under20 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Relaxed
Thomas was a great driver, got us there safe and on time. I highly recommend Safari Link
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Safari in terms of Wildlife , experience in group not what I expected.
This wasn’t my first time in Africa, as I’ve done several safaris before—but always private tours.
What was new this time was joining a GROUP TOUR with other travelers: my family of three and five additional people. I liked the idea of sharing the experience with others.
ARIPHINE TOUR organized everything for us, nothing to complain about.
I would like to emphasize that this was my personal experience and my following review is based on what Arephine Tour and Safaris organized for us when TRAVELLING WITH A GROUP.
1) I was surprised to find that when you travel in group not all of us were staying in the same lodge. Sometimes the lodges were up to half an hour apart, which meant very early mornings for some of us just to pick up the rest of the group. This often delayed our entrance into the parks, so we rarely started earlier than 7:30–8:00 am and back in the lodge around 5pm . This was disappointing, as the best times to see animals are the first hour in the morning and the last hour before sunset.
2) We chose the budget, but “budget” should not mean poor quality. None of the lodges we were originally indicated were available; we were placed in alternatives that were inferior. I would strongly recommend spending a bit more to secure the accommodation you actually choose, rather than relying on “or similar” options.
Seeing wildlife is always incredible, but what truly makes the difference is having a guide who engages with the group, shares knowledge, and allows you to fully enjoy the moment. Unfortunately, our guide John often seemed in a rush to move from one sighting to another, which didn’t allow us to fully experience what we were seeing. Our driver, John… well… he was often distracted by his phone or social media, which affected the quality of the experience.This was not only my own impression it was shared by the rest of the group too. He had the knowledge of animals and birds, but his attention was frequently elsewhere, so questions from the group were answered only briefly.
Visiting places like Masai Mara, Amboseli, and Nakuru is always wonderful because of the wildlife itself.
That said, in hindsight I would have chosen a private tour for a fully satisfying experience. Group tours can work well if you are very very flexible, easy-going, and open to adjustments, but for those seeking a higher-quality experience, a private safari is definitely worth it.
Despite the challenges, seeing these incredible animals in their natural habitat is unforgettable, and the trip still offered moments of true magic. Next time we come back we will still contact Ariphine Tour but choose a private tour :-)
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
We experienced the best and worst of what Kenya has to offer
We visited Kenya for roughly two weeks in March, 2026. We were on a fantastic safari for seven days which brought us to Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Hells Gate and Masai Mara Parks/Preserves. The lodging, all Sopa Lodges, was superb as was the dining. Our tour company, Marurumi Safaris was excellent - James and Ivy were personable, knowledgeable and a joy to be with. Most of all the wildlife was unbelievable on all standpoints; accessibility, visibility and the abundance of species.
Outside of the Safari we spent several days in Nairobi was well as visiting Oyugis and Kisumu in western Kenya. Our short visit to downtown Nairobi on day one was marred by being confronted with blatant government corruption. I unknowingly took a single cell phone photo of the parliament building from across a four lane street. I was immediately approached by two guards armed with automatic weapons and threatened with jail and a fine for taking the photo; my phone was also confiscated. Luckily, I was accompanied by a Kenyan citizen who knew that what the guards really wanted was a bribe. It took roughly 60 USD to get my phone back.
Corruption and open bribery also reared its ugly head at the parks. It was clear that bribes needed to be paid to park officials as park in addition to the official entry fees. It was also clear that the official entry fees are not used to help improve the parks.
Traveling around the country was great; the scenic beauty of the rural countryside, tea plantations and sunsets over Lake Victoria were awesome. But, the lack of infrastructure, pollution and horrendous traffic detracted from the overall beauty.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Thorough, precise, helpful and reasonable.
Our second safari with eXplore Plus Travel & Tours (Serengeti in 2025). We requested a small group, exclusive safari of the Okavango Delta with minimum travel arrangements starting in Cape Town and paying with ZAR Rand. We got we asked for and more. Efficient flights, friendly and knowledgeable staff, lovely camps, super food and lots of Kodak moments. Would recommend this to anybody.
TT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
She is attractive to our needs and happiness.
I was in a group of people over 60 years old but everyone enjoyed a fast paced journey, safely. Knowledge of the country's history and presence day was very impressive. And we all felt safe at all times. Also experiencing wild life in their natural habitats and then in a close up zoo type eye opening experience was great. The hotel we stayed at was clean and had delicious food.
I hope to be blessed to enjoy more of what else is there to see.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime!
We planned a once in a lifetime Safari vacation, visiting Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Zanzibar. We chose Super Eagles to be our guide and they did a wonderful job plotting out route to help ensure we were able to hit the highlights. The guides were great and the accommodations within the parks were better than anticipated. We'd be happy to recommend Super Eagles to friends and family when they plan their Africa Safari vacation.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience
We initially started researching the tour we wanted a few months before our scheduled trip in March. We had other commitments in Mombasa and were travelling with our children and parents so wanted to stay within Mombasa. We chose 5-Day Unique Luxurious Kenyan Coast Tour which featured Day 1 Tsavo East National Park- Day 2&3 at Amboseli National Park, Day 4 Tsavo West National Park and then returning to Mombasa airport on the 5th Day.
Jack from Loushir African Safaris was very communicative and also assisted in some modifications to the accommodation that I wanted. Jack was able to meet all my requests. The tour started off from our hotel and we met the staff from Loushir African Safaris which was appreciated. Our tour guide John was fantastic and part of the success of the tour was becuase of him. He was friendly and respectful and very knowledgeable about the safari and the animals. He was also a very skilled driver which is really needed in this part of the world!
We did encounter an issue with the tour hence the slighly less score. The original package put together by Loushir African Safaris listed the journey time between day 1 and day 2 and driving to Amboseli National Park as being three hours; however, it was actually an 8 hour drive, followed by an additional 6 hour drive back to Tsavo West National Park. This would have made it impossible to have the scheduled number of game drives. The children and my elderly parents were in no position to sit in an unconditioned car on the highway for 8 hours.
When our tour guide John informed of the timings we showed him what we had agreed to as part of the tour and we refused to go to Amboseli National Park. Rearranging the tour became a little stressful and somewhat ruined my experience. Initially Loushir African Safaris explained the constraints and financial pressure they were under to amend the tour and urged us to continue to Amboseli. However, in the end they did agree that it was an oversight on their part and did the honorable thing by amending the tour so we had two days at Tsavo East National Park and two days at Tsavo West National Park.
I hope that Loushir African Safaris learn from this experience and review the importance of diligently checking tour timings and reporting these factually to potential customers. It later transpired that the people organising the logistics of the tour had not consulted with the tour guides who would have spotted this error earlier on. This is not good planning and needs to be improved.
Despite the issue we had, I was very happy that we were able to resolve the situation and so Loushir African Safaris should be given credit for this. The tour was otherwise reasonably priced and was good value for money. I would happily recommend Loushir African Safaris to others and strongly urge anyone considering a tour to ask for John as a tour guide. He is an amazing person!
The safari itself was an amazing experience. We had realistic expectations, anticipating that some drives would be less eventful than others but overall, we were lucky to see a lot of wildlife. The landscape in East Tsavo area was mostly flat, arid landscape characterised by vast savannah plains, thorny bushland, and arid acacia scrub. The flat landscape was ideal for elephants giraffes. West Tsavo was similar but the landscape was a little more varied, featuring some mountainous terrain and with slightly more greenery
We stayed at a lodge - Ashnil Aruba Lodge in Tsavo East and then at Taita Hills Safari Resort & Spa in Tsavo West- both which I would recommend. There are other options for lodges in the area some are more basic but we did opt for slightly more comfortable accommodation.
A family safari is an amazing experience and I would love to do it again!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honest and understanding
We enjoyed our trip, the guide (Drake) was very understanding and he seemed genuinely happy to be with us, his commentry on different aspects og the journey, insights into the attractions and activities was very useful. He was accomodative of our schedule and situation as the trip progressed and the fact that he also appeared to enjoy the activities was great.
GT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, the visit to Mikumi National Park was incredible we were able to see so many animals.
The communication was great, Sofia was very structured, transmitted a lot of confidence and was super flexible. It really felt like a reliable company from the beginning. The service was really nice, they even gave us complementary drinks as we were celebrating our honeymoon, which was great. Abel is a great driver, has a lot of knowledge on animals and made a lot of effort in making sure we see as many animals as possible.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Martin was very knowledgeable and pleasant
The tour was amazing! A great value for the cost. Only thing is the weather during the second half didn't work out. But our tour guide provided us with ponchos to protect us from the elements. Even with the rain that came it was woth it.
