KENYA Holiday - AFRICAN SAFARI CLUB

Sammy85_2

Hi all,

We're looking at going to Kenya for a couple of weeks of sun in June.

Ive found some deals with African Safari Club for around £500pp for 14 nights FB. Anyone who has looked at Kenya Holidays will kknow this is super cheap.

Ive had a look on tripadvisor and the last few hotel reviews have been excellent, but before the new year reviews were pretty poor. Im not expecting much at this price, and i know that a 3* over there is more like a 1-2* over here, im pretty convinced that alot of the negative reviews are from people expecting 5 star luxury.

Alot of negative comments about the company, African Safari Club though, does anyone have any experience of this company?



Thanks

delwynshd

Our agency use them they are very good value for money, never heard any nightmares about them

The flights are from Gatwick in June just to make you aware

Its the Laguna sea lodge that they have at 534pp

Del

ALWAYS_POOR

I've been with them, no problems. In fact their holiday was better than others as the flight to Mombasa didn't involve a change in Nairobi as many of the other companies did.

June isn't the best time to go to Kenya however, the best weather is Nov-March, this is probably one of the reasons that the price seems good.

Incapuppy

ALWAYS_POOR wrote: »

June isn't the best time to go to Kenya however, the best weather is Nov-March, this is probably one of the reasons that the price seems good.

Their late deals are consistently at giveaway prices!

Sammy85_2

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments

Prices seem fairly cheap year round TBH.

Time of the year suits us better, evenings cooler so easier to sleep, less tourists because "rainy season" puts some off going. Most weather sites say that rain is short and sharp, so thats not a problem.

Anyone have any problems whilst in Kenya, or any hints/tips/advice?


Thanks

Incapuppy

Check out the TA forums for plenty of info about the best local guys to use over there if you want to go on safari.

dickydonkin

Incapuppy wrote: »

Their late deals are consistently at giveaway prices!

Good advice. I picked up a very late deal a few years ago - I cannot remember the exact cost but it was a stupid price some 3 days before departure.

At the time they had their own aircraft but I believe they use Monarch now.

ASC hardly have a good reputation for treating their staff however, with some going unpaid for months.

If you get to know some of the staff, - how can I put it - well let's just say some staff 'supplement' their meagre income in other ways which benefits both parties.

The rooms are basic - we stayed at the Dolphin, but for the price we paid, if we had to camp on the beach we could not complain.

The ASC tours are expensive and apparently not very good value. Some people used the 'beach boys' for trips and apparently encountered no problems, although, despite parts of the beach being 'cordoned off' once you were past the barrier, the touts became a real pain in the !!!!!, but after a few days once they knew they were wasting their time, they would leave you alone.

If you stay at Shanzu (or named something like that), walk through the little village (expect to be pestered) where you can buy stuff at fixed prices and pop into the Serena Beach Hotel (look for the African Grey Parrot in Reception - Brilliant!)

Ask for ALI the tour operator (assuming he is still there) and negotiate a price for a day safari (Tsavo East). He is not cheap, but the trip was brilliant (although tiring) and we saw all of the 'big 5' while those who went on the ASC safari were disappointed because they saw very little.

Remember, Kenya is a poor country, but the people are friendly and welcoming (maybe too much at times) and I always said that if I ever went back, I would take some old footy kit and clothes to take for the people there as they would really appreciate them - as they do the tips which they tend to hang around for!

As Incapuppy suggested, check their prices regularly on their website and you will get some great discounts.

It was definitely on of the best value trips I have had.

Sammy85_2

Hi dpassmore,

We're looking at Laguna Sea Lodge, is only £550pp FB. We wont be booking until the very last minute (my other half works away and we wont know when he'll get home until they kick him off his ship) so im hoping it will get cheaper by the time we book it.

We were thinking about taking pens and pencils and things, but i read alot of things saying not to do it because it encourages the begging. What is your opinion on this having been there?

Also what currency did you take and how much were drinks out there?


