35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
From the enquiry stage to the end of the holiday the whole experience has been amazing.
I was welcomed by a nice guy at the airport (early morning) who also showed me some places in Nairobi while driving to the office. When everyone arrived, we left on time with our guide Arony who stayed with us for most of the holiday. Arony definitely helped to make the whole experience extra special. He was knowledgable, professional, funny and an amazing driver ( which really helped). We did the Safari in 3 different parks and all of them were different.
The camps we stayed were basic but everyone was so nice! The hotel we slept on the 3rd night was really good. A nice break between the nights we spent on the tents.
Overall a magical experience.
Thank you all and a special thank you to Arony.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best safari experience ever
We booked our family safari with Bimos travel this year in July. We started our safari in Nairobi and then went to sumburu and stayed at Larsens camp for 2 nights. We then took a flight from sumburu to Maasai Mara. We stayed at Mara Safari club in Maasai Mara. This was definately one of the best trips we have been on and it was first class services from planning phase through the actual trip. If given the chance I would recommend this company to many others.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
BEST safari experience!
We are so thankful we booked our safari with Suricata Safaris!! Hilary was so quick to reply to every email beforehand. They picked us up from the airport so late after our flight was delayed 2 times & put us up in a hotel for the night. The next morning, we were off on our trip. Mandela, our driver/guide, was very knowlegable and had the best personality. He was also very patient with us. Chazz, our chef, made the best meals! I still think about his soups. We lucked out & had 2 other groups of 2 on the trip & we all really bonded over the 4 days. During the safari, we saw everything you could imagine!! It was way beyond my wildest dreams & expectations!! The camping was amazing, the people were amazing, the animals were amazing, everything was just so perfect! Thank you Suricata team for one of the best experiences of my life!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience with an amazing company
Suricata from day one of contact has been an amazing experience. Hilary promptly responds to all my inquiries (I had a lot) and takes care of everything; airport pick-up, hotel stay before and after the safari and transport back to the airport. Our guide was awesome! Mandela was knowledgeable and friendly and added to our groups vibe as we were a pretty wild bunch! Super chill guy. Our chef, Chaz can cook up some meals! My personal favorite were all the different soups, but everything was good. (note that they provide all the water on the safari as well). I can't say enough good things about the experience and the company. HIGHLY RECOMMEND (you can tell I'm serious because I used all CAPS...ha!) Thanks Suricata!! From KCs from California
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded Expectations
Communication with Karibu was easy and straight forward. Efficient pick up time when they told us they would be there at 7am, they were even a bit early. After going to their office and getting everything ready we were able to leave around 9am. Isaac our driver was awesome, very knowledgable and courteous. Whenever our group wanted to stop, he would stop. His eyesight to pick out animals is also amazing! He was ready to answer any questions we had about different animals. Lodging was great and better than I was expecting with proper beds in our tent and a bathroom+shower. Food was often served buffet style with a couple packed lunches in between. Everyone was friendly at our camp. Overall, a score of 11/10. I think it could only be better during the Great Migration!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A total wreck
Before booking this tour I had some communication with Robert. I clearly asked if Karibu had a tour on my dates and he said it did. On my arrival date I went to the office, paid my balance and was subsequently sent to a car that would shortly transfer me to join another group with another company. Karibu never contacted me again.
At a transfer point myself and two other passengers joined a group of 6 other passengers for a total of 10 people (9 tourists plus the driver) The vehicle was so full we all had to sit with our own luggage and supplies between our legs and on our laps as the small space in the rear of the vehicle was woefully inadequate. Despite the fact that the tour was supposed to be maximum 7 people with everyone being offered a window seat and rooftop space, for the long drive to Masai Mara, the first evening game drive and the second day morning game drive we were 9 cramped passengers with three people having to use flimsy extension seats in the middle of the bus (ie. no window seats) and not receiving good views. After 2 passengers left after the morning drive it was still not possible for all 7 passengers to have a window seat and rooftop space as promised as there was only window space for 6 in the back. If you sat in the front of the bus with the driver, there was no rooftop space and you were situated lower.
At the camp, no towels were supplied to us. I only mention this because a few days before I left home I wasn't sure if I needed to bring my own towel so I e-mailed Karibu to see if towels were provided at the camp sites. They told me they were so I didn't pack one. I don't know if this was a lie or because the company they dumped me with used a different camp site with different standard.
On the third day I was supposed to visit Lake Nakura. The night before I reminded the driver since all the other passengers were going to Amboselli. He said he was aware and that I would be dropped off at a transfer point. After we left Masai Mara on the third day, I again reminded the driver about my transfer to Lake Nakuru. His reply was "You are not going, you will be going to Amboselli with us because there is no tour group going to Lake Nakuru today" There was no discussion with me at any point prior to this and had I not said anything to the driver, I don't know when they were planning to tell me. I asked him to call my tour operator (Karibu), but he refused saying this is what his boss had told him and that he was driving now and couldn't call (this despite the fact that he later picked up his phone while driving multiple times). I called Karibu's office on my personal cell phone which was very expensive as I did not have a local SIM card. Robert picked up and was very well aware of the situation. He suggested that they could refund some money which really wasn't a good option for me. He then said I could still go to Lake Nakuru on my last day instead. This would have meant backtracking a very considerable distance and spending about 12 hours in a car to go from Amboseli to the Tanzanian border to Nairobi to Lake Nakuru. It was never a real option as an evening tour at Lake Nakuru would have been impossible. I ended up taking an extra day in Amboseli, which is not something I really wanted to do as I felt one full day there was sufficient. What makes this even more frustrating is that the group that I joined for my second day in Amboseli had been in Masai Mara the previous day. If Karibu had communicated with me that going to Lake Nakuru was not be possible BEFORE I left Masai Mara, I would have much rather preffered to spend the extra day in Masai Mara.
Karibu failed miserably both in terms of communication and in terms of delivering what was promised. When my trip ended I wrote them an e-mail describing my experience and asking for a manager to respond. No one ever did, but after what I experienced, I really wasn't expecting anybody to. A complete disappointment.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Drnnis was amazingly informative of people, land, habitat, and wildlife, as we made great memories.
Everything in our safari was comfort and safety driven. Excellent service all around.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cool name + amazing experience
We found Flash McTours through an older article on the guardian. The article named all the key words for us; "safe", "helpful" "knowledgable guide" + they had the coolest name of them all. And well, it was on the guardian so we figured it actually existed, which is scary since you pay (half) upfront from another country.
Anyway, Peter helped us tailor a safari trip that went from Nairobi (Patrick, the amazing guide, picked us up at our AirBnb in Karen) through the not very Swedish landscape, to Amboseli. We had one night and two game drives there. Then we continued to Tsavo West for one night and had one last night at the unbelievable "Voi" hotel. The food is overall the only bad part, but the views and the game drives way up for it, and ofc the food has nothing to do with Flash McTours but the hotels, which you can change if you pay more. All in all, we loved it all so hope this review made you book a trip with them, and ask for Patrick as your guide, he'll make it a good trip!
NL
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our gids, Fortune and Shebby, were the niciest we could wish for!
Difficult to say, because we were with a school project "Global Exploration". And we weren't really informed about the safari because our teachers didn't tell us.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The perfect Safari tour
We had a great safari trip with our excellent guides Adam and Ryan.