SV
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good experience
The guide ( Martin) and the tour operator’s service were excellent. However, I felt that the experience didn’t fully match what was advertised. The tour gives the impression that you’ll see certain animals up close, but in reality, most of them are seen from quite a distance.
Overall, it was a good experience, but I expected something closer to what is shown in the advertisements. I think the advertising could be more realistic about what visitors can actually expect.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He is helpful
1. the schedule is not well planned, for a 7day trip, we spent almost 3days only driving on the road to another place.
2. there was one day, one of the passenger was sick, so we had to stop on the road for 2 hours for her to take rest, and i asked the travel agent to send another car and someone else to take her to the hospital, and the travel agent simply didnt do anything. so all other passengers wasted their time doing nothing.
3. everyday, the trip started at around 9:00am, and finishes at 16:00pm, this is the period where the temporature is quite high, so the animals are hiding, it means, we would not see as much animals as possible, it is much smarter to start earlier or finish later, so that more can be seen.
4. and the tour guide didn't remind us that there is some extra activities like ballon and Helicopter, so i missed these activities.
5. the guide is not good at English, so i wouldn't understand him most of time. and also he didn't really introduce much about the living habits of the animals
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good Safari But Issues!
My wife and I are seniors and booked the “6-day Sopa Lodges 4x4 Jeep Shared Tour By Tall Masai” almost a year in advance. There were definitely positives: the game drives were excellent, and our guide Joseph — a Maasai who grew up near the parks — knew the area and wildlife extremely well and made sure we had good viewing time each day. We also met many friendly travelers who joined us. Most were low budget campers staying in tents or small huts, and they seemed satisfied with the safari they purchased.
However, the organization didn’t match what we expected. After paying the deposit, many of my emails went unanswered, and communication was vague. Approximately 60 days before the safari, I suddenly received several WhatsApp messages within an hour insisting that the remaining balance be paid immediately. Even though I had asked a couple of times prior for a balance due date, it was never provided. The timing was inconvenient — I was watching the World Cup with friends and had to leave to handle the payment.
I interpreted the term “shared safari” to mean a single group traveling together and staying in the same accommodations with a guide. This was not the case. Travelers joined and left constantly and stayed at different locations. This resulted in a lot of time spent picking up and dropping off people. On the first day we were picked up at 6:30am but didn’t leave Nairobi until around 9am. The group changed almost daily, and each day involved long hours in the vehicle. My wife and I didn’t join the group on Day 2 because we still had jet lag and Day 1 was 13 hours of travel, which was exhausting.
The biggest issue was a change in accommodation at Lake Nakuru. The 3 hotels listed were a big selling point for us to purchase this safari. We looked them up on-line and they were amazing. Our invoice listed Lake Nakuru Lodge inside the reserve, but we were moved to a hotel in town about 20 miles away. The hotel room itself was adequate, but it was nothing like what we expected and paid for. This reduced the quality of the experience and required extra driving. We were not told about the change until we arrived at the hotel, and we were not happy.
Overall, the wildlife experience and Joseph’s guiding were excellent, but the logistics, communication, and accommodation changes did not match what was advertised. Travelers booking a shared safari should be aware that the group may change daily and that everyone may be staying at different locations. We did not finish the trip with any of the people we started with.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lacks organization and needs consistency in services
We recently booked a safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro, followed by a few days in Zanzibar, through Amshar Travel Agency, with destinations we personally selected (Mara River, Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Villa Kiva Hotel in Zanzibar).
Overall, the wildlife experience and destinations were absolutely outstanding. Serengeti in August is incredible, and we were lucky enough to witness the Mara River crossing of the wildebeest migration, along with a huge variety of wildlife. The safari experience itself exceeded expectations.
Our safari guide, Major, was excellent throughout the trip. He drove safely, had a great knowledge of wildlife, and shared interesting information without being intrusive. He struck a very good balance between explaining things and giving us privacy, and was consistently patient and professional. A big credit to him.
The safari vehicle was suitable for game drives inside the parks—spacious and comfortable. However, on normal roads it felt quite old and slow.
There were, however, some organizational issues at the start of the trip. Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, we were met by a driver (not our safari guide) who was supposed to take us to Arusha for a same-day flight to Kogatende Airstrip in northern Serengeti. Unfortunately, the agency had not communicated the flight details or timing to him. When we arrived at the airport, the driver was unsure about the situation and even asked if we had the tickets.
This created confusion and stress, and only at that point did we receive the airline booking confirmation via WhatsApp from the agency. We then realized we had only about 30 minutes until boarding. Despite going through security and trying to make it, we unfortunately missed the flight.
The agency did try to resolve the situation afterwards, and arranged for us to be taken to a hotel in Arusha, with a new flight scheduled for the next morning. As a result, we lost half a day of our safari itinerary. While apologies were given, there was no form of compensation or gesture offered for the inconvenience.
The hotel in Arusha was average, slightly unorganized, and the food was also below expectations.
The following day, everything continued smoothly and we began the safari properly with Major.
The camps during the safari were mid-range tented camps. Heritage Mara Camp was decent but fairly average. Kon Tiki Serengeti Camp was excellent, both in comfort and overall experience. Ngorongoro Wild Camp was acceptable, but located quite far from the crater without a clear advantage to justify the long drive.
Food quality varied depending on the camp, since breakfast and dinner were taken there, while lunch was provided as boxed meals during the day. The lunch boxes did not match what was described in the itinerary (which mentioned more “fine dining” picnic-style meals), and were quite basic overall. Kon Tiki Camp offered the best food experience among the camps.
In Zanzibar, Villa Kiva Hotel fully met expectations. The location is beautiful, right on the beach with sunbeds just steps from the sea. Service was good, and the food—mostly à la carte—was excellent. Special compliments to the chef.
In summary, the wildlife experience and guide were outstanding, and Zanzibar was a very relaxing and high-quality stay. However, better organization, clearer communication, and more consistency in services would significantly improve the overall experience with the agency.
BB
Tiyani was professional and corteous
He arrived on time, he was professional and courteous at all times
PT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding trip with unpleasant end
We had a excellent trip trough Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru guided by the experts drivers Joshua and David.
However, after the end, we were surprised by the sharing of unauthorized images from us on the social media from driver Simon in a very disrespectful way.
Jockey tours should take action to prevent this kind of situation to happen to future customers.
RO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professionals, but in our case with a day of safari done on the run
A serious company from the offer to the departure on safari.. The correctness of what was mentioned in the offer, i.e. accommodation, costs.. but as in Africa the guide makes the difference..we were not satisfied with the guide in terms of how he treated us compared to the rest of the people in the car and one day we were on the run.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Okay
Our Guide didn't talk with us, only to the other part of the group. He didn't take care about our preferences. One time we saw a cheetah and he didn't stop for five seconds. And he was really unfair to the other cars. There was a leopard in the bush and he skipped the line. He really wanted to go back to the hotel, really fast.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Word of Caution!
My buddy and I booked a 8-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania with Key2Africa Safaris and while it was an unforgettable experience overall, we did have quite a few issues with the Tanzanian portion of the safari. Key2Africa partnered with another safari company for the Kenya portion of our trip (separate review already submitted) and handled the Tanzania portion themselves (that is where they are based). We were supposed to have 4 days of tours in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire parks, however, we were only able to successfully complete 2 of those days. The vehicle provided was in poor condition and suffered the following issues in the first 3 days: 4 separate flat tires, a dead battery and a broken clutch pump. That meant we had to spend extended time everyday looking for help to change tires, pushing the truck to get it started and a clutch pump bypass done on the street. Now, our driver/guide, Jessy, was extremely calm and patient as we went thru all of this and the Key2Africa team was extremely apologetic for all of the issues that we encountered and did offer to make things right. I know that things happen but after the Kenya portion of the trip went so amazingly, I believe that our Tanzania experience could have gone much better with a different tour company and/or vehicle. I do not dissuade anyone from booking a tour with Key2Africa Safaris, but I wanted to ensure that our experience was shared in case someone was debating whom to book their bucket list trip with.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
They are good but can organise themselves better.
Our guide Andrew, also known as Kamou, was extraordinary. He was incredibly patient with all our questions about wildlife and beyond, and his overall knowledge made the trip special. Never missed an opportunity for a good animal sighting.
I would definitely request him as our guide for our next visit to Northern Kenya. He’s a total rockstar!
The locations — Mara, Nakuru, and Naivasha — were all breathtaking and truly speak for themselves.
*Food*
Meals were fairly standard across all locations: boiled, fried, or sautéed vegetables, rice, lentils, and chicken or beef. Nothing stood out in terms of flavor.
*Overall*: It was a great experience.
*Areas for Improvement with Jocky*
1. *Pickups*: On the day of hotel pickup, we had to follow up multiple times. One co-traveler wasn’t picked up at all and only joined us 2 hours later.
2. *Itinerary Changes*: Plans with Jocky often seem to change last-minute based on logistics. On the last day, drop-offs to hotels/JKIA were inconsistent — some of us got a separate car, others were booked an Uber/Bolt. Eventually, we all got dropped off as promised.
3. *Accommodation*: For the price Jocky charged, the accommodations were below average. I recommend customizing your stay — photos online can be misleading.
*Accommodation Notes:*
- *Masai Mara - Mara Lenchada Tented Camp*: Very basic. Bathroom was run-down. Lights are off from 11:30 PM to 4:30 AM, which seems standard for Mara camps. Bring a torch/phone light.
- *Nakuru - Hill Court Hotel*: Cold morning with only lukewarm water. Dinner and breakfast buffet were decent. We were originally booked at Nakuru Buraha Zenoni
Hotel — not sure how it compares.
- *Naivasha - Chambai Hotel*: We got a good 2-bedroom flat for 3 people. However, no fan or AC made it warm with poor air circulation. Keeping windows open meant dealing with mosquitoes and traffic noise all night.
Overall, we had a great experience, but accommodation and logistics need work.