THE A TEAM
Axis Africa Expedition & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Member Of:
- KATO & TRA
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range & luxury tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
AE
Email Moubarek | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Private Safari with small kids
Our experience with Axis Safari was overall mixed, with some very positive aspects but also some important issues.
The biggest positive was undoubtedly our guide, John Mwangi. Our first interaction with the initial guide was unfortunately very poor, and after just a few minutes we asked Axis to change the guide. Axis accepted our request and arranged for John to take over, which we appreciated.
John was excellent throughout the safari. He was knowledgeable, professional and particularly good at finding special wildlife encounters and positioning the vehicle at the right moments. Thanks to him, we had some truly memorable experiences, including an incredible leopard sighting.
The PrideInn Mara was also a very pleasant part of the experience. The food was good, and the staff were friendly and attentive.
The main disappointment was the safari vehicle. From the beginning, we had specifically requested a vehicle with canvas-covered rear windows, as we were travelling privately with two young children. When John took over, his vehicle did not have canvas-covered windows. We therefore asked Axis to keep both requirements: a different guide and a vehicle with canvas.
Axis ultimately arranged for John to exchange vehicles with the initial guide, meaning we ended up using the initial guide’s vehicle — the same vehicle we had arrived in. We had only spent around five minutes in that vehicle initially, so we did not have the opportunity to properly assess its condition at that point. We chose to keep it because it was the only vehicle with canvas that Axis was able to make available to us.
Unfortunately, over the following minutes, we discovered several issues with the vehicle. Most importantly, the majority of the seat belts were not functioning properly, which we found unacceptable when travelling with young children. There were also other maintenance issues, including charging ports that did not work and windows and doors that were not functioning properly. In addition, the vehicle was not particularly comfortable, which was disappointing given that this was a private safari and we spent many hours in the vehicle each day.
To be fair, Axis was responsive to our requests and did make efforts to accommodate the change of guide and our requirement for a canvas-covered vehicle. However, we feel that the standard of the vehicle, both in terms of safety and comfort, was below what we expected from a private safari.
Overall, John was excellent and made a significant difference to our experience, and PrideInn Mara was also very good. Unfortunately, the initial guide experience and, in particular, the condition and comfort of the vehicle prevented us from giving Axis a fully positive review.
CN
Email Mari | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He is helpful
1. the schedule is not well planned, for a 7day trip, we spent almost 3days only driving on the road to another place.
2. there was one day, one of the passenger was sick, so we had to stop on the road for 2 hours for her to take rest, and i asked the travel agent to send another car and someone else to take her to the hospital, and the travel agent simply didnt do anything. so all other passengers wasted their time doing nothing.
3. everyday, the trip started at around 9:00am, and finishes at 16:00pm, this is the period where the temporature is quite high, so the animals are hiding, it means, we would not see as much animals as possible, it is much smarter to start earlier or finish later, so that more can be seen.
4. and the tour guide didn't remind us that there is some extra activities like ballon and Helicopter, so i missed these activities.
5. the guide is not good at English, so i wouldn't understand him most of time. and also he didn't really introduce much about the living habits of the animals
ES
Email Blanca | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was good but you must improve the hotels
The safari was very good. Our guy was fantastic. The hotel and the food arent good. I was very ill due a gastroenteritis
Email Shilen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good tour operator.but not so good driver
The was good until the last day. On the second last day our driver Roger made us aware of protests happening on the following day and gave us a choice of whether or not to go straight back to Nairobi rather than do an early morning game drive. We wanted to go back to Nairobi to avoid the protests but then he adamantly took us to the national park in order to "secure a good review" (his words). We all told him that we didn't feel safe to hang around to do the game drive after which he said we'll go back to Nairobi, but then he lied and still drove us to the park. We were all furious with him.
All in all, although the tour operator and safari were good, best to find out who your driver is in advance to see if it is roger.
Also a side note, Axis may say it's not needed to carry your passport with you (in case you decide to leave it at your hotel for safe keeping), but one of the hotels in Nakuru did request at least a copy of your passport upon check in.
Final side note, we gave our dietary requirements (vegetarian) but for some reason Axis did not relay to the camp in amboselli. Fortunately the camp managed to accommodate us as best as they could.
IN
Email Amrita Dey Chatterjee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A jolly good fella!
Hello there traveller! Have you heard of the song, he's a jolly good fellow... well yes, Axis Safari, represented by Winnie and driven by Julius were a jolly good team for 6 wildlife photographers from Delhi India including a 78 year old except for the challenges we faced written below with proof: 1. Limited water supply: Bottles of 500 ml given to each traveller, at best 3/4 bottles a day. Mind you, the outside temperature was 38C plus in Kenya during June 2026. 2. Our jolly good driver Julius was so homely, lively and honest it was a pleasure to be with him. However, he isn't ideal for photographers who need different angles, sense of lighting and patience to wait till the best frame and composition appears. 3. The land cruiser had AC and was not used despite a 10 hour 36C 40% humidity long drive where we reached Amboseli from Nairobi after a 10 hr drive! As a result, we lost fluids, health battery and ability to enjoy the long trip and got super tired with a 78 year old. 4. The car Julius drove was solid enough to go through any terrain, but was not well built, not comfortable, not repaired well, no ac and not maintained. There were far better cars available with others in the same price. As a family, Julius and the team are super apt! As professional photographers this is where I would call again. Thank you for reading.
MY
Email co | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
cool
Papa John tour driver very patience,
very understanding client need
Email Becca | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari, bad timing
I want to first say that our guide, Rodger, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and helped us find all the ‘Big 5’ and many other beautiful animals. The accommodations were lovely- the campsite was great to connect with nature, and the hotel was comfortable and clean with tasty meals. The game drives were fantastic.
The reason I gave this safari a 3/5 is not the fault of the guide. On May 18th, the 3rd day of the safari, there were massive protests over gas prices all over Kenya, which turned into rioting, blocking roads and stopping cars. This is not the fault of Axis. The issue was the way the company handled the situation (this does not include Rodger- he was calm under pressure and kept us as safe as possible). Part of the issue here is that Axis combines travelers who are on different tours without clarifying it. There were people on the tour that were only there for 3 days, while others booked for 4 or more. This means that our third day involved bringing the people who had to go back to the office to a drop off point near Nairobi. This is where we got stranded for multiple hours with very little communication or assistance from the office. We spent the whole morning driving, leaving at 6 am, arriving midday and then staying in place. When asked about a refund of some sort for the day that really only included 2 hours of activity, we were told ‘well, day 3 is always a travel day’. The itinerary does not disclose that. They make it look as if there’s multiple activities that happen on day 3. On top of that, guests on our safari had to pay to change flights, without help from the office or clarification on what would happen to help them. Two of the people who were split from the group eventually to go to the airport were hit with a bag of rocks through the window of the car they were put in, leading to them being covered in glass. Again, this isn’t something the company can necessarily control, but the things they can control were handled poorly in my opinion.
Again, this would’ve been a great safari. The issues I had were partially the situation but mostly the office’s handling of it. Rodger was an excellent guide.
CO
Email Maria Patricia | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excelent Safari Experience
Instead of foreign companies operating in Africa, we wanted to hire a local company for our safaris in Kenya, so we booked Axis, but the experience was a bit of a struggle. They weren't very assertive in suggesting itineraries, they took an excessively long time to reply to messages or emails, and they weren't very careful with the information that should give clients peace of mind. At 8 pm the day before the private safari, which we had paid for months in advance, we had to anxiously search for them to get information about the pickup, schedule, guide, etc.
Thanks to the guide, Raymond, our safari was a wonderful experience. Besides being a very skilled driver, he is passionate about the game drives and search of the animals.
