integritour day tours

I picked Integritour based on reviews and I was not disappointed, it couldn't have been a more excellent choice. Because of last minute flight cancellations, changes in lodging and not arriving until midnight the night before I was to be picked up it seemed impossible to make changes and start the safari to Masa Mari on time. Yet at the exact time, in a new location, Integritour was there. My driver, Alex, was pleasant, knowledgeable and guided me to excellent locations. He also had a keen sense of photography and would position the vehicle so I had proper lighting, the best angel and framing for my photographs (quite different than some other tours that I noticed who even parked forcing their people to take pictures into the sun.) I would and will heartily recommend Integritour.

I asked Integritour to put together a six night tour of Western Kenya which included Kakamega, Kisumu, Lake Victoria, Kericho and the Masai Mara. I specified cheaper accommodation since I didn't want to spend a fortune on top end lodges. They came up with a comprehensive package of visits, meals and accommodation at a really good price. The price included the full- time service of guide Alex ( who was brilliant) as well as local expert guides at each location. It also included any park and conservancy fees. It include water too, a small but essential touch. All the guides were excellent. They were personable and knowledgeable people who helped make our trip memorable. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Chris from Integritour regularly rang to check that all was well. It's easy to discuss with Integritour your precise needs and they will advise and amend accordingly. I would not hesitate to use them again.

We wanted to do a western Kenya tour, and had a hard time finding a tour operator. That being said, although IntegriTour has slightly highish prices, we like that they directly contribute to and support the communities they are working in. Organizing the trip was a bit challenging in terms of communication (as others have reported), but this can be quite common when traveling in Kenya. The trip itself was very worth it, and it was good that IntegriTour had organized transportation, food for the day, excellent tour guides etc. The Kakamega Forest Tour was particularly enjoyable and we saw many rare monkeys and birds (generally in the early morning or early evening). For this tour it's good to bring binoculars or a camera with good zoom, bug repellant, and hiking shoes. The Kericho Tea tour was also nice, and we particularly were fascinated by the factory visit. This tour is a more relaxed tour with a fancy lunch, and suitable for people who don't want to walk as much. Definitely bring a hat and sunscreen, due to the high elevation and strong sun.They were very flexible with how we wanted to arrange our visit and tour, and were open to us finding transport or accommodation if we wanted. Overall, a good experience.

