12 Days Best of Kenya and Tanzania Luxury Lodge Safari

Traveler Reviews

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  Michael

  February 15th, 2026
  3.0
  We had a good time. The people in charge refused to give their last names or the complete names of the drivers who...
  We had a good time. The people in charge refused to give their last names or the complete names of the drivers who doubled as guides. We were lucky. We could have been kidnapped. The first driver, while an excellent driver for this rough horrible road, did not speak to us for the 5 hour trip from Nairobi to Masai Mara or the several hours between the other Kenya parks. A separate guide was necessary. I had no idea that everybody in our van was on a different tour than us. The others stayed in lesser lodging and those traveling with us for the 12 day/11 night tour changed 4 times. The lodges, while not air conditioned, were comfortable, and worth what we paid. The uncovered payments should be specified and not general. No one should be asked for cash. We had good drivers, but I never knew who it was(first & last name) who it would be and it was not accurate when we went through the border(that driver didn’t know where to take us). The other passengers were on different tours & the company tried to force us into the shorter tour which means we lost 1/2 day at Serengeti and Ngorongo Crater each. The company which initially refused to stop at Leaky Museum allowed it because they would have had to park fees at 2 parks which we were entitled to and should have gone to at least one of them. They had 3 people on our van who had a shorter tour which cut our last day in Serengeti in half and made us go to Ngorongo crater, early seeing it only 1/2 day, wasting our $200 daily park fee. The last driver, Eli, in Tanzania was great. Everything regarding transportation was kept vague. The final day we were picked up by a shuttle in Arusha and placed on a crowded public bus full of non-tourists to go through immigration to Nairobi. We initially weee told by the Tanzania agent that we would be dropped off at their choice of hotels, but at the last minute, got a private transport to our hotel. Putting us on a public bus was unacceptable.Show more
  Traveled in January 2026
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  Stacy

  September 5th, 2025
  1.0
  Warning! DO NOT BOOK with Africa Venture Safaris (AVS) Our experience with Africa Venture Safaris was a complete...
  Warning! DO NOT BOOK with Africa Venture Safaris (AVS) Our experience with Africa Venture Safaris was a complete nightmare, especially concerning safety and potential fraud. Key issues include: Last-minute tour date change. The tour start date was moved less than a month before departure, causing us to lose a day of the tour and miss a major game drive. This created significant issues with returning on time for our flight. Proposed solutions would have caused us to either miss our flight or skip key parts of the tour (i.e. full day Serengeti or Ngorongoro Crater). Frequent changes to guides, drivers, tour company, and accommodations. The company passed us between multiple guides, drivers, and a different tour company without notice or identification, making us feel unsafe. This also led to finger pointing and no accountability, and the last few days the tour company we were put with in Tanzania, Seven Wonders, blocked our messages and wouldn’t respond to us…very unsafe and unprofessional. They also changed lodges (and at times cities) multiple times without prior notice, and didn’t even have a confirmed accommodation for the last night due to a booking error until late the night before, which is not only highly unsettling but also made it even more difficult to research our own logistical solutions. They then tried to book us in a questionable "luxury camp" (despite paying for luxury lodges) that we couldn’t even find online or verify, raising safety and fraud concerns. Scammed/blackmailed. AVS refused to confirm a reliable plan to get us to the airport on time, leaving us stressed and forced to find our own transportation at the last minute, as we were concerned we could otherwise be left stranded somewhere in Tanzania. While the tour companies supposedly verified this third party tour guide that we found and covered all expenses, the driver ended up demanding more money, refused to leave our hotel, and threatened us upon dropping us off, creating a dangerous and scary situation. Both Nancy at AVS and Evelyn at Seven Wonders would not respond to our messages or answer their phones, so we had no one to help us. Dishonesty and lack of professionalism and accountability. The company blamed us for the logistical issues, as we had to rebook due to a medical emergency, but we confirmed the new dates over a year in advance! They also lied about lodge booking errors on their end, and at one point refused to even confirm a car to take us to the airport (would only confirm part of the trip back) because we declined their solutions (that would have caused us to miss our flights or completely change our itinerary from what we booked) and “knew the consequences”. If a tour company messes up the dates or lodge bookings, they should take accountability, do everything possible to make it right, provide an adequate solution up front, and not blame the customer. Emotional toll. The constant problems caused significant stress, anxiety, and panic attacks throughout the trip. Despite the amazing wildlife and game drives, the overall experience was ruined by poor organization and unsafe practices. Conclusion. Africa Venture Safaris failed to deliver a well-organized, safe, and trustworthy experience. We strongly advise booking with a reputable, established global tour company rather than a local tour operator.Show more
  Traveled in July 2025
  

  Reply from: Africa Venture Safaris

  Hello Stacy, Thank you fr submitting the review and taking your time. We understand you are angry, but all these cannot be blamed to Africa Venture Safaris. THe moment your trip was postponed last year, these is where all problems began. We passed the same information to the hotels and lodges. I can say the some lodges were very good enough, despite being that your dates were high season dates, they provided us with the accomodations. Some refused and we had to find alternatives. Finding alternatives means paying other hotels, which for sure AFRICA VENTURE SAFARIS DID NOT REQUEST EXTRA PAYMENT FROM YOU. Postponing your tour to another year , means there was extra payment of USD 600 per person to cover the extra additional costs for hotels and lodges, and even park fees, which Africa Venture Safaris did not even charge you, but we went on these loss. Nobody told you to pay any extra cost. The changes in accomodation made the lodge to change your date from 8th to 9th, since these was the date they have. And we made sure as Africa Venture Safaris, that you will cover all the destinations in your itenerary and visits all the parks, which we did. These also made us inquire extra charges like paying private tour to Ngorongoro for the two of you, private transport to Arusha for the two of you and and private another extra private transfer from Arusha to Nairobi airport the next day, all these costed extra USD 1020, which obviously the company did not ask you for a single cent. WE discussed with you on day one and briefed you everything, and you agreed, only to change your mind in Arusha. When there is a problem with the tour, we always sit down with our guests and discuss, agree to disagree to make the tour work, and that is why you will never see Africa Venture Safaris in a list of fraudstars, that is not us. WE are a reputable company and we provide the best for our guests. And these is why we did not charge you any extra amount apart from the ones you paid here. We went on the minus expenses as a company. If we would have charged you, you would have said we are Fraudster. , We altered you several times on the change of dates, but you never replied, you replied after a whole one month, really? Who is at fault here, but we still managed to keep everything together. Africa Venture Safaris is not to blame, but the Lodges which changed there dates. Also if you book group safari, the operation remains for the company. Unless you are in a private safari, you will have one guide through out. Thank you, Nancy.

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  Andrew

  August 25th, 2025
  3.0
  I only rated this tour 3 star due to the array of animals we saw, which apart from the Black Rhino, we got to see...
  I only rated this tour 3 star due to the array of animals we saw, which apart from the Black Rhino, we got to see everything and our guide Salim in Tanzania was very knowledgeable and really helped the group. What were the issues: 1. If you advertise a tour that can supply Kosher food, that is listed as one of the food options on the itinerary and confirmed multiple times, I don't expect that to be an issue. I asked at the Lodges and the front of staff and head chef's had no idea and were not aware of this. Despire the Africa Venture Safari's stating they had reconfirmed with all the lodges, this was not the case. I had to work out something with the chefs myself each time, that should not be my responsibility. This was a factor in me choosing the tour over other options, so I wasn't pleased at all. Of this had been more a health related issue, this could have been very serious. I hope the tour itinerary will he amended ajd the Loshern What weee the Tour operatorsShow more
  Traveled in August 2025
  

  Reply from: Africa Venture Safaris

  Hello Andrew, We are very sorry for these, the hotels messed up on the Kosher food, the promised us they knew kosher food at the time of booking. Our apologies, next time will be more cautious on these. Than you Nancy.

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  Ventures

  June 11th, 2025
  4.0
  The experience was quite sweet
  Traveled in February 2025
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  Mildred

  December 12th, 2024
  5.0
  You should consider doing this. You will enjoy
  Traveled in December 2024
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  Valentine

  December 11th, 2024
  5.0
  Accommodations , food and transport were top overall.The hotels and lodges we slept in were wonderful with the best...
  Accommodations , food and transport were top overall.The hotels and lodges we slept in were wonderful with the best meals. Our guide was able to show us the big five animals by day fourShow more
  Traveled in October 2024
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  Mukund

  October 14th, 2024
  4.0
  We enjoyed seeing various animals including the big five. The guides knew where to go to find rare predators. We...
  We enjoyed seeing various animals including the big five. The guides knew where to go to find rare predators. We selected this tour over a private safari, thinking that interacting with other people will be interesting But the tour company did not have anyone else with the same 12 day tour itinerary. So they added people with short excursions. This led to us spending long hours in the van while the driver dropped and pick up these travelers. For example, the trip from Masai Mara to lake Nakuru took us ten hours vs standard 5 to 6 hours. Lake Nakuru lodge was beautiful, but we reached there after dark and couldn't enjoy anything. There was minimal communication from the tour company (Africa Venture Safaris). Drivers who were also tour guides, did not explain much as we travelled to different parks. except pointing to the animals. We really enjoyed the Parks and game drives, and saw all kinds of animals in their natural habitat. As a word of caution, next time I would go with a private tour or go in a group of six to avoid wasted time and long rides on extremely bumpy roads.Show more
  Traveled in September 2024
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  Pauline

  September 29th, 2024
  4.0
  This was actually a terrific adventure overall. We got to see lots of wildlife and wonderful scenery. The tour...
  This was actually a terrific adventure overall. We got to see lots of wildlife and wonderful scenery. The tour organization and the lodges in Kenia were excellent. The driver/guide was very knowledgeable, but was making a lot of personal calls. The Tanzanian subcontracting agency provided a safari vehicle that was quite a wreck. The driver was good, but his English lacking. The agency also added two additional passengers who had accommodations different from our core group, which the driver had a hard time finding. And the roads in Tanzania are worse than in Kenia.Show more
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  Traveled in September 2024
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  Peter

  September 24th, 2024
  3.0
  Some great experiences but there were a number of failings - supposed to be a maximum of 6 visitors in a group and...
  Some great experiences but there were a number of failings - supposed to be a maximum of 6 visitors in a group and was mostly 7 or even 8 persons- so vehicles were cramped and gear bags stored in the aisles amongst us. Poor. I funded a "luxury tour" - moments of luxury, a lot of not. I sought information ahead of time as to the best currencies to carry, Specifically useless responses - USD, British pounds or euros are best. We did not carry any of these which was a pity and caused some problems. The distances and hours travelling from venue to venue was not advised at all - one day 12 hours commuting over dusty shaky roads- exhausting and unprepared for it. Some "all day game drives" were 3-4 hours at best. The drivers drove but did little informing - answered questions put to them but not really guiding. We waited 3 hours to be collected one morning - ready at 0640 as instructed- arrived 0940hrs. Some wonderful animal viewing moments. Organisation average. At least 3 layers of commissions evident. I was unable to send the tour details to my wife - only on the App for me. Asked how to do this- never received a reply. Some superb overnight lodge stays. Food overall poor. Same buffet everywhere nightly, lunches provided ordinary.Show more
  Traveled in September 2024
  

  Reply from: Africa Venture Safaris

  Thank you very much Peter for your time in submitting these review. Am sorry for the negative views you experienced, For these tour the vehicles we are using has capacity of 7 pax including the co driver. The safari passes to some remote places with rough roads which we cannot avoid. Sopa lodges offer the best meals, same with seronera, and Ngorongoro serena, they all offer buffets meals because thats what people prefer, am sorry it was inconvenience for you. We sent the tour details through attachement. We are sorry for the inconveniences. Thank you.

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  Velan

  July 23rd, 2024
  4.0
  We really enjoyed our first week with Kaka our guide/driver in Kenya. He answered our questions and provided...
  We really enjoyed our first week with Kaka our guide/driver in Kenya. He answered our questions and provided additonal information regarding the animals we were seeing. He was actively talking to fellow guides and listening to the radio to keep abreast of various animal sightings. He was constantly scanning to see animals himself whilst driving. By contrast, our second week with Adam was not as fulfilling. Understandably we weren't as wowed by every animal sighting since it was our second week. However, Adam did not seem as communicative. He gave us very limited information, which seemed to be a few facts he had memorised. He was not as comfortable giving off the cuff answers to various questions which would pop up. To be an effective guide, you must be constantly informing your clients about the enironment which surrounds them. You should not simply wait for them to ask questions. On our one full day in the Serengeti, he seemed to be following other cars rather than forge his own path. When we weren't following another jeep, we seemed to be going in circles seeing the same things over and over again- so much so that we all began to recognise the route. Additionally, we lost time (approx. 1.5 hours) due to mechanical issues (this happens, we also had a flat tire with Kaka once) and then getting stuck in the ditch after a big rainshower (another 45 mins, this seemed avoidable). The day ended early after getting ouf of the ditch. Perhaps Adam was overwhelmed. Our itinerary was changed. Firstly, we were put ihe Mvuli Hotel. This hotel does not meet the standards of the other hotel in which we stayed during our safari. We let Sylvia know and we were transferred to the Palace for the last night. Secondly, we left the Seregenti lodge at 7:30am and then drove to the Ngorongoro crater for the day. Because we were driving there and then onwards to the mountain view lodge, we did not get a lot of time in the crater itself. At the viewpoint for Ngorongoro, I met a woman who said they were in the crater early (they must have had lodging closer) and got to see quite a few animals. Because we arrived later, and left early, I do not feel we got to experience that crater as much as we would have liked. Sylvia did tell us about the changes in the car en route to Arusha from the border, but as I told her, unless these things are in writing, we are not going to remember and they will not make much sense to us out of context. I would strongly suggest that you get your future clients to the Ngorongoro crater as early in the day as possible.Perhaps, it would be better to spend that night closer to the crater and have an earlier start in the crater rather than returning back at the same Serengeti lodge for night two. For Adam, I would highly recommend that he take an active interest in gathering the information required to be a guide. Get to know the animals and their behaviours and habitats. Equally important, engage with your clients so that they know you are wiling to share your information and answer any additional questions. We are pretty accomodating people so we had a positive experience. We understand this to be a competetive market so to be the type of company that is recommended you must ensure your guides are not only good drivers but also knowledgable.Show more
  Traveled in July 2024