SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised
Safarihub handled my booking and coordination very well. All my booking, payments, itenary finalization etc were done sitting in Singapore coordinating with Safarihub staff in Tanzania. Victoria was super supportive and helpful in the whole process. she was available and responsive at every stage and for every single query and clarifications. she came and met me on the day I landed in Arusha and briefed me and also met on the day of departure to take feedback. Since I wanted a group safari, I was put onto another safari operator ( simba safari) but the entire process was seamless and I was kept out of any logistics hassle they had between the two tour operators.
their selection of lodges/tents were outstanding and enjoyed the stay at each of the places and enjoyed the food.
overall a good trip and will definitely reach out to safari hub for my next safari!
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
VEry good staff
I spent three days in Tanzania, having spent a day on a safari, a day in a Masai village and a day on kilimanjaro, and everything went very well.
The pic-nic was good and with enough food, worth having been the exact same "menu" in the three days.
The person in charge of the company received us on the day of arrival and at the end of each day of activities.
In terms of follow-up during activities, we can say that they have sinned but by excess, since we were only a couple and we had three guides.
I advise choosing this company for a few days in Tanzania.
From Portugal.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great choice for a Safari
One of the best parts of Foot Slopes was their fast response to my emails leading up to the trip. The tour itself was great and everything was taken care of; I literally just had to show up. The itinerary was changed without prior notice, but we still did everything that was stated. The days (the order in which we did things) were switched a bit to accommodate others joining parts of the tour. We were well taken care of by our guide.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good for most parts
Driver picked us up from our accommodation in Nairobi but was 30 minutes late. Journey went well although very bumpy ride in the vehicle after Narok. We did call at Tuskys supermarket at Narok and stocked up with snacks and water. There was a pizza place in the mall but were told our lunch would be later. Lunch was a big disappointment and health risk. 700 KES each for a poor quality buffet with birds constantly pecking the serving spoons. We set off again and reached Masai Mara and our first game drive. We had 4 altogether over 3 days and we enjoyed them. We stayed at Mara Serena Lodge which was within Masai Mara park and it was a lovely hotel and food. The second day the driver told us 6am start but then turned up 30 minutes later and said it was 6:30am. He said we’d got the time wrong but all of use heard him say 6am. Everything else went smoothly. Our driver was Benard but I did wish we had a 4 wheel drive vehicle rather than an 8 seater minibus. Overall we did enjoy our Safari.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
highly efficient
money for value and always supportive. I had a good saffair with Josana tour.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Magical Journey
We had a great experience with Foot Slopes. The service from the minute we landed , all through out the safari , till the moment we got dropped back at the airport was amazing.
Friendly, knowledgable staff, great driver/guide who looked after us and put great efforts into explaining in great detail. The schedule was well planned and executed each day and left us with plenty of time to view animals at our own pace.
Three bits of negative feedback are:
1 - The sleeping bags were too thin, especially for the cold nights in Ngorongoro Crater and could have done with thicker sleeping bags.
2 - We found out that we paid far more than anyone else in the group, which was very unfair especially since everyone else had paid for the exact same experience.
3 - We were 7 instead of 6 people in the car which meant that it was overcrowded.
The Safari itself was amazing, but the company needs to work a little more on organising things better both from a comfort and logistical perspective.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good value for money
From a lot or research beforehand and our experience, I would recommend Bencia over other companies for a value-for-money budget safari, despite one con. The review is very long becuse it can be hard to find specific details about most tours which in the end is the difference between getting what is promised and getting tricked.
Pros
1. Accommodation at Lake Nakuru is inside the park (Wildlife Clubs of Kenya - Nakuru) which is a big advantage over other tour groups because it means we could do an afternoon and morning tour on the same 24hr ticket. A 24hr ticket for Lake Nakuru only allows for 1 entry and exit. Though other companies say they offer both morning and afternoon tours, when I actually enquired how this was possible when their accommodation was outside the park, they then stated it was either morning or afternoon, not both. Bencia was the only budget safari I found, from emailing many companies, who could actually offer what the website says.
2. Our guide was thoughtful about the welfare of the animals and didn't harass them, unlike other drivers we saw. He was also nice to chat with about wildlife and Kenya in general.
3. Great in-house chef who travelled with us and adapted well to a vegetarian menu. An example of our meals, though each chef may be different, was: breakfast (omlettes, toast, sweet potato, pancakes, fruits, instant coffee/tea), lunch ( tasty and fresh buffets on the road between locations, and a huge packed lunch for the full day safari including fruits, sandwich, juice and snacks) and dinner (rice, great mixed veges, beans, potatoes and fruits). We were always so full, no snacks are needed to complement the meals.
4. Accommodation was good for the price. Good enough mosquito protection. The accommodation in Lake Nakuru is particularly good as the animals are all around the camp gates.
5. The joining tour ran with even 2 people, as promised, which not all companies could promise us and seemed important for changing circumstances like Covid. It also meant by luck we had a private tour.
6. Really, really responsive emails from the office beforehand always getting back within minutes or just a few hours.
Con
1. We felt we our driving hours and timing was not quite what was agreed upon and we had to negotaite to remain close to our planned schedule which was a dampener. As noted below, a bit too little time for the MM afternoon (which could have simply been credited the next days but wasn't). Additionally, it was very important to us, and promised to us in emails, that we would do a morning tour day 3 in MM from 6:30-8:30am. When we were there we were told we could do 6am-5pm on day 2 instead of the morning drive on day 3. We said no because that is not what was promised. Strangely, the last day we entered quite late going from 7am-9am which was the same duration but not the hours we were promised or that we asked for the night before. It seemed strange they would offer to enter at 6am on the long day but not on the short morning. I know some companies do an afternoon drive day 1 and then a long day 2 so they save money on gate fees nut but charge you for 2 days on entry fees, despite what their website programme states. So I was pleased that they at least stuck to the promise of 3 days of driving and not 2.
Trip details:
The order of our trip changed and we ended up doing 4 days nd 3 nights with Lake Nakuru first, which in the end felt better going from a small park into the huge expanse of the Masai Mara.
There is a lot of unavoidable travel in between parks, though I think we spent too long between Nakuru and Masai Mara trying to arrange picking up some more passengers which cost us time that afternoon at Masai Mara and this was never made up later.
Rough timing; Nakuru to MM - 7 hours (should be much quicker), MM to Nairobi - 5hrs, Nairobi to LN 7am from hotel to 3pm arrival.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good budget safari operator, has own chefs and does not sell clients and runs safari even for 2 peop
We booked a 4 day safari and even noone joined it happened as planed. We had a good guide/driver Mourinho and a friendly chef John who cooked us very tasty food. A minibus and places to stay were budget type but good value for money. We saw everthing we wanted even though last day game drive was shorter than expected.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Flexible
Sufiane was timely and flexible as we did the safari with our 3 year old and 1 year old child. He communicated well and was knowledgeable about the animals. Great! value! My only suggestion for improvement is for him to stay longer at some notable sitings, such as more rare animals (rhino) or large groups of animals (like a herd of elephants).