Epic Game Drive in Masai Mara
Lenchada Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $750 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Mayra and Claudio | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All you need to live Africa Safari!
We booked a 6 days safari with Lenchada, visiting Masai Mara, Naivasha, Nakuru and Amboseli.
Since the first contact with Alex, everything was clear and easy. He answered all our doubts quickly.
They picked up us from the Nairobi airport and we started our trip to the first stop Masai Mara where we spent 2 days. We were lucky to see many animals like lions, elephants and guepards, hippos, cocodriles even the wild east migration, crossing the Mara river.
After that, we visited Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru National Park where we can see many monkeys, flamingos and rhinos.
Finally, we arrived to Amboseli National Park where not only saw a stunning sunset but also a sunrise with the Mt. Kilimanjaro with elephants as a spectacular background.
I don't want to close this up without a mention to Jonny. He is such an amazing guide and driver. He always tried to put us in the best place as possible to find or see animals. He is very kind and helpful.
Email Josh & Jade | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jonny is the absolute best, we've been so well looked after by him!
We have been on the 6-day safari with Lenchada and Jonny has been our fantastic guide!
The first 2 nights we spent at Lenchada Eco Camp, it's a nice space just outside the Massai Mara reserve. The staff are really friendly and the tent had its own toilet, however it is a budget camp with limited electricity access. On the game drives themselves, Jonny made sure to get us the best views of all the animals. We saw lions, cheetah (with cubs), buffalo, giraffes, zebra and a hyena eating - all in the first day!
The second game drive, we were up early and we were taken out into the wild where we saw plenty of the animals mentioned before as well as elephants and hippos! We even got to see part of the great migration of wildebeest, again Jonny made sure we had the best views which we really appreciate.
Day 3 we travelled to our accommodation for Lake Nakuru, Jonny gave us a choice to stop by Lake Naivashna on the way, so we did. We're so pleased that we did this because we got to have a boat ride and walk alongside zebra and giraffes. Then when we finished, we were taken to our accommodation for the night. The accommodation for the night in Nakuru was good, as it was a hotel room with a hot shower and more food options.
After the Lake, Jonny took us all the way down to Amboseli ready for the last 2 days of our trip. Hats off to Jonny, he's done so much driving and been so fantastic, all with a smile still. He made sure we had plenty of bathroom breaks throughout with places to buy coffee/snacks (which we recommend bringing)
Day 5 we went into the Amboseli reserve. We saw a baby elephant which was only a few days old and we even got to see 3 lionesses with 5 cubs! Jonny said that it's very rare to see lions here, but he managed to get us front row seats again.
Day 6 is tomorrow, we've got an early morning game drive before being taken back to Nairobi. Overall, it's been an incredible experience and would recommend to those looking for a budget friendly safari.
Thank you!
Josh and Jade
DE
Email Alicia & Anna-Lena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime with an emphatic local guide
We booked the 6-day private safari starting in Masai Mara, then Lake Nakuru and finishing in Amboseli Nationalpark. We cannot describe how amazing this trip and the wildlife of Kenya was. With our guide Evans, we had a very knowledgable and sympathic guide who could always answer all our questions. In every situation, he knew exactly how to react - great driver, always stunning views of the animals and made sure we had the best experience possible. All lodges exceeded our expectations.
From start to finish an unforgetable time, we felt in love with Kenya and its amazing people.
FR
Email Romain | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful 6 days safari with Dickson !
Dickson is a very good guide and driver. We had 6 wonderful days in Kenya. We saw all big 5, and especially leopard very close !
Email Fiona H | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Magical Masai Mara with Lenchada Safaris
We booked Lenchada safari as a group of 4 – two couples and had an amazing time in Masai Mara. Our guide for the 3 day trip was Charles, and he was amazing ! From the time he picked up in Nairobi to the time he dropped us back off in Nairobi 3 days later he was so accommodating and pleasant. His knowledge of the area and the animals was impeccable. We had just come from South Africa where we did a safari but failed to see Leopards or Hippos. We told Charles that these were high on our list, and he made sure he did everything he could for us to see them, and we did ! Thank you Charles for an amazing time ! I would definitely recommend Lenchada to anyone looking to do the Masai Mara.
Email Tilly | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A once in a lifetime experience
We booked Lenchada safari as a family of four and had an amazing time! From picking us up in Nairobi to dropping us back three days later, everything was perfect! But what really made the experience was our guide Geeman! He put in maximum effort to ensure we had the best possible safari experience and we saw four of the big five on our full game day thanks to him and his amazing driving!! Would highly recommend!!
Email Norman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lenchada safaris, one of the best tour operator
I booked my first ever safari with Lenchada, the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboselli tour. The experienced is incredible and we see the big four in masai mara in one full day game drive and 3pm to 6pm game drive. Our guide/driver Geeman did a spectacular job by finding the animals and gave us a good views. I read other reviews that they said it depends in your driver/tour guide that you will have a memorable safari and Geeman did not failed us. If we want to see an elephant after an hour he manage to find the elephant and the Leopard also in the last hour of our full day safari. He is a gem.
Thank you Lenchada for the memorable safari in Masai Mara.
