SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great driver and game drives. Not that great planning.
We took the six day safari with Masai Mara-Naruk-Amboseli. We ordered our safari via Axis, in our car we were 7 people. We were the only ones from Axis. So it’s hard to rate Axis on our trip.
We suffered a bit due to this since all travel groups had different itinerary and accommodations. We spent hours waiting on people and driving to different lodges/tent camps. This made that our tour didn’t followed our itinerary and we had to argue to get what we paid for.
You should be aware of this or demand to be in a car with a group with 100% same itinerary/accommodation if you plan to order this trip.
With that said we had a great safari. We saw the big five on our first full day game drive. Richard, our driver should have the Nobel peace prize for handeling one of our co-travelers that was very demanding. He handled our van with great skills!
Richard and animal-viewing was five stars, the planning with different itineraries in one car was one star!
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Competitive prices, great communication but below average guide
We have mixed feelings about African Savannah Trekkers. Before booking our safari trip with them, we read all the previous reviews about the company and were very excited about the trip. The reviews were positive and we were sure that we had made the right choice. Maureen was super professional and the communication was professional and prompt. She answered the thousands of queries we had. No complaints there.Kudos to her.
Any safari trip in Africa is going to be memorable but what makes it extra special is the guide/driver who takes you on the adventure. This is what did not work for us. Horaz, our guide was punctual and drove well but that is where it ended. There was lack of energy and commitment from his end. We felt that he did not have adequate knowledge about the parks and animals or maybe he just did not show it. He did his job but the bare minimum. It felt a little rushed at times. We expect the guide to be more interactive and share stories/past experiences or anything that shows he has passion for his work. The whole experience felt very mechanical.
The worse part is that on our second day, Horaz directly told us that he wanted an 80 USD tip. This was very odd for us because tips are given when one is satisfied with the service. We were definitely going to leave a tip but it has to come from the heart. This way we felt that we were bullied into giving a hefty tip which our guide did not deserve. We were quite angry after this incident and it had left a very bad taste in the mouth. I definitely think that the management should address the issue and refund that amount. The entire safari experience does not come cheap. We are paying a lot of money and for most of us this is a once in a lifetime adventure.
A lot of the past reviews only mentioned Eli who also happens to be the owner of the company. Eli has got excellent reviews and I was quite disappointed when we found out that our guide was not Eli.
Again, the company is fantastic and has very competitive prices. But please make sure that you get a good guide.
HR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Deeply explained positive/negative experience
We found Namayiana Safaris by google. I thought it is a nice place to stay since it was a home stay with the Masai people, for 15 usd per person per night (hardly you will find anything cheaper there and so close to the park).
There are some good things (food, seeing all the animals, experiencing life in Masai village, having land cruiser) and some less good (trying not to buy us tickets, organized bad transport for the way back, entering in our room while we were not there, idea that the tourist is the bag full of money).
In each section i will write both sides in details. My boyfriend Yekta already left a review (should be 2nd review under mine... I will also respond to Mr. John who found himself offenfed after reading the review of my bf).
We paid daily 120 usd for the land cruiser (car, driver, gas included). We rented if for 3 days (was supposed to be 2, i will explain under why 3).
If you will have extra questions, ask me on my Instagram @thismorningiwokeupin. I was in about 60 countries, made many tours, so i can tell i am experienced traveler.
Let's start from the beginning:
Arriving there - we were coming from Narok to John's village. John offered us to use matatu for 1000 KES, but we didn't know what time it goes and we missed it. It was very hard to find another transport to the village, we had a lot of problems (because of the rain and going with the car which was not 4x4). However, John was always available by phone. I recommended you to organize the transport before coming (John can help you).
Accommodation - Masai house, one room for you, one room for John and chefs... It was nice to stay there, meet the kids, talk with adults, "play" with animals... Walls in the house are thin, so whenever someone is speaking you can hear. There is no electricity (we had to charge phones in the car. Keep this on mind if you are carrying camera!) or mosquito net over the bed. Shower and the toilets were outside, in the nature. They can make buckets full of the warm water for you.
Lock your room (bring your own locker?) - we noticed that some food is missing in our room, i also found the package of my chocolate out of the house on the floor... John told probably kids entered and took it...
I suggest you to bring some extra food with you before coming to the village. Shops are limited with choice, there are some restaurants inside of Masai Mara NP. Kids will be happy too to eat some cookies :).
One thing what should be mentioned before coming - if it is raining, it is extremely muddy, slippery and not everyone would be able or want to walk there. (For me it was not a problem, maybe only for my snickers :D)
Food - breakfast was one boiled or fried egg per person, butter and toast bread. Sometimes with extra beans and pancakes. Lunch was the same as breakfast (egg, toast bread, butter). For the dinner we would get a lot of rice with vegetables, some meat, fruits, chapati... Normally they would ask if we have some dinner wish. In total dinner was delicious. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable that 1 or 2 of them would stand next to us and stared at us while eating (they would tell they ate before, but as they were staring we would offer them to eat, they would tell they will eat after us - it confused us - we were not sure if all the food is really only for us (as they told at the start... or they are waiting to eat and if we eat everything they would have nothing?? ).
Restaurant lunch - one day John told we will go to eat barbeque in the restaurant instead of home. We told ok, barbeque sounded good :). When we arrived in the restaurant, they told they don't serve a barbecue... 2 of our chefs ate with us - when the bill came, they didn't offer to pay their part, it was expected that we pay (again not a big money, but it is polite to offer to pay your own part or tell thank you after someone else pays for you).
Safari - Be sure that they buy for you the entrance tickets!
We were able to choose between 2 options - to have land crusiser in the morning (aprx 6 till 9am) and late afternoon (aprx 3 or 4pm till 6pm) OR for the full game drive (8am-4pm). In total, we saw big 5 and many other animals.
1st day - We went to the river and short walk with the scout. We got stuck with land crusier in the mud near the elephant with the babies - it was a bit scary (it can happen to anyone:). I was surprised that they don't have any protection with themselves (like smth to make animal sleep if it attacks), but i don't know what are the rules about it so maybe it is normal not to have.
2nd day - we again gave160 usd for the tickets to enter the National Park. We noticed that John and, the owner of the land cruiser, Steven didn't buy the tickets so in the evening we asked if we can get our tickets. They told it was crowded on the entrance (how crowded it can be in the low season?), they decided to avoid that entrance and go directly in (and they told that workers on the gate know vehicle registration plate, they will charge them later for the tickets, that if they don't pay they can have serious problems). John mentioned in the answer to Yekta that they went fast inside to see the leopard --> on that day we entered twice in the NP. We saw leopard around 16:30 (we entered in the NP at 15 h!). Cheetahs were seen next day. First time we entered was around 05:50 and i didn't notice many cars around. Also, one thing they told was that we were allowed to enter in the NP earlier than normal. If so, how it could be crowded? Notice the contradiction?!
John is telling they bought the tickets next morning - no, they went to buy it after we insisted on them to go for it the same evening (they were telling before how the ticket will be for that day, but as expected he came back with brand new tickets for the next day. It was obvious he got nervous about the whole situation).
3rd day - since we got one extra day tickets for free we decided to stay and use it. That is the answer on John's question why we stayed 2 extra nights. We had to pay again 120 usd for the car. In the afternoon John invited 2 more Masai people to go with us, but he didn't ask us before if it is ok. He asked when we were already inside the car and we had no option, but tell yes. Honestly, i would like that we were alone with him + eventually one extra person sitting next to him, not having someone sitting back with us - then it is not anymore a private tour.
Leaving tips - Sometimes they would repeat multiple times to "take a good care of chefs/whoever". I think tips are optional and we should leave according to our satisfaction with the service. It is ok to mention once at the start to leave tips at the end if we liked certain service, but to repeat it multiple times is pressuring. Once, we asked 2 of them how much we should leave for the leader from the another village (they took us to see it + dance, in total it took inside max. 30 min.) - they told us some tourists leave few thousand KES (means 50 USD or so). We left less than that and the leader of the village didn't seem very happy about it (and all of them were staring to see how much we left, he counted money in front of us). Before leaving Kenya, we talked with some Kenyans in Nairobi and we asked is it normal to leave tips and how much - they told it is not normal, but we can... They told us 500 KES is already a lot for tips, but we didn't have the same impression from the village. People there have to understand that not all of the tourists are bag full of money, it is already expensive to pay for the tour itself. I suggest you to bring envelopes and give tips inside of it.
Going back to Narok - John organized '"matatu". That "matatu" was actually normal car for 5 people (not a van neither 4x4 wheels). Inside there were 10 PEOPLE (including John and his brother)!!! 3 sitting in front, 4 behind and 3 in the baggage. 3 of 4 doors were not possible to open from inside of the car, window on my door was also not able to be opened... You could hardly breath and ride itself was very dangerous. Car broke down after the certain point and we switched to the new car. They asked us to pay 1000 KES (~10 usd) per person for supposed to be 2 hours ride in such conditions. We believe that they overcharged us, because we are tourists. No one can convince me that all the people in the car paid 1000 KES each, it would mean about 90 usd total. Even when we were coming from Narok to the village, regular taxi for 5 people charged normally 600 KES per person.
Mr. John - despite some troubles up, i believe he si intelligent and friendly person. I wish him a good work with the company and i hope he will not get poisoned by the idea that everybody are "tourists with lot of money" and he will work with people as "travelers" who want to see, feel and enjoy the local culture.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fast corrective action by Matoke
We organized a four day gorilla tracking in Uganda with Matoke. We left Kigali and drove to Rushaga, where we tracked one day and another day we tracked at Nkuringo. If your budget allows, we would highly recommend doing two days gorilla tracking. Our hotel in Uganda was Gorilla Safari Lodge and it wasn’t anything to write home about.
The problem was that Matoke subcontracted transportation to the lodge and the lodge took the outsourcing a step further and hired another company. This third company sent us a driver that could not communicate in neither English or French and had never been to the lodge. We got lost on the way. The lodge did not have a meal ready when we arrived. The driver never wore a uniform and when we met he did not even know the names of the people he was meant to pick up. On day two, our driver was nowhere to be seen and had to be called by the lodge. He eventually came to pick us up and drove us to the wrong entry point. Someone from the hotel had to get in the car with us to take us to the right place. Frustrated with the two days, we wrote to Matoke and the corrective action was decisive and swift. They were unaware that the hotel had outsourced our driver to another company and that they had sent an unprofessional and inexperienced driver. They immediately sent one of their own drivers, gave us a complimentary massage each, covered our laundry bill and were quick to follow up on how things were doing.
I’m happy to say the story ended well and our Matoke driver was everything driver one was not: he was polite, knowledgeable, spoke English, and knew how to get to our destinations. We felt in good hands with him. Matoke was apologetic and responsive, which we appreciate. Our only recommendation would be to choose outsourcing partners more carefully and ensure that if other companies provide one of their services, it is done with the same Matoke standards.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great camp, delicious food but guide was just a driver and did not explain anything.
Good communication and very punctual. Excellent food throughout especially at the camp. No water was provided however even though this was supposed to be included. Beautiful camp but guide was utterly useless - very good driver but he did not explain anything at all so really disappointing.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great planning, mediocre execution
We booked a 4 day Serengeti honeymoon through Walter with a 5-day Zanzibar add-on. We chose to book with him because he was easy to communicate with and seemed extremely knowledgeable. The detailed trip descriptions customized for the season gave me confidence that he would arrange a great trip for us.
Altogether, Walter's recommendations for lodging were all spot on. All the accommodation he recommended were truly outstanding.
Reasons for the 3-star review:
1) My most serious complaint was our guide named Anderson. While he was a safe driver, always punctual, and seemed very competent at finding game we had an unbelievably hard time communicating with him and that really put a damper on the trip for us. To give you some background, I have lived in the Middle East and Africa for extended periods of time so I would consider myself adept at speaking with non-native English speakers. However, both me and my wife found ourselves constantly frustrated. Anderson could not teach us much about the nature that we came to see nor could he answer our questions. To be honest, we would ask a question and usually get a completely off-the-wall answer as he didn't understand what we had asked. Eventually driving around gets boring if you don't know what you're really looking at with any depth! Other travelers and their guides we met along the way did not seem to have this issue.
2) There were some permit issues entering two of the parks, each one causing a 1-2 hour delay when we would have preferred to have been relaxing in the lodge. The driver tried to tell me it was the network, the park employees clarified it was poor preparations although didn't further elaborate. I ended up having to pay entrance fees to one park which I did get reimbursed for.
3) Our guide decided to go off the road in Serengeti to get closer to some lions. It was our first day and we had no idea that this wasn't allowed. Sure enough, the rangers came and we had to follow them back towards the airport (nearly an hour away in the wrong direction) for our driver to get a 'ticket.' About 5 minutes into this drive they stopped and motioned our driver out of the car. Next thing we knew our driver was asking us for money to bribe the rangers. I said I would not give him money. A few minutes later we were on our way without paying a fine. I have no idea what exactly was going on... I have no idea if this is a setup or common occurrence but it certainly left a bad taste in our mouth.
4) The airport transfer that Walter arranged for us in Zanzibar consisted of an hour of entrapped salesmanship. The transfer company he contracted was also a 'tour company' and spent the hour pushing countless tour options which we were not at all interested in. We both arrived with headaches.
Bottom line: I would trust Walter's planning again but I'd be weary of your guide. I honestly would go so far as to talk with your guide on the phone ahead to be sure you can communicate. Don't trust other's TripAdvisor notes mentioning guides because ours actually had a few decent comments!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
High Dollar tipping required ??
Good day
It has come to our attention by a couple that has completed a tour lately with your organization that they were required to tip $20 per day to the guid and $10 each to the assistants.
Kindly advise why this is required from the tourists. I was a tour guid in RSA and this was not the norm.
Percival Fourie
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Safari-Best driver-be careful with pricing
We were supposed to be a group of 4 Italian friends; we ended up being only 3 as one of us could not travel at last minute because he got sick. We had a 10 days tour touching Tarangire, Manyara, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Natron. We were extremely happy about the places, animals and tribes we have visited. All very authentic except for the Masai tribe in Ngorngoro that was quite touristic (paid 20 dollars each for 15 minutes very touristic tour); they were asking for money every now and then. Lake Eyasi and Lake Natron are out of the touristic places and so worth visiting. Other tour operators refused to offer Lake Natron as the road to get there was adventurous, and it was indeed. The best part of our trip was Chediel, our fantastic driver! He has never been tired of showing us things, telling us stories about animals (African tales and scientific things as well); he was able to spot the farthest ceetah and taking us close enough to count all the spots on the fur! He was joyful and nice all the time. He also very quickly solved the only problem we got while driving. The jeep sank into the sands and he worked hard to take it out. If you ever choose this tour operator please ask to have Chediel as your guide!!
Unfortunately we could not say exactly the same about Joseph, the tour operator leader, as he was paying more attention on money than on services. He did not provide us with a detailed program and he did not provide us with useful information for what is surely a difficult trip. For example, he did not send us general information on what to wear, what to bring, how a day/meal/dinner was supposed to be (I had contacted 25 tour operators for a quotation and most of them sent these on quotation without even waiting for us to book the tour). For example we were not told to wear a bathing suit when visiting the waterfalls in Natron; we were said we would have had wifi in every lodges while this was not the case for two out of seven lodges (and in other two the wifi was not really working although apparently available). At the end of our trip he helped us to arrange our connection from Dar es Salaam Airport to the ferry harbor (tricky! please allow you lots of time in advance as the traffic is horrible). We thanked him for this, but listen to my consideration: he charged us 50 dollars for the ride (which was absolutely fine) plus 7 dollars each on top of the price for the ferry ticket (that we had booked in advance) because apparently he had to change shelling in dollars to buy the tickets and the commission was to be payed by us (which I absolutely agree), BUT I disagree on EACH of us. Do you really think he paid three commissions and not one? do you ever change money in three different rounds for three friends or would you change money all together to avoid three commissions? Also, as said, one of us could not travel last minute. He gave us back less than 1/10 of the money paid by him saying it was just because of my kindness otherwise he would have not given the money back because apparently he had already used that amount to book the places and even payed the ticket to the parks (which were not). I understand this was last minute and high season, but let's try to be reasonable and honest. I do not believe he could not save money from all the amount my friend had paid and I explain you why: we had paid in advance only 1/3 of the whole trip, but we had not signed any type of contract. What if the all of us had not shown up at all? would he have risked to loose all of those money?? i don't believe so. And by the way when asked to provide a receipt he only issued one for the money we paid there and not for the ones we had send by bank transfer... One last thing... (and ok maybe this was a genuine mistake but when you have more things to complain about it's better to say)...he took me to the counter to change money I needed to give him... he gave me back 8 dollars less than due...
