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Masai Mara walking safari

COUNTRY:
Kenya
LOCATION:
Masai Mara, Mount Kenya, Rift Valley
HOLIDAY TYPE:
Walking safaris, introductory walking
DEPARTURES:
2012: 11 Feb, 2 Jun, 30 Jun, 18 Aug, 1 Sep, 15 Sep, 6 Oct, 22 Dec
2013: 12 Jan, 9 Feb, 1 Jun, 29 Jun, 17 Aug, 31 Aug, 14 Sep, 5 Oct, 21 Dec
PRICE:
From £1669 - £2319 (9 days ) including UK flights
MORE INFO:
From £1099 - £1219 excluding flights. From £879 per child including flights from the UK. From £269 per child excluding flights.
VOUCHERS:
Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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Masai Mara walking safari

Masai Mara walking safari

Small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.

How this holiday makes a difference

Responsible mission: As adventure travellers we relish and celebrate the diversity of the world. We also recognise our obligation to protect the environments that we explore. Our aim is to tread lightly, whilst contributing to maintain the world’s culture and nature, and most importantly to engage the help of all our customers to utilise the potential of tourism as a tool to aid sustainable development. We believe that responsible travellers are welcome in the places that they visit.

On this trip: We travel in small groups (max 14 people) so have a minimal impact on the environment as we go. On this trip we use a local agent from Kenya, locally owned hotels, local leaders. Not only does this mean that more of the money we generate stays within the community, but their local knowledge and expertise helps us to better understand the environment in which we are travelling, whilst reinforcing within the local community that preserving this environment is both important and worthwhile.

Our Foundation sponsors the elephant orphan "Shukuru" at the David Sheldricks Wildlife Trust. The Trust works to look after rescued elephants and rhinos before ultimately releasing them back into the wild when they are ready. You may be able to visit your orphan personally.

Responsible code: Being Responsible is at the heart of everything our company does - full details of our code can be found on our website. The local supplier for this trip will promote our responsible travel code throughout your adventure. You will also receive specific information on this trip’s responsibility in your trip notes.

Helping to minimise negative impact: All of our customers are invited to offset their international flight emissions. Contributions go to the Blue Ventures Carbon Offset program, a non-profit organisation which provides solar stoves for subsistence communities in Madagascar, benefiting the people and protecting the environment. We also contribute £2 per person towards offsetting of your in-country travel. We fully offset all emissions from our staff travel and run an energy efficient office.

Giving something back: We have a foundation that collects the funds that you donate to us to support our projects. All our customers are invited to make a £1 per person contribution to the foundation at the time of booking. We will match every contribution that you make with our own £1. You as a customer choose where these funds are used from a shortlist of nominated projects – so it really is YOUR foundation.

Partnerships: As a company we support The Travel Foundation, a UK charity that has been established to promote responsible travel practises throughout the whole of the travel industry. We also work with a number of charity partners who work in the destinations that we visit; including Friends of Conservation and Born Free Foundation. We partner with many small grassroots projects throughout the destinations that we visit - they all share our responsible vision.

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Masai Mara walking safari

Reviewed 07 Oct 2007 by Roland Simon1 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


No real memorable aspect.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Tip to any prospective travellers booking: if you are expecting a camping safari do not book this safari (Kenya - Classic Kenyan Safari). Seven days in hotels and five days camping is not what I signed up for. Being left at a hotel, Stem Hotel, which had high walls enhanced by broken glass and guards patrolling the grounds, and being advised not to leave the hotel grounds, is unacceptable. The schedule stated "late afternoon bird walk". This did not happen as it meant the guide/driver would have to pay entrance fees twice (the afternoon and the following day). I understood that the local payment of $350 cover all those aspects. The party had to be re-housed into better rooms, but had to walk through a flooded area the following morning to reach the dining area.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


I fail to see how the holiday benefited the local people - unless the operator donated 50% of the price paid by each traveller to some environment project being undertaken in the area.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


On a scale of 1 - 10 (ten being fantastic/exceptional/memorable) then I rate this holiday 3

Read the operator's response here:

2. The accommodation at Lake Nakuru was changed to a hotel from camping due to safety concerns. The campsite has recently suffered several security breaches and it was felt that it was inadvisable to stay there. The situation will be monitored on an ongoing basis, but for the foreseeable future groups will be staying at a hotel at Lake Nakuru. We appreciate the feedback about the Stem Hotel, and as a consequence have changed all future departures to a different hotel. The late afternoon bird walk should still have been included. Due to a miscommunication the group leader was under the impression that the change in accommodation also entailed a change in the activities, which was not meant to be the case. We are happy to compensate for the activity that was missed out.

Accommodation for three other nights was changed on an ad hoc basis. Following recent heavy rains the local operations management felt that the group would be more comfortable in lodge accommodation. However, the option to camp was still possible and should have been offered and we apologise that this was not made clear.

3. The Kenyan operations provide employment to local people, in particular drivers and guides. The JK camp at the Maasai Mara is run by local Maasai and provides training opportunities for staff.
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Holiday Reviews

We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!

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