Kenya: reviews from our travellers

"We wanted to return to the Serian Camps in the Mara because of the exceptionally amazing experience we had there in 2017 and are expectations were fully met.

The wildlife in the Mara is amazing. We had wonderful, beautiful and exciting sightings every single day.

The camps are wonderful. (We are particularly in love with Nkorombo for it's simplicity and authenticity, but Serian in Mara North is a wonderful camp too)

The guiding is extraordinary good, all staff so attentive and friendly.

Here you are all set for a perfect safari." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"Exceeded our expectations in every way.

Undoubtedly the best holiday we've ever had." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"Superb holiday overall.

Had some wildlife sightings we’d not experienced before but a little disappointed not to see more cheetah as this had been the focus for this trip.

However we appreciate that nothing is guaranteed and the other sightings made up for that." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"Fantastic, delivered above what I was expecting!

When booking, I asked for quiet camps where we would not be overrun by other people when game viewing and this is what we got.

We stayed at 2 Kicheche camps, the first at Laikipia and then at Mara North.

Both camps had wonderful game viewing which was slightly different and excellent guides. For our first safari we saw much more than we ever hoped for, lion kills, lions with cubs, hyena stealing part of a lion kill, a cheetah kill, leopards mating, elephants wallowing in a mud bath and the last 2 Northern White Rhinos. These were the highlights but we also saw so much more.

We ended our stay by relaxing at Kinondo Kwetu which had a golden sand beach, lovely large swimming pool and excellent fish suppers." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"Another excellent trip organised by Jessica Plumb and ExpertAfrica.

We have used ExpertAfrica for many trips to Africa and each has been very good. The company understands the types of accommodation and activities we enjoy so can recommend the best camps for us. They delivered again this time. Communication was good and recommendations spot on.

The camp managers all commented on how much they value their relationships with Expert Africa.

One of the managers noted "they have chosen their name well - they are Experts".

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions - keep up the good work and your staff well informed on each country/camp." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari

"Overall, we enjoyed the trip but unlike our previous visit in 2019 we were disappointed by the amount of people and volume of vehicles on game drives.

The exception was Mara expedition camp." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"This was our last safari finished in Kenya where we started our safari adventures in 1991.

We deliberately wanted to go to Camps which were unspoilt and/or rustic as they used to be when we started and also in areas with few vehicles and unspoilt countryside. Hence our choice of Laikipia and Tangulia and they both met our our wishes. The highlight of the safari has to be the migration particularly as it was unexpected as we thought the dates were not right for this sighting.

We will miss the sights and sounds of Africa (and the cuts and bruises!!) all of which we experienced on this safari.

Our thanks must be given to all the staff at Expert Africa who we have dealt with over the many years without whom we would not have had our African Adventures.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

A simple NO." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"What can I say? My best friend of 65 years said that she had never seen me at a loss for words about anything before.

This trip was beyond beyond. I now understand why people go back time and time again. The animals, the people, and the land get under your skin and into your soul. I told my brother that the only way to describe it is that it is everything that is real. Animals living their lives the way they are intended to. A good day for a cheetah hunting and catching a young gazelle, not a good day for the gazelle. The circle of life and all that that means.

To witness: a large elephant family moving across a huge dry lake; seeing hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, elephants, zebras, cape buffalo, all together on the move; meet and see Craig the Tusker, that magnificent old elephant; and giraffes nibbling on tree tops; there truly are no words...it is all emotion.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for everything, for every little detail and putting us into the care of so many exemplary people in Kenya.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not one!" Read full review: 24 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"Another extremely enjoyable visit to Kenya, organised by Expert Africa. All travel and ground arrangements worked faultlessly. The Asilia camps were comfortable, run in a very professional but friendly way and our two guides - Abdi and Jackson - were both caring, knowledgeable and willing to do whatever they could to give us a good safari experience.

Game viewing wise, this wasn't perhaps the most exciting safari we've ever had - no leopards, no wild dogs, only one dozy cheetah - but, as always, there were some unique moments that will remain long in the memory. Just three examples: two giraffe families together, each with a baby no more than a few weeks old. Also, a single male lion, early morning, trying to find his mate from the previous night. We spent about an hour with him as he sniffed the air and the ground, scent marked and peed on our and the other three or four vehicles that were present with him ... all in beautiful dawn light: magical. Thirdly, a rare, good sighting of a serval, initially hidden in the grass but then walking out into the open.

Waterlovers hotel on Diani beach is a great place to stay for a few days to recover from a safari. It's small enough (~ 30 guests max?) for the service to be personal, just five minutes from Diani airport, has very good rooms and decent food. The Indian ocean is a few metres away if you want it.

Final comment re the Wildlife Survey: please note that the numbers given for some sightings are "there or thereabouts" ... we sometimes saw a rhino or a giraffe or a ... in the far distance and therefore have no photos to stimulate the memory: I suspect we saw more than listed. Apologies for my lack of scientific rigour (CSL)." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"When planning the holiday we asked for camps that not only offered the potential for high quality game viewings but were also high quality; intimate; a little off the beaten track; and a bit different from each other. Expert Africa pointed us towards Kicheche Laipikia (3 nights) and Kicheche Mara (4 nights) and the combination delivered in spades.

Both were luxurious yet intimate, feeling like you were in the heart of the African bush. Both were a little away from most other camps, meaning that many viewings were on our own. Both provided an excellent service and dedicated and knowledgable guide to show us around. The food was excellent at both camps as was the camaraderie around the fires in the evening.

However, the main reason you come is for animal sightings and we were not disappointed. The two camps offer slightly different landscapes. Laikipia is more bush and has a proliferation of rhinos. Mara is more classic African plains where the big cats are a bit easier to find.

Over the seven days we saw plenty of black and white rhino (all in Laikipia), 3 cheetahs (2 Mara, 1 Laikipia) and 2 leopards (1 each). Lions were too many to count - well in excess of 20, along with numerous elephants, giraffes and hippos.

It was an exceptional trip in all regards and will live forever in the memory." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari