AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience wanting you to come back
We booked 5 days safari and one day Kilimanjaro hike- Materuni waterfall.
Everything was good organized, our guide Wiliam was amazing and managed to show us a lot of animals- almost all of big 5 (to see rhino we need to come back), ugly 5 :) and all in between. We had a personal chef Meshak making us tasty food.
Overall it was a great energy and atmosphere during our safari trip
I would like to say thank you to the people who organised it - asante sana
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What an incredible experience.
We went on safari with Salis for three days. We enjoyed that immensely. Silas is a good and caring driver. He does everything to make sure we have a good time. We were very lucky, we saw a lot of wild animals. Silas is a friendly guide and can tell a lot about the landscape and the animals. After the Safari he arranged a number of other matters for us and he always checked whether everything had gone well. This way we knew we could always count on him. If we come back, we will definitely use his services again.
RS
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari tour
Best Safari tour, so well organized, the driver was always on time, the game drive was the most exited thing we have ever ecperience, the tour guide has experience and thanks to him we saw the Big 5. We had a great picknick in the wild, and enjoyed every second of it. Recommend it heartly for everyone who like adventure. Value for money.
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A remarkable experience!
October 2023, we went for the 7 Days Taste of Kenya Safari Tour.
Overall, we enjoyed it very much and it definetely became an unforgettable adventure!
Firstly, we appreciate Robert's thorough organization of the tour. Robert gave us great details on what to bring and what to expect! He also helped us with getting our visa's; email respondments were fast and reliable.
Our tour guide, Mike, was a standout star. Mike offered detailed insights into the wildlife and the tour's daily schedule. His knowledge of animals and the safari locations was impressive. Mike's sharp eyes even allowed us to spot elusive leopards, rhinos, cheetahs, those hard to find etc. Mike's driving skills were exceptional. He ensured we always had the best positions in the safari. Mike always made sure that we were able to get goods shots of the animals with our camera (attached are some photos we were able to shoot). Great communication, he answered all our questions (even questions regarding the safari cars!), time punctuality was perfect, and every though sometimes the road was crowded, his fast and safe driving made our trip seamless and enjoyable.
As for itinerary, boat ride in Naivasha (which Mike helped us for the payment) and lunch picnic in Masai Mara was superb.
Accomadation was great too!
Here's some points that didn't turn out quite well:
-Mostly our fault, but we encountered an issue with the payment process as we decided to pay half of the money beforehand through bank transfer and another half on the day we arrived, with cash. Trouble happened because we forgot to bring the cash and was in need of currency exchange (We asked the staff members if we can pay the other half by card, and were told they were in need of USD cash). So on the first day of our tour, we were first taken to the airport to exchange money which I thought was a bit unrealistic (as I do not expect cashiers in the airport would have $2000 USD). Finally after sometime at the airport which did not result in good results, the staff told me that Robert would be able to send us a link so we can pay the rest of the money with our card. This resulted in an additional cost (around +30 USD to the original price) which was a bit unexpected. We did not get any reasoning for the additional fees from the company, so we assumed that it was due to commission fees for the financial company behind the payment system. It was a bit disappoiniting as Beacon Safari's gave us great quotations and that was one of the reason we decided to choose this company, but since it was our oversight, we accepted it without asking much.
-Unforeseen changes in government rules affected our safari experience. We weren't able to go to Masai Mara for the last day, and the original cost included all park fees (also for the last day), but no explanation or refund was provided for the adjustments. Still, we understood that flexibility is essential in such situations and we got the last day to chill and go some souvernior shopping so all was good (thank you to Mike again)
-The tour didn't always stick to the planned itinerary. For example, "early morning drives" started a bit later at around 8 AM. Despite this, we were fortunate to see a wide array of wildlife, including the Big Five, which compensated for any deviations :)
In summary, our safari tour, despite some unexpected financial and itinerary adjustments, was a remarkable experience. The standout element of our adventure was undoubtedly our guide, Mike, who made the journey informative and unforgettable. Thank you so much.
If I ever get another chance to go to Kenya (and it's other national parks/reserves), would definetely want to go with Beacon Safaris and Mike again.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Starter and honest operator
I had a wonderful time. After I saw some reviews, I thought I got scammed, but David did not disappoint. I booked my safari 4 months in advance and 2 weeks before the date I contacted him asking about the booking. He said that the safari couldn't go according to plans and proposed to refund us or to rebook another tour. We went for the second option and he did his best to maintain the high level service and fulfill our expectations. Even though the safari was not what we planned or originally wanted, he gave ud an amazing experience that we will not forget any time soon. If you have some doubts about him, I suggest you meet him in person. I would definitely recommend him to someone willing to do a safari in Tanzania.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adelle Bell was most helpful but it would be beneficial to have help in filing the visas was difficu
great company to work with. Communications were very helpful, reliability was superb and the money spent was in reason. Only need for future is helping to file the visas which was a very complex challenge.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly professional
Very good price-performance ratio. Friendly and professional tourguide.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful and remarkable Safari time, nice people of Africa
We had 8days Safari in Kenya and 4nights in Zanzibar which was overall wonderful and remarkable experience. This is our first time in Africa , before we arrived we had lots of worries .... But we finally found most people we met are very nice , polite and willing to help, Hotels are clean and comfortable , arrangement of Safari are full of fun with reasonable schedules. I would say thanks to Wiiliam and our guide Steve and drivers , who provide high quality and professional service, especially William, from beginning to the end he was so helpful and always quick responce of every request of us so that we had a smoothly journey in Kenya and Tanzania. Also our guide Steve are so experienced and talented in founding animals , mostly he was the first one to find cheetahs, Lions and always give us the best position. I will definitely recommend Madukha to my friend.
PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari (Masai Mara is the best)
Our guide was Joseph, always in a good mood and super available, thank you for everything Joseph
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
In my experience Chalo Africa proved to be a conscientious and caring tour operator
I found Chalo Africa helpful and caring, and always prompt in replying when I had problems getting my visa for Kenya. The information about safari clothing was very useful.
From the moment the holiday began, when we were met at the airport in Nairobi, everything worked smoothly and seamlessly and was a delight from start to finish. Worth every penny!