Some of our landcruiser and our lead team
Mattaw Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Amazing animals! Amazing tour! Amazing guide!
As soon as our tour guide picked us up, we knew we were in for an amazing time. Charles was incredibly friendly, flexible and energetic. We traveled first to Amboseli where we stayed at a luxury campsite, complete with tented rooms, wandering giraffes, an evening bonfire and delicious meals. From there we went on to Lake Naivasha where we stayed one night in a safari hotel and enjoyed a ride on the lake and a walking safari, and then to Masai Mara where we took several game drives and visited a Masai village. While giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, ostriches, antelope, and elephants were in abundance, Charles knew how to find the more reclusive game. We saw several male and female lions, the band of four brothers (cheetahs), leopards, hippos, rhinos, and Cape buffalos. At the end of our safari, Charles took us to a clinic to get our Covid tests, and then on to the airport. If you can get Charles as a guide, do it! The price of our tour was quite reasonable, communication with Charles and with Bud Huffman (owner of Mattaw Safaris) was excellent, and the tour exceeded our expectations.
Email Ryan Mcintire | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience, thank you!
We had an amazing time on our safari. Everything lined up great, the driver was friendly and professional. So many animals! All our expectations were met. You guys are awesome!
Email Maria Baker | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beyond expectations...
Our adventure was our 6th safari and second on the Mara, but our first with Mattaw Safaris. We had a budget , (not a big one), and an expectation as we all do. Our trip began with a personal pick-up and landcruiser drive to the tented resort were we were booked. It was more lovely than the pictures on the website. Decorated in Masai colors and handcrafted beading, it was a gem in the middle of Mara land. We went on two half day game drives and one full day, (about 13 hours), and had the time of our lives. We saw more exotic animals in this one trip than all of our others put together. Our driver/guides were exceptional. How can you go wrong when your guide is having as much fun as you are. Sincerely, Mattaw driver/guides truly enjoy what they do and you never get the feeling that this is just another trip for them and that is what sets them apart from other safari/travel companies. They all have access to the same resorts and the same Mara, the difference for any guest is the experience and Mattaw Safaris is all about the experience. Before we returned home, we had already reserved our next adventure with Mattaw Safaris. Thank you Bud and Masai Steve for making our trip one that we will remember for ever!!!!
CH
Email Evaristo, Ana e Lucas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memories forever!!!
My wife, 12 year-old son and myself decided to go for a safari in January and looked into safaribookings.com. It was our first safari and we had no clue of what was ahead besides seeing a lot of wildlife! Bud was awesome at explaining the details of the trip, pros and cons and even suggesting an awesome experience in Lake Naivasha and Crescent Island walking tour which he came to meet us and dedicated an afternoon to share information and culture of Kenya with us!
Our guide and driver Charles was amazing! He is from Kenya and knew a lot about the culture, the parks, the animals and where to find them! He drove us for 6 days from Nairobi to Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara.
I was very happy with the entire experience: the hotel selection was amazing, our dedicated land cruiser, the parks and the games! And the most exciting is the passion that both Charles and Bud have to share their knowledge, the Kenyan culture, the Swahili and the impacting social project Mattaw Safaris sponsors to help orphan kids to develop, get access to education and prosper! I may quote their mission incorrectly but this is what stuck with me: “Mattaw - Safari that gives back”.
Thanks for giving us all the memories! Forever!
US
Email Jon McIntosh | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable Experience!
I took a ten-person team on a three day safari in the Masai Mara. It was an unbelievable experience! The lodging was first rate, the guides were well-informed and the food and drink were excellent. I could not believe the wide variety of wildlife we were exposed to and how close we were able to approach them. And the view at the sundowner took your breath away. It was both personally enriching and an incredible team-building opportunity. I can't recommend Bud and Mattaw Safaris Ltd enough!
CA
Email Meredith Stewart | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I would do a safari with no one else!
I have nothing but positive things to say about Mattaw Safaris. They did everything to ensure an awesome trip, trying to find as many animals as we possibly could. We got to see the three famous cheetahs and it's breakfast. :)
The driver we had, spotted anything and everything on our drive: from a dung beetle to a leopard high in a tree. We've done a few safaris in Kenya and the one with Mattaw Safaris was the best one ever. Hands on!
