US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical Trip of a Lifetime
This was our family's first trip to Africa, and we really weren't sure what to expect. We were so blown away by our experience in Botswana! The people! The wildlife! The beauty! It was almost overwhelming!
We entered Botswana at Maun (protip: bring your own pen with you to avoid waiting in a line 10 deep for the few pens provided at customs) then flew by a 6-seater plane to our first camp, Rra Dinare in the Okavango Delta. We adored Rra Dinare...the remoteness of it, the fact that there is no perimeter fence...just beautiful. The people at Rra Dinare, like everywhere we went in Botswana, were gracious, friendly, welcoming. The game drives here were almost an embarrassment of riches and we saw the elusive leopard on 3 out of 4 drives! Our driver, Parks, was outstanding.
From Rra Dinare we flew to Chobe and stayed at Bakwena Lodge, which was a different feel. Bakwena is perimeter fenced, which means you can walk around it at night without a guide escort, and you drive down the street about 20 minutes to get to the closest entrance to Chobe National Park. In terms of general "vibe", Rra Dinare's remoteness had more of an immersive "we are on safari feel" at all times, than Bakwena, which is more of a "we are staying at a very nice lodge and are leaving it twice a to go on safari drives", if that makes any sense. We found that the game viewing at Chobe in early April is not as bountiful as the Okavango Delta area, but that is just in relative terms - we still saw all the usual animals at Chobe - elephants, giraffe, zebras, leopard (twice! again!),LIONS (!!), etc....but you went for longer spells on the drives between sitings. The staff at Bakwena was exceptional, and our game driver, Max, was awesome.
The places we went to in Botswana had customer service nailed - gracious, helpful, friendly people at every turn. We had an amazing time.
SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
excellent
it was a great experience to be visiting the okavango delta and also do some game viewing in moremi and chobe
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and value
I went on a 4-day Masai Mara / Nakuru camping safari with Bigtime Safaris.
Communications were consistently quick and polite. They always responded right away and were very helpful.
I was able to book by email remotely, which was important since I was coming from far away with a specific schedule in mind. They needed the deposit via Western Union, which was a bit of a pain, but understandable. It would be nice if they could have accepted something like PayPal.
They provided transportation from my hotel on both ends of the trip. The driver was on time for picking us up and that went smoothly. We finalized payment in the office and were off on our way.
The driver was great. He was very knowledgeable and was a safe driver. He was able to answer any questions we had about the areas and animals and provided lots of information. In the preserves, he had connections with other drivers to find out about animals.
We were able to see far more animals than expected, including a leopard, multiple cheetahs, and multiple lions. The driver generally struck a good balance of letting us spend some time looking and getting off to further areas where we would be likely to see the less common game.
The safari camp at Masai Mara was great. Comfortable beds and electricity in the evenings and morning.
The hotel for Lake Nakuru was not particularly great, but it was mostly due to my specific room having a lot of problems (leaking toilet that didn't flush, no hot water). The beds and pillows were also very firm. The food at the hotel was good.
The Lake Nakuru stop was great for seeing birds and rhinos. We also got a bonus stop in Naivasha for a boat safari, which was not on the original itinerary, but was a nice added bonus.
The van we were in was only 2-wheel drive. While the driver was very good at driving it, we did get stuck a couple times and have to push or get towed out by another van. It was never a huge problem, but it would have been nice to have a 4x4 van.
Overall, I felt the trip was a great value for the price. I got to see far more than I expected and had an amazing trip.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Namib Desert Safari lived up to my expectations and more, overall it was a fabulous trip.
A well organised and run trip which more than met my expectations. Put simply - great team, lovely horses, fab location and excellent food!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing time in Masai Mara
I was a bit late to prepare a safari. I contacted Jane from Kenan Travel Tour and she was really reactive and helping. Everything was smooth in the organization. I had a wonderful time with the group I was in and we saw a lot of animals! Incredible!
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
An exceptional trip accompanied by very knowledgeable and attentive guides.
Reactivity of the service before our departure (excellent). Experience and skills of our two bilingual guides (french, english) who have pampered us throughout the duration of SAFARI. A wonderful journey and some surprises. Great moments of happiness to discover wildlife in beautiful landscapes with ZIGLAG TOURS.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Yes you really do need your rain coat in the Dessert.
Loved the Trip, it was everything I hoped it would be, and even more, what an experience to have rain in the Dessert, and to see all the plants and animals that only show up after the rain. Magical.
That said, when the packing list says rain coat, and you say - but I am going to the dessert - remember it can rand does rain in the dessert.....
Loved the trip, I cannot say thank you enough to the staff for everything they did for us. It just flowed flawlessly - at least to those of us on the trip.
The horses were fantastic, the riding spectacular, what more can you ask for.
in the immortal words of "The Terminator" ... "I'll be back". You don't get rides like this just anywhere.
: )
PT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
in 11 days nothing failed, all logistics perfectly coordinated, the guides were the best.
the communications were perfect , the guides in safari lodges are very knowledgeble in wild life and nature, they were incredible.
the safari itself was unbeliveble, we could see the big five except Rynos, we saw leopards hunting impalas and bringing it up to the tree and feeding their cubs, Lions, elephants girafes, hippos, wild dogs all the wild life in Okavango delta. The landscape, the colors, the smell...
we flew over in a small plane with 6 seats, and during 45 min we didn't see any population, nothing than nature.
The lodges are very integrated in the nature and the service is very intimistic, everybody seats at one table to have breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The only thing to point out is that the lodges should be renovated as they look slightly worned out.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
excellent
Back from our trip to kenya ,we are still under the charm and total amazement,
a thousand thanks to Naomi and Albert ,one super organiser and the other great guide
and driver,attentive,interesting to our desires.Thank you for all these wonderfull moments
that will remain etched forever in our hearts !!!Thanks to you this stay in kenya has been in line
with our expectations and well beyond .Maybe life will allow us to see each other for another
Kenyan adventure!!!
Thank you.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Memorable birding experience with Conquest Adventures
My friends and I had a great birding experience at a coastal forest in Kenya thanks to Conquest Adventures. We visited Shimba hills Reserve for a week and Charles, our tour guide was very helpful. His skills in identification of birds through sight and calls was quite admirable and we learnt a lot from him. He could also point out other animals that we came across which we really appreciated. Conquest Adventures also organised our accommodation and transport from and to the airport. They are very professional in the way they handle their clients and we would definitely recommend them and seek them again in our future trips to Kenya.