Nicholas Mwangi

Nicholas helped us plan and experience highlights of Kenya in a trip well tailored to our family of 6 (including children ages 8 through 13). He was very knowledgeable, flexible, and professional in ensuring that our trip went smoothly and maximized everyone's enjoyment.

We enjoyed a full 4-day itinerary in Nairobi to enjoy some city experiences before heading out on safari. We enjoyed the David Sheldrick's rehabilitation center, the Nairobi national park, the Giraffe center, the Bomas of Kenya homesteads, and the Nairobi national museum. Transportation to and from these locations was comfortable and smooth, in a minivan that fit all of us easily. We hesitate to give a full 5 stars for the Nairobi stay only because our hotel (Fair Acres Boutique), while it was comfortable and nicely located, hosted a large party (conference? wedding?) on our final night there and loud music/speeches kept us all up close to 1am. This was just as we had finally recovered from jet lag so made the following day a bit of a struggle.

Our next stop was Ol Pejeta, where we enjoyed 2 nights at the Sweetwaters Serena camp (beautiful grounds right within the conservancy, including a watering hole frequented by many animals day and night; cozy and well appointed tents; great meals in a beautiful central lodge; very kind and thoughtful staff). Nicholas took us on safari throughout the conservancy and also to visit various programs including the Chimp exhibit and a Rhino rescue center.

Next we spent two nights at the Sopa Lodges in Naivasha, where we enjoyed a boat tour of the lake and a walk on Crescent Island - for beautiful distinctive scenery compared to the prior few days at Ol Pejeta. Sopa Lodge was a very impressive property - comfortable rooms within private cottages, spread across large lake-front grounds with tropical landscaping. Another excellent dining experience with a large buffet for every meal and very kind staff.

Our final stop was 3 nights in Maasai Mara, where we stayed at the Ashnil Mara camp. Another excellent lodging option - comfortable and cozy tents, beautiful dining/common area with views of the river (and occasional hippos/crocodiles), bar with a firepit, pool that the kids enjoyed greatly, fantastic food and very friendly staff. Nicholas again took us on game drives each day (based on the frequency/duration we were looking for) which were highly successful thanks to his knowledge of the park and connections with other guides.

Nicholas was an excellent host throughout the week - always pleasant, open to changes in the itinerary, ready to offer his recommendations, eager to get to know us. Our itinerary required lots of driving (3-5h between destinations, plus the game drives) on roads of varying quality and often with hectic traffic. He is an excellent driver and his 4WD vehicle was roomy enough for all 6 of us plus our luggage, and well suited for safari drives with its pop-up roof... however I would have felt a bit safer (especially on the long highway commutes) if it had cross-body seatbelts rather than just lap belts.

Overall, this is a trip that we invested a large amount of time and effort in planning, and it turned out even better than our high expectations, thanks to the dedication and expertise of Nicholas. Would not hesitate to recommend other travelers to work with Nicholas to enjoy a tailored visit to Kenya.

I booked a safari with Animal Kingdom through Kim Kim and it was an absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. There are so many options of safaris to choose that it can be daunting. From the moment I messaged with Nicholas, I felt completely at ease. In the process leading up to the trip, he answered all of my copious questions. He was always quick and kind with his responses. He made sure we go our vaccinations and the proper visa. Once we arrived, he and our driver, John, picked my wife and I up from the airport. This was the biggest relief since we landed at 11:00pm local time. Nicholas rode with us to the first hotel we stayed at and he walked us through what most of the trip would look like beyond the itinerary he provided. For almost the rest of the trip, my wife and I were just with John, our driver. I cannot talk highly enough of John. We told him all of the animals we wanted to see and what pictures we wanted. He made sure we got and saw everything we wanted. He also did an amazing job of answering all of the questions we asked throughout the trip. On our last day, we had many hours between our last safari and our flight out of Nairobi and Nicholas and John helped my wife and I out by recommending a good area of Nairobi to stay in until the flight and then John took us to the airport.

For the trip, we went to Nairobi National Park, David Shedrick’s Elephant Preserve, Giraffe Center, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, and Amboseli. All were fantastic but Lake Nakuru was our biggest surprise. Do not skip it!

Hotel Reviews

Kilima Safari Camp

Nairobi, Kenya

The first room we were put in smelled like an animal had died inside of it. There were also many bugs, living and dead, in the room that was “freshly cleaned.” We switched rooms without issue from the staff but the lack of cleanliness persisted in the second room. It was also incredibly hot when we were there. There was no portable fan in the room. There was one fan which was mounted on the wall in the room. This would be fine but they put a twin bed with a full wooden bed frame in front of the fan so you couldn’t use the queen bed without sweating all night. Then, at night, there were thousands of grasshoppers. This would not be a problem except for the fact that they kept getting in the room so I heard them all night trying to get past the mosquito netting. Worse yet, the hotel didn’t have any protection for the outdoor buffet. So while we were trying to eat, grasshoppers were jumping into our mouths and food.

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Lake Naivasha Simba lodge

Naivasha

The grounds of this hotel are amazing! Very cool area to walk around and be amongst zebras, giraffes, and other wildlife.

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Ashnil Mara Camp

Maasai Mara

The lobby area was very nice. The buffet was good for all meals. WiFi was only available in the main area which was a challenge. You also could not bring food to your room because monkeys would break in and steal it. Otherwise, great experience!

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Fair Acres Boutique Hotel

Karen, Nairobi. P. O Box 1121 – 00208 Nairobi.

Fantastic hotel! Staff was attentive. The room was nice and clean. The restaurant had delicious food.

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Activity Reviews

Giraffe center

Nairobi

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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David sheldricks

Nairobi

Quality of Experience

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Nairobi National Park

Nairobi

Quality of Experience

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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My 2nd time in the Maasai Mara and every time it just gets better & better. Our local specialist, Nicolas, was exceptional. His knowledge of the country, the Maasai Mara, the wild life was top notch. He also had a great attention to detail to make our trip a memorable one.
We managed to see so much wild life it felt we were in a Netflix nature documentary at times.
The accommodation recommended was perfect, from tents on the river over looking hippos and crocodiles, to the food and massages. Perfect places to rest after full days of safari.
I can’t recommend Nicolas and a trip to Kenya enough

As someone who has traveled to over 30 countries, I can easily say that this was the best trip of my life and the best trip of my wife's as well!
When we booked the trip, we were both excited and apprehensive. While we had used Kimkim before, we were not familiar with East Africa.
From the pre-booking process, to the entire trip, and even post-tripm our host/guide, Nicholas of Animal Kingdom Safaris was the best that we could ever ask for and truly feel that we made a friend for life!
From the hospitality to the humor to allowing us to use his camera to making sure we were well taken care of: Nicholas did it all! One specific example is when our bags got delayed from the United States. Nicholas was in constant commnication with the airlines, organized the bags to be flown to a nearby airstrip, and had a colleague pick it up for us. I could never have imagined doing that without him.
Since returning, I have told dozens of family / friends about the trip and Nicholas!