AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kenya Safari in August 2025
We booked a 6-day, 5-night Kenya safari for August 2025. We compared multiple providers and ultimately chose a high-season safari in Africa.
Itinerary: two nights in Amboseli, one night in Lake Nakuru, and two nights in the Masai Mara.
On June 19th, we paid our deposit.
On June 23rd, we received our first contract update, changing our hotel in Lake Nakuru. Since there were many nearby hotels, I thought it was a good option.
On June 27th, we received our second contract update, also changing our hotel in the Masai Mara. The new hotel was significantly worse than our previous one (Google rating: 3.9 vs. 4.8) and the location wasn't great either.
On July 31st, 10 days before our departure, we received our third contract update, changing our hotel in Amboseli. It was a nightmare. The hotel was like a two-star hotel, and we didn't even have room for our luggage. The location was terrible, two hours from the park entrance, and the road was terrible. Compared to our original hotel, we had to drive an extra three hours to reach the park.
- Our flight arrived at 5:10 AM, but our driver arrived around 8 AM. Our first day's plan was to do an afternoon safari in Amboseli. We needed to get from the airport to the hotel, rest briefly there, and then head to the park. Remember my last comment about the location of the Amboseli hotel! That day was truly terrible day, full day drive and only 1 hour in the park.
- Our contract stated that in the Masai Mara, we would have an afternoon safari on our arrival day, a full-day safari, and a morning safari on our final day. However, we only had a two-day ticket, which allowing us to enter the park only two days. Also, given the hotel's location, our first afternoon safari would only be one or two hours, leaving us unable to enter the park on our final day. We had confirmed this with our driver from the start, and he said we could enter the park on our final day as long as we departed before 10 AM. If we had known this from the beginning, we would have stayed longer in Lake Nakuru (to get more sleep) and skipped the afternoon safari on our first day. We would have planned a longer safari on our final day, as we would have been returning to Nairobi hotel (not airport).
- Hotels play a crucial role in a Kenyan safari, and we changed all our hotels after we paid. But why three stars, and not the worst? Kenya is truly beautiful, and we felt safe upon our return.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Long but safe
(Theodore)
Good driver. Long trip but safe. We arrive at the airport at time, as planned.
Just 10 minutes to eat but understandable due to the 6hours needed to reach the airport.
US
Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Tarangire
I was quite dissapointed of Arusha. The city is a transient hotspot and not at all safe or even nice. Its the gateway to Kilimanjaro and Safaris. The food is really bland and not so good.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review of Native Voyagers – Safari in Kenya (Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha)
1. Professionalism and Organization
The agency proved to be responsive and punctual in answering all our pre-trip requests. Upon arrival at the airport, we were warmly welcomed by the staff, who outlined the itinerary. A nice and much-appreciated touch was the gift of gadgets (water bottles and hats). However, the proposed itinerary was not optimized: it would have made much more sense to visit Masai Mara – Nakuru – Naivasha in that order, avoiding long and unnecessary back-and-forth transfers.
2. Punctuality
Overall, they were punctual, but the program management was left too much to our own judgment. The guide did not set a realistic schedule, which resulted in the loss of valuable time during the trip.
3. Hotels
No negative remarks here: we had chosen them ourselves from Italy, and they met expectations.
4. Guide
We had requested an Italian-speaking guide to gain deeper insights into the flora and fauna, but the person who accompanied us, although kind and sociable, did not have the skills of a true tour guide. He turned out to be more of an escort than a safari expert. On the last day, the Nairobi tour was limited to an insignificant walk around the city, when we would have preferred a more structured visit.
5. Driver and Vehicle
The driver was reluctant to go off-road, and the vehicle did not match the one shown in the photos: it was very old and lacked a radio for communication. This limited the chance to coordinate with other jeeps, so we often arrived late at wildlife sighting points. In addition, the driver drove very slowly and stuck to the main tracks, without attempting alternative routes. On several occasions, we had to point out where other jeeps had stopped to observe animals.
Conclusion
The overall experience was positive thanks to the unique beauty of the places and the abundance of wildlife, which alone makes the trip worthwhile. However, Native Voyagers’ service needs improvement: a truly knowledgeable safari guide should provide in-depth explanations, greater knowledge of the territory, and a more structured time management. Moreover, a suitable and well-equipped vehicle would make a real difference in wildlife viewing. With a few improvements, the quality of the experience could rise significantly.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Budget friendly option for Kenya safari
Our safari experience in Kenya was unfortunately below expectations due to several issues we encountered along the way.
We started the journey with an old 4x4 Nissan vehicle, which had multiple mechanical problems. On more than one occasion, our driver had to stop to fix issues with the vehicle, costing us valuable safari time. At Masai Mara, the vehicle broke down and got stuck, resulting in a **2-hour delay**. We had to rely on another passing driver (luckily) to take us for the game drive, and our assigned vehicle only rejoined us later in the afternoon around 3:30 pm.
The driver also did not have a radio, which is a crucial tool for wildlife spotting in the reserve. This further limited our chances of maximizing the safari experience.
In terms of accommodation, we were not provided with the camp originally promised in our contract (which was of a higher standard). Although the organizers compensated with a boat ride at Lake Naivasha, it did not make up for the downgrade in accommodation quality.
Our accommodation at Lake Nakuru was really good.
Additionally, poor planning of travel time and multiple vehicle breakdowns (including another repair during the transfer to Lake Nakuru) meant that we lost several opportunities to better utilize our time and include extra activities.
Overall, while Kenya itself is beautiful and the wildlife unforgettable, the logistics, vehicle condition, and lack of proper planning from the safari provider made the trip frustrating and disappointing. Better maintenance of vehicles, honoring of accommodation commitments, and professional planning would have made this experience much more enjoyable.
HK
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't join "night game"
We are one elder couple from Hong Kong. We took 11 days Safari tour in Kenya was one big event for us because it is very expensive. Anyway we think it would be one great experience in our life after retired.
In January 2025, we find Ramesa Adventure via Safaribooking.com. one man called' Lincons" contact us to concern all details. During the discussion period, he offered us
"Balloon US$450 / p and Night game US$100/p". These 2 items can be confirmed when we arrived in Kenya.
Our Safari tour was from 23/July - 3/August. We were really looking forward to this holiday. Therefore we well planned everything half a year ago.
On 23/July 2025, Lincons meet us in Hotel in the morning. It was our first Safari day. At that moment, we confirmed to join" Balloon and night game." But Lincons said the price for Night game is US$200/p. I said" No", before you quoted the price US$100/p not US$200/p. They had 3 persons included the driver - kept saying this game is very full and interesting ....
Finally we paid night game total US$400 for 2 persons because we though we can only visit Kenya once in life, even it is very expensive.At the same we were very highly anticipated something special in this Night game.
Consequently very disappointed-
2 hours Night Game.
How Interesting?
We found not more than 8 aminals, Zebra, Giraffe, Antelopes and one elephant'sbutt . All animals we can find exactly same as day time.
How full ? - only I and my husband in one land cruiser.
We ( 2 idiot) spent US$400 for 2 hrs to look at the stars in the sky.
I understand everything in Kenya is not reasonable expensive. I accepted to paid US $ 100 /p for "Night game" because we made wrong decision but we can't accept they raised prices when we confirmed to join this game.
The next morning, I strongly complained to our diver. He just said he would respond to Lincons who will handle our unhappy.
From that day up to this moment, I do not receive any messages even one " sorry " from Lincons.
We share our unhappy experience with other, we just hope no one is as stupid as us anymore.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Edwin
We saw some very unique things and enjoyed it. But the park has suffered extensive flooding over the past ~5 years making it tough to see animals.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Arusha National Park by Hanne van Meerbeeck
Beautiful park and lots to see
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An average agency
The 8-Day Northern Parks Budget Safari Tent was an average trip. Some aspects could be improved to ensure a better or five-star experience.
The driver was an average driver, but they were not a guide. The information provided was minimal and they showed little initiative. Another thing that could be improved is the tour's organization. Some stops, like the Ngare Sero Waterfalls and the Flamingo Lake walk, could be combined into a single day instead of over several days. Their proximity, the easy walk, and the short duration of the excursions would allow for more time to fully explore Serengeti National Park and observe the animals.
Overall, the trip was nothing special. However, if you are looking for a special experience and a guide who provides at least some information, I recommend evaluating other agencies.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Ok, but more and ealier informations would be good.
The Safari was good. First day we had to leave the park ealier because of others in the car. The infomations came late and some of the people from the hotel had no informations too. So maybe a timetable would be great. The driver switched also (unfortunatly). For this price, the safari was nice.
Maybe next time start ealier to Go to the Parks in high season.