Bush lunch in Maasai Mara National Reserve
Tazama Africa Holidays
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- AMREF, Eco Tourism & Tour Operators Society of Kenya
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Jackie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful company - owner went above and beyond to ease our trip in Kenya and guide George was great
We had a great 4 day/3 night safari in the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru with Tazama for our honeymoon. Antony was very responsive over email in the planning of the safari and answered all of our questions. He was willing to organize a payment option that made us feel somewhat more comfortable than just wiring all the money in advance (which in retrospect would've been fine if anyone reading this is having similar doubts). We also had issues paying for the visa online (a known issue - the website doesn't seem to like major American credit cards) and the timeline got down to the wire, but I called Antony about 36 hours before we were supposed to leave and he got it all sorted. A HUGE relief. Finally, my husband had left his wallet, camera accessories and e-reader in one of the lodges and we didn't realize until a couple of days later. Antony organized a pickup and hand delivered the items to our hotel in Nairobi.
The safari itself was great. George was our guide and was very friendly and knowledgable about all the animals we saw - got all the Big 5, including some lion cubs and a leopard in a tree, which is apparently a rarity. He was well networked with all the other game drivers we saw, which I think was helpful in tracking down the animals. We went for the more expensive package for lodging because it was our honeymoon (which was not originally sent in the inquiry email but I asked about it after doing a little more research) and it did not disappoint. The prices were on par, if not slightly lower, than a couple of other companies we contacted, although definitely still a splurge. That being said, the lodges were luxury at it's finest (Entim Mara and The Cliff) and some honeymoon surprises were organized for us to make us feel extra special.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience and we would recommend Tazama for anyone considering a safari in Kenya.
FI
Email Janne | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Provided the needed with professional touch
Our guide Jospheat was great. Always punctual, always kept his word and did not make empty promises. Also we saw many different animals, even when other safari guides could not locate them, our guides experience and knowledge was top quality.
GR
Email NIKOLAS-MARY | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AMAZING JOURNEY-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Even if it was our first safari experience, we are experienced travelers, that is to say we have traveled a lot in several countries in cooperation with many travel agancies and many guides. However the experience we had with Tazama Holidays was really unique.
We are impressed by their proffessionalism and their competitive offer/quote (make sure that any comparison is made with the exact same hotels).
Antony was very fast and clear on answering our emails but also surprised us by a) giving us as a present a dinner at Carnivore and b) booking for us the best tent possible at Basecamp Mara which both contributed to an unforgettable ending of our journey.
We had 8 days safari (Amboseli-lake Naivasha-lake Nakuru-Masai Mara) with a land cruiser and unlimited safari hours. It was all just perfect!!
Our guide, Jack was, what could we possibly say, unbelievable!! Experienced, willing, patient, smiling, pleasant, interensting, trustworthy and, in general, better than what we could ever expect. He made it possible for us to see all the animals of the places we went, in the best way. Do yourself a favour and ask for Jack. With only 4 days having passed since our return we miss him already.
Thank you guys for everything.
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Email Chad | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic custom 5-day/4-night Maasai Mara safari with Mike
I contacted Tazama Africa Holidays to see if they could do a custom 5 day, 4 night Maasai Mara safari for me, my brother, his wife and their two adult children - a total of five of us. I inquired about a custom safari as I wanted to combine Maasai Mara with the Serengeti and Ngorongoro in Tanzania. And while there are companies that include both Kenya and Tanzania, they seemed to include other parks. I wanted to focus on those three areas and doing a custom safari and piecing the two countries together allowed me to do just that by crossing from Maasai Mara into Tanzania at Isebania.
The communication with Antony was outstanding. He was very responsive and said he could arrange for our guide to drop us off at the border at Isebania. He gave excellent instructions for payment via wire transfer. He even upgraded our vehicle to a high-end land cruiser with roll-up windows for a more open viewing experience. Antony booked our accommodations at Mara Simba Lodge, which was very nice. The accommodations, food and staff at Mara Simba Lodge were excellent.
As good and seamless as my interaction with Antony was, it was our tour guide, Mike, who made our Maasai Mara experience truly memorable. It rained quite a bit on our first afternoon game drive, but Mike got us back to the lodge without any trouble. With over 16 years' experience in leading safaris, Mike knows the Mara like the back of his hand. He has even lead BBC film crews when they have come to the Mara to film documentaries. We saw so many animals with Mike: lions and their cubs, several cheetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, etc. Mike was constantly on his radio communicating with other guides and scanning the horizon for wildlife. With an uncanny ability of anticipating where an animal was headed, Mike would maneuver the vehicle to get us into the best spots for photographing the wildlife, all while being respectful of the other drivers and the natural habitat. Somehow, and I'm not sure how, he spotted a lioness in a tree just before it attacked a wildebeest. Mike also took time to answer all of our questions regarding animal behavior and Kenyan culture in general. He even explained the tribal culture in Kenya. We felt lucky to have had Mike as our guide. He was truly a joy to be around. By the end of the safari, he felt like our friend.
Because we had several days in the Mara, we were able to explore it in-depth without feeling rushed. We even did a full day in the Mara Triangle, a personal highlight for me. We started our game drives early around 6:30AM, for the best light, and usually ended around 5 or 6 PM.
I highly recommend Tazama Africa Holidays. You will not regret booking your safari with Antony and Tazama Africa Holidays.
Email Carey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A truly unforgettable safari made possible by Tazama Africa
From the start Antony was extremely quick with his responses to all queries and nothing was too much effort for him. We were asked to make a payment by bank transfer which I wasn’t sure about initially but after studying the Tripadvisor reviews, I decided to go for it, and I’m so glad I did.
Antony arranged for collection from the airport to the hotel the day before the safari, and then came to the hotel to meet us and on the morning of the safari before we were introduced to our guide Josphat, who made our remaining 7 days truly amazing. We cannot praise him enough. He was very polite and professional from the start. After a few days we were well acquainted and felt like we received a really personal service. He must’ve answered hundreds of questions across the seven days but he always answered with enthusiasm and exceptional detail.
Now onto the game drive. What can I say! We saw the big 5, multiple times as well as various other animals. I couldn’t believe how accessible all the animals were due to Josphat’s excellent ability to find them and also with the guides communicating their sightings on the radio.
If you visit multiple national parks, there’s quite a lot of driving between the parks so be prepared for that, but with early starts we always got to our next destination by lunch. Our route was Amboseli - Lake Naivasha - Lake Nakuru - Maasai Mara. My favourite lodge was Ilkeliani Camp in the Maasai Mara with an exceptional menu and really great staff. It was the perfect place to end the trip. Our lodges were Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge (rooms a little small but really nice size resort, not too many people and nicely decorated), Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge (a little dated but in an elegant way. Beautiful buildings with wild zebra and deer roaming around the grounds and hippos that come close at night), Sarova Lion Hill Lodge (probably my least favourite only because it was quite a large site, but actually probably had the nicest staff, lots to do and was in a good location), and finally Ilkeliani Camp (beautiful tented camp accessed via a rope bridge. At night you can hear the hienas and birds so bring ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper. I loved how perfectly spaced each tent was so it felt really private, and most of all we loved the food there). Overall a great experience and as soon as I get the chance to return, I have no doubt that I’ll go with Tazama Africa again! Thank you!!
Email Emma | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic service, highly recommend
Absolutely wonderful from start to finish. Antony was a pleasure to book with, very responsive and helpful. We got picked up from our hotel and taken to Wilson airport before the short 40min flight to Keerok airstrip. Stayed at Ashnil camp for 2 nights and had safari adventures with our guide Henry who was amazing. Henry was so knowledgable and funny. Today we had the flight back to Wilson, picked up by Antony and taken to our hotel. So smooth and fantastic service.
We saw so many animals in such a short space of time. Highly recommend booking with Tazma holidays. You will not be disappointed!
HU
Email Anna Julia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
100% recommend!!
Me and my partner choose Tazama Africa Holidays out of 6 other companies. It took us ~2 weeks to do our research but it totally worth it. We compared them to a lot other businesses and Tazama were highly the best in my personal opinion.
Antony (the managing director & head guide) were super helpful and patient through the process of organize our dream holiday in Kenya. We always could reach him very quick and easy and he was always ready to help us.
Our personal guide was Ephantus who I want to thank everything again. He is a very friendly, happy person, who made our trip amazing. He made sure we get a 100% personalized holiday and everything fits for our needs. We had a lot’s of interesting and funny coversations about almost everything. We spent every day in a very good mood and learnt a lot from Ephantus about the wildlife and culture which he had a real good knowledge about.
My partner is a wildlife photographer so I have to admit we had expectations regarding the trip which were absolutely statisfied.
We got way than more we expected. I highly recommand Tazama Africa Holidays, it’s a very trustable company. For sure we would book with them again.
We did the 7 days classic Kenya safari.
AE
Email Varvara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Kenya experience
My husband and I really loved our 6 day trip with Tazama! We’ve managed to visit Amboseli, Naivasha lake and Masai Mara, all trip was really nicely planned and organised, we did a lot of game drives and accommodation was super comfortable. Huge thanks to Antony and George from Tazama holidays for such a wonderful experience!
CA
Email Lisa Obodzinski | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic experience!
My husband and I came home a month ago from a fabulous safari in Kenya with Tazama. We can’t say enough good things about our trip! We had originally booked and paid for this safari in 2019 for travel in June 2020 and of course it had to be moved. I had been in contact with Antony who was always kind, prompt with emails and very helpful and it was no different when we had to postpone our highly anticipated trip. We trusted Tazama enough to not get refunds but postpone for a year. And then we had to postpone another year until 2022. It was almost hard to believe that the trip was actually going ahead in June 2022. Antony was so nice and thankful that we had put trust in him and Tazama and it made us feel that he genuinely cares about his business and clients. And that continued throughout our week in Kenya. Antony and our guide Josephat met us at our hotel and then we were off to the Maasai Mara. Our Jeep was great with a pop top which made game viewing much better.
We booked the Cheetah tour - 2 nights Maasai Mara, 1 night Lake Nakuru and 2 nights Amboseli. I’d suggest two nights in Nakuru as the drives are reaaallly long and there isn’t much down time. We did pay to be on safari but that meant we didn’t have much time to hang out in the amazing lodges we stayed at. But regardless our guide was amazing and we spotted all the big five plus we witnessed a lion kill. Just UNREAL.
It was nice to have the Jeep to ourselves as we would just make a schedule directly with our guide who was very set in making sure we had the best possible game drives.
We wild highly recommend Tazama for your trip in Kenya. We had a another different company booked in Uganda/Rwanda and were disappointed with our guide after the bar was set so high with Tazama in Kenya. Thank you Josephat and Antony for an unforgettable experience!! We will send all our friends your way!
AT
Email Sara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect service for an unforgettable safari experience
I can highly recommend Tazama Africa Holidays. The organization was perfect - Anthony responded very quickly to all of our questions. Also, the lodges which he chose, were perfect: very friendly stuff, good food and nice location.
Our driver Andrew was the best! He has a big knowledge about the animals and the area. He always knew where to look for the animals, so that we could see a tons of them from a perfect perspective. Also, he was so patient with us. He stopped everywhere as long as we wanted so that we had enough time to take photos and enjoy the moments. We could always decide by our own, when we wanted to do a game drive - Andrew always fulfilled our wishes and explained us a lot about Kenya.
We really had the best time and would definitely do a safari again with Tazama Africa Holidays.
