Reviews
CA
Email Mano | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional Safari in Kenya Sep’24
Exceptional Safari in Kenya
Sep 2024 • Family
Our family of seven (including a 6 year old) just returned from a 9 day safari and I wanted to write a review because it was the best experience we could ever had hoped for. Nancy was so patient with us as we went back and forth several times fine tuning our itinerary. She always replied promptly, gave us valuable advice and organized everything right down to the final airport drop off so that our vacation was stress free and enjoyable. I have to make a special mention of Bedan our guide. While Nancy saw to all the details it was Bedan who made the safari absolutely memorable. He was so friendly and so knowledgeable and went out of his way to make sure we had the best safari experience we could have hoped for. He would talk to other guides, get tips from them as to where the best animal sightings were and would joke about his “secret” which would be yet another marvellous animal sighting. He would drive around in all directions so we had the best vantage point to view and take photographs of the animals. My family and I don’t have enough words to say how incredible both Bedan and Nancy were.
CH
Email Monika W. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Moments in Kenya
Our safari in Kenya with Nico was far more than just an adventure – it was a journey full of wonder, joy, and connection with nature.
From the very first moment, we felt Nico’s passion, warmth, and deep love for the wilderness.
He didn’t just show us animals – he shared stories and insights about Africa’s beauty, its balance, and its spirit.
With his calm energy, knowledge, and sense of humor, every drive became something truly special.
The support from Nancy and Peter at Excel Gateways, both before and during the trip, was excellent – friendly, reliable, and always helpful. We felt completely taken care of from start to finish.
Thank you, dear Nico, for showing us Kenya through your eyes.
Your patience, enthusiasm, and warmth made this safari truly unforgettable. ❤️
IN
Email Archan Singha | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
We are fully satisfied with the service of Excel Getaways.
They have delivered as per the itinerary discuss and agreed upon.
We are really happy and re consider them for a re visit.
Highly recommend
Thanks
Email Nancy Bradford | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly Recommend Excel Getaways
I used Nancy with Excel Getaways to book my first safari in Kenya last year. I was so impressed and fell in love with Kenya that I booked a second safari to Kenya this year. I stayed in 3 different parks including Amboseli, Tsavo West and Tsavo East. Nancy took care of all the details and all I had to do was show up at the airport. The 3 camps I stayed in were all lovely with great locations. The view of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Amboseli and the amazing waterholes in Tsavo West and East – saw so much wildlife relaxing on the back deck. Two of the camps also had pools which was nice as it did get quite hot during the day. I have complete faith in Nancy’s recommendations and her attention to all the details. The terrain of these parks was very different than Massai Mara which made wildlife sightings more challenging. I was most fortunate to have Nico as a guide again this year. He is very personable with 30 years guiding experience. He speaks fluent German and English. I was blessed to see so many amazing animal sightings because of Nico’s expertise. Some highlights were Craig in Amboseli (the oldest surviving super tusker); male and female ostriches walking along the road with their 12 chicks, a nursing giraffe and numerous nursing baby elephants. Another highlight was seeing 6 lion cubs emerge from a bush their mom’s had hid them in all day. Such an amazing trip!! I highly recommend Nancy with Excel Getaways as a fantastic, trustworthy tour operator and Nico as a guide – you will be in good hands.
Email Gregory | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excel listened to my needs, understood my vision, met all of my goals, and exceeded my expectations.
I specifically wanted to work with a local Kenyan based tour company and get something a little better then a canned package. I identified 8 different operators and I contacted each one with my numerous questions and concerns, including; the time of year, the destinations I had in mind, the level of accommodations, the potential animals I would see, and the other travelers I would be with. All 8 operators responded, but 2 felt like they were entirely AI generated, and 2 were considerably outside my budget. From the remaining 4 operators, the team at Excel were the only team who clearly understood my goals, and offered alternative suggestions to meet my needs. They challenged what I 'thought' I wanted and helped me with an itinerary that ended up as a the prefect trip. This was a big event that was on the bucket list for a long time. I wanted it to be great, and I worried about every detail. I really wasted a lot of energy on that. I believe the team at Excel were able to determine the sweet spot for my trip based on our numerous communications. They put us in the right place at each destination, our guide was the best, we felt comfortable and safe, and the price point was consistent from all the quotes I received. I believe I got a better a Safari experience as a result of Excel Getaways!
IN
Email Sayan Murkhejee | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Experience with Excel Gateways – Kenya Wildlife Trip
I had an amazing and truly memorable trip with Excel Gateways earlier this month. From the very beginning, Nancy was incredibly helpful in curating our itinerary. Her valuable guidance and insights helped us make the most of our trip in a cost-effective and efficient way.
A special mention goes to Bedan, our guide for the 6-day Kenya wildlife tour. He was absolutely fantastic—highly experienced and deeply knowledgeable about all the national parks and Kenya's geography. His local contacts and helpful advice added a personal touch to our journey and made the experience even more special.
We were fortunate to spot nearly everything we had hoped to see, especially during our time in Masai Mara.
Thank you once again to the entire team for a well-organized and unforgettable adventure!
Email Melanie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great, reliable service
We had a great experience with Excel Getaways. Nancy organised our safari and beach hotel bookings and all flights and transfers. Everything went like clockwork and Nancy was readily available if we had any queries. We had a fantastic holiday and would definitely use Excel Getaways again.
CN
Email Anubrata | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really excellent choice for Kenya Safari
I read about Excel from one the discussion topics on Tripadvisor and decided to reach out via email. Nancy, who handled all the communications, was very professional and really nice to answer all my doubts during the planning phase and was highly adaptive to changes that I had requested. Her recommendations and planning was really good and she maintained a very professional attitude throughout the entire process. She was clearly stated the differences in costs if we chose different accommodation options and I had received quotes from multiple other highly rated operators and her numbers were comparable from the get go.
They say most of the safari experience is determined by the guides. We did the Kenya safari in 2 parts, because we visited Tanzania in between. Benjamin, our guide for the first leg, picked us up from Nairobi, and he was the star of the show during Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara. He was highly professional, knew his game, never lazy, ready to go the extra mile to stop animals type of a guide. He helped us spot a black rhino in Maasai Mara and there were just 2 cars there including ours and no one else got to know about it. Also we would leave our lodge earliest and arrive last every day and he was really really nice and worked extremely hard to make our experience the best. A huge huge shoutout to Benjamin for being the champion that he is. He also ensured we have a smooth transfer when crossing the Kenya-Tanzania border at Isebaniya and stayed with us until the TZ side guide had arrived to ensure we reach there safely.
James was our guide for the second leg. He picked us up at Lokitoktok border and managed the Amboseli safari and transfer to JKIA. He was also champ in spotting game and very knowledgable about everything. He was very professional throughout the trip and was really nice to have him as our partner during the safari. He also managed the border and airport transfers very smoothly and also ensured that we are comfortable throughout.
One thing I must give the entire Excel team a big round of applause for is their time management. They managed all our transfers very smoothly. Also during long transfers and game drives, they timed the breaks so well that the moment we started to feel exhausted or we needed a bathroom break, the car was pulling over somewhere clean and safe without us even having to ask. This level of details and customer experience focus really is rare.
I highly recommend them as your next safari partner for Kenya trips. Tell Nancy what you want, decide the pricing, and just relax and the team will take care of everything.
Email Kelly | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thoroughly Recommended
I found Nancy and Excel Getaways through researching on Trip Advisor. Thank you so much to everyone who recommended her.
I can’t thank Nancy enough for the support she has given me from the moment I sent the first email.
My husband and I had never been on safari before and really didn’t know where to start. We knew that we wanted to go to Kenya followed by a week on the beach in Zanzibar.
I had a few ideas about the camps that I thought might be right for us, and Nancy duly costed those.
She also suggested some other camps one of which, Offbeat N’doto, stood out to me.
I am SO grateful to Nancy for suggesting Offbeat.
In all my research here in the UK I hadn’t come across Offbeat. I will write a review in due course but honestly, our minds are still blown by the experience we had.
On arrival, it took nearly two hours for us to get through immigration at Jomo Kenyatta ( I believe this is not normally the case), so I was worried that may have an impact on our driver. I need not have been. Sam was waiting to take us to The Tamarind Tree for an overnight stay close to (Safarilink) Wilson airport.
Sam met us the following morning. We had a great chat with him, so knowledgeable and friendly.
Nancy also arranged the Zanzibar leg of our trip. We changed our mind about the resort that we booked to stay at and Nancy organised our preferred hotel.
Unfortunately, the direct flight from Wilson to Zanzibar got re-routed via Mombasa and so door to door, it took us as long to fly from Kenya to Zanzibar as it did from London to Kenya! Nothing that Nacy could do about that, but she was there for us immediately with the information and revised tickets.
The flight back from Zanzibar to Kenya also got pushed back. Once again, Nancy stepped in and was concerned about the potential to miss our connecting flight home to London. She arranged for us to take the first flight out of Zanzibar and booked a day room at The Crowne Plaza Nairobi Airport. I actually think we’ll consider doing this before all long flights home in the future.
We would not hesitate to recommend Nancy and Excel Getaways
Professional and caring. Always there to answer any questions (and I had a lot!) and felt like she was with you every step of the way.