Like others before us we read the amazing reviews about Julius on TripAdvisor and wondered if there was a catch. There isnt one! We booked 4 days at the Kichwa Tembo luxury tented camp in the Masai Mara online for June 28th and negotiated a competitive price by email direct with Julius who was very responsive and frank about where the best safaris are at this time of the year. Julius picked us up from the villa on Diani Beach we rented (through holiday-rentals.co.uk - big 3/4 double beds house + big private pool + 4 staff (!) all for approx £900 for 2 weeks!)

Safari: Julius was great. The morning before the safari just as we started to think about getting in touch with him he just turned up with a big smile - because he was concerned we hadnt contacted him - sat and had a drink and talked us through the whole thing. Next morning, he took all 6 of us from the villa to the Ukunda airstrip, about 10-15 mins drive. 12 seater Cessna took us to the Kichwa Tembo airstrip in the Mara. Approx 2.5 hours. Flew right past Mt Kilimanjaro. Too early for the wildebeest migration (which is now moving slowly up through the Serengetti and will probably get to the Mara Reserve by August /Sept). No need to wait for the migration as loads of Wildebeest already there, along with Lions, Cheetahs, hyena, jackal, lots of giraffes, elephants, zebras, buffalos, hippos, huge crocodiles, hundreds of gazelles/antelope species and the elusive black rhino including mother and baby. Kichwa Tembo is amazing. Step out of your colonial style 'tent ' with proper beds and ensuite bathroom to a view over the Mara with Giraffes and buffalo just wandering around. At lunchtime in between early morning and afternoon game drives we sat and looked over the infinity pool across to the Mara. Quite magical. Exceptional food in the restaurant. Watch out for the cheeky monkeys which leap around in the trees and try to steal your lunch! Kichwa operates the best open sided Land Rovers which seat 9 but we had our own for 6. Jackson, the driver, trained under Jonathan Scott (Big Cat Diaries - who often stays at the camp), so his knowledge of the animals and the Mara is amazing. All the Mara drivers in the area stay in touch by walkie talkie so that all can share sightings of leopard, cheetah, rhino and lion kills etc.

Back at Diani Beach: Julius looks after you even after your safari and provided a complimentary taxi service around Diani which would normally be about 300KSH each way to most places. Top tip: bring Sterling and exchange there at a much better rate. Julius was geting 126KSH/£ compared to 118KSH at M&S when we left. Julius also brought generous gifts for everyone and even lent a mobile charger.

Very few tourists at the moment. Forty Thieves bar (best bar on beach - there arent many) almost deserted. Bar gave us free lift back to villa and offered free service for next visits!

Few other tips: lots of beach boys looking to sell animal carvings, boat trips etc. Difficult to avoid when so few tourists. Best to buy something (they are quite desperate and need to feed their families) but final price was often less than half first price offered). Bottle of Tusker Beer is about 120KSH. Pizza at Aniello's (better than fancy looking Leonardos) about 500KSH. Drinks prices higher at Safari camp though! For mobile calls: good idea to buy a local safari.com sim card plus credit of 250/500/1000KSH (avail in supermarkets and other shops) for calling home, local taxi calls and of course keeping in touch with Julius.

No sign of any trouble. Kenya desperately needs more people to go there. Get in touch with Julius direct at info@julius-safaris.com - he wont let you down.

We have just returned from Kenya, it was one of our most interesting holidays. In the south of Mombassa, an hour drive from the airport we stayed at Neptune Paradise Hotel, a perfect hotel with good service and food.
During our stay, we have booked an excellent safari for the best price in the opposite of our hotel at the office of JT Travel. Mr. Julius, owner of JT Travel, arranged a three day fly safari to the Masai Mara, the National Park in the centre of Kenya, two hours fly from Mombassa. We stayed at the Figtree Camp, a fabulous tented camp complete with excellent beds and bathroom, facing a river.
Everything was arranged to the last detail, from the Neptune Hotel Julius took us personally to the air strip some 15 minutes away, nothing was too much.

A fantastic safari, one we will remember for the rest of our lives, all thanks to Julius!

Saskia and Remon from the Netherlands

This is our first review written for Trip Advisor which we religiously study before we take any trips.

We (7 people total, ages 12-50) booked a 7 day safari with JT Safari from 19-28Jun 08. We could have not been more pleased with the service that Julius provided and his two excellent guides Lucky and Mwanzia. We landed in Nairobi early morning on the 19th and have no trouble getting though customs after paying our $50.00 per person visa. Lucky was there to greet us and loaded our luggage and we were off. Since we had 7 people, Julius arranged for 2 vans for the entire trip which meant that we had plenty of room.

