End of our 9 days safari at Amboseli
Terminal Tours Kenya
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2001)
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $250 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Brenda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome - Simply Awesome
I was visiting South Africa in January and February 2014, my dream for 38 years has been to visit Africa, attend a safari and experience culture. Well, I did it all thanks to Terminal Tours. When in South Africa, I searched high and low for a tour company who was reasonably priced, ethical, professional and most of all listen to my dreams. My undertaking to find exactly what I was looking for was educational and somewhat inspiring to the fact that I did not understand the big business safari tours are in Africa, although I should have understood the business as a business. During my search for a tour operator, Terminal Tours came across my search engine and I looked into the company. Terminal Tours is a small company so I was not sure I wanted to indulge in their services, I had not what to expect and with their price ranges being lower than the majority, I was quite hesitant to enlist in their services. I emailed Terminal Tours multiple times because of their price ranges and I was not able to comprehend that some tour companies work for the love of public experience and not only to make money. During my multiple email exchanges with Terminal Tours, they were expeditious with responding, they were polite, they were to the point and most of all I was asked what I wanted in a safari, what my goal was. I told them my goal and my life long dream to meet this goal. Terminal Tours took my every word and my every dream and made it happen with a small fee as opposed to the other tour companies. I would highly recommend Terminal Tours as they gave everything we wanted and much more. When traveling on a budget you face risks of over charging, companies not forthcoming and so forth, Terminal Tours were exception with accommodation, education, sight seeing, going off the beaten track, culture and everything our group wanted to experience. Our operator was young and energetic, extremely knowledgeable and a great conversationalist. When we were ready to take on our next sight, our operator was more than happy to bring our goals and drams to reality.
I communicated with several tour operators and the majority were very strict with their itinerary and seemed to dictate what we will see and do, Terminal Tours rose above and beyond every expectation we had. Our friends flight was delayed and our tour guide sat at the airport with our group and waited several hours for our friends' flight to arrive. When the flight did not arrive after hours of waiting, our guide took us to our hotel, helped us settle in and then he went back to the airport to pick up our friend, NO CHARGE, NO COMPLAINTS, if that isn't exceptional customer service with a twist, I don't know what is. I highly highly, recommend TERMINAL TOURS for your African Safari. I am now in the process of scheduling a gorilla tour in 2015, Terminal tours is the only operator I will consider and I know they will take me to where I want to go, let me experience Africa at it's best, on my next leg of my dreams. I can't wait.
EG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari company
Terminal Tours is one of my best experiences in Africa,the staff is very honest , professional and so accurate. also Kenya is a lovely place for wild life and enjoying the nature.
Definitely wherever you are feeling you need a change and a refreshing four your soul, Kenya is the right country and Terminal Tours is the right place for that.at the end my experience with those guys was the best and I highly recommend any one to deal with them
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy Company
Terminal Tours is very trurstworthy company. They will do what they promise. The staff is very professional and they are ready to do everything that you will enjoy your holidays.
Kenya is great place to do Safari, enjoy national parks or go to visit in lake areas. There are great views, good camping opportunities and you really can see wildlife!
When you are dealing with Terminal Tours you will get the best places to go. I can recommend them!
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friends of nature!
guys from Terminal Tours- are super professionals!
They organized a safari for us when we were honeymooning.
All the prepares, the whole tour, safari lodges - everything was at the highest level!
Debbie and Nelson - are wonderful people! so much attention and kindness we were not expecting!
Always recommend them to friends, when they ask us about a safari in Kenya!
Many thanks for your work,Terminal Tours, we will come again!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Truly made our African dream come true
Me and two of my friends booked two safaris with Terminal Tours Kenya.
They were the first company to answer our questions and the only company to give us a price more or less right away.
The people we were in contact with were friendly and helpful. We paid 30% when we ordered and the rest when we came to Nairobi.
Our first safari went to Sweetwaters, Mount Kenya, Nakuru and Masai Mara.
