Reviews of trips to Nairobi

"We knew this was going to be the trip of a lifetime, but nothing could have prepared us for the experience we had. By the 3rd day we had run out of superlatives and by day 8 we were tongue tied when trying to describe how remarkable the wildlife was, how fabulous the food, how gorgeous the accommodations and how well we were treated. Even now, two months later we have difficulty.

We would not hesitate to use the services of Expert Africa again, in fact we would insist on it for trip planning in that part of the world. We would also insist on having Lyndsey Marris as our personal representative. Lyndsey was outstanding from day one, asking all the right questions about our travel experiences, our wishes, making suggestions before I had a chance to even think to ask, and somehow despite her being in London and our being in the United States we never waited more than 24 hours for an email or telephone response. We don’t know how she managed to work around the time difference, but she did. Her recommendations were spot on and she was flexible with changes; nothing seemed beyond her. We met and formed a friendship with a family from greater London while in Ruaha who had also used Expert Africa and had Lyndsey as their agent and they had the same experience and praise for her as we did.

We were provided with daily itineraries including private drivers, reservations at restaurants, all flight arrangements, hotel and safari camp reservations and accurate information about all of them. In over three weeks of travel there was only one hiccup and that was minor and no doubt precipitated by a flight delay causing us to arrive in Nairobi 2 ½ hours late. The driver who was to have met our flight was not there and we were unsure on how to proceed. As it turned out, a very attentive gentleman had been observing our situation and eventually came over and asked what had happened and it turned out he worked for the same company, Southern Cross Safaris, who was to drive us that day and the next. He took over and got us transported to the hotel and put us back onto our activity schedule to see the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Center. The driver from Southern Cross Safaris was delightful and informative and we met him again the last evening of our trip when we came back to Nairobi to fly home. The only adjustment we would make to our stay in Nairobi would be to give up the convenience of an airport hotel for the apparently unique, lovely experience of staying at Giraffe Manor. We didn’t know Giraffe Manor existed so it wasn’t something we asked Lyndsey about, but we really wish it had somehow come up.

I would suggest to anyone going on Safari to stay in multiple camps in diverse geographic areas. Lyndsey gave us a perfect itinerary in the perfect order: Nairobi, Selous, Ruaha, Mara River, Grumeti and finally Mafia Island and a flight home from Nairobi. Each of the areas had its own flora and fauna and special emphasis. Selous is private, no traffic or competition to view the animals, you can go off road, but the animals are very spread out due to its size. You have the opportunity to see the rare wild dog, but fewer cats. Ruaha, on the other hand, is a national park; you cannot go off road, there are many more vehicles, but it is definitely the place for cats. Mara River is all about the wildebeest crossing. It is also a national park. Grumeti is a private paradise in the Serengeti that gives you the absolute best of the best. Mafia Island is an exquisite respite from the “always on alert” feeling of safari.

If you looked on a map you might wonder why we worked from south to north just to fly much further south at the end, but Lyndsey explained her thinking, we took her advice - she was exactly correct. The wildlife built up as did the camps as we went along. Not once did we feel we were taking a back step in the quality of anything. And going on safari is quite tiring despite the fact you are being driven everywhere, so a restful beach idyll at the end is perfect.

We will definitely return to Africa. We would repeat this trip in a heartbeat. In fact this trip was so fantastic it will be difficult to resist literally going back to the same camps, but Africa is huge with so much variety, we will most likely expand our horizons. Where ever it is, Expert Africa will help plan our trip." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari

"All aspects of the trip exceeded our expectations, which were already high given our previous trips to Africa, and the fact that this was our second visit to the Mara region.

Olivia and Richard were of invaluable help in planning and executing our trip, and I particularly appreciated their commitment to understanding our needs and expectations and ensuring that the trip they recommended was the best possible match for us. They found us late availability at popular camps and secured us competitive pricing that matched direct rates with the lodges concerned, but came with all the advantages of dealing with an experienced agency and a single point of contact.

Unlike other agencies, I never felt that they were promoting or selling specific camps with whom they may have preferential commission arrangements - I genuinely felt that their only objective was to meet the needs of their customers as best they could. This, in my view, is the key to a successful agency and repeat business, and we will certainly be using Expert Africa for our next trip.

It's also worth mentioning that the lodges were aware of our backgrounds, travel experience and preferences / objectives before we arrived, thanks to the information passed on in advance by Expert Africa. This was another plus, reflecting a high standard of customer service and attention to detail.

The team also did an excellent job of managing our expectations in terms of areas where the camps we visited might be different from places we had visited in the past. Our past travel history did include one of the most famously luxurious camps in the Mara, and so we were prepared that certain aspects of the camps we were visiting may not quite match what we had experienced before, but the overall safari experience would still be first class.

I'm pleased to say that the safari experience and the guiding matched or exceeded the best of what we had experienced in the past, exactly as the promised by the team. And in terms of the relative simplicity of the camps themselves, I can honestly say that I didn't notice all that much difference from what we had experienced before, and that this aspect of the trip far exceeded our expectations.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep up the good work." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Kenya safari

"I had a fantastic trip.

I thought the locations and camps were well balanced and excellent. I loved the Maasia Mara, the people and the amazing amount of wildlife that we saw there. We successfully saw three Wilderbeest crossings which was the icing on the cake!

I thought that Clare listened to our requirements and did a great job in fulfilling them." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"Excellent trip which more than lived up to expectations.
The camps, staff( particularly the guides) were outstanding as were the wildlife sightings. We collected some of the best photographs we have ever taken largely thanks to the guides.
Expert Africa organised an efficient, well planned trip which we will remember for a long time.
Particular highlights( and there were many) include: the hot air balloon trip, wildebeests crossing the Mara river. Very, very close encounters with big and small cats. Leopards under the jeep and lion cubs on the bonnet.
The enthusiasm friendliness and efficiency of all the staff was hard to fault.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
It is difficult to think how the service could be improved and we would use Expert Africa again and recommend it to friends.
Keep up the good work!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari

"A great safari. Was very well looked after and saw all the animals on my wish list. Only slight blip the safari link fiasco." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"Glorious trip to Kenya and Tanzania, our first visit to those countries. Having travelled in Africa extensively before, the punctuality and efficiency of collections etc was impressive. We thoroughly enjoyed the insight into local culture and the safari opportunities were stunning. All guides very kind and friendly, always keen to please.

Our limited constructive feedback as follows: All camps provided toiletries and washing powder, so no need to bring. Camps advertising laundry services still did not wash underwear (male or female), nor handkerchiefs. Drive to Il Ngwesi from Wilson airport was interesting, but ended up as quite an odyssey as driver did not know the way through Lewa Conservancy to the camp. As no signs available, this ended up as an additional 2 hours of desperately trying to find the camp before dark. All good in the end, but maybe check drivers know their destination before setting off." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari

"Fantastic - we've been singing the praises of Expert Africa since we returned. Everything was seamless and we didn't worry about a thing from the moment we arrived in Kenya. We had no idea what to expect on our first trip to Africa and this was the perfect introduction. I don't think we would have done anything differently.

We did go to Karen Blixen's home and while interesting - it isn't worth a stop if under a time crunch.

One of the reasons we loved Il Ngwesi so much was because of the community involvement in the lodge. It meant a lot to us that the money was going back to the 7 villages, who sat on the board of the lodge. We spent a long time talking to the staff at Porini/Gamewatchers and while their arrangement with the company and the villages is better than most, it is still not owned by the Maasai. It would be wonderful if there were more lodges and guide services owned by native Kenyans.

We had mixed feelings about the village visits. The one at Il Ngwesi was better because it was presented as "traditional" while acknowledging that things had changed. Yes, they use matches and cell phones and dress in tshirts, etc. The one at Selenkay seemed a little more artificial. While it was really good for us to learn how the Maasai have lived traditionally, we were really interested in their lives today. How have things changed? What do they see for the future? Our guides were willing to discuss it, but it would have been nice to talk to some of the villagers about it as well. For instance - none of our guides had multiple wives and almost all of them chose their own. One didn't own any livestock. Quite a few lived in more modern homes. We felt like it was perpetuating a view of Africa that was not up to date.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Recommend some more trips for us!

Also, I didn't see any multi-country trips on the website. We asked everyone where to go next and some recommended Namibia, Botswana, Victoria Falls trip.

Would be lovely to see an itinerary for that." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Kenya safari

"We loved our safari holiday - we had a fantastic experience which totally exceeded our expectations. I can't wait to go on another safari.

Thank you so much for arranging such a great holiday." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"Excellent from start to finish!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"This was our second trip with Expert Africa, and our second excellent holiday.

Once again, Richard got it just right, interpreting our half-formed wishes and making suggestions for things we hadn't thought of but turned out to be exactly what we wanted." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari