50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
True fantastic experience
Absolutely I can recommend ths company.Excellent service,nice people.They really worked hard to keep us happy.
Thank you guys
Arek &Ewa
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Nairobi National Park
Just with a few hours in Nairobi airport, They organised great safari to Nairobi National Park, Safari walk and Giraffe center.
They are good and reliable. Driver car was Ok.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic in every way: from great horses, camp, food, staff to breathtaking landscapes!
I had an absolutely wonderful experience with Namibia Horse Safari Company. As an Australian working in the same industry, I was very impressed with the quality of every aspect of the trip.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive, Helpful, Pleasant, THE BEST
Maryke, Gerrit, and Johan made this portion of our honeymoon totally seamless. Maryke responded very quickly to questions and was extremely proactive in sending our itinerary and travel details early. Gerrit and Johan are both extremely pleasant to travel with and knowledgable about Southern Africa and its wildlife. We felt so well looked after and can not recommend BST Tours and Mr. Shuttle more highly.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding 3-Country Tour Package
Our experience with Compass Odyssey has been outstanding. The process of getting a quote, booking the trip, getting confirmation, and receiving support documents, were transparent and efficient. Darren and Kate were very responsive and attentive in answering our questions, checking up before, during, and after our trip. We always felt were were in good hands and could contact them for any matter. Thank you so much for providing an excellent tour for us.
The Garden Lodge in Boswana was a gem. It was the best lodge experience we ever had. The staff there were friendly, accommodating, and helpful. They took great care of our needs and gave us the best welcome every day. As part of their lodge tradition, one of their staff would join us at dinner every night and we had such a wonderful time with each of them as we learned about their work and life there. Both the game drives and river safari in Chobe National Park were fantastic.
The Bartonka Lodge in Zimbabwe was likewise nice and within easy walking distance to Victorial Fall city center. The ride to Victoria Falls was short and was all part of the tour, and that made it enjoyable.
Overall, we really enjoyed our safari tour with Compass Odyssey and will highly recommend it to our friends.
CO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good approach to Comuna 13 community fight against violence and exclusion.
It was a wonderful experience. My guide was born in comuna 13. He retell the 2000 year’s community sorrow from his point of view.
Comuna 13’s visit is encouraging and hopeful, it deserves to be experienced.
CZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience!!!
All over it was an amazing experience. Sam and Joseph ( our guide and driver) were very friendly, funny, knowledgeable, helpful in every possible way. We booked a trip for 6 days and we saw and experienced so much during these days ( countless of animals, different parks, different adventures etc.). Camps we stayed at were nice and clean, food was good and plentiful, people were very friendly and helpful everywhere. There was no problem ever. Everything went smooth and we had a lot of fun. I will definitely recommend them to my friends. I will remember this trip for the rest of my life. Asante sana Sam and Joseph!!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and professional with everything
I have never been so happy about this dream trip, everything was over my exception.
My tour guid was service minded and had a really good knowledge of the tour and the animals.
I would do it again!!!
LV
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beautiful experience and perfectly organized a littlebit complicated tour.
We started plan our tour 1 year ago.The communication was exelent and very qick.We and Bebjamin finded the best decisions,how to see the Cape Town,winerys,Victoria falls,Botsvana safari and Kruger national park.We saw a lot of animals,big five and the leopard too.In these days national avio company was on strike,but Benjamin solved all the problems.Beautiful safari,beautiful excursions and great time whith Siya Phambile Expeditions.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely Wonderful!
This was my first African safari, but I've traveled extensively all over the world (including hiring private drivers) and this is an excellent operation. All of my communication prior to the safari with Patrick was personalized and thorough and he was willing to work with us to find the right itinerary and lodges to fit our budget.
On the trip itself, we traveled with Kenny. He was an excellent game-spotter, very skillful driver (including in some mudslides and flooded roads, on account of unpredictable weather), always punctual, and always smiling. He was fun to chat with, and during drives from one park to the next, we got to know more about his life and hobbies, Kenyan culture, different types of animals and birds, local foods, holidays, customs, etc.
The van itself was in great shape, with comfortable seats, working seatbelts, and the pop-up roof was great. There were only 3 of us traveling, so we had plenty of room to spread out (it could seat 8 + driver, although I'd recommend a maximum of 6 for your own comfort and maybe less if you have lots of luggage). We had no engine issues, just had to refill the air pressure in a tire along the way, which was a quick fix before it was a major problem and Kenny had a spare tire AND a donut tire just in case, so no worries there. Kenny also kept the van spotlessly clean. He must have washed and vacuumed the car every evening!
On our 5 day/4 night safari, we spent one night each in Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Taita Hills, and Amboseli. All of us agreed that Tsavo and Amboseli were fabulous; all of us thought Taita was "just okay". I think 1 night at each was fine, but then again, I like seeing the changing scenery and habitats. If you want to spend two nights somewhere, Amboseli is the obvious choice. We (independently) did Naivasha & Nakuru after our official safari and both of those are lovely as well if you are looking for additional inspiration. We skipped the famed Masai Mara because it was still wet/flooded from rainy season; in dry season I'm sure it's fabulous!
Overall, we saw TONS of wildlife. You'll want a set of decent binoculars and a camera with good optical zoom, but you'll also quite a bit up close. Some of my favorite sightings: 11 lionesses in a row at Tsavo East at sunset, elephants playing in a watering hole at Tsavo East, Somali ostriches running in Amboseli, red zebras (from the dirt) at Tsavo West, jackals in Tsavo West, male bushbucks challenging each other in Taita Hills, gerenuks in Tsavo East...
Quick thoughts on our lodges:
- Voi Safari Lodge in Tsavo East had great views from the room/restaurant/pool/hide but abysmal food.
- Lion's Bluff Lodge in Taita Hills had great views overlooking the valley, good nighttime game drive (operated by the lodge), but since there's no pool and no wi-fi in the rooms, there's nothing to do between lunch and the evening game drive.
- Ngulia Safari Lodge in Tsavo West...there are probably better options in this area. I didn't like that the lodge baits a leopard outside the lodge for nighttime viewings (unethical) and since the food/rooms were nothing special, I'd ask about alternative lodges.
- Kilima Safari Camp in Amboseli had a great observation tower, beautiful property, massive rooms, and fabulous staff.
We ultimately had to skip one of our game drives in Amboseli because roads were closed (flooding) and Kenny was incredibly apologetic about this change in plans. It was obvious that neither he nor any other driver knew about this in advance -- a whole bunch of groups were in the same predicament. Kenny kept us safe from potential problems and did as much as he could to ensure we still saw wildlife outside of official park boundaries. Hakuna matata; we still had a wonderful visit.
We contacted a few operators before our trip and PD Tours was middle of the price quotes we got. For the incredible service and quality of vehicle, I am very pleased. Payment was made fully in cash while in Kenya. I would budget an extra 1500 shillings (US $15) per person per day to cover bottled water at meals, a daily sundowner or two, and tips for lodge staff like porters, bartenders, servers, and housekeepers. I would also budget generously for tips for your driver...they earn every penny!