Our driver, Sammy, was just perfect. He had answer to all of our questions and he told us about history, nature and animals- most of it we did not know up front. We all got along perfectly and we jokes and had a good time. We were all excited to help look for animals, and Sammy could spot them so quickly we refereed to him as hawkeye :) The chef we had when we were in Masai Mara was also brilliant. We are all vegetarians are are used to often getting boring food on trips like this, but it was all great and tasteful.
When we came back to Nairobi, the owner Nelson and others from the office met us to make sure we had a great trip, which showed us how important it was to them that we had a good time. We had not pre-booked the same driver, but they made it possible as we loved him so much.
So our second safari to Amboseli and Tsavo east and west, a week after, we were again reunited with Sammy. Again, he was nothing less then perfect.
Through our entire trip we felt good taken care of, safe and happy.
When the safari was finished, Debbie from the office also helped me personally get around Nairobi to have my hair done + some more, which was really helpful and sweet- and nothing she had to to but chose to do.
I recommend Terminal Tours Kenya strongly.
I have gotten friends for life in the employees of TTK and they truly made my African dream come true and if/WHEN I go back- I will for sure use them again.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
11 days safari with Terminal Tours Kenya
Me and my two friends went on a 11 days safari with terminal Tours. The people working there are great, and the safari was perfect. We saw all the animals we wanted to see, and our driver Sam told us lots of facts about nature and all the animals we saw. Thank you so much to all of you- will use this safari company next time too.
US
Email Jonah R | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari with Terminal Tours!
We used Terminal Tours for our 3 day Masai Mara Safari in mid June and had an excellent all around experience.
Firstly, Terminal was great during our planning phases, and was very easily accessible by phone an email. Nelson Nyami, the main contact, was especially helpful. When we needed to switch the date of our trip last minute, Nelson worked with us and was flexible in arranging a safari that worked for us. Terminal tours was also very helpful in arranging accommodation in Nairobi, and gave us contacts for reliable drivers and suggested restaurants to us.
The safari itself was excellent. Our driver was informative and polite. We saw all the big 5, among a host of other animals. We got lucky as the migration period started early while we were on safari, and had 3 great game drives. The truck had a raised roof to allow for easy viewing, and we were able to get very close to animals like lions, cheetahs, elephants, and more.
The accommodations during the safari were very nice as well. The sleeping arrangements were comfortable, and the buffet style dinners (and 2 of the lunches) were very good.
All in all, Terminal Tours provided an excellent safari experience at an incredible value. I would highly recommend using this company!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari company, recommended
We traveled with Terminal Tours in July 2014, on a 5 day budget camping safari, incl. Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Naivasha, and were very satisfied with their services, they deliver what they promise, are very professional in organizing the tour, and were very flexible to arrange for a safari that included everything that we wanted to see, providing very useful inside knowledge on which places/parts are worthwhile to include/not depending on how the great migration of the herds stood at the time of our travel to ensure that we see and enjoy the trip the most.
The accommodation was exceeding our expectations (we were on a "budget camping safari"), and our driver, John Mugai, was very punctual and well organized, we never had to wait around unnecessarily, as is usual for (East) Africa. He was also very friendly and provided us with interesting information about the animals we saw, he aimed to ensure that all participants were enjoying their trip.
For organizing the trip, we were in contact with Nelson Nyamai, the leader of the company, who was a pleasure to deal with and ensured that we got great service. Fully recommended.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized safari to a nice price
Every thing was taken good care of on this safari. We got picked up at our place in Nairobi, then passed by the office where the formalities were taken care of and information about the trip was given. We stayed at a nice place and our private cook made sure that the food was satisfying.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Helpful, Flexible, Honest Tour Operator. Great Safari!
I just returned from a 14 day budget/camping Safari through Kenya and Tanzania. It was most amazing. We used Terminal Tours Kenya, and I would highly recommend them. Our itinerary included Nairobi=> Masai Mara=> Nakuru NP=> Amboseli NP=> Arusha=>Manyara NP=> Serengeti NP=> Ngorongoro Crater=> Tarangire=> Arusha=> Nairobi.
In short, I recommend Debbie and Nelson of Terminal Tours, and would definitely book with them again. If you want a more detailed description of the safari, why I liked it, and the minor issues, I had, read below.
Nelson and Debbie of Terminal Tours were very professional, sweet, and kind. They were extremely prompt with email responses and when I lost email connection for 2 days, they contacted me with updates on my planned trip. I initially emailed them and about 15 other recommended budget safari companies. Only a few of the companies were willing to include Tanzania. I ended up choosing terminal tours based on several good recommendations, a low price compared to others, and the fact that they were able to arrange the itinerary that I wanted, even though I would not be on a private tour, but would be going with groups. They had originally emailed back a suggested itinerary. I wanted a couple changes (i.e. an extra day in Mara as opposed to visiting Naivasha), and they were able to accommodate this by putting me with another company for the extra day at the Mara and then meeting back up with my group after they had visited Naivasha). Additionally, as I am a student, holder of a research permit for Kenya, and in the middle of applying for my alien registration, they were the only group that was willing to go through the hassle of dealing with KWS and the NP service in order to get me the reduced rate. But they made it very clear that the NP service is finicky, and it is impossible to predict whether they will accept the research permit and student card. Thus, they quoted me both prices in my itinerary.
As I am student and researcher working in Nanyuki, Kenya. They realized that doing such a trip was a huge stretch on my budget, so they hosted me for free at their apartment in Nairobi free of charge and Debbie made us wonderful meals and kept the Chai coming. When we arrived via Matatu transport into Nairobi, they picked us up with a group of employees to carry our bags and ferry us off to their apartment to relax until the next day. In the morning, the driver, Sammy, picked us up and drove us to the city centre so that we could pay and then start the safari. As we had to do some minor errands in the city (pick up a few supplies and draw money from ATMS), they sent employees with us to ensure we were safe and comfortable as Nairobi can be a bit intimidating for some people.
Our driver, Sammy, was great. You could tell he was very much on a purpose to show us everything, and we saw everything, including the Big 5 and cheetahs. During our game-drives, he worked hard on his cell-phone calling other drivers to see where people had seen the wildlife that we wanted to see, and his work paid off b/c we saw it all. I don’t know if the whole fleet for Terminal Tours is like this, but his van was great. Instead of running on diesel, it ran on super unleaded, which meant that the car was quiet, which always makes your time in nature better, and unlike a diesel, it didn’t shake, which makes things much better for shooting non-blurry pictures (most diesel drivers do understand to turn off the car for long-distance shooting, however). I felt very safe under Sammy’s driving. Also, Kenya has a 80kph limit for passenger vehicles. At 80kph a governor comes on, however, somewhere about 70kph, a really annoying beep comes on to warn the driver that they are approaching the 80kph. On our 4 hour drive between Nairobi and Nanyuki, this beep can drive you nuts b/c the driver keeps it in the beeping range the whole time in order to make the best time. Luckily, Sammy had a mechanic greatly reduce the noise of the beeper, so that only he could hear it in the front seat. On long drives between parks, this definitely helps you keep your sanity in the van.
On our way to the Mara, we stopped at Narok in order to get signatures for our student research permits. Unfortunately, the government offices were hosting some party, so it took forever to get the signatures. We wasted nearly 2 hours there. But Sammy was persistent and we got the paperwork. Then on the rough road between Narok and the Mara, Sammy made up the time by some good and fast driving, so that we were able to make it to the Mara in time for an evening game drive (we heard stories of drivers purposely going slow in order to not make it in time for the game drives, presumably so they could keep the money that would have instead gone to the entrance fees?)
Sometime during the drive the vehicle got a gas leak. We noticed the leak after lunch at the Mara River when we were at the farthest distance from our camp. This is easy to believe as Kenyan roads, especially off the main roads are super rough (My advisor at our research centre has 2 Toyotas and 1 land rover who are often in the shop). The leak was a pretty good one, and it would not have been a surprise to me if Sammy had said, safari for the day is over, we just need to make it back to the gate, so we don’t run out of gas before we get there. But this was not the case. Instead, as we headed towards a luxury lodge in the middle of the Mara which had a supply of fuel, he kept on his phone trying to see if anyone had spotted a leopard. Someone had indeed, so we made a real quick stop at the fancy lodge, where he made an impressive repair of the leak using soap and filled the van up before proceeding to see the leopard. He then spent a good portion of the night, is my guess, working on the van, so we could make it to Nakuru next.
As we wanted an extra day in the Mara, Sammy and the 2 others in our group continued onto Naivasha while we stayed in the Mara and were arranged to go with another group driven by George. I don’t know if George worked for Terminal Tours or they were just a friend company of Terminal Tours. Our experience with George was also quite good. He was very jovial and a wealth of knowledge. He loved to tell long stories and natural histories of the species we were looking at. My only disappointment with this leg of the trip was that after we left the Mara river to head back, we seemed to go quite quickly with the purpose of just getting back as opposed to game driving as much. We did some game driving, but it didn’t seem like as much as the evening before. We also took a different route out of the reserve that didn’t go through the main gate and was over some small hilly pass. It was a change of scenery, but not a good place for viewing wildlife. But perhaps b/c the group we were with had been there the day before as well, George wanted to show a different part of the park. And maybe if we hadn’t seen the cats already, he would have continued to try to find them.
The rest of our trip in Kenya was very nice. My only slight complaint was that at Nakuru we stayed in a hotel instead of camping (and this was made clear on our itinerary, so it wasn’t a surprise, but for me personally I like the idea of camping on safari). But many would find this better as it had wifi and more “luxury” than camping.
As Amboseli is quite out of the way and the risk of running out of petrol would be bad, Debbie and Nelson had our group switch to a different driver (Ambrose) and van so that Sammy could get his van properly fixed in Nairobi.
We had an issue at the border crossing b/c one of the group members had mistakenly been given only a 1 month visa instead of the 3 month visa that she had asked for. This mean she was actually illegal in Kenya b/c she had already been in the country for 2 months. The immigration official gave her a hard time and said she could be thrown in jail. But Ambrose smoothed things out and helped her and me through immigration with no problems. He then transferred us to the shuttle taking us to Arusha.
As Kenyan tour operators are not allowed in Tanzania, we had been set up with a friend of Nelson’s in Arusha (Abraham). Everything was all set-up and all we needed to do was relax until the next day. The one surprise was that the tour operator in Tanzania had changed our itinerary. He had removed Tarangire NP and instead added an extra day in the Serengeti. At first I was a little miffed by this, but he assured me this was b/c at the moment they had been having better reviews in the Serengeti. After the fact, this was quite true. The Serengeti was truly amazing, and I am glad we had the extra day there. However, I did want to also see Tarangire b/c who knows if I’ll ever be back to Tanzania, and Abraham was able to easily add another day to our safari at a price that was significantly cheaper than the couple of tour operators we had enquired with in Arusha.
To me, I would have cut out Manyara instead of Tarangire b/c I am not too into bird-life. So in my opinion, if you are visiting Tanzania and aren’t too interested in bird-life, I’d skip Manyara (though it was our favorite campsite) and add an extra day at one of the other parks. However, there are thousands of flamingos, which Nakuru in Kenya appears not to have anymore as the lake level has increased dramatically, and I think it might be too deep now for flamingos liking. We only saw a couple of flamingos in Nakuru.
Our driver in Tanzania, Ziggy, was awesome, and he did a great job of trying so hard to find the animals that we requested to see. I really enjoyed my time in Tanzania with this company as well
Upon our return to Nairobi, Debbie picked us up where the Arusha-Nairobi shuttle dropped us off and had one of her colleagues escort us to her apartment where we stayed another night and had another great meal. She also let us use her computer to write some emails to arrange our pickup the next day in Nanyuki. The next morning, they escorted us and helped carry our bags back to the matatu stand to Nanyuki.
Overall, it was an amazing tour, and I have basically no complaints. I didn’t feel like the company cut any corners in order to make the budget. I felt like I got what I wanted, and we had great luck in seeing the wildlife. I will definitely be recommending Terminal Tours, including to the people working with me at the research centre in Nanyuki. I feel like Debbie and Nelson were extremely professional and definitely went out of their way to make our experience great. I also had the feeling that they were very honest and trustworthy and care about their clients.