NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great communication and service, along with an amazing guide!
We went on a six day ‘budget’ Safari to Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. It meant spending quite some hours in the car, but boy was it worth it!
Jocky Tours was quick and clear in replying to all our questions in advance and the pick-up was perfectly on time.
Arriving at Jocky, we could leave our spare luggage at their office and our 4x4 safari jeep was waiting for us along with our driver James. This guy is amazing! He navigates through traffic in a safe yet very quick way, is well informed, creates a great group chemistry and above all is really good company.
The trip was magnificent. At Masai Mara we saw the big 5 in a record breaking time. The highlight was a leopard chasing and catching an impala right in front of us! We were staying at Lenchada where the tent felt like an hotel room as it was spacious and had a private bathroom. The people were nice and food was simple, but good!
At Lake Nakuru you’re able to spot more birds (great amount of flamingos) and rhinos, which makes it well worth the visit. Our place Lanet matfam was more luxurious and included a swimming pool. A luxury that was not really needed as we arrived late and left early in the morning. The buffet had some more options and was good as well.
In Amboseli it was impressive and saddening to see what the drought has caused with many dead animals around. The park had a completely different character than Masai Mara and was great for spotting large groups of elephants from up close. Our highlight was a group of five cheetahs playing around our car! We’ve stayed at Manjaro Camp for two nights in a tent similar to the one in Lenchada but with an even better location! An amazing view of the Kilimanjaro and it felt like staying in the middle of nature. It’s small in scale and the host Henry was extremely friendly.
Overall a lovely experience and would definitely go again!
Tips:
- If you have the budget, go for the jeep option. It spacious and comfy!
- As the schedule is tight, you don’t spend much time in your accommodation. If you’re looking for a bit of luxury, the best place to spend the extra money in would be Amboseli.
- Time between breakfast, lunch and dinner can be quite long. Make sure to bring or buy some snacks during your transit days.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mistakes and delays, very bad experience
As an intro, I’d like to mention this is a copy paste of my comment on trip advisor.
I am not surprised after coming back from our trip there, to see the previous comment « Unprofessional experience », as it is exactly what we just lived too.
We chose the 2 days « memorable safari », between Tarangire and Ngorongoro.
On our first day, 30min delays at our hotel, and guide not reachable, you start to wonder if you haven’t just been scammed.
Then apparently out of nowhere, Widman was expecting us to have to full amount in cash to pay on the day for the parks entrance fees, even after our 10% deposit on his bank account, so we went withdrawing to our limit around 850$ in Tanzanian Shillings (TZS, their currency)
Then you’re supposed to wait for the lunch boxes somewhere but the guy did not show up so you go somewhere else and again you wait. While waiting, the guide is paying for Tarangire entrance, in US dollars ! So actually they had the money.. anyway we are nice people and decide to focus on the trip ahead.
That being said, we enter the park at 11:50 ! After leaving at 8 our hotel in Arusha. Maps says 3h drive, so we were (departure supposed to be 7:30), more than a good hour late.
Rest of the day goes quite normal in the park, even though another group saw a family of lions that we did not.
We reach our lodge at 7pm, not the one advised on the website, price half cheaper according to booking but we paid everything now so.. diner is at 7:30, so not much to relax, but people and food were nice though so ok we’ll see afterwards our overall satisfaction before complaining.
The next day, we are asked to be ready at 7 am, even though Ngorongoro is not far away from Karatu (our lodge city), to go pay for the Ngorongoro entrance, as it did not work the day before !
Then the mess begins :
We skip the breakfast, but have to wait the bank opening at 8, so we take breakfast, I am asked to help and try paying online about 450$ to enter there and there refund me, but it does not work (see our good faith again), so we go to the bank, it finally opens at 8:30, we wait, our guide goes to pay, we wait about 40min in the car, getting harassed by locals wanting to sell their objects, we finally are able to go there but the guide is feeling « dizzy » so we get one of his friends to pass the local police check (small doubts about legal but well..), we get to the gate late but surprise, paiement is not accepted yet because of a network issue, so we wait until 10:45 to go through, and after a bit less than 1h drive get into the crater around 11:30 ! And we were ready at 7 ! (1h drive for maps)
It’s not done, we enter the crater, and after 1h inside the car stops, technical issue, we cannot continue, it’s 12:30.
I did not mention above that on the first day we already realised that no gauge in the car was working, so not speed indicator, no fuel indicator since the beginning, all cars were overtaking us whenever a 50km/h limit panel was there as our guide did not know his own speed and went slower.
From there we wait 1h expecting our guide to find a solution and thank god a car with french people inside was nice enough to take us back for almost finishing the tour (1 small hour as they were on the way back). So we get out of the crater, after spending total 2h inside, only 1 with Widmans car.
Then our guide had paid for a bus to take us back to our hotel on the second day before our going back, even there, the price doubled when the bus arrived and we’ve been asked to help, to which we said no and the other company « Simba » actually paid for our return (they had to arrange themselves). It’s the least they had to do.
Now for two days we’ve been asking for a partial refund, explaining all this to Widman, and he only accepts to give 100$ back and begging for us not to post our experience, but that is clearly not enough for us.
So overall, delays, mistakes, very unprofessional people, and bad experience.
Not saying that the previous comments are false, but I imagine Widman is getting bigger with new guides and experiences, but he clearly does not know how run his business correctly. From other feedbacks on Tanzania, other companies were much more prepared and experiences were fantastic, so we strongly encourage anyone to look at other companies.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A wonderful team that made my Mombasa trip memorable at affordable rates. Going to Mara in Dec
Speckled Bird offers the best service right from booking, follow up on your trip and stay, very affordable rates and they really make you feel at home away from home knowing they always want the best for you and your family during your vacation. Courtesy of Speckled Bird, I have been - together with my family to Mombasa Severin Sea Lodge , Voyager, Sarova White Sands, Amboseli and also did the Great Mount Kenya Circuit. I will be going to Maasai Mara with them from 9 th to 13th December 2022. I look forward to enjoying the trip just like the previous ones. Previously I used to use many other tour companies but since I was referred to Speckled Bird, I have never looked anywhere else.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Superb! Hassle free excursions!!!
We used Afro Dawn Safaris’ services from beginning to end, they organized our whole zimbabwe trip tours without any glitches or hiccups, their staff go above and beyond! (Special thanks to Isabella!!! & Paul) Communication is excellent, ( I have been in communication with Isabella via whatsapp even before our trip and she was kind enough to answer all my queries and assist me with all our travel needs) value for money is worth every cent!!! The experience(s) is next to none!!! We did the Devil’s pool, took a helicopter ride over victoria falls and even walked with the lions!!! And cruised the zambezi! Everything was well coordinated from drivers to tour guides! Everyone was reliable! I cannot thank afro dawn enough especially isabella who made our time in zimbabwe more memorable, she is truly an outstanding tour guide very accommodating and helpful! I highly recommend this tour company!!! Safe reliable and great value for your $$$. I will be back in Zim and will definitely go with Afro Dawn again!!! Thank you and see you soon❤️
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing expérience
Ben made us an incredible adventure always smiling punctual and listening to our desires he allowed us to discover Kenyan landscapes, animals and even songs
As he is in contact with the other guides we were able to quickly go to places to observe the animals.
We recommend a safari with Ben wich will remain an incredible experience.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience
All went smooth from planning abroad until delivering the Safari, James is a nice guy and know how to win customers
NG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome
One of my Best Experience. From the Tour Driver that picked me up from my location to the incredible Tour Guide. Looking forward to come back
The best
The trip was great overall. The cruise itself was amazing. Going to Masai Mara was probably the best thing ever . A balloon safari over the Mara is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As you ascend, beautiful features unfold before your eyes: rolling hills, meandering rivers,,, . The Bald Eagles around were amazing. It was impressive. The food was very good. Overall it was a great vacation and definitely my best. Am happy I did it and I'd recommend it to anyone. I'm trying to get them to think about next December holiday vacation. But with Speckled bird tours you will not be disappointed.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
5 Day Amboseli, lake Nakuru & Maasai Mara private safari
Many thanks to Maggie for making the trip such wonderful. we had an absolutely great time with the driver/guide his name is Douglas he was very generous with his information and such a great company with positive spirits, he just made the whole thing an absolutely unforgettable experience.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely knowledgeable, professional, kind and overall surpassed all my expectations.
This experience far surpassed any of my wildest expectations. Just got back from the safari and telling everyone about Suricata already!
Great accommodations, food, guides and staff. We got to see everything that we had hoped to see and explore some of the nicest national parks in the world.
I cannot recommend Suricata and Ezekiel enough. This is the safari you should book if you are planning to take the trip of a lifetime.