NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent for the price
We had a wonderful 10 days Kenya and Tanzania Safari! We chose mid range package and most places were really good! I was very surprised by the communication from start to finish with Daisy! She was replying really fast to all our questions and doubts. The logistics of the whole trip was well planned even tho there’s so much driving every day (this is inevitable). All breakfast and dinners were excellent! Lunches in Tanzania were delicious, lunches in Kenya were packed boxes with the same every day so we were a bit bored at the end. Our first guide Bryan was the BOMB! He made us see every kind of animals in the park, he was a good driver and a good person in general so we loved our time with him! We also managed to see all animals in Tanzania so if you had to choose only 1 country, don’t be afraid as you will most likely see all of them in any you choose! We preferred the Kenya bit but this is our own opinion! Also we noticed that the budget accommodations were way better in Kenya than in Tanzania! We were so happy we chose mid range in Tanzania but in Kenya we could have chosen budget and it would have been good enough I think (as a couple).
All in all, for the price you pay, I would highly recommend this safari even if there were things we didn’t like, they were not too bad…
Here are the down points: AA Lodge in Amboseli had horribly hard beds and we woke up a few times during the night because of it and the packed lunches were all the same in the Kenya portion so could change a bit. we got the charity hotel in Arusha which is a budget hotel (all the people we met there were on budget tours) so we felt a bit let down on this one. The guides you get really make or break your experience so if you’re not happy with one don’t hesitate to mention it… we had 1 of 3 that knew good things about the park but wasn’t the nicest so we have a little worst memory of those days… Last thing but that’s inevitable: budget midrange and luxury packages share the same car so even if you have different hotels you are in the same tour, which means you need to pick up and drop off everyone at different places sometimes waking up way earlier if you’re picked up first and sometimes adding 10-30mins to your day if you’re dropped off last. This is ok but could be annoying for some.
Here is a review of all lodges:
-Jambo Mara in Masai Mara: excellent huts with good food. Only detail was that any beverage was super overpriced so we ended up not leaving any tips because of this.
-Sarova Woodlands in Nakuru: very good hotel and excellent food at the restaurant.
-AA Lodge in amboseli. Great food but horrible beds and pillows. So bad that we couldn’t sleep properly for 2 days.
-Charity hotel in Arusha: we asked for mid range but this is budget so be careful to review the hotels they give you in the offer on google. We should have done because speaking with all the people in this hotel they said they were in the budget tours so they def didn’t put us on the mid range we paid for.
- Shushudia tents in Serengeti: really good tents with very comfortable beds and great food.
-Hhando lodge in Ngorongo: the best hotel we stayed at with excellent huts and great food. However this is 40 mins outside of the crater so it was too much to go there, come back to the park the next day…
MAKE SURE YOU BRING BINOCULARS!!!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Passionate and dedicated team on budget gear and conditions
Zanzi Trekking offered the best price for the 7 day Lemosho hike that I could find. On top of that, they offered by far the best customer support pre-booking, responding always under a couple hours, with detailed info, a lot of care and empathy, and they were even kind enough to offer us sleeping bags free of charge. I went with just one more friend, and we had the privilege of having a lot of attention from 2 guides and a team of 6 porters and one cook. Everyone in the team was experienced abd committed to making our ascend a success, and they were always driven to find quick solutions to problems. Due to the nature of the mountain and it's climb, surprises are bound to happen (e.g. related to the weather). Being a budget hike, don't expect anything fancy - however, the amenities and services are sufficient, and will throw most hikers outside of the comfort zone at times, which truly contributes to the feeling of accomplishment when reaching the top. The guides were instrumental in helping us reach the summit, as well as descending from it - in our case, since there was a heavy snowfall the night before the final push, there was lots of slippery ice when coming down. Our guides helped me throughout 2 hours, literally giving me their hand/shoulders to support me.
I won't lie, there were some structural things that could be improved, and we made a couple of recommendations in the end - the main one being the quality of the tent, which sometimes had it's zipper jammed and was not completely water proof. However, our team was always quick to find solutions, so in reality we didn't have any problems, just a bit of anxiety at times. For that reason my rating is a 4. But for certain people, those moments actually make up the best stories. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it to people who aren't experienced in camping or haven't done other hikes - except that, this experience will for sure be unforgettable!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience
I booked a 3 days/2 nights safari and I chose the Dumela tented camp. It was perfect, my tent was really comfortable with a fridge, AC and an ensuite bathroom. In the camp, there was a bar and a swimming pool. All the team at Dumela was nice. Shoot out to Rulen who is a very nice person and a very good cook and Suvi who is a nice person as well.
All the team (drivers) were nice and gave us all the necessary information. I had a blast at the Blue Canyon Reserve. Derrick and Prosper, our drivers put crazy energy to allow us to see as many as possible animals. It was the highlight of my trip. The next day at Kruger Park, it was good as well.
The only "bad" experience was the pick-up time/point. I waited for 1h at the lobby because there were some confusions.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The operator made the trip worthwhile.
In regards to communication, everything to do while on the trip was clearly communicated by the operator, the services where really good right from the time set from Kampala until when we came back. The money that for trip you get to enough it right from accommodation, meals, game drive and so much more.
MY
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Awsome Safari Experience
Despite having minor hiccups on travel arrangements i.e. changing vehicles and guides/drivers quite often due to logistics and shared vehicles, all other itemised arrangements were delivered accordingly.
Benson is my point of contact and the person who made all my 7N/8D Kenya Safari Tour arrangements
Prior to making any bookings, ask as much questions as possible in particular any additional charges for changes or extras you have requested that differs from the itinerary etc. And if affordable, get upgrades from the tented camps that can be very basic from stay to food provided. Even with upgraded accomdations, that doesn't mean creepy crawlies or lizards are at bay, so be prepared.
My comment to the accommodation is please have City Max Hotel in Lake Nakuru changed to another option as the hotel is less than desired despite food was very nice with generous portions and its staff were every accommodating and pleasant.
After numerous of vehicles and guides / drivers changed, James Muteti, is my favourite as he is not only knowledgeable but also very patience and attentive. All gudes and drivers that I had encountered, had definitely went the extra miles to ensure that we see as many wildlife as possible.
Kindly also ensure you have all the guides' / drivers' contacts during your trip to enable any communications when needed. Also please bear in mind if you are not on a private tour, then you are sharing vehicle or transport with other fellow tourists. Therefore please be mindful and be punctual as when you are late, you will also delay others.
That's what happened to me on 2 days, on both occasions some other tourists decided to retimed their own breakfast holding back their pickups resulting in me waiting 40 minutes for mine!! And all these delays resulted in us cutting back on time allocated for other things in the day or guides / drivers driving at high speed or rerouting to catch up on the time in addition to arriving very late at another destination on travel days. So at times the delays are not fault of the guides / drivers but are other inconsiderate tourists.
Many thanks to Benson, and all the guides/ drivers on my this trip, David, Kennedy, James, Gabriel, Eric and Kim in keeping me safe and making my safari experience an awesome one.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very fast and efficient and helpful
Hello, we had a great time! This tour is exceptionally value for money considering what you get. The staff were all nice and helpful and knowledgable.
FI
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good service
We saw many interesting animals we'd hope for. Started early each morning but it was worth it.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Adventurous and family friendly
Guide was well elaborative and knowledgeable with a high stake of professionalism. The experience was much more than the intentions as he gave us the right timing to be able to meet most of the animals .
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice travel agent. The people are very nice.
The service was excellent, except that we agreed to pick someone up at the airport for free and subsequently asked me for a fee. The price was cheap, the accommodation was mediocre and the overall value for money was good. Recommend it!