The Plains of Africa Kenya Wildlife Safari

It was the trip of a lifetime--the best trip that I have ever taken in my 73 years!!! While most, if not all, of my fellow travelers were there only to see the animals on safari, I was there just as much to experience the people, food, and culture of Kenya. When I travel, I like to immerse myself in the local culture, trying to learn some of the language, eating the regional foods, and really trying to get to know the people. Our tour guide was very accommodating to me, as were employees at the various resorts and hotel where we stayed. The food selections are meant to appeal to all tourists (which is great!), but I always asked which foods were native to the area and tried to stick with them as much as possible. The 3 tour guides for our group were all outstanding!! The tour manager and guide for our subgroup of 6 was Fanuel Maina--WOW!!!!! How fortunate were we to have him guide us and take care of us!!!!! The knowledge and skills of these guides is amazing! Because of them, we were privileged to see (much of it up close) more animals (including amazing birds) than I ever would have thought possible. Maina, as he had us call him, was also able to tell us so much about the animals, birds, trees, other plant-life, as well as sharing information about various tribes and villages, Kenya's government, African trade routes, etc, etc.--so interesting and educational! I am also grateful that Collette has a program that picked us up at our homes and transported us to the airport, and then back again. Booking our flights for us was another perk that I greatly appreciated. All in all, I cannot speak highly enough of this trip to Kenya.

Really enjoyed having knowledgable and caring guides and tour manager to lead us and teach us. Our time on the game drives produced lifelong memories. Loved getting to know and understand the culture and the people as well. Surprised by amazing and unique accommodations and the delicious variety of foods that were offered to us!

Several items were particularly outstanding. First, was the Tour Guide! Exemplary!! Very knowledgeable, helpful, courteous, would do anything to help! Noteworthy were the lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, zebras, water buffalo, & giraffes. Outstanding were the visit to the Masai compound & the hot air balloon ride!

Our driver, Sam, was excellent! We couldn’t have asked for a better guide. And our tour manager, Minah, was so thorough and attentive to every detail. He looked after our every need, was full of information and had a great sense of humor! I have travelled around the world and experienced many guides/expedition leaders and I would rank Sam and Minah among the very best.