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December 2022
Ker & Downey® Africa did a fantastic job setting up our trip and then managing the trip – could not be happier
Each of our lodges and tent camps were outstanding – exceeded our expectations.
Our two Ker & Downey® Africa guides were fantastic-knowledgeable, caring and fun.
Being there in the rainy season was not a problem at all. Not nearly as crowded as June/July – I recommend going in December.
Our trip manager, Sarah, was always available and seamlessly accommodated all our changes.
I will definitely use Ker & Downey® Africa again.
Gil J, USA
December 2022
Flawless from ideation to execution
Thank you Ker & Downey® Africa for crafting the most magical 2 week trip to Tanzania over New Year.
The entire trip was flawless from ideation to execution to being super quick to address any additional requirements/queries we had once we were on the trip itself.
Sarah Morris was on the ball from the moment we reach out to Ker & Downey® Africa to plan our trip. Respond time to all our emails was very prompt. We even had a group call a few weeks before we traveled to go over all our details, ensure we had all our documents and travel essentials ready. Sarah, Lauren, and Brondwyn also set up a whatsapp chat group to ensure they were always a message away while we were traveling.
I cant imagine Africa without this amazing team and will not hesitate to recommend Ker & Downey® Africa to anyone looking for a top notch travel agent to plan their once in a lifetime trip!
Asante Sana!
Fiona, Thailand
September 2022
East Africa Epic Excellence
This review may be as long as the wait for our pandemic postponed trip to East Africa, but I want to acknowledge everyone that made it so special. Ker Downey Africa team lead by Sarah Morris and Peter Pittendirgh took every request, wish and desire and designed and delivered the most wonderful luxury adventure, exceeding our every expectations.
Our driver greeted us upon arrival at the Kilimanjaro Airport and escorted us to Elewana’s Arusha Coffee Plantation Lodge for a good night’s rest after the long flights from the US. The next morning, we met Charmy, our Ker Downey Africa driver and guide, who was with us for two days. He took care of our every need from shopping to guiding our game drives through Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater. The two nights at Gibbs Farm were made special by the comfortable furnishings and nightly fires in the fireplace of our cozy cottage. The well prepared meals were fresh farm to table. A private dinner was prepared for us in celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary.
The flights to the Serengeti were flawless. Octavian, our Asilia Sayari Camp guide, met us upon arrival. He took us immediately on a personalized game drive before checking us in at the camp. Sayari Camp is a luxury tented safari lodging. Eric and the rest of the staff were friendly and attentive. We witnessed two wildebeest crossings of the Mara River, a true highlight.
Travel from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya is a little complicated. A small plane flight to motor coach. A drive to two immigration offices, followed by a motor coach ride to another small plane flight to Elewana’s Sand River Camp.
Sand River Camp is on the banks of the peaceful and tranquil Sand River. Outstanding game drives with our Masai guide, Alex. World class cuisine prepared by the kitchen staff for ever meal. Hot Air Balloon Safari delivered a awesome balloon ride over the Masai Mara. True highlight.
After leaving the Masai Mara, we overnighted at the Hemingway Nairobi, an outstanding property and Ker Downey Africa arranged a visit to the Sheldrick Wildlife Elephant Orphanage. If you are in Nairobi, this is a must see. An incredible conservation effort to rescue and care for the elephants orphaned by human wildlife conflict and drought.
We flew to Rwanda and were met by Eric, our driver and guide for our last three days of our trip. After a night’s stay in Kigali Serena Hotel, Eric drove us to Volcanoes National Park and The Singita Kwitonda Lodge. Kwitonda Lodge is probably the finest accommodations we have ever stayed. Rob and his staff provide a level of service second to none. Jonas, our personal attendant, took care of us 24 hours a day. The Gorilla trek was beyond words. We spent an hour plus with the “Igisha” family of over thirty gorillas, including five silverbacks.
The next day we trekked the Golden Monkeys. Again, a lifetime experience. The only regret was we only stay two nights at Singita Kwitonda Lodge.
William G, USA
September 2022
We are happy to refer you all! We had a fantastic experience! Words are inadequate to describe Tanzania. We had an amazing time. We feel so fortunate to end up having private game drives throughout the trip. Everyone was so knowledgeable and genuine. John/Schuma of Kaz Mara was a fantastic guide.
Our trip was full of delightful surprises. We look forward to seeing more of the continent soon-ish…in the next five years. Keep working with the good people you are working with and doing what you do! .
I am super interested in the behind the scenes coordination among all the people it takes to ensure a great experience. There are so many small companies that depend on each other. It is fascinating how collaborative you all must be to provide such a consistent, amazing experience!
Be in touch again soon! Thank you for the moving experience!!
