35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Satisfactory, but lacking.
- Booked 9 months in advance.
- Told them early on that we were 5 people (80 year old, 2 retirees & 2 younger) some of whom would not appreciate sleeping too roughly - have emails to prove it. Asked them to find accommodation that wouldn't be too rough.
- First day, upon collection, Mike said "Because we are heading into the busy season, we are having trouble finding accommodation in Tanzania that will be comfortable, so you will probably be sleeping on the floor without a mattress or pillows". A few days before, we had also asked Vinny in a text if we needed to bring pillows and he said "No". You had 9 months to sort that out!
- It was clear throughout the trip that Cover Kenya hadn't booked our accommodation because the guides never knew where we were staying until that afternoon, as we asked them.
- They did in the end find better accommodation, for a price. My husband found suitable much cheaper accommodation in Booking.com, but we had to go with their expensive options.
- We DID see all the animals we had hoped to see, and that was thanks to Kelvin's excellent communication with other drivers via radio & phone within the parks, so well done for that and thank you. Our other driver in Tanzania did not communicate with other drivers except when we stopped to speak with them in person, but luckily we'd seen almost everything we wanted to see by then.
- Kelvin, however, is NOT a tour-guide, he is a DRIVER and that was abundantly clear throughout our Kenyan safari. Not once did he tell us where we were going, what we were doing, if we needed to be dressed warmly for an activity, a briefing or how long the drive would be without us asking. He didn't learn a single one of our names, and even though I asked to see something specific, he said he would show me but didn't. We also told him an activity we wanted to do, and he tried to drop us off in a random town at night - unsafe.
- Both drivers took many phone calls while driving, I understand some of those were for the benefit of the tour (where an animal was etc), however many were private calls. Whatever the company policy is with this I don't know, however it is unsafe to drive for short and long periods with the phone in your hand, especially on those crazy roads - get a Hands-free setup, please! I saw many drivers with hands-free, just neither of ours, it is very unsafe.
- The car was "beeping" the entire time we were in it. I have a recording of it.
- I don't recommend the optional boat trip, however the walking tour with the Zoologist/Biologist was exceptional - however it was a cost that we were not told about until the last moment (and not in any correspondence).
- When we crossed the border, we were dropped off at the Arusha hotel without a word about what was going to happen, who to speak with, what time we needed to be ready etc. Once we messaged Cover Kenya, then we were told - Oh the agent will meet with you at 6:30pm. This happened twice, when we were dropped back to Arusha again, no word of what we needed to do or where to go.
- Booked an All-inclusive trip. Told on the second day that we needed to pay for the park fees in cash extra. Queried this with Vinny - he agreed, but we couldn't, as they hadn't told us in advance, so transferred. Later, upon showing evidence to Vinny of the 'All-inclusive' aspect of the tour, Cover Kenya agreed to return the money. Which they couldn't do via transfer (even though we could do it to them?). This was an unnecessary stress.
- Upon arrival in Nairobi at the end of the tour, we drove to Cover Kenya's HQ, where we met Mike who proceeded to give us the cash, MINUS $100US. Luckily my husband counted it in front of him, when he miraculously found the lost $100 in his pocket.
- Vinny stated that they kept our tour private, however we know that they were trying to find another person/s for the tour, but couldn't.
- We did not feel comfortable giving feedback during the trip about the driver/tourguide, as they were the person solely responsible for us - if they became unhappy with us, we could suffer.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great communication, excellent organisation and friendly staff
I shopped around for a comprehensive safari package at a good price and African Hub were front runners from the start. Their communication was excellent and they were very flexible to our requests. Advice was given in the run up to our Safari to ensure we were going to get the most out of it. On the first day of our 5 day camping Safari we were collected from our Airbnb by our guide, Daniel, who turned out to be an excellent companion for the five days - very friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. We also met our chef, Lina, who followed us on our Safari. She consistently cooked us taste, nutritious meals despite us being a very awkward party consisting on two meat eaters, a pescatarian and a vegan!
The safaris themselves were everything we’d hoped for and having signed up for a camping safari we were very surprised and grateful for two of the nights to be spent in a luxurious en-suite rooms.
All in all we couldn’t fault our trip and would definitely use African Hub again.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wow! What an adventure
From start to finish, the guides were amazing and the scenes were unforgettable. Freddy and Alphonse were a joy to spend time with and incredibly knowledgeable. Two of the lodges were also very memorable- Burundi Tented Lodge and Ngorongoro Farm House.
The company was great, providing suggestions and working with us to make the trip exactly what we wanted it to be. Would absolutely recommend!
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional and friendly
Aina was attentive and professional from our first contact and provided an ideal itinerary for our first trip to Namibia. As I was traveling on my own with three children I was a little nervous but Aina made sure everything was perfect and the trip, accommodation and food far exceeded our expectations. Tuhafeni our guide was amazing and my kids loved him. He was patience and informative and great fun. I cannot fault any part of the booking process or the trip. I would thoroughly recommend Peoples Tours.
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly service and unforgettable memories with Jocky Tours!
We had an amazing 2-night, 3-day experience! A lion walked right past our vehicle, and an elephant crossed behind us—it was incredible to witness these moments up close. Our driver Joshua was very kind and made a great effort to show us a wide variety of animals. Although we were a bit sad not to see rhinos or hyenas, we were still very satisfied overall. The accommodation at Mara Sopa Lodge was also fantastic. Highly recommend Jocky Tours!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous experience
I had such a lovely time. It was great value for money, they took care of everything and were great communicators. Blair was an excellent tour guide. I can't believe how many animals we saw!
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Mobile Safari experience of a lifetime
Martin made booking our adventure so easy and gave us great advice, if you want a hassle free experience then use KingFisher Safari’s.
We booked a 9 night mobile safari in Botswana Okavango Delta with a fantastic team Pilot, Helena, Pauline and Motobi. My wife and I had a wonderful carefree trip, seeing a huge range of wildlife.
Pilot is a hugely experienced guide that respects the animals space unlike a lot of other safari vehicles. His knowledge of animals and navigating the area is truly amazing.
The rest of the team made sure the camp is perfect, the camp chef Pauline creates the most amazing meals and her daily baked bread is to out of this world.
Helena the camp manager is wonderful at looking after you while Motobi the camp hand ensures you have hot water daily.
Going on Safari with Pilot is a fantastic experience that you will remember for a lifetime.
My only advise to would be travellers is book Discovery B&B one night before the Safari and again one night afterwards as avoids having to rush to setup camp or at the end rush to get to the airport.
We will be recommending Kingfisher Safari’s and Pilot to all our family and friends.
Thanks team for a trip of a lifetime.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari to kenya
We did a safari in Kenya of 3 nights and 4 days, we found the tour consistent with what we had agreed, the quality / price was excellent, the staff very kind, and helpful, the only thing that was not good was the very few knowledge of the Italian language of the guide who had to be a guide who spoke Italian as per agreements but it was not so, even if kind and with the desire to learn, but not up to par.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding Safari Guide
We had an incredible 7-day safari thanks to our tour leader, Evans. He is always punctual, well-organized, and extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife, environment, and local culture.
Highlights included close up Rinos, Lion and Elephants sighting and great migration ☺️Friendly, professional, and always helpful — Evans Highly recommended!
US
The tour operator was wonderful and he explained everything.
Exciting Africa Holidays, gave our kids a wonderful educational experience. Zack explained everything in a way they understood, from the animals seen to local culture. Transport was safe and timely. Meals were kid-friendly, and accommodations had all we needed. Absolutely worth the money — family-friendly excellence.