US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip of a lifetime with the most experienced Safari operators in the Maasai Mara
We traveled from the state of Washington to Kenya on our first safari and chose Namayiana Safaris because our daughter in law and our son, whom we traveled with had researched this safari company as we all wanted to see the Maasai warriors and visit in their village. Our guide is actually a Maasai warrior. This trip more than met our expectations in every way possible. Their van had a pop top so we could stand to get a view of the animals. Their knowledge of animals, their habits, how close we could get to them was exceptional and so educational. They basically stop at nothing to make sure you see all of the animals, and I mean very up close!!! We actually saw the the Big 5 twice and a lion taking down a wildebeest and feeding the pride.
Our every need was met and any special requests we had were always fulfilled. At times they had to go off course to get what we wanted. We always felt very safe in our accommodations which were very nice and had great chefs. The food was different but it was nice to eat the food of their culture as we experienced their culture.
Our guides John and Sammy and Corinna were so kind , considerate, accommodating, and intellectual.
I personally feel we could not have had some of our experiences with another Safari company. Our safari was for 11 days and we really hope we can make this trip again.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Adventure 2018
This was our first experience in service apartment, as we were 2 people traveling, so we booked Adventure Suites. And what I can say, wonderful place to stay and the best part is care taker there Claude, who will go to all extend to make you comfortable, prepare delicious food for you, do all the market work.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best of the best. Encompass Africa is a First Class operation.
This was our third trip with Encompass Africa. We've travelled all over South Eastern Africa and we've never had an issue with any part of the travel.
From the "meet and greet" as you step off the plane, airport transfers, flights, private guides, accommodation and most importantly safari destinations..... they have never missed a beat.
Communication is always excellent from the initial........."we want to go to Africa" phone call to the post holiday call from Jono asking about the trip after we arrive home.
Jono and his team both in Australia and Africa are a first class operation and I highly recommend them to anyone considering travel to any part of the African continent.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very friendly and educative
Their service is very outstanding and the schedule was adopted perfectly, there was weather ussues but the guide was very helpful by providing equipments to cover the rainy. Very inpressive service and hope to go back next year
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical
The physical beauty of South Africa is simply amazing. The food was wonderful and the value of the US dollar against the Rand was incredible. We went on Safari in Botswana on the Chobe River, again simply amazing.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
all fantastic ... the best thing that has happened to me in life
Absolutely professional. We had better than better. Our driver approached the animals at least .. we have seen all the animals and in several moments, also of action. The guide explained and told us very interesting things. The perfect accommodation and food ... we will come back for sure. Asante sana.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
8 night Kenyan safari
We had such an amazing time visiting Kenya on our 8 night safari arranged by Kikwetu Cultural Tours. We travelled from Australia and Kenneth and the team from Kikwetu Cultural Tours went above and beyond to ensure all our requirements were met. We would absolutely use Kikwetu Cultural Tours again and would highly recommend them to anyone planning a dream safari through Africa!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Drones was great in Kenya, but struggled in Tanzania
The communication from Drones before the trip seemed great. In Kenya we had a little orientation of what to expect, and that went well. Our guide was knowledgeable and looked out for us well. The accommodations were very comfortable.
The transfer to Tanzania was confusing because we kept being handed off to different people and the information they were giving us was different that we had been told. And our hotel was changed to a place that was not as nice as we had been told we would be staying. That was apparently for the convenience of the manager on the Tanzania side. That manager was rude when questioned about the change. The cook for our stay in Tanzania was great. Our guide was not quite as good as our guide in Kenya, but was fine. The camping was uncomfortable because the provided tents were old canvas tents which were not waterproof and the weather was cold and rainy. Additionally, the tents were put away wet, so even before the rain started, the tents smelled terrible and were very wet inside.
Despite booking the entire trip through Drones, the experiences between countries were very different.
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent memories :-)
I will share some of my experiences with Best Memories Safaris. Overall, they were in one word: excellent! Especially the flexibility and support from the people at Best Memories made a strong impression. To provide some examples: I took one of the tours suggested on this website as an example, and personalized it according to my own wishes. I asked Isaac, the operations manager at Best Memories Safaris whether it was possible to make those changes, and no problem, the changes were made! Another example: I had studied some of the comments from other people, and several reviewers suggested that, in order to avoid having to spend a whole day in a car, traveling from one park to another, to take a small plane to cover the distance. I asked Isaac whether that would be possible, and yes, not a problem, that could be arranged. Evidently, these changes have an impact on the price, but after all the changes that we made to the original proposal; we ended up with a very decent price. This way, we agreed upon a program and a price, and off we went on our safari! However, unfortunately, our flight leaving from France was cancelled, and we had to leave a day later. I was afraid that this would screw up all of our plans… Therefore, I called Isaac from Paris, told him about it, and asked for his advice. Luckily, he was able to change some of our plans, so that most of our trip was still very much as originally planned. The next day, we were able to fly to Kenya. When we arrived in Nairobi, Isaac was waiting for us, and introduced us to our guide, Steve. Steve would take care of for the next few days, and he did that in an excellent manner. On a regular basis, he would provide us with some background information and if we would have a question, we could ask it and he would provide us with an answer, but apart from that, he would be discreet. If we wanted to stop to take a picture, we only needed to ask him, and once we were ready, we would continue. Steve took excellent care of us in Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara, and dropped us off at the airstrip, where a small plane would take us to Amboseli. In Amboseli, the next guide, David, was waiting for us. Like Steve, he was very helpful and had a beautiful sense of humor. David took expertly care of us in Amboseli, Tsavo East and drove us to Diani beach. The trip to Diani beach, via Mombasa, took quite a while, due to heavy traffic. Something we were not looking forward to repeat when we would be leaving. Therefore, when we arrived at the office of Best Memories Safaris in Diani Beach, we asked whether it would be possible to change our scheduled flight from Mombasa airport to Nairobi, to a flight from the Diani Beach airstrip to Nairobi. Isaac took care of it straight away, and cancelled our original flight and replaced it with a flight leaving from Diani Beach. Evidently, we had to pay for the difference, but that was more than worth it! Once again, the flexibility and customer orientation of Isaac was amazing! Overall, we had an amazing experience and had a safari that was organized without a glitch.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excelent experience
We had an amazing experiece with Hello Tanzania!
Eddie the driver who took us all the road from Dar to the campsite was really awesome. The campsite was lovely and really confortable. It’s more a hotel than a camping, they have beds, private bathroom, roof, flor and light but you are at te middle of nowhere infront of a beautiful river! The boatrip at sunset was memorable and the game drive with Susan was incredible.