Masai Mara Safari Reviews

Dear Helen

We had such a wonderful trip to Kenya and the visa issue was soon forgotten!  The lodges were both just fabulous - Suruni is obviously small and the service pretty much bespoke.  There were lots of options for safaris - we had breakfast out every day!  We only shared a jeep couple of times with a lovely American couple - obviously we co-ordinated our drives with them!  Food was delicious - a lot of it - we learned to pick and choose courses - but really excellent.  Staff were knowledgeable and just lovely.  We saw all

the animals we hoped to, apart from lion, but knew we would see them in the Masai Mara!  The drive to Samburu was relatively long - about an hour but we generally saw animals on our way!

Little Governors was also really lovely and of course the drive from the airstrip is very short with the bonus of spitting animals on our way there!  Great accommodation, food and staff!  Drinks not included, which was different to Suruni but the bar was well stocked!  We did early morning game drives and came back for breakfast (we were on our own in the jeep) and one day we had a whole day out which was amazing! Picnic lunch on the plain!  We loved our guide!  Relaxing and having lunch overlooking the waterhole was fabulous.  Gift shop a little underwhelming but think restock planned.

We saw everything we hoped to see apart from a rhino!

Afrochic was another lovely venue - 10 rooms and the most wonderful location and service.  Food was delicious and I had the best facial ever!  Not much to do out of the hotel and I don’t like being harassed by beach vendors but a few days of r&r was the perfect way to end our trip!  The staff made our trip up to Vipingo so easy and booked our ferry crossings for us!  We were greeted on our return as if we had been on an adventure by staff and Guests  alike!

Thank you once again for all your planning and research.  We really appreciated how smoothly everything went from the moment we got off the plane from London.

Hopefully Argentina for us next!

Best wishes 

Lizzie

Hi Craig,

This trip has been exceptional, everything has been more than expected.

Even had Big 5 on consecutive days here in the Masai Mara. For 2 days, have had the camp and staff to myself....all is good and I wouldn't have missed it for the world,

Thanks again,

Regards, Bob

'Overall holiday satisfaction: Excellent.

Gorilla Mountain View Lodge: excellent comfort, service, location, meals and facilities.

Wildebeest Camp: Excellent comfort and location. Good service, meals and facilities. Barking dogs and noisy toads kept me awake! Perfect otherwise.

Amboseli Porini Camp: Excellent in all respects.

Rwandan driver-guide Mussa and hotel staff second-to-none. Nothing was too muc bother and everything was undertaken with  smile. Went beyond the call of duty - lovely people, amazing country and amazing Gorillas!

Masai guides, Tony the camp manager at Porini and everyone fantastic hosts. Smiling and hospitable & fantastic wildife spotters. An amazing experience.'

Kicheche atmosphere  particularly welcoming and personal. Little Governor’s felt more ‘commercial’ by comparison. We were glad to experience two contrasting camps, in terms of environment, location and variety of wildlife.

We had a truly brilliant time. Everything went like clockwork and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip.

I can't thank you enough for organising such a fantastic trip for us. It exceeded all our expectations (mine, and those of two teenagers) and was a wonderful experience.

Thank you also for tracking us down to alert us to the flight change so we got home okay. I will tell anyone interested in an African holiday what a great experience we had.

Many thanks again!

The location is amazing, we saw so much in the marsh in front of our tent and the bird life in the camp was wonderful 

We loved the intimacy of this camp; it was like staying with friends from the very beginning. The tent was the ultimate in luxury. Every detail was carefully considered. The whole team were so considerate

Very well looked after. Made to feel special for our 40^th wedding anniversary with champagne and a card. Enjoyed sociable evenings

The best place we have ever stayed! Perfect! Val and Brendan were great hosts 

Kicheche Mara camp was absolutely delightful. The staff were absolutely brilliant, the food was wonderful and the tents an amazing experience. Nothing was ever too much trouble, whatever was requested. The game drives were incredible and the Masai driver always went to a great deal of effort to find the animals for us

Val and Brendan and all the staff were wonderful, the location, service, food excellent. Hot water bottle was first class! 

Kicheche Main Camp is quality accommodation and game viewing is superb, great staff.

Excellent, an absolutely incredible place to stay – I would highly recommend it to anyone. The Kicheche Camp was amazing – the tents, the service and the game drives were all fabulous.  We all loved it and have amazing photos as proof!

One of the best places we have stayed. Absolutely perfect.

Full marks for everything.

Mara Plains Camp is a 30 min. drive from the airstrip if you don’t stop to look at the incredible animals; it took us well over an hour!!! ...We arrived late lunch time and were greeted with "fancy a gin & tonic?" The start of 4 fantastic day stay... Only on one day did we see more than 2 other vehicles. The animals we saw included lions, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, gazelle, cape buffalo, topi, warthog, eland, wildebeest, elephant, leopard, hyena, jackal, spring hare to name but a few and of course there are all the different birds.

Although we had little sleep, we had our last night with 17 elephants around our tents! Laugh now and a good dining tale! A brilliant experience!

Our guide at Governors' was excellent!

From the minute we arrived to our departure it was like staying with friends. We had a few laughs especially when I was “sprayed” by a male lion - suppose it all adds to excitement.

We both really enjoyed Mara Plains and would strongly recommend it. The location was ideal, being in the conservation area, which meant that we were taken places off the beaten track and able to spend time with the animals a lot of the time with no-one else around. The guides were very knowledgeable and knew where to find the animals and able to inform us all about them. We were amazed how many we saw, which was everything effectively. The camp had a great lay-out and the tents very comfortable. The staff were all exceptionally pleasant, there was a social atmosphere and the food great. We both felt that we would be very happy to return there.

We both really enjoyed Mara Plains and would strongly recommend it. The location was ideal, being in the conservation area, which meant that we were taken places off the beaten track and able to spend time with the animals a lot of the time with no-one else around.

The guides were very knowledgable and knew where to find the animals and able to inform us all about them.  We were amazed how many we saw, which was everything effectively. The camp had a great lay-out and the tents very comfortable. The staff were all exceptionally pleasant, there was a social atmosphere and the food great. We both felt that we would be very happy to return there.

We also enjoyed Fundu Lagoon, however we believe you know this venue quite well. Again it was very comfortable and the staff extremely helpful. Great cocktails. 

Both venues complemented each other exceptionally well and were incredibly similar in style and comfort. Both had a strong sense of the environment and surroundings.

If you would like to know more specfic details we would be happy to supply, however it would all be positive!

The stay was memorable not just because of the natural wildlife but because of the guide Philip Keter a most worthy gold medal guide with exceptional grasp of his country and surroundings.

The stay was memorable not just because of the natural wildlife but because of the guide Philip Keter, a most worthy gold medal guide with exceptional grasp of his country and surroundings.