Thank goodness we found IntegriTour! The rating (very good vs excellent) has to do with some administrative issues that IntegriTour could improve. 1. No answer to inquiries from the info email or phone. Once a local Kenyan friend put us in contact with Eluid who answered his direct cell, we were off to a great start! Kenneth who is the office person and I think the owner started the planning with some suggestions directly from his website. I asked to modify these based on a desire to see a volcano/mountain (Mt Elgon) and we went back and forth a few times. Note to those who like to actively participate in planning: DO NOT rely on Google maps for times between sites in Kenya. A 4 hr trip on google = 7 hours in Kenya. 2. Kenneth could do a better job preparing guests for the reality of road trips in Kenya. Paved roads are good to slow (depending on current road improvement projects currently underway) and dirt roads- which are about 1/2 of travel to ANY safari site in Kenya are poor to hideous. There are no alternatives but had I known I might have left the mountain off for another trip. Also all the hotels with the exception of 2 or 3 at Lake Baringa are literally under water. It would have been good to know that as well....We actually asked to stay and see Lake Borgoria but were placed here instead. Again it turned into a "happy" problem as the adventure there was fantastic. All the lakes in this part of Kenya which are bird paradises have experienced huge (think Biblical) rainfalls which have changed their accessibility significantly. Again- would have been nice to be prepared for but over all did not affect our experience except that some parts of each park were in accessible. 3. More information about the actual hotels we were booked into would have helped with the "expectation" factor. One example: We were on a mid-range tour. Kenya is VERY expensive in terms of Safari (and well worth every penny!). We asked for a tented camp in Masai Mara. At the end of a long day of driving including 60 KM of dirt cratered road, We found we were not in the park but down another 5 KM of dirt road outside of the park. The fantastic driver ALEX - more about Alex later- had never been here. We are two women traveling alone and this place seemed quite deserted and a bit "shabby" - not a lot shabby, just a bit. We were greeted by 5 Masai men, politely and appropriately but there was not one else around. Alex went to take care of the van and we became nervous about being the only women in this Camp. Again a bit of prep by Kenneth as to what to expect would have been helpful. Of course as was true about every single aspect of our tour, our worries (brought on largely by fatigue and road weariness) were completely unfounded. (FEAR- false evidence appearing real). .So now for the excellent adventure provided by IntegriTour: Always comfortable and clean accommodations. We are not interested in luxury travel where we are separated from the life of the country we are visiting. We do want to be clean and relaxed and in contact with people who live and work in the area. That is exactly what IntegiTour provided for us. We stayed in a banda - like a little cottage- on Mt Elgon, a mid-range resort at Lake Baringa (Soi Safari Lodge), a really nice Safari Hotel Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge and the Tent Camp whose name I can't find at the moment..We were surprised to find that a cook was included in our first stop- for Mt Elgon. Vincent is an amazing young man who prepared the best food of all during our 3 week stay in Kenya. Fresh sauteed veggies, a mild curry, everything perfect. This came about because there is no hotel at Mt Elgon, only self catering Bandas. He even scared off (with the help of Alex our intrepid guide the baboon who lept onto our table during breakfast to steal the Weetabix! Long story...don't go to Kenya if you don't want some adventure in your life!At each place we were connected with fantastic local guides- except the Masai Mara where Alex Burer our able, handsome and affable driver/guide is an expert in all animals and plants and birds and knows every corner. He, along with his group guide friends, communicate back and forth on radio, teasing and trying to outdo one another on who finds the most animals for the guests. They provide each other with directions- "you know that group of rocks over by the river well on the ridge above there is a family of cheetah....." and you arrive to see the are is about 1/4 mile in each direction and the search ensues. We found the family of cheetah!Ok this is a long review but long story short: If you are interested in a tour that is based on values of Integrity, honesty and supporting the local economies, you should use IntegriTour. They can provide high end to camping out accommodations. Thanks to Alex Kenneth, Eluid for getting the ball rolling and to Vincent for the best food in Kenya.

I had a really wonderful experience hiking in the Nandi Hills with IntegriTour. I was only in Kisumu for a couple of days, stopping for vacation while on business in Kenya. I called IntegriTour during the first day and Chris and Patricia came right to my hotel and explained my options for the next day. I only had one day and I love to hike so the Nandi Hills seemed ideal. Patricia and the guide came the next day to the hotel right on time. Guide's name was Tom, I recall. He was a naturalist by trade and provided a fascinating running narrative of everything we were experiencing. The hike itself was wondrous. It was cool and misty and we wandered through undisturbed farmland tucked away in these beautiful hills. Patricia works in the office and she took care of all the customer service things perfectly and also was fun to have along on the hike. All in all a great experience and I would recommend this to anyone.

Our day hike to Nandi Rock with Ibrahim was one of the highlights of our trip to Kenya. We started off in sugar cane fields and walked through farms and small villages on our way to a great lookout point. The scenery was beautiful and made so much more interesting by learning about the history of the area through Ibrahim. He was so knowledgeable and friendly -- we probably sat at the top of Nandi Rock talking for more than an hour while we ate lunch. We highly recommend this tour ESPECIALLY with Ibrahim :) And the staff of Integritour were so friendly and very professional.

I traveled to Kisumu with a group of 5 friends for a weekend trip in October of 2012. We were interested in exploring the Lake Region of Western Kenya and Integritour proved to be an excellent tool. Our weekend was fascinating, but smooth and stress free. The customer service at Integritour is as friendly and accomodating as we could have hoped for. The two major attractions that we wanted to see were a boat trip on Lake Victoria and hiking in the Kakamega rainforest. However, Integritour directed us to several other great places around Kisumu. We found great shopping, delicious local food, and had a great time at a couple local bars and clubs. We had contacted Integritour a few days prior to our arrival and discussed the attractions we would be interested in seeing. When we arrived on Friday, our accommodations had been made and the weekend scheduled. Integritour's representative was there ready to greet us the moment we stepped off the bus in Kisumu. The guide that Integritour hooked us up with for the lake tour was particularly interesting and knowledgeable. He was an environmentalist and had worked around the lake for decades. There was no question about the area he could not answer. Whatever bird or plant we pointed to, he could name, and very often give us the Latin name as well. The lake itself is beautiful, despite the hyacinth that has devastated the local environment and economy. We also toured a village that was situated on the lake. Our guide gave us excellent insight into the culture and history of the people who live along the lake.Kakamega rain forest was probably the highlight of our trip. We spent Saturday night and all day Sunday within the reserve. The lodging was good, and we had the opportunity to use the kitchen to cook our own dinner. The sunrise hike on Sunday morning was spectacular. We woke up at 4 AM and trekked to a mountain in the center of the park. We made it to the top at just the right moment. The sun breaking over the hills in the distance was really gorgeous. Our guide in the rain forest was also very knowledgeable and interesting. Overall, Integritour planned for us a wonderful weekend tour. They were helpful, flexible and hospitable. I would highly recommend this company to any and all travelers in the region.

When making enquiries by email about the activities and costs we were interested in, we found Kenneth's prompt replies helpful and were able to make arrangements for a boat trip and a safari to slot in with our other plans very well.We were picked up promptly from our hotel in Kisumu early on the morning of our boat trip, and taken to meet Tom (our Guide) and Joseph (the boatman) at the lakeside. Despite a little rain to begin with, the the whole experience was memorable in the best way possible. The lake at sunrise was beautiful; we got up close to the hippos; saw some beautiful birds; found a chamelion on the branch of a tree and were able to hold it; enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the backwaters; disembarked and had a short walk by the lake to look at some of the wild flowers and trees; met some local fishermen who showed us the results of their labours. However, all of this was made even more interesting by Tom, our very knowledgeable and eloquent guide, who was able to talk most interestingly about not only the flora and fauna but also the ecology of the lake; the problems caused by the water hyacinth; the local economy and other issues pertinent to the area.If it hadn't been for the good reviews we would probably not have done this as it seemed quite expensive; however, overall we found this to be good value for money and would recommend it.The following day we were picked up from our hotel by Alex who was our guide for a 3 day safari to the Maasai Mara. We thoroughly enjoyed the safari and with Alex's help and knowledge saw and learnt more about many different animals. We stayed at the Mara Sidai camp and found the tents comfortable, the food good and plentiful and the people friendly. By prior arrangement we were taken to Nairobi (thus saving us an internal flight) where we had been booked into a good hotel for the night and after an early breakfast we were picked up again by Alex and taken to the airport for our flight out of Kenya.Alex was a good, considerate guide; always polite, friendly, and prompt when meeting/picking us up. We were very satisfied with everything that was under Integritours' control and had a lovely few days.The only 'downside' was the long, arduous and VERY bumpy road journey to and from the Mara. This was entirely due to the condition of the roads (the vehicle had just had a new suspension fitted and Alex was a good driver). If the roads were better the journey would have been significantly quicker and more comfortable. The government should improve the infrastructure if they have any interest in increasing tourist trade in this area.

I spent 6 months in Kisumu and did a couple of organised trips with integritour and all of them were a fantastic experience. They have a good choice of touristic tours to the the big names (Masai Mara, Kakamega forest ...), but most of all, they do more real-life experience in the Kenyan community which are amazing. The memorable tour of the Nyalenda slum with the amazing tour guide Tom was not only informative, humble but also an eye-opener.Staff is friendly and professional. Price are definitely attractive when compared to other tourist agencies. More, for some of the excursions, a part of the money go straight to the communities !!I give it the 5 stars!Long life to IntegriTour and please keep up in making people discover this fantastic Western part of Kenya.Yannick.

My dad and I booked a trip with Integritour for 3 days to Maasai Mara and had a very good time. The driver (Alex) was always on time (even early, which is very rare here in Kenya) and had a very good knowledge about the park and the animals. He also was very considerate of us wanting to take a lot of pics and not rush too much. The place where we stayed was Mara Sidai Tented Camp where we had a very good tent for the 2 of us. The food was good, unfortunately breakfast was late so we had to delay our morning drive for half an hour. We were very lucky to see a lot of animals: many lions, several cheetahs, hippos, elephants and even a rare black rhino. You could also go to a Maasai village where we had a very nice talk with the people, just unfortunate that it was raining and we mainly saw the inside of their huts. Overall I would definitely recommend this agency since they were always very helpful with the booking and are really trying well to make it the best experience that's possible. Thumbs up!