Kenya: reviews from our travellers

"My trip was excellent from start to finish.

Richard was very helpful in finding two perfect safari spots, the first for three generations of our family at El Karama and the second for me alone. Everything was seamless from the first plane ride from Nairobi to Nanyuki to El Karama with my family all the way to my trip back to the airport in Nairobi from Sosian Ranch.

It was all very exciting for me and I consider it the best vacation I have ever had." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari

"We were in Nairobi for about 10 days for a friend's wedding before going on our Expert Africa safari. There is a lot to see in and around Nairobi and we felt like we saw a bit of the real Kenya.

Our EA portion of our trip was relaxing and friendly, and surpassed our expectations for a safari experience. Our children are already asking to go back to Kenya, especially to El Karama. We travel a good bit and this is not their normal response!

Our trip was well organized and all of our questions were answered by Richard. He is a wonderful resource and I would not hesitate to use his or EA's expertise again when going to Africa. Thank you for everything!" Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 3 on a Kenya safari

"Each day was busy with activities and the seven days were full and rewarding. Offbeat Meru is pretty unique and was made really special by our guide (Dominic) whose eye sight and knowledge were both excellent. We had to work to see animals in Meru national park, which is much more rewarding compared with places where sightings are guaranteed.

Chances we won't return to Offbeat, but we can imagine returning to Sandai not least because it is relaxed and easy going. There's little in the way of procedure and process and a lot to be said for meeting others of like mind. Nearby Solio is good for a satisfying safari and the Aberdares offers a contrast, especially up above 3000m.

Overall we were very happy with the week." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 4 on a Kenya safari

"Everything fitted into place well - the individual elements and transfers worked on schedule.

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We have used Expert Africa for many years and have utmost confidence in their organising abilities and information for our trips." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 5 on a Kenya safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and it was really illuminating to find that the game viewing in the conservancies is even better than in the parks/reserves. With the right guide, wonderful sightings can be had away from the crowds that are associated with some of the main parks. Given the places we specified we wanted to go to, we do not think you could have chosen better camps for us and you did well to recommend adding Lewa to our itinerary.

We went on from our trip with Expert Africa to join a photographic trip in two of the conservancies north of the Maasai Mara, staying at Kicheche Mara and Bush camps. The sightings here were superb and we highly recommend these camps/conservancies too.

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Keep up the good work! Every trip Expert Africa has planned for us has been superb and we are very grateful.

The client feedback on your website and your staff's knowledge of the camps also really helps us to make the right choices time after time." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"Samburu has stunning scenery and is an excellent place to watch elephants as they are plentiful, calm and unstressed. It is also home to some particular animals not found in other places, the gerenuk, besia oryx, reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra and Somali ostrich. We saw all of these, as well as numerous dik-dik, impala and Grant's gazelle. However, at this time of year that seems to be about it. Apparently there are buffalo at other times and occasionally there might be waterbuck by the river, but there are no rhino or other varieties of antelope.

We did well with cats, seeing both lions and leopards, but they can never be guaranteed. Birds were abundant, especially raptors, and we saw many eagles, buzzards and goshawks. Kingfishers, bee eaters and waterfowl were also plentiful. Overall, a good game viewing holiday but after 5 nights we felt we had done it thoroughly and seen all that Samburu had to offer.

En route back home we had several hours to spend in Nairobi, during which we had the services of a driver. He collected us at Wilson airport after our flight from Samburu and ferried us to several interesting sites (e.g. the giraffe sanctuary, Karen Blixen's house museum, hotels for lunch and tea) before taking us to Jomo Kenyatta International airport for our flight home. This made the wait much more tolerable – airports are not the most inspiring places to spend hours of time!

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All good, nothing to add." Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 5 on a Kenya safari

"We were very happy with all the arrangements made and the whole experience." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"We'd like to start by commending our drivers, who did our land transfers from Nairobi to Nanyuki and then from Wilson to the international airport via an afternoon in Karen (where we recommend the Talisman restaurant where we dined). Both our drivers, John at the start of our trip and Edward at the end, were first class.

Second, we should also mention why we land-transferred to Nanyuki, ie to visit the Karatina market, reputedly the second biggest food market in East Africa. While we had a business-specific reason for making this unusual visit, we can certainly recommend it for anyone who wants an interesting and different experience for a couple of hours in the Nanyuki area, meeting and chatting with local small business people.

All this being said, the heart of the trip was, of course, the safari in general and, in particular, the opportunity to visit - and therefore support - three community-based projects in Laikipia which are all run in somewhat different ways. Our growing sense for some time during our regular visits to Africa since 2006 has been that, with national parks in some parts often failing to provide adequate environmental and wildlife protection, much of the future may well lie in community-based and private (eg Mundulea in Namibia where we stayed in sept 2013) projects. This trip firmed up this view further, especially as it gave us a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the commitment of the local community to the projects and its aspirations, including for the education and related opportunities available to future generations.

Despite the ready sharing of views by those we met, we are cautious about trying to draw firm conclusions other than in the following respects. First, Laikipia is a fabulous part of Kenya and well worth visiting for both its wildlife and its culture. Second, we feel that these community-based projects are genuinely helping the local community consistent with its aims and aspiration and are, therefore, well worth supporting. Third, it will nevertheless likely to difficult to balance preserving tradition with the evolving way of life which inevitably ensues.

Finally, a word of thanks to the Expert Africa team, especially Richard Trillo, for their efforts putting together for us what was another excellent trip." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"We found all the arrangements for our trip excellent and we had no problems with any of our travelling arrangements.

We saw lots of game and our guides were superb, very safety conscious but determined to give us an excellent safari experience which they succeeded in doing. Their knowledge of the game was brilliant and they were very informative.

In retrospect travelling with a 23 and 25 year old we might have been better going to Zanzibar instead of Mafia, we found Mafia very undeveloped and therefore relaxing , they found it a bit quiet with some of the other activities expensive.

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No you did a brilliant job." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Our trip was amazing. We have wonderful memories and have learnt alot about a new country, culture and peoples. We enjoyed the different destinations that we selected and the variety in activities that they provided. Our concerns about traveling with a young child to Kenya were managable and we are pleased that we undertook this adventure despite many people telling us not to. We'd love to go back one day.

It was nice to feel like we had a common 'acquaintance' in Richard, when talking to the owners of the various lodges. They all seemed to respect his work and knowledge of Kenya.

However, we also feel a bit sad that parts of the holiday were not as perfect as we'd hoped despite careful planning and a significant budget (see issues mentioned about El Karama and Driftwood)." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Kenya safari