Stephanie & Ed, USA
September 2022
I got Ker & Downey Africa to arrange a 6 day safari for my wife and I in 2020 as part of a trip to South Africa. COVID killed that trip, but K&D Africa were fantastic in recovering or reserving all deposits for safari lodges and flights. We have just completed the rescheduled trip (Sep 2022), and everything went perfectly smoothly, and the lodges they recommended and booked were brilliant, both in terms of hospitality and game viewing. Apparently there were some hassles on a transfer, where industrial/protest action closed some park gates, but all this was handled to be virtually invisible to us. And I should add that in the course of booking other accommodation in South Africa, I came across direct booking access to the lodges we were in and got curious and did some sums – and allowing for the cost of road transfers, I found that the premium I paid for all this management was really quite marginal. In my situation, with the COVID cancellation and reschedule, it was a godsend to have an agent to handle the hassles for me. So I’d say use an agent to make things easy, and use this agent because they were brilliant.
Phil, USA
August 2022
Africa changed our lives
We booked our Travel through Ker & Downey Africa and they handled everything perfectly. We had never been on a Safari and we left our itinerary up to Ker & Downey. Sarah was our primary contact and she booked us at 3 different safari lodges to give us a sample of 3 different game reserves. Then we spent 4 days in Cape Town which was also magnificent. Rather than write all the details of the trip I will just leave you with two major thoughts that will hopefully address any concerns you might have about traveling to South Africa.
1. Don’t hesitate to use Ker & Downey Africa. Their service was absolutely perfect and we had no delays. They had someone meet us at the end of each flight and we had the best tour guide that one could have for Cape Town. We had a party of 5 people and everything went like clock work!
2. If you have ever considered a Safari but for what ever reason have not taken the step, DO IT!!! It truly changed our perceptions of South Africa and wildlife. The people were incredible and we had the opportunity to get up close to some amazing animals. Every scene had a story for example; watching a leopard guard it’s kill while also guarding it’s cub as a hyena circled the tree. Lions on a hunt for Impala. They were so close we could touch them. Elephants drinking out of our pool at one lodge. They were so close you could have touched them.
On and On!! Just GO and let Ker Downey Africa take care of the details. As they say, You Only Live Once so do a trip of a lifetime. We are already working on our next trip to beautiful Africa!!
Tom B, USA
August 2022
Excellent company
Heather, USA
July 2022
High School Graduation Trip
Our 19 & 19 year old granddaughters chose a trip to Africa as their destination. They graduated June 2022 and we started planning the trip with Sarah a year before our departure. I have been to Africa many times before and really wanted to see the migration of the wildebeests in Tanzania to Kenya. So the trip was designed around that request. The girls wanted to see Giraffes and Hernias. We were successful and saw our requests. My husband is a photographer and he was able to shot wonderful pictures on our 11 day trip.
We were taken care of from the moment we landed to the time we had to say good bye to Africa.
We experienced 5 different camps and each one offered a different look at Africa.
Sarah and Peter were always available before our trip and had everything mapped out for us.
The transfers from camp to camp went very smoothly and we were always with a guide to help us with our luggage and get us to where we were going next.
The camps were able to take care of our dietary needs as one of our granddaughters is a vegetarian .
All in all our trip was a memory our granddaughters will always carry with them
As a side note I have used Ker & Downey 4 times now.
Teri, USA
July 2022
The entire team is professional and excellent in their work. Very thoughtful. Highly recommend!
Everyone in our family enjoyed this wonderfully planned trip very much. The Victoria Falls were magnificent; the safari was magical; the Cape Town was mesmerizing; the Babylonstoren Farm was masterfully built and maintained. We loved the cozy cottage and the food there was incredible. It is truly once in a life time trip. Many thanks to Ker & Downey® Africa team and especially Lauren and Gavin. Highly recommend and will talk again for our next Africa trip.
Yifeng USA
June 2022
We absolutely loved working with Ker & Downey® Africa who helped us book our travel in Cape Town and our safari in Botswana. They worked with us on our budget and put together the perfect itinerary for what we were looking for. The safari portion was the big highlight! They curated the most unbelievable lodges with amazing wildlife sightings. We were blown away by the staff, food, lodging, and professionalism. We 100% recommend Ker & Downey® Africa for your travel needs! They will not disappoint.
Daniel, USA
May 2022
Incredible Safari Experience!
We absolutely loved working with Ker & Downey who helped us book our travel in Cape Town and our safari in Botswana. They worked with us on our budget and put together the perfect itinerary for what we were looking for. The safari portion was the big highlight! They curated the most unbelievable lodges with amazing wildlife sightings. We were blown away by the staff, food, lodging, and professionalism. We 100% recommend Ker & Downey for your travel needs! They will not disappoint.
