35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dream come true
My Dad once said when he was younger he dreamed of going on safari. At age 78 he probably thought it was beyond him. The two of us ended up taking a trip of a lifetime, one we'll never forget and one I'll cherish always. Brilliant Adventures were amazing. Communication from the beginning, checking in throughout and everything in between was perfect. Our guide Boni was excellent, how he manages that drive over the many many years of experience is beyond me. The trip totally exceeded expectations. No amount of research, documentaries, or reading comes even close to the experience itself. Simply breath taking, or should I say Brilliant.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip
We have just arrived home after a month in Kenya. We are so pleased we added Kenya as it was without doubt the best for wildlife in all the places we have visited. We flew to Nairobi, went to Lake Naivasha, the Lake Nakuru. Masai Mara, Amboseli. It was fabulous and made more special by our guide Jay, a Masai Mara warrior who just knew how to spot an animal from great distances. Just amazing, we saw double of everything except the Leopard which was just bad luck and timing.
I highly recommend Osnet Tours and travels .They are the best in terms of prices and Geofrey was such an amazing soul!!!he made sure that everything was in order throughout our safari.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic experience that fully met our expectations!
Destiny Explorers provided us with an amazing experience on our 6-day (5-night) safari to Tarangire, Lake Natron, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara. The guide is knowledgeable and goes above and beyond to show you everything, with a few extra surprises along the way. We highly recommend Destiny Explorers!
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour guide is really bad
We did not have a good experience with Karibu Safaris In Kenya since our tour guide Edward was really bad and not engaged at all. He did not communicate anything to us about anything during the transportation. And during the safari he did not tell us anything about any animal or anything. We had to find all the animals ourselves and when we asked him to stop so that we could take photos of the animals we noticed he got annoyed all the time. We expected more from a guide, basically he was just a driver who could not communicate and he slept in the car every chance he got, not professional at all.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
First class personal service
When we decided to visit Namibia we started reading up on tour operators and Blue Crane Safaris had such good reviews we decided to email them with an idea of where we wanted to go/see/do and asked if they could provide an itinerary. Derek Jacobs the owner replied very quickly and that was the start of a 10 month communication when we decided to book a self drive tour with them. Nothing was too much trouble and any emails were replied to promptly.
When we arrived in Windhoek we were picked up by a company representative and taken to their offices to pick up our car and go over the itinerary. Jamie did the handover which was very in-depth and she gave us all the relevant information we needed as well as a WhatsApp contact number. Some of the accommodation on tour was suggested by Blue Crane and some we chose ourselves, it was a good mix.
We had an absolutely fantastic holiday it couldn’t have been better, everything went like clockwork thanks to Blue Crane. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better to we were upgraded to the Bush Camp at Okonjima on our last three nights which was a fantastic surprise, it was amazing.
The personal service the Blue Crane Safaris team provide is second to none and we highly recommend them.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing tour company!
Our guide was amazing. Knowledgeable and fun. We saw the most amazing landscapes and animals. Our accommodations were excellent. We felt safe and well taken care of. Highly recommend!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Martin Smith is knowledgeable, responsive, & takes a personal interest in each tour he plans.
This was a first time, bucket list safari for me. I fortunately received a recommendation for Mr. Martin Smith from a co-worker. He immediately responded to my initial email. He asked what my goals/desires were in terms of the trip. He continued to respond -almost immediately- to each question I had.
The Safari exceeded my expectations. I traveled to Botswana at his recommendation. I could not have been more pleased!!
I started with two nights at Victoria Falls and stayed in the Victoria Falls Hotel. Truly, I unexpectedly felt like royalty, with a private check in and fabulous room with a great view.
My first Safari camp, Linyanti Concessions, provided herds of wild animals to see and enjoy in their natural surroundings. Next was Khwai Lediba and last was Vumbura Plains. Each provided a unique experience and each increased in luxury. Keep in mind that I’m not a “luxury “ person, but it was a very nice surprise!!
