ensure timely pickup.
4. Smooth handover between guides at the Kenya-Tanzania border.
5. All meals included throughout the safari.
6. There will be airport transfers on arrival and departure.
7. There is tipping culture but not compulsory


Here’s what actually happened:

1. Richard picked us up 30 minutes late in the morning and returned us to the hotel as early as 3:30 pm during the full day game drive. In between, he also had his own sweet time having lunch breaks up to 2 hours, leaving us waiting in the vehicle with nothing to do. As a result of starting late, long lunch breaks and ending early, our actual game drive time was only about 4 to 5 hours per day.
2. Besides the common herbivores, we only managed to see lions and cheetahs in 3 full days in Maasai Mara, which our guide Richard is so 'proud' of. He is so stubborn and repeatedly claiming that "Other guides didn't find lion and cheetah", "You will see the same animals anyway", "There are no more river crossing now". Mind you, we are in Masai Mara during start of August. All of this turned out to be false. Once we crossed into Tanzania and were guided by Godlisten from Migada Tours, we saw river crossing and all of the Big Five within just two days.
3. After our hot air balloon trip, Richard failed to show up at the designated pickup point. He gave us no communication whatsoever and eventually arrived an hour late.
4. At the Kenya-Tanzania border, Richard simply told us to wait and walked off to chat happily with other guides. We sat inside the hot car under the blazing sun for no clear reason. Eventually, guide Godlisten from Tanzania found us and personally escorted us through the immigration process.
5. On one of the days, Richard forgot to collect our packed lunch from the lodge, leaving us with absolutely no lunch for that day.
6. On our final morning, we had arranged a driver to pick us up from the hotel at 8:30 am for our airport transfer. No one showed up, and we received no notification. After calling to the agent, we were finally told that the driver had been in a minor accident. Whether that was true or not, the complete lack of proactive communication left us scrambling and arriving at the airport in a stressful rush.
7. We tipped all our guides daily, following the recommended amounts or even giving more. However, after the string of disappointing experiences with Richard, we decided not to tip him on the last day. He responded by begging for tips persistently and refused to leave until we eventually gave him something.

Overall, this company failed to deliver on almost every promise. I strongly recommend looking elsewhere for your safari.