35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Management should indicate mpesa is best option We wasted time waiting for efpos machine to work.
I went to the park with 2 colleagues from Australia only saw warthog and impala. Was disappointing not to see any animals. The birds too were handful. The bushland was great bushes too. But no animals. Would recommend the Falls only. But not a safari.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Julia
Lake Manyara is a little bit destroyed from the flood. In the morning we almost saw no animals than Monkeys! Would not recommend!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Hell's Gate National Park by Tara
Great place to ride bikes and see beautiful scenery, but there wasn't a density of wildlife. We jut saw zebras and giraffe.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible roads and service
While the ranch is supposed to have a good variety of wildlife including rhinos, we went on New Year’s Eve and we’re thoroughly disappointed.
There were no guides as they were on vacation despite it being purportedly a high season. We bought a map for KES 1500 since we could not a guide, but it is extremely difficult to follow given unmarked roads.
The roads are impassable and the stafff are not helpful. We spent two hours looking for a way to cross past the swampy area and despite seeking direction from four staff members, we ended up in the same spot from different directions and had to eventually give up the effort!
One would have expected better guidance including warnings on tricky roads etc.
We did see some rhinos but were very underwhelmed by the seeming lack of knowledge of the lay of the land and even customer service orientation.
We got some perfunctory apologies and were on our way to nurse disappointment especially for the birthday girl who had to wake up early in vain.
The ranch needs to step up its game. Otherwise please consider Ol Pejeta instead.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dirty
On Arrival we checked in, as we opened the cabin it was not turned from the previous guests. Mites are eating up all the wooden frames. I went to spar and bought doom and took care of it. Maybe inform guests that the pool has been under construction since last year (Especially when there are kids). If it was not for the surrounding i would have looked for alternative accommodation.
DE
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Sina Wiedemann
Thick bushes where the animals can easily hide, so you don’t see them much:(
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Gordon Lucas
Park is very forested, so much harder to see wildlife. And high water levels in the lake restricted access to lake viewing
RO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by Dragos Dumitrescu
Too vast, bad roads, impossible to come close to animals
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We did not get what we paid for
On the 5, 6, 7 May, my two colleagues and I went on a “classic” three-day, two-night Maasai Mara safari with Oakland Tours Kenya.
It was critical that we booked a private safari as the three of us rarely, if ever, have the chance to meet in person.
Felistus from Oakland confirmed that this would be the case.
We were also told that we would be staying at Fisi Camp, as per the information on the website. However, on Friday we were driven to Manyatta Camp. (Felistus told me after I telephoned her that this was an “upgrade”, but I had made the booking purely on the fact that we were to stay at Fisi.)
On the Friday evening, as we were heading back to the camp after a game drive, our driver, Patrick (who is the saving grace in this whole debacle, because of his exemplary attitude) ran into some troubles with our vehicle, and we had to abandon the vehicle and catch a lift with another group back to camp. We were told that the vehicle would be fixed and ready for our game drive the next morning.
However, the next morning, the van was not fixed. Patrick told us that a part was being delivered from Nairobi which would be used to fix the car. He arranged that we joined another group (of 4 other people – not a private safari). We did not even have the chance to sit together.
At the end of the day (4pm), the part had not yet arrived from Nairobi, though by 7pm it had, and we were absolutely assured that we would have our private game drive the following morning,
Again, we were disappointed: the car was not fixed and we joined another group (5 people) for the morning game drive. We were also told that we would be driven back to Nairobi that morning in a rather beaten-up saloon car.
When we arrived back in Nairobi, Felistus and her business partner were there to greet us and offer their apologies. We had told them that we sought financial compensation because we had paid for a service (in full) that was not delivered. The best they could offer us was local currency for a trip back to the airport. (Which we did not need, but took.)
We found Felistus' attitude to be not at all what we had read about online: she brazenly told us that she would not take responsibility for what had happened, and she proceeded to blame poor Patrick for any wrongdoings/bad decisions made on her part. She didn’t seem in the least bit interested in the fact that we had paid for a private safari, but had not received one, telling us that they “got us to the Masaai Mara and back” and that was the only responsibility that they had.
What’s more, on our itinerary, it was listed that we would enjoy a trip to a local Masaai village on Sunday. This did not happen, and when we questioned Felistus on this point, she said it was “optional” (but, clearly, not our option, as we were never given the choice)!
I had spent some time investigating the wealth of companies that run safaris in the Mara and budget camps. It’s frustrating that nothing that I thought I had chosen was eventually delivered.
I understand that a safari is a complex product, and that things go wrong. But it's how you deal with it, Felistus and Oakland, that is of the utmost importance for continued business.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Bob Lyle
I would skip Lake Manyara and spend your time elsewhere.