Tall Masai Safari
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2021)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $25 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Kc | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disorganized
Ok I’m going to be completely honest and be the review that I wish I would’ve seen, because this would’ve led me to book differently. Let me start by saying KENYA IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! There were moments where I wanted to cry tears of joy from what I was experiencing and pinch myself because the beauty there is unmatched. Now for Tall Masai as a company, they were completely disorganized. To begin my pickup time was severely miscommunicated by Benson. He messaged me saying my pickup time was 6pm and actually ended up being 6am! MAJORRR difference as I almost booked an extra hotel night to accommodate for the late pick up. So I had to rush and pack all my items last min due to this major error. Then I get in the van and I’m requested to pay the remainder (being that you only pay half prior to booking) in USD. I travel with the country’s currency (Kenyan Shilling) never with usd because it’s not smart. My driver tells me Ben should’ve told you to have usd but he didn’t! So we call and I ended up going back and forth until I was allowed to pay online in which Ben asked me to pay MORE to accommodate for the exchange rate. That was completely unfair and disrespectful. These two errors happened within 40mins of being picked up so I was already super annoyed. All I received was a weak apology from Ben and nothing else. Once the safaris started because we were super delayed things got a little better.. until it was lunch time. The lunch was absolutely horrible and not safe. The meat was not properly refrigerated and the fruit was not fresh. Honestly the food at all the accommodations was pretty bad except Nyati, which was decent. Citymax hotel was disgusting and I would’ve rather slept outside. Please bring a bunch of snacks because the food offered is the worse I’ve experienced in my life. The game drivers were shady and didn’t speak much which was weird. For some of us this is a once in a lifetime experience so engage and explain to us what we’re seeing…. Some did but a lot didn’t and drove with no purpose. However the people I’ve met and the locals, Masai tribe, the wild life was absolutely perfect. If it wasn’t for me making the best out of it and being in nature I would’ve easily gave this company a 1 or 2 star. Yes I understand this is marketed as a budget tour,however no one should be fed old bread and cucumber and sleep in vermin infested hotels for $600 + dollars. NO ONE! this is greedy and not humane. To wrap this up look into higher priced options with a different company if you want to have a full great experience. I would not recommend Tall Masai at all sadly. Hopefully they can take this review as constructive criticism as this was my true raw experience.
US
Email Johns | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
the scenery was beautiful, but the overall experience was average
We joined a sharing tour of mid-range accommodation for 6 days safari to Masai Mara, Naruku, and Amboseli. The safari was fun, but it was below expectation.
Highlights:
1. Before the day of safari, they picked us up at Nairobi airport on time, and helped us to buy the SIM card outside the airport.
2. During the days in game drive, the guide tried his best to find more animals. We saw the big five in different parks.
3. Jambo Mara lodge for the first and second nights was pretty good and satisfying.
Lowlights:
1. At the first day of safari, they asked us to wait for the pick up form hotel at 6:30am, but we waited until 7:30am. During the waiting time, no one told us where the driver was.
2. Before we booked the tour, the agent said 5 to 6 people sharing a car each and person getting a window seat, but we were 8 people in a minivan and some of us should be seated at the middle seat.
3. During the days, we got 1L of drinking water a day for each person, but sometimes only 500ml of water. (There’s no drinking water in the camp, so we didn’t have enough water for some days)
4. About the food. At the third night in Naruku, the dinner in the hotel gave each person only 3-4 pieces of meet and little vegetables. At the fourth night in the camp, the food of the restaurant had run out in 10 minutes after they served it. In addition, we had the same lunch boxes for 4 days. (At the third day of lunch, we had the same lunch box, but who booked for budget tour had a buffet inside the rest area.)
5. The most disappointing thing is the accommodation.
*(1) At the third night in Naruku, the light bulb burned in the first room we stayed, and there were no water in the sink in the second room.
*(2) At the forth and fifth nights in Amboseli, it was a nightmare. There was more than 50 mosquitoes in the room, and even like 10 mosquitoes in the tent. We asked for the help to the staff and the travel agent, but no one was trying to solve the issue for two days. The camp shut down the electricity after 22:30pm, but no one informed us about it. There was no hot water or even warm water in the room for showers. There was almost no signal in the area, and the wifi of the camp was not working at all. We saw someone was complaining about the camp on Google Maps, but everything is still the same.
6. At the last day, the driver dropped us off at the Namanga border around 10am, but we wait until 13:00pm for the bus to Arusha. During the time we were in the border, the agent who helped us to pass the checkpoint asked us to give him more money to buy the SIM card for us, and even took our lunch box with him to ask for additional tips.