Luxury African Safari tours in East Africa
Natural World Kenya Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ASTA, KATO, MCTA & Ecotourism Kenya
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $310 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IN
Email Shankar | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid like Black Mamba
Modus Operandi - collects full fare. Does not pay to service providers. Drivers wait endlessly at park gate. You end up paying entry fee, fuel, hotel charges. The CEO vanishes from scene. KATO suspended them. But they have managed to resurface. TRA , the authority who blacklist, has not done anything. I saw some other operator black listed but not Natural World. With all the amounts being diverted must be having a huge cash reserve to pull strings.!
US
Email Justin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
BEWARE
This is not a complaint, it is too late for that, since I don’t plan to use this company ever. Instead, I am writing this review to help future travelers be aware of what they might encounter, and to provide important information so you can make an informed decision for your trip.
We booked our safari for six people with them well in advance and paid in full more than three months prior to travel. Our trip was coordinated by “safari specialist” Esther, who assured us that everything was set. She even met us in person to collect a thank-you note and reaffirm that everything was set.
Our first two days in Kenya went smoothly. However, the problems began when we crossed the border into Tanzania, in route to the Serengeti. We were suddenly stranded at the border because Natural World had not paid the local driver. Despite multiple attempts to reach Esther, we were finally able to get her on a call, during which she told us we had to pay $200 ourselves to continue the journey. We were shocked and explained that we had already paid in full. After a few hours, our driver, out of sympathy, decided to take us to the hotel without payment.
Upon arrival, we found that there was no reservation, and no payment made. The driver gave us the contact information for someone he called the “owner” of Natural World – Hamfry. After multiple attempts, we finally got a response, and the hotel reluctantly accepted us for the night.
The next day, while heading toward Serengeti, we were stopped at the Ngorongoro Park gate and again unable to proceed because no fees had been paid on our behalf. After hours stuck at the gate trying to sort this out, I received an email from Esther (please see attached) informing us that WE would need to pay $5,000 per day to continue, claiming they were having "a problem with their bank."
At that point, we had no choice but to hire another company in Tanzania, paying nearly $4,000 just to continue our journey. Had we not done this, our once-in-a-lifetime trip would have ended there. Another hotel had only been partially paid, and they were asking to we pay the balance ourselves.
I spent over a year planning this trip, and Natural World completely ruined it. Despite promises to reimburse us for the additional payments we made, we have not received a single cent.
To make matters worse, the “owner” never answered his phone when we needed urgent assistance. I have a log of
I am submitting a formal complaint to the Ministry of Tourism to help prevent other travelers from being put in a similar position.
I hope this review and the extremely unpleasant experience we endured will help shed light on what might happen to you. Please consider your options carefully before entrusting them with your dream vacation.
DE
Email Baptiste | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Another One bites the Dust
We found this company based on their very good reviews on TripAdvisor. But after booking two safari with this company, we saw all the negative reviews they got here.
We were worried, so once we arrived in Nairobi, we visited their office straight away. The following trip to Masai Mara was great, even though we understood afterwards that the driver seemed not to have been paid.
Our second trip to Amboseli was when it went bad. The accommodation told us our rooms hasn't been paid for, the promised services and meals was not delivered, the driver didn't get the money to pay for the gas. In all cases, it costed us more money and nerves that it should have, especially after the already large initial costs.
I don't know if this is malice or incompetence, and I am glad some trips are great. This seemed to be mostly down to the drivers that are either paid in time, or locked-in waiting to be paid for.
You should not book with a company with a succes rate of 50%. Book elsewhere or directly by a driver.
Email Sue | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I recommend you do not book with this company
Do Not Book Any Tours With This Company (NWKS)
The manager has blackened the previous good name of this company, and has probably tainted the good reputations all his drivers\guides
I have used this company in the past, with no complaints, actually they were so good, I have used their services three times.
I contacted NWKS in February this year to book another safari, and I paid a very large deposit.
I was not concerned because I had never experienced any prior problems with NWKS.
In hindsight, while planning a tour in 2024 with a friend, our choice of East Tsavo accommodation was changed due to ‘a government department booking out the whole venue\resort’, and our accommodation was downgraded without any reduction to the fees, maybe this was an earlier sample of the devious methods of the manager.
The manager had frequent contact with me while I was emailing him planning my 2025 itinerary, but once I had paid a deposit, I did not hear from him much at all, except when I arrived in Nairobi.
I spent 5 weeks in Kenya visiting friends in the Kisumu area, then had a short Mara safari with a different operator who is a friend, when I mentioned my planned safari to my friend, she asked which operator I was booked with and expressed her extreme concern about NWKS and their recent bad reputation for dodgy practices.
