35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Highly organised
From pick-up at the hotel to arrival at the campsite, the organisation was well managed. The gamer trackers arrived on time. We were able to see 4 of the big five. We were delighted with our guide, who was very friendly and patient. Thank you MoAfrika for making our dream come true.
We'll probably be back next year, but this time in the Kruger Park.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unfortunately, Can’t Recommend
This review is long but explains why we would not recommend GoodEarth after two weeks and two excursions with them. We were on back to back safaris with GoodEarth; we did the Kilimanjaro Machame Route Hike and Serengeti to Masai Mara safari from June 25-July 10. We really REALLY wanted this company to work out for us as we spent collectively nearly $12k (USD) on everything and it seemed promising. However once the tour was handed over to the Arusha based team - things quickly fell apart.
It started at the airport for pickup. We landed 4:30pm on a Sunday and were told we’d be greeted by our driver with our names on a sign. We waited and waited and reached out to all the WhatsApp numbers we were given multiple times before we were informed the hotel driver had the wrong name on the name plate. So we waited for nothing. That was our first impression.
We had sent an email to the Arusha office a week prior to landing about renting gear for Kilimanjaro but they weren’t prepared at all. We had to scramble at 9pm Sunday for our Monday morning climb. The morning of the climb - our tour guide, Fredy, forgot to bring some of the gear with him. On our way to the trailhead he asked US to purchase the gear he forgot to pack. We gave him a stern “No”, then he went and found the cheapest gear possible and it leaked our entire climb. Fredy was nice enough, but an EXTREMELY lazy guide. He needed to make frequent stops, was always late, and didn’t want to do anything for himself. At every meal he would call a porter from across the camp to come serve him food that was right in front of him. The entire time on the mountain we listened to him whining and ordering the porters around. It was deplorable, honestly. The last straw for me was when we missed our highly requested and once-in-a-lifetime sunrise on summit day by an hour because Fredy “didn’t want to be cold”. Luckily, Nestory was the assistant guide and respected our time on the mountain. Most of our hike up and the entire hike down was led by Nestory, as Fredy was too tired, too late, or too slow to meet our needs. We were so grateful Nestory was there and we should’ve insisted on him being lead guide on summit day to make the sunrise. The porters were great, especially Reuben and Ola. And Paul, the chef, was amazing - he even went out of his way to make us local food when we requested it. We were extremely grateful to reach the summit and for the rest of the climbing team.
As an apology, the company paid for our laundry and gave us free hats, which was really nice, but the time and opportunity lost (and money spent) were gone forever.
On our safari we ran into issues with the office apparently not paying the park entrance gate fee, causing an hour delay on our game drive at Serengeti. (Luckily the ranger in the gate office eventually had mercy on us and let us in.) At another gate, GoodEarth somehow didn’t realize the gate didn’t accept cash. So I had to use my personal credit card to pay our entrance. ($320 USD.) We were also delayed at that gate for an hour.
We did send our issues to Ndashy (the manager), but he only referred us back to Rose in the office. Rose was incredibly sweet but perhaps was overworked, hence the disorganization and mistakes.
No matter which company you choose, the type of guide you get is the luck of the draw. Your guide makes or breaks your experience… During our Serengeti safari we had Elias, who checked in with us frequently and made sure we were ok. He wasn’t quite as charismatic as other guides we’ve had, but he’s good. If you’re the quiet type, he could be a nice fit. Elias also helped me surprise my husband with the hot air balloon ride I had secretly booked to celebrate our anniversary. He was so clever in helping me convince my husband we were going for an late night/early morning game drive and I’m forever grateful to him for that! My husband had no idea and the surprise was priceless. We can’t recommend our Masai Mara guide - I’ll leave it there.
Maybe we were just very unlucky with GoodEarth. But it was significant enough for us to not choose them again or recommend them to loved ones. Beside that, obviously the animals and nature were absolutely unforgettable and we hope to visit Serengeti again…
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic day trip
We started the tour visiting the Materuni Waterfalls, coffee tour. It was cool and really nice for a morning hike. Our guide Frank knows everything about the culture, the place and the history. He literally knows every passerby. He also takes great photos. We enjoyed this amazing tour very much.
CZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect organization, very good driver - guide Ken
We have spent one week in Kenya on the safaris organized by Beacon Safaris. Everything went very well. We visited Mt. Kenya national park, Ol Pejeta Conservation, Lake Namuru, Masai Mara and Lake Naivasha. We have seen a lot of animals including lions mainly due to our driver Ken. His driving skills in sometimes difficult conditions were the object of our admiration. Always helpful and friendly. Thank you very much for the exiting exerience.
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our guide was probably one of the nicest people ive ever met. friendly,smart,willing.
Firstly our driver/guide (Faradji) was like i said one of the nicest people on the planet. he was able to answer any question hes been asked, always knew everything about anything not just animal and nature stuff, but also questions about living situations and the people of Africa. We were always at the right place at the right time. I never imagined i would see this many animals from very close distances. His driving was on another level as well (really good driver). Couldnt wish for a better guide and the same goes for the chef (Yassin), the food was even better then in the restaurants, our chef was versatile with the food, breakfast was most of the time same but really delicious, lunches were always 10/10. for example i am not the biggest fan of lamb everytime i tasted it i never really liked it but yassin made the best lamb ive ever tasted a the goes for the chicken. he just never missed.and also his staff was always smiling, friendly,always on time as well. food was balanced and always really delicious. overall our guide was not 5/5 he was 11/10 and our chef was the same 11/10. if youre thinking about going and are worried about anything, just dont be these guys got everything covered. The best trip ive been on.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All good
- The guides we had, Felix and Eric, were nice and helpful.
- The safari itself was really nice. We saw all the animals we wanted to see, and all the trips we did inside Masai Mara and lake Nakuru were really worth it. That's the main thing.
- The accommodations are basic, especially in Masai Mara. But I chose is a cheapish tour, so I was expecting it. If you want more comfort you need to pay more, I guess.
- The food is also basic: Rice, beef, chicken, spinach... Those sort of things. Again, if you want something more fancy you'll probably need to pay more.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Godfrey was a wonderful tour guide. He was relaxed and very organized.
The tour company was excellent. They were efficient, organized, and communicated everything timely. We enjoyed our time traveling. Our accommodations were comfortable, clean, relaxing and hospitable. I would recommend this company, our tour guide, and the accommodations to family and friends. The best part of it all was seeing gorillas!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our tour operator was all I touch
We had great Safari in our 4 days safari’s Masai Mara and lake Nakuru we saw all the animals and Dickson our driver guide was very knowledgeable about animals birds and plants he was. Very flexible and picking us in time for game drive it was amazing to see lots of lions with young curbs lots of Elephants cheetahs etc we highly recommend Dickson as your driver thanks to Axis Africa company for well planned tour
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Experience
From start to finish Jocky Tours and Safaris was responsible and professional. Their guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. We were lucky to have a Kevin as our guide and he gave us the best experience I could have asked for!!