Kenya: reviews from our travellers

"As someone who has travelled for many years I am a late comer to Kenya and I now regret all those missed opportunities. I first went to Kicheche Mara Camp 15 months ago and loved it so was determined to return. I did so with some trepidation in case I was disappointed but I need not have worried. The whole holiday exceeded our expectations.

The Kicheche Camps are well managed and in beautiful settings with amazing wildlife. They tick the box if you are wanting to stay in comfortable, small, traditional bush camps governed by sound ecological principles.

I have visited many countries to see wildlife and the Masai Mara ranks number one as far as I am concerned. I can understand why Kenya and Kicheche Camps get so many repeat visitors and I will be one them." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Kenya safari

"A friend and I had always wanted to see gorillas in the wild. Being limited on the time we had for holidays, we decided we would try and make the trip a long-weekend over the bank holiday. It turned out to be one of the most wonderful holidays I've had. We could have headed to either Uganda or Rwanda and, based on recommendations, including a discussion with Ellie at Expert Africa, we chose Rwanda and I am so pleased we did. Arriving in Kigali on a Saturday (at the cleanest and calmest airport I've ever been in), we were met by Sura, our local guide who showed us round Kigali and, in particular, took us to the Genocide Memorial Centre. Having only a limited knowledge of what happened, this proved a really good way of getting to understand a lot more about the background to events and how the country is dealing with the aftermath. From there we headed to our lodge and, talking to Sura on the journey, began to appreciate how friendly and proud Rwandans are of their country. We trekked to the gorillas on two consecutive days - we were graded as 'young' (very flattering) so were assigned to family groups that required a quite arduous trek to get to - but it definitely added to the spirit of adventure - we took porters both days - and decided that this was definitely the right thing for us to have done - not only did they carry our bags but they also helped us up the steep and slippery parts of the trek (and, in addition, you are providing a day's work in an area where it is important for conservation reasons for the local people to be able to make a living from the park). Both days we had brilliant 'sightings' - spending an hour with the gorillas. The set up at the Volcanoes National Park, the guides, the trackers and the rangers were all excellent. We also fitted in a visit to the cultural village - being true Brits we found it slightly awkward (the Americans staying in our lodge thought it was great) - but, it was something we agreed was worth doing because it was an additional contribution to the conservation effort and we did find parts of it very interesting. Both of us have travelled quite a bit in Africa and kept coming back to what a remarkable country Rwanda was - we felt safe the whole time we were there and they are doing an amazing job with respect to conservation and democracy (what you get if 63% of your parliamentarians are women!). On Tuesday (when it was raining all morning making us realise we were so lucky to have had fine days both of the days we trekked), we headed back to Kigali and flew home - back in the office on Wednesday morning having had a trip of a lifetime!" Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 3 on a Rwanda safari

"The overall experience was very satisfactory and we could very easily go back there. The owners however need to change the driving directions and make them a little bit more precise especially from sb who comes from NBO.

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The service is excellent.

In the beginning I thought that since we live in NBO it would have been very difficult for me to organise our trip with Expert Africa. Eventually it was very easy and the engagement of Richard Trillo made it an incredible experience. He is definitely a person to trust. He loves Africa and he understands exactly what his client is looking for." Read full review: 3 nights in Africa; 3 on a Kenya safari

"Exceeded our expectations - a perfect way to celebrate my 70th birthday." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Kenya safari

"Very good." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"We had wanted to visit Western Serengeti and Lake Victoria for many years and they did not disappoint.

The migration wasn't where it was supposed to be but we still saw it. Rubondo island is very different but we highly recommend it. Cheetahs abounded in southern Serengeti.

Travellers to Tanzania should be aware that all timings of Coastal flights are subject to change and that lodges should be asked to check them for you - every one of ours was changed. Also that if flying from Nairobi your point of immigration may be different from that on your ticket - we were told Tarime but ended up going through Musoma.

Thanks Ellie - you will not be surprised that we have ideas for our next trip!

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All staff are always friendly and helpful even though we are, to quote Chris 'particular' about our travels. However that means we have always had wonderful trips and is why we keep coming back again, and again, and again!

For first-time Africa travellers more information on the vagaries of internal flights might have been helpful." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Great trip came back refreshed, the private conservancy stuff is well worth doing it may cost a little more but you have the pleasure of watching great wildlife without anyone else around still busy in the mara with loads of trucks/combis but not such an issue in Samburu which I think is my favourite park in Kenya.
Compared with the prices in Botswana and Zambia given the wildlife we saw Kenya is a Safari Bargain!
Please GO!

Cheers to all at Expert Africa and thank you once again for pointing us in the right direction!
Will be back for some more punishment in the near future!

Martin & Loz" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari

"apart from the Eka hotel it all went well and was an excellent trip.

The gorillas are a must for anyone

Rwanda guide: Alex was excellent
I have used guides in many countries, Alex was one of the best, friendly, very knowledgeable and helpful" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 6 on a Rwanda safari

"The whole trip was well planned by Expert Africa, Richard tailored my trip very well and understood my requiresments very well and set up the trip at such short notice without any issues. excellent trip all round and would do again." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"Our trip as a whole was superb, with some unbelievably fantastic animal sightings ! We saw all the things we had hoped to see, such as the jackals killing the baby impala, the tree lions and elephant encounter, the vast numbers of wildebeest plus much, much more. We had some stunning sightings of birds, e.g. a Kori Bustard displaying.

Another bonus was the glorious view of Kilimanjaro at Tortilis Camp.

All the places we visited offered something different making our trip interesting and unpredictable as regards the animals.
We also met some wonderful people at each of the Camps/Lodges and our guides were superb and extremely knowledgeable.

Our trip was superb, fulfilled everything we had wanted and has given us some fantastic memories with over a 1000 photos. This was undeniably a trip of a lifetime !" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari