Safari vehicle in Safari
Spirit of Kenya
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $300 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Unforgettable honeymoon
Let me start by saying that I work in tourism and as a result I have very high expectations. From the moment I sent out my first email to 10 different tour companies, It Started in Africa exceeded my expectations! First off they were the only company to offer several different levels of accommodations according to our proposed budget. All the others offered 1 solution, and several went over the budget I had initially proposed. Joao responds to emails at lightening speed, and his patience and care in answering all of my questions was truly impressive! We couldn't be happier with our decision to tour with this company.
Our 6 day safari + Zanzibar retreat was awesome, in the truest sense of the word. We saw more animals than we ever imagined! Jackson is a great guide; you can tell he's been in the business for years because not only did he spot EVERYTHING long before other guides, but also he was the first to lend a hand when another group had a flat tire, and when yet another got stuck in the mud. Also, I love photography and really appreciated how flexible he was with getting the car in just the right viewing spot without disturbing the animals. We couldn't have been luckier with the weather too--in spite of it being the "rainy season", we had a total of 30 minutes of rain on our first day in Tarangire and never saw another drop. High grass does not inhibit game viewing in the least, and with so few cars on the road, you feel like you have parks all to yourselves. Never will I sign up for a safari in high season!!
As for lodgings, Maramboi and Ang'ata were the best! We're so happy we tried out different types of accommodations--each is so unique. Maramboi was a treat because they offered a free walking safari at sunrise. For the Serengeti we treated ourselves to the Ang'ata mobile camp and had the entire place to ourselves (well almost to ourselves; we did have to share with the hippos, hyenas, and lions we heard roaming thru camp at night!).
What else can I say? From Joao's first email, to Baraja's quick responses when we had issues with our Zanzibar flight, to Jackson's superb driving and insight, to Silvia's attention to customer care before and after our safari--we always felt like we were in great hands. You guys are the best!
ASANTE SANA It Started in Africa!!!
AE
Email Bree | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Could have been better
We booked a 4-day safari in Amboseli and Tsavo with the company. The initial booking of the trip was a bit tedious with us having to call them a few times since we were not getting responses to emails, they explained this was due to an overload of bookings.
They failed to inform us that one of the safari camps they suggested, Kibo Safari Camp, (which we chose from the list of options they provided) didn't have electricity for most of the day, which would have been nice to know in advance. And there was a small mess up on our return airport transfer.
Also, since we were first time visitors to Kenya, it would have been great to have some expert advice from them on the various options for safari locations, hotels, food, etc.
However, the rest of the trip and the other hotels were great. The driver-cum guide they provided, Steve, was a very nice guy with a wealth of information about everything around us.
SG
Email Jan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Glorified accomodation booking service
The booking process with Spirit of Kenya started positive. However when trying to get more detailed information on the accomodation booked, itinerary specific etc things started to get less impressive. I never managed to get booking details from our Tanzania accomodation from the operator. So we tried to get this info from the accomodation. However without the booking confirmation code ( which Spirit never provided) they could not helps us either. So it became a guessing game in what kind of room, which what inclusions we would stay. Worst part was that Spirit seriously understated all travel times. As I read in a few other recent reviews. This seems to be serial. A quoted 1.5 hrs drive would be 3 hours. And a 6 hour drive became a 11.5 hrs on the road!!!! On top of this they forgot to book Serengeti entry tickets. Causing a 90 minute wait at the gate while our guide was trying to sort this out.
In regards advise on what parts of the parks were good or not to stay in we received absolutely no recommendations leading to very long drives from accomodation to known hot spots for animals.
US
Email Juan Andrés Páez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
4 days/ 3 nights safari
My mom and me went in a 4 days/ 3 nights safari to celebrate her 60th birthday. We went to lake Nakuru and stayed a night there, and then two nights in Maasai Mara.
The agenda for our trip was exactly what we wanted and our guide was outstanding. However, we had paid for a “comfort” room in Maasai Mara ($420 per person each night) and when we got to our hotel (Azure Mara Haven) they told us Spirit of Kenya had only reserved a budget tent for us. I talked with employees of Spirit of Kenya but they only solved the problem until the next day when we had already gone over a hard and cold night in the tent. Second day fortunately we were upgraded to a room like the one we had paid for. Despite asking them for a refund or a compensation for their mistake on the first night, I did not get a positive reply and was just ignored by their employees.
Hope this doesn’t happen to other people traveling with Spirit of Kenya and that you stress out that they should make the hotel reservations for what you are asking and the value you are paying.
CL
Email Agustin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip but tour guide below expectations
We book a 5 day "High End" in Amboseli, Navaisha and Masai Mara. The email comunication to prepare the trip was tediuos. We expected the executive to give us better recommendations for planning the trip. They never let us know that they were going to pick us up at the airport in Nairobi! I had to made the transfer on my own.
Regarding our guide, he comply with the schedules and he was friendly. He was very worried that we could see all the animals as well. However, he did not communicate much with us during the games drives and did not keep us informed of what we were going to do during the day. Moreover, he was not very open to listen to questions or explain. Finally, the day we were arriving at Masai Mara's tented camp, the guide got lost along the way.
Accommodations were great. Excellent attention, great food, very comfortable rooms and very relaxing surroundings.
We had lunch outside our acomodation just once. The last day, when we went from Amani Mara to the airport we stopped for lunch on the way in a restaurant that was far from being the standard of the tour I booked (High End). I will not extend talking about the supposed high-end binoculars and the surprise charge of 3.5% to pay by credit card (unacceptable).