RS
Email Aleksandar | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Satisfying, but somewhat disappointing
We (my partner and I) were part of a safari tour that lasted 6 days, 5 nights in Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru (we were supposed to go to Naivasha but we didn't) and Amboseli.
Let me start with the positives first... during this tour we managed to see all the big 5 and ugly 5 animals, as well as many other ones, met interesting people along the way and managed to take pictures and record content that will serve as eternal memories of these wonderful places. While I don't regret doing this tour, I have to leave my honest comment and complain about the following… Our guide Dennis made this trip less than perfect with his inappropriate behavior. From the very beginning, he did not get off his phone, he was not in the mood for a friendly conversation (on the contrary, he made rude comments on several occasions), and when he did talk, he was so quiet that if you weren't sitting next to him, you couldn't hear him. At some point I gave up trying to hear him altogether and just watched what was going on outside the vehicle. On top of that, on the third day of the safari, when the optional boat ride on Lake Naivasha was planned, Dennis decided not to tell anyone that we would skip this ride due to the alleged bad weather. Although optional, this would've been our only activity on that day. Later, I found out that people from other tours were actually going on boat rides during this day. Dennis preferred to talk on the phone during the lunch breaks, which were taking too long for no reason. So long, that upon arriving at the hotel in Nakuru, after a 7-8 hour drive from Masai Mara, the hotel pool was not working because we arrived too late. Even though we had no other activities on that day. So on day 3, we were pretty much just driving in the vehicle with no activities. On the following day, after doing an early morning game drive in Nakuru, we were informed that we had to change vehicles and continue our tour with another group. At the place where we were having lunch and where we were supposed to change vehicles, Dennis was rushing us while we were eating (literally 5 min from the start of the break). The other guide was more friendly but was driving like a mad man, and we felt quite unsafe in the vehicle driving for another 7 or 8 hours from Nakuru to Amboseli. So on days 3 AND 4, we were just driving around doing nothing except for an early morning drive in Nakuru.
Only later did I find out that most of these budget safari companies work together and that in case one company does not have enough passengers on a certain day, it will use the services and employees of another company, and mix their passengers with people who booked through another company. Which is something that we would not accept and agree on, if we had known in advance.
Axis did offer us a tour of lake Naivasha free of charge at a later date, but we couldn't accept it because our schedule did not work. The communication with the company in general was clear, but we had to remind them of a couple of things during the booking process and later.
I would repeat a safari tour with a budget company only if I were staying in the same place for several days (Masai Mara for example).
AT
Email Sabrina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
safari good, driver bad
Safari was 5/5⭐️ because we saw the big 5 and went to nice places.
Driver (Ben) was 1/5⭐️ because he didn’t care about us a a group, he never talked with us, just when we asked something, he made us wait for 45 mins without saying anything and then he couldn’t even say sorry, he was very unsympathetic and cold, and when you experience a safari just once in your life, then this should not be your driver !!!
because „the driver makes the safari“
Reply from Axis Africa Expedition & Safaris
Posted on Jul 14, 2025Dear Sabrina, Thank you for your honest feedback. We are glad you enjoyed the safari experience itself and were able to witness the Big Five and explore some of Kenya’s most iconic destinations.
We are also deeply sorry to hear that your experience with the assigned driver did not meet expectations. We fully understand that a guide’s attitude and connection with guests can shape the entire journey, and it is truly disappointing to know you felt neglected and uncared for at any point. That is certainly not the standard we strive for at Axis Africa Expeditions & Safaris.
Please rest assured that we are taking this feedback seriously and have already followed up internally to ensure such an incident does not happen again. Every guest deserves warmth, engagement, and respect throughout their safari, and that’s exactly what we aim to uphold. Your feedback helps us improve, and we genuinely regret that your once-in-a-lifetime experience was impacted in such a manner.
Thank you again for choosing to travel with us. If you ever return to Kenya, we would love the opportunity to make it up to you and deliver the excellent service we are truly known for. You are always welcome for even better experiences and more adventures in the future!