STAFF
Voyage to the Magical Africa
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2020)
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $55 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
JP
Email Kurumi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First and Best experience in Safari!
My mother and me had beautiful experience in game drive in Masai Mara area! Our guide, John was willing to give us many suggestions to make our experience even better and let us choose what we want. He was super good at finding animals, especially we were so happy to find lions (we wanted to find the most) since it seemed like everyone was struggling with finding them during the period. I look forward to going back to Savannah again, and I trust that they will give us another great experience!
CA
Email Fauzia Asim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
Brian researched and got us the best itinerary with best hotels. It was within our budget and timeline. Brian is a very good communicator and stayed constantly in touch with us from beginning to end and is still in touch with us. Very accommodating gentleman. Our travel guide John is the Best!! It was our first visit to Africa, first to Kenya and first Safari ever! And we will be coming back for more!
CA
Email Ameema | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible, unforgettable experience - exceptional service
We booked a 4 day, 3 night Safari experience through Voyage to the Magical Africa, where we visited two destinations: Masai Mara (for two nights) and Lake Nakuru for 1 night. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience, and I would definitely do it again. I've broken down my review to give you as much detail as possible.
Timing: We booked in April, which is the "off season", and genuinely, I think that was the best decision we could have made. Prices were much lower (our total trip was about $4K USD, including more luxurious accommodations, pickup and dropoff in Nairobi, and 3 nights in 2 different locations). We lucked out with amazing weather, and we had exceptional service, barely any crowds, and we got to see a WIDE assortment of animals.
Booking with the Voyage to the Magical Africa Team
I had a great experience communicating with and booking with the VOYAGE TO THE MAGICAL AFRICA team. The individual we spoke with was Brian, and he was INCREDIBLY helpful and solicitous, and very, very communicative. We had no idea what we wanted from our safari experience, and he gave us several incredibly detailed quotes, going back and forth with me, and answering all my questions with patience and speed. He was very communicative throughout the experience, and Brian was honestly the main reason we booked with this company, compared to some of the others we received quotes from.
Things to keep in mind: Pesapal, the platform used for payment does charge fees for your transaction (when you're paying your deposit, or paying for your safari). For our initial 50% deposit, we used a bank transfer, but if I had known in advance, I would have brought cash for the second part of the payment. This also would have helped as when I was trying to pay the second half of the payment, it took a long time going through 2FA via pesapal, and it was needlessly stressful.
Feedback on the vehicle: While we did have a great experience, the land cruiser provided by the company was quite old. We had seen videos of people going on safaris in much more comfortable and updated cars (with mini fridges, charging ports, cupholders), and while we didn't need all of the bells and whistles, the vehicle we used had only 1 working seatbelt. While our experience was safe and (relatively) comfortable, I do hope the company upgrades their vehicles for future visits.
The Guide: Our guide's name was John, and quite honestly, he was the best possible guide we could have worked with. We would honestly request him for future trips. John is Masai himself, and studied animal behaviour and birds. So on top of his friendly nature and great attitude, he also knew what he was talking about. We got to see all of the big 5 on our trip, along with lots of other really cool birds and animals. Brian was so knowledgeable, and we often found ourselves telling other guides and vehicles about animals WE spotted, so they could go see them. Brian had a great instinct for knowing where animals would be, and would spot "hidden" animals and birds with ease. We had such a great experience with him. My sister, who is a biologist, and entomologist was so impressed with his depth of knowledge, and we learnt so much about animals, plants, and birds from John. Truly, I couldn't have asked for a better guide for our first safari experience.
Our accommodations: We stayed in 2 parks: Maasai Mara, and Lake Nakuru.
Maasai Mara was INCREDIBLE. We would absolutely go back there, as it's so huge, and I could have honestly spent an entire week just there. We saw our first three of the big 5 just on our drive in to the hotel (Buffalo, Elephants, and Lions), and saw so many cool birds, big groupings of animals, and more. The weather was amazing, getting a bit hot in the daytime, with cool evenings. We also barely encountered any mosquitoes.
