BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Clear communication
Our guide Pako came to khwai and guided us there for 2 days. We saw some leopards real close. Pako took his time to answer all our questions
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A trip to remember ! Perfect !
Our Serengeti safari trip was unforgettable! Thanks to Meijo safari specially to daudi who has been extremely active in communicating with us before reaching Tanzania , those prompt responses made us feel very confident and comfortable ! Everything was planned well , pick ups were spot on time every day , luxury at its best in terms of lodges @ Serengeti Serena & intimate luxury camps !
Special mention for Herman who has not been the best guide for us but an amazing friend that whole time ! He made sure that we see great migration of wildebeest, big cats - a lot of those !
Thanks meijo safari for this experience!
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Africa safari 2023 good experinece
In general we are happy with the tour, the guide and assistance. Information with booking and afterward was correct (except one). Guid edid his best (Mr Clement) and get to see what we want.
If a few points would not have been - resulted in 5 stars but.
Qualitty of the mini van. Spring of min one wheel poor and this resulting in non confortable driving
Screw set out at the door resulting in several arm injuries and due to movements etc not to avoid sharp scratches...
Booking in Masa Mara change to other lodge and this was not mediore or luxury but budget. I can understand an overbooking can happen but minimum to discuss this with the client (us)... I can easily survive budget but do nt likle is as paid and book more luxury...
But is general we are happy .
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Budget operator that runs smoothly.
Good communication with the sales team when booking the trip. After some clarification it was clear what to expect and they delivered what was promised. All in all I am happy with my experience.
Some improvement could be done during the trip to clearly communicate who is the guide, what is the schedule, and information in general was a bit lacking.
I had a great time and experience at Masai Mara and I am very happy with the trip overall.
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Things to be aware of | honest yet a little bit long review
We chose Lenchanda Safaris (or Jockey Tours) because its prices were lower than the other safari companies were offering, and we also read plenty of good reviews on the internet. Considering our possibilities, we chose the Budget 6-day trip for Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli, and a few days before our departure to Kenya we sent an email to confirm that everything was fine, to which we received positive feedback. Our first guide was Francis, and he took us to Masai Mara and then Lake Nakuru. The fourth day, moving from Nakuru to Amboseli (long distance to drive), passing through Nairobi, we learnt that we needed to change guide (Alex) though keeping the same jeep. If it is true that until that moment we had a great time, from that moment on we started having a few issues. While driving to Amboseli through the night we realized that the car didn't have proper lights to drive (Amboseli is 4-5 hours away from Nairobi), something that we didn't know, so the trip after a while got quite scary and dangerous, as a matter of fact we have been also stopped by the police. It goes without saying that driving very slow because of reduced visibility increased the amount of time to arrive, and in the way we found out that the Lodge we were supposed to stay was not available and we were moved to a different camp (this was never mentioned to us at any moment in the past 2 weeks, even when we asked if everything was ok before our departure
Beside the fact that Alex was driving very slow so to be able to see, we were surprised by the fact that multiple times he didn’t know where to go, and not had clear idea of the direction to take. After plenty of hours in the car (it was around 9 pm), we reached our new accommodation, where we learnt that they were fully booked. Alex, even though he was not giving us proper explanations, was trying to talk with the office to find a solution. At the end, at around 11 pm, we moved to another hotel for the night (thankfully it was a 5-star hotel). However, for the last day, we moved again to another one, which was a very bad option, and a quote dirty option we have to say. Unfortunately, this experience had a very strong and bad effect on the overall safari experience.
As for the guides, the first one, Francis, is a very energetic and knowledgeable person about safaris, with many years of experience, so he played a crucial role in the trip for the first 4 days. Alex, on our opinion, is not a safari guide, even though he was giving us interesting infos during the game drives. Multiple times he seemed to not have experienced Amboseli before, and for sure he did not help us to spot animals in Amboseli.
As a whole, the safari trip was affected significantly by all those events. Of course, we enjoyed it because the places are very beautiful and being able to see these animals from such a short distance is amazing, but driving safely and proper organization/communication are key aspects that were definitely missing!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic service provision that gives value for money.
I had an opportunity to go on a safari adventure with Mirama Hills Safaris, a reputed member of the Young Uganda Tour Operators - (YUTO) Association. My experience with the company was a mix of positives and areas for improvement.
Mirama Hills Safaris offers a promising safari experience with knowledgeable guides and diverse itineraries. While there are areas that could be improved, such as communication, the company's commitment to providing enriching wildlife and cultural experiences is evident. As a YUTO member, they seem to be aligned with the values of promoting youth engagement in sustainable tourism.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
street food and community tours
The team at scb tours helped me and my friends from Denmark who were going to do their medical internships in Uganda. I had 4 Danish internee friends who were interested in rhino, chimps and gorilla tracking. I recommended scb tours and travel and they did an amazing work from the planning , effectiveness in communication. The well detailed itinerary, when it came to hotel bookings. Every hotel was on point ,food were delicious ,and my friends liked local food and the street Rolex (chappati rolled in fried eggs ) the driver and the guide were top notch.
Though they have to improve on their tour van as it broke down twice ,though they made sure that no activity was missed ,apart from that the trip went on well and our memories were captured as promised ,lastly the community tours ,the people of bigodi were the best especially the banana man ,who makes juice and gin or alcohol out of bananas plus the medicine man and the the ladies who performed traditional dances for us ,and displayed their weaving skills
In summary I would recommend scb tours and travel to my foreign friends ,penpals and medical internees
Thanks
Dr Rosemary
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Knowledgeable guide found the big 5!
I had a great 2-night, 3-day Maasai Mara safari experience through SafariBookings.com. Thanks to our exceptional guide Raymond, a true professional with 15 years of game drive experience, we had the privilege of spotting the Big Five. Raymond's knowledge enriched our journey as we witnessed the mesmerizing wildebeest and zebra migration, observed a cheetah on the hunt, and marveled at the elusive rhino and leopard.
The Maasai Mara itself is a stunning park, and even though there were numerous other safari companies present, competing to get to the sighting first. Raymond's expertise ensured we reached the sights before others, adding an extra layer of excitement for us.
The camping site provided much-needed comfort after a day of exploration, offering amenities like hot water, comfortable beds, and charging facilities.
While the food was substandard, it was understandable considering the reasonable price of the trip. My partner is a fussy eater and struggled more than me. Day 1 we had lunch in buffet style on the road, with dinner in the camp, day 2 was breakfast and dinner in the camp with a packed picnic lunch while out on Safari. Day 3 was breakfast in the camp and lunch on the road. We opted out of lunch on day 3 with our whole group wanting to get back to Nairobi ASAP!
Our schedule included a thrilling drive from 4:30 PM to 7 PM on the first day, followed by a full day (7 AM to 6 PM) on the second. Unfortunately, the third day's visit to the Maasai village didn't match the excitement of the rest of the trip. While enjoyable, the very touristy village visit came with high-pressure sales tactics for overpriced items, slightly dampening the experience.
Raymond later dropped us directly at our hotel.
For fellow travelers, bringing cash is recommended, especially for buying beverages at the bar and offering tips to campsite staff and guides. If the group intends to visit the Maasai village, be prepared for additional charges.
Raymond went above and beyond, assisting us with ATM trips and money exchange when we fell short.
Overall, the SafariBookings.com Maasai Mara adventure with Raymond was fantastic, despite a few minor downsides.
DE
Well organised, tailored tour
We (3 people) organised a 8-day tour of Uganda. Home to Africa was very responsive in the planning phase, and the journey was adapted to our requests. We faced a small problem at our arrival in Entebbe, as due to a miscommunication our driver arrived late, but we managed to contact the agency and fix the problem. Our guide driver, Benon, was absolutely perfect. He has a genuine love for nature and animals, and doing game drives with him has been fantastic. His driving is very good. Also the accommodations chosen by the company were very satisfactory. We can warmly recommend them, and in particular, Benon.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good value for money
Safari
Initially me and my friend wanted to do a gorilla trekking only in Uganda but later on decided to extend our trip with a safari. We knew the price of a weekend gorilla trekking would be at least $1000, because the permits are expensive and since we were gonna be in the country anyway, we decided to extend the trip with other activities as well.
We chose this operator because it included all the activities we wanted to do at the lowest price. Other operators were at least $500-$1000 more expensive. The value for money is good. The accommodation you will be staying in will not be luxury, but that’s also not what you payed for. You are able alter the itinerary yourself and we did so with one of the accommodations. We felt as though our guide did not like the accommodation we chose as much as his initial pick, but we were very pleased with our change. It’s therefore good to know you can alter it, but the guide may have a few bad comments regarding your pick.
Peter is a very friendly guide. Especially in the preparation phase, he would respond to messages very quickly. My friend celebrated her birthday during the trip and Peter made sure a (gluten free) birthday cake was prepared and even bought a few gifts for her, which was very thoughtful.
The safari itself was great. We did not expect we had to wake up at 5-6 am so many times, so that was a bit of a shock and resulted in us being exhausted by the end of the trip. That’s why we do recommend to alter the itinerary slightly and have a few more relaxing mornings or afternoons in the schedule, because it’s currently fully packed with activities. We did not expect it to be this tiring, otherwise we would have put a few relaxing moments in beforehand. Additionally otherwise you are together with your tour guide 24/7 (all the activities + meals) and you feel as though you have no quality time with your travel partner able to relax.
The only disappointment activity wise were the lions at Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. One of the reasons why we chose this operator (besides the price) was because it included the famous tree climbing lions where others didn’t. Well during the trip we found out there was a reason other operators did not include the lions, it’s because they are no longer alive unfortunately. We were very shocked to hear this news and even more so because we did not think it was fair that it was included in our itinerary, when they are no longer there. When we expressed this disappointment to our guide, he did not understand. So be prepared that the famous tree climbing lions are no longer there. The park you visit to supposedly look for them, is great to visit anyway! They should however write down in the itinerary that the famous lions are no longer there.
Overall it definitely was a once in a lifetime trip and we were very happy we traveled with Buyaga. The tour it private so you don’t have to share your bus/car with anybody else, which means you always have the best seat to spot animals. Peter made sure he always hired rangers to join us in the car, who were very knowledgable on the area and the animal whereabouts. They even made us go off track sometimes to see lions up close, which was great.
Would definitely recommend this tour and operator!
