Perfect Great Migration Safari with Maasai Tribe Experience
I've booked two trips on escapewithpro.com - Iceland, and safari in Kenya and Tanzania. Here's my latest experience. Please, note that I'm the founder of Escapewithpro, and it affects my opinion. However, I do my best to sincerely cover everything as it was.
The booking process was easy. After some research on the website, I found a 7-day safari itinerary by a local host, Maurice (managing the company Like a Local Safaris). It was exactly what I wanted except for the duration of the trip. The safari offered both Kenya and Tanzania with their best parks - Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro. As far as we had 8 days, I chatted with Maurice and he added one more day to our customized itinerary.
Communication with Maurice was excellent - he replied in a few hours usually, and answers were clear. I was surprised how quickly he responded. I'm serious! I know how much time it can take - days.
I was on this trip together with my 7-year-old daughter. Maurice welcomed us at the airport on time and helped to buy some essentials.
Our safari in Maasai Mara was amazing! We enjoyed a lot of zebras, wildebeests, about 15 lions, some cheetahs, many elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, hypos. During those 3 days in Kenya, we saw the whole Big 5 and did it many times except rhinos who were only in the Lake Nakuru (from far distance). The only thing we missed - the migration crossing the river. It was my primary goal of a trip but we had to agree on the interests of the group, and the Greek guys were more interested in lions, so we spent more time finding them. Luckily, we saw lions many times.
Nevertheless, we didn't see wildebeests crossing the river (it's nature and nobody can ask the animals to do that :), we saw them running across the savanna and that was spectacular! I was very impressed by that action and it was the best moment during the safari. If you wish to see the river game, consider at least 2-3 days in Maasai Mara - it will increase your chances dramatically. I wish to know before the booking.
The second great experience in Kenya was visiting the Maasai village. We were invited into one of their tiny homes without any light inside. I could not believe how they live in such a small space. But it seems they were happy. One of the locals told us their story - their daily routine, what they eat, some traditions. I like such stories so much! Interactions with locals enrich your experience and this is the way to feel it rather than see places.
In Tanzania, we visited Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. I liked Serengeti the most because of a big scale. Tarangire is much greener but it feels like a huge zoo. Serengeti doesn't offer many trees but you are in the wilderness. Our camping was in the middle of that giant park (2-3 hours away from civilization), and I was very excited about that.
We saw so many giraffes there and they were so cute crossing our roads all the time like they are at home (and it's true :)! They became my favorite African animals. I was impressed by hypos that we enjoyed from about 30 feet (10 meters), and we even saw them outside of the water! It was an incredible show!
All our guides (Maurice, Boni Boni, George) were very experienced and answered all our questions. It seems they knew everything about the animals. They were polite and responsive. The vehicles were good - both the minivan in Kenya and the huge 4x4 Land Cruiser in Tanzania.
I definitely recommend our guide, Maurice. About Escapewithpro? Sure, I love it. We spent hundreds of days and nights with our team to make the service helpful for travelers! But better let our valuable users and customers tell what they think.
Igor Petrushyn
Founder and user of Escapewithpro
10 April 2020
Unprompted review
