SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and unique experience in a remote paradise with amazing views and guides
We decided to make a short safari in Kafue, we contacted David, our guide. His response was always quick and helpful. Once we arrive to Zambia he was always kind and careful in every detail of the trip. Always eager to teach us his culture. The lodge we stayed during the safari, was Hippo Lodge located by the river in Kafue park. Lovely place, with everything you need to disconnect from the busy big city life. Game drives during the morning and evening with John whose knowledge about nature is unlimited ;). Although we didn't have the chance and luck to see all the animals we wanted, we would totally go back and try our luck one more time. We totally recommend this adventure if you are looking somewhere far from all the tourist places.
PS: David is such a great person, I am sure we will cross paths in the future!! (L)(L)
Shimba our guide was an excellent driver, very knowledgeable, & the staff at the Lodge were great.
We were so excited about seeing the Masai Mara but the size was amazing (had seen it on t.v.)It just went for ever & so many species all in close contact, never did we imagine the thousands of Zebra, Wildebeest & Antelope species grazing together. The day we saw the Pride of Lions, Well that was the greatest, From the mature ones to the tiny cubs( no more than 3 weeks old) then as we followed them through the grass lands to a kill site where the female carried her Warthog between the vehicles, the Vultures & 2 Hienas arrived very soon afterwards.The weather was very similar to Australia & we enjoyed the cool mornings. We loved the Lodge, the building its self was ideal open & cool & beautifully designed for the climate. The setting beside the river was perfect , not only from the Dining room but from our accommodation with the balcony out the back over looking the river with crocodiles, Very large & small, monitor lizards, monkeys playing in the trees., a Hippo once ,Baboons storks & the mongoose in the under growth,( PERFECT). Shimba our guide was so good, he didn't mind us asking questions, could explain every thing we ask, & set up a lovely table in a place with a great view for our picnic the day we went to the Mara River to see the Animals crossing.Thank you Shimba. & Thanks to to the Folk in the Kitchen & the Waiters & waitress who served us delightful meals.
IL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Jennifer
Maasai Mara absolutely deserves its reputation as the "must see" park in Kenya. The landscape is magnificent and the animals are abundant and just incredible. We caught the very end of the wildebeest migration, and it was like nothing we'd ever seen in our lives. There were easily 50,000 wildebeest scattered across the savannah; from a distance they looked like ants. It's a site I will never forget.
The only thing I do not recommend is visiting the Maasai village. We were uncomfortable from the start and by the end, when we were basically forced to buy souvenirs at exorbitant prices, we really felt taken advantage of. Definitely interesting to learn about the Maasai people, but this just seemed like some kind of scheme.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Absolutely one of the best National Parks in Africa
I just made my second trip to Hwange National Park in June. It was just superb again. I stayed at Little Makalolo Camp and Camp Hwange each for four nights. The wildlife viewing was just phenomenal. I saw everything from elephants to wild dogs,lions and cheetahs. I also saw plenty of roan and sable antelope.
Zimbabwe is famous for having the highest standards of guiding in Africa. I have to say that all my guides at both Little Makalolo and Camp Hwange were just superb. I also felt that both the camps I stayed at were terrific in every way.
IL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had high expecations and they were exceeded!
Going on safari has been my dream vacation since childhood, and my husband and I chose to visit Kenya because it's supposedly one of the best places to see giraffes, our favorite animal. I did a lot of research on my own trying to decide which parks to visit and then got in touch with a few different safari operators for quotes and recommendations.
From the very beginning of our correspondence, Edith at Kenya Safari Arcade was incredibly helpful, responsive and patient. I pestered her with tons of questions and even changed my mind about our itinerary several times, but she was always polite and happy to help.
Given how wonderful Edith had been (we emailed for several months before the trip), I was confident when we finally landed in Nairobi -- but you still never know what exactly to expect to visiting a new place for the first time. I should never have had a doubt -- a driver was waiting for us at the airport just as Edith had promised.
Following a day in Nairobi, we were picked up for our safari by our guide David, who we'd spend the next week exploring Kenya with. David was not only a great driver (on the roads in Kenya this is very important!) but incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and just enjoyable to be with. Over the course of 9 days we visited Amboseli (2 nights), Tsavo West (1 night) and Maasai Mara (3 nights). All three parks, as well as our accommodations within the parks, were incredible. I especially recommend the Sarova Salt Lick Lodge at Tsavo West (we would've stayed more than 1 night if we knew how amazing it was!) and Kichwa Tembo at Maasai Mara.
Personally, I would not try to see more parks than this in a week. Many of the itineraries I saw visited a different park every day, but you could undoubtedly be in one place for a month and see different animals every day. And even visiting just 3 parks, we still spent a huge amount of time driving.
We had high expectations for Kenya and our safari, and thanks in large part to Edith, David and Kenya Safari Arcade, our expectations were absolutely exceeded. You watch National Geographic and think you know what to expect, but nothing can prepare you to see these animals up so close in their natural habitats. I am now recommending that any of my friends or family who are remotely interested in safari find a way to make it happen. It's not a cheap or necessarily an easy trip, but it's absolutely worth it and truly the trip of a lifetime.
Thanks again to Kenya Safari Arcade, and we are waiting for David to tell us when he's coming to visit Israel!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience, adventurous and fun
Excellent reception and hospitality.
They meet all your expectations and supercede them.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing and everything I was looking for.
After many years of dreaming about returning to East Africa, on October 2017 I was searching the web for a special trip to East Africa, I had so many choices of companies that all sounded great, finally narrowed it down to 3, then the real work started with such a big investment of not only time but money we wanted to make very sure that we were doing the right thing.
