EG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous
We had a wonderful time in South Africa, The hotel I booked near airport was great as was the tour to soweto and Johannesburg through them.But the safari arranged for me by Discover Africa and Matthys was excellent everything organised perfectly.The wildlife and birding was great and we stayed at 2 different safari parks that were both different.Sabi Sands and Kruger. Cannot say enough what a great trip this was
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Absolutely stunning country with incredible variety of wildlife and which does NOT permit hunting!
I have now visited Kenya as a tourist nine times! I have been to many different national parks more than once - Samburu, Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Nairobi and Tsavo East - and other areas such as Laikipia Plateau and Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha including Elsamere. Every time there is something new to experience! We have seen prides of lions with cubs, a bachelor group of elephants systematically dismantling an electric fence to reach more attractive trees to eat and a hyena den to name but a few experiences. We have even seen a leopard with two cubs crossing the road in broad daylight - almost unheard of! Kenya is the cradle of mankind and it's certainly become my spiritual home. We used to book with international travel companies but a few years ago we decided to find a Kenyan company so that the profit goes to Kenyans and we fortuitously found Right Choice Tours and Safaris who have been excellent and are now our operator of choice. Kenyans we have met have all been welcoming and we have made a lot of friends. The fact that Kenya does not allow any hunting was the reason we chose Kenya as our African destination in the first place and we have never regretted it for a moment. Visitors are armed with cameras, not guns. Perfect destination!
EG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kruger National Park by Amanda Robinson
We didnt see as much wildlife in Kruger as we did in Sabi Sands, but saw a lot of birds
EG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve by Amanda Robinson
Saw nearly everything here, wildlife fabulous and so close
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Amboseli National Park by Shirley Rogers
Amboseli is stunningly beautiful and very different from other national parks. We witnessed the predators and prey animals returning after the rains. Seeing Mount Kilimanjaro is wonderful. This was my third visit and I will go again next year.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Nairobi National Park by Shirley Rogers
We spent an afternoon on a game drive in Nairobi National Park with Wasilikenya Safaris the day before returning to the UK. It was wonderful! The driver guide, Clement, successfully concentrated on finding animals we hadn't seen earlier in our trip and it was amazing. Highlight was when we saw five rhinos sleeping next to each other in a line!
Nairobi NP doesn't have elephants but it has all the others you want to see. It is completely unique to see animals in their natural environment with the Nairobi skyline as a backdrop and 'planes taking off from the nearby airport. The park is much quieter than others so there are not loads of jeeps full of tourists all racing to a particular spot where an animal has been sighted. It was a brilliant end to our holiday and highly recommended.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful experience
My experience with Dume Africa was nothing short of incredible.
We did the 8 day safari in late June 2024 that went to the Ark in Aberdare National Park, Samburu Simba Lodge in Buffalo Springs, Ol Pejeta, Lake Nakuru, and of course the Massai Mara.
This was me and my wife's first safari and we are from the US. Because Dume wasn't one of the companies with 1000s of reviews and because we had never before travelled to Kenya, we were a little paranoid about getting scammed somehow, but everything turned out perfectly fine. Henry (the owner) was really good about replying to emails and we were able to pay only 30% up front via PayPal and then the rest of the 70% in cash upon arrival when our guide picked us up at the airport.
Henry paired us up with John (Muya). I let Henry know that my goal was to see as many mammal species as possible. I am not your typical safari client who just wants to see a lion and call it a day. I really wanted to see as many species of birds as possible, rock hyraxes, servals, dik diks, and of course all the other larger mammals. I am also a botanist and read research papers for fun, so I had much more intense goals for species I hoped to see than others may have for this experience.
