Taking you to the exotic African wild!
Morning Star Tours & Travel
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- IATA, KATO, AMREF & TOSK
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $134 to $806 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Andreas M | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari adventure
For our 9-day safari we visited Tsavo west, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Ol Pejeta, Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara. Big thanks to Alice and the whole team for organizing everything and making us feel well taken care off during the whole trip.
Our driver guide was an excellent driver, and it was very clear that he knew all the parks very well. He made sure we found all the good spots, and we got to see almost everything we wanted to see, including a leopard and a river crossing in Masai Mara.
The reason we can't give a 5-star review is because of shortcomings in our view related to our driver guide. In short we expected our driver guide to be our guide, in addition to our driver. We felt that the role as guide was less prioritized and he focused only on the work of being a driver.
From the start we did not get the impression that he was interested in getting to know us.
We felt it was difficult to keep a conversation going, and he was using his phone a lot.
We expressed on several occations that we wanted as much time spent on game drives as possible. Almost always he proposed less time driving, and we had to negotiate to get some more time. This made us feel quite
uncomfortable. At times we felt the mood in the car was not good, and on several occations felt we were a liability.
In Masai Mara he proposed a game drive much shorter than what was stated in our itenerary. We raised this with the booking team, which clearified this with the driver, making the last safari day worry-free and a wonderfull day for us.
On a last note, we would absolutely consider traveling with Morningstar again, and also recommend them to our family and friends. We would however try to better align the expectations prior to arrival.
CN
Email winkle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
healing&soothing
We booked a 9-day, 8-night trip with James as our driver. For the first 7 days, we were very happy and grateful to James for his patient explanations about the animals and his enthusiastic efforts in finding them. We also want to thank Dennis for helping us with flight delays. However, there were some issues that made us unhappy, and these seemed to worsen in the last two days:
James' personal state: James seemed to be a bit late every day initially, which we didn't mind at first, but by the eighth day, he seemed quite distracted. While waiting for the elephants to pass, he was even watching TV shows. Additionally, we felt we could have had a priority spot to view the elephants, but it was taken by others.
Tip issue: We initially communicated with James that we would give him the tips on the last day. However, the day before, we felt he was urging us to give them. After giving the tips, he was very late the next day, claiming he was waiting for us in different places, which was quite frustrating.
Duration of Game Drives: According to our communication with James, each day's Game Drive was only five hours, including the time from the hotel and back. However, we met other people who said their Game Drives lasted more than five hours.
Lunch issue on the ninth day in Nairobi: Dennis informed us that James was aware, but James claimed he had no knowledge that our booking included lunch in Nairobi. He even blamed us for not informing him in advance, which led to the possibility of having to eat packed lunches in the car on our way to the airport. The lunch fee was non-refundable. Eventually, after much effort on our part, we managed to have lunch in Nairobi, and for the first time, we saw how fast James could actually drive!
Email Ryan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and great tour company!
We had a great time with Morningstar in Kenya and Tanzania!
Dennis was great to work with, was able to make all of our plans for us, and was able to make every request happen. We were even able to request different accommodations.
James and Jackson were also both great tour guides. More than once, we were able to have a meal with them and learn more about the countries and way of life.
The only reason we are giving a 4-star review is because, for a few days, one of the cars we were traveling in had a consistently dead battery which I feel took away time from seeing the animals. It was finally replaced after a few days and all was good. Overall, this probably took away minimal time but still significant enough of an inconvenience to mention.
Email Debbie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Comprehensive Tour Operator with Great Drivers
My husband and I along with a good friend and her husband had an eleven day safari and beach trip throughout Kenya. I went in knowing where I wanted to go mostly, and worked with Dennis at the front office. He was able to put together an itinerary that took into account what I had asked for, but also expanded it to address what my friends and husband would want to experience, considering this was their first time in Kenya and on safari. He put together a packed itinerary that hit so many things (Nairobi, Samburu, Aberdares, Naivasha, Mara and the Coast). We were always on the move with our driver, Alex. Alex was great - some amazing driving skills and good eyes. Also very sociable so always connecting with the other drivers to find the good spots and sharing perspective on life in Kenya.
The accommodations were great, the land cruiser was relatively comfortable and well stocked with water.
During the planning, Dennis was very accessible and communicative. He was willing to make small changes to the plans as I had some particular notions of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. Having Whats App downloaded allowed me to connect with the front office while we were traveling around Kenya, which was helpful when we were at the coast.
We greatly enjoyed working with Morningstar! The only issue I would mention is that if you have questions or concerns, speak up clearly and early. It's not a bad idea to review the itinerary with your driver/Morningstar upon arrival to make sure your understanding of what is included and what isn't is still the same and has been confirmed with the driver and the accommodations. Especially if you are going off the regular tourist track (out of the major parks).
There were a few communications transparency concerns where I think the office had everything under control, but plans had changed and we had not been updated. There were some miscommunications at the end between Morningstar and the accommodation, that seemed to have been based upon expectations and not confirmed commitments from the accommodations.
When I spoke up or contacted the office or mentioned something to Alex, a fix was often figured out (or at least they attempted to figure it out) but you need to speak up early if you have questions or concerns and don't make assumptions that just because something is stated on your itinerary, everyone involved is aware of what the initial travel itinerary was and is and has the same understanding of what's included and what isn't.
The experience we had for the money we paid was a great option and Alex was there and ready for us on time every day. He had a great energy and was flexible with our irregular requests (finding a pharmacy in Nanyuki, going to my old house in Nairobi, visiting Sarit Center/Westgate in Westlands.
Smooth Operator!
Great service from booking & throughout our safari.
Good value.
Amazing locations & lodges
Highly recommended
Email Marie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great organisation and fulfilled wishes
Dealing with Joy was a real pleasure. She was very attentive and made sure that everything was in order. When I asked for some extras she didn‘t hesitate to fulfill my wishes. The communication was always 100%!
IT
Email Maria | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience in the wild
We spent 3 days and 2 nights respectively in Salt Lick Lodge and in Kibo Camp (in front of Kilimangiaro). We visited 3 parks: amboseli was incredible! We saw lots of animals like lions, elephants, hippo, etc. Our guide Daniel was very nice giving is the possibility to Make lots of nice pictures! Alice as Morning Star’s tour operator was available 24hours for any kind of assistance. We liked Amboseli a lot with Kilimangiaro’s view: thanks to our guide Daniel we visited also a Masai Village in front of Kilimangiaro. Here we entered in touch with local culture and traditions.
UY
Email Ceci y Ro | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything good
Everything was fine. The guys were very nice and pending on us all the time
Email Belinda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What an experience!
We took a 6 night safari with Morningstar staying one night at Lake Nakuru, 2 nights in the Masai Mara , 2 nights in the Serengeti and one night in the Ngorogoro Crater. Dennis was our tour consultant and he answered all our communications with great efficiency.
All of our accommodation was clean , comfortable and of a high standard.
We saw so many animals … lions , elephants, giraffes, hippos etc in abundance just to name a few plus we were lucky enough to see a cheetah and a leopard.
Dennis organized a visit to a Masai village for us which was amazing and also a sunrise hot air balloon experience over the Mara which was truly magical.
Overall we had a wonderful experience and would recommend Dennis and Morningstar.
Email Mirjana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Getting safari adjusted to our needs was very efficient, communication was great, people friendly!
From first moment, communication with Alice, our tour consultant, was great. She quickly responded to all our questions, modified itinerary to include our end point in Diani, after visiting Amboseli and Tsavo West conservancy.
Our guide was very sweet and quiet young man Julius, who tried to show us as much as possible. Most impressive were families of lions and views of Kilimanjaro in Amboseli NP, where we also saw elephants, hippos, zebras, hyenas, buffaloes, flamingos... Accommodation in Oltukai Lodge was great, food options for my daughter and me, who are celiacs, were amazing.
Herds of animals coming to drink water at Salt Lick Lodge waterhole was something special to experience. Elephants, wilder beasts, zebras….kept coming to drink in organized long lines. It is impressive how all animals work together and give each order chance to drink, since that is the only place where water is available.