Kosen Safaris
- Located In:
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United States
- Destinations:
- Website:
- www.kosensafaris.com
Reviews
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Email Dr Mike | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kosen provides incredible service and sponsors programs to support the community
Bottom line up front: the best trip EVER. That is a bold statement because I have been to over 50 countries (including 8 African countries). The accommodations, the people, the country, our guide and the animals defied all expectations.
To start with Kosen (the owner of the tour company) arranged the trip to be exactly what we asked for. No detail was spared. It was our 30th anniversary and there was a special touch at every stop. More importantly, they sponsor schools in the bush to make sure the kids get a chance for education. They have recued young girls and built dormatories so they can get an education and autonomy. Furthermore, they sponsor soccer teams in the slums of Nairobi for impoverished urban kids and create academic support and tutoring programs to help lift them out of poverty. If you book with Kosen, you make a difference and have oppotunities to directly give back to the warm and wonderful Kenyan people.
I will go into detail.....the most important point is above.
Robert, our guide was with us the entire time. He picked us up at the airport and was with us until he dropped us back at the airport. Just the 3 of us the entire time.He is incredibly knowlegable about the history, tribes, culture geography and of course he knew everything about the animals. He has an uncanny sense of where to go away from the crowds to find the best stuff that the others miss. He emphasises patience and knows where to wait for the animals while others are rushing around. there wasn't a question or a topic he could not explain in depth.
We started out at the Ermara Ole Sereni hotel with a balcony overlooking the Nairobi National Park. We saw giraffes and ostriches from our balcony. We spent a day in Nairobi visiting the national museum (Robert set us up with a docent from the museam for a personal tour). It was amazing to learn about the tribes, culture and history of Kenya. The exhibit on the origins of man is stunning. We also went to the Rothschilds giraffe breeding center and the elephant/rhine orphanage.
The next day we drove to Lake Elmenteita over the 9800 foot escarpment the borders the Rift Valley.The Serena Camp was 5 star all the way. Our tent looked out over the lake and the flamingos. You wake up to Impala and zebras right outside. We rode horses on the lake and then into herds of Water Buck and Zebras.....a once in a lifetime bucket list experience. The next morning we drove to Lake Nakuru where we ate breakfast surrounded by white rhino. We saw too many kinds of animals to recount here to include black rhinos and rare Rothschilds giraffes. Back at camp we were pampered to the extreme.
The next day we drove to the Maasai Mara national park. On the way we stopped by a school they sponsor in the bush. Kosen had arranged for us to donate desks for the school because not all students had a place to sit. We also brought school supplies and soccer balls. It was incredible to meet the headmaster, teachers and students. Our next stop was a visit to Kosen's mother on the farm where he was raised. Then we proceded to the Mara.
We stayed at the Keekorok lodge in the park. There is no fence, so the animals are right there. the first night there were hippos grazing behind our room. the next morning there were impala on the lawn and elephants walking by. At night there were lions roaring out side our back porch and we woke up to Vervet monkey hanging from the trees by our front door. The lodge is little old (it was the first lodge inside the Mara built in the 1960's) but you come for the nature not the house. The employees were sweet and friendly. By the way, because there is no fence, at night they escort you to and from your cabin for safety. The hippo bar was fun and we met some great people there.
Twice each day Robert took us on game drives but also took the time to show us the different areas and ecosystems in the park. He knows the park as well as I know my back yard. We saw more animals and birds than I can list here. This includes 4 different prides of lions, a herd of mother elehants and their babies, a lioness with her baby cubs, a cheetah with her babies and family groups of Maasai giraffes.The highlight was watching 2 huge herds of Wildebeests and zebras crosssing the Sand River to complete the final phase of the Great Migration. We actually found the Sand River pride right after a crossing and they had just taken down a zebra that was crossing.
