Enrique Safaris Adventure

Delivered on a safari, but with major logistical/communication issues

Overall, this operator delivered on a safari experience, although there were significant issues (chiefly around communication and logistics) that make it hard to recommend them given their high prices.

I went with a large group that booked a full-day safari in Nairobi for US$200 per person. ESA came to our hotel to collect payment, but gave different members of the group different times, resulting in some confusion. On the day of the safari, our group showed up on time but was delayed in leaving by well over an hour without explanation. Perhaps this is just due to cultural differences around punctuality, but it meant we later ran out of time to complete our itinerary.

The safari vehicle seemed similar to ones used by other operators (I'd recommend holding on during bumpy portions to avoid head injury). On the safari portion in Nairobi National Park, our driver, Tim, did a good job of finding animals for us to observe. He was able to identify them all, but often had little to say beyond "that's a [species name]". I would have appreciated more information about the history/ecology of the park and fun facts about the animals we saw.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Centre were included in our package. The former went smoothly, but at the latter, there was some issue with picking up our tickets. We had to wait around an hour before it was resolved and we were able to go in, and there was little communication either during or after to explain it. Between them, there was a stop at a gift shop that hadn't been on our itinerary where we rendezvoused with the other vehicle in our group.

We got to lunch, at Babette's Fine Dining Restaurant in the Karen Blixen Coffee, around 2pm. It was a very fancy meal, with a well-presented multi-course menu, a beautiful garden view, and amenities like hot towels. The water, which wasn't included, cost us around US$40.

Tickets to the Karen Blixen Museum were included in our tour, but by the time we finished lunch around 4:30pm, we had run out of time due to the earlier delays and therefore opted to go back to the hotel. We did not (to my knowledge) receive any follow-up communication about our experience.

I would advise ESA to improve their logistics operation to reduce the likelihood of delays, and to work on communication so that participants have clear expectations for the tour and so that, when issues do arise, they do not cause more disruption/confusion than they have to. Offering financial compensation for major issues, like we experienced, would also be reasonable.