AMS Tour Guides
Amazing Memories Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, KATO, AMREF & Eco Tourism
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $5,208 to $12,151 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IT
Email Marco and Francesca | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful trip to Kenya, but bad experience with driver
We spent 11 days in August with Amazing Memories Safari between Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli, after spending 6 days in Tanzania with a very good guide (Karim) from an excellent tour operator (Amazing Memories Safaris).
The trip in Kenya was overall very nice, the parks visited were undoubtedly amazing.
Coming to talk about the organization of the trip, it is fair to mention some positive aspects:
- the tour operator was always prompt in responding to emails;
- the accommodations where we stayed were very nice (even if very expensive, but of course we knew that);
- the 4x4 car was in good condition.
The strongly negative aspects, on the other hand, concern the driver/guide. Indeed:
- he spoke difficult-to-understand English;
- he had a fair knowledge of the parks, but still a not acceptable level for a guide (e.g., at the first lodge in the Masai Mara he arrived using Google Maps; he struggled to locate the locations indicated by other guides where sightings were taking place, with the result that sometimes we were late and almost missed important moments of the sightings);
- he had just an elementary knowledge of animals (e.g., he struggled to distinguish different types of birds or even antelopes from each other, and gave us systematically wrong information about animal behavior);
- he had no strategy for exploring the parks and looking for animals. On the second day we realized that we had to organize our tour independently (we have a fair knowledge of African nature, having traveled a lot, watched for documentaries, "Wild Earth" and read books) and, in fact, we managed to make excellent sightings (but always struggling to get the guide to go to the best places possible);
- he did not know how to position himself in the best ways for sightings (which is certainly complex in Kenya due to the large number of vehicles, but which should still be a prerogative of a good guide);
- we never managed to start the game drive at dawn because he needed at least 30 minutes to eat breakfast.
We did game drives in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Argentina, USA, Norway, Poland, Italy, India, Indonesia, Australia: we never saw such a low level of guiding, especially if compared to the high cost of the trip. In conclusion, our substantially negative opinion of the tour operator is conditioned by the guide (for the rest, we have no particular complaints). However, we believe that in a trip of this type the real added value is the guide and, therefore, as said before, we can only express a negative opinion on the tour operator as well.
CN
Email Xinchao | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Recommend Guide but the vehicle condition is not good enough
Overall, the experience was okay, but this was entirely thanks to our excellent guide, Peter. If you book with