SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good if your main goal is seeing the big five
Good information for reservation process and content of booking. A few weeks before trip start I heard nothing so I contacted the company about how we are going to meet up etc. After one repetition of questions I got all the answers. I would have wanted to get more information eg about shared tour meaning other companies are involved. Eg guide was not through Josh dreamland. Guide did not give much facts during the tour, a private guide would have been more engaged maybe. Guide did engage solving a problem with our booking while on the road and was very helpful to other guides when they got caught in sandbank and even were in a car accident. Our guide drove very safely. Cooks were excellent. We saw four of the big five during the two day tour and even a cheetah so I am happy with what I saw, Tarangire was great, Ngorongoro not exactly worth all driving.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Recommend Guide but the vehicle condition is not good enough
Overall, the experience was okay, but this was entirely thanks to our excellent guide, Peter. If you book with Amazing Memories, be sure to request Peter in advance. He has been a guide for 18 years and knows everything about Nakuru and Maasai Mara National Park. He managed to show us leopards twice and cheetahs twice! Peter was incredibly patient, kind, always punctual, and reliable. It’s fair to say that he made our safari truly unforgettable.
The pre-trip communication with Nevill was also very good—he carefully adjusted the itinerary based on our needs and provided a reasonable quote accordingly.
However, it’s important to point out some issues. The transport team from Amazing Memories did not properly check the vehicle condition before our departure. Our vehicle broke down right after we set off, and we had to stop for repairs twice on the way to Nakuru. As a result, we missed the evening safari on the first day. Also, due to the vehicle change, we had to switch guides, which caused further delays—meaning we also missed the early-morning safari. Although this was how we ended up with Peter, the vehicle issues still caused a lot of wasted time, and for that reason, I can’t fully recommend the company in this regard.
Additionally, compared to other safari vehicles we saw during the trip, both our initial and replacement vehicles from Amazing Memories were noticeably older and more worn out. If you do choose Amazing Memories, make sure to confirm the condition and age of the vehicle beforehand—and don’t forget to ask for Peter as your guide.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience that was almost perfect, if your operator was better!
The tour was low-budget, so we weren’t expecting anything luxurious. Our “tour guide” was a great driver, but not much of a guide. He was not at all communicative and didn’t explain much. The food was good and the camping was fair. The facilities of the first two nights could have used some tlc. The restrooms and showers were VERY filthy. I am not one to complain, so I really mean what I say. It was surprising. In the end, though, the experience was incredible and we loved it. Those few things would have just added to it, instead of detracting.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
More Expensive for More Information but Not Neccessarily a Better Tour
I went on the 14 day Combined Kenya-Tanzania Safari. I chose Inspired Feet because of their positive reviews, excellent e-mail communication and detailed itinerary. Fiona was professional and answered all my questions. I had multiple guides but Francis and Godana in Kenya were the best and deserve a shout-out for their service.
I thought I would be with one group the whole time but I was not. This was disappointing to me as a solo traveller. Unless you are on a private tour, you will be on "joining safari" which means you share a car with multiple people from different tour companies. People may have different itineraries. I changed cars 3 times in Kenya and 2 times in Tanzania. It was nice to meet new people and have different drivers but it made it harder to form a bond with people. This was because I had a longer itinerary than most people (it was the extra day in Kenya compared to others that threw things off).
The value for money is OK. I met people who had the same itinerary as me but paid less. I thought I was getting value out of a more detailed itinerary book but honestly it was not worth it. When you get on the safari everyone is figuring things out as they go anyway. Go with the tour company with the best price that hits the destinations you want. The extra information about the destinations in the book and about the hotels was not worth paying what I estimate was 10-15% more than what others did (at least). I would recommend upgrading to the jeep for Kenya though - it is essential and I didn't see any vans in the parks.
Inspired Feet did not communicate with me after I paid the deposit. I was on my own for my visas and had to message them about scheduling the transport from the hotel to their office. Other tour operators did this for their clients so I would have liked more communication.
