IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Easy to reach and to visit, affordable, interesting
I did not expect plenty of wildlife, being a small park surrounded by civilization; however the variety and the amount of game viewing surprised me. We just missed big cats, but the kind of vegetation does not help easy spots; we could see several interesting mammals, including black rhinos. Birding is really worthy, as the quantity and variety of birds is impressive. Access is easy, roads are well maintained and such that even if the park is crowded, you seldom have to share space with other visitor's cars if an interesting spot is made
Review about Shimba Hills National Reserve by Margaret Lamont
A totally different experience. A place to breath after the heat of the coast and to view life around the waterhole and in the lodge.
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Margaret Lamont
Lots of varied landscapes in the Mara. Wildlife exceptional. Again excellent accommodation and welcome
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Margaret Lamont
If you like rhinos this is the place to go
Review about Amboseli National Park by Margaret Lamont
Amboseli is the place for lots of elephant viewing
Review about Aberdare National Park by Margaret Lamont
Wherever you go in Kenya there is something new. Different species, different scenery but always good accommodation
Exciting, beautiful, fulfilling and peaceful
I have visited Samburu on more than one occasion. It is scenically outstanding, the wildlife is varied and prolific, the people are very welcoming and the lodges I have frequented are all excellent. This is my favorite safari destination in Kenya.
Great Park and less people
Lot's of animals. We saw everything we wanted to see including a cheetah, and two lions. We only saw two other Land Cruisers while we were here.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
truly the adventure of a lifetime wonderful reception wherever we visited very friendly country
Our guide really went the extra mile to make it so special very impressed with accomodation and quality of food...highlight was the balloon trip at the break of dawn....fantastic variety of wildlife at every turn...
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything I'd hoped for, and more!
Phinda Private Game Reserve was the first stop on my South African Honeymoon trip. At the end of that trip, I joked to my travel agent that she should always schedule Phinda as the last stop in every tour since nothing you visit after that is going to match up!
Our accommodation was the Phinda Vlei Lodge - a luxurious secluded collection of six cottages with excellent views of the wildlife across the grassland while you take a dip in your private pool. Once you're done with that, the chef Happiness cooks up a stunning meal and later serves it with the biggest smile on her face.
And then there are the game drives. Our tracker and ranger, Muzi and Darren, made an excellent team and we saw a wide variety of wildlife on our six game drives, including four of the big five. We missed out the leopard, but our car did spot one on the first day when we had opted out of the drive as we'd travelled 18 hours to get there. Had we not been so tired (read: "lazy"), we'd have caught all of the Big Five.
The forest at Phinda is beautiful and varied. There's grassland, sandforests, hills, and such other beautiful variety of landscapes too. And the best part, easily the highlight of our stay there, was going for the optional Turtle Trip. Late in the evening, we were taken to Sodwana Bay and we spent a good three hours driving on the beautiful beach searching for turtles in the moonlight. It was a magnificent experience, bettered by the fact that we managed to spot a Loggerhead Turtle that had come on to the beach to lay her eggs.
If ever I get a chance to do so again in my lifetime, I'll definitely visit Phinda once again.