Having said all of this, I am not "Not suggesting" to book with Tomodachi, I am only suggesting to make sure your driver is Chediel and you make clear everything with Joseph before agreeing.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Could have been perfect but too many big mistakes
I planned this trip for almost two years. Through internet search I stumbled upon Kalahari Skies. Eddy, the owner, was very forthcoming and ready to answer my questions. We were open to options and budget was not a factor, we were indecisive between a mobile safari or private camps. He advertised his services and a mobile safari as more likely to see game over any private camp in the delta. While we did see a good amount of game and of course it was beautiful, we actually saw more at the end of our trip in a private concession, with no cars around (versus the many cars in the national parks) and with more dramatic encounters (missed kill, lions, cheetahs....). In hindsight I would say that Eddy's recommendations were very self serving.
Upon arrival in Maun, after a 25 hour journey, no one was at the airport to welcome us. We watched as tourists after tourists were being picked up by their tour operators. We were stranded, tried calling the office with no luck and after one hour managed to get picked up by our hotel. This was quite disappointing and upsetting. Our guide later apologized for his mistake and took full blame for his oversight, but Kalahari Skies should have reminder/checks and not rely only on the guides they independently hire. They should also have someone in the office during the day answering calls.
The team we were assigned to was extremely nice, and our guide Newman was incredible. We all fell in love with him. He is knowledgeable, a very good driver, considerate, flexible, and I would recommend him to anyone. The food in the camp throughout the safari was excellent, the lunches in the road less so, mostly sandwiches and cookies. The tent accommodations were nice and adequate, with enclosed hot showers, the cots could use pads as they are quite hard. The nights were very very cold and much colder than what we had been told, we were not as prepared as we should have been. The temperatures were not in the low 50's but closer to low 40's. I would recommend bringing several long layers and a wool cap for the morning drives. Some blankets for the early morning drives would be nice.
There were a few things that did not work for us: 1. Too much driving between camps. Being on the road from 6:30 am to 4 pm is just too much. Arriving any earlier would mean that the camp is not set up and it is clear that they discourage you from arriving earlier. Animals are mostly quite during the mid day, as it is very hot, and driving around that time is not ideal. If I had to do it again I would only concentrate on two camps with just one long day of driving, and I would fly in and out avoiding the first and last drive. 2. The overall itinerary that we relied on Eddy to create, Moremi-Khwai-Savuti, leaves the least attracting area for last, with the least attracting camp. Again, this is not something that Eddy brought up and he should. We relied on his knowledge and were open to his suggestions. It was a mistake. A little research on my end would have made me realize the downsides of Savuti 3. We chose to do a mobile safari for the authentic feel of camping close to the animals. Savuti, unbeknown to us before we arrived there, is a camp with shower and bathrooms facilities that are mandatory, meaning you have to use the communal bathrooms. We found it took away from the experience. But what was really really upsetting was to arrive in Savuti and find that our camp site was the worst one, in front of the communal bathroom. The camp sites are not first come first serve. They are assigned as soon as one books. Some obviously have a much better location than others. There are other better camp sites in Savuti, so make sure to specify a private one. In Moremi and in Khwai we felt completely alone and away from everyone. We could not hear or see any other camp site. We booked this trip a year in advance. To arrive in Savuti and find that we were in the path of everyone else going to the bathrooms and with the view on the ugly facilities was such a turn off that we decided to drive straight to Kasane and cut our journey short. It was either that or having a less that magical experience, maybe taking away from what we had experienced until then. If I had to find a good analogy I would say imagine booking a flight a year in advance with an agency that is supposed to reserve you a seat, and finding upon boarding that you are at the end of the plane in the middle seat closest to the bathroom. This was a large oversight by Kalahari Skies and the main reason why I am giving 3 stars. If no better camp site was available they shoul dhave notified us as this particular one is absolutely not acceptable. I do not fly half way through the planet, plan a trip for two years, and rely on the tour operator to find myself stranded at the airport and my tent pitched in an open area next to the bathrooms with strangers walking through.
