35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Tour Operator for Kilimanjaro!!
My brother and I successfully completed a 6-day trek with Popote to Kili summit via Macahame route in Feb 2017. We honestly could not have asked for a better crew than Popote. The business owner, Sabino, will stop at nothing to ensure your trip is perfectly executed. In fact, Sabino was once a porter himself so his company culture very much ensures that his employees are treated very fairly and with a great deal of respect. Our guides during the trip, Jerry & Stanly, were fantastically knowledgable and clearly had won the trust and respect of all other guides we encountered on our journey. And the support crew, including cook and porters, were always so accomodating, kind and fun to be around. We loved the flexibility of changing a 7-day hike to 6-days en route, giving us an extra rest day back in Moshi. All in all we really felt so fortunate to trek with this amazing crew. I would not hesitate to totally recommend Popote Africa Adventures!!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great service and trip!
Peter and the guides/drivers he works with have been great. Peter helped a lot in planning our itinerary, was very responsive and reliable. The trips offered are good value for money
With the help of Peter we planned quite an ambitious trip: climbing Mount Kenya, safari in Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and then to the coast/Diani all within one week.
We travelled as a couple. The guide we had on Mount Kenya was very nice and fun. Unfortunately, we had to head back halfway due to altitude sickness. Although we didn't ask for it, Peter was kind enough to offer us compensation for this set back both with a hotel upgrade later on during our trip and a financial reimbursement.
After the Mount Kenya, we went to Masai Mara. We were fortunate enough to share our van with other nice people. Martin's van was of good quality and he's a good driver. We didn't get stuck, like others did. We stayed just outside of the park in a semi-tent, which was a nice place with basic, but good food. We managed to spot the big fives throughout our drives, which is apparently quite unique. Although I was a little reluctant to visit a Masai Mara village, it was very interesting.
After quite some time in the van, also during the safari, the drive to Lake Naivasha was quite lengthy. Looking back, it would have been better to skip that park and head directly to Amboseli.
We changed driver after Lake Naivasha. Edward drove us to Amboseli and Diani, with one of the vehicules of Flash MC tours. Edward was very kind and polite and the van well maintained. Amboseli was beautiful. Traffic between Amboseli and Diani was horribe, and it took us ages to get to the beach for some needed relaxation. But overall, we were very happy with our trip and the service Peter/Flash MC Tours provided.
So book with Africa MC if your looking for a reliable agent, who responds well, and thinks along with your wishes. Do not expect luxury, but just a good budget option.
Take into account that traffic in Kenya is bad and that actual travel times are often much longer than listed travel times. Nairobi is the hub, so you need to pass through every time.
Looking back, we would have skipt Lake Naivasha, and would have started with Amboseli or Masai Mara and flown from Nairobi to Mombasa.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
14 day safari
From the first time I contacted Mr OT about our tour the communication was very professional & response time was extremely quick. I have been to Kenya several times & this tour lived up to all my expectations. The price we paid was very reasonable compared to other companies I looked at. Our guide/driver John was very knowledgeable & friendly with a good sense of humour. We are already planning to book another tour with this company. I would highly recommend them.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceedingly helpful and reliable
I found SS (Erica Wilson) on line and after a few email exchanges decided to have her arrange our trip. She was extremely responsive, forthcoming with her opinions (as I requested) and negotiated an excellent rate with the camps we selected. But for her relationship with camp management, I think the cost would have been at least 25% higher. At the end of the trip, she met our flight in Maun and we had a chance to visit in person for an hour or so. In summary, working with Erica was a wonderful experience.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent experience
I have been on a few safaris before, in Tanzania, Botswana and also in Borneo. What was different this time was that I did not have my family with me but was going alone with a complete focus on wildlife and bird photography. The focus was therefore not on luxury accommodation, gourmet food or relax time by the pool, but rather finding a company and a guide that was willing to put in the extra effort to help me find and identify the mammals and birds I was hoping to see for a reasonable price. And KWSS delivered more than that, which I am very grateful for. They even took it upon themselves to suggest last minute changes to the itinerary to accommodate my interest in birds, and hosted me in accommodation nicer than the one in the itinerary we originally had agreed upon. Otieno always responded quickly when I had questions at the planning stage and my guide Kennedy went out of his way to make my trip unforgettable, a very knowledgeable and friendly guide and an excellent driver. The accommodation generally exceeded my expectations, the food was perfectly fine (it's a safari, you cannot expect too much) and everything worked without any glitches from pick up to drop off. I can warmly recommend KWSS and would not hesitate to use them again.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Knowledgeable guide, great intinerary and excellentlevels of service equals a safari to remember,
We have used Range Land Safaris on a number of occasions, and always found them to be reliable, knowledgeable and most importantly for our needs, adaptable.
Ronnie and the Range Land guys are always willing to go the extra mile to ensure we get the tour we really want, but also honest enough to keep our expectations realistic and safe.
I would not want to tour Uganda with anyone else.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience
My daughter and I took the 14 day discover Uganda trip and what an amazing experience it was. I did have a few initial concerns about booking and sending large sums of money to an unknown company in Uganda. I needn't have worried. Richard was extremely professional in all aspects, answering my emails straight away, confirming receipt of the funds immediately and generally reassuring me that everything was in hand. Richard works very hard to ensure everything goes to plan. He had changed some of our accommodation prior to our arrival as he had had some bad reports about the lodges where we were initially supposed to stay. The trip itself could not have gone better. Richard met us at the airport and transferred us to our guest house where our guide for the trip met us the next day. Ashadu was the perfect companion, extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife and Uganda in general. Most importantly we felt completely safe and well looked after throughout the trip which was a perfect mix of wildlife, culture and relaxation. Ashadu was a very competent driver, important as we spent many hours driving over very rough roads. The accommodation exceeded our expectations. Uganda is a beautiful diverse country with relatively few tourists. Ashadu went out of his way to ensure we saw as much wildlife as possible. Particular favourites were the elephants seen from the boat trip in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and of course the chimps and gorillas which we genuinely felt privileged to see. Thank you Richard and Ashadu for giving us such a wonderful unforgettable trip.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Phenomenal Guide!
Overall, this was a fantastic experience. Our guide was friendly, very knowledgable and really made the trip more enjoyable. I cannot say enough about his expertise, ability to spot well-hidden game and his efforts to ensure our safari was amazing. He succeeded! He is the reason I gave a 5 star rating.
I did not care for the lodging at Fort Murchison and cannot recommend it. I realize that we chose a medium accommodation and the price was good however, our room had a mouse that kept us up at night scurrying around and the electricity was out on the wall the fan was wired to. We were unable to charge electronics or run the fan on what were very warm nights. Also, there are large numbers of black ants in the dining room. They were very aggressive and got into our food and drinks many times despite our best efforts to remove them from our table. The staff at Fort Murchison were all friendly and welcoming.
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ker&Downey made a wonderful job
Ker&Downey prepared a wonderful trip to the Ulusaba Lodge with all bookings. They took care of us from arrival at Johannesburg Airport with the transfer to the regional airline to the lodge, gave a lot of useful information and also prepared a tour along the Garden Route according to our personal requirements. We always felt well taken care of. It is good to know to have the assistance of Ker&Downey in the background.
US
Excellent Customer Service
Home to Africa Tours and Travel was one of the most accommodating operators I have worked with. I received prompt emails and communications and excellent customer service in regards to customizing my tour with personalized needs. Edward and his team were completely professional and respectful, and I very much appreciated all of their hospitality and support.