I was recommended the 14 day itinerary because it was "the most popular option". This was not my experience. During my trip, I did not meet anyone doing the same itinerary (with Inspired Feet or another company). Most people do Kenya OR Tanzania. I did 7 days in Kenya but most people I met were doing 5 days. In Tanzania, I did 6 days but most people do 4. If you want to go to Kenya and Tanzania and want to save money/time, do the 10 day itinerary - it skips Lake Naivasha, Lake Manyara and Tarangire Park, which aren't as popular or good of parks. I preferred Kenya over Tanzania so I would do 6 days in Kenya (having 2 full days in Masai Mara was worth it). The drive to the Serengeti in Tanzania included 4 hours of the worst roads I've ever seen. I thought the Masai Mara was much better for wildlife because it is more dense part. Only go to the Serengeti if it is a bucket list item. The Ngorongoro Crater was highly underwhelming - cool landscape but it really is just a hole in the ground with few animals. Despite this, I enjoyed having a longer trip because I did see new things everyday and could appreciate all the parks at a slower pace. The 4 day run doing Serengeti and Ngorongoro is absolutely brutal - I am glad I had 2 extra days to break it up.
Would I recommend Inspired Feet? Yes and No. Their service was quality, the tour was great and I had a good time. It was expensive for a budget safari and I don't think I should have been recommended the 14-day tour.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not bad
The flight time was changed, which was inconvenient, but overall everything else was fine.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice Safari
We had 5-days trip with this tour operator. Our guide was very nice and and he gave us a lot of info about the animals and the places we saw. The accomodations selected for us were all very beautiful and comfortable. The only bad part of the story was the car with poor mantainance: the tires did not have any tread, there was no wi-fi inside and no a/c.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall a Average Safari
Overall, the experience was average. There are some important points that need improvement.
Negative aspects:
The main issue was the scheduling and travel times. According to the itinerary, on the first day we were supposed to arrive at Masai Mara around lunchtime and have a game drive in the afternoon. However, we only arrived at 4 PM, and the park closed at 6:30 PM.
On the third day, we travelled from Masai Mara to Amboseli Park, and the journey took much longer than expected. The proposal mentioned we would arrive around lunchtime, but we only got there at 6 PM, with the park closing at 7 PM.
As a result, on those days we barely had any time for safari activities, even though we paid the park entrance fees. At one point, we were even advised to go straight to the accommodation instead of entering the park, but the entrance fee would not have been refunded.
This was quite disappointing for us, as we were expecting plenty of time for game drives, but ended up spending too much time on the road instead.
About the organization:
Peter, who handled all the arrangements, always replied quickly to our messages, which we appreciated. However, at the same time, it often felt like he wasn’t fully attentive or dedicated to our questions. During the trip, he was not flexible when we raised concerns about the limited time we had in the parks, which added to our frustration.
Positive aspects:
Our driver and guide, Songe, was good. He really tried his best to make up for the lost time and to follow the itinerary as planned. As he mentioned, the people who design the itineraries are in the office and don’t really understand the reality of travelling on the ground.
The accommodations were also very good and matched our expectations. And, of course, the safari itself - the game drives - were fantastic. Our driver worked very hard to show us all the animals, and that made the experience truly memorable.
TW
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We felt like John lied to us, the rest are good
Our trip in Kenya at 8 days. First three days we went to Amboseli, the guide is Reuben. He was really great, actively looking for animals and finding locations to take photos for us. Then we went to Masai Mara , the guide change to John and our nightmare started.
John lied to us He wanna deceived us for additional $400 Maasai Mara park fee. We called Dume’s boss-Henry to check there was no extra fee, then John started felt angry and maliciously shortening the Safari time and treat us very bad like verbal threats and provocations and rejected any service like pulling up the Safari car roof, taking our luggages and so on.
John never actively searches for animals during safaris (he doesn't even have his own binoculars). He told us to searched the animals by ourselves. He simply drives around, and only finds animals by following the group of parked safari vehicles.
On our way back to Nairobi from Naivasha, John, without prior notice, took a stranger (John claimed to be his wife) into our safari vehicles and brought her back to Nairobi.
We talked to Henry twice to report John's malicious actions. Henry repeatedly insisting that John was "his friend and a good person" and simply saying he would discuss the matter with John. So we simply requested that John behave in a normal so that we could complete the rest of our trip smoothly. But still disappointed us, he still not change.
After the trips, Henry finally called us and we repeatly told him about John's bad behavior from the first day. He finally apologized to us and treated us a lunch to make amends.
When we got back home, Henry called me again, saying that Dume have two John. And he already fired John. So be careful, maybe he will go to another safari company. （The photo is John）
Except for John, Reuben and Naivasha Hill‘s gate bicycle guide Sammy (He had his own planned path which is very beautiful and he took really good care of us) are great! All stars were given to them but John minus all the stars.
