CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a wonderful trip - 这是一次奇妙的旅行
A great trip, the original nature, the magical Kenya, the spectacular savanna, the elven wildlife, everyone should go to Kenya once in their lifetime!
非常棒的一次旅行，原生态的大自然，神奇的肯尼亚，壮观的大草原，精灵般的野生动物，每个人有生之年都应该去一次肯尼亚！
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing
We spent one day and night at each of the two reserves.
Inverdoorn game reserve, very rustic type accommodation. Smaller resort but this had many good benefits. Not too many guests and smaller numbers on the vehicles for game drives. Very knowledgeable game ranger named charlie. great game drives with him Great food but went cold very quickly as the serving dishes did not have lids on them. Great morning coffee and rusks pre 6.30am game drive. Really nice afternoon tea just before 4,30pm game drive.
Aquila game reserve- much more up market accommodation a lot more fancy. Downside such large numbers of people staying overnight and day visitors very busy around the resort and pool areas. Much bigger game drive vehicles which meant more people per truck. Does not have the little extras like the afternoon tea before 4.30 game drive. Coffee available at 6.30 and was said rusks available but so many people they were gone before we got there. Food in buffet style restaurant was very good but also not kept very hot I did mention to restaurant staff as in the case of a chicken dish i had that was almost cold it could be a health risk.
I am glad we visited Inverdoorn first then Aquila if it had been the other way we may have felt disappointed with the more rustic facilities at Inverdoorn. But in looking at both resorts we as a group felt Inverdoorn was the best experience much more intimate and better service. I hope they don't change it to be the same as Aquila. Both reserves we were very lucky to see all the Big 5 . It is not the same as a big wildlife reserve like Kruger National Park where you spend hours driving slowly trying to spot the animals, here the staff know where to find them and you are almost guaranteed to see them. we only had 3 days off our cruise ship to do this so it was great for us in this game reserve.
Weather was great during our 3 days.
We had a fantastic driver pick us up in Cape Town his name was Andre. Drove us the 2.5 hours to the game reserve , explained all the details about the resort. He stayed at the game reserves overnight and after we had breakfast collected us and took us on the the next game reserve. After our last morning he then drove us back to our cruise ship. What a lovely person Andre was and he was so helpful to stop to get some supplies on our way out to game reserves and on our return trip to ship. I highly recommend him. I would book again with Gems of Africa, excellent service and knowledge of the resorts etc.Fantastic experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect: No Complaints
Nothing short of amazing trip and accommodations. Would definitely recommend, and do again.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An incredible experience
Had an amazing time on safari in Kenya with Beacon Safaris! Our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable and we enjoyed the beautiful wildlife, scenery and country. Highly recommended
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Our Trip was Amazing
We had a good time. Everything was planned and executed to perfection.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari - personalized planning and excellent guide!
African Savannah Trekkers planned a personalized safari for me for March 2020. I was in Arusha for a conference and began planning my safari only a month or beforehand. I emailed African Savannah Trekkers and had great experiences emailing with Philomena Amsi. She was always very responsive and patient to some delays in response from my side. She worked with my to design the itinerary that I wanted and best suited what I was looking for. On the first day of the safari, she came to meet me with the driver and we were able to go through the itinerary and confirm that everything was set.
Eli was my driver and guide for the 7 days/6 nights. We visited Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, the Ndutu area, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Ngorongoro crater, and Lake Manyara National Park. It was a busy 7 days but I had a great time and Eli was wonderful with maximizing the game drives. It was the rainy season and Eli did an excellent job navigating the roads!! And he was always willing to let me sit and watch the animals from the vehicle for as long as I wanted and waiting on my prompt before moving on. I brought my camera too and Eli was always willing to stop whenever I saw a new bird or a wanted a photo of the 1000th wildebeest.
I was traveling alone and had great conversations with Eli. He's very informative and shared lots of great information on the animals, landscape, and Tanzania. Traveling alone before, I found it can be tricky for guides to maintain the right balance of conversation while also not overwhelming the traveler.
Eli dropped me off at the Kilimanjaro airport in time for my departure flight and overall did a great job of managing time.
I highly recommend African Savannah Trekkers and am so glad that I booked my first safari with them!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Well Organized
I liked how organized they were. They took care of us really well and ensured that we got value for our money.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Responsive and helpful
They were always very responsive and helpful with all our enquires before the trip. They helped to set up everything from the airport to the safari camp and back. Our driver, Iddy, was super friendly and professional with a confortable van. Plus, we really appreciatted the camp upgrade, we went to camp Bastian and it went above our expectations.
Regarding the safari, we were lucky with the drivers Amiri and Yakari, however we weren't so lucky with the animals and the weather (march is raining season and we knew it, but fortunately it only rainned after lunch and in the days in Zanzibar we were presented with lovely sun).
Thank you!
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall, a very good value safari
We did a five-day safari with Focus in Africa in March 2020. We visited Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara.
Overall, the safari was great value. We saw a lot of animals, including the Big Five. Nelson, the organiser, was easily reachable and communicative.
Our driver, Loi Solo, was superb. He was very kind, was able to navigate the tough roads, and importantly was very good at spotting the animals. The safari jeeps were excellent, with pop-up rooves, electricity sockets for charging devices, a fridge, and everyone had a window seat.
Most of the camping was of good standard, the facilities for the campsite near Tarangire and Lake Manyara were excellent.
The food was also good.
There were a couple of drawbacks. The campsite in the Serengeti was poor, a lot of the tents were old & broken, and could not keep out the rain (we were there in the wet season). Our particular safari appeared to be overbooked, which led to a cramped jeep and a number of changes to the itinerary over the five days.
As this was a budget camping safari, these are not issues that would prevent me recommending Focus in Africa to those interested in a safari experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari experience with Reputable and Trusted company
I did the 2 day Tsavo East safari with a colleague. We were picked up near Watamu and started our safari with our driver and tour guide Abdul. Abdul was a great guide and driver! Absolutely recommend. Very friendly and knowledgeable about the park. He also arrived even earlier than the time expected and was extremely professional. The entire experience was great - from contacting the company to finishing our safari, and everything in between. Kennedy reached out with a detailed itinerary, was extremely responsive in communicating, and was very helpful and clear when giving all the information to us. Very easy process and no hiccups along the way. We stayed at the Voi Wildlife Lodge which was very nice and had a pool. The food there was also delicious. On the way back on Day 2 we stopped at a nice place for lunch where we had a full meal and the staff was wonderful. Every accommodation place we ate at our stayed was fantastic.
One of my favorite things about this tour is that all costs were included and there was no surprise extra fees. The one thing you did have to add (besides tipping your tour guide/driver) was drink fees at meals, which was trivial. This is also clearly stated in what is included/not included. If you want to buy souvenirs there is a good shop before entering at the Sala Gate that our driver took us to. The workers there are very nice and have a lot of good items; I only wish I had brought more cash. They do take card which is helpful - however if you would like to help out the locals they appreciate cash more than card.
We were lucky Abdul had a set of binoculars, these are definitely necessary. I also wish I had a big fancy camera to take some nice photos of the animals, so recommended. We went the first weekend of March and it was hot - we had to wear shorts and tanks. Even at night it was pretty hot; I packed a couple of layers expecting it to be colder at night. This was not needed. One light layer was fine for going to dinner at night and in the car for the morning safari. There was also not a lot of mosquitoes because of the wind which was very nice. This was a good time to go weather wise, but for safari views there was a lot of greenery - there was definitely animals that I'm sure we easily missed because they were blocked by the bush. Something to keep in mind if you have a flexible travel schedule.
Overall - fantastic and reputable company, easy to book and communicate with. If you are looking for a great 2-day safari in Tsavo East, look no further than here.