When we finally bid farewell to the Mara, we drove back across the Rift Valley to Nairobi. Kosen had booked a day room back at the Emara Ole Sereni overlooking the Nairobi National park so we did not need to hang out at the airport. Robert picked us up in the evening and took us back to the airport. It was a litle sad because we were now saying goodbye to a close friend.
The trip was as close to perfect as it could get. If you are going to go to Kenya (and you definitely should) book it with Kosen. It will be a highlight of your life and you get the chance to change the lives of others.
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Email Ben Great | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent and awesome team
The overall experience was awesome, they've exceeded the high expectations I always had, it was definitely the key to make our vacation a dream.
The booking process perfectly handled, always answering my questions extremely promptly. They understood quickly me and my wife's preferences, magnificent on tailoring our itinerary.
Airport pick-up and briefing , where all the details for the safari were carefully reviewed.
The driver was very knowledgeable, experienced and always friendly.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Customized 4-person safari to Kenya and Tanzania's serengeti plains during calving season
The communications were excellent before, during and after. The trip more than met our expectations with wildlife views and experiences, sleeping lodges, food, guides and educational depth of what we were experiencing. Kosen also added opportunities to bring solar lights to villages and scholarships to girls and boys all of which was topped by meeting the recipients and seeing the grantees. A fantastic, almost magical experience.
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Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kosen makes you feel like you are the biggest VIP on the planet!
I went to Tanzania with Kosen Safaris last March, and had an exceptional experience. I have been on safari before, to Kenya, and certainly enjoyed it, but with Kosen it was totally different. Kosen Safaris prides itself on a customized experience and lives up to its promise. They will do everything humanly possible to ensure that you are happy - including finding elusive animals! (How do they DO that?!) They made me feel like the most important person in Africa; as if my comfort and contentment were their only priority. And every client felt the same way as I did!
Navigating the visa process, ground transfers, park entrance fees, police road blocks, et cetera is nothing short of daunting. Kosen Safari staffers are experienced and professional at handling all the details, making it seamless. I found our driver/guide to be knowledgeable and educated about the flora and fauna of the area, both is a :"bookish" way, as in higher education, and also in a personal, hands-on way, as in having had loads of personal experience and history with the wildlife.
I came away with lifelong memories, of course - how could you not - but more than that, I came away feeling like I had been treated to a safari designed exclusively and uniquely for ME. Africa has cast its spell on me and I'll be back - but only if Kosen is in the driver's seat!
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Email Judge Tom Warren | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
When you want the best, go with a native!
February of 2014 was the culmination of months of planning to take 16 people to Kenya and Tanzania, all arranged by Kosen Safaris of Wenatchee, Washington, USA, and Nairobi, Kenya. Kosen was amazing in listening to our wishes and needs. This was a humanitarian trip as well as a safari experience. You can imagine that coordinating 16 people is similar to herding cats, but Kosen was awesome. He was patient, caring, and when there were problems he solved them without fuss or concern by his client’s. His guides and staff were excellent, and his being a Masai made all the difference in the quality of our contacts. I cannot recommend Kosen enough as he provided a lifetime experience for all of us.
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Email Andy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Kosen Safaris is great!!!
Kosen safaris offers a unique individualized experience. Having had the luxury of previous safaris in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and now Kenya and Tanzania, I can express deep appreciation for his knowledge. His ability to meet the needs of his customers is unsurpassed. Kosen learned safari guiding from his father. His desire to carry on this family tradition of practicing respect and honor of all wildlife is clearly demonstrated in his guide service. Kosen likes to share "the road less traveled" and his experience was clearly evident. He was in his element both in the wild and in the city. African travel is not cheap. Kosen is worth every cent. I will book with him again.
Great Company
Kosen Safaris lives up to their motto -"We know Africa". We had an outstanding vacation - great organization and wonderful people. you really know what you are doing. Everywhere we stayed could not have been better - hotels and tented camps. For me the visit to the Nkoilalea Primary School was a highlight along with so many other things. I will be back. Lester & Carol