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Africa Travel Guide - AfricanMecca Customer Opinions
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There are 355 AfricanMecca Customer Opinions available.
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Dear Raza,
You turned our dream into a reality. Our honeymoon and wedding in Kenya was so much more than we hoped for. We've never in our wildest dreams thought a vacation could be so perfect...and of course now we wonder if any vacation will meet our now higher expectations. Raza, we were spoiled.
After our long flight we were greeted by a comfortable air conditioned SUV and whisked away to the hotel where we met by the friendliest staff we've ever met. When we got to the hotel, it was around 1am, yet there was a cold cocktail and a hot dinner waiting for us. The next morning we woke up and enjoyed the amazing breakfast spread provided by the Leopard Beach Hotel. We spent the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the luxe facilities at the hotel. That night we were in for a treat. The hotel had a bar-b-que that was outstanding, so many kinds of African food...and each dish we sampled was better than the next. There was a band and dancing. It turns out Leopard beach does a different theme night almost every night of the week. We couldn't get bored if we tried.
This leads me to talk about the staff of the hotel. It would be difficult to find a more professional, caring and friendly staff anywhere. We were always treated with respect and served with a smile. The staff was knowledgeable and eager to be of help. We were very pampered, and I have to say again, spoiled.
We were extremely pleased with our safari and Satao Camp. Again, we were welcomed with a high level of expertise. Our driver, Joseph, was knowledgeable and professional and worked hard to show us every animal he could. Satao Camp was more than we imagined. The food and lodging were impeccable. What a memorable experience.
The trip to Wasini Island was amazing. The boat trip and the scuba were great (even though the visibility was poor...still great) "English" Sally was fun to talk to and full of information. And, I love crab...so I was in THE RIGHT PLACE. The tour of the island and it's village was fascinating.

And the wedding! It was incredible. It was exactly how Stuart and I would wanted to get married...but never dreamed a wedding could be so perfect. The hotel handled all the arrangements beautifully. Everything was gorgeous, we wouldn't have changed one thing. The Masai were an unusual touch, and we enjoyed their presence. All of this gave us memories for a lifetime. We can't thank Leopard Beach enough for making this day the beyond perfect day it was supposed to be.
There was absolutely nothing to complain about.
Raza, everything was perfect and Stuart and I look forward to going back to Kenya as soon as we can...and of course we'll be calling YOU! Thank you for everything. Everyone made us both very happy. |
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Mrs Annemarie Bain, Post Production Producer, Maury Show NBC Studios New York City |
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United States |
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Hello Al Visram, We have now returned from our holiday in your wonderful country and have recovered from the pleasureable times that we had there, Will you please accept our thanks for organising the balloon flight for us, it was certainly one of the main highlights of the trip, and something that we will never forget. We were both delighted at the reception we received by your countrymen, especially the children, once again something we will never forget. Once again Atlaf thank you for your hospitality. |
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John Brock |
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United Kingdom |
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My wife and I have been to Haller Park twice and have enjoyed our visits very much .We loved meeting Owen & Mzee and feeding the Giraffes we are coming to Kenya again this year and will be making another visit to the park we will be introducing our family to the animals at the park this time . Looking forward to another visit to this wonderful park . |
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Malcolm Stuart Ridings |
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United Kingdom |
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I would just like to thank you for a fantastic trip that was so perfectly organised.
From the moment we arrived in Mombasa there were transportation officers there to collect us. As as arranged and we were taken straight to the Travellers Beach hotel.
On the day of the Masai Mara safari, everything went so smoothly from the hotel pick to the airport, the flight to the Masai mara to being collected at the airstrip and taken to Siana Springs camp. These 4 days and 3 night were absolutely fantastic. I truly recommend the camping experience as the tent is practically like a hotel suite with hot shower, flushing toilets and comfortable bed. The 3 meals here were the best that we had in the whole 2 & half weeks. The chef was amazing! The guide was brilliant and we saw everything except leopard.
Overall, Great trip, and AfricanMecca were really organised and gave us all the information. Thanks for everything! |
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Mark Cobb |
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United Kingdom |
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My husband and son had a wonderful time and were very satisfied with the services you
provided in Zambia and Victoria Falls. Below find more specific information:
Puku Ridge: They thoroughly enjoyed the total experience; the safari, accommodations and people! They saw an incredible number of wildlife and had knowledgeable guides. Four nights here was perfect, any more would have been repetitive.
Binnie Corporate Lodge: They would HIGHLY recommend this mother/daughter run hotel. The service, food, accommodations, and location were OUTSTANDING!!!
Protea Livingstone Hotel/Victoria Falls: Protea Livingstone Hotel was acceptable, but nothing special. Victoria Falls and the valley surrounding it were incredible to view and hike around. However, Marty and Grayson felt one night here would have been adequate. They could have seen and done everything they were interested in doing here in 24 hours.
Golfview Hotel: Another basic motel, acceptable but nothing special.
ProFlight Airlines: Provided reliable air transportation in Zambia. Got them where they were going safely and reasonably on time.
AfricanMecca Safaris: We were favorably impressed with both African Mecca's staff and services. The staff members were knowledgeable, reliable, honest, polite, organized, attentive, thorough and went above and beyond to be helpful. The safari, air transportation, and all accommodations were accurately portrayed on AfricanMecca's website and/or by their staff. We would highly recommend African Mecca to anyone traveling to Zambia.
Thanks again for assisting us with our travels in Zambia! |
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Patti Bauer |
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United States |
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Thank you for the opportunity of expressing some comments about your company
and the service delivery regarding our personalized trip. That in itself shows that you care which is constructive and makes a client feel that they
are special. You are obviously going the extra mile and that's so good to know as this was a trip of a lifetime to celebrate nearly 30 years of
married life for us.
What we believe stood out for us was the response time to our queries. Initially when we contacted your company we understandably approached other
companies to glean comparative costing. Because of the unique itinerary and our nominated time frames other companies found it harder to give us quotes.
You were by far and away the quickest of all the responders.
In addition to being the most efficient regarding the quote, you offered site links to recommended destinations which no other company offered. It
was good to view the resorts and get a mind set of what to expect.
You also explained why certain costing were seemingly exorbitant and that was different to other companies who simply told us it was a certain price
and didn't want the long dialogue or explanation route as it was , we
believe, out of the ordinary charter arrangements and possibly they didn't know first hand why certain flights were the price they were.
We were also struck by the comments you made regarding some routing and certain plane flight companies which at times were problematic - but you had
warned us of their more than occasional rerouting and we were therefore not so dismayed when it occurred. I refer to the connection /link between
Mombasa and Zanzibar which did not arrive and we were rerouted back to Nairobi then out to Zanzibar. So thank you for that.
The meet and greet arrangements went off particularly well in most places. All personnel were helpful and the arrival and departures by and large went
very smoothly considering the flight rerouting by the airline.
The Zanzibar Stone Town tour guide was superlative. He was outstanding and gave us
undivided attention. We felt that was great value and to be escorted round the market place and slave stations was like walking in a living museum The
duration of the tour was lengthy by our request and it went by seemingly quickly. This was because we enjoyed it immensely.
The Little Governors Camp experience was terrific in every respect. Our guide in the vehicle was fantastic and his knowledge of game and spotting
whatever you nominated was unbelievable. His knowledge of birds was also excellent. He was caring, attentive and informative. A great ambassador for
Africa and for your company.
The Fundu Lagoon Resort at Pemba was outstanding. All personnel there care and deliver
great service. The waitrons are all fantastic. Beach dinner experiences and superb variations of meal menus plus changes of venue for dinners were
wonderful.
It was in all respects a happy experience with no anti climaxes.
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Viv & Kirsty Turner |
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South Africa |
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I wanted to let you know the Ms Raquel Trujillo returned from her Africa trip and she absolutely loved it. Her words, “it was like a dream come true”, the service and people and the accommodations were above and beyond. She’s telling everyone about your company and what a terrific job they did. I know I was excited to hear all about it as well I’m sure that your are too. I just had to pass the glowing report on over to you.
Thanks again for all your help in making this so perfect for her.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, |
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Travel Agent: Sandi Sampson, Carefree Vacations, San Diego, California |
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United States |
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We organised our visit to Travellers and Pinewood in
Mombasa mostly through AfricanMecca's website, but also through emails and
phone calls direct with Raza - we had booked through AfricanMecca two years
ago, and I was very happy to use them again - they provide great deals and sound, informed advice. The whole process was very well organised before we went, and there were no hitches once we arrived at the hotels. We had
stayed before at Travellers Beach Hotel and were very happy to return - it's in a good location, close to Mombasa with extremely comfortable rooms and immaculate and well designed grounds - the slight negatives for me were hassle
on the beach from sellers and quite a few mosquitos - so you need to deet-up! It was our first trip to
Pinewood Village though, Raza suggested it might be what we were looking for, and we would love to go there again. It was much
smaller and quieter - but so beautiful, tranquil and welcoming, with no hassle on the beach, no mosquitos (can that be possible?!) and very friendly staff and other guests. I would really recommend
AfricanMecca and would definitely use them again. |
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Jane Barnard |
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United Kingdom |
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We had the trip of a lifetime with on our 19 day safari to
Victoria Falls, Kenya and Tanzania. special thanks to John
Mugo, guide in Kenya and Emmanuel in Tanzania. John Mugo was such a delight. We really enjoyed John Mugo's personality, A++++++'s several times over. without John Mugo, our trip would have been really dry. He just brought everything to life. He made our trip sooooo special. We saw millions of animals so the cost to get there was worth it; and then having John Mugo just put the icing on the cake, AfricanMecca Safaris and
yourself just made my trip sooo easy to plan and come to life and we made it all happen without issues. Always Appreciative !!!!! |
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Ann Guidinger & Family, Illinois |
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United States |
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Thank you for a wonderful Africa vacation which will be hard to beat! We loved how
efficient AfricanMecca was with our requests and reservations. Everything went without a glitch.
Our Safari guide William Wekesa was amazing. He was excellent at finding animals, had amazing knowledge about the wildlife and an enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm. We really appreciated the fact that he was able to read our needs and go the extra mile. We were sad to say goodbye at the end of the safari.
A week at Pinewood Village was very restful. What a wonderful way to end our holiday. Once again the staff was very friendly which really made the stay very enjoyable.
I would recommend AfricanMecca team to everyone.
Thank you and all the staff for your hard work in making these trips run so smoothly. |
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Helena Grant & Family, Calgary, Alberta |
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Canada |
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Your company is fantastic. We just got back from our Kenya Beach and Safari trip to Masai Mara. I have never had such excellent service. Your staff was prompt, courteous, informative and super friendly. I had a good feeling when Raza Visram was so cooperative with my many changes, but I was blown away by the level of service in Kenya. You rate 10 out of 10 in every area. A wonderful change after the last company I worked with. I may plan all future vacations based on what you offer. Feel free to give my name as a reference. I can't think of anything that could be improved. FYI - I am a quality systems auditor. I find faults for living. Your service was perfection. Thank you for everything. |
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Mary Betsy Anderson, Ohio |
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United States |
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I can confirm that my visit to Lake Nakuru went without a hitch. It was immensely enjoyable and I was completely satisfied with my AfricanMecca experience.
If I get another opportunity to visit Kenya I will no doubt look to use your
services again. |
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John Meadows |
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United Kingdom |
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I am now back from my Kenya vacation safe and sound. I had a great time, perfect weather, great safaris and I survived the Mount Kenya trek! The arrangements were perfect - no problems anywhere. This is all the more remarkable given that you had rearranged the whole trip only 1 week prior to departure.
On my return I saw you had already obtained a credit from British Airways for the flights that were cancelled because of the strike.
The service I received from your company was simply outstanding - probably the best I have got from any travel company. |
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Benjamin Harland, Deutsche Bank |
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United States |
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We wanted to let you know we had a wonderful time and everthing that was arranged through AfricanMecca ran very smoothly. There were no problems with any of the bookings and both Voyager Beach Resort and Holiday Inn were of excellent quality. We are happy to recommend you. |
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Catrin Byrne |
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United Kingdom |
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Our Safari trip was a highlight of our time in Kenya. I find visiting a new country and traveling around is always tricky but the pressure was taken off and we didn't need to worry about a thing for the 3 days because of the service of AfricanMecca Safaris. The communication was superb and personal (and we booked during Christmas
2008 holidays) and we had lists of contact numbers for once in Kenya.
The Tsavo camps (Severin and Satao) were spectacular with unbelievably friendly service and welcome. I will highly recommend these camp lodgings. I liked the fact that we felt there was a good support network through the Safari's for the local communities with the planned rest stops at village shops. Beautiful people and so much to experience. Our guide, Tim was amazing at spotting game and was so informative and friendly.
We have really fond memories and the whole experience was a complete delight from booking to drop-off to witnessing Lion's feeding on their kill, a Zebra, and viewing Elephants 100 metres away from our tented accommodation at the watering hole in Satao Camp.
We had door-to-door service and we were staying off the beaten track so this was a concern but the coach driver was there, early, ready and waiting. We returned to different location and that was not a problem either - Hakuna Matata! We plan to return for Safari with AfricanMecca soon. We miss Kenya, the people and their beautiful country already.
Asante Sana Altaf and Raza, it was wonderful!
Many thanks, |
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Katherine Spencer |
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United Kingdom |
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I recently returned back from my honeymoon in
Kenya which included a safari and Indian Ocean beach vacation. We had a wonderful time on our
honeymoon safari in Kenya. Apparently they don't get many people form "the States" there as almost everyone we met assumed we were from England. And if I had known so many people were going to talk to us about President Obama I would have studied up on him more so I had more to say!
We loved all of the camps - each for different reasons. The Satao Camp at Tsavo East had the least amenities but the animal experience was great and so up close you literally had to walk through them to get to your tent, and herds of gazelles and water buck slept surrounding the tents the first night. We shared a jeep with a family (Mom, Dad, kids 6 & 8 years). After that we had a private jeep for the remainder of the Safari. The second camp
Satao Elerai was beautiful!! The first night we went to watch the sunset with the other guests and had what we describe as a "happy hour" champagne, drinks and appetizers. And the animals at Amboseli
Notational Park were amazing. We saw live wildebeest births, a pack of hyenas looking for a kill, elephants so close to the jeep that you could reach out and touch them! At the last camp,
Severin Safari Camp we had the most luxuries, including a pool and spa, but not as many animals in the Tsavo West Camp as the others (although I will say that it had rained the 2 nights before we got there and some of the roads were flooded which meant that we could not access all areas of the park). But we did to see numerous animal including a pack of
African Hunting Dogs which our guide Finneas said was a rare sighting. Also some lions killed a zebra at our campsite on our last night there right near the last tent! We loved having the pool to keep us busy during the day between game drives and as it was summer there and quite hot - to cool us off.
Our final stop was the Leopard Beach Resort
(which took a bit long to drive to) which was very nice as well. The door to our room was decorated with a braided palm leaf arch with flowers and a
"Just Married" sign which we were not expecting- so that was a nice surprise. The resorts main areas (lobby, dining, pool and beaches) were very nice, the room needed some updating though (it reminded me of a hotel at the Wildwoods in NJ) but it was fine. On the Friday night of our stay there, they had a beach BBQ as the dinner. They moved every table and chair from the indoor dining area down to the beach, with linens and candles, a live band and the biggest outdoor BBQ I have ever been too! It was impressive.
Overall, the food was exceptional. I fully intended to be able to lose a couple pounds while on this vacation - but that was not the case. Every meal was either a buffet, or 5 course a la carte dinner. We had fondue and we got to grill our own meat at our table, and of course there was plenty of Versus Wine and Tusker Lager to be had. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime!
Finally, I learned a lot about Africa, the camps and lodges (some that we did not stay at but visited), animals and where best to see them (we did not see any rhinos, but I know where I can if we ever go back). Again - Thank you to AfricanMecca for helping us plan the trip/honeymoon of a lifetime!
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Holly & Michael Lapidus, New Jersey |
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United States |
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Dear Altaf,
Just too say we have just returned from Lazy Lagoon in Tanzania, and it was the most beautiful place, wonderful holiday, fantastic weather. Your organisation for the accommodations and transport was brilliant, Thank you so much.
Regards |
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Susan & Andy Alfrey |
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United Kingdom |
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Jambo Altaf,
As usual the program went like clockwork and it was a wonderful holiday in Rift Valley (Naivasha + Nakuru)
& Little Governors' Camp Masai Mara. We had the added bonus of visiting the elephant orphanage and giraffe sanctuary on our first day in Nairobi which was a welcome addition and great fun.
Loldia House was beautiful and Peter as you know, is a wonderful host. Lake Nakuru
is absolutely stunning and exceeded my expectations and Little
Governors' never fails to disappoint - the Masai Mara was full of the usual lions, cheetah, huge herds of elephant and much much more. All in all a wonderful experience yet again -
My third time to Kenya with you and it never disappoints.
Thank you, Altaf.
Kind Regards,
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Simon Woodlock, Chief Financial Officer, Synovate |
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United Kingdom |
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Dear Raza & Altaf,
We have returned from our African adventure and would like to thank you very much for your part in making this such a wonderful experience. The animals contributed the other part. We were lucky enough to time the Great Migration from the Serengeti, which was amazing. From the moment we were met by your team in
Zanzibar to our departure from Arusha, your service was superb. Our
game guide/driver, Olotu, was a very wise and experienced guide who had an amazing knowledge of the area and its inhabitants and we were sad to say goodbye to him. You are very fortunate to have the services of such a professional man. Everything flowed perfectly and we all had a wonderful time. The flight from the Serengeti to Arusha was very scenic and gave us an aerial view of the area.
Again, thank you all very much for providing such a wonderful and memorable experience.
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Denise Paterson |
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Australia |
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Hi, my husband and I were with Denise and Greg Paterson on an African safari organised by you in Tanzania. I have to write and tell you that it was the most amazing experience we have had. From the time Olotu, our guide, picked us up from Arusha airport to the time he dropped us off at Serengeti airport, we had an amazing time. Nothing was a bother to Olotu, like when our balloon ride was canceled because of weather conditions. He simply organised a boxed lunch and we set off for the day. His knowledge was superb and his ability to find animals, such as the most magnificent male lion ever seen, was unsurpassed. He is a credit to you, as is your own organisation. We had a fabulous time and are telling everyone who will listen. Thank you very much for making our African experience something we will never forget. |
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Rita & Grant Harrison |
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Australia |
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My daughter's and my trip that AfricanMecca arranged to South Coast Mombasa, Diani Reef Beach Resort was awesome. We were met at Mombasa airport and driven to the resort without any problems. The resort itself was beautiful and very clean. Staff were courteous and eager to please. We laid on the beach quite a bit, but did manage to take in camel rides and also snorkelling. We did the Pillli Pipa trip. The facility, service, and the food were wonderful. Definitely a trip I would recommend. The trip back to Mombasa went equally as smooth. Our driver was on time and very informative during the trip. Thank you for helping us organize this portion of our holiday. |
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Shirley Smith |
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Canada |
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I
would definitely recommend AfricanMecca to anyone planning a trip to Eastern
Africa, and will use them again for my travels to this region. Raza and his team
were absolutely amazing! My travel agent initially contacted several companies
about planning my itinerary to Zanzibar, and AfricanMecca was the quickest to
respond, and provided the most detailed and diverse itinerary of all. Through
AfricanMecca, I booked stays at (236 Hurumzi), Chumbe Island, Pongwe
Beach Hotel, and Matemwe Beach Village. Rather than worrying about
making a quick sale, Raza took the time to make sure that the itinerary he
created matched my specifications, giving me sound advice on the merits of the
hotels and activities on the island. On the ground, the team was absolutely
impeccable- the transportation service was perfect. I was transferred to all of
my points of interest without any worry or stress, and they were always friendly
and perfectly on time to meet me. Hashim gave great recommendations and even
went shopping with me for half a day; he found out where a Women’s Cooperative
that I had heard about was located so that I could buy some pillows, and then
accompanied me to various shops the rest of the morning. He even helped me pick
out pillow colors and jewelry! He also arranged a tour of Stonetown for me at
the last minute; no request was too much for him during my stay in Zanzibar!
I
have to say that the service provided by AfricanMecca and its staff exceeded my
expectations in every way. I didn’t know that customer service like this
really existed anymore. For example, Raza offered to help me contact Giraffe
Manor when I was worried about my receiving confirmation of my reservation
(I had booked this on my own before I was referred to AfricanMecca) even though
I had not booked through his company, and worked to ensure that I received my
first choice of rooms, the West room, at the Emerson and Green hotel. Raza also
alerted all of the hotels that I have a severe allergy to dairy, and the
kitchens there were most accommodating (which is not something I find here in
the US very often!). I really cannot say enough good things about AfricanMecca-
they made my holiday stress free and it really was a week spent in paradise.
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Dr. Jennifer Byrne, James Madison University |
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United States |
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Firstly I want to say thank you for the excellent
service you provided, everything went very well for our holiday. All the hotel
bookings were spot on without any problems what so ever. To tell you the truth I
was a bit apprehensive about about visiting Kenya with all the troubles that
occurred during the elections early 2008 and whether things were settled now.
Rest assured we met no violence or problems during the visit and the travels we
made, and surprisingly enough I (we) really enjoyed the visit.
Our visit to Kenya was not of the run of
the mill once in a life time journey. I worked in Kenya many years ago and met
my wife there (29 years ago) and we make regular visits to Kenya to enable my
wife to keep in touch with her family and friends. This visit however was
slightly different in that we had some personal business to conduct, hence the
need to spend the night in Nakuru. I was pleased to note that the refurbishment
of the road to Nakuru has been completed. Last time we were in Kenya there were
many diversions and what took nearly 4-hours from Nairobi to Nakuru could be
done now in less than 2-hours. (I wasn't speeding, honest.) Since we only had a
short period of time available for us to visit Kenya and to do all that we had
planned (7-days) it was necessary with our tight schedule of the places we
planned to visit and hotels to stay at for us to contact a tour agent we could
trust to come up with the goods and I am pleased to say that AfricanMecca
fulfilled our requirements admirably.
Very Best Regards and Asante Sana Kwa Wewe, |
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Roger Drake |
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United Kingdom |
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Jambo Altaf and Raza,
Asante Sana,
the Glimpses of Kenya Safari was wonderful. All of the
arranges and services provided were great; beginning with pickup; through the
complete six days at the camps, lodge and reserves; to drop off at Nairobi
Jomo International Airport. The assistance in Kenya by Mr.
Mohamed Jaldessa and his associates was great. All of the
accommodations were first rate, from the first overnight stay at the Nairobi
Serena Hotel, to the second and third nights on Safari at Elephant Tent
Camp on the Samburu Reserve. When have you been in a huge
tent with hot running water, shower, and flush toilet and two queen size beds
and with the chance of seeing elephants or water buffalo outside the front
flap of the tent, and hearing lions roaring at 3:00 A.M. The cooked
to order breakfast was wonderful, and lunch and dinner were outstanding. Add
in the morning and late afternoon game drives and see lions,
elephants, gazelles, warthogs, giraffes water buffalo, zebras, leopard,
cheetah, and more. And, in the afternoon, between game drives, you
could sit by the river (which really didn't have a lot of water in it) and watch
the elephants, gazelles, warthogs, and even the local Sambura cattle graze
the river bank and river bed. Then on the morning of the fourth day, I
went onward to Lake Naivasha and Loldia House for two
nights with a day trip to Lake Nakuru. Again, all the
meals from breakfast through dinner and service were outstanding. The
house was built by Italian prisoners of war and overlooked Lake Naivasha
and the Longonot Mountains were in the distance. There were additional
cottages around the side of the house, and I stayed in one of these. It
had a queen sized bed, full bath, and a wonderful view of the flower gardens and
lake. In the front yard you could see hippos, water buffalo, warthogs, Vervet
monkeys and more. This is in the Great Rift Valley where
you will see thousands of flamingos and pelicans; and, also hippos and rhinos.
Since Loldia House is a Conservation Park, you could do a guided
walking tour and see a lot of different birds species, and, you are able to
do night game drives. On the first night out, I saw a cheetah
not a mile from the house, many different varieties of gazelles, giraffes,
zebras and more. Then lastly, for my last two nights and half day, I went
on to the Governor's IL Moran Tent Camp on the Masai Mara Reserve. Here,
again this was a luxurious tent with a king size bed, hot running water,
double sinks, shower, bidet, and flush toilet. The tents overlook a lake
where you could see hippos and crocodiles. On the game drives, there
were prides of lions, cheetah, giraffes, zebras, elephants, gazelles, water
buffalos, warthogs, lions with cubs; cheetah with cubs; elephants with
young; giraffes with young; hippos with young; rhinos with young and lots more.
At Masai Mara, I also, went on a Balloon
Safari, which included a Champagne breakfast in the bush. This
was a wonderful first time experience. I was in the first of three
balloons that went up; we saw thousands of wildebeests, there were hyenas,
warthogs, zebras, giraffes, elephants, vulgers, storks and more, I send my
thanks to Capt. Sebastian Tham for a great flight and to all the other flight
captains and the ground crew and chefs for the fantastic hot breakfast.
Asante Sana
to Safari Link Aviation for their service and assistance in
making connections between all flight locations. |
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Irene Biggs |
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United States |
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Jambo Altaf,
I want to let you know that both Dorothy and I found our two week trip to Kenya to be an absolutely wonderful experience. Our booking through AfricanMecca for our trip in August 2009 delivered everything we hoped for and more. We were met on arrival at Mombasa airport for the minibus journey to Leopard Beach Hotel with loads of local information provided by our driver on the way. The hotel was excellent in all respects, from the welcome with chilled towels and drinks to the helpful and cheerful service from every member of staff. Large comfortable air-conditioned rooms overlook the Indian Ocean, as does the main Horizon restaurant where the meals were lacking neither in variety nor quality. We stayed two nights at Leopard Beach initially before going on safari and then a further six nights on our return. Our first safari began by road to Tsavo West, staying one night at Kilaguni Serena Lodge. The restaurant, open to one side overlooking the water hole, provided a wonderful lunch and dinner with tremendous views of elephant, zebra, giraffe and buffalo, to name but a few.
Following an afternoon game drive which included the enchanting Mzima Springs and ended with the first of many fantastic sunsets, we had a comfortable night before an early start next morning. We moved on to Satao Elerai, overlooking Amboseli with Peter, our driver for these three days, pointing out many items of interest along the way. Our room at Elerai was in fact a self-contained cottage and while it was reminiscent of the Flintstones in style, the facilities were far from stone-age. We were lucky enough to witness two young male elephants at the water-hole while we had lunch, before Peter took us down to Amboseli for another fascinating game drive. After an excellent dinner and a nightcap in front of a roaring log fire, we were up next morning for another early start. At seven hours, we found the drive back to Voi Gate into Tsavo East to be rather tiring but we still made it to Satao Camp just in time for lunch outside, under the tree. This and a short siesta set us up for our afternoon game drive which culminated at close quarters with a cheetah. What a beautiful animal!
A busy day and a fine meal sent us to bed where we slept like logs, only to be told next day that we had missed a visit from a couple of lions at four in the morning. Our neighbours in the next tent showed us the paw-prints in the dust outside to prove it! With a good breakfast inside us, we were on our way to Buchuma Gate where sadly, we had to say farewell to Peter, our driver, guide and companion for the last three days. We were tremendously impressed, not only with his detailed knowledge of his country and its flora and fauna but also with his enthusiasm in sharing it all with us. We hope to see him again.
The air-conditioned shuttle bus took us back to the coast then for an overnight stop at Nyali Beach Hotel. It is old colonial in style having been opened in 1949 and while we enjoyed our brief stay and had no complaints at all, on balance we preferred Leopard Beach. After another early breakfast we were collected for the short trip to Mombasa airport for our flight to the Masai Mara and a two night safari. Arrangements for the internal flight on an eighteen seat twin-prop aircraft where rather more relaxed than is international flying these days; quite a refreshing change. The views of Kilimanjaro from 11500 feet were stunning. The landing on an airstrip in the bush was amazingly smooth and we were soon on our way to Karen Blixen Camp for lunch. On the way, Pius, our driver took our open-sided six-passenger safari vehicle off the main route and diverted into a small coppice of bushes. To our delight, we were soon within a few yards of a pride of four or five lionesses, stretched out in the shade. This time we were awake!
Our three days in the Mara were truly magical. The location of Karen Blixen Camp on the eastern bank of the Mara River is absolutely beautiful and we could not fault the accommodation and service although some of the catering would benefit from improvement. While you Mombasa team handled all our other ground arrangements (and more about them later) Karen Blixen Camp arranged everything in the Mara. Their modern Toyota 4WD open vehicles were great for game viewing and their drivers and guides were excellent. We remember particularly, Pius, David, Nixon and especially Peter, our Masai guide. Not only did we value his expertise on our game drives but also one evening he gave a fascinating insight into Masai culture to the assembled company before dinner. On our second day in the Mara, we were given the opportunity to take a full day game drive into the conservancy to the south. As this was the right time of year for the Great Migration, if we were very lucky, we might see 'the crossing'. We approached the river slowly, passing thousands of wildebeest all heading in the same direction. The leaders stopped some hundred yards short of the river bank as the rest of the herd formed up behind them, some zebra and gazelle mixed in with them. They moved forward some distance then stopped again; and again; and again. Eventually, the decision was made to cross and they galloped en masse for the water, plunging through and up the river bank on the far side. More followed and still more until we were convinced that every wildebeest in Africa was in this herd. The crossing was incessant for over half an hour until finally the last stragglers made their way up the far bank. Our driver, David estimated anything up to 10,000 animals had crossed. We had lost count after about 5,000!
This sight was absolutely magnificent and undoubtedly the highlight of the holiday.
After an early morning game drive on the third day, we had to take our leave and fly back to the coast. We were met at Ukunda airfield for the short drive back to Leopard Beach where we settled in for a more relaxing week. We were amazed at how much we had packed in to such a short time. However, we don't hang around swimming pools for long so a couple of short trips had to be taken as well. We had a great day snorkelling off Wasini Island with dolphins and a hump-backed whale accompanying us on the way out and a fine late lunch on the way back. Two days later, dinner in Ali Barbour's (sic) Cave restaurant near Leopard Beach was also most enjoyable. Then on our penultimate evening we saw Mombasa by night. A sunset dhow trip in Tudor Creek and under New Nyali Bridge took us to the old harbour. A short tour of the old town ended at Fort Jesus for a sound and light show followed by a wonderful dinner under the stars.
The ground handling by your Mombasa team was excellent throughout our trip. All their drivers and staff were friendly and helpful and their punctuality was impressive. Harry, their representative at Leopard Beach was tremendous in ensuring that everything ran smoothly. We valued especially his advice regarding all aspects of our visit from safaris to local trips to departure arrangements.
We were extremely sad to leave Kenya, its animals, its vast open spaces, its stunning scenery and especially its charming, polite, happy smiling people.
Asante sana a thousand times!

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John Lowry |
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Jambo Raza and Altaf,
It is my pleasure to respond to your request of feedback regarding our Masai Mara safari while in Kenya. From the very beginning (first contact with you) up until the end everything went as planned with you. Upon our arrival at the airport, the driver and the representative of AfricanMecca were there. He took time to explain to us the next days and the schedule for the plane. As our departure, we had the same service to go back to the airport. We never had to worry about a thing. Our stay at the
Nairobi Safari Club was perfect and the two nights we spent there were more than OK. The
Royal Mara Safari Lodge was perfect to us. Everything, everything was what we expected. The game drives, the ambiance and their efforts to make sure we enjoyed our stay made the trip worth while. I am sending some (of the many we took) pictures that I like. If ever you understand French, I invite you to go and see my blog where I put many more pictures: my blog address is:
http://unanauqatar.blogspot.com and there are 9 different messages that I speak of our trip in Africa. I guess you have seen them all already with all the many customers you had but you see we just want to share it because being so close of the animals and having a slight understanding of what's the circle of life is all about, makes it sharable.
We talked to our friends of how we were pleased about the good service we had with your organisation. I have to admit that I was going to Africa, on a safari, to please my husband because he had talked about it ever since I met him (15 years ago). I was very reluctant to go (taking pills, new country, observing animals which is not my treat) but I just fell in love with the Masai Mara reserve and if my husband would say, we have the money, let's go back, I would without hesitation. And we would do the same by contacting you.
The only thing that we could not use and we talked about it with Georges at the lodge were the tickets for the public park. After talking with him, we did not feel the need to go else where and we stayed in the Masai Mara.
I think that we really enjoy our stay. Hoping our comments will be helpful. Please receive our best thanks (asante sana) for the service but more for the joy and pleasure we had in your beautiful country.

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Odette Thibeault, Quebec |
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Canada |
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Jambo,
Asante Sana! I just wanted to thank you both for a marvellous trip to Africa on our honeymoon.
It was everything we hoped for. The accommodations were great and the food was exceptional. We enjoyed all three of the parks that you suggested. I enjoyed seeing the different wildlife and and the different landscapes at each location. We saw all of the BIG FIVE, many wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, antelope and many many other animals. Our only disappointment was missing out on a river crossing, which means that we'll just have to come back now. We really liked the Pinewood Village as well. It was a nice place to relax before we headed to Egypt.
The whole trip went off without a hitch. Everyone who was supposed to meet us or pick us up at each segment of the trip was there. We weren't left stranded or waiting anywhere. We felt completely safe at all times. Your ground team did an excellent job taking care of us. They were prompt, friendly and professional.
We found everyone in Kenya to be very friendly and welcoming. Everyone went out of their way to make us happy. Both myself and my husband liked all of our accommodations, but our favourite place was the Samburu Intrepids camp. The staff there really went above and beyond and treated everyone like family.
Thank You also for putting up with my many many questions during the planning process and answering them so quickly.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful trip. I would not hesitate to use AfricanMecca in the future, and I will definitely recommend you to anyone else planning a safari.
Sincerely,
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Regan and Brad Bewick, Manitoba |
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My husband and I recently traveled to Kenya and Tanzania on a safari arranged by AfricanMecca Safaris. When we described our trip to friends, they were amazed at the many different things we saw and adventures we had. Everything was as promised, from the quality of the lodges to staff meeting us at airports all along the way. All the reservations and paperwork were handled in a reliable and professional manner. I would definitely use AfricanMecca for another African adventure. |
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Dr Cynthia Townshend-Lacock |
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United States |
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I used AfricanMecca Safaris in September 09. I am pleased to say that my girlfriend and I were delighted with the safari services and tour we booked via the company. We were collected from the gates of our hotel and taken to the gates of Tsavo East with a very knowledgeable transfer
driver who told us about Kenya's political, historical and geographical facts (although he didn't know an Ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain:-) ) We were then introduced to our safari guide who drove us to camp by way of safari - where we saw lions, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs etc. I would highly recommend anybody to use AfricanMecca Safaris as they are very efficient, friendly and most of all keen to ensure you make the most of your trip.
Many Thanks to all the team! |
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Tom Wheeler & Jenn Russell |
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United Kingdom |
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We were so glad we spent the extra time there after the conference &
did the Safari, it truly was the experience of a lifetime! I was also very glad I had you doing the travel arrangements, the
resorts we stayed at were 5 star & we felt like the quality of service was definitely worth the value.
Our days were full, we saw the most amazing sights, it far exceeded our expectations.
We had our own personal guide all to ourself, his name was John, and he was excellent ! He was so patient with all our questions. He gave
us tremendous insight to the beautiful history & culture there. He also had a genuine love & knowledge of the animals. We learned so
many fascinating things, I had to keep a journal with me so I wouldn't forget all the things he told us.
Thank You so much, if we do any more trips abroad, I will call you.
Sincerely, |
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Petra Plucenik |
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