50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good and efficient service
We booked a a safari to the Masi Mara with holiday dealers, staying at the Mara Explorer camp and they provided a personal guide for the three days, he was called Wilson and was excellent.
Holiday dealers provided good and fast service through the booking process and in the run up to the safari.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Vacation well organized company
This trip to the East Africa was my 1st experience with Wildlife ever. Magical Retreat and Pamela were very professional but also kept the promise of giving the best quality agreed upon. It was due to the mere trust we had in each other that's how I had booked a 6Day tour for African Game drive with complimentary African Bumpy massage. We wanted a luxury trip which it was as well as had been offered good driver from Nairobi and back. Our guide and driver Livingstone Msagha was very good in sighting animals and very patient as a person. His pateince paid off as we could see the Great Migration at Maasai Mara, as he insisted to remain there for 2-3hours. Kudos to his hardwork to drive us around on such unpaved roads of safari.
I only wish if I had got better stay instead of Sopa Loadge - Maasai Mara like I was offered in Sweetwaters (Serena Camp) and Lake Nakuru - Sopa Lodge. The Maasai Mara Sopa Lodge was bit disappointment Old and after seeing the other property it dint seem as Luxury (not worth at all) . Even at Nairobi Airport I wish Pamela had few SIM card for the client during their stay to reduce the hassle of waiting at airport. We ended up buying Airtel, it had pathetic service in the Rift valley and being local there they should know better 'SafariCom' had better coverage.
The Ballon ride experience was incredible, thanks to the weather and so was the Thomson Waterfall & Lake Naivasha's (huge freshwater Lake) Boat ride as suggested by Pamela. Worth it !
Overall the safari was Awe-inspiring and it was all because of the Magical retreats & adventures Tours team work.
A great destination for a day-trip from Nairobi, if only for a visit to the gorge.
A local friend of a friend drove us to the park; the traffic was very slow on the day so we didn't get much time to go around, but the walk in the gorge was well worth it. It demanded some scrambling on rocks and the local ranger was really good at keeping us safe. Walking between the gorge walls with volcanic glass on the ground was quite an experience, so were the hot springs seeping from the rock. We did not get to see much wildlife except vervet monkeys and some giraffe but friends who visited the day before saw baboons and more.
SA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience because of Cosmos, our driver and guide!
Service: Great car, great driver and guide "Cosmos". He is the best! Ask for HIM!!
Accommodation: Bare Basic camping (toilets were dirty, but were cleaned after complaining.)
Safari: As good as it gets
Food: Good
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Layed back and flexible with some unforgettable experiences.
SP was very comfortable and down to earth. There could be a little polishing up of some of the details-like being a little more timely, and expanding the menu, but the lodgings overall were wonderful, with some incredible, remote, and gorgeous settings. And Benjamin was a great guide on the safari parts- patient and knowledgeable- while other drivers were racing by he was seeing the birds, trees and hidden animals.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great for a first time family safari combined with other activities
We had a great family holiday with our 2 teenagers. Loved the experience of travelling on road through Kenyan towns with our guide David who worked tirelessly to ensure we had a good time and could fit in as much game viewing as possible. The van (which we had for ourselves only) was well maintained with comfy seats which helps on the very bumpy approach road to Masai Mara. David even washed the windows in the evening to ensure we had good viewing the next day. A really nice touch! Accomodations good (although if returning I would try to stay inside Mara not on the outside, but with 4 of us we were working to a budget) , and the company promptly changed it where it did not match the description in our intenary. Our cook Moses produced good meals and breakfast was much more ample than expected . Fresh eggs or pancakes (or both) every day! We loved Lake Nakuru, so scenic, we hadn't been sure whether to include this but so glad we did. We saw lions, and a rhino cross right in front of us, aswell as heaps of beautiful birds, and monkeys in the trees. Masai Mara a little busy at that time of year, but wow , we saw a pride of 12 lions along with cheetah munching its recent conquest. We also saw zebra and wilderbeest crossing the Mara river. We loved Elsamere at Lake Naivasha, go there if you can, to stay or just for a visit and tea on the lawn. Wonderful service and beautiful spot. We also enjoyed Green Crater lake walk and lunch right on the very peaceful lake at the end. Great value for money with this company and we would definitely use them again if we return on safari.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great discovery of the wonders of Kenya in a 6 days / 5 nights budget safari
Reactive and reliable communication with Peter, a great help to organize our safari.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
We booked a five day safari to Selous and Mikumi NP. Before going on safari we were a bit worried since we didn't have to pay deposit and everything was arranged via whats app. Upon arrival at Dar es Salaam I met the owner of the agency and everything was perfectly fine. They picked us up and together with another couple went to Selous. The first camp was beyond expectations. Great view and the tents were quiet luxurious. The boat safari was great to experience as well. The walking safari is more a bush walk and was quiet disapointing. The game viewing was beyond expectations and we saw many animals. During the five days we had a cook and he made sure that everyday we had good food with fresh ingredients. Our driver William was very helpful and explained us many things. The camp in Mikumi was a bit more basic. The park is less touristic which was nice. Overall, we had a great safari!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a fantastic safari!
All in all I'm really pleased with the service provided by Amazing Memories Safaris, with only a couple of minor issues encountered (hence why I felt I couldn't honestly give the full 5 stars).
Right from the beginning in the planning stage, Anne was super helpful, replying to all my emails and giving plenty of information. We ended up doing a 12 day tour of Kenya and Tanzania. When we arrived at the airport the driver's were already waiting for us and were very friendly and welcoming.
Our driver for the Kenyan part of our trip (9 days) was Joseph, and I cannot speak more highly of him! He was incredible! He was so friendly, always chatted to myself and my partner on the long drives between national parks, was extremely knowledgeable and very good at spotting wildlife. He was very patient and worked hard to spot the wildlife we wanted to see, and as such Kenya (the Masaai Mara in particular) was the most successful part of our trip, providing sightings we will never forget.
Our driver for the short Tanzanian part (3 days) was still very good, a nice guy who did his job just fine, but we felt he lacked the passion and enthusiasm of Joseph so that part was not quite as enjoyable for that reason.
All the accommodation (except one night) exceeded my expectations as we had just booked a mid-range tour. The lodge/permanent tents were very clean and comfortable and some in particular were in such beautiful locations, with the food always amazing and all the staff extremely well trained with brilliant customer service. The only night we had an issue was our third night near Lake Naivasha/Hell's Gate. We were only told that morning that our accommodation had changed from the original plan as Anne had wanted to give us an "upgrade". Obviously after hearing this we were quite excited and expecting something lovely. On arrival at the hotel, we found it lacked that "African bush" feel all the other lodges had as it was part of a small but busy town and was set up as a normal hotel with rooms in buildings rather than separate permanent tents. We were greeted by the only other tourist in sight (it seemed to cater more to locals) coming up to me and warning us to be careful as she had her wallet, phone and passport stolen the previous night, which instantly made us uneasy and worried about this leg of our trip. Our room was clean and comfortable enough, but the food was absolutely shocking, almost inedible! Furthermore, whereas all the other lodges welcome tour guides and accommodate and feed them, this place would not take our guide Joseph who then was forced to leave and find his own accommodation elsewhere, which we felt was very unfair. Upon further investigation we learnt the lodge we were supposed to be booked at was currently under renovation, so we would have much preferred the honesty of being told this rather than being told we'd been "upgraded". In the end it was only one night of the trip and not a huge deal, but it perhaps would have been nicer to have been told more in advance and offered to upgrade to one of the nicer lodges in the area (of which there were a few), even if that meant we paid a bit more.
The only other issue we faced was when we left the Serengeti we questioned whether a single day there was really enough. When we later looked at our itinerary we discovered we were supposed to receive an additional evening drive (usually 4pm-6:30pmish) on our first evening there, which was never given as an option. We also were never given the optional activity of a night drive, which the camp offered, and were not told the camp had no ATM facilities which meant we weren't able to book this ourselves as we didn't have enough cash.
I will counter these small complaints with a couple of ways in which Anne did go out of her way to provide us with good service, though. Our last day I asked to visit the Giraffe Center and the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, which was not included in the original itinerary of the trip. She provided these extras to us with not additional charge, even though it meant a whole extra day on the tour, with us just paying for the additional nights accommodation.
On our final night we were supposed to stay at the Hilton, however due to the controversy with the Kenyan elections Anne thought it was unsafe for us to stay directly in the city with all the protests happening, so last minute she managed to change our accommodation to somewhere equally as nice, but further out from the city so much safer. We really did appreciate this.
Besides the couple of small issues, our safari really was amazing and myself and my partner are extremely grateful and generally very happy with the experience. Thank you very much, we definitely would consider booking through Amazing Memories Safari's again, especially if the itinerary is able to be followed more closely!
Thanks again,
Mel and Jared
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful experience with Savannah Explorers. Very patient, competent and helpful staff
all very well, above our expectations. In particular the choice of accommodation, tour stages and punctuality