Our experience with Imara was absolutely outstanding from beginning to end, and honestly exceeded even our very high expectations.
The booking process was incredibly smooth. We were assisted by Lincoln, who was extremely patient, answered all of our questions, and gave us excellent recommendations throughout the planning process. He perfectly understood both what we wanted from the trip and our budget, and helped us find the best possible options in terms of value for money.
Another major factor in our decision to book with Imara was their response time. When they say they are available 24/7, they truly mean it. Planning a safari involves a lot of back-and-forth communication, and having such fast, reliable responses made a huge difference and gave us a lot of confidence throughout the process.
From the moment we arrived, everything was seamless. We were welcomed at the airport by our guide in a very comfortable vehicle, and the next day we had the lovely surprise of being greeted by the entire Imara team at our hotel. Everyone was incredibly kind and thoughtful — they even brought us very cute (and genuinely useful) safari gifts — and they carefully reviewed the entire itinerary with us before the trip started.
The overall structure and organization of the company are excellent. The safari vehicle was new, extremely comfortable, equipped with Wi-Fi, and stocked with cold water, soft drinks, and other amenities that made long game drives much more enjoyable.
And then there was our guide, Simon — truly the soul of the trip.
Before coming to Kenya, I had read many times that the guide can make or break a safari experience, and now I completely understand why. We could not have been luckier to have Simon as our guide. He is a true superstar. His knowledge about Kenya, the parks, wildlife, and animal behavior is incredibly extensive. Beyond that, he is an exceptionally careful and skilled driver, which made us feel safe and relaxed throughout the entire trip.
His logistics and time-management skills were also impressive, ensuring we made the most of every day without ever feeling rushed. He was fun, professional, and deeply passionate about what he does.
One thing that especially stood out to us was how committed he was to giving us the best wildlife sightings possible while still maintaining a very respectful attitude toward the animals and the safari environment. Unfortunately, we saw some vehicles from other companies behaving quite aggressively around wildlife, but Simon always prioritized respect for nature and ethical safari practices, which we appreciated enormously.
All four accommodations we stayed at were fantastic and memorable in their own way. We also really appreciated the constant support from the Nairobi office throughout the journey — not just from Simon, who was with us every day, but also from the central team checking in frequently to make sure everything was going well.
Overall, this trip was far beyond our expectations — and our expectations were already very high. Everything was smooth, beautifully organized, and completely stress-free from start to finish.
I would recommend Imara without hesitation to anyone planning a safari in the region, and I would absolutely book with them again in the future.
kenya
Google
