Andrew will take you to remote places
Wildebeest Safaris
- Located In:
-
China
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1997)
- Member Of:
- ETT & TRA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
from pick up at airport..thru the whole tour and drop off at our hotel..it was amazing.thank u guys
Way beyond expectations.totally content and happy
BE
Email carlos | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Verry good tour operator
Wild life is verry good.
Accomodation could be better.
Service off accomodation in Englisch is poor.
Driver is exelent.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best vacation ever (with a few glitches!)
An African safari has always been on my bucket list, as well as my mothers, so we were both excited for this trip. Noah was great in preparing our itinerary, which we changed numerous times to fit our wants. His communication was excellent; he was always prompt in replying to our questions (remembering that he is halfway around the world!) All of the lodges he selected were superb!
Our trip did not get off to the best start, as there was no guide to meet us at the airport (there were about 100 other guides there though!) A gentleman at the airport was able to call Wildebeest Safaris for us, arranged a cab to our hotel (which Wildebeest covered), and confirmed that our guide would meet us at the hotel the following morning. Our guide, Dennis, was there early, and we left by 7:30am. Two of the first three police safety checkpoints stopped our vehicle, questioning the condition of the tires (they were worn out) but let us proceed. The roads in Kenya are terrible, and sure enough, a couple of days later, we had two flat tires within an hour (both rear tires). Luckily most safari vehicles carry two spares, so we were able to make it to our lodge in Maasai Mara only a little late for lunch, and Dennis had the tires repaired by the next morning. Our only other issue was the trip between Kenya and Tanzania. We were required to change vehicles and guides upon entering Tanzania, and there was a mix up as to who would provide our lunch, so no lunch for us that day. Hamsa did offer to stop and get us something to eat, but we had some snacks with us, and figured we could eat a big dinner. (The lodge food was excellent everywhere we stayed!)
Other than that, the trip was fantastic. Both Dennis and Hamsa (our Tanzanian guide) were very friendly and knowledgeable. They knew when and where to find the animals we wanted to see, and showed us many additional things we did not expect to see. They both worked with the rangers and other guides via cell phone and radio to find out where the animals were that we wanted to see, and they were great at making sure each days' game drive offered something different. Hamsa was especially knowledgeable, expanding on our questions and giving very thorough answers. He explained the education process he went through to become a guide, and he seemed to know all of the other guides we saw.
The last day of our trip was back in Kenya (Amboseli NP), and it was Dennis again who met us at the border (on time, and with 4 brand new tires!) He again was very good, planned ahead, and made sure to get us to the airport early (no easy task with Nairobi traffic on a Friday afternoon!)
The safari vehicles had some minor issues (i.e. the aforementioned tires, a broken door handle, etc.) but being 70 series Landcruisers , had certainly lived a rough life. Most safari vehicles we saw appeared similar. Just remember this is Africa - don't expect to be chauffeured around in a brand new Cadillac! The issues we had prevent me from giving a full 5 stars, but I would certainly use Wildebeest Safaris again.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour guides very knowledgible and friendly.
We were two 50+ women travelling from North America. We were concerned with booking everything on line and not having TICO protection or personal contacts. Although it was tough at times to correspond thru emails with our questions Noah tried his best to answer all our questions. The guides were wonderful and we were lucky enough to see the "big 5" within the first few days of our trip. Noah took care of booking resorts, airfares, transportation and guides and although there were a few hicups the trip was more than we could hope for.
IN
Email neha | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
a last minute trip
All communication while planning the trip was prompt, very courteous and accommodating. Towards the end while we were finalizing it (the departure date was finalized very late), i believe the agent too was travelling and communication dropped, causing me a few tense moments. A mail saying my mails had been received and were being worked on would have been appreciated.
The safari vehicle itself wasn't in good repair (simple things like overhead handles to hang on to on the bumpy routes in the parks were missing).
That said.....the trip itself went off well. Our guide and driver Hamza was an absolute delight. Very helpful and very cheerful...he made the trip great fun.
I would use Wildebeest Safaris again as i believe the minor issues we faced were because of the late nature of the booking.
It was an enjoyable experience overall.
US
Email Kristine | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Some issues but guides went above and beyond
It seems like Wildebeest could have prepared better for our tour. I still believe it was a great value for the price. There were several small issues but the guides were very nice and the accommodations great.
CL
Email Paula | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor contact, changed plans with no explanations.
Incredible places but the timing was not good. For visiting the 3 parks you should stay at least 2 nights in each one of them. We could enjoy Masai Mara because we did stay for 2 nights. The jeep we had assigned was not in good conditions, we even had a panne, so we lost more time and arrived really late to one park, had a very late lunch, not so yummy and had few time to visit the park. The operator was not very communicative, only answered fast when we told him about the transportation problem.
NZ
Email Deb | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experienced driver who I felt was just doing his job.
Despite several emails as we had changed the pickup day to a Friday they never showed up on time.
Excellent driver ,answered our questions but not forthcoming with information.
Overall loved the Safari
Reply from Wildebeest Safaris
Posted on Mar 28, 2023Dear Deb,
Thank you for your review. We made a lot of changes with our ground operations. Be rest assured of great services from our guides in the near future.
Kind Regards,
Noah
Email Bekran | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mixed feelings
We booked a 3 days/2 nights safari with Wildebeest Safaris in September 2019. The booking process was straightforward and we were really happy with the accommodation that was offered. We were picked up by our driver Joseph who was also our guide on the whole trip. First two days, we had a great time in Masai Mara National Park, we were lucky to spot the Big 5. Joseph did everything he can to find rare animals such as leopard and rhino.
The last day we set out to go back to Nairobi where we had a flight in the evening. Soon after we realised our driver was feeling very sick. He asked me to drive the safari jeep which I did. On the way, we stopped by a local clinic to make sure he had treatment. He was feeling better after two hours, so we moved on. The journey back to Nairobi was very long and because I wasn't familiar with that type of vehicle, so I struggled with driving it. We were supposed to go to Lake Naivasha and pay a visit to Masai village on that day, but Joseph again became sick and we had a plane to catch so we just drove on. We didn't want to take a break to eat or use toilet to waste time, yet again, Joseph stopped us at a souvenir shop which he had an agreement with. We then were stopped by a local policeman on the road who gave us a hard time, luckily I had my driving licence with me and he let us go after a while when he was convinced that our driver was sick. The whole journey took us 11 hours and when we arrived in Nairobi we had 2 hours left to our flight. Joseph asked us to pull over at their office where we were greeted by Noah. He had no idea what had happened, so when we said we were late, he immediately found a car to drive us to the airport. Unfortunately, the traffic was crazy in the city and we made it to the airport only 15 minutes before the check-in was closed.
We wish all the best to our driver and understand the challenges of ending up sick in a remote place. I tried to help him as a doctor and also as a friend. But it was a very stressful last day for everyone and the little things that happened there left a sour taste in our mouths. There was clearly miscommunication between the driver and the agency as they were not aware of what was going on. I hope Wildebeest Safaris take this review as constructive criticism and not allow the same thing to happen again.
Reply from Wildebeest Safaris
Posted on Mar 28, 2023Dear Bekran,
Thank you so much for your feedback. We are glad that you enjoyed our services apart from the moment your driver/guide Joseph fell ill and unable to drive with no communication at all coming from him to the office. We had a meeting with him and agreed to improve his communication skills between the office and while on duty in the field with our guests.
Again, we really appreciate your feedback.
Kind Regards,
Noah
NZ
Email Rosie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wouldn't use this company again
We were picked up 2 hours late as the owner hadn't communicated the correct pick up date to our driver. The first nights accommodation was absolutely disgraceful. Our driver only spoke when spoken to! He didnt interact with us at all. He was however good at driving and got us where we needed to go. Also at our last camp we discovered the owner hadn't even paid for the camp, poor form.
Reply from Wildebeest Safaris
Posted on Mar 28, 2023Dear Rosie,
Thank you for your safari feedback. Sorry for the pick up delay on Day 1. The flight arrival timings were provided to your driver/guide but miss communicated hence the delay. We had to send a different driver for the assignment.
Kind Regards,
Noah