NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
5 out of 5 of the big five on our Kenia Experience excursion.
We did this four day three night excursion with “KE” in conjunction with our Nomad tour.
We were collected from our hotel in Nairobi at 8am for the ~280km, 7.5 hour drive (with a couple of stops) to the Maasai Mara. On arrival at the Olairragai Camp we were greeted by the onsite team and shown to our permanent tents, these were very impressive, large main room and double bed with attached bathroom which included a shower, toilet and hand basin. The camp had set up a wetback hot water system so having hot showers was a real bonus. That same afternoon we visited the neighbouring Maasai Village and learned how they live. Finally on day 1 we entered the Massai Mara National Reserve for the final couple of hours of daylight and within 30 min’s we had been rewarded with sightings of herds of Zebra, Wildebeest and Giraffes which were topped off by a group of Lioness’s feeding on a recent kill watched closely by many Vultures. The preferred Safari vehicles here are 4 Wheel Drive (6 seater) vans with pop up roofs for viewing and photo taking although not as ideal as the 4 wheel drives trucks in the Serengeti they proved adequate & Isaac our driver / guide spoke good English and shared lots of interesting information with us. The second day in the Massai Mara saw us game driving for ~ 11 hours and spotting plenty of game including several Lion and Leopard encounters. So after 2 days we have seen 4 out of 5 of the “Big Five” and on day 3 are leaving the park to visit Lake Nakuru another reasonable travel day traversing the highlands at 2,700 metres above sea level 310km and ~ 6 hours. The accommodation at the Kivu Resort was budget but fine and the resort had a good restaurant and bar and even a 25 metre swimming pool. After settling in we went for our final game drive in the Lake Nakuru National Park, this proved to be so different to the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara as in places the bush was think and close to the road making animal spotting tuff but in other areas it opened up and gave us Rhino (yah 5 out of 5 now) and Flamingo along with plenty of the game animals you would expect to see. The bonus here at the lake are the wonderful water views made available and the changing afternoon sunlight on the water and trees. Final day was the drive back to Nairobi.
Our group was 11 and for that number we had 2 guide / drivers, a cook, an assistant cook, and the crew at the permanent camp in the Maasai Mara.
The game drives in both the Maasai Mara and at Lake Nakuru were good and we saw everything we hoped for other than the Wildebeest migration.
It would be smart to consider how you can protect your camera from the large amount of dust it will endure.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The tour operator was knowledgeable, friendly, professional and accommodative!
I wasn't really prepared for a safari experience as this. The Bushman team were organized, knowledgeable, friendly and absolutely professional. The bookings with the other service providers were to the dot. He gave us ample time to take pictures of the nature that Uganda beholds. Definitely will recommend Bushman to travelers.
20-35 years of age
AR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good service provided!
I went to Lake Bunyonyi and Bwindi for Gorilla Trekking last weekend of June 2021. Sam was extremely kind and attentive all the time, carefully planning every little detail so everything went good, especially taking into account that my decision was 3 days before the trip. He checked in regularly to see that things went smoothly. The hotel and lodge I went were of very good quality. The guide was really nice too, we had minor communication problems that I discussed with Sam, but nothing too bad and something that I suggested to him for future improvement. Overall, I really recommend Katsam Adventures! It's definitely very good value for money!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Half day well spent
We had a good game drive considering it is not easy to spot wildlife in Nairobi National Park. We owe that to our guide, Arony, who navigated the landscape really well. Recommendable half-day tour!
RO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ok operator
hy
Our experience with Swahili Paradise Tour was next - transfer to the mainland and Zanzibar were ok
- Safarii 2 days share with other people : good experience , the driver was awesome , the food from ngorongoro under any criticism (boxed ), to the tarangirwas ok
- accommodation taken at the grandra view lodge through them the price and very good conditions
- Kilimanjaro tour came with a car robbery of not fit 4 people in it. After I contacted Jimmy, they came in a car. The two waterfalls that had to be seen was just one, the table arranged at a restaurant was good
- Stone town tour was ok but one we discussed initially and we had to pay extra.
-Generally an ok experience
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Impressive
When you are going to a place you have never been, you need someone to prepare you psychologically about where you are going, what to expect and what to do. This was made possible from the time I made an inquiry, I confirmed reservation to the time I was being dropped at the hotel. Good job.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Did not meet expectations
After a year delay due to the pandemic we finally made out trip to South Africa. I would first like to say that the Go Touch Down staff were friendly and accommodating. We started our tour at the Seasons Resort and Spa, we would not rate this as a five star resort there were many small maintenance issues that needed to be corrected, from loose door knob, no wash clothes for 4 days, towels not replaced, animal droppings on the miniature golf course playing area, bricks sticking up on with walking path. The restaurant on the property (only one) had a very limited menu offering and than a lot of the items were not available. The elephant sanctuary tour was fantastic, would highly recommend, also enjoyed the hot air balloon ride. The drive from Seasons to Dullstroom for the panoramic route was long however the sights were very beautiful. It started with a grab and go breakfast to enjoy while driving, ( a cheese sandwich, hard boiled egg and an apple) , not a usual American type of breakfast. Made three stops along the way. The Dunkeld Lodge was very nice, we had a late lunch in the 1883 dinning room, in the evening we had an outdoor fire with a dance performance and retreated into the bar area to enjoy the bbq that was prepared. Was a cool temperature for the time of the year but the fireplace in the room kept it warm and cozy. Next morning we left for Humala River Lodge, stopped in Dullstroom, would have enjoyed a longer stop in town, only had 30 minutes to walk around. than a long drive. Once we got to Humala we had to transfer from the van to the game jeep for a 45 minute ride from the entrance out to the lodge. The lodge was everything we expected it to be, little cold as it got down to 39 degrees one night, the game drives we great. The only negative might have been at there is no menu , you get what the cook prepares. For us luckily it was all good and we enjoyed everything but for some people it could be a problem .
Humala was what you expect Africa to be. We again had an outdoor bonfire and Swaziland dancers did a show. Since this is a game reserve the amount and type of animals are limited. Than a long drive back to Seasons Resort. with a stop at Lion and Safari Park. The animals here are in large fenced in areas that you are driven through, have a good variety of animals but it is a captive situation. Next day it was drive to Pilamesberg National Park. again we had grab and go breakfast to eat in the car (tuna sandwich which no one ate) at the park we choose the open jeep and had a very good guide. Highlight here was watching the parade of 17 elephants going to the water hole, the restaurant at the park was closed so we ended up at Blimpies a fast food hamburger restaurant. Next day it was off for the hot air balloon ride which had been delayed from day to until the next to last day. We originally received a very detailed itinerary for the trip, it was however in constant state of flux as tours changed, and due to the pandemic some tours were cancelled or only parts of them were available.
Overall for the cost you get a lot with the tour, meals, transportation in country, some tour guide local tours it is not a high end tour but it is a good tour, more detail to the property maintenance at Seasons and what US visitors are expecting could be improved. Expect to spend a lot of time driving 6 people plus the tour guide in a 2 row van.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly and customer oriented
I booked a two day, one night, lightning tour from Dar Es Salaam to Mikumi National Park through a third party and was connected with Gamily Tours. Gabriel and Peter were both good fun on the long 8-hour drive there and back, and I was lucky enough to see lions on the safari. Accommodation was basic but sufficient.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The complete Safari experience
Great Safari
My guide Patrick was very knowledgeable and his elle eyes spotted all the animals around