We stayed at the Ashnil Mara Camp, and let me just say, it was the most exquisite, luxurious, and incredible hotel / resort I have ever stayed at. It was BEAUTIFULLY furnished, with gorgeous, comfortable, and tastefully appointed luxury tents. The rooms were big, comfortable, and clean (although some bugs WILL get in, it can't be avoided, but don't worry!!). They had great amenities (mosquito lotion, hand cream, shampoo and body wash), and even did 5 items of laundry for you (for free) every day, as a part of your stay. The food was delicious, you ordered from a menu, and the breakfast buffet was EXCELLENT (we preferred it to the packed breakfast, as nothing can compare to a hot breakfast buffet). The dining area was gorgeous, overlooking a river where you would frequently see and hear hippos. There were even lots of wild animals ON the site, like monkeys, insects, cool birds, mongoose, and deer. The staff was incredibly courteous, friendly, and helpful. I don't remember everyone's names, but the bar staff, the restaurant staff, the porters, and cleaners, and laundry staff, and the front desk staff were all great. John the restaurant manager was very friendly and helpful, and we were usually served by Dickson, who was so friendly, kind and helpful. I also got a Swedish massage from Rose - and oh my goodness, it was such a relaxing and enjoyable experience (I am pretty sure I fell asleep and started snoring!!). My favourite thing was all the little touches - cool towels when we checked in, the free laundry, fresh juice and cold water, hot water bottles tucked into our made beds!! I felt like a princess, lol. I wish I could have stayed even longer, and would love to go back.
In Lake Nakuru, we stayed at the Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge.
Lake Nakuru National Park itself is pretty small, so not everyone recommends it, but we lucked out, seeing the last of the big five (rhinos and a leopard) almost right when we entered the park, on our way to the hotel. We saw a of babboons, zebra, gazelle, topis, impalas, and cool birds here. We also saw some white rhinos, rothschild giraffes, hippos, flamingos, and the same male leopard 3 times. This place is a lot more marsh-y, so we saw a ton of birds, and a lot more mosquitoes (although many resorts spray for them). It rained a little during our time here, so the roads were muddy and puddle-y, which was fine, but we did see a safari vehicle (recklessly) drive into some big puddles and get stuck right by the water (eventually getting out).
Our accommodation at the Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge was decent. The staff were very friendly and helpful, but the rooms were a bit small. We were there during the off season, and there were so few guests there that they hadn't even opened their dining area, we ate in a smaller area by the bar. The food was buffet style, and it was pretty good though. My biggest complaint was that you had to pay (!!!) for water. You had to buy bottles of water to drink, which was very frustrating as our booking had specified we'd have access to drinking water. We also had to pay for soda, whereas at our other accommodation, both were free and abundantly available. There were 3 bottles of water in the room, for brushing teeth/making coffee, but for our lunch and dinner we had to buy bottles of water to drink and fill our refillable water bottles. Interestingly, at breakfast, there was a jug of drinking water available, which was a bit frustrating, because why did we have to pay for water for our other two meals?
On our way back, our guide, John, generously detoured through the Lake Naivasha area. We decided against the boat ride and Crescent Island safari because we were worried about running out of time, but we did eat a delicious lunch at the Lake Naivasha Country Club where my sister said their Buffet was the best of all the meals she'd eaten on the safari trip.
Overall, we had a truly incredible experience in Kenya, thanks to our incredible guide John, as well as Brian and the staff at Voyage to the Magical Africa, and the wonderful and friendly staff at all our accommodations. I definitely hope to come back!
Email Jorge | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Voyage to the Magical Africa was a reliable tour operator, everything went smoothly.
The safari really was magical. Brian was a great communicator and ready to solve any issue. The itinerary was excellent and our driver was experienced and reliable. We saw so many animals!