Email Nick | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic private custom tour experience at a fantastic price ! Fantastic people
Fantastic experience with this company - and at a very reasonable price! Lovely accomodations combined with a relaxing, insightful experience of my driver Dixon made for a lovely experience for my first time in Kenya.
Dixon guided me around Amboseli, Nakuru and the Mara with great expertise and knowledge of both the land, animals, and the people! Great insights all around.
IN
Email Felix | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Genuine n helpful
I booked with Lenchada Safari for four days.Alex was great in arranging and making necessary changes.All our queries were answered in a super speedy way.Our guide cum driver Moses was knowledgeable and nice..We were a group of six.. Land cruiser was well maintained by Alex..I opt Alex's team if I'm goin for our next trip.. Definitely recommend for others too...Team FELIX
CA
Email Nick | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible safari I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
After buying flights to Kenya with my partner on a whim, I was left trying to figure out how to spend our time. Neither my partner nor I had ever been to Africa. We decided to try a safari and I spent weeks pouring over reviews and blogs. I narrowed it down to a 4 day safari with either Lenchada Safaris or Jocky Tours (which ended up being sister companies, so you can’t go wrong either way). I ended up booking Masai Mara + lake Nakuru with Lenchada and I could not be happier. We went with the budget option, but sprung for the 4x4 jeep upgrade instead of the safari van. I’m very happy about that decision (more on that later ).
The whole thing, from getting an initial quote to the final drop off was smooth and professional. The tour started off with someone arriving 10 minutes early at our hotel reception, asking for me by name. This was notable since our hotel was on the 13th floor of a Nairobi high rise. We walked over to the office, paid the remainder of what we owed and jumped in the jeep ready to start the safari!
Our driver was Francis and he was truly amazing! He is friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about Kenya’s parks and animals. He not only answered all our questions, but kept the mood light and happy, and was always willing to go above and beyond. He is also one hell of a driver! We entered Masai Mara park, and within minutes he was on the radio, on his cell phone and driving down barely recognizable (to me) roads to get us the best views of the most animals possible. It was truly impressive to watch.
At one point Francis got word on the radio of a leopard sighting, the most elusive animal in Masai Mara. He told us to buckle up and get ready, because the sighting was far away and we had to be quick if we had any chance at seeing the leopard. The ride that followed was an adrenaline pumping thrill that culminated in spotting the leopard on the prowl. Breathtaking!
Over all, Francis’s passion and excitement for what he does really shines through. He made our safari something l’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I’m also really glad i booked with Lenchada. We basically showed up and they took care of everything else. I didn’t have to stress about a thing. They were also accommodating and i trusted Francis to smooth out any hiccups that came our way (of which there were some, but i literally don’t remember what cause it was taken care of).
On a more pragmatic note: we did two days in Masai Mara park and from the first minutes we entered the park, it was incredible. Maybe we were just lucky, maybe Francis is just that good, but within the first 2 hours in the park we saw 7 lions, countless zebras, wildebeests, buffalo, giraffes and more. Between the 4 days I think we saw every notable animal in the country.
A few notes on safari options: the 4x4 jeep was really nice, it allowed us to go places and see things that I’m not sure we’d have been able to with a van. The jeep is just able to get over rough terrain way faster and more comfortably. The inside was also roomy and comfortable.
We stayed at the Lenchada camp for 2 nights. The tents were really impressive: massive, with in-built toilets and showers. Food was nice, although I can see why some people would be unimpressed. Keep in mind that you’re in a camp in the middle of the bush. Electricity is scheduled and hot water is available, but the temperature depends on how close you are to the hot water tanks. We took a flashlight and it came in handy, although not strictly necessary.
The third night was at a nice hotel and the very hot shower was really nice.
We opted not to visit the Masai village and I’m pretty happy with that decision. If you want to learn about the cultures and tribes of Kenya/Africa there are a lot of great resources available online.
Adding lake Nakuru was something we debated a lot, but in the end it allowed us to see things Mara just doesn’t have, like rhinos and countless birds. It was super nice.
Other than the 4x4 jeep upgrade, we booked the most budget option and we were very happy. Other people in our jeep has booked more expensive options but the main difference was accommodation. Honestly, we were so tired each evening we just feel asleep as soon as we turned in.
Heads up: there is a lot of driving involved in these tours (regardless of company or options). The parks are just very far from each other and the roads take time to traverse.
Also, Mara entrance is now ( sept 2023) limited to 12 hours chunks, down from 24 hours. This means that additional game drives may not be possible. Make sure to ask your company for details and itinerary.
Camera wise, my partner and I had an iPhone 11 pro and a cannon g7x mark III (point and shoot with reasonable lens). I think that was more than enough. Honestly, 80% of the time we were so close to the animals that i didn’t even need the zoom, 2-3x was good for 98% of the time.
I was also worried about battery charge but it wasn’t an issue. The jeep has plugs for your phone and there is enough access to power that it shouldn’t be an issue. We put our phones on airplane mode while taking pictures and had a second battery for the cannon. That was more than enough for ~3000 photos over 4 days.
Overall, the whole experience was amazing and awe inspiring. Seeing those animals close up and that landscape for myself was just incredible.
