The Team Behind Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris
Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2003)
- Member Of:
- Eco Tourism & Kenya Wildlife Services
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $64 to $490 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Ana paez | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware!!! Fraud
We arrive today to a 10 days trip, already payed and they didn’t show up! We when to their office and there was no one. They dont get the phone... we went to the police and we found 3 more persons as us.
Now we dont have the money and we dont have vacations!
What you do in this cases?
US
Email Cynthia | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Tanzania part of the trip was a disaster
There was no driver at Tanzania border for us. The group before us also had no driver show up. The company would not tell us what was going on, and eventually would not answer any of our our calls. So the communication was horrible. We had to spend the night at a hotel by the border and pay for it ourselves (they say they will reimburse us). The next morning, they said a driver would be ready by 10am, but we sat around outside the hotel until 4pm with no word from the office. They were ignoring every call. We were finally met by a taxi driver who transferred us to another driver in Arusha and we had to drive at night to reach the hotel at Lake Manyara at 9:30 pm. As I write this, we are sitting at gate to Manyara Park where we have been waiting for nearly 2 hours, because Kenya Walking Survivors has not transferred money to the Tanzania company so our driver cannot get us in the park. We have no idea how much longer we will wait. They seem to have forgotten to make the necessary arrangements and preparations for our time in Tanzania. Park will not take my credit card because we are in a tour van. So we have lost 2+ days and morning light for photos. We are very unhappy now, and feel that we are wasting a lot of time with only a few days left in Africa.
Our Kenyan driver was very nice, and the Kenya part of the trip went smoothly. Oddly to me though, on the first day we were picked up, driven to office to pay last half of cost, then to get gas, and then to pick up water. It would have been nice if they had gotten gas and water before picking us up. They had half of the money up front. Our lodgings were nice and the Kenya part went well. I was not expecting the very long long drives on bad roads between the parks. It usually took all day (6-9 h) to go from one place to the next. The law does not allow driving tourists in the dark, so we used up lots of daytime to get from park to park. However, that is the nature of traveling in this area.
Our main problem has been the horrible experience getting into Tanzania, and getting into the park this morning has been just as bad. Horrible communication, and nothing has been prepared beforehand.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kind, Flexible and great communication.
I'm from Italy. I will travel to Kenya in August 2014 with 9 more people. So this is a Pre-review.
Up to today I have only positive things to say about Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd. They were really fast to answer my first enquiry and also open to changes and ready to solve all our problems.
Mr Otieno answered all my e-mails at lightning speed (some safari operators answer after months), always ready to answer questions and doubts. We also had a phone call (and will have more) which is positive to have a better "human" connection. I also found the prices very convenient compared to many other operators. Especially the ones selected by travel agencies.
We can't wait to start the adventure.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Travel in the hearth of Africa
We are two zoologists and our trip goal was to travel as much as possible in order to visit numerous parks and see a lot of animals! this goal was totally achived!we had the chance to personalize our tour directly with Mr. Otieno with some changes in the budget so to stay more days in the beautiful Masai Mara and also achieve a beautiful boat tour with lots of birds in Lake Naivasha and a tour for the flamingos in Lake Nakuro. In Kenya food was exceptional, the tend camp was confortable and quiet and our guide, Ochien, was careful, prepared and also very kind!Our trip to Uganda was incredibly long, but we had the chance to move by car through wonderful landscapes and make a beautiful trekking in the forest with mountain gorillas. Sammy and Godfrey have been very cautious on the wild roads and helped us throughout the trip!In Tanzania it was a real adventure!Arusha, Serengeti and Ngorongoro have gone beyond our expectations, we saw a great wildlife and we experienced the tends!The equipment was perfect, Sammy and Mike have been very professional and we had a lot of fun!Definitively something to try!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
perfect service, great team, a lot of fun.
We had a driver and a cook taking care of us and we became friends
we were a group of three plus driver and cook. The food was excelent, every day fresh and cooked with fantasy including personal wishes, e.g once we made a cactus salad with wild cactus-leaves.
The team was great. We saw all the big 5 plus hunting cheetahs thanks to the experience and flexibility of the driver.
