20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime climb!
This was an amazing experience, and extremely well organized and executed. My experience going into this was a lot of time camping and going on big day hikes and a few multi day backpacking trips, but I hadn't done serious mountain climbing or anything with serious altitude. The guides were excellent at preparing us for what each day was going to feel like. They checked vitals and symptoms morning and night to see how we were doing physically, and took it seriously (one of our members ended up going down early, which was absolutely the right call). The porters carried all the heavy equipment, gear and food, we each just had a day pack with water, snacks and rain gear. They provided as much clean drinking water as we needed at each camp, and some warm water for washing up. The porters seem to be treated well, and they all spoke highly of Easy Travel as a good and fair company to work for. The guides were responsive to the pace our group wanted to set, and overall made it a really wonderful experience (despite being physically long and difficult!) Would highly recommend to a friend. Musa, Charles and Hamid were all amazing guides!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First impression good, then dissapointing
The first contact was quite good! We booked the trip in advance and had some few conversations via WhatsApp where all questions got answered.
The owner of the company picked us up from airport and told us that he proudly founded this company some month ago. We are also quite young and thought it is a good choice to support young companies.
What we booked and were aware about:
A shared safari for 6 days with lodges/ hotels and which Nationalparks we will visit
What we didn't know:
That all people who were sitting in the same car have booked different packages which caused the following negative facts:
1. Picking up people for 2 hours in the morning & dropping off people at the end of the day because every couple or single traveller was sleeping in another accommodation. This is not what you want when you do safari and pay for daily entrance fees in the national parks!
2. All people in the car have booked different trips (one day we visited a massai village because of two other people in our car who have booked just 1/2 day safari and afternoon massai village) The driver informed us about the afternoon plans at lunch the day itself. So there was no option to say "no" due to the fact that we were all sitting in one car. I liked the experience of the massai village and we had fun. But it is not the best experience when you don't have a choice! We paid originally for one day in the crater!
At the end of the trip the tour operator offered us to drop us off at the airport. We suggested a pick up time which was to early in his opinion so he picked us up 45 min later. The driver drove really slow and we needed to stop due to problems with the car. At the end we run into the airport and had no time left and has confirmed again how bad this company is organized!
We were really disappointed regarding communication and organization of Mousebird Safari. Its not about having the best cars or best food. Its about informing the customer in the best way so expectations are met.
One last sentence regarding the driver: Barton was excellent driving and explaining the wild life. I would recommend a trip with him (he is a freelancer) but not the safari company.
I hope this feedback helps the company to learn and improve!
AT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very personal tour
We went to Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara , but you can customize your tour - everything is very flexible. The accomodation and transport were very good organized. Pick up and drop off was perfect. We had enough food and water supplies and even a birthdaycake was possible. The tour operator is highly engaged in social projects and might give you an insight in Arusha Community life, if you are interested.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent customer service
Commending the safari team, especially Dominic, for their unwavering commitment to fulfilling my requests during the Amboseli National Park adventure. Their dedication transformed a safari into a personalized and extraordinary journey, creating memories that will last a lifetime. Can’t say enough about their wonderful service, asanteni sana!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organized, safe and enthusiastic tour guide
Really great and organized tour. We did a 3 day 2 night safari to masai mara, with a stay at lenchada camp.
Our driver and guide John was a really kind and knowledgeable. He drove carefully and made us feel safe. He is also funny and fun to be around, which is wonderful to have when you have to spend extended periods of time together.
Organizing was done via whatsapp. Very smooth and clear communication with the organizing team.
Would do another tour, thanks so much!
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional Support from Gems of Africa!
Gems of Africa provided flawless support, exceeding expectations in planning my South Africa trip. Every service was executed with excellence. Delighted with the experience, I would unquestionably choose them again.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Remarkable experience
This was the second time I travelled with Kichaka Tours and Travel, and I only have positive things to say.
The trip was very well planned and everything went well. The drive from Nairobi to Amboseli was fantastic, as was the game drive in Amboseli National Park and in Tsavo East. The lodges where we stayed in were very good, and our guide did his best to show us the best the parks have to offer.
We were dropped off in Diani Beach. Back to Nairobi, we went to the Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre and again, with Kichaka Tours.
I was very pleased to see Elisha again, who had been my guide to the Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre, as well as the Nairobi National Park the year before.
This company is excellent at communicating - thank you Stephen for your friendliness - and very reliable.
I highly recommend booking with Kichaka Tours and Travel, and for sure it will be my choice next time I go to Kenya. So, if you are planning to go for a safari in Kenya don't bother to much in choosing a company, just book your trip with Kichaka.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best services you could wish for!
2 friends and I booked the one-week safari tour including the chimpanzees and the gorilla trekking.
The week was simply fantastic!
We saw the Big Fives after just a few days. Sometimes just a few meters away.
The absolute highlight were the mountain gorillas. After a short trek, we came across a family with over 15 mountain gorillas.
The service, accommodations and food were even better than expected.
The entire process went smoothly via Charity.
The knowledge of the country, the politics, the sights and everything around it from our tour guides Rogers and Syson was amazing. So we were able to get to know Uganda from the most beautiful side.
After the week-long tour, you gave us further recommendations and even accompanied us and helped us out for our second week in Kampala and Jinja.
100% recommendation!
(automatic translation from German)
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding Safari from beginning to end!
Jambo! I highly recommend Mali Kale Safaris owned/operated by Richard Boniventure! Richard was a top notch guide & driver. His communication pre-trip was speedy and he was flexible with change requests. He often sent photos of his current safaris prior to our reservation which got our family very excited. Richard is a very kind, generous and easy going man. He gave our entire family Christmas gifts during our recent safari over the holidays. His driving skills were impeccable and he was very patient during game drives. My family (mom/dad, kids 21,19,16) loved his clean and well equipped safari truck (cooler of drinks, outlets & USB ports). He was very knowledgeable about all animal and bird species. His eyes are incredible - he would often stop, scan the area and point out loads of animals we hadn't seen. I cannot rave about him enough!
As for the safari route, we LOVED nights 1&2 at Maramboi Lodge. Lovely accommodations, food buffets, staff and having animals walk right next to the pool was amazing. Excellent happy hour/snacks. Do stay here! Tarangire Nat'l Park was a highlight and we saw loads of animals right off the bat. Manyara Nat'l Park was interesting with different topography. We thought 1 day in each park was sufficient. The Lake Eyasi portion was a bit out of the way although the tent lodge (Kisima Ngeda) was unique being lakeside. Visiting the Masai tribe was fascinating and worth the stop. We really enjoyed hiking to the Hadzabe tribe and witnessing their lifestyle. Ngorongoro Crater was another highlight with a stay at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. These accommodations were superb. Every room has a view of the crater as the rock style, old timey lodge sits on the rim of the crater. I would have preferred 2 nights here. We were able to traverse the entire crater thoroughly in 1 full day. Last park was the Serengeti in which we had 2 full days. Again, this was plenty for my family as they were long 8-9 hour game drives. Our tent lodge was lovely (Mbuzi Mawe) although quite out of the way. My recommendation is to stay closer to the visitor center if possible.
The most memorable moment of the trip for everyone was the sunrise hot air balloon ride. Yes, it's insanely expensive but worth every penny. Richard booked the flight for us with Serengeti Balloon Safaris. Request Abeid as your captain. He was so skilled, personable, knowledgable and funny. The ride was surreal flying over the savannah at sunrise. Abeid often had us close to the ground gliding safely over animals. His landing was perfect too. Post-flight, you are whisked away to a delicious, fancy champagne brunch set up in the bush. Don't skip this excursion. It's a once in a lifetime experience.
We said good-bye to Richard at the Serengeti airport. He arranged our flights to Zanzibar for our next adventure. Our 7 day/6 night safari with Richard will never be forgotten. Do book with him. You won't be disappointed. There's no need to book a pricy tour operator. All the safari trucks are identical. They all drive on the same roads. Everyone sees the same animals. The only difference is lodge accommodations. We stayed in similar lodges as those on Tauck Tours. Richard is able to book any accommodation you like. His tour package was very reasonable for our family of five. Asanté Sana Richard.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They were easy, quick, flexible, and created an amazing safari experience!
I requested a quote only a couple days before the dates for the trip, and they did an amazing job booking everything quickly and exactly as advertised. Peter was the driver and helped set everything up and did an amazing job driving in very muddy conditions where other vehicles got stuck. He also went out of his way to talk to the rangers and make sure we saw a cheetah at the very end at our last chance. I definitely recommend this company and to go on a safari with Peter!
