20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical time in Kenya 🇰🇪
Firstly - I had a fantastic time on safari in Kenya & would recommend to anyone! I’m going to break the parts down below for more information on each section.
1. The Tour Company - ⭐️⭐️
Honestly, the worst part of the whole thing was the actual tour company. I had food poisoning the day we were going, and I waited over an hour and forty minutes for the driver to pick me up from the hotel because they told me to be ready at the wrong time. They stopped replying to my emails or picking up the phone so I had no idea what was happening, which when you’re that unwell isn’t ideal. They also managed to mess up us leaving with the boat tour (aka hadn’t sorted us transportation back to Nairobi that would allow us to complete the trip with the boat trip!!!!), so we had to fight to be able to do both aspects after they told us we would just have to go back to Nairobi (having done only a two hour game drive that day). As I was dropped back in Nairobi the driver asked me to pay for the trip so I then had to sort that out with them as well (hard to sort when they aren’t very communicative). Also you do just hand over the cash to someone who picks you up, no receipt etc, which I found quite stressful. So all in all wasn’t very impressed with them as they made the trip much more stressful than needed!
2. Sir Charles - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Charles was the BEST tour guide and helped us to sort out the issues we had. He has a magical gift for finding the animals and was always talking to everyone else to make sure that we got to see everything! My friend has lived there for a year and not seen half the animals we saw (e.g. male lions everyday and even a leopard!). Make sure you ask for Charles (I’m considering going back later this year and definitely will be asking for Charles again!!!)
3. Accommodation - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I went for Jambo Lodge & Lake Nakuru Lodge. Firstly, the people in both were so so nice, which really helps to make the experience. The food in Jambo was not fab (although I think recovering from food poisoning took away from it slightly ahaha) & the pack lunch was definitely the worst of the three camps. The pool was also out of action which I was v sad about. The room was beautiful though and the bed really comfy, I would definitely stay there again (but take snacks). Lake Nakuru Lodge, the sunset was magical here and the pool was great! The food here was also really good. The room, however, was not as nice - the glass door to outside was broken and it had an older feel. I would umm and ahhh over staying here again, but the sunset might persuade me to!
Boat trip - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Absolutely loved the boat trip, I would say that is worth the money! You get to see an island that just has animals on it and hippos, Ken was also really nice!
All in all you should definitely go on safari and ask for Charles - he made the trip for me. A few things the tour company can improve on, but the memories make up for it.
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
WORTH IT but room for improvement
Stanley, the owner, was fantastic for all pre-trip communication, very clear and attentive, answering all questions and reserving a place for us whilst we waited for visa.
The safari trip itself was hosted by a guide from another company which we were not informed about, but the guide Omar was very experienced, knowledgeable and well-informed with great attitude and a big smile. We were so glad we had Omar for our entire 5 days and built a good relationship with him but many other travellers were not so lucky and were thrown around different cars and groups. This was a surprise to us having different people in the car each day as the organisation from the office seemed very chaotic trying to accommodate different itineraries. Unfortunately this practice led to our itinerary being changed around on Day 2 (Lake Manyara first instead of Serengeti). We went along with it and still visited all the destinations but it was less ideal than our original itinerary. Also, we didn’t realise that group tours bundled travellers living in different accommodations (eg. campsite vs lodge) so there was quite some time wasted on driving for pick up/drop off, especially in Serengeti where accommodations were 45mins or more apart.
When we reflected this to Stanley, he was very sorry and did his best to make it up to us. We trust that he will sincerely make improvements for future tours.
On the positive side, seeing the animals - including all Big 5 - in person was an absolutely AMAZING experience, as was meeting travellers from around the world! Accommodation at the lodges was great, clean and comfortable, but be aware that camping public campsite is not for everyone with shared sleeping bags and very basic, sometimes extremely dirty, toilet facilities. A chef came with the group to cook for us and he did a great job with hot lunch and dinner so we were well looked after meals-wise! You definitely do get a good “African massage” from the bumpy roads but the car was comfortable and provided a great view (aside from when it broke down few times).
All in all, some questionable organisation norms and unexpected car issues aside, it was definitely worth it seeing the wonderful animals and the magnificent landscapes!
For first timers like us, we recommend checking with your tour company if you will be with the same guide the whole trip, and if on a group tour like us, whether your itinerary will be honoured. Also, we found that 24 hours in Serengeti is way too short as it is such a HUGE area and much time was spent driving long distance in and out of the park, as well as dropping/picking up other travellers from their accommodation. In hindsight, we would go for an extra night in Serengeti for more dedicated game drive time and to take it all in.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Responsive and fun tour operator
We first got in contact with Ruben from sales after putting in an inquiry on the website. He was upfront, straight to the point and very helpful all the way through out the entire trip. Even when there was a minor hiccup while collecting us from the airport, Ruben responded by checking for us on the situation.
Value for money
- I feel that MoAfrica tours was very reasonable in terms of the quality of accommodation vs the price that you pay. (This is after researching on various tour operators as well comparing to more DIY options)
- we stayed at Radisson Safari Hotel - standard room
- Very new, clean and modern hotel. Would recommend it.
Fun
- our guide and Driver Mr Lamb was the most funny, chill guy who made our full day game drive really memorable.
- you can tell from the way that he manoeuvred the vehicle the man’s excitement for big cats like the lions and he would drive ahead of other vehicles to get you to the best spot for viewing the Lion’s hunt of impalas (we were lucky to witness a chase)
- Overall very fun and pleasant trip for our second game drive experience
- things he could improve on would be to stop for longer for small we animals and birds. (Sometimes I felt that he drove off too fast)
- would recommend Mr Lamb!
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Caring and enthusiastic
Lamby was our guide. One day for Kruger safari and one day for paranoma view. He is a very excited guide to bring us to see the animals in the safari. He made sure we got a good view and different angles. He has also a very cheerful attitude !
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magic
Exceptional experience, the guides are truly great! Very well supervised and organized!
I recommend Faithful Adventures
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a smooth tour
Pickup, payment, transport, game drive, food - everything was fine, no issues. Tour guide could be more attentive, explaining where are we going or why are we stopping, but overall good experience.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari trip
The safari trip was amazing! The organisation of the safari went fluid. We had a great guide ! We saw elephants, lions, giraffe, leopard … The food was also good. It was an unforgettable experience !
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice!
The communication with the operator went very well. They came to our hotel the night before to provide us with some more information about our hike on Mount Meru.
They went through a list with everything we needed and it seemed we weren't prepared as good as we thought. Maybe a little tip for the operator: sent a list upfront with everything you need for the hike.
It wasn't a problem for them to stop at the rental/supermarket to provide us with some more stuff.
Kadjia (think it's written like this) was a very nice guide and talked us through everything. Once on the mountain he helped us a lot (like carrying my water bottle because according to him, it was too heavy for me). Normally, you're supposed to hike to Saddle hut on day 2, do an acclimatisation to Little Meru, come down and wake up the next day at around 1pm to start the hike to the summit. As it would be raining the day after, they suggested us to do the hike to the summit the same day and watch the sunset, which was good for us as it was sunny. My boyfriend and I were very sick from the acclimatisation so Kadjia carried my backpack for me to the summit. The paths were very rough but they always made sure I could follow and felt safe.
The sunset was beautiful and I was so happy that we still did it the same day!!
The day after, we had to descend and I felt a bit rushed but that was not from dancing simba safaries, but someone from another operator. Our guide always said "pole pole" as I twisted my ankle a couple of times.
Would definitely recommend
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was very good
I had Tiyani as a driver he dropped me to the airport in Johannesburg and it was very professional.All the experience was good.
