50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Attended their 4 day tour to Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru and saw all the BIG FIVE!
As a solo traveller I was impressed by the personal greeting service offered by Okoa. When I arrived at 4am in Nairobi I had a guide meeting me at the coach station. Likewise the guide dropped me off at the coach station in Nakuru so I could take the return coach to Kakamega where I worked as an NGO volunteer.
The accommodation in Masai Mara was basic and they did not cater well for vegetarians. However, the hotel Waterbuck in Nakuru did - indeed well beyond my expectations after my experience in the Masai Masa.
The safaris themselves were excellent! The guide friendly and approachable. We saw all the big fives in Masai Mara and he even took us our an early morning ride, which was not part of the tour!
Lake Nakuru was a little bit disappointing as many birds were gone but part of the countryside was stunning and the hotel great. Overall I great 4 day tour and I would recommend the touring company to my friends!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
warm reception and good facilities
The entire journey was pleasant, and it seemed that they listened to our requests. The stuff demonstrated their professionalism. They should try to keep the standard when I book them next time!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing
The tour itself was really amazing. I had problems with Piero with my bookings before hand though. Paid the deposit and he continuously failed to reply to my emails regarding securing the booking stating he never received the deposit. However after he rejected my calls he sent me somebody else's number who resolved the issue weeks later. The tour itself was amazing. Our whole group loved it. Shout out to Victor who is such a legend. Always happy and helpful. All the staff on safari were great. Bus drivers to kitchen staff.. everyone was amazing.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kilimajaro Climb and a wonderful safari!!!
A very good service from all the team of It Started in Africa. They helped me to plan this wonderful journey and they customized everything according to my demands, always fast in answering. Everything was all right! Kilimanjaro climb: simply great! Good gears, good tents, good and plentiful meals! And the safari simply amazing!!! The guides were nice and prepared and were able to answer to all of my questions.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Selous Game Reserve by arif
great destination .. different from northern circuit .. very diverse type of landscape .. lakes.. bushes .. grasslands .. crocodiles, hippos and some other animals not that abundant elsewhere are in abundance here .. lions are also sighted .. over all a nice place for a safari close to dar es salaam
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great for the budget traveler, with customizable itins and wonderful people
We booked a customized itinerary based on the 7-day Gorillas and Savannah Safari. Richard Kisembo was a joy to deal with electronically in the months leading up to our trip, and he was equally enthusiastic when we finally met in person in Kampala. I was surprised to find out that Richard would not be joining us for our trip. Instead he introduced us to our guide Ahmed, who became our friend as much as our guide over the course of our trip.
I do think that our being young (both under 30) and adaptable budget travelers made this arrangement work out as well as it did. The trip was not luxurious, but it was perfect for us.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
After two trips with Biwakwango, it's like travelling with a close friend
Our trip to Namibia (the second with Biwakwango, after South Africa) for a group of 8 was organised around our specific requirements and interests, and was meticulously planned for over a year. Thierry catered for a all our demands and offered excellent value for money. Highlights of the trip included seeing the Namib desert at dusk and dawn, approaching the Damaraland elephants during a day trek, the endless variety of wildlife in Etosha, and the river trips on the Kavango and Zambezi. We may well return again soon!
BG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good safari
Safari in Masai Mara is once in a lifetime experience. It's amazing to be that close to nature and observe the greatness of the circle of life. Bushtroop offered us a great organization for the 3 days that we had there, a comfortable car and excellent accommodation as well. Our driver Joseph had spent more than 15 years in the Kenyan national parks and was really competent to answer all of our questions and give us more information about the animals. He was very kind and organized our time perfectly. Besides the animals, visiting a Masai village is a must-do.
Online communication with Jacqueline was very good, we made the payments over a secure website and overall we didn't have any problems.
The transfer from Niarobi to Masai Mara is a bit long- 7 hours so for more comfort you might consider flying
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Cool Safari Experience
Communication with booking was smooth, for the most part. The service was good. The guide was very knowledgable and helpful. The tour itself was too long. You don't need to do the evening and the full day. I would suggest just doing a 2 day safari versus the 3. The lodging wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and was quite liveable for the 2 nights. The ride to the safari is rough and extremely bumpy so if you have motion sickness, bring meds with you.
CA
Amazing trip - the guides ensured that we had many memorable experiences.
We booked an 11 day trip through Ewamanns Safaris. Our intinerary in Kenya included the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli in Kenya and in Tanzania - Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Our Kenyan driver Patrick, was excellent. He ensured that we saw the "Big 5" and went out of his way to allow us to experience some very unique animal encounters. He had a text book knowledge of the animals. Communication through Ewamanns Safaris was very good. As we were planning our trip, Erick was very prompt in replying to our emails. Paul met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel where Erick met us the first night. Paul also was a great tour guide as he spent two days touring us around Nairobi (this was not included in our trip price) but was something we had requested. Ken, a very knowledgeable tour guide did an excellent job of taking us on a three hour walking tour of Nairobi. That evening we met with Erick when we discussed expectations for the rest of the trip. Erick arranged our trip to Tanzania through 7 Wonders Safaris. We followed the itinerary closely except for the last few days in Tanzania when the itinerary was changed from 2 days in the Serengeti to 1 day in the Serengenti and Lake Manyara National Park was substituted for the second day. We were fine with this as we saw different ecosystems. Our driver, Victor (from 7 Wonders Safaris) took us to see some beautiful sites in Lake Manyara and while in the Ngorongoro we even saw lions mating! An interesting experience to say the least. The jeep we travelled in was not as comfortable as the van we had used in Kenya. Having our own cook in Tanzania was a nice added touch. Evelyne (7 Wonder Safaris) had a driver pick us up from the Hotel in Arusha and take us to the bus stop where we were to board a trip to Nairobi. The bus driver did not know that our bus trip had been pre-paid. When we gave Eric the receipt for our bus fare, he apologized and promised that he would reimburse this bus fare to us via paypal (I have faith that he will do that).
As we had booked a "low budget" safari we did not expect luxurious accommodations. The hotels were clean and safe. The tenting experience was very basic and often the showers were not hot. I would suggest if you want a little more luxury, then you book a higher level safari (we could have had more comfortable accommodations buy paying more but we could never have had better opportunities to experience the animal sightings we did).
Thank you Ewamanns Safaris for an experience of a lifetime!
We would definitely recommend Ewamanns Safaris and especially enjoyed getting to know our new friends - Erick, Paul, Ken, Robert and Victor and our cook in Tanzania.