Highly recommend them to anyone and everyone!
CA
Email Sean Stewart | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Professional Yet Fun Experience.
This is a great experience. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Mara with Mattaw Safaris. They are courteous, professional, and knowledgeable. We were amazed at all of the animals we saw. The driver was able to get us close to elephants, cheetahs, and lions. We even saw a leopard, which can be elusive. The whole time we felt very safe. There wasn't one time that we felt like we were in any danger. We highly recommend Mattaw for your safari experience.
US
Email Kimberlu | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mattaw Safaris and our guide, Charles, provided a Safari experience that exceeded our expectations.
The entire experience with Mattaw Safaris was top notch.
Scheduling and communication was so easy. Charles is excellent at his job from customer service to finding the animals out in the wild.
He was very knowledgeable about his native land, the animals, and was able to teach us and our kids so much.
Charles also made us feel so welcome. His attention to detail and care for his customers is what sets him apart.
We will definitely be using Mattaw Safaris again.
US
Email J. Blaney and A. Khalamayzer | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stop looking for a tour guide, you've found the best!
First, if you want to know what you'll see on a Safari with Mattaw, here's a link to some footage we captured on an iPhone:
https://youtu.be/qegxw1pu-R
The above video pretty much speaks for itself, but there's a lot more to choosing the right safari guide than beautiful footage.
When we selected Mattaw, we really didn't have any idea what to expect either on a Safari, traveling to Kenya or from our guides. We were literally confused by everything. Do they pick us up at the airport? What should we wear? What vaccines do we need? What's the situation with COVID and getting tested for our return journey? What will we see when we're there? We got bids from three other operators and had the hardest time choosing between them. They all seemed to offer similar services, though the prices ranged quite a bit. In the end, we went with Mattaw because they had a fairly large number of positive reviews. They were not the cheapest, in fact we had another option that was almost half as much. But we felt more comfortable paying more for someone who seemed to be proven, given how little we knew about what to expect. Boy are we glad with our decision!
Mattaw was amazing in every way. We loved all three drivers--Bud, Steve and Charles--they showed us so much that we never would have seen without a guide. We loved every place we stayed, it was all well above expectations. And we couldn't believe how many amazing animals we saw. Literally thousands of them. It felt like we were living in The Lion King.
You definitely get what you pay for, at least with a reputable safari guide like Mattaw. So if someone is quoting you less money, that means you will be staying in less expensive accommodates or something else will have to be cut. Some guides say you will be in a private tour and then end up putting you with other people for a portion or most of your trip. Or by using really old vehicles that are more likely to get stuck, which you don't want happening as an Elephant charges. Some guides save money by hiring very low cost drivers who don't really know anything about how to drive around the animals or where to find them. Experienced guides will take you to the best locations, even drive the car in such a way as to provide you with a stunning backdrop for the animals. And most importantly, if an animal gets aggressive, you want someone experienced helping get you out of there.
I recommend going with Mattaw, or someone with a similarly stellar reputation, and then you can adjust the trip as much as you want from there. They can set you up with nicer places or less expensive places to stay. You can fly or drive between locations. They can go anywhere you want and stay as long as you want. That's something we really didn't understand when we booked the trip. The details of the trip aren't as important as who you choose to work with.
Go with Mattaw and you will have a great experience.
Email Jade Webster | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great adventure!!!
My husband and I had 7 days with Mattaw Safaris (Amboseli, Nakaru, and Masai Mara). I decided to book with Mattaw Safaris after I had read very good reviews on SafariBookings. Glad I did. It was very easy to communicate with Bud and easy to book. The whole booking experience was extremely smooth. Our two guides; Charles and Steve were absolutely brilliant! Not only they are very knowledgeable about wildlife but they are also very good drivers! Huge thanks to Charles for getting us safely to Zebra Planes lodge in Amboseli driving through torrential rain on 'no roads' roads (more like a river than roads). What an adventure! Would love to go back for the great migration! Hopefully next year. Thank you Mattaw Safaris!