Apparently, they hadn’t been making bookings or paying for accommodation, nor arranging or paying for park entry fees, arriving at parks and then their guests have had to pay for things that should have been booked and paid for on receipt of the guests’ deposit.
I contacted the NWKS manager to inform him that I was back in Nairobi, and he wanted to know my method of payment for the balance of my planned safari, and he\his staff contacted me about this payment several times
I was to be picked up on 15\4\25 at 0700
On the advice of my friend, I did noy pay the balance, and requested a copy of the service voucher, which was not forthcoming.
My friend rang all three park accommodations that I was due to visit, and there were no bookings for me at two, and one had a cancelled booking.
My friend booked a whole new safari for me with her own company, similar to my planned one, and I left with her and joined her driver\guide after having to deal with the managers lies, as below
The NWKS driver arrived at 0700, I asked him to show me the service voucher for the first park, and when he couldn’t produce it, he rang the manager who spoke to me and told me that it wouldn’t be available until his office opened at 0830. He asked me to present to his office at 0830.
At 1145 that day, I received a ‘copy’ of a service voucher for one of my accommodations at 1145 that day, which was ‘created’ on 21\2\25.
I have reported this company to KATO, which said NWKS has been removed from membership, and the issue has been passed on to TRA. I don’t know if I will ever get a ‘refund’.
Apparently, the office and phones, aren’t manned, and all the vehicles have been auctioned, but the manager is still arranging safaris and ripping people off, using reputable drivers, and tainting their reputations.
Since receiving the ‘copy’ of the service voucher on 15\4\25, I have not had any contact from this company at all, and surely, if they had any morals or concern, they would have been wondering where the hell I went to after I left with my friend?
I have waited, and contacted both KATO and TRA again, but I have not heard anything from either organisation in over a month since being home, and I have been hesitant about complaining about this until now, while hoping for some positive response, and an indication of some kind of refund.
This situation is very damaging to the Kenya tourist industry and needs to be addressed to prevent the honest operators, guides and drivers being tainted by another company’s rotten reputation.
CA
Email Isra | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrendous experience- update from previous review
I wrote a review previously about my horrendous experience with this company and wanted to provide an update. I prepaid for my safari well in advance only to find that nothing was paid for upon arrival and I was forced to pay out of pocket. Our accommodation was also changed last minute- even after the company CONFIRMED that everything was booked and paid for in advance. All lies. Our safari was in February 2025 and I have been asking for a refund since. I have been provided with generic emails promising refunds with no follow-through. Now I've been ghosted by the company and they won't respond to my texts and email. I am writing this secondary review so others are aware. I DO NOT recommend rolling the dice with this company. You will likely lose out on money and be stranded.
US
Email Juliana | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They took our money and refused to refund after we paid x2
Beware
All phone numbers are disconnected and the leadership claim they do not work for the company when called. Both KATO and the TRA ( government) are investigating this tour company and KATO has already pulled their membership. They will not show up and they will not issue a refund. If they do eventually send a driver, they will claim that their Pesapal ( payment system) is down and they cannot transfer money to the national parks and the hotels and they ask for you to pay and get a refund later from their office in cash. They will say they are preparing the cash and claim their sales agent is incompetent and company policy doesn’t allow them to give cash. I have been waiting for refunds for weeks and have discovered documentation they provided from Pesapal is fake and Pesapal confirms they have no money in their account to issue a refund. Shem (finance controller) will insist you don’t know how Pesapal works and that Pesapal can just debit it from their account and overdraw then recoup the money from further transactions. I was driven 6 hours to the Mara Triangle gate and told I would have to pay for hotel and park fees for the rest of the trip! I had no choice but to do so. I’m following up with the government to ensure they get punishment and hopefully some day I can get a refund from Natural World Safari. File claims with your credit card right away.
IE
Email KM | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Natural World Kenya Safaris took our deposit for a safari never taken& unethically not returning it.
I paid 12,328 USD to Natural World Kenya Safaris, for family holiday in April 2024 as they wanted 40% deposit.
It was a booking deposit for an upcoming trip this July, 2025. I had very little email communication after paying the deposit, and no response to our phone calls to them.
When I emailed the individual accommodations in Kenya we requested during our safari stay, I received emails back from them confirming Natural World Kenya did not reserve any accommodation for us.
I asked that our deposit be returned, well over the 150 days prior to trip and with in T& Cs.
After numerous emails/phone calls to Natural World Kenya Safaris, I did receive an email, from D****, that they would process a refund.
But we have not received our 12,328 USD from them. Nor any contact back from them.
I reached out to the KATO Ethics and Standard Sub committee, regarding non-delivery of services. Natural World Kenya Safaris has been suspended from KATO membership on account of violating the Code of Conduct for Members. And we have been referred to the Tourism Regulation Authority (TRA) and will pursue this legally against the company.
A very unethical company, one could ask is this fraud. A scam? Gangster like activity? if you book with them you will find out.
( Please note the date of "when do you go'' is date of deposit , not date we went on safari, as we never did go-full disclosure)
Email Tracy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware! Natural World Kenya Safaris was dishonest with us
I joined a 5-day safari tour in Kenya with Natural World Kenya Safaris, and it turned out to be a nightmare. Despite paying in full, the company failed to cover basic expenses like my safari tickets and hotel accommodations. Instead, they had the audacity to request that I pay for them myself, promising a refund.
That refund never came. I have followed up multiple times, only to be ignored. To make matters worse, the sales representative who initially handled my case left the company and revealed that many other customers have faced the same scam—damaging his own reputation in the process.
This company is completely untrustworthy, and I strongly warn everyone to stay away. Do not fall into their trap. They took our money and left us to deal with the consequences. I advise you avoid Natural World Kenya Safaris at all costs!
US
Email Sean | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I recommend being cautious when booking with this company. Paid for service that we did not get
Sadly, like a bunch of others you can see on TripAdvisor, we lost thousands of dollars due to the actions of this tour company. This company operates under African Kenya Safaris as well as Natural World Kenya Safaris, so beware of both those names. We paid for our entire trip, in full, weeks before flying out to Kenya. When we arrived at our second hotel, they said our booking had been completely cancelled by this tour company one full week before we arrived.
Our next two hotel stays were still booked, but the company never paid. We spent 1.5 hours, each time, back-and-forth calling and messaging on WhatsApp in the hotel lobby with all our luggage. Neither were ever paid. It was late, dark, and we were tired and hungry, so we paid (again, since everything had been prepaid before we left home) with our credit card for the hotel - AFTER the tour company rep, Mary, agreed the company would reimburse us. She acted like this was an outlier, but we later discovered there are plenty of other victims.The hotel staff were shocked and felt so bad for us, and offered to comp our drinks at the restaurant. One guide said he had never heard of anything like this in over 18 years of being a guide. It has been weeks since they said they would refund us the money they owe, but now they will not reply to any messages. Beware of this tour company.
LV
Email Maris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be ready for some unpleasant surprises
We chose Natural world Kenya Safari (NWKS) because of the good reviews, but it seems that the company is currently having some (financial?) problems, which also affects its customers. I booked a safari (5 DAYS, 4 NIGHTS: NAIROBI – MASAI MARA GAME RESERVE– AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK– KENYA BEACH) tour for my family (2 adults, 2 children) several months before the trip. Communication with the Nairobi office specialist Faith was very good - a detailed program was sent and all questions were answered.
As promised, we were met at Nairobi airport by our driver/guide David and we paid the remaining amount at the NWKS airport office. The first two days in Masai Mara were great - we were very kindly welcomed by Orng'atuny Mara King Camp, went on safari trips and also visited a Masai village. The problems started on the third day, when we arrived at Amboseli Park. At first, there was a strange hitch with the accommodation confirmation, but later it was received. The next day according to the program was scheduled for "Full Day Amboseli National park", description: "We’ll start the day off viewing the animals as they first awaken and come into the clearings, seeking their first meal of the day. Then, it’s our turn for breakfast. You can relax now or go on a mid-morning game drive. Or both. You set the pace for the day and we’ll adjust accordingly." Instead, we drove to the park gate around 8:30, waited there for more than an hour, and then returned to the campsite. The reason, as driver David explained to us, is that someone from the office did not send the any confirmation. All the other vehicles drove in without any problems, only we were left outside. We didn’t visit the safari that day at all. I wrote an email to Faith, but I didn’t get any response from her. She didn’t reply either later, when I asked for an explanation again after returning from the trip. Perhaps this is the communication style of Natural World Kenya Safaris - to respond only until all money is received, but not after that. David is a good driver and generally a nice person, but I was also disappointed in his inability to resolve the situation. He just repeated several times that it was not his fault. We spent the last day of the tour feeling a bit stressed, wondering if another unpleasant “surprise” awaited us or if we might be cheated again. Fortunately, this did not happen and we successfully reached Mombasa, but later Diani.
Although this tour also had a lot of positive emotions, I would not risk choosing this company's services again.