Stephanie, USA
February 2022
We absolutely LOVED our trip to South Africa
We absolutely LOVED our trip to South Africa, and have already recommended Ker & Downey Africa to two friends who’ve asked how we had such a wonderful experience. Our same group of 7 wants to return to Africa in 2024–perhaps somewhere we haven’t been (should be easy, we’ve only experienced Egypt, Kenya and South Africa) and will be reaching out to you first for suggestions and then planning! Thank you so much to your whole team for everything. We wouldn’t have changed a thing about our trip!
Britt, USA
November 2021
Outstanding
I can’t imagine planning a future trip to Africa without the help of Ker & Downey Africa! They did such a wonderful job arranging my 8-night itinerary in South Africa that included stays at three unique properties (they handpicked for me) and two internal flights. Knowing experts had planned my trip I was able to enjoy it without worrying about what could go wrong. Based on my experience I’m under the impression that they only work with the best properties and tour guides. As a travel journalist I’ve stayed at hundreds of hotels and lodges and have met hundreds of tour guides so I should know. I also appreciated the attention to detail that went into creating my itinerary as well as the constant communication. I even reached out to them one Saturday morning before 8 am and I got a reply within minutes! They also made themselves available to assist me with anything after my itinerary was over and I was enjoying an extra week in Cape Town. It would be an honor to travel with Ker & Downey again. If you have the opportunity to, definitely don’t hesitate
Katie, USA
October 2021
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Our trip to Zambia and South Africa was incredible! The team at Ker & Downey was amazing! They took care of every single detail. They were very easy to work with, answering all the questions we had, and jumping on zoom calls when we needed to. They checked in with us during our vacation to make sure everything was going well. I can’t recommend them enough – we felt totally pampered while we were in Africa. In particular, a big thank you to Sarah Morris, who put our amazing adventure together (not once, but 4 different times due to COVID), and Peter Pittendrigh, who had to do last minute hotel negotiations/tour changes, arranged for all of our required COVID tests, and made sure we were met at the airports. The team arranged for an early birthday at each of our destinations, which made the trip even more special. And Sarah took time to meet us in-person in Cape Town. The team at Ker & Downey made this a trip of a lifetime for us!
Robin S, USA
October 2021
Very attentive to our wishes and needs and very personable
Communication with Sarah Morris at Ker & Downey was extremely comfortable and helpful from the first time she contacted me. She arranged an itinerary for us according to our needs which fit perfectly and she adjusted for our feedback on the first suggested itinerary very well. The whole trip was a wonderful experience and very memorable in large part thanks to the good organisation and perfect choices for accommodation, transport and pace of trip. The whole team was attentive to us before and during the trip and made us feel very well taken care of. I could not recommend anyone better to organise a trip to Namibia.
Amira, Switzerland
October 2021
It really was our best trip ever!
We had the most wonderful time on our trip! It really was our best trip ever! You all took such good care of us while we were there. It was so nice to not have to worry about anything, e.g. where to get covid tests, would they be back on time, would we have trouble checking in for our flights in Johannesburg, can we see everything we want to see, etc. We had great experiences with all of the people we met, and that took care of us at Sussi & Chuma, Lukimbi, the wine country and Cape Town. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. We saw all the things, and more, that we wanted to see while we were in Africa.
Robin, USA
October 2021
Every aspect of the trip worked out well
For that matter the entire trip went well!!! Rwanda was indeed amazing & we are already talking about a future return trip 😊 And Singita Kwitonda….WOW!!!!
Every aspect of the trip worked out well…transport, lodges, guides, connections – everything! We felt comfortable the whole way through. In particular, our guide in Rwanda – Sibo – was fantastic. He was informative, kind, friendly and accommodating.
Scott, USA
September 2021
Unbelievable service and amazing hospitality
In short, if you are looking for safari planning, look no further! Ker and Downey Africa will not only deliver, they will exceed your expectations and take care of every single detail. We have just returned from a 14 day trip to South Africa which included Cape town as well as 6 day safari in the Greater Kruger area. Our travel agent Emma Perrin who planned our very first safari to Tanzania planned this trip for my 50th birthday with my husband almost 3 years ago, but due to Covid we had to push our trip to now. Her attention to detail and understanding of what we need is like no other. She knew exactly what we were looking for. In every single location, she got us the best deals she could find and our accommodations as well as safari trips were beyond our expectations. We stayed in multiple locations, and throughout the trip, Emma, Sarah and Peter stayed in touch with us via WhatsApp. Our son lost his passport 6 days into the trip, and Emma also helped us get him a new passport without really changing any of our plans, which was truly a miracle. Every single person we met on the trip left an impression on us and we know that we are now completely hooked on traveling with Ker and Downey Africa. It is just going to be a matter of time before we start planning our next trip with them 🙂
Brian, USA
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