Hello! My dd and her dh are planning a trip to Kenya and want to book a safari. They have been reading all sorts of comments on Tripadvisor but still are having a hard time trying to figure out what is a good reputable safari. They don’t want a luxury, top of the line one but one they can count on. Has anyone been on one?
Not sure if whole trip is safari or not. Kenya is a busy safari place depending on time of year. Two reputable companies ( 1 based in Africa and 1 in UK) are Go 2 Africa and Expert Africa. I mention these 2 as they can book safaris in different price points from luxury to moderate ( not super budget). They book at same price that safari lodge/camp would charge directly to you, but take that hassle out of equation for their clients. When calling them, they are very helpful with suggestions. They also arrange any flights that need to be taken to get from 1 safari area to another. I actually was supposed to just go to southern and far western Tanzania on Tuesday, but husband is ill and had to cancel. As a reference, we are very experienced in African travel. Numerous trips there were the best trips we have ever taken! Hope this helps somewhat.
My husband is planning a safari trip and has been talking with a lot of friends. If your dd isn’t set on Kenya yet, she may want to research Tanzania. My husband has chosen a company called “Access 2 Tanzania” due to recommendations from friends and speaking with the owner at a Chicago travel expo. The company was started by an ex-Peace Corp volunteer and is based in Minnesota.
We went to Kenya a number of years ago – it was a fantastic expereince. We used Micato Tours which and we were very happy with all aspects of our trip. The other group that was highly recommended to us was Abercombie and Kent. Please note that I would strongly suggest that you do updated research on both of these groups as we went quite a while ago.
Micato and A&K are great suggestions for Kenya. They, however are very expensive, and luxury, with Micato being the most. It sounds as if this is not what they are looking for, although I may be wrong. Both do a good job and really hand hold the traveler. You pay a huge premium for this extra care ( which I feel is not always necessary). You can get same trip for less and they do not really offer moderately priced trips. Their trips are set in stone with no changes, for the most part. I will admit that first time we went to Africa we used A&K as our children were 7 and 13. Our 13 year old got acute appendicitis on this trip and had to have his appendix removed at Nairobi Hospital. It was good to have that extra handholding then! We find that now we do not really need that middle man and huge extra cost that is added for that. For what it is worth, my favorite country for safari in Zimbabwe. No crowds, great game and underpriced at the moment. ( shhh - don’t tell anyone!)
Last year we went to Kenya with The Big Journey Company through our timeshare. They were delightful. We had a great trip through about 5 game parks and saw so many animals. The guides were really wonderful and knowledgeable on all kinds of topics.
I second the recommendation for Zimbabwe. I was there last month for 10 days, self-driving to Zambezi National Park, Hwange National Park and Matobo National Park. Safe, honest, clean, uncrowded, and you can just book car and Airbnb for yourself.
Another great example of a travel thread!
Have you been to Africa at all?
We went - last year - for our first visit and fell in love. We will be back sooner rather than later. We talked with a travel agent about what our priorities were and decided to focus only on Kenya rather than fly between Kenya and Tanzania and require two visas. We flew into Nairobi (Giraffe Manor is AMAZING!), and then flew out on safari from there.
We used Gamewatchers - we stayed in four different camps (send me a PM if you are interested in details). We LOVED all four! One was owned by Gamewatchers, but the others were not. The Gamewatchers one was one of our favorites. I would encourage you to at least look at them - they have a US based travel agent who does a wonderful job of listening and finding the right fit for you. We were escorted at all times - even after doing it, I’m not sure I’d be crazy about self-drive. We loved being able to relax and let someone else do the details - I could focus on my enjoyment and photography, without the stress of worrying about the planning piece.
good luck.
We went to Kenya about 9 years ago. It was the trip of a lifetime. We did a high end trip flying into Nairobi and flying out from there. We flew from place to place which saved a lot of time plus we had a private guide with us the entire time which took all the stress out of the trip. We stayed mainly in small lodges and one tent camp in the Masi Mari. Anthony Bourdain last season of Parts Unknown starts this coming Sunday. The first episode was filmed at Lewa Wilderness Lodge. It was our first stop after Nairobi and it’s a memorable and well run family owned Lodge.
Thank you all. I will send your comments to dd. It has to be Kenya as they already have their plane tickets. I think they are looking at a lower level of comfort than most of us on here would go for but I thank all of you for your input.
@Onward https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/kenya/kenya-wildlife-safari-107730
We’ve travelled with this company (in India though) and were very pleased with the experience. the link is for a week long camping tour at a very reasonable price for those who don’t need to be pampered.
I sent that one to her too, LeastComplicated. Thank you!
I still would encourage Gamewatchers. They have a variety of properties and will listen to your budget -