US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
not a good experience poor vehical
Vehicle was not up to standards, old, brake and engine problems and uncomfortable noisy. It was difficult to photograph from the way in which the seats were positioned to a very small roof hatch. The accommodations at the some of the lodges were poor and food not all that great. There was a lot of driving between parks (8-10 hours) in an unconformable vehicle with more time driving than viewing animals which were few far apart. I would not recommend this safari to anyone.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda’s an amazing experience – made even better by Paul and Inter-tropical!
I didn’t really have a good idea of what to expect from Uganda. The agenda was largely driven by my wife :) (mountain gorillas), and I managed to negotiate my way into a safari rather than just a gorilla trek. I was blown away by the diversity and multitude of wild life on offer, the friendliness of the people, the raw beauty of the country and just the sheer sense of welcome we received everywhere we went. Much of that experience was shaped by Paul – supremely knowledgeable, resourceful, easy-going and always ready with an opinion. His itinerary was immaculately put together – the lodges were fantastic, the food amazing, the game drives and boat rides supreme. And he is grace under fire – a carefully cultivated network means you’re just never in a jam. If you decide to go to Uganda (this is no brainer for me), choose Paul and Inter-tropical – you won’t regret it.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and perfect organisation of our trip to Kenya
We took private safari trip with Skywide Tours and Travel and we knew we were in good hands as soon as we started the correspondance with Skywide by email. They responded quickly to our request and were able to adapt the safari to our personal wishes. The lodges proposed by the agency were lovely and vey high standards, since we like smaller and more eco accomodations instead of big hotels they also adapted the safari to our needs and made sure the places we stay are still high standards.
Our tour guide and driver was very knowledgable and nice, flexible to adapt the hours for safaris and other trips to our wishes, found places to try local food and even teached us some Kenyan songs. It was all in all a great experience and I can highly recomend this agency.
The only thing we regret is doing most of our trip in Kenya by car and we might prefer flying some long distances instead, since the roads are sometimes not the best and very busy. That was of course our choice and we cannot blame the agency. If you would like to reserve some internal flights, I would also recomend to do it through Skywide, since they can advise you which airport is the closest and which flight to take (this includes small airports and flights that are otherwise hard to find online). The plane they reserved for us from Diani to Nairobi was very nice and modern as well. They also picked us up at our arrival to Nairobi and drove us to our Nairobi hotel, even through our safari with them only started two days later.
QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super company!
Great experience with this company. From the start it was well organised. The booking was easy, the itinerary had to be swapped around as they couldn’t get passes for the gorillas so we ended up doing the route backwards to everyone else but we felt this was actually better!
Upon arrival Derick our guide was ready and waiting. He was superb the whole trip. Super helpful, knowledgable about the wildlife but also a good laugh! There is a bit of driving involved and you need that banter to make the drives more enjoyable.
Can not fault the company. Even though we had a mechanical issue with the car one day a solution was found quickly and we didn’t miss out on anything.
“Fantastic well organised trip
Our trip with Starluck Travel was unforgettable. The company is very organised and reply to emails promptly. Our trip was made that much more memorable due to our guide James Mbugua, he went above and beyond to cater to our needs and made us feel so comfortable around him. James is exceptionally knowledgeable and provided first hand knowledge about the wildlife and the people of Kenya. I would highly recommend this company if you are considering trip in Kenya thanks your very much James Mbugua
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best safari ever with our family in Kenya
We just returned from a kenya safari with my family (two children aged 12 and 9) with Wildebeest safaris and the experience has been fantastic for everyone. We have visited Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Naivasha and Masai Mara in 10 days and thanks to our guide Dennis and the entire team of Wildebeest safaris everything has gone perfect.
From the organization of the safari, Noah showed a quick response and ability to adjust to our wishes. The result has been a perfect tour, with high-level accommodations at a very reasonable cost Once the reservation was made, Samuel's support has been perfect for the last minute aspects, for instance the organization of the safari balloon in Mara.
During the safari everything wasperfect. Dennis has been a great driver and guide, always on timeand taking care of all the details to guarantee our satisfaction. In game drives, Dennis has a special gift for finding animals and for ensuring the best observation. As a result, we have observed up to 44 species of mammals, 213 of birds, with incredible observations of lions, leopards and cheetahs, as well as the rest of animals.
In short, a wonderful experience, with the best quality-price agency in Kenya. For me it is the fourth safari in East Africa, and it has undoubtedly been the best. Wildebeest safaris will always be the selected agency in our future visits to East Africa.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible from the very beginning.
This company was recommended to me by some friends, so even with the terrible communication and rude service from Johnston, I decided to stick with them. Firstly, Johnston’s is extremely rude, and barely understands English so don’t bother talking to him on the phone, he literally hung up on us after getting angry that he couldn’t understand us. Prices were listed as 240$ for the particular camp we wanted to go to but he was quoting us 640 each for a week. We had to seek out someone else to deal with. Just go with another tour operator, very very unprofessional company.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Every detail handled to perfection w African Coast Travel & Tours
Joseph Mayo was my tour guide and handled every detail with absolute perfection. Having never visited Africa before, he made the experience so easy and memorable. He replied to emails quickly and answered all of my questions about wiring money, transportation and lodging accommodations. Joseph met our tour group at the airport and accompanied us on our excursions teaching us about local customs, wildlife, shopping, history, etc. The entire trip to Livingstone was magical - especially the water safari tour because we were blessed to be at the right place and the right time when hundreds of elephants were gathering on the banks of the river. The guide parked the boat on the banks of the river and presented us with a delicious lunch and to our amazement, the elephants swam the river within a few feet of where we silently watched the greatest show on earth! Many thanks to Joe for his hard work in organizing the trip of a lifetime.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bait-and-switch on lodging, haggling and hassle once arrived
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this operator. We were sold a package promising accommodation at Azure Mara Haven or comparable. What we got was Jambo Mara Safari Lodge - no WiFi, no pool, no spa, currently under construction and it books at about half the price of Azure. When I voiced my dissatisfaction, I was told that no bookings were available at the former, which a quick Internet search proved to be false. Owner George Oketch reimbursed me less than half of the difference between the room prices, which recovered one star. The other star is for his driver, Martin, who did a great job navigating the Mara and showed himself a kind and generous man with the Maasai who live there.
I learned a lot in this process. I should have stuck to my guns in holding back 10% until the end of the tour (he insisted on full payment in advance...before notifying me of the change in lodging). I should have read more reviews and done a FakeSpot review (using the TripAdvisor reviews they received a "D", https://www.fakespot.com/trip-business/right-choice-tours-safaris). I'll be more careful next time.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing, eye opening and best African Vacation!
As with most people the focus of this trip was the mountain Gorillas, which was as great as all the reviews said.
The safari company we used( iconic travel services limited) had absolute wealth of everything Africa... the history, politics, culture, in addition to all of the animals. We left our trip with a deeper understanding of Africa and yes the mountain gorilla tracking is a memorable experience, I enjoyed every bit of my stay.
Thank you all from iconic for a trip well executed.