Travel Review: Luxury Africa Safari, Kenya, Samburu National Reserve, Maasai Mara

We used this travel agency to organize a private 13 night, road-safari in Kenya this past August. We stayed at high end, mostly exclusive resorts and everything but airfare and gratuity was included in the package.

The travel agency exceeded my expectations in every way. I was a bit hesitant to book with them (via Zicasso) as they didn’t have a lot of info online in terms of reviews or chatter, but I am so glad I did. I saved literally thousands of dollars by bypassing the middle man. Apparently many of the big tour operators use outfits like this travel agency, add a 25%+ markup and then resell you the package. This was a very pricey trip so I got 4 other bids before I selected one – and many of the same resorts were included on the various itineraries, which is how I know I got a great deal.

In terms of the itinerary, Samburu was our favorite part of the trip by far (not the Maasai Mara, like I was expecting). In part this had to do with the super cool landscape and the superb hotel (Elephant Bedroom Camp) but also because of the diversity of the animals. The Mara was our second favorite, and we preferred Elewana Sand River resort over Kichwa Tembo because it was more exclusive and not so touristy. Old Pejeta was cool to see the last Northern White Rhinos but didn’t love the enclosed aspect of the conservatory (though understand that’s the point).

I’m petrified of small airplanes so my partner and I ended up doing a private driving safari. He loved the Land Cruiser as it was very durable on the rough roads and fit his 6ft 7in frame. I liked it too but it was a lot of time in the car going from park to park. My choice though given the plane issue I have. The best part of the drive was our guide. He was just great. Knowledgeable, funny, perfect English and he knew EVERYBODY. It really came in handy as he was able to get tips on sightings of elusive animals. :-) Which, BTW were amazing.

Simply put, this was an awesome trip and our agent, our guide and the travel agency team really delivered. I will for sure use them again.