Kenya: reviews from our travellers

"This was our seventh safari trip to Africa (all arranged by Expert Africa!), but our first trip to Tanzania. We had very much hoped to see a crossing of the Mara river by the herds of migrating of wildebeest, and we were fortunate to do so. A lasting impression is of the huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes and elephants that we saw both in the Tarangire and the Serengeti.

All the arrangements worked perfectly, and we enjoyed our trip very much indeed.

Two general comments regarding safaris in Tanzanian National Parks:

(a) the need to be back in camp before sunset does not allow for the sundowners in the bush experience that we have enjoyed in other African countries, such as Zambia;

(b) in our view, the open vehicles available at the camps, are essential to enjoy a true safari experience. As Tanzania does not allow open vehicles outside of National Parks, many guests 'safaried' in closed vehicles, having driven from airports / other National Parks." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Excellent. It was an intense experience that really did exceed our expectations; it was just like the documentaries and films that you have seen over the years. We saw everything we hoped to... and animals and birds that we never knew existed.

I'd like to mention our transfer driver, John, who looked after us between the 2 Nairobi airports. He took great pride in looking after us at all times as we asked to be taken on quite a few detours and his friendly attitude and "mother hen" nature really put us at our ease in what for us was a very different environment from anything we'd experienced before.

For the entire holiday it was strange, but good, to be able to mentally sit back and be completely managed by others, leaving us to enjoy the moment without having to worry about how to achieve the next steps." Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 4 on a Kenya safari

"Once again expert Africa delivered all that they promised. Our holiday was varied and exciting. Everyone we met made us feel welcome and ensured that our trip was comfortable and safe.

Maruska is excellent. She has great listening skills and an ability to match our desired trip with the Expert Africa offering superbly. Her advice was essential in helping us plan our holiday and the selection she recommended worked well.

Thanks also to Ellie and Chris for their advice on photography and to Ellie for handling our final arrangements.

Primate Safaris - especially Simba - was great in Rwanda. The agent in Kenya was not good and left us waiting at Nairobi airport for a long time when he was due to meet us. Remote Africa run a fabulous, family operation. And Shiwa N'gandu is a quite extraordinary and memorable experience.

The wildlife and experience lived up to all our expectations. The guides and hosts we met as we went around made the holiday for us, providing us with real insights to life in Rwanda and Zambia." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zambia safari

"Had no expectations but if we had high ones they would have been exceeded. Truely a unique experience where nature is at the center of everything you do.

Thanks to Richard and Expert Africa for tailoring a perfect trip with all logistics and travel locations arranged in a highly professional and reliable manner. We only had to experience and enjoy." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"The trip as a whole was wonderful, thanks to the great planning of Richard Trillo and anyone else who made this trip so easy and yet exciting.

My only negative comment was the lack of internet access. We had WiFi at Macushla House, which was great. My husband was happy to hear that I had arrived safetly. When we got to Offbeat Meru, I was told the the internet was "down" temporarily. I assumed this could not be avoided, but was concerned because I had not expected this.

We had WIFI and Sosian so I was once again in touch with my family. But at Offbeat Mara I could not contact my husband. I just wish I had been told this ahead of time so I would know what to expect." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"Everything organised by Expert Africa went smoothly but for the chaos of Arusha airport! The internal flights were "unpredicatable" in timing and carrier. Some had unexpected stops to pick up other passengers. This did not matter too much.

Unfortunately the flight from Seronera to kilamanjaro entailed a change of planes in Arusha. Our voucher did not tell us this, nor mentioned the carrier and no one seemed to know when the onward flight was expected to leave. As usual in Africa, all worked out well but worrying time wondering if we and our luggage would be reunited and arrive in Kilamanjaro on the same flight!

Nairobi airport is a disaster and I would suggest you warn future clients (even people like us who fixed this aspect of their travel themselves) to avoid Nairobi." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Once again Expert Africa has helped us plan a superior holiday. As we have more experience with safari travel, they have helped us zero in on those camps that fulfill our wants.

We enjoy small, intimate camps with great managers and varied activities and the Expert Africa staff has done a great job of guiding us to the right locations. Two of the camps on this trip are owned by Asilia and we recommend them highly. It seems that Asilia does a great job of allowing each of their camps to have its own distinct personality, while providing the staff and management with excellent training opportunities. The third camp we visited on this trip was independently owned and was equally spectacular.

A big thank you to Claire Scott and Richard Trillo, with an occasional assist from Eleanor Dunkels, too!

We look forward to working with you again when we plan our next trip." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"A wonderful holiday. Very well organised by Expert Africa" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zambia safari

"We had an amazing holiday.Giraffe Manor was a unique experience.The safaris at the two camps were excellent and compared very favourably with our two previous experiences in Botswana and Zimbabwe. For us,the balance of the holiday was right with three days at GM and six on Safari.Safari days are brilliant but exhausting and six days on Safari for us was about right given all the travelling to get there and back.

We highly recommend a Safari holiday to anyone interested in nature and although we had serious doubts about travelling to Kenya,there were no issues for us.

On the negative side the absence of direct flights to Zambia from the UK is clearly an issue as this makes the journey even harder and could easily dissuade people from going.Our friends had to fly to Johannesburg,then to Lusaka,then another flight to Mfewe and finally a two and a half hour drive to the camp." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Zambia safari

"We enjoyed our trip and will have many good memories. When three people travel together, it's difficult to represent all opinions in one rating form, but the important point of view is that we were glad we went and were largely satisfied with our itinerary.

Emakoko, where we spent our last day, was not on the feedback list. I'd like to add that it is lovely and I would have enjoyed an overnight there. When I was dealing with a family emergency and had no cell signal, Anton was very generous and helpful, and the staff was excellent. Also, this was the best food we had on our trip." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari