We had 2 weeks for Tanzania and Kenya. We came in contact with Tracey and Francis via a local guide that knew Francis. We wanted a custom made itinerary for these 2 weeks to see the Serengeti National Park and a 3 days Mt. Meru Hike. Tracey fixed this for us in no time. Via email we kept in great contact about the status. 

 

Nothing is a problem with Tracey and Francis. They are very flexible. If we wanted something changed, they tried their best to help us and fixed it. 

 

In the end they brought us to Nairobi where we had 3 days to explore the capitol of Kenya, which was great. They are service oriented, so give them a shot!!

 

- Vishal Panday, The Netherlands

Tailored Itinerary in Tanzania, October 2013

 

 

My friend and I had a great time with OTA. Tracey was really helpful with her e-mails and I knew exactly what to expect. Our plane was several hours delayed but the driver had patiently waited for us at the airport. He knew exactly where to go and we could take as much time at each attraction as we wanted. We were also able to leave donations for the 'Pack for a Purpose' group with him. It was an excellent day trip.

 

- Jasmine Sun, Canada

Nairobi City Tour, August 2013

 

We spent a lovely couple of weeks with Tracey and Francis. I shared this trip with my daughter who lives overseas so it was a great time together. OTA was very helpful and made sure all our needs were met. I had a free day before my daughter flew in and Tracey took good care of me by taking me to see the giraffes and the orphan elephants in Nairobi. We then did a road trip to Naivasha, Massai Mara and Lake Nakuru before travelling up into Uganda. We had a lovely day riding bicycles in Hell's Gate and climbed Mt Longonot. OTA was excellent with all the information we needed before we left. Emails each week to get us ready. They made the tour very flexible to meet our needs and time restraints. I would be very happy to recommend them as an affordable, friendly, fun tour company.

 

- Carolyn Hutt, Australia

Tailored itinerary Kenya-Uganda, August 2013

 

This was my first trip to Africa and didn't know what to expect so I decided I'd feel safer with a tour. I was recommended OTA by a distant connection and was not disappointed. From the very first email inquiry to the moment we left Nairobi, Tracey and Francis gave us a safari with personal touches. They were genuine and did not treat us "like any other client". After matching the price of another tour, it was this personal touch that tipped the scales to go with OTA. My friend and I took a private 6-day tour to Nairobi, Masai Mara and Lake Naivasha. OTA was great about listening to our needs and wants and incorporated it into the tour giving us lots of wildlife and physical activity. They also were very accommodating when we had a last minute flight change.

The only small disappointment was that OTA intended to incorporate an afternoon of volunteering for us but unfortunately, it fell through while we were there. The volunteering element was a distinguishing service from other tour companies and a key reason we chose OTA. However, they gave us alternative activities and I still feel confident that the next time I visit Africa, OTA would still be able to provide me volunteering opportunities/connections. 

Overall, I would use OTA again and highly recommend their services!

 

- Tiffany Ho, Qatar
Tailored Itinerary, August 2013
 

 

OTA created a customised tour based on what I wanted to see/experience/visit. It was a fantastic trip filled with education, great service, great landscapes, wildlife and full on adventures.
These trips are authentic, respectful, honest and I felt very safe. Frances was a reliable and engaging driver, who knew a lot about his country and wider African Culture. Accomodation was great (tents and a small building in the middle of the Maasai Mara). I would not hesitate taking a trip with OTA and experiencing excellent travel.

 

- Scott Wallace, Australia

Maasai Mara Trip, July 2013

 

 

I had left Tanzania disheartened. My Tanzanian tour operator had been anything but service-oriented on the tour to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro the days before and the stay in Arusha had been very difficult. So upon arriving in Nairobi, I actually wondered why on earth I should do more African safaris. Wouldn't all the tour operators be the same anyways? 

But since I still had some days to kill in Kenya, didn't want to pay to change my ticket, and was after all interested in wildlife while knowing that I might never again get a chance to see Africa, I decided to give OTA a go. I had been in touch with Tracey (there are countless tour operators/agencies in East Africa and you can't write to them all but I found OTA on some responsible tourism website and, being an Ecotourism graduate, this appealed to me so I only wrote to companies listed there) and I was amazed at the amount of information she put down and also the passion that shined through. These were not the short almost copy-paste response that you might expect from a larger operator. So even if my money was about to run out, I decided to forget about it and asked Tracey if they could take me to Samburu and Tsavo West.

I can say that Tracey and Francis repaired a lot of what the Tanzanian operator had damaged. Had I not met them, I would have left Africa totally disappointed and totally disillusioned. But the two of them are just a perfect mix. Francis is a born-and-bred Kenyan whose insight into and knowledge of his country is amazing. There was not a question that he could not answer. These were also the weeks leading up to the presidential elections. Francis presented me with some very interesting views on how things might turn out and how things have been. He is also a very balanced man and a confident driver (the traffic in East Africa is horrible but Francis made me comfortable). Australia-born Tracey then offers a foreigner's view of Kenya and is almost too keen to help out and give you honest advise.

My three weeks in East Africa were difficult as I had never been to Africa before and I learnt many things the hard way. But it would have been a much harder experience if not for Tracey and Francis. They are starting the company and will provide you with what many larger and older tour operators will not: personal attention and care.

Give them a go, you won't regret it!

 

- Baldur Thorvaldsson, Iceland

Tailored Itinerary in Kenya, February 2013

 

 

Overland Travel Adventures had organized an amazing safari in Kenya of 18 days for the two of us. We only had given them our wishes about some places we wanted to see. We traveled by van with open top roof. Francis is a very experienced, excellent driver AND guide who showed us the animals in several wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries in Kenya. Tracey made everything possible, even when it seemed impossible! We were kept stress free! They had made a very nice selection of accommodations, from very sober but original (e.g. Umoja Women Camp near Samburu National Reserve, to very special ones, like Lion's Bluff in Lumo Sanctuary. They arranged also very special adventures for us about real Kenyan culture. This all is so well chosen and personalized, so we enjoyed every moment during this long Safari. We can recommend Overland Travel Adventures to all couples or small groups (families), that want a very special and personalized trip to Afrika!

 

- Angelique, The Netherlands

Tailored itinerary in Kenya, September 2013

 

 

Tracey and Frances definitely know what they are doing. They assembled a multi-day tour that matched pretty much what I wanted to do (essentially a lot of hiking). Plus they added in a few things I didn't know I wanted to do. They have a network of friendly and interesting people who they use well to provide an excellent experience. They also know how to pace a trip so that you don't feel knackered after day three. This is a small operation, who work at a personal level very effectively.

 

- Bob, New Zealand

Tailored itinerary in Kenya, July 2013

 

 

My 9 year old daughter and I went Safari with OTA this July. Francis, our driver, worked hard to make sure we spotted the BIG FIVE, as my daughter was longing for. We even witnessed a hunting lion killing a warthog in Samburu. This was definitely a lifetime memory. We were impressed by the amazing wildlife in Kenya national parks and learned a lot of animal facts from Francis. He is very knowledgeable. 

Our guides, Tracey and Francis worked their best to make sure our trip went well. They immediately took measures when we encountered a unexpected situation in our trip. They are definitely the people you can trust throughout your while trip. Strongly recommend.

 

-Daijie United States

Tailored itinerary from Nairobi to Mombasa, July 2013

 

 

I've spent 3 weeks in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda with Overland Travel Adventures in November 2012 and it was simply a fascinating and awesome trip. Tracey and Francis did a perfect job from the very beginning. I had the great feeling that I've been on an individual trip and went everywhere where I always wanted to go - but without the hassle and headache you usually experience when you are travelling outside the developed world. Tracey did a great job to recommend where to go and stay, and I felt totally safe and comfortable with her and Francis around. On the other hand there was never the feeling to stay in any kind of tourist-bubble in which you cannot get in contact with locals, their way of living or their culture. It was just the perfect mixture between culture, wildlife, adventure and relaxing.

