We booked a safari with Classic Journeys over 2 years ago and had paid the majority of our trip prior to COVID affecting worldwide travel. Charles was our first point of contact and stayed in touch with us until we were able to safely travel 2 years later. When we first booked the safari it was to be a family vacation for 4 people and later we switched to 2. Charles was able to upgrade our accommodations and extend the length of our trip. My wife and I embarked on a private 2 week safari encompassing Kenya and Tanzania at 6 different camps and lodges in July 2022. The communication was excellent and prompt and the customer service was fantastic! We researched the web prior to booking with Classic Journeys and were not disappointed! The cost was not the cheapest nor the most expensive and we were looking to get the most out of our experience without breaking the bank. Our guides, Dixon and Praygod, were knowledgeable and indispensable in making our safari a dream vacation for us both. We were able to see several different landscapes, environments and animals and our guides shared a wealth of information everywhere we went! We are looking forward to returning and using Classic Journeys to set up another safari in the future!
FernandoN2524
17 Feb 2020
Being an Argentinean family, we contacted our fellow countryman Justo Casal, from Merging Mundos in Kenya, who developed a customized 13-night safari and beach mixed itinerary in Kenya and Tanzania, based on our interests and expectations. That proved to be the best choice we could have made, as we had the vacations of our lifetime! And Classic Journeys played the fundamental role in that experience, being our hosts and companions from start to finish, with Elvis always reachable at any time to help with anything we might need. We started our trip in Nairobi, for visiting an Elephant Orphanage and a Giraffe Center, and then continued to Massai Mara to initiate our true safari experience. Based on our experience and the fact that it had been raining a lot the few previous days in Kenya, which was totally untypical in january/february, it was critical we were given very capable drivers/guides along with 4x4 Land Cruisers. Several roads inside the parks and even in-transit between parks, were absolutely challenging and quite impassable, with very deep mud, water and flooded bridges, and only thanks to Amir in Kenya and Mirage in Tanzania and their excelled driving capabilities, we were able to make it. For sure other 4x4 minivans that usually crowd the parks, would have been left stranded, as we actually witnessed some! After Massai Mara, we turned into Tanzania and visited the immense Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area: a magnificent creation of nature! Then we headed back to Kenya, for visiting Amboseli, with its unique and stunning views of Mt Kilimanjaro, and Tsavo National Parks. During our safari tenure, we experienced a combination of jungle lodges and luxury tented camps, which provided my wife and three kids with a real taste of wildlife. And of course we needed to spend several hours each day as passengers either in the park on a game drive, or transiting between parks, for which you must get used to. Our program ended up with a largely deserved 3-day stay in Diani Beach, near Mombasa, for total relaxation in those white sandy beaches, while taking warm sea baths in the Indian Ocean, and enjoying nice African food in one of the many international resorts. Visiting Wasani Island for dolphins watching and snorkeling was the proper closing to our journey. Definitely East Africa has a lot to offer for a one-of-a-lifetime vacation, you should give it a try!
We hadden een ruwe route voor onze eerste reis naar Afrika en we wilden Oeganda, Kenia en Tanzania bezoeken. We hadden nog nooit iets van deze duur en reikwijdte gedaan, en we waren afhankelijk van Elvis Ayieko en zijn geweldige personeel voor hun aanbevelingen en input. We hebben onze plannen verschillende keren gewijzigd en Elvis was uiterst geduldig met onze vragen en aanpassingen. Dit was echt een reis van ons leven voor ons. We begonnen onze reis in Oeganda met een kort bezoek aan de Nijl en de rivier de Nijl. De accommodaties in Jinja waren geweldig en Joseph, onze chauffeur was geweldig. We namen een korte vlucht van Entebbe naar Nairobi, waar we werden opgehaald door Chris, en we begonnen onze savannah safari-ervaring de volgende dag vroeg. George was onze gids en chauffeur in Kenia en hij was uitstekend. Hij is zeer goed geïnformeerd en heeft ons veel geleerd over de natuur en het ecosysteem van de Serengeti. Hij deed altijd zijn uiterste best om interessante plekken onderweg te markeren en ons te informeren en te informeren over de fascinerende cultuur van Kenia. We bezochten Samburu National Park, de Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Lake Nakuru National Park en Masai Mara National Game Reserve. Onze timing plaatste ons in het midden van de Great Migration, en we kregen veel wildlife te zien. We wisselden van gids aan de grens, en nogmaals, onze gids Hassan was altijd beleefd, behulpzaam en deskundig. In Tanzania hebben we het enorme Serengeti National Park en het Ngorongoro National Conservation Area bezocht. Echt een juweeltje van onze planeet! De wilderniskampen in de Serengeti waren vooral fascinerend. We staken de grens weer over naar Kenia en we hadden het geluk dat George weer onze chauffeur was. We bezochten vervolgens Amboseli National Park voordat we teruggingen naar Nairobi (met Chris weer als onze gids) om het Karen Blixen House en het Kenya National Museum te zien. Ik kan dit bedrijf niet genoeg aanbevelen. Het onderdak was allemaal eersteklas en het eten was altijd uitstekend. En tot slot, een van de belangrijkste hoogtepunten van de reis waren de vriendelijke, attente mensen die we hebben ontmoet. Reizen in Afrika kan moeilijk zijn, maar de gidsen en het personeel van het hotel waren altijd vriendelijk, beleefd en behulpzaam en maakten de reis een waar genot.