50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Two of four tour operators have professionalism issues
First and foremost, we the team sincerely appreciated for the safari company Thinkk and its representative Ms. Muthoni’s assistance for a good time in the most of 10-day safari in Amboseli, Nakuru, Maasai Mara, and Lake Naivasha. Your country offers unparalleled Safari experience in an unmatched animal kingdom. The itinerary was very smooth and well planned, diversified for our big group with different interests and preferences. Food was good and tasty in some camps, lodging was very good except Nyati Safari Camp near Amboseli. I heard a lot of complaints about Nyati camp with its facility and environment. It was not what we paid for. But, it was okay. It’s within our tolerance. In the safari game drive, we saw a lot of elephants, zebras, wildebeests, lions, hyenas, cheetahs, all kinds of antelopes, various kinds of exotic birds, and a male leopard unexpectedly. I have been Serengeti Wildlife Park twice in Tanzania and viewed leopards in a very long distance. Here in Maasai Mara, the male leopard was right in front us, resting in the bushes and licking its paws. After more than two hours waiting , the leopard gracefully climbed on the tree munching its prey, an antelope cached earlier, maybe the night before. We could see the broken bones dropping and blood dripping. After its feasting, it nimbly climbed down in the same route up. We also had a breathtaking hot air balloon ride in Maasai Mara. Below our balloon on the early morning, the sun leapt out eastern horizon, the wild spread out in every direction, the remote mountain silhouette made me imagine the long history and mystery of old Africa, the meandering rivers glistened under the sunrise, African acacias swayed slightly with cool morning breezes, and animals grazed and roamed willingly on the vast green plains. The balloon ride was safe and one of the highlights in our safari, etched in our memory forever.
Nonetheless, there were some issues with safari guiding and professionalism during the short 10-day safari.
On the way to Maasai Mara, one of the first seafarers complained the guides made an unnecessary stop, not too long from the last stop as he was eager to have a game drive in the well-known animal kingdom - Maasai Mara National Reserve. As an experienced safari guide, Richard should absolutely not escalate the undesired situation and had an almost out of control argument with his customer. In my professional opinion, Richard should coordinate with the team lead Stephen for a convincing explanation why we had an extra stop or maybe not even an extra one. After Stephen knew the hot argument, he was a little furious and showed his somewhat anger to my partner and myself in the rest of the day, which shocked and awed my partner momentarily.
On the afternoon we got to Maasai Mara lodge, Stephen made a decision to leave at 4pm for a game drive. He showed very annoyed because one couple didn’t show up yet at the gathering point. He proclaimed on-time is number one for a professional. I reminded him we were on vacation. After the couple showed up and got in the vehicle, I showed him my watch, it was exact 4pm. The couple might be the last ones showing up, but they were not late. On the following morning, we were supposed to leave the camp at 6am sharp. We were all at the lodge front at or before 6am. Stephen and his team showed up at least half an hour late. When he got into the vehicle he found our lunch boxes were left at the camp kitchen and had to go back to get the boxes. That morning we headed out for a game drive approximately 45 minutes later than scheduled determined by him. Obviously Stephen has double standards in regards to punctuality.
Truthfully, Stephen is an experienced and knowledgeable safari guide. He claimed he began his safari career since 1994. So, he knows a lot of guides/drivers, park rangers, government officials and others. He had too much social with his acquaintances, sometimes long conversations during game driving. Though Stephen is knowledgeable about animals and birds, he seldom provided information in depth, just animal names and few basics. If we asked more he would show annoyed and impatience. He also liked to play mean-spirited and nonsense jokes, making us uncomfortable. In one incident, he even bit my leg, half-jokingly, half furious to show his irritation and uncontrolled anger. This is completely unacceptable.
In the customer service industry, people pay the service upfront and give tips for good or excellent services at the end. I believe we paid good money for the safari service, lodging, food, and good tip ($15 per day per person. This is also in the suggested range in the contract). We also offered incentives for happy, thrilling, and unforgettable encounters like wildebeest crossing the Mara River and any hunting by the Big Cats. Unluckily, we didn’t have either. However, the guide Richard approached me demanding more money after we had a good time photographing/videotaping the male leopard aforementioned. Was this supposed to be included in the contracted services and tips? Nevertheless, my team was cooperative and generous to give each driver extras (good amount) beyond the suggested tips.
Before I complete my review, let me compliment the other two guides - Duncan and Gerald. These two guides consistently showed their professionalism, dedication, patience, kindness, and their caring for our interests. When I come back to another safari, I would feel lucky if they are my drivers, they are preferred.
Thank you again for your organizing this safari for us. In addition to viewing and photographing lovely animals, we also enjoyed talking and interacting with the beautiful people, their hospitality enriching our safari experience, and viewing the stunning landscape, including the Great Rift Valley, of your country. I have to admit I love Kenya and will come back again.
Last but not least, on behalf of the whole team, I wish you continued success.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Hell’s Gate National Park by Juan
Getting into the actual park was kind of a hustle between all the forms you have to fill and no easy payment options.
TW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operator and guide,James Mwaura, are diligent and responsible, taking good care of us.
Although the tour operator and guide ,James Mwaura, were good, the campsite built by the Super Eagles ruined the experience. Such a good global company should not provide clients with an unfinished campsite.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Hell’s Gate National Park by Alessandra e Simone
The park have a good natural scenario and some herbivorous easily visible due to the lack of predators, on the other side the park is small and not so spectacular compared to other parks in Kenya.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tarangire National Park by Yiheng
The Tarangire was the first national parks we've been to, and we feel it was quite simplistic, the elephants are the monopoly animals.
NZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great start to our safari, disappointing final day
My wife and I organized a 6-day safari from Nairobi to Mombasa with Aanika Karibu Safaris in July. 5 out of the 6 days were great, no complaints at all. We were able to see a lot of wildlife each day (no rhinos or leopards, but that’s fine).
Unfortunately there was a breakdown in communication regarding the final day. Initially, the company was supposed to organize train tickets for us from Voi to Mombasa, but this didn’t happen, and we weren’t told why. A different driver was then assigned to us to take us to Mombasa, but this was a complete disaster. Firstly, he was not a confident driver, and he drove at snail’s pace, meaning we arrived into the city hours later than what we were told. When we got to the outskirts of Mombasa, he didn’t know where he was going, and we had to try and navigate him through the chaotic streets with the use of Google Maps, which was very stressful. To make matters worse, we were stopped by police. The driver told us it was because he saw us foreigners in the car, and wanted some money. However, I don’t think this was true because the police asked for his driver’s license and eventually took him away somewhere. The police never asked us directly for money. After about 10 minutes, the driver returned and we were able to finally arrive at our destination. It was a really frustrating and stressful end to our safari.
Aanika Karibu should have communicated with us as to why they weren’t able to obtain the train tickets, and they should have been more responsible for our wellbeing on the final day.
Aanika Karibu, if you’re reading this, please work on your communication skills and make sure your customers get to their final destination safely. You are still responsible for them up until the final day.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Delivered on a safari, but with major logistical/communication issues
Overall, this operator delivered on a safari experience, although there were significant issues (chiefly around communication and logistics) that make it hard to recommend them given their high prices.
I went with a large group that booked a full-day safari in Nairobi for US$200 per person. ESA came to our hotel to collect payment, but gave different members of the group different times, resulting in some confusion. On the day of the safari, our group showed up on time but was delayed in leaving by well over an hour without explanation. Perhaps this is just due to cultural differences around punctuality, but it meant we later ran out of time to complete our itinerary.
The safari vehicle seemed similar to ones used by other operators (I'd recommend holding on during bumpy portions to avoid head injury). On the safari portion in Nairobi National Park, our driver, Tim, did a good job of finding animals for us to observe. He was able to identify them all, but often had little to say beyond "that's a [species name]". I would have appreciated more information about the history/ecology of the park and fun facts about the animals we saw.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Centre were included in our package. The former went smoothly, but at the latter, there was some issue with picking up our tickets. We had to wait around an hour before it was resolved and we were able to go in, and there was little communication either during or after to explain it. Between them, there was a stop at a gift shop that hadn't been on our itinerary where we rendezvoused with the other vehicle in our group.
We got to lunch, at Babette's Fine Dining Restaurant in the Karen Blixen Coffee, around 2pm. It was a very fancy meal, with a well-presented multi-course menu, a beautiful garden view, and amenities like hot towels. The water, which wasn't included, cost us around US$40.
Tickets to the Karen Blixen Museum were included in our tour, but by the time we finished lunch around 4:30pm, we had run out of time due to the earlier delays and therefore opted to go back to the hotel. We did not (to my knowledge) receive any follow-up communication about our experience.
I would advise ESA to improve their logistics operation to reduce the likelihood of delays, and to work on communication so that participants have clear expectations for the tour and so that, when issues do arise, they do not cause more disruption/confusion than they have to. Offering financial compensation for major issues, like we experienced, would also be reasonable.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Nice and polite guy
Tarangire-Safari was good, but unfortunatly a bit short. We ate and left the park pretty early because of the other guests in the car ( they had a plane to get).
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
As far as i can tell, good.
As far as I can tell, so far so good. I don't know what to sai about it because we had to to the review before i made the full trip.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The guide/driver was excellent. The hotel arrangements and travel efficiency can be improved.
The guide was an expert on almost everything of the Safaris. His services and timeliness was excellent. Overall the day plans combined with hotel locations can be improved so more time can be allocated to game drives. Three of the five hotels are above average and two are below. Hotel services are all good.