Thanks

Incapuppy

Their latest last min offers have been as low as £350ish pp IIRC, I hope you get a good deal Sammy85.

dickydonkin

Sammy85 wrote: »

Hi dpassmore,

We're looking at Laguna Sea Lodge, is only £550pp FB. We wont be booking until the very last minute (my other half works away and we wont know when he'll get home until they kick him off his ship) so im hoping it will get cheaper by the time we book it.

We were thinking about taking pens and pencils and things, but i read alot of things saying not to do it because it encourages the begging. What is your opinion on this having been there?

Also what currency did you take and how much were drinks out there?


Thanks

I was drinking bottles of TUSKER beer in the ASC resort for around £1.00, however, with the exchange rate and the passing of about 4-5 years, that will likely have increased.

They are much cheaper in the village shops.

When I went onto the beach, the beach boys were more interested in my trainers and T shirt, and they would literally had them off my back given the chance, however, as I mentioned in my earlier post, when we went on the Safari to Tsavo East, what opened my eyes was the poverty.

We saw the kids walking miles from anywhere - many in bare feet, and we were informed that they were on their way to school.

The school would likely be a tin hut in the middle of nowhere, but what amazed me was the kids were immaculately dressed in very bright and clean school uniforms.

My only regret was that I never took the time to see the outlying areas.

Yes, there is a lot of begging and it can be annoying, but I would certainly consider taking school equipment and maybe some old football shirts - they will be very grateful.

I left a radio and some other stuff for the guy who looked after our room, but make sure you write out an authorisation for him to confirm that it was given to him.

As suggested earlier, I would try to make your reservation as late as possible as the price usually comes down significantly.

I would suggest that you go there with an open mind and don't expect Western luxuries (or even basics) that you may take for granted back home.

Enjoy!

robmiller667

I went with ASC half board to kenya in early June 2008. We stayed in one of the beach hotels in mombassa (sorry cant remember the name). We did have a very good time and there are two "buts". The first is that you have to remember that this is a 3rd world country with lots of poverty, the hotel is 2-3* (by UK standards) and the standard of food you'll get will match this. However, this is also a cheap as chips type holiday, flight + accommodation was around 400 quid when we went so overall can't really complain too much.

Definitely don't upgrade to private hotel transfers - it is a waste of money, don't buy the meal pass for all the restaurants and don't pay for the sun lounger fee (around 2 euro per day with free sun towel thrown in) as there was never a shortage of loungers, you dont have to pay for them and the free towels were low quality.

Do however take pens and pads of paper to give to the locals/children, stock up on some cheap cotton t-shirts/socks and use this to barter with the locals for souvenirs.

There were some downsides and these are well documented if you look at tripadvisor reviews from June 2008:

The quality of the food was not great, around half the people we spoke to (including my gf) came down with a tummy bug which was mainly attributed to the food.

The pool was really quite dirty and you couldn't do much on the beach itself as the locals trying to sell stuff meant you were pestered far too much.

Be warned that the weather is not going to be blazing sunshine all day. In fact the week before we arrived they had almost solid rain according to one guest i met.

We did a safari through ASC to the Masai Mara - the wildlife we saw was amazing, and the location of their lodge was excellent, again the food was not great. We did one tour to Tsavo booked with an 'independent' and this was excellent, cheaper and the lodge was great as well but it was not as structured and well organised as the ASC tour.

The food and drink in the hotel is expensive, best to get your beers and water from the mini supermarket 2 mins walk from the hotel. There was also a small bar (name is in the lonely planet) which sells cheap food and drink and its 2 mins from the hotel as well.

Try and buy your souvenirs/postcards etc from outside the resort as the locals do need the business quite desperately, and are quite friendly once you get past the inevitable hassle of them trying to sell to you.

So in conclusion, you get what you pay for with ASC, if you are prepared to put up with the downsides described above and go into it with your eyes open, you'll have a fab time. For reference I am in my late 30s have travelled extensively but am not someone who is expecting 5* luxury everywhere I go.

I have a friend who travelled indepedently in Kenya over the New Year and she could not speak highly enough of the people, the country or the sites - however she is a seasoned traveller.

I hope my ramblings have been of use to someone :-)

[edited to add some more details]