EVERY transfer, every detail was flawless and seamless!!! I never had to think or worry about anything!!!
I overwhelmingly recommend Kingfisher Safaris and Mr. Martin Smith!!!!!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and honest.
Brian and his team were most helpful in both planning and executing my short visit to Victoria Falls. I missed my flight connection on the first day and Brian was able to rearrange the planned schedule at the last minute. He was empathetic and understood these things happen and he happily took on contacting my hotel to ensure they didn't cancel my reservation due to a no show. We were able to stay connected in WhatsApp which was very helpful as I had no SIM connection on arrival in Ethiopia
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice tour guide, but very disappointing car
Our guide Stanley is very nice with all the animal knowledge he has and very informative with animals location. We had a nice time because of him.
However, the jeep is really in a bad situation. First time it was tank being cut off, so we spent 1-2 hrs with mechanics repairing the car.
Second time it was the some parts falling apart and the jeep is not moving at all, so we stopped for a repair. Thankfully there was another jeep going by and the guide and group were willing to take us with them and continue the trip for the day, otherwise we would have lost on precious safari day because the jeep was finally fixed at 9pm or so. We thought all jeeps are in bad condition, but when riding with another jeep, we realized how bad condition our jeep was.
Third time, the jeep broke down on our way to airport. Luckily, the jeep broke down in Arusha, so the company quickly had another car come by and pick us up and arrived airport on time. If it hadn't broke down in Arusha, we would have missed the flight.
We were lucky coz each broke down we were not heavily affected because the timing was right. But it could be more serious consequences with those broke downs.
Really need to consider again about the car condition.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Standard safari with some annoyances
Overall, the safari seems to follow a standard itinerary that many other companies also offer. We did see a lot of animals including the Big 5 and in that sense the safari was great. I only give 2 stars because of some annoyances:
1) My wife is short and wasn't able to see out of the pop up roof of the Landcruiser (for which you pay extra). She wanted to stand on top of a seat when we were looking at a cheetah that was barely visible (covered by grass) but was told by our driver that that is not allowed because it can damage them and that it's his boss Lewis' rule, with whom we had made the booking. I then wrote to Lewis and he told me it's not allowed because it's illegal and fined heavily by the park authorities. We saw many other safari companies allowing their customers to stand on their seat. So I then looked up the park rules online and it didn't say anything about it being illegal. Lewis doubled down and told me to ask a park official at the gate. I did just that (he probably didn't expect me to) and they told me, amused that I'd even ask, that it's perfectly legal and makes sense for short people. Nevertheless, we decided to let it rest, until my wife got neck pain two days later from always craning it while tip toing to be able to see. At that point I again wrote to Lewis pleading that he allows it for the last two days and he finally did. However, he never admitted that he lied about it being illegal. TLDR: if you're short find a different safari company
2) Our flight on the last day was quite late at 11pm. The original itinerary had us be at the airport around 5pm after visiting the giraffe center at 3pm. Before booking, I had asked Lewis about adding extra things in Nairobi and he told me that we can also visit the Nairobi museum and eat at a famous restaurant and then be dropped off at the airport at 7pm which sounded good to us. Then, on the last day our driver told us that he has to keep going immediately after arriving with us in Nairobi but that a different driver from the company can take us. However, after talking with his Boss there apparently was no different driver available. Our driver rushed us through the giraffe center (urging us to leave) and then dropped us of at the airport at 4:15 pm. We were okay with skipping the museum and the restaurant because we were tired and saw how stressed the driver was, but we didn't appreciate being rushed through the giraffe center which was supposed to be a nice stop on the last day and then bring dropped off at the airport super early.
A couple words on our driver/guide Daniel: he definitely knows the parks inside and out and is a good driver and very good at finding many animals. He also knows a lot about the animals when asked. However, I wish he would be more outgoing in sharing information about animals without us asking. And I wish he would be a bit friendlier and above all not rush us so much on the last day.