​

Some of my highlights (and there were a lot):



• Visiting the Kibera Slum in Nairobi, shown by a great local guide (Ben) and watching a soccer match with some guys from Kibera afterwards.

• Driving through Amboseli National Park and watching the stunning wildlife in front of Mt Kilimanjaro

• Being on Safari in Masai Mara, one of the most beautiful places on earth, seeing dozens of Elephants, Giraffes, Lions, Zebras, Water buffalos etc. 

• Staying in Jinja, Uganda, at the source of the Nile. Beautiful place.

• Gorilla-watching in Bwindi National Park, Uganda. One of the most intense and fascinating moments in my life, looking in the eye of a massive Silverback from a distance of around six metres.

• Standing on the shore of Lake Kivu in Rwanda, with the hills of Democratic Republic of Congo on the other side.

I only can recommend OTA to everyone who wants to have a great and unforgettable time in Africa!

 

Im November 2012 bin ich drei Wochen mit Overland Travel Adventures durch Kenia, Uganda und Ruanda gereist. Es war eine großartige, faszinierende Reise. Tracey und Francis haben von Anfang an einen sehr guten Job gemacht. Ich hatte oft das Gefühl, auf einer individuellne Backpackertour zu sein, nur mit dem Unterschied, dass viele der Schwierigkeiten und Probleme weggefallen sind, die es häufig auf einem Trip außerhalb der gemütlichen, bekannten westlichen Welt zu bewältigen gibt. Die Empfehlungen von Tracey, wo genau man abgesehen von meinen eigenen Wünschen noch hinfahren und wie lange man dort bleiben sollte, waren immer hervorragend und haben meine Erwartungen oft genug übertroffen. Mit ihr und Francis habe ich mich immer sicher und habe mich bei ihnen gut aufgehoben gefühlt, sowohl in den Großstädten als auch auf Überlandfahrten. Andererseits kam nie das Gefühl auf, dass man sich in einer Art Touristen-Blase befindet, in der es nicht möglich ist, mit den Einheimischen in Kontakt zu treten. Ganz im Gegenteil. Es war schlicht eine perfekte Mischung aus Kultur, Natur, Abenteuer und Entspannung.  



Einige meiner persönlichen Highlights, von denen es eine Menge gab:



• Der (zuvor mit gemischten Gefühlen erwartete) Besuch des Slums Kibera in Nairobi, gezeigt von einem Einheimischen. 

• Die Fahrt durch den Amboseli National Park mit seiner überwältigenden Naturkulisse und unzähligen Tieren vor dem Kilimandscharo.

• Die Fahrt durch die Masai Mara, für mich einer der schönsten Flecken auf dieser Erde, mit zahllosen Elefanten, Giraffen, Löwen, Gnus und Zebras.

• Der Aufenthalt in Jinja, an einer der Nilquellen. Ein sehr schöner Ort mit tollen Ausblicken

• Das Gorilla-Trecking im Bwindi National Park. Für mich ein sehr intensiver und unvergesslicher Moment, wenn man aus rund sechs Metern Entfernung einem riesigen Silberrücken in die Augen schaut

• Der Blick (und die Bootsfahrt) auf  den See Kivu in Ruanda, der die Grenze zur Demokratischen Republik Kongo markiert.

Zusammengefasst kann ich OTA all jenen nur wärmstens empfehlen, die eine großartige und unvergessliche Zeit in Afrika erleben wollen!​



- Tom, Germany

20 Day Nairobi to Kigali Tour​



It was very fun meeting Tracey, she helped me a lot in Kenya and made me comfortable at all times.
- Sener, Oman

Tailored Itinerary in Kenya

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Tracey was a great tour leader in every way. Travelled in very remote and difficult areas with the inevitable hiccups and all was handled with professionalism and aplomb. 

- Denise, Australia