Author Topic: Kenya Safari TR  (Read 35041 times)

Offline Feivish

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #100 on: July 27, 2015, 01:10:46 PM »
I spent 2 nights in the Hilton in Nairobi which I found to be decent for an East African hotel. Again this is not London, Paris or NY.
We then went to the Masai Mara and spent 5 nights in the Ashnil Mara Camp which is right on the Mara river. Location couldn't have been better. It wasn't cheap though although not crazy expensive either and points were worthless aside from the Hilton (unless you consider the fact that I sold points to fund this expensive trip!).

It was a really amazing trip however, and well worth it IMHO. I found the game to better then the South African parks or Chobe in Botswana.
How did you get around in Nairobi?
How did you get to the Masia Mara?

Offline Dan

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #101 on: July 27, 2015, 01:11:21 PM »
Great TR!
Any chance we can see a breakdown of costs?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #102 on: July 27, 2015, 02:08:56 PM »
How did you get around in Nairobi?
How did you get to the Masia Mara?
I booked everything through a tour operator aside from the Hilton. They were able to get us a better rate at the safari lodge and additionally they provided us with a private 4 by 4 safari jeep with a driver for our entire trip. Our driver picked us up from the airport and drove us everywhere until we returned to the airport the following week. Nairobi is not the kind of city to drive around yourself.

Offline Feivish

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #103 on: July 27, 2015, 03:40:33 PM »
I booked everything through a tour operator aside from the Hilton. They were able to get us a better rate at the safari lodge and additionally they provided us with a private 4 by 4 safari jeep with a driver for our entire trip. Our driver picked us up from the airport and drove us everywhere until we returned to the airport the following week. Nairobi is not the kind of city to drive around yourself.
A TR would be nice and helpful.

Offline Shunts

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #104 on: July 27, 2015, 06:16:14 PM »
Great TR!
Any chance we can see a breakdown of costs?

We used 75k Starwood for 100k Alaskan outbound and 80k UA inbound. For hotels, we used cash and points. This came out to be the most economical as the price increased with each additional person and we were a group of three. We used 12k + $62 and 28k + $84 for Nairobi and Conrad respectively. As far as the Safari itself goes, it wasn't cheap, but was worth every penny!

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #105 on: July 27, 2015, 07:21:41 PM »
We used 75k Starwood for 100k Alaskan outbound and 80k UA inbound. For hotels, we used cash and points. This came out to be the most economical as the price increased with each additional person and we were a group of three. We used 12k + $62 and 28k + $84 for Nairobi and Conrad respectively. As far as the Safari itself goes, it wasn't cheap, but was worth every penny!

Did you find the safari guides locally or via a referral?

Offline Platinum

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #106 on: July 27, 2015, 07:27:30 PM »
We booked everything through a tour company.

Offline dpk4588

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #107 on: August 05, 2015, 05:21:21 PM »
Awesome TR. Excellent pics! Looks like you had fun!
Can you give us a ballpark cost of the safari?
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
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Offline Drago

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #108 on: September 06, 2015, 06:18:50 AM »
Great TR, loved the pics.

For those asking about safari hotel's that can be booked w/ points, this post does a good job listing some of them.
http://travelisfree.com/2014/11/10/african-safari-hotels-on-points/

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #109 on: September 06, 2015, 11:54:15 AM »
We stayed in the park and was still charged the mandatory $75 per person per day.

Offline Emkay

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #110 on: September 06, 2015, 11:57:18 AM »
We stayed in the park and was still charged the mandatory $75 per person per day.
Upon entry or exit? They made you show an itinerary or just asked you?

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #111 on: September 06, 2015, 12:01:56 PM »
Upon booking with the travel agent. I can't see that working, whoever will be taking you on the game drive will know how many days you are staying...

Offline Emkay

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #112 on: September 06, 2015, 12:04:45 PM »
Upon booking with the travel agent. I can't see that working, whoever will be taking you on the game drive will know how many days you are staying...

So you paid the travel agent the fee and he had the driver pay it? Fat chance the driver paid it, he likely told them one day and pocketed the rest
« Last Edit: September 06, 2015, 12:18:47 PM by Emkay »

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #113 on: September 06, 2015, 12:14:54 PM »
We stayed in a place that only has 10 tents not a big mega hotel. It included hotel stay, private game drives, food, and park entrance fees. The one time we went to another game resort the driver actually stopped and paid.

Offline Emkay

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #114 on: September 06, 2015, 12:19:19 PM »
We stayed in a place that only has 10 tents not a big mega hotel. It included hotel stay, private game drives, food, and park entrance fees. The one time we went to another game resort the driver actually stopped and paid.
Which resort was this?

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #115 on: September 06, 2015, 12:23:06 PM »
Encounter Mara.

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #116 on: September 06, 2015, 12:32:53 PM »
Even if you manage to get the hotel stay on points you are going to have to pay for the game drives separately and that's where a chunk of the money goes.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #117 on: September 08, 2015, 05:33:54 PM »
Wow, wow, wow!! What an incredible TR!! Excellent pictures, especially your gate and first class lounge at the first airstrip and the had written boarding pass. Looks like you had a blast!

How did learning to use the new camera on the go work out? Did you feel more comfortable by the end?

Offline Shunts

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #118 on: September 08, 2015, 08:03:24 PM »
Thank you!

It really was an incredible trip.

For the most part I just used the pre-configured settings on the camera wheel. Towards the end, I tinkered more with the settings.

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Re: Kenya Safari TR
« Reply #119 on: September 08, 2015, 08:10:13 PM »
Thank you!

It really was an incredible trip.

For the most part I just used the pre-configured settings on the camera wheel. Towards the end, I tinkered more with the settings.
Great pics either way.