CA
Experience level: first safari
Rock, Rattle and Roll
I have to say that Wildebeest was a disappointment for sure. Communication before our trip was excellent. I checked references and all was great. However, following our trip, and before writing this review, I gave Noah, the owner, a chance to respond privately to my concerns and he said he would look into it, but I have not heard anything.
1. Itinerary
My instructions about what we wanted was the Big 5 and the Migration. We did not see the Big 5--missed the rhino. We understood that seeing the actual crossing of the wildebeest is not guaranteed. However, I think that too many days were scheduled to try and see the crossing both in the Mara and the Northern Serengeti. We would have been better off remaining in the Mara for another day, rather than spending a day travelling to the Northern Serengeti--essentially wasted time. We saw thousands of wildebeests, but they did not cross when we were there. It was a very expensive part of the trip and I think, having had the experience, we would have been happy with just the Mara and skipped the northern Serengeti. As i said, it took a lot of travel time, and waiting around for hours on end, for the second time, became a bit boring. The other animals were not plentiful, the accommodations were not good. It also have been better spending more time in the central Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We had less than one day of viewing in each of them and in Ngorongoro we paid extra to extend our viewing in the crater as we were only scheduled for 3 hours. It was very badly planned in this respect. Also, I would recommend staying a second night in Ngorongoro, despite some extra costs. Again, we felt that we had too much wasted time travelling to a second lodge.
2. Vehicles
We had a number of concerns about the vehicles used. The first one, in the Mara, was okay, but the seats were permanently reclined--so not wonderful, but it was only a couple of days. The second vehicle which we had for 6 or 7 days was not up to par. We rocked, rattled and rolled---and though we did survive without a breakdown, the vehicle was below standards. It was old and literally rattled all the time so it was impossible to hear the guide unless you were sitting beside him. There were no seat belts in rear seats--which we believe was not legal. The windows did not operate well and were old and blurry--not good for viewing. The walkie talkie was not fully operational--and we think this had a significant impact on communications resulting in less viewings. We will never know! There was no cooler and water supplied was in huge bottles that got warm and were covered in dust. I had inquired from Noah about an air conditioned vehicle and was told it was not necessary because it was not the hot season. This was not correct. There were parts of the journey that we would have definitely closed the windows to avoid the dirt and dust, and this was not possible without the air conditioning, which was not working in the vehicle.
3. Accommodation
Our accommodation were all very nice except the Northern Serengeti where we were lodged in the Angata Migration Camp. The facilities were a bit too basic--not even an hand towel in the public bathroom and only tissue with no waste basket--kind of ridiculous in a place that was billed as "luxury". Also no hand towels in the room, rough floors, and extremely poor lighting. But most significant was that the bed netting was poor, it had holes and was dirty. This is in an area of the Tse Tse, so I spent 15 minutes every night re-arranging the netting. Food was okay at most places, but lunch boxes were not the greatest.
4. Guide/Drivers
We had two different guides. Eustice, in Kenya was very personable. knowledgeable, helpful, but very strict about rules, which we cannot hold against him! In Tanzania, our guide, who was a contractor, was very knowledgeable, but we had to ask questions to get the information. He was quite serious in personality and our main concern with him was his extreme confidence in himself which we felt prevented him from getting information from others. He also, without informing us, decided not to go to see some rhinos that were reported spotted, thinking they were too far away. He did not consult us and others at our camp were able to view them. He told us after we were back in camp! In the end, we never did see the rhino, and we do have some resentment over this. We would have said to go to see them for sure.