Reviews of safaris to Meru National Park

"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

"Amazing." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"This trip was designed to satisfy my desire to return to northern kenya.


I wanted to see Meru again (last visited in 1978!)
I was very keen to see the Rhino Sanctuary .

Inspired by the book 'Flowers for Elephants' by Peter Martell
I also wanted to see how a northern conservancy and how it is embracing tourism & conservation issues

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Not really. I have used Expert Africa several times, all have been excellent." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari

"It was a great mix of different parks and conservancies.

We had plenty of time at each camp to see the best of the local wildlife.

The final stop at Emakoko was worth every penny." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"Before visiting Kenya, we have been to four countries in Southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) five times, and each one of those trips were highly enjoyable.

Nonetheless, we figured it was time to check out East Africa for a change. To be honest, we were a little apprehensive about this trip, because many guidebooks or websites tell you that in both Kenya and Tanzania visitor numbers are much higher than in the South of Africa. As the New York Times wrote earlier this year, they witnessed a cheetah hunting and making a kill in the Maasai Mara, and in no time, the poor animal was surrounded by 50 vehicles. Well, even though the number of cars per sighting was, on average, higher than in Southern Africa, we experienced none of such extremes. I guess, we were lucky with the choice of camps and/or locations.

For instance, we took great care in picking camps that are using open vehicles with a maximum of six passengers and not vehicles with pop-up roofs, let alone minibuses. For a serious photographer, such conditions would seriously limit your freedom to move, and in the case of pop-up roofs you would have to stand up and, often, you would look down on animals. In other words, it would be a nightmare ruining my trip. I realize that the camps we picked are significantly more expensive, but this goes hand in hand with providing better guides, better amenities and facilities, and better service. The good news is that in our experience, the camps in Kenya are not quite as pricey as Botswana accommodations.

One more comment about the number of cars per sighting: The official rules in the Maasai Mara clearly state that the maximum number of vehicles per scene is limited to five (per animal, not animals!). Taken literally, a pride of 8 lions could be visited by 40 cars, and we have witnessed scenes with up to 20 cars. On other occasions, for instance when observing cheetahs or leopards, we have noticed that local wildlife rangers do in fact make sure that there are no more than 5 cars on the scene. Throughout the entire trip, we were blessed with guides that showed great patience and perseverance to stay at a scene for longer. Quite often we were also lucky enough to be the only two guests in the vehicle. The only camp where there were six passengers in a car was Lewa Safari Camp.

As in previous years, I enjoyed recording our wildlife sightings. Overall, we saw more animals here than in any other place in Africa. And our encounters with the big cats were especially noteworthy, because often they were full of drama. I should point out though that we did not see any wild dogs anywhere. Of the four areas visited, the Maasai Mara was, thanks to our guides, and despite the higher number of vehicles, a photographer’s paradise.

What we also appreciated in all five camps was that they allowed each party to have their own tables at mealtimes.

To summarize, this trip was so good that we are almost certain to return to Kenya in the near future." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 20 on a Kenya safari

"On the whole it was an excellent and well organised trip to some vastly different parks. Amazing numbers of lions seen (70).

With hindsight we would have flown from Sand River to Elephant Pepper.

All the staff at the lodges were extremely welcoming and helpful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari

"Our Kenyan safari holiday was simply marvellous.

Everything went smoothly, Expert Africa's advice was spot-on, and all the arrangements made by Jessica, our consultant, were flawless.

Thank you so much ... we will definitely come back for more!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't think of anything. Our trip and your service were both superb." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari

"Originally trip was booked for 2020. We were pleased the trip was rolled over fairly painlessly to 2021 and then 2022.

Jessica has been there over the past three years to provide us with a high level of service.

This is our seventh safari (fourth with Expert Africa) and probably our best although they are all difficult to compare.

The local agent to meet us on arriving at Nairobi airport, Isaac? and transfers to and from Nairobi Wilson were very good" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari

"We worked out while we were away that this was our 25th safari. It was by far our best and Kenya has become our new favourite safari destination.

The people are so welcoming, polite and friendly. The camps were all very well run with excellent food and facilities. The internal flights were well organised and efficient, albeit with lots of stops!

As we do quite a lot of self-guided, self-drive safaris, it was nice to go to camps with an emphasis on photography, so that they would position the vehicle as we would if we were driving and in a few instances, suggest angles that we hadn't thought of." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari

"A wonderful experience from start to finish. Richard's advice was excellent; he got to know what we would like and found accommodation and travel that suited our needs, soon gaining my confidence. At no point was I frustrated by the process, despite all that covid threw our way and the delay of a year that it caused." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 17 on a Kenya safari