Kenya: reviews from our travellers

"The trip was influenced by unseasonable rains throughout the country. Everywhere did the best they could with the conditions and should be praised for their efforts.

Kicheche Valley in Naboisho Conservancy and Il Moran in the Mara Reserve were wonderful places to stay. The welcome, the location, the staff, the food and the guiding were all very professional and we would certainly go back to both of them.

Satao Elerai is in a beautiful location especially if you are lucky enough to see Kilimanjaro. Satao Camp is tired and would benefit from some energy from management.

The guiding problems we had with Southern Cross definitely affected our safari in both Amboseli and Tsavo East. Guides are vital to the enjoyment of these wonderful places and make a huge difference to what you see, learn and enjoy. If they are not of a suitably trained standard, temperament or not enthusiastic about all wildlife, long-anticipated (and expensive) trips will be spoiled. Quick fixes, such as offers of treats or bottles of wines, do not detract from the very bad taste of having to complain and try to get someone to take us seriously.

As travellers are told to do, we complained to the management and sent emails with our concerns and experiences to Expert Africa. Although Richard was liaising with Southern Cross what he was being told was often not what we were experiencing on the ground. In fact, he was being given false information. Six of the last 7 days on safari had problems. Julius at Satao Elerai did discuss things with us and try to sort out a solution. The problem with that is that the low standards should not have been acceptable to the Lodge or Southern Cross in the first place. During the last 4 days with the final guide, neither camp management nor Southern Cross management dealt with us directly. We are left feeling frustrated, angry and disappointed with a reasonable part of our trip." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"As I said in my email to Richard, nobody can be blamed for the unprecedented levels of rainfall in Kenya over the past few months and its effect on the ground, the vegetation and the distribution and accessibility of the wildlife - well, nobody at Expert Africa or on the ground in Kenya. The climate change deniers, maybe!!!

We enjoyed our holiday nevertheless but the issues with wildlife mean that, if we're being honest, it wasn't as good as our first trip last year. We're not very experienced Safari goers and haven't got to the stage that more sophisticated guests might be at, of wanting to look very hard for animals; we want to come out of our camp and see herds of animals across the plains for as far as the eye can see and, at times this year, there was nothing very much as far as the eye could see!

We would like to note that none of the guides we had this year were as good as the excellent ones we had last year.

It's also worth mentioning that there was a misunderstanding about our pick-up time from the airport hostel to go to Solio. Some months ago, we changed the time from 7.30 am to 10 am, and this later time was clearly on our itinerary. However, Patrick from Safari Collections turned up at 7.30 when we were still in bed! He was very good-natured about it and waited for us to get ready and to have breakfast. He was pleasant and chatty throughout the drive and when he came back to Solio to collect us and drive us to Elephant Bedroom. We're not in any way complaining about this. These things happen but we thought you'd like to know." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"Amazing family holiday. A first trip to Africa for 3/4 of us - We felt very well looked after and all arrangements worked well. So pleased with Richard's recommendations for us. Many many thanks." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"This was my 14 trip to Africa and my first time with Expert Africa. I do so appreciate the detail that Olivia put into my trip. She did listen to my expectations and desires for the type of safari that I wish to experience. The animal sightings and accommodations were excellent. The guides and camp staff paid attention to details and were very knowledgeable about all aspects of the trip. I appreciate that the camps were involved in community service and took the time to share their knowledge with me during my stay. I also appreciate that the camps were trying to be conscious of not polluting the environment and using solar power throughout camp.

The only suggestion I have is to get rid of the juice boxes and their plastic straws. Juice can be dispensed in glass containers too." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"Incredible, unforgettable family vacation. If we had known how miraculous a safari trip would be, we would have found a way to scrape the money together decades ago.

My eleven year old daughter and my parents in their seventies were equally delighted and astonished. We visited Kenya during the short rains in early December and felt it was a perfect time of year to go. Incredible wildlife!!!!!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"Richard was excellent in making ground arrangements. Everything ran smoothly. Excellent pre-trip communication.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No..would recommend." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 15 on a Kenya safari

"The appalling weather - floods and incessant, torrential rain, awful driving conditions for guide and passengers, shocking light and apocalyptic rain for the most part was hard to manage from a photographic standpoint and that was a big part of the trip.

Of course there were some breaks in the weather but over a three week period it was tough to only have one day without rain [it rained in the evening] and the condones in The Mara simply deteriorated the more rain that fell. Certain parts were off limits as impossible to drive, rivers were impossible for cars and wildlife to cross - the birds were happy as there as access to food was such that they were fishing everywhere" Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 16 on a Kenya safari

"It was the best trip of my live but I was really disappointed about the Karen Blixen Camp


Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service

Many Thanks to Lyndsey and the whole team.
I´m 100% satisfied and if I want to go to Africa once more, I would book with you

Many Thanks" Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"This was an amazing adventure for our family and we are grateful to Richard Trillo for his efficient and thoughtful planning of our trip.

Nancie Wight was our guide on the ground and she is wonderful! From her expert photographic advice to her warm, welcoming (and fun!) manner, we could not ask for a better host!

We are already thinking about our return in 2021!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Thank you but we have no suggestions for improvements -- we had a wonderful trip!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"The guides truly make the trip! They were all wonderful!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari