Reviews of safaris to Tsavo East National Park

"It was a fantastic trip overall and the itinerary for birding was amazing - we saw so many species.

We had great guiding, especially at Kifaru and Tortillis and were lucky enough to get a private vehicle at both. At Elsa’s we shared a vehicle with 2 charming like-minded people so that was great too. All of our dietary needs and other preferences had clearly been communicated and management everywhere could not have done more to accommodate us. Really impressed with Elewana and would recommend them to anyone. All of the transfers were seamless except going from Air Kenya to Safarilink at Wilson.

Not sure if I had to do it again whether I would drive from Amboseli through East Tsavo with a one night stop. It was a long, hot, uncomfortable drive on a container route for the most part, we didn’t see much of Tsavo, and from Satao to the coast was full of day-trippers and their crazy drivers. However, I did get some great birds so…

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Not really…everything was great. I love your website and refer people to it all the time." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Kenya safari

"Overall experience was perfect.

Lyndsey was very helpful and her knowledge and experience was exactly what we needed to help plan our trip.

Thank you so much!" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and thought that Lyndsey did a really good job suggesting locations and putting a complex itinerary together.

The whole trip went exactly as per the itinerary." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Kenya safari

"Its quite difficult to put into words just how amazing a country Kenya is. For all the corruption and general bad press, if you scratch the surface and get to know the people, its quite simply addictive.

Richard organised a wonderful itinerary for the safari. The rain made this year a totally different experience, the driving was much more difficult, but the countryside looked rich and green and all the herbivores which have struggled so much in recent years are all thriving which is wonderful.

We also loved our two weeks in Msambweni, meeting the village people and helping with charity work for HIV orphaned children, donating football kit for the local team, the Msambweni Super Eagles, who then arranged a friendly match for us to see the new kit in action! The kit was green with green and white striped socks, however, only a handful of the players had football boots!

I also took out items for the maternity unit at the local hospital, including packs for new mothers who arrive at hospital with absolutely nothing containing a blanket, knitted hat, a selection of clothes and socks - all small things but which make a huge difference.

Thank you very much for another fabulous holiday." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"We will come back to Expert Africa again for our next trip." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"Fantastic trip. So much so that I will almost certainly repeat the same trip next year with an extra night at LWC.

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I cannot praise Expert Africa highly enough. They are a great team and I would not for a moment consider asking any other company to organise my trips. They have always excelled at putting in place all the arrangements needed to realise a highly successful safari. Richard Trillo is always happy to discuss requirements and tailor arrangements to achieve total satisfaction." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"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

"Overall experience was great as we had a really wonderful family time together.
The Kenya a Rough Guide was so useful and really enhanced our trip in so many different ways

However there were some flaws especially in the planning and lead up to it.

They may appear small and relatively insignificant as they all worked out fine in the end, but from a company such as yours I think they need to be addressed." Read full review: 5 nights in Africa; 5 on a Kenya safari

"The whole trip was fantastic. We worked our way East from Nairobi in a comfortable Southern Cross safari vehicle visiting Nairobi NP, Amboseli NP, Tsavo West and Tsavo East NPs and then the Galana Conservancy before a few days R&R at Watamu on the coast.

Everything went smoothly and the ground arrangements were perfect thanks to Southern Cross and their excellent driver Joshua. They also took care of our transfers between Wilson Airport and JKIA on our last evening.

Expert Africa set up all the arrangements with their usual efficiency and attention to detail and especial thanks to Richard for tying up all the loose ends and making everything work so seamlessly, as always.

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It's difficult to imagine how you could do better" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"There were no significant problems and I got to do or see everything on my must do list. Richard went out of his way to satisfy my odd interests." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari