Southern Cross Safaris Reviews 40

Our first time on safari in Kenya was wonderful. Of the many highlights, one that resinates with both my wife and I was our driver and new rafiki Evans. We were on the road together, just the three of us, for five days from Nairobi to Samburu and back again. Evans is an excellent driver with challenges both in Nairobi at rush hour and on very uneven bush dirt roads (rainy season elements) which he navigated with calm consistency. We learned a great deal from Evans, not just his wealth of knowledge about the wildlife and landscapes we encountered (three leopards and three cheetahs in one day!!) but also a great deal about the cultures and lives of the people and his enormous respect for his country. Evans is a true conservationist and Southern Cross Safaris is very fortunate to have someone like Evans representing your company

Returning from Kenya, we both find ourselves still speaking about the great time we had on safari with Dan from Southern Cross.

Despite the unexpected weather conditions, Dan went out of his way to give us an amazing safari experience and was also happy to answer all of the many questions we had. You can really tell that the people here deeply care about their clients and how much a safari means to them. Greatly recommended!

The safari was well organised. Satao Camp was very pleasant with good food. The guide/driver, Paul, was very professional explaining in detail what we saw. We really appreciated his pleasantness and humbleness. His driving was careful thus never putting us in danger. We really appreciated having AC and WiFi in the vehicle.
Thank you and we will certainly recommend SCS to friends and family.

We were lucky to have Paul as a guide on our safari - we went to East Tsavo.

Somehow, he has the ability to drive not just outside but even inside the national park without a map or GPS!

He also has eagle eyes and can spot a lion from 500 meters away.
His knowledge of the animals and the whole savannah is truly impressive.

He truly made the whole experience magical and genuinely wanted us to see as many animals as possible, whatever it took.

I can’t quite find the words to express how magical this experience was.

Please go and use this amazing service to experience the heritage and culture that we are so lucky to have.

Asante sana!
🦁🐘🦒🦓

Tom, our driver/guide, was helpful and communicative, knew a lot about the countryside and the animals living there. He took us to the places where the animals appeared - we saw all the animals we wanted (except rhinos) - we were very satisfied with. Yes, he is a very good driver!!

We spent 9 days with Stanley. He guided us safely and expertly through our safari experience. We have had an unforgettable trip and his company made it perfect. We will definitely book again and we will personally request Stanley as our guide!

We (a family of 4) had an unforgettable safari in Tsavo East National Park, staying at Satao Camp. From incredible sightings of big game, including lions and cheetahs, to the sheer scale and beauty of the landscape, every day felt special. What truly made the experience exceptional, though, was our guide Paul - hugely knowledgeable, super professional, incredibly engaging and always doing all he could to ensure we had the best possible experience. We felt completely looked after from start to finish. A truly magical safari and a trip we’ll never forget.

This was my 10th visit to Kenya, 8th to Tsavo, 3rd stay at Satao Camp, and my first safari with Southern Cross Safaris — and it ranks among the best safaris I’ve experienced.

Satao Camp in Tsavo East continues to improve with every visit. It is an outstanding camp, offering the perfect balance of excellent staff and service, great food, a superb location, and consistently good wildlife. It remains one of the finest camps in Tsavo.

Our safari was planned by Kim Hellier from Un-Reel Fishing and executed by Southern Cross Safaris, and the organisation was flawless. Timings were precise, logistics seamless, and the overall execution highly professional.

Our driver/guide, Duncan, was exceptional. He quoted the Southern Cross Safaris motto “Excellence through experience,” and he truly delivered. His knowledge of wildlife, animal behaviour, and Tsavo was impressive, and it spoke volumes that guides from other companies regularly sought his advice.

Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but we were extremely fortunate — thanks largely to Duncan’s experience, patience, and deep understanding of the bush. Southern Cross Safaris should be very proud of how he represents the company.

I highly recommend Satao Camp and Southern Cross Safaris for anyone planning a Tsavo safari. An outstanding experience — I will definitely return.

We just finished an incredible 8day safari through Kenya. Travelling as a family of 5, we were met by the welcoming team at the airport and taken to our first night in Nairobi. Nicholas our amazing guide picked us up the next morning to begin what was a wonderful safari experience. Nicholas was always happy, calm, professional and extremely knowledgeable. He was always happy to answer questions we had and worked so hard to ensure we had the best experience possible. Each place we stayed was different from the others. Would definitely recommend Southern Cross Safaris and our warmest thanks go to Nicholas for making our safari so enjoyable.

We as a couple (40's) travelled with Southern Cross for 8 says through Kenya. After a night in Nairobi we left with driver/guide Stanley for Masai Mara. A drive of about six hours. We were recommended to visit a traditional Masai village ($40 each). And although many people in Kenya are still very poor and most definitely can use support, we still felt like maybe it wasn't completely real. But we could be very wrong about this too.
Afterwards we crossed into the Mara just as night fell for a stay at Intrepid Mara. Here Stanley gave us some options for the game drives the next days. Since Intrepid Mara has their own, open vehicles, we chose that one. Stanley and us joined driver Simon. Both of them spotted all the big 5 on one way and answered our questions. We also loved the evening presentations by this young guide at the camp about birds and the great migration. After the Mara, we left for the Naivasha region. First stop at Hell's Gate, we were accompanied by local guide Joe for a bicycle visit to this beautiful place. Afterwards we checked in at the Sopa lodge. Fun tot see game in the garden, and great Indian cuisine also. The buffet was too good. Next day we were met by Steven for our hike to Longonot. Both of the introduced local guides were great. Points for Steven to explain so much about plants, animals, life in Kenya. The hike itself is not easy, but Steven said we managed well with 5,5 hours. Afterwards we made a relaxing boat trip on lake Naivasha.
The next day Stanley drove us back tot Nairobi, Terminus Station for the train to Voi. We parted rather quick since there was already another job waiting for him.
In Voi we were met by driver/guide Paul. He took us to Satao camp, but kept his eyes open for nocturnal animals like genet cats, wild cats and owls. We were immediately in safari mode. Next day he took us out for both a morning and evening drive. He pointed out many birds, which we loved. He was so kind to lend out his birdbook during the relaxing hours. We learned about bustards, d'arnauds, bea-eaters and many more. On our last day, we drove out and saw the famous, red elephants. In the early afternoon he dropped us at Msambweni Beach House for our last days in Kenya.
We had a great stay!
To summarize
- tour overall: 4,5/5
Saw a lot of animals, met almost only very friendly people.
Washroom stops at souvenir shops are little pressuring, though.
- Stanley: 3,5/5
Great driver, but sometimes little to himself.
- Paul: 4,5/5
Calm and attentive, also as a driver. Gave a lot of (fun) facts. Loved a talk on the road.

And ... Nakupenda Kenya!

We had the most incredible honeymoon safari across Kenya, visiting Nairobi, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, and the Maasai Mara. Our very first safari and we achieved the sighting of all the Big-5!!!

From start to finish, our guide Alex was absolutely fantastic. He was incredibly friendly, endlessly professional, and continuously went out of his way to ensure we had the best experience possible.

When we encountered unexpected stress after our phone was damaged, Alex stepped in without hesitation and organised everything to help us get it fixed. His kindness, patience, and problem-solving was second to none!

Over the past week, Alex became so much more than our safari guide – we genuinely made a great friend. Thanks to him, we enjoyed unforgettable moments, breathtaking wildlife encounters, and a seamless, joyful adventure from beginning to end.
Our families and friends are already planning future trips, and we will all be back to tour with Alex again very soon.

Thank you, Alex, for everything you did for us and for making our honeymoon so special. You are a wonderful person, and we will forever treasure the memories you helped create.

Sinéad & Jack
Kilkenny, Ireland

We travelled as a family of 7 across 3 generations (ages 7 to 73), which in itself is tricky - but the entire Southern Cross team were incredible. From safe drivers to knowledgable guides, to accommodation staff and all the bookings/admin teams - they couldn't do enough for us to make sure we were happy, safe, comfortable, hydrated and rested - and well-informed. A truly unforgettable experience - made unforgettable by the Southern Cross team who orchestrated our entire 2-week Kenya trip. We can't thank you enough guys, honestly.

We booked everything through Bench and Southern Cross looked after us on the ground for our Kenya trip in September. Our guide Steve was excellent and was with us for 6 days. He was friendly, patient, knowledgeable and flexible to make sure the experience was everything we hoped for. He made suggestions which led to unexpected incredible moments which we are very grateful for. We always felt safe and that things were under control, even when unexpected issues arose outside of everyone's control. We also had Hassan as our guide for our last days in Tsavo East. He was very open to tailoring the drives to our interests which was great. Both Steve and Hassan were passionate about the wildlife and environment and shared their expertise generously, answering our neverending questions. All of the staff who helped us with transfers and other logistics were welcoming, warm, and reliable. An awesome holiday! Highly recommend Southern Cross.

Amazing Safari in Tsavo East with Paul!
We had an incredible 2.5-day safari in Tsavo East – one of the best experiences of our trip to Kenya! Our driver and guide Paul was fantastic – very knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive. Thanks to him, we saw lions, elephants, ostriches, a rare caracal, a black-backed jackal, and many impalas and other antelopes.
Everything was perfectly organized, and we felt safe and well taken care of throughout the trip.
A huge thank you to Paul for making this safari so special – we can highly recommend this tour!

We booked our trip with PANGEA in the Netherlands and they had southern cross as their local pasrtner in Kenia.
From beginning till the end of our roadtrip Mike (Michael) dorve us arround and was a great guide whit a great knowledge about the nature in the parks we visited.
After our roadtrip we stayed in a hotel at the coast and even there was Violet to help us out if needed.
When we had a personal request Philip came from Mombassa to our hotel to work it out with us even when it was not trip related.
This company is great in their job and even do a bit extra for their custommers.

Rebecca was our Guide on a recent safari experience in Nairobi and Lake Nakuru. She was knowledgeable and took great care of us. We had an unexpected change and Rebecca made sure all went well. I can’t thank you enough for your skilled and caring Guides!

Our Australian agent and Bench Africa organised our Southern Cross Safari booking and it couldn’t have been better. We were met at the Nairobi airport by Nick who helped us organise an eSIM and Evans who transferred us from to our hotel and back to the Nairobi train station the next day (getting into the train station may be a little confusing. Be prepared to be patted down through security - separate female and male lines, and to have sniffer dogs go over your bags prior to entering the train station. This was a perfectly safe and respectful process, just unexpected). We travelled first class ($33 AUD pp each way) to Voi. After arriving, we were met by our driver/guide Michael who stayed with us for the 4 days. Michael was instantly welcoming and chatted to us on the drive through Voi town, pointing out the local markets and shops and explaining the way of life. We entered East Tsavo National Park with Michael organising the park fees and started the 1.5 hour drive to Satao camp. Within 15 minutes we saw our first elephant and over the next 4 days, Michael shared his vast knowledge of both the East Tsavo and then later Tatia Hills Conservatory areas (where we stayed at Salt Lick Safari Lodge). We went on morning and afternoon game drives and Michael even organised a picnic breakfast for our drive over to Lugard Falls.
As it was just the two of us and Michael for the 4 days, it was a wonderful opportunity to share our different ways of life and he was very generous in explaining the Kenyan culture and good humoured at our clumsy attempt at learning Swahili words. Each time we were collected for a game drive, Michael had cleaned the car and he even helped us with our bags when he dropped us back to the Voi train station at the end of our 4 days. Thank you Michael for making our Kenyan experience such a memorable one. 🇰🇪
Note: If you need cash, there is a safe and secure ATM at the bank in Voi which will give you Kenyan Shillings (handy for tipping). Your driver will be able to take you there.

We booked our honeymoon with Southern Cross (through their partner in the Netherlands, Pangea Travel), and from beginning to end it’s been absolutely magical.

Everything has been organised to perfection, and Steve (our driver and guide) has been fantastic at taking care of us every step of the way. He’s without a doubt a true expert in his field - he didn’t use a map in the entire trip, clearly knowing every turn in every park by heart, and he could name every single species we saw and teach us how to identify very similar-looking ones (down to specific subspecies of starlings, which my bird-loving new husband was very happy about!).

It’s very much thanks to his knowledge and experience that we got to see the best sightings on the trip (elephants crossing right behind our jeep, a leopard walking straight towards us in the Mara), but his care and respect for the animals is what makes him truly stand out. He sees them all equally, and is clearly passionate about learning as much as he can about them.

While we saw other drivers going off road and harassing the animals, and heard them bending truths and exaggerating for the benefit of their passengers, Steve always took care to keep a respectful distance unless the animals came close to us of their own accord, and when answering our questions told us only facts or reasonable guesses based on things he has seen over the years.

Most of us are not used to spending hours in a car every day with a stranger, but Steve’s friendliness and professionalism made it feel easy. He made sure we never had to worry about anything, kept us on time (and waited patiently even when we consistently took longer at breakfast than we planned), gave us honest advice and recommendations, and was always flexible in working around our preferences. We felt completely safe at every point, including on the roads in Kenya - which is a testament to his excellent driving skills, as the roads can be more than a bit unpredictable. From the very first day, we just knew that we were in the best hands with him.

In terms of the itinerary we had for the week, we both thought it was absolutely perfect. Starting from Lake Naivasha and the sanctuary on Crescent Island (hugely recommended as a first stop), to the beauty and tranquility of Lake Nakuru, to the incomparable vastness and diversity of the Maasai Mara, and finally (after a stop in Nairobi) to the foothills of Kilimanjaro in Amboseli, where the enormous herds of elephants took our breath away.

Every lodge and camp we have stayed at has been unique and beautifully appointed, and the staff that we have met throughout the trip have been invariably friendly, helpful and charming. It’s hard to choose a favourite, but I think we loved the Serena Camp at Lake Elementeita the most, because of its beautiful rooms, gorgeous location on the lake, and the fact that it was really nice to have our meals in the same area as the guides (after that, we were a little sad not to see Steve at mealtimes!). It’s also the place that I’ve had the best massage of my life, so I need to also mention Rose, who introduced me to the wonders of hot stone massages and helped my tired ankles withstand the next few days of game drives.

The food has also been excellent throughout - the only problem was our inability to restrain ourselves and not eat everything! Even the buffet meals at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and the packed lunch we had in Maasai Mara were high quality and really tasty.

We’ve felt so lucky throughout the whole trip, but it’s clear that our “luck” has been mostly thanks to the brilliant organisation behind the scenes and thanks to Steve himself, who did so much to make this an absolutely unforgettable honeymoon - so now we just feel lucky to have had him as our guide. Thank you so much for everything Steve, and I hope we meet again!

We have just finished our 11 days safari with Southern Cross and it was a wonderful experience from start to finish. For all the picking up, transfer, transport and dropping off, you could not fault them.
We have been to Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Amboseli and Masai Mara with our wonderful guide, Sammy, who is very knowledgeable, responsive, respectful and funny too. Whenever we were on the game drive, he was always on the look out to find different animals for us. We were able to encounter a lone lion walking on the road all by ourselves and even find the rhino on our last drive from Masai Mara.
The accommodations organized was fantastic with wonderful settings and lovely foods.
I would have no hesitation to recommend this company to all my family and friends.

Excellent experience with Southern Cross Safaris - from pick up at the airport, transfer hotel & then onto Satao camp, we could not fault them. Our guide was Duncan & he was fabulous - incredibly informative, knowledgeable, responsive, respectful, humorous, kind and clearly loves his job.
He ensured that we saw everything possible, even racing to find a lioness which he heard about on the radio - the vision of her wandering down the road at sunset will stay with me forever!! Anything we asked & he didn’t know (which was rare & not necessarily about Tsavo!), he found out for us by the next morning. The accommodation at the camp was excellent & the staff could not have been more attentive. Animals all around the camp watering hole kept us on our toes but we were always kept safe by the guards. Five star experience - thank you, we loved it!!