I would love to repeat an experince like we did and can only recomend this trip, now that everybody is afraid of Ebola which is 5.648,1 km away (distance between Freetown, Sierra Leone and Nairobi, Kenya) and there is few tourism but all the warmth of the Kenyan "Hakuna Matata" and Caribu (="welcome").
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly and helpful safari company
From the moment we were picked up from the airport to the moment we were dropped off, Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris took great care of us! When planning our safari, all emails were answered quickly and they worked with us to make sure we saw everything we wanted while staying within our budget. The food prepared for us was delicious and all staff were friendly and personable.
I would recommend Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris to anyone thinking of a safari!
MN
Email Liz Every | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent and Very Accommodating Safari Company
Two friends and I went on a Safari with Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris Ltd in December 2013 and we are very happy with their service. We only had a short time to see as much as possible and the company designed a tour specially to suit our budget and what we wanted to see. We toured through the Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in 6 days. A change of guide was needed with the change of country but we were able to keep our cook, which provided some continuity on the trip.
The guides were professional, friendly and adapted their guiding to our needs and interests. We only had small cameras so they worked hard to get us as close as possible to the animals. We were able to tell them what we wanted to see and they both focused on finding that for us.
Food was provided for most of the trip and the lunch stops as well as the food prepared for us was again adapted to our tastes and diets. It was also delicious.
Everyone involved with the company was polite, friendly and suitably relaxed with us. I would highly recommend the company to anyone with any budget.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great value for our money
We had been longing to visit Africa since we got married 5 years ago.We
once booked with a travel agent from here, whom later conned us the
deposit we had paid.It was frustrating and we decided to postpone our
trip.On our search at google,we came across this company and we decided to
gamble,Luckily ,the owner Mr Otieno gave us a call after we sent an
enquiry.We discussed everything over the phone!He was so responsive to our
mails and was also flexible to change the program where we needed a
change.What amused us most was that our whole trip was private with no
disruption. I would say dealing with a local company is so much better and
easier.I would give KWSS a 100% !!
PL
Email Michal | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Maasai Mara experience
Me and my fiancé went on a 3day safari and 2day Lake Naivasha trip. We selected Kenya Walking Survivors because they gave us the best offer in terms of length and itinerary vs. price. We were positively surprised OT upgraded us from a tent to the bungalow. But what was the best was that we had a private car and a guide/driver dedicated only for us - something we didn't ask for as usually it's just too expensive. Maasai Mara is also the best place in Kenya to do your safari. We were lucky enough to see the wildebeests crossing the Mara river twice. We also saw lost of all the animals you expect to see once you're in Africa :) The camp we stayed at was ok. Clean, food was good and the cook was very nice and friendly.
Lake Naivasha was not as great as Maasai Mara. The water level was high so all the flamingos flew away. But still we took a boat ride (100USD for a couple) and were chased by a group of hippos - was fun :). We also went on a walking trip to the National Park where we saw lots of giraffes, zebras, pumbas, etc. On one hand we saw a lot more on our safari just a couple of days ago, on the other it's a way different when you are not in a car and can approach all the animals as close as possible. Just the guide they hired for that trip was weird as he did not say a single word through the entire day. Fish Eagle Inn we stayed at was ok and the food was delicious. The only thing I would change in the entire trip would probably be to go to Nakuru Lake instead of Naivasha - just a bit further but from what we were told - much nicer.
In general I would definitely recommend Kenya Walking Survivors. If we go back to Africa we will for sure organize out trips with them and we will definitely ask Kenny to be our guide again. He is a really nice guy with a huge knowledge about the animals and wildlife in general.
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari
We were 2 full days at masai mara which was AMAZING!
Great lodge, Great food. OT upgraded us for 1 more night at the lodge.
The next day we spent at lake Naivasha which was a failure.
We are sorry for not be more accurate when we booked the safari regarding the schedule of that day.
It was a boring day and a waste of time.
The price OT gave us was the most attractive offer after checking with many operators.
OT is the reason we will close our next safari with KWS..
He is very nice and kind man and he gives you the feeling you are in a good hands.