ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safary, poor organization
Our overall experiencie was pretty good because we could see tons of animals and the big 5 but there where things about the company that didn't work well:
In the website offers it's said that they do the game drives with 4x4 vehicles and a picture of a "jeep" appears, but when we asked in the office they said that they only have pop-up roof minivans and they had to speak with safaribookings to change it. For the moment, they didn't...
We where supposed to sleep in a guesthouse in lake nakuru that was surrounded by nature but they said we could sleep in an upgraded place so we accepted and it turned out to be a hotel in nearest town, which for us was a "downgrade".
We also had to change our guide/driver on our way fron Nakuru to Masai Mara. This is not a problem but it was strange. It was even stranger that the second guide we had to meet was suposed to be "Paul" and it was "David" without informing.
David was great but he knew nothing about our itinerary and he asked us what was it. He had to call the company a couple times to solve his questions.
To end, the day before we left, our car had a problem in the engine inside the Masai Mara and we had to leave the park stopping every 5 minutes. The next day, we had to wait until the engine was fixed to leave to Nairobi.
TH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Madikwe Safari - all you could ever want and more!
We just arrived back from SA yesterday and all in our group agreed we had a great time on the Madikwe safari. Transfers to and from the lodge were punctual and comfortable and the driver was careful, cheerful, knowledgeable about SA, and happily answered all our questions throughout the 4 hour drive! The lodge too, Bush House, was very comfortable - a real oasis in the desert. The food was good and plentiful and the staff were very friendly and attentive. One of our group celebrated a birthday while we were there and was thrilled by all the surprises they provided on her special day. The waterhole and hide at the lodge were a real bonus, providing great animal viewing between game drives and fabulous photo opportunities as well. The game drives themselves offered up almost everything there was to see in Africa - lions, cheetah, elephants, rhinos, buffalo, wild dogs, eland, oryx, impala, kudu, hyena ...and more. Furthermore, our guides Stuart and Michael were both really friendly and a wealth of information.
Andre, thanks so much for your arrangements - we will be recommending both Safari With Us and Madikwe to any friends who want to safari in SA in the future.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We were traveling in July 2017 at Kilimanjaro Tarangire and Ngorongoro, was great
Everything we had booked about Furahia has been wonderful. The transfer to the jeep was great. The drivers on the safari communicated very well, explained many things and gave experiences and knowledge of the animals and continued very well. It took us all 9 people very much fun with the trekking company Furahia to travel anytime again kind regards from the Swiss Marc
Everything we had booked about Furahia has been wonderful. The transfer to the jeep was great. The drivers on the safari communicated very well, explained many things and gave experiences and knowledge of the animals and continued very well. It took us all 9 people very much fun with the trekking company Furahia to travel anytime again kind regards from the Swiss Marc
Everything we had booked about Furahia has been wonderful. The transfer to the jeep was great. The drivers on the safari communicated very well, explained many things and gave experiences and knowledge of the animals and continued very well. It took us all 9 people very much fun with the trekking company Furahia to travel anytime again kind regards from the Swiss Marc
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Masai Mara Safari and Lake Nakuru - Wonderful experience!
We booked 4 days - 3 nights safari with Sunsplash in Masai Mara + Lake Nakuru (budget camp). Our contact was Erick Otieno but Daniel was our driver during whole trip. The experience in Masai Mara is been unforgettable. We were very lucky because we saw all Big Five in one day. Lake Nakuru, instead, has not been very interesting.
If you could go back, I'd do 3 whole days in Masai Mara and 1 whole day in Naivasha+Nakuru.
Do 4 days-3 nights means do one day and half of safari and half day in Nakuru (2 half days are necessary to arrive there). Not enough time for Nakuru and short time for Masai Mara.
For this reason I suggest 4 days - 3 nights for only Masai Mara Safari and 5 days - 4 nights for Masai Mara + Lake Nakuru.
My experience with Sunsplash was good.. I I recommend them.
I put 4 stars because some things are been changed respect our program... although not in relevant way.
UY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good!!
Everything was well planned, we spent a great time with the chef and guide. higly recommended.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was a four nite, five day exiting family trip.
Very good and educative trip with variety of sites to tour. We set off from Malaba. Slept in Naivasha at Sopa Lodge, The second nite and 3rd nights were spent at AA Lodge with a full of game drive though Mara game Reserve. Fourth night was spent at Nakuru Sopa Lodge aft a game drive.
We saw all the big five. Three Lion prides, Buffalos, Wild beast, Rhinos, Zebras, Elephants and Flamingos.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good time with our driver Joshua during our 7 days trip
We had a nice time with Joshua during our 7 days safari. He was punctual all days.
He drived well in allthe parks we went, even when the roads were in bad conditions.
He managed to drive and look for animal at the same time, what we found really impressive.
I recommend you to book a safari with Jocky tours because of the quality- price relation.
I was happy with the price we payed after negotiations because all the people we talked with had payed more for similar packaged tours (same campings, food, itineraries).
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A well-run and friendly company
We did the six day Maasai Mara-Lake Nakuru-Amboseli safari, and an honest review is complicated. (1) The company itself is five star. They are reliable, honest and easy to deal with and I cannot recommend them more highly. It is a little scary making arrangements with people half-way around the world in a place you've never been, so please let me assure you that if you use Flash McTours you are in good hands. (2) The Guide. He (I think they are all hes) is the most important part of your trip. Ours was top-notch. Leonard was knowledgeable and friendly, and he made our safety and enjoyment his priority, often going out of his way to make things right. He is undoubtedly a five-star guide and is probably a five-star human being as well. (3) The equipment. Here we didn't fare so well as two out of our six days were marred by car trouble. This happens. However, we spent two hours standing by the side of a dirt road on our first day due to electrical problems, and finally had to be sent on to our camp in two other vans kind enough to stop and give us rides. At the end of our game drive the second day, the problems resurfaced and although we wanted to go back to camp, we had to join another group willing to take us and spent hours more crowded in with them before we could get home. Leonard did his best under the circumstances and he deserves to be commended. Owner Peter apologized for the inconveniences, but of course it did detract from the trip. (4) Itinerary. It's hard to hold the tour company accountable for travel difficulties, but not offering more options and information is my one complaint. I do have suggestions to help others. You need to ask a lot more questions than I did! (4a) Travel time. Maps and tour descriptions gave me the idea that driving between game reserves would be a 3 to 4 hour process. This is NOT TRUE. Four out of the six days we spent 8 or more hours just traveling from place to place. Not game viewing. This is the time (not mileage) equivalent of deciding to drive from New York City to Salt Lake during a six day vacation meant for other sight seeing. The time on the road itself is exhausting. (4b) Road conditions are worse than you imagine. In particular going to Maasai Mara involves over four hours BOTH ways on a highly rutted single lane dirt road. I live off of highly rutted single lane dirt road in the mountains of North Carolina, so I'm pretty comfortable with one, and I thought the drive was brutal. (4c) Lodging. We all want to travel cheap but it isn't always wise. We paid $90 apiece to upgrade lodging for our single night in Lake Nakuru after reading reviews about the budget alternative, and we are so glad we did. The standard lodging in Amboseli was wonderful. But for our two nights in a budget camp outside of Maasai Mara, we got a substitute for the Rhino camp called Lenchada and we found it to be awful. (Read my review for the many reasons why.) I don't know what options existed for upgrading there, but I highly encourage prospective travelers to ask about them, or at the least to insist on the Rhino camp ahead of time.
Suggestions. Mitigate the driving situation. I wished we had cut out Lake Nakuru completely. While it was lush and pretty, we saw no flamingos and few rhinos and it had nothing else unique to offer. Cutting it would have eliminated 2 entire long days of driving, and another day in the massive Maasai Mara reserve, and one just relaxing in the beautiful Amboseli resort, would have been so much better. Also, consider flying either into or out of Maasai Mara. We were told it is about $300 per person and it would have eliminated one brutal 8 hour drive. Or consider upgrading to one of the jeeps. We thought about it, but it was about $300 more per person and according to Peter, just provided a little better suspension system. Trust me, a better suspension system would have done us a world of good in retrospect.
In summary, Flash McTours is a highly capable company dedicated to showing you as many animals as possible in a short time at a reasonable cost. You need to take responsibility to turn that into an enjoyable vacation. I found Peter to be quite flexible in making modifications that I asked for. I just didn't know what all I needed to modify. I highly encourage others to work with them to design an itinerary that is right for you.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Hell's Gate National Park by Isabella Ferrario
walk was really great, even if not that safe (buffalos)
Review about Lake Mburo National Park by Amita
You will not see the lions here but the horseback safari is a unique feature here and the landscape is breathtaking!