With all that said, John did an absolutely amazing job. We literally saw almost every single mammal on my list of dozens I wanted to see except a handful despite being in Kenya in the low season. He was also great about stopping for not only the larger birds, but the small songbirds or wildflowers I wanted to look at, even though sometimes I wanted to stop every couple of minutes to photograph something. John is a mammal expert and if you want to see something, he will try his best to get you on it. I cannot thank him enough. We made sure to leave what we hope was a really good tip for him (Dume recommends $10 per day per person, but we tipped $15 per day per person). He was a genuine, really nice guy and we felt like we made a good friend by the end of the trip.
John's driving skills were also really good. He was able to get to animals quickly and closely, especially when competing with other drivers for animals in the more crowded parks. When we were in the Mara there was a fire that made a road impassable, causing drivers to have to go off-road through difficult, muddy terrain. He got through the obstacle no problem, but many others got stuck and they were requesting him for help as he's the more experienced expert. He's a pro.
The whole 8 day safari cost $1,850 per person not including tipping and misc personal spending, so the value for the money compared to other operators was really good. The Ark and Samburu Simba lodges were must stays and I highly recommend them for others as they are really nice lodges with exceptional service for a reasonable price. The other accommodations were only okay, but again, the value of the trip compared to others of a similar length was incredible. The Samburu area was our favorite. We got to see elephants from our room and then exploring the adjacent Buffalo Springs area was incredible. For being a desert, we saw in incredible diversity of animals and it was the best place to see elephants on our entire trip. And best of all, there were much fewer people compared to Lake Nakuru or the Massai Mara. If we would do this trip again, we would spend a little more per person to stay in nicer lodges and spend more time in the less traveled to parks, but for our first trip to Kenya on a reasonable budget it was perfect.
We also went to a Massai Village, which I was hesitant to do before going as I was concerned it would be very touristy, but it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Seeing how they live and hiking with a local Massai guide in the bush was a really eye opening experience and we were the only ones in the village that day since we were their in the low season.
Some highlights of the trip include: Hearing lions at at night in the lodge and John miraculously finding them in the bush within 5 minutes of leaving the lodge, seeing a lion defending it's buffalo carcass from hyenas and vultures, John finding a recently dead elephant carcass and seeing the chaos of a huge kill sight like that, being chased by a bull elephant in musth jogging behind our car, finding a pack of hyenas that just killed a baby giraffe that morning, and so so much more.
Would highly recommend Dume and John!
For a list of animals I saw on the trip please see my inat page and sort by Kenya for location:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7042&user_id=gambolingquail&verifiable=any
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari in Kenya
We got a unforgettable memory with Dan in our 5 days safari. Dan was quite considerate and responsible about every details in our trip. For example, on the last day back to Nairobi city, there was still several demonstrations in the center, so Dan actively confirmed the status in the city to make sure our safety. Beyond that, he sadly got fever during our safari, but he kept sticking with our original plan which really warmed us a lot, and even not lost any feelings of animals searching. The Contact staff was also amazing, she was so patient with our requirements and questions so we could have a wonderful safari in Kenya.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional
We had an amazing trip to Uganda with Azas Safaris, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We went gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Kibale and Bwindi National Parks. We also visited Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park because we were also interested in other wild life. We were able to visit the Kazinga channel too, which we were not aware of prior. Prisca was a pleasure to communicate with beforehand, and she was always quick to respond to our emails and WhatsApp too . While we were on safari, Simon also got in touch with us to make sure everything was going well. Jimmy, our tour guide, made the experience unforgettable, and we heartily recommend him to show you around stunning Uganda. He looked after us really well and gave us lots of time to spend with the animals. Throughout our entire visit, we were made to feel incredibly comfortable and safe. At the same time, we visited Mabamba Swamp to see a shoebill, but it was unfortunate we were not able to see it. I advise other travellers to always consider visiting the swamp twice to get higher chances.
We highly recommend Azas!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Service and very caring and a Best tour operator
I had a great trip at Amboseli conducted by Tall Masai Safari. Very supportive, Caring especially Antony was really a knowledgeable and Nature lover. Special thanks to Mr. Benson for planning the perfect itinerary and services for me. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the trip throughly.