Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris
Rwanda
Contact info
About Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris
The only way to appreciate Africa is to walk or cycle on its earth, watch birds in its bushes, lakes and plains, track animals in their natural habitats in an impossible way. Let's Explore the African rich biodiversity with the wilderness Expert. Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris is a professional Tour Operator based in Nairobi Kenya who shares with you the incredible sights, sounds and the taste of the Africa Adventure number one destination for those seeking safaris with romance and dream of a lifetime.
I found KWSS (Kenya Walking Survivors Safari) online while planning our first trip to Kenya. Otieno, the owner of the company, was attentive and helpful throughout our planning process and always responded to my questions in a timely manner. Once we arrived in Nairobi, we continued to received this high level of attention from Otieno and our driver/guide. In fact, after a few days, we decided to make a change to our itinerary to reduce travel time in the safari van, and Otieno immediately made the changes. We traveled with our family of four (Parents and two teen sons), and the lodge accommodations, vans, and guides suited our family's needs well. Patrick, our guide in Kenya, was flexible and always willing to help, but also gave us great advice. Outstanding service and staff.
One suggestion for safaris of 2 weeks or less--if you are traveling long distances, fly when possible so you can spend more time at the parks and less time traveling. We are happy we drove for a few days because it gave us a better sense of the countries, but would incorporate more flights the next time.
United States
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I sincerely thank Mr Otieno and the staff.. My tour safari was amazing through him I was able to learn and see the beauty of Africa including the ? camping. I just loved it.
Kenya
Recently returned from a spectacular tour of Tanzania courtesy of OT and our driver/guide Michael.
We were picked up from the airport and transferred to our hotel and then subsequently to the Tanzanian border where we were handed over safely to the next driver who took us to the start of our safari in Arusha.
Lake Manyara did not disappoint! despite running late because of immigration officialdom at the border, Michael was able to show us a range of animals and birds in sensational locations.
Overnight accommodation was excellent (but make sure you know how much your bar bill will be! - it was not extortionate, but our surprise on settling our account meant we were disinclined to leave the staff a tip - which we would otherwise have done).
Another day game drive in Manyara then on to Serengeti where we camped in the middle of the park surrounded by the African noises of the night (how we went back to sleep after the roaring of the lions is amazing!)Ngorogoro crater is a wonder and stuffed full of wildlife even in the dry season. We ended our trip in Tarangire National Park - wow! Elephants in abundance demonstrating their love of water and mud! Lions, leopards and cheetahs all appearing obligingly!
United Kingdom
Pros:
They can customize packages for your needs.
Affordable to an extent (Dont forget to bargain though)
They also do safaris in Uganda and Tanzania
Cons:
They do not deliver what they promise.
There is a vast disconnect between the Guide/Driver and Mr.Otieno. The guide controls what you do on your trip. We missed 3 (2 evening (1 Amboseli, 1 Mara) and 1 morning at Nakuru) game drives and one was shortened (The last morning at Mara) as the guide was in a hurry to get out of the park. We did phone and also email Mr.Otieno to get things sorted however, nothing worked. He kept on promising that all will be right and as per the promised itinerary however, the guide kept doing what he wanted. The guide/driver (Anthony) who took us around for 7 days was experienced doing the same thing for 17 years however for them, its business. The guide started throwing tantrums as we spoke to Mr.Otieno regarding the game drives that he refused to take.
They fail to understand the needs of customers. In my case, we were 4 wildlife enthusiasts in a single vehicle; all disappointed with the way we were treated. Kenyan wildlife was my dream come true with this trip however, the guide ruined it (He and his tantrums).
I would still have rated them a 5 if they could just stick to what was promised as per the itinerary.
Dear Mr.Otieno, You must start understanding what people look for and deliver what you promise. This is a business for you; however, for us travelers, its a dream to plan and execute something like this.
South Africa
I had great time adventuring in Kenya with my foreign guests from Australia. Kenya Walking Survivors made it just amazing as we toured Amboseli National Park and finished with Tsavo West National Park.
We saw the big five and the Mzima Springs in Tsavo. It was just amazing.
Kenya
Our group booked 12 day tour with KWSS of Otieno Lysaniash (Otieno) in Aug 2016. During the discussion for booking via email, Otieno seems to be a very professional businessman. He replies email very fast and in a very good manner. We at that time were so happy thought that we would have a very unforgettable trip in Kenya. We paid 50% deposit as requested by him.
On the date of arrival, we met him at his office which was a small premises in a mall, requested us to pay the balance of 50% and asked us if we wanted to take the balloon. If we want, we paid him US$410 / pax. We decided to take the balloon therefore paid him the full balloon fee. Then, he gave us a paper with the details of the tour which were not exactly as what the parties have agreed and the fee for the tour was higher than the amount we have agreed. He changed the program without notifying us or seeking our approval. That was our first bad impression about him. We had no choice but spent time to talk and discuss with him again to fix the tour program by handwriting on it.
In the afternoon, we had lunch after taking tour to Kibera slum. The driver told us that we had to pay for the lunch cause Otieno told him that it is not included. We did not agree to pay cause it is included. After several calls between the driver and Otieno, they agreed to pay for the lunch. That was the second bad impression about Otieno and KWSS.
On the night before the day for morning balloon, the driver told us that Otieno can not book the balloon for us because all space are fully booked and that Otieno agreed to refund in full the balloon fee to us when we come back to Nairobi (in more 10 days ). In fact, he never booked the balloon but just want to collect and spend your money with no interest payment cause we after that via our friends easy booked the balloon from another balloon safari company. We found that Otieno was not the honest person. He lies to us his customers who bring money and business to him.
During the tour, Otieno many times changed the program, cut the game drive, change the route without informing us. He cut the game drive at Abadare without saying anything to us. You all should note that the game drive fee is US$70 / pax. He never said anything about refund us such money.
He also changed the route as agreed (Naivasha- Aberdare to a new route (Naivasha-Amboseli) which took 9-10 hours instead of 3 as per the agreed route. He even told the driver just taking us to the new destination (Naivasha-Amboseli) as per his new route without telling anything to us. We absolutely can not do it and disagreed to go, trying to call him to talk. After several attempt, we were able to talk with him.
At the beginning, he told us that he did book the room for us at Ark Lodge at Aberdare as per the agreed route but the hotel suddenly changed and cancelled the booking. Therefore, he had to change the route by booking room at Amboseli. After that he told us that he made mistake when booking the wrong date after we told him that we called to Ark Lodge and they told us that the room is still available. You all can see he was not honest at all! And more important, the way he served his customers were too bad and unacceptable.
After many talk and strong argument, he accepted and agreed to pay us a so-called compensation of US$70 / pax. He promises to pay us when we are back to Nairobi on the last day of the trip. That happened on the 7th day of the tour!
We came to his office at Nairobi to collect the balloon fee and compensation. We did inform him the time of arrival but he was not in the office! Then, finally he show up. We asked for money to be refunded in cash. Can you guess what happened then? He told us that he did not have cash in the office even though it is only US$1,500. If he indeed planned to refund us and knew that we're on our way to pick up the money, why wouldn't he have cash for us????????
To us, the only reason is that he never intended to pay us back!
Can you imagine that we had to spend 6 hours in his office (from 4:00 PM 10:00 PM) asking for our money to be refunded? He gave so many reasons, trying to go around. He even CRIED while telling us that his son was sick and he sacrificed his son because of us! We told him that it was totally your mistake and fault and that we had no involvement to your family and personal issue. We further told him that we though the meeting would be very short and we just came to his office, saying hello, collecting money and we both were happy. Finally, thanks to the strong support and assistance from one friend of us who lives in Kenya and we told him that if he did not refund our money, we will report to the diplomatic police of Kenya, he promised again!) to refund us the balloon fee on the following day after 6 hours of agreement. That day, we arrived our hotel at almost 11:00 PM with nothing in our stomach after a long day in the car and 6 hours of argument with him. We all totally were exhausted!
Lastly, he never answered our phone calls. If by chance he picked up your phone, he would say he was busy with meeting, another phone, another client (even though you are also his client),
If any of you plans to book the tour with KWSS, it is strongly recommended that you should consider to stop it. KWSS and Otieno is not trustworthy. Do not fall into the same trap as we did by only reading and believing in the positive reviews and the way he talks to you.
If any of you has booked and paid the deposit to him, make sure you carefully and closely check the program and route every single day. In addition, you should never book the balloon via KWSS cause he never booked for you. He just take and use your money without payment of interest!
PS: In our case, we are lucky to finally receive the money back. It may be because we were very strong with him and the support from our friend who lives in Kenya. However, having reading the comments, I note that several other person falls in his trap and lost money!
Vietnam
1) The trip was not following what I deal with Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris.
---> Not the same lodge I chose, has been changed to worse one. It happened 3 times during my trip.
---> Miss 1 lunch
---> Waited 2.5 hour in the morning for driver
---> No balloon even I booked 4 months ago
2) I waited more than 90 days for refund of balloon (only) from Mr. Otieno but still nothing happen till now even many email we have been exchanged. I felt I have been cheated for what happened these 90 days.
The efficiency is totally different from the time we discussed about trip.
So if you like bad surprise like these for your trip, go ahead choose Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris
France
The two of us went on the 17 day safari by KWSS stretching from Nairobi To the Masai mara,Crossing into Tanzania and Exploring the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater.From our research online,were pressed to find a trip a tour that covered this much in Kenya and Tanzania with comfort in acomodation that we were looking for.KWSS provided great value for money and they certainly delivered on their promise.
Their customer service was largely handled OT who was quick to respond,answer our many questions on itinerary and generally a very helpful and courteous person to interact with.Thus from a management perspective ,KWSS was able to meet our needs
We were lucky enough to meet SHEM , a professional and seasoned driver /guide in Kenya and David in Tanzania.Accomodation was at level of comfort we expected and booked.The Tented campsites in masai mara covered our essential needs at least.All meals were covered in the tour price and ranged from decent to delicious.we were happy with our safari as we had breathtaking experiences.
Lastly if you wish to enjoy your safari i would be happy to recommend KWSS as an operator that gives you great value for money with good people working them altogether delivering an excellent service
Kenya
Kenya Walking Survivors Safaris pricings are very affordable and we have a very good experience with them. All the arrangements were very good and the guides were very friendly. I want to thanks Mr. Otieno for organizing our dream beach vacation. I would love to repeat an experience with KWSS and recommend KWSS to my friends.
India
This being the second trip under KWSS all I can say is thanks to Mr Oteino who made everything possible for me and my family. This time we decided to go to Masai Mara and Amboseli. The trip was well organized and the price was reasonable and affordable. Thanks to the driver Mr Daudi for making us experience the best and explained every question we asked regarding the nature. We were a family of five and everyone enjoyed. Looking forward to having another awesome moment. Thanks to KWSS.
Kenya
My wife and I booked a customized Safari to east Africa (Kenya+Tanzania ).This was a wonderful lifetime experience and the memories are still fresh. The safari covered Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater Parks with private cook and driver/guide in the car.
We also booked the hot air balloon ride in Masai Mara. We were lucky enough to see the migration of wildebeest so clearly. In almost all the parks visited we were able to see the big 5 at a close distance.
After Kenya we crossed to Tanzania visiting Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. The views from the Crater rim are breathtaking with ever present abundance of wildlife. Ngorongoro is a must Visit!
This is a trip to remember and we cannot thank John and Rama our driver/guides and the entire KWSS team for their hospitality and hard work they put to make our safari memorable.
Kenya
Cleanliness of vehicle
Meet and greet team
Quality of itinerary
Responsiveness of staff
