20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
memorable experience
We had a great time overall- lovely team and good organisation overall with quick responses to all queries and great flexibility as well with regards to the tour! Overall, it met all expectations and would definitely recommend if you are looking for a well tuned operator who can deliver a memorable and well organised experience.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Communicative and professional staff and a very knowledgable and friendly tour guide.
Top level: Marst are a sound outfit that delivered what was promised and communicated with us clearly, and an absolutely excellent guide Ben. If I went on another safari I would not hesitate to book with Marst and ask for Ben again, and I recommend them to anyone.
We booked a 6-day safari with Marst that took in Amboseli (Serena lodge - 2d), Naivasha (Sopa lodge - 1d), Nakuru (Sopa lodge - 1d), and Mara (Ashnil Mara - 2d). We decided on this itinerary after looking at various itineraries on safaribookings and then getting some quotes, and then selecting the itinerary we liked best and asking for more quotes for specifically that so we could compare like-for-like. We chose Marst based on the fact they had great previous reviews, were responsive and clear in comms, and they matched the best price from others.
Things to note:
1) be prepared to be in the car all the time. We knew this in theory but it really is a lot of driving - ~5h between parks, and within the park nearly all the tour is based on driving around or sitting in the vehicle to look for animals. We went for a land cruiser with a pop-up roof and I would recommend this - comfortable, roomy and with lots of suspension and ground clearance. There are also smaller minivans available which we did not try so we can't compare.
2) Hotels. If your hotel is "tented" it really means a tent roof in your room. Silly of us not to realize perhaps, but we were new to this. We had that for 2 nights (Ashnil Mara) and its a different experience to a "proper" roof - it gets colder at night in July which is the coldest period of year -- though not too cold, and they provided hot water bottles. the tent was large and high and there was masonry around the toilet/shower facilities, so it was not cramped at all and it was a novel experience. All our hotels were good, Sopa Naivasha had best food and the largest rooms of the 4 hotels. For us 2 adults and 2 kids, all the hotels had prepared 2x rooms that were next door and all except Sopa Nakuru had connecting doors internally. The hotels are all very well spaced out so get used to walking 200m from your room to the main dining/reception area. All except Asnhil had wifi throughout.
3) we sent money by bank transfer to avoid credit card charges. This was a bit scary since you're sending money to a foreign company and there's no "ABTA" industry-wide insurance coverage equivalent, so we sent a few dollars first, asked Marst to confirm reception and amount, and then sent the rest. Expect to prepay as hotels want a large deposit to reserve rooms.
4) The actual animal watching was amazing. We saw lions, elephants, a leopard, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, jackal, hyena, baboons, vultures, flamingos, pelicans and many other birds, uncountably many zebra and wildebeest in the great migration, hippos, rhino, a crocodile, and gazelles and antelopes of many species. Ben was our guide/driver and he is simply excellent - friendly, very very knowledgable, and a great safe and smooth driver (which is important given that there's a lot of unsafe driving in Kenya compared to European standards and it was so good to feel in safe hands throughout), and accommodating any requests.
5) we got esims for data plans which is great since our mobile provider charges for Kenya. We coudl install these in the UK and then just turn them on on landing for data only, with calls/texts coming through the normal sim. Recommended for convenience and not having to sort it out on arrival.
6) We got dropped off at 5pm for a British Airways 11pm flight, and the check-in didnt open until 7pm, and there's nowhere to sit in the pre-check-in areas of JKIA terminal 1A, so i'd recommend ensuring that you have somewhere else to be up to checkin time.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our memorial and Remarkable tour Experience
I and my family were warmly welcomed by Davis ( Guide) of serengeti Green Tanzania when we arrived in Arusha for Holiday. He was such a humble guy that we felt welcomed from the first day. He real deserves a special thanks and appreciation. During our tour we were able to see elephant, leopard and rhino very closer. We had a nice accommodation particularly Rhino Lodges,they are very nice Generally we highly recommend serengeti Green Tanzania for their professional expertise in tour guiding
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great assistance from the bookink, kindly suggested!
The best price and service for safari trip, worm suggested!
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service and value for money!
We just returned from a four day Masai Mara and Naguru Safari with the brilliant Francis.
From start to finish he was a fountain of knowledge and did everything in his power to make sure we had an amazing experience.
I cannot recommend Lenchada and Francis highly enough. Thanks to then we had the most spectacular and unforgettable time.
EG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing trip
Everything was perfect and done as scheduled. The internal flights, hotels and transportation were good, safe and perfect as planned. I like their hospitality. They were so kind and cooperative all over the trip.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great experience, friendly service, and good food!
We booked a last minute 3 day safari with Tanzania Inside and Safari that included Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara. Our tour manager, Joseph, was incredibly friendly and reached out immediately to help us shape the exact experience we wanted, even with the tight timeline. The lodging was excellent at Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, we had a great view of the lake and got to watch a large troop of baboons wander through the grounds from our balcony. Our driver, Edward, was very accommodating, particularly as we had an excited three year old with us. He was knowledgeable on all the animals we saw on safari, in particular the many beautiful species of birds. Edward had a sharp eye and was always quick to point out birds and animals we otherwise may have missed. Another bonus of Tanzania Inside and Safari was the food, rather than the boxed lunches we've gotten with others, they provided a delicious lunch of Swahili food each day of the tour. Overall, we were very satisfied with our tour and would strongly recommend them, particularly if you are traveling with young children. The 3 day experience was perfect as it was not overwhelming or too exhausting for a toddler. We will definitely use Tanzania Inside and Safari for future excursions.
Our guide gave us a tremendous experience due to his kindness, connections and professionalism
We learned so much from our tour and enjoyed it from pick up to drop off. Shawn is so knowledgeable and kind. He paid attention to every detail regarding our needs. We will book again with him in a heartbeat. He’s the best
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Guaranteed experience of a lifetime!
What an amazing experience we’ve had for the past few days, thanks to Mafie Adventures. Since the beginning of contact, Erastus was constantly available for questions, while pre-arranging all different necessities for our 4-day safari tour. Our guide was such a great guy and a great driver as well, we didn’t feel unsafe one time. You felt his years of field experience throughout our trip, allowing us to get a unique safari exceeding all of our expectations! The fact that we could bring our own input into the safari, i.e. what time we wanted to leave in the morning etc, allowed for us to really have a great time. I would highly recommend booking with Mafie.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari - Thanks to Chloe and Off2Africa
I found Off2Africa through Safari Bookings, as they had a suggested trip that fit my needs and budget for our trip to Victoria Falls and Botswana (Chobe and Okavango Delta). I was a bit skeptical at first since I normally don't make such a large purchase through a company that I wasn't familiar with, but the good reviews on Safari Bookings for Off2Africa made me feel more at ease. I worked with Chloe Cottrell, who was fabulous, well informed, and also put me at ease that Off2Africa was a legitimate company. She customized the initial trip to address our additional needs and timing, and suggested lodgings that were fantastic and fit our budget.
We just completed our trip, and I couldn't have been happier. All the locations, transfers, food, etc. were great. I felt that I was pampered by the food, game drives, etc. that made it easy for us to simply sit back and enjoy the ride. Only bad thing is that I think I gained a few pounds from all the good food provided.
Finally, I believe Off2Africa prices were great. I also received a quote from a US agent specializing in Africa, and they mentioned they couldn't provide a quote on the same itinerary/locations without paying much more. In fact, I believe that Off2Africa sometimes may be the middle man for some US agents, so I would suggest cutting out the extra layer and going direct to Off2Africa.