HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience
Our guide Oussie is nice, cheerful, talkative and possesses a lot of knowledge about animals. We saw big 5 in our tour several times. Everything from accommodation to guide is beyond our expectation.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Tsavo East National Park by Andrew Ahn
Lovely park, but less visible animals.
I think it's a nicer park than amboseli, but if the aim is to see wildlife, then amboseli works better.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Amboseli National Park by Andrew Ahn
Clear views mean you can see loads of animals from a great distance.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kenya1
I saw 4 of the Big 5 here in Kenya, the tour guides were very well versed on the wildlife there. The Lodges were excellent.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mixed bag.
I already passed this onto our tour rep at mufasa tours.
The trip was mostly good.
Read on:
I note there's no star rating above for accommodation?
The driver (Joe) was great. No complaints there, he did a fantastic job, very happy with him.
AA Lodge Amboseli was not good. Badly run. So many things wrong with the place, mostly at the restaurant such as
- starting one meal an hr late with no excuse or apology given
-bones in the pork stir fry
- running out of food (specifically bacon and pancakes) 20 minutes before the end of breakfast service
-napkins always damp
- sometimes we had napkins, sometimes not. I saw one table with 7 places have one napkin in the table
- cutlery laid out randomly, I once had 2 knives 3 spoons and one fork.
-swimming pool not nice at all
- WiFi available only at cheetah bar, and very slow
-in our packed lunch there was a sandwich with one Slice of cucumber.
-no butter anywhere, only blue band
-OK selection of food but no chapatis or kachumbari
-waiters were often slow to ask us for drinks and to clear our table
-the layout of the restaurant meant it was difficult to get from our table to the food stations, as we had to squeeze through tables
-poor level of English spoken
On the plus side, the room was big and the bed comfortable.
I would recommend new management or remove them from your package tours.
In one game drive we stopped at serena lodge to use the bathroom and have a coffee. And the difference between the 2 places is simply _ridiculous_ .
Amboseli Park itself was great. Very enjoyable.
In Tsavo east the hotel we stayed in (name? ) is a bit old but the service and staff were MUCH better, and the restaurant was much better run.
Despite being older, and needing some refurbishment, this place was simply better in every way. And we managed to see a leopard.
The manager (Dennis) and all the staff were attentive and spoke good English.
Only recommendation for this place, other than refurbishment, is to use insecticide more liberally, as the insects are numerous. Not a problem for me but my partner hates insects. Also, new mosquito nets.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic
A fantastic experience. We booked 6 full days, but fortunately for us one day was cancelled (we hiked up Kilimandscharo instead), because it's hard to spend more than 5 days in the jeep just sitting all the time. Nice thing is to combine different parks, because the scenery is so different and it brings variety in the experience. Ngorongoro was unbearably our favorite. Don't miss it, especially if you are travelling with children. The concentration of different animal types is really high, so you'd probably see as many on one day as anywhere else on 2 or 3.
Our guide was just great, he spotted with bare eyes the animals we could hardly see through binoculars! A real professional! We were spending nights in the tent camps, and if you choose this option don't expect much hygiene in the washrooms... But the personnel there is friendly and the general atmosphere very amicable. We had one rainy day out of 6, it was tolerable. If it rained all the time, it would have been a really bad experience. I wouldn't recommend a safari during the rain season.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Breathtaking
The scenery is unbeatable and the experience is something I would recommend to everyone in a heartbeat. The company was good considering it was a budget travel company. The quality of some of the meals could have been a little better. But overall, the company's hospitality was great - they gave us a bottle of red wine to welcome us which was a nice touch! I would recommend these guys for all budget travelers. We actually ended up going to all the places and lodging exactly where all the more expensive groups were. Richard and his team are professionals and will take care of you to the best of their ability.
BG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kenya - a fullfiled Dream!
It was an amazing experience perfectly organized by Pride of Africa Adventures (the organizer) and Big Time Safaris (the provider).
I travelled with a friend of mine and booked the trip in November to start on 4th January.
The transfers to and back the airport are included in the package.
The hotels are decent and nice having in mind we have booked a budget to mid-budget safari. The camps in Masai Mara and Amboseli - they are nothing more to wish for in the middle of nowhere. Warm to hot water - everywhere - enough to wash your hair and electricity in the tents not only for charging digital devices but also for a hairdryer.
The food - I missed the real sugar and chocolate hahaha. However, the food is pretty OK. There is always something to choose from the buffet. There is always meat (beef and chicken), rice and beans, mandazi - my favourite, their kind of bread, as well regular bread, salads - cabbage+carrots, potatoes. There are always fruits - pineapple, watermelon and mango. The milk is the most delicious natural eco, bio milk in the world - always served on breakfast for instant coffee and cocoa. There is always on breakfast mango juice too.
Never forget to bring for 1 week at least 2 repellents - you will definitely need them.
The program itself was pretty interesting at least for people for 1st time on an African Safari. We saw absolutely every animal in the Lion King :D except for the cheetahs.
There are long drives between the parks itself but they are pretty bearable and you never miss a game drive in the morning or in the evening.
2 litres of water per person every day.
I should mention and our Guide-driver-ranger - KEN - we were soooo lucky to have him. He did his really best to find all the animals for us, to keep us save, to make us happy with fulfilling every wish. He answered absolutely every question and we learned a lot of things from him. He was very patient and never complained that he is tired because of the long and difficult driving and never cut off from our time of visiting the parks. We woke up early to see the real wildlife and he really took care for our safety even when stuck in the mud, which was a great fun for us. For him maybe it was exactly the opposite from fun but we enjoyed it :) It was him who managed to keep all of the described program so as never miss a thing!
Remember - ask all your questions in advance and read the answers carefully. As well you should always have in mind that you receive the service you paid for : if it is a budget it IS budget, as well mid-budget etc.
And one more thing - remember that it is nature out there - and if you do not see any kind of animal you wished, it is just because you were not lucky. My next time - I really hope I will see the cheetahs. :)
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Clutch Adventures and its Founder offer you individual, autenthic and fun travels!
Wonderful experience: Fun, authentic, individual and adventurous trip through Uganda and Sambia! Juraj knows everything, from budget to upper class rooms, wildlife epxerience and hiking trails (Rwenzori Mountains). He knows both the desires of Tourists but never forgets the local people! He knows the African culture from his extensive experience of travels and working through all of Africa!
RU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice and comfortable
It really liked, the drivers are very professional and friendly, the safari is very impressive and memorable.