The first leg was about 4 hours to the Ol Tukai lodge in the Amboseli National Park. Be aware the road is very rough and will knock your fillings loose or as Lucky said “this is your free massage”.
The lodge was in the middle of the park and as soon as you entered the park you saw animals, plenty of Zebra, Gnu, Buffalo, and Elephants just to name a few. The lodge was very well appointed and the staff and food very good. Our first surprise came at dinner time when Lucky told us the first game drive was at 6:00am the next morning. I read though 37 reviews and not once did I read about the early morning drives. Once we understood why (more animals and that’s when the Lions feed), it turned into a contest who could get up first. You will not be disappointed in the amount of animals you see, you literally could not swing a dead cat without hitting one. If you start a safari I suggest this park first. It was an open plain with very little vegetation and you see animals from a distance, unlike Tsavo where there is more vegetation and the animals are harder to see Lucky and Mwanzia was very good about explaining about the animals and taking about some of the local stories describing some of the animals.

The next day we went to the Kibo Tent Lodge. Again very nicely appointed with the most comfortable beds we had. Good staff and good food. During the day we visited a Maasai village. Although you have to pay a small fee, it was well worth the visit. The Maasai people are very proud and came out to greet with song and dance. Joel, who serves as the children’s teacher served as our host and answered all of our questions. We were shown the inside of one of the houses, and how they start fires. He also showed us their one-room school and had the children recite the alphabet and do some math problems on the dirt floor. After reading somewhere that ball point pens are a big deal, I bought 30 new pens and gave them to Joel. We are packing a small box of school supplies that Lucky said he would deliver. . They then set out their homemade products and the haggling began. Once you decided what you wanted, the elders took you aside and offered a price for everything. They were very comfortable and didn’t mind us returning items. Overall, a very good trip and the Maasai were very gracious hosts.

Early the next morning, we drove another 3 hours to Tsavo West stopping at the Shetani Lava Flow and Mzima Springs where we saw dozens of hippos and crocodiles. We stayed at the Ngulia Safari Lodge which was basic, but the nightly elephant show at the water hole was unforgettable. The hotel baited a tree stand 20 feet away with a small amount of meat for a leopard to come and eat. He was so quiet it was not until he was crunching away at the meat that we realized he was there. The water hole was just as close and at least four different families of elephants came by. Just the social interactions were enough to keep my kids mesmerized for 2 hours. Lots of pushing and noise about where the best place to drink from was. Quite the education. We also visited the Nguila Rhino Sanctuary but unfortunately we did not see any of the shy animals, however we did get to view a family of four from the binoculars at the lodge. The guide was amazing in his ability to see the rhinos without the binoculars and be able to point them out to us.

Next day we drove to the Taita Hills Game Reserve, a privately owned game preserve where we stayed at the Salt Lick Safari Lodge, a gem of a hotel. It is made up of bird house like pods on stilts that the animals could walk under. This hotel also had a water hole and the elephants came in to the hotel and drank from the waterfall under the lodge balcony – they were 10 ft away. This lodge was the nicest and the food was excellent, but it did lack in the density and variety of animals.
We left Taita Hills and drove to Tsavo East and stayed the night in the Voi Safari Lodge, again this lodge was substance over style. The elephant show was truly amazing and sounds at night were just like you would think they should be. The main difference between Amboseli and Tsavo is the wildness of Tsavo. You could be driving and not seen an animal for a while and then all of a sudden a pissed off elephant is charging your van. Until you have experienced this you can’t described how big these creatures are and how fast they can move.

The next day we went to an orphanage in Voi and met Agnes and many of her 21 children that live with her. Julius had suggested bringing extra clothing with us and we left a large duffle amount of clothing for children and a cash donation. The house had no electricity or running water and the kitchen was a lean to outside, but the children all seemed happy. Our small donation of clothing and money would obviously make a huge difference and it was wonderful to have the opportunity.

We then left for a 3 hour drive to Mombasa where we got to meet Julius for the first time and was put up in a very nice hotel. The next day we took boat out to a group of islands to snorkel and look for dolphins. Julius had made arrangements for the hotel to give us 2 rooms so we could shower and rest before our flight to Nairobi that night.

We couldn’t be more pleased by the effort Julius, Lucky and Mwanzia made to make this trip unforgettable. Every detail was looked after, except for soft drinks, beers and tips we did not have to spend a dime on anything. If you want to see animals, get an education and spend less, please contact Julius. You will not be disappointed.

Now some of the details: Payment for the trip proved to be difficult. We are an American family living in the UK and could not transfer money to Julius's bank. Since he does not accept credit cards this was trickier than I thought. We ended up taking cash down and paying for the trip at the airport. This also adds to the professionalism of Julius, he had paid for the lodges, plane fare and park fees out of his own pocket. I don’t know many other business owners who would go out on a limb like that. Other than then that small detail, the trip went off without a hitch.

I know this is a long review but my wife and I thought is was important to thank Julius for setting this trip up and more importantly to Lucky and Mwanzia for taking care of my family.

The reps cost 40% more for the same service so why use them ? Julius picks you up, drops you off, smiles and gives you a great service. The safari was great the trip to wasini good and gives us both memories that can never be repeated plus good savings so win win. The insurance question ? Challenge Julius and see the results, he is, you are, its the same flight, hotel etc. Pose for thought ? If you are 2 hours away in the Mara and fall sick the doctor will come to you and you will pay and claim back, Julius uses the same doctors etc. So give you business to the local market not faceless THomas Cook etc you cant lose