I finally decided on East Africa Wild but certainly being the type A person that I am I wanted to speak with the owner Alym Bhanji personally.
Alym and I connected by phone in October 2017, I immediately felt comfortable and you know what they say “go with your gut” this certainly felt good to me.
My Husband and I made the big decision and proceeded with many phone conversations with Alym as this was not only a trip of a lifetime we were planning but a very special revisit to the land I was raised in 60 + years ago.
I wanted to make sure we covered all the territory of my childhood along with it being the first time experience for my husband we were adding on a trip to Victoria Falls and Trekking with the Gorillas in Uganda.
Alym was always available by phone to plan this with us also along with becoming a new Father during these months.
Our trip was finalized with all the details for July 2018 and there were many of them, we were covering flights to Victoria Falls, tour of the falls, Sunset cruising on the Zambezi river with a 3 day stay before flying on to Entebbe. By the 5th day we were trekking with the Gorilla’s in Bwindi forest.
Moving on to Kenya via transferring through Nairobi we arrived at Amboseli National Park for a 3 day stay with our first of many game drives. Then on to Nanyuki the town I lived in for a memory lane trip along with an emotional goal of spreading my fathers and younger brothers’ ashes in a river coming down from MT Kenya and some on the plains on Ol Pejeta at sunset.
After an already very full schedule of 12 days we were now on to the Masai Mara for a wonderful 6 days of game drives with our wonderful and as far as I am concerned, the best guide ever, Newton Njane.
Newton actually joined us in Nairobi on the 8 day of our trip and was our full time guide for the following 2 weeks. While we flew conveniently from one place to another he actually would drive for hours to carry our excess luggage (I imagine not really in his job description) but between him and Alym they were out to accommodate us as very best they could.
All the accommodations were arranged for us and were very lovely but our most favourites were in Amoseli National Park, Kibo Safari Camp, in Ol Pejeta, Sweetwaters Tented Camp and on the Mara, Mara Sarova Game Camp and Ngenche Safari Camp (Last one was our absolute best) right by the Mara River with the hippos and absolutely first class service. Many thanks to Camp Manager. Paul Maina, his excellent staff and warriors that kept us safe at all times.
We finished up our trip with 2 days in Mombasa, did not enjoy this but it was also on my memory lane list as my family vacationed there with us in 1959. Many changes, very busy and dirty, I would not recommend this.
We arrived home after a wonderful and physically challenging 21 day trip exhausted (10 lbs lighter) but oh so delighted with lots of great memories (and more than 4,000 photos). We made the right choice picking Alym owner of Ease Africa Wild, you can well imagine the coordination and time it took for him to get this itinerary together for us and it all went off without any hiccups.
We would highly recommend Alym and his company along with his chosen guides for us, Jason Japan in Uganda who had a favourite saying as we rattled and rolled through the countryside “Everybody OK?” This we quoted often in remembrance of his wonderful character. Our many shorter term guides in between our transfers were wonderful to us and our very special guide, Newton who immediately knew what as a photographer I was looking for, we traveled many miles together on many full day game drives and saw just about every animal Kenya has to offer us.
We do want to repeat this trip again providing our age or money does not deplete us first and the very first thing I would do is phoning Alym and getting ‘OUR’ Newton for our guide.
Thank you Alym for our lifetime experience and as we have discussed recently, we will keep in touch and possibly enjoy a visit while in Vancouver next July.
Gerry and Steve Atkinson
Canada 2018
ES
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
amazing experience
One of the best things of All Seasons Safaris and Tours is the promp reply they have to any questions you may have while booking ,they are always ready to tailor the safari you are thinking of . The service they offer was better than I expected , although we arrived to Nairobi at 5 o'clok in the morning , somebody was there waiting for us , we were taken to Alex home to have a rest till the checking time in the hotel , also his wife give us a good breakfast , they are really nice . And while the safari , the drivers are very experted guys , they know a lot of wildlife and just to see wild animals without binoculars ,which is very amazing , they do the game ride as long as you want and always they are attentive to any wish you may have . To sum up if I come back to Kenya , no doubt I'll book with them againg .
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A life-changing experience, beautifully planned and executed by Transtrek Safaris
We are giving Transtrek a five-star rating because our experience - ten days in Kenya - was so exciting, beautiful and memorable. We asked three tour operator to send us offers. Not only was the offer by Transtrek the most varied and interesting, Dan even called my mobile phone within an hour of my posting the request, to check and ask us what we really wanted. Our safari took us to the highlands north of Nairobi as well as to the Masai Mara in the West. Each day was more exciting than the previous one and we actually saw a couple of Cheetah kills that were absolutely stunning. Our guide, Peter, was superb at finding interesting animals and we saw all the Big Five. He is also an excellent driver who managed to avoid hurting our necks and backs (we were a senior group) by carefully negotiating all major bumps and tranches. A few minor complaints: We should have skipped the Chimpanzee sanctuary (sad and a bit boring) and the tame, blind Rhino at Ol Pejeta (you are supposed to be able to pet him but he never showed up) and used the time to do more game drives. The Balloon Ride was hellishly expensive but really worth the experience. The Masai Village visit was exploitative of tourists and we felt pressured to buy gifts. In the Mara, we thought Ashnil Camp was somewhat dated and decaying, with a dilapidated swimming pool, but Eagle View was fantastic! You have to pick and choose your Camps with care. But overall an outstanding experience and Transtrek are the ones to go with!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best of Tanzania
Had amazing five days in Northern circuit safari with Luitours, they have professional team and they are well organized. Good accommodation with a lot of experiences, I would highly recommend Luitours and Safaris if you are planning a trip to Tanzania! Thanks for the trip of a lifetime that I will never forget.