Reviews of safaris to Maasai Mara Conservancies
386 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Mara Conservancies.
"Our African Safari"
Everything could not have gone more smoothly from start to finish. Clear instructions at all times, personal contact with Richard Trillo when necessary. Prompt action taken to solve just one small glitch with checking in our flight on the day before we left, but otherwise no problems at all.
I would not have wanted to organise this trip independently, Expert Africa team did a great job" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
"My Jul 2014 trip"
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
None" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
"Africa 2014"
"My Jul 2014 trip"
"Exceelent. A wonderful trip"
Timing was just about right--ie a week.
The Base camp Mara camp could have been better but it was only one night and set the other two camps up." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
"Honeymoon heaven"
Richard managed our expectations of our honeymoon incredibly well, working with our wish list, budget and his experience to suggest the best trip. He also listened to us as a couple and our personalities to understand what we were looking for in the trip and tailor making it to us. Richard was a pleasure to communicate with on the phone and email, always available for support throughout the process from questions about luggage to plugs.. I felt I was able to ask every kind of question and wouldn’t feel silly for asking it! The information packs we received were really helpful, especially around tipping and vaccinations, the travel pack now acts as a handy travel wallet for the future too!
The recommendations we took from Richard were absolutely spot on for us, especially the communication to the lodges that we were on our honeymoon so we had some private dining, champagne gifts and more importantly memories to last a life time!
We would recommend using Expert Africa and Richard’s advice for a bespoke, well trusted service" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
"Another excellent safari by Expert Africa"
Expert Africa's assistance and expertise ensured that the camps we picked were exactly what we had hoped for, small and intimate with great food, game viewing and accommodation. Many thanks to Ellie Dunkels for once again putting together a memorable trip. All the internal connections and pickups worked as planned and this confidence in the EA team is why we come back each time to EA when planning our trips.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Expert Africa to anyone considering a trip to the southern continent of Africa.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Can't think of anything, your team seem to think of everything." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari
"My trip to the Mara"
"My Feb 2014 trip"
In this case after exploring Expert Africa's great web sites, looking up flights possibilities and with some past experience I set out my stall for her. Her recommendation that I go for Eagles View and Dorobo Fly Camp were absolutely spot on. I am grateful for that alone but as always Ellie patched up the many flights, sleeping arrangements, rooms and guides as efficiently as ever with suggestions and recommendations.
The mixture of the Naboisho and Driftwood were for me perfect. It may be for some of your clients that the travel to and from Malindi are a bit arduous with the time between some flights and also the Fly Camp might not suit some. But the programme was one I would recommend to anyone mixing the Lodges and the Game and the Masai with the other Africa of Malindi and the sea.;a marvellous contrast.
I would not next time fly from Malindi and then wait for the BA flight back to UK which involved 6 plus hours in Departures at Nairobi. I would go and stay over at a lodge in Nairobi Game Park nearby
I had the best of my many trips out to Africa, and possibly the best travel holiday of my life despite (perhaps perversely) because I was going solo; i did things I might not have attempted with others there
I would not dream of doing another one without Ellie's guiding hand!!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Sorry to be boring but I cannot think of anything. I did have trouble getting logged in after the trip but that was probably me, more used, as I said to Ellie, to quill pens and parchment. She helped and was patience personified.....I am still unsure whether the Feed-back actually has got to you all!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Kenya safari
"Naboisho Camp 7 Night Safari February 2014"
Where to stay in Mara Conservancies
Our suggestions for safari camps in Maasai Mara Conservancies
Kicheche Bush Camp
Kicheche Bush Camp is a smart and intimate tented camp with a relaxed atmosphere and the perfect base in the Mara for keen photographers.
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara Camp has just ten tents and a rustic and comfortable feel. It is set by a stream in a pretty area of the Mara ecosystem's Mara North Conservancy.
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley is a boutique tented camp in a wooded district of the Mara ecosystem's Naboisho Conservancy, with plenty of wildlife in the area.
Naboisho Camp
Naboisho Camp is one of the most luxurious of the handful of camps in the Naboisho Conservancy. It offers day and night game drives, game walks and full creature comforts in the bush.
