Our Consultants in the office
Meektrails Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2020)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Marco | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They may change plans unexpectedly and without informing the clients.
We booked a ten day safari. The original program was changed without informing us and without our consent. The vehicle was downgraded without informing us. They also decreased the number of safari day to 9, leaving us one day without activities. This is especially bad since they erased from the program one day in the Masai Mara. We found out about all of this during the trip, not before. Communication was virtually non-existent.
Reply from Meektrails Safaris
Posted on Jan 8, 2024Many thanks for sharing this with other travelers, we take every review in a positive approach to help us get better, some negative will assist us in knowing how we can do to make it better for clients travelling with us now and in the future.
In Kenya we have 2 vehicles for safaris, 4 X 4 safari minivan and 4 X 4 safari land cruiser, it is important to know which you are booked even by asking for photos for the safari vehicle. The price between the two vehicles is considerably different.
I do not understand what you mean by your tour being cut short yet we dropped you guys at the airport on the same day you were booked for your flight home, you almost did not meet me because of time since you were rushing to board the flight. The flight itinerary was not changed, how could you have missed a day?
I agree about missing a game 1st night in Maasai Mara, I personally asked you what we could do about this since our parks had changed from 24 hour packages to 12 hour packages. I have many clients who have had this issue but we advised them to do something different on this evening to avoid paying a full days ticket that is only used for an hour or so and most picked my advise, you also picked this as there was no need to pay an extra ticket. Had I known you had an issue believe me we would have paid that extra ticket for you to make sure you spoke positive of us and our our beautiful country.
ALL IN ALL THIS WILL HELP US IMPROVE AND THANKS FOR SHARING.
DE
Email Elizabeth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not customer-oriented, only interested in own profits
Starting with the positives:
* Our driver exhibited exceptional friendliness and punctuality throughout the journey.
* We were consistently provided with excellent vantage points for capturing wildlife photographs.
* Despite encountering dangerous traffic conditions, our driver drove safely, though it's worth noting the necessity for functional safety belts within the vehicle.
However, handling of unforeseen circumstances by Meektrails Safari, particularly regarding our delayed arrival:
On the downside:
* Meektrails initially suggested omitting a day from our Masai Mara itinerary, a significant disappointment given its prominence in our plans and its associated cost, with no reimbursement offered.
* Contrary to their stated cancellation policy guaranteeing full refunds in such situations, we were informed that refunds were not feasible due to upfront payments for accommodations and entrance fees.
* During the safari we saw that these fees were typically paid upon arrival, contradicting Meektrails' explanation.
* Following considerable negotiation, Meektrails agreed to adjust our itinerary to two full days in Masai Mara, yet failed to compensate for the activities and accommodations we skipped.
* Additionally, the promised sightseeing activity in Nairobi on our final day was abruptly canceled without prior notice, leaving us feeling fooled
In conclusion, we recommend you to recognize the potential for abrupt changes in plans during such excursions. However, Meektrails' failure to stick to their refund policy and their apparent attempts to prioritize their interests leave a negative impression. Regrettably, we cannot recommend this agency.
Reply from Meektrails Safaris
Posted on Mar 26, 2024Many thanks for posting your safari experiences with all the people here looking for a good safari in our beautiful country Kenya. This is an eye opener.
I will point out what you did not mention, that your flight was delayed for over a day and it is busy season here.
Despite your flight being delayed for over a day we managed to rework your itinerary making sure you did not miss out on anything without charging you extra for changing some of the dates despite the hotels considering your booking as a last minute cancellation. We actually paid more for the change, some places 100% for the room.
The 100% refund is for us protecting our clients, in most cases we cover the losses as you well know the hotels have different policies, we look at it in a positive way that no one will book a holiday in Africa with the intensions to cancel last minute. We only do it to protect the clients, rarely do the cancellations occur.
This is the same thing that we did for you, just did not find it necessary to tell you we are paying some of the hotels afresh for the changes since yours was considered a last minute no show and we had to push every place a day ahead. Rarely do such cases occur.
I think honesty is very important everywhere as the only place that would not fit inn was a night in Lake Naivasha because of your Flight back home.
Many thanks for choosing our beautiful country Kenya for your holiday.
BE
Email George | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good 7 days tour with Meektrails with some room for improvement
We are experienced travellers in Africa, and this is our fourth safari destination. We had a good time in Kenya with Meektrails as we visited Amboseli NP, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara. Overall, Meektrails did well, we had good communication before our trip, our contact Eliud was very quick to reply, we had an experienced guide (Joseph) and they were punctual and professional. However, there were some small issues, many of which apply to most safari tour operators in Kenya. None of these issues, however, got in the way of the overall good experience.
Firstly - the car. We decided to save a bit of money and we went for a 4x4 minivan instead of the classic safari vehicle - Toyota Land Cruiser. We had done that before in Uganda without any issues and we were assured by Meektrails that their vans are new and in good condition. Well, our van broke on the first day, just 5 km after we departed. While this of course can always happen and there is never a guarantee that issues would not arise with any car, it was quite obvious that the van was not in the best condition and our guide was quite careful in driving it for the rest of the trip. Its important to say that they reacted quickly and another car picked us up (with other tourists) and we shared the car for our first day. Even though we had booked a private tour, sharing for a day was not an issue.
An important piece of advice we can give to any traveller is to make sure you have a clear understanding of how many National Park passes you have and for which days. Park fees in Kenya are especially expensive and safari operators usually play around with passes to make budget trips possible and of course have a better margin. We had some small misunderstandings with Meektrails on this point (on one of the days our programme included a game drive, but in practice, it wasn't because of a pass that Meektrails did not pay for). Overall I think it was a matter of misunderstanding and did not take a way of our experience, since on this day we had a long trip in any case.
What was a disappointment, however, is that we specifically requested that on the last day we do a game drive in Maasai Mara and our flight was very late in the evening - 01.30 after midnight. So we specifically paid for the park passes - a total of 200 USD for two people. Yet, both our guide and Meektrails themselves, on multiple occasions, told us that there was not much time for a game drive since we needed to have enough time to get to Nairobi. We insisted that there was more than enough time to get to the airport, and even if it takes 6-7 hours (which usually takes 5, especially on a Sunday), we could have a half-day drive. They didn't agree and it felt like they just wanted the trip to finish earlier, so we did not feel like arguing and our drive was only until 9:30. This felt like wasting 200 USD on park fees for a short game drive. In the end, we arrived in Nairobi at 17:00 (with several very long stops - we just felt that there is a lot of time to spare), or more than 8 hours before our flight.
CN
Email Ikea L | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable operator with solid team
We are tourists from China and we went for 8 days on great safari in May 2024. Our itinerary was tailor-made and flexible with Meektrails, which just made evrything amazing!!! The cousltant is Victor, he kindly replied all our questions by email, Whatsapp and Wechat. After we confirmed booking with Meektrails, Vcitor secured all the itinerary's details especially the accommodation.
Also highly recommend our guide/driver Eric, during our trip Eric told us lots of knowledge about animals. Eric is expert on searching animals with his hawk-eyes, although it's rain season, in Masai Mara Eric helped us find Bufflo, Lion,Elephant and Leopard!!!! In Nakuru Eric found both white and black Rhino!!!Besides we watched Lion vs Hyena in Nakuru which was unbelievable!!!
Anyway, 5 stars with Meektrails, definitely recommend and hope u all enjoy the adventure in Kenya.
CN
Email Jianwen Gao | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A very reliable operator
I will definitely recommend Meektrails to my friends and you.
The Kenya flood happened during my trip in Kenya. Meektrails well managed the changes due to road damage to naivasha and recommend us to change another good & safe hotel due to the flood in masai mara. That makes me feel them very reliable.
Also, highly recommend my guild Gideon. He has very good knowledge on animals and history, also he has sharp eyes to find the animals. I really appreciate the detailed explanation during the trip, which helps me to understand the animal and history of beautiful Africa.
US
Email Tom | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I highly recommend Meektrails & Jasan Warui for your safari
My wife, two teenage sons, and I had an incredible 6 day safari with Meektrails. It was a great value and jam packed with experiences built into the package. Be prepared to rough it!
Additionally, I can’t say enough about our personal driver/guide Jasan Warui. He’s an amazing guide, and even better person. He took very good care of us, and if you request him you won’t be sorry!
RU
Email Alisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Falling in love with Africa
It was our first time in Africa and we would like to express our genuine gratitude to each and every person at Meektrails Safaris who made our first safari tour so memorable.
We had limited time to plan trip to Kenya and thanks to our tour consultant Eliud, it was enough to organize everything. He was very helpful and always timely addressed any questions we had while planning the tour. Eliud offered us different options and advised on what would be the best for us. Initially we had chosen 7-days safari tour but right before the start we asked to extend our stay at Maasai Mara and it was not a problem. Overall, the communication was very smooth and easy and we felt that Eliud was truly interested in making the tour enjoyable and convenient for us.
On top of that, we were lucky enough to have Michael as our driver and guide. Every game drive with him was a pleasure. Being experienced and knowledgeable guide he is also polite and nice person himself. From day one it was clear that he is passionate about what he is doing. Finding animals, explaining their behavior and way of living, drawing our attention to their distinctive features, advising on the best photo locations, etc. - he did all of these. He even had the book in the car which he used to address our most specific questions about animals. All in all, Michael provided so much useful information about Kenya and its wildlife making us fall in love with the nature of the country and forget about anything else for these 8 days. Moreover, knowing that animals are the most active in the morning and after the sunset we asked Michael to start our daily game drives as early as possible and he was fully supportive of this idea. He did his best to make sure we see the Big Five and more, constantly communicating with other tourist vehicles via radio and phone. It was also amazing that for the last day in Maasai Mara leopard was our only wish and thanks to Michael we were happy to see it!
One more thing to mention is accommodation. We were obsessed with the variety of African lodges that we had a chance to stay in. Everything was just perfect and very well organized!
We want to thank Meektrails Safaris for such an unforgettable experience and the best memories about our first safari tour.
Email Keven | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
My partner and I had the Kenyan safari that we've dreamt about thanks to Meektrails. We did an 8 day tour with stops at Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara.
Our tour consultant, Valentine, was friendly, quick to respond and always willing to help - despite our constant bombardment of questions leading up to the trip! She also offered a very good price which suited our budget while ensuring the best value and accommodation for our preferences.
Our guide Ben was an absolute legend! He was super knowledgeable, attentive and friendly. And best of all - he somehow managed to always get us really close to the animals even as the other Land Cruisers were crowding around. Ben really went above and beyond to make sure we got the most out of our game drives. We managed to see the Big 5 and so much more. We also lucked out and got a brand new Land Cruiser which was clean and comfortable.
Highly recommend Meektrails and we'll definitely be using them again when we come back to Kenya!
NO
Email Kaisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing bucket list experience - 10/10!
We went on a three day safari with Meektrails, stayed at the Zebra Plains camp and were lucky enough to have Peter as our tour guide. The whole experience was beyond our expectations, truly exceptional from start to finish and we couldn't recommend it enough!
The booking process was very smooth, the cost reasonable, and the camp was great (and food was amazing!). The safari itself was just amazing, absolutely gorgeous and we got so close to all the animals.
Best of all though was our tour guide Peter who truly went above and beyond to ensure we had the best possible experience. Knowledgable, polite, a safe driver, fun and super nice - highly recommend Meektrails and Peter! Thank you very much!
Kind and caring operator
Our driver was Steve, such a gentleman and kind man. He always tried to make a fantastic memory for us. He was so professional with roads and had a keen eyes to watch over animals in national parks. And Meektrails is one of the best company to go safari with. Gave us the best offer and corporate with us in almost everything.