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara is a small traditional camp that appeals to safari traditionalists, located in one of the Maasai Mara’s quiet conservancies.
Encounter Mara
Encounter Mara is located in the private Naboisho Conservancy – a game-rich area of the Mara ecosystem – and offers a contemporary take on the traditional, low-impact luxury safari camp.
Elephant Pepper Camp
Elephant Pepper Camp is a small 10-tent bush camp, put together in the traditional "campaign" style, and including a large honeymoon/family tent.
Serian
Serian is a luxury tented camp on the east bank of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy. It is the sister camp of Ngare Serian, on the west bank.
Mara Plains Camp
Mara Plains is one of the very best camps in the Mara ecosystem. Located in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, just outside the Mara reserve, it has access to three wildlife-viewing areas.
Kicheche Fly Camp
Kicheche Walking Wilderness Fly Camp is a temporaray dome tent camp set up for participants in Kicheche's two-day walking safari between Kicheche Valley and Kicheche Bush Camp.
Basecamp Eagle View
Basecamp Eagle View is a community-focused safari camp in the Naboisho Conservancy, with a strong emphasis on responsible tourism and a spectacular location.
Hemingways Ol Seki
Magnificently located tented lodge on a bluff looking south across the Naboisho Conservancy toward the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Saruni Wild
Saruni Wild is a rustic and traditional safari camp in the Lemek Conservancy, with just three tents and limited electricity.
Porini Lion Camp
Porini Lion Camp is a pioneering, community focused eco-camp, with excellent guides and game viewing, in the predator-rich, Olare Motorogi Conservancy.
Offbeat Ndoto
Small and intimate, Offbeat Mara is set in a valley above the (often dry) Olare Orok River within the Mara North Conservancy.
Porini Mara Camp
Porini Mara Camp is a small, pioneering eco-camp in the first private conservancy in the Mara region, with comfortable accommodation and a range of activities.
Ngare Serian
The luxurious Ngare Serian and its sister camp Serian face each other across the Mara River on the western side of the Mara North Conservancy
Basecamp Leopard Hill
With six beautiful tents, Basecamp Leopard Hill is a smart safari camp in the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
Karen Blixen Camp
Karen Blixen Camp sits on a meander of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy, just beyond the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Cottars 1920s Camp
Cottar's 1920s Camp is a classic, luxury tented camp with a 1920s safari theme, located in its own conservancy on the southeast border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Leleshwa
Leleshwa was a delightful, boutique safari camp on the picturesque banks of a tributary of the Talek, with an extensive, little visited game area on its doorstep.
Mahali Mzuri
Mahali Mzuri is a strikingly modern tented camp in the Virgin Limited Edition group, in a remote part of the Mara ecosytem's Olare Motorogi Conservancy. It has lovely views and all the luxuries of a five-star hotel.
Saruni Mara
Saruni Mara is a luxurious permanent lodge, on the remote northern edge of the Mara North Conservancy, with stunning views, good guiding and very private and comfortable rooms.
Mara Nyika
Mara Nyika is one of the newer additions to the Naboisho Conservancy and offers a luxurious and exclusive safari.
Basecamp Wilderness
Basecamp Wilderness Camp is a simple, traditional tented camp, set in a remote valley in the Naboisho Conservancy in the Mara ecoystem.
Mara Bushtops
Mara Bushtops is a luxury safari hotel on a private concession, outside the Maasai Mara National Reserve, with the emphasis on comfort, relaxation and good food and wine.
Mara Toto Tree Camp
Mara Toto Tree Camp is located on a wooded bend of the Ntiakatek River, 1km south (as the pied crow flies) from its sister camp, Mara Plains. It's the offspring of the original "Mara Toto" which was swept away in floods.
Cottars Private House
Cottar's Private House is one of the few truly luxurious, modern private houses in the Mara ecosystem, spoiling its guests with first-rate staff, a swimming pool and wonderful views.
Basecamp Mara Houses
Basecamp Mara Houses consists of three private houses located in the northernmost part of the Mara North Conservancy.
Entumoto
Entumoto is a high-end tented camp, with a swimming pool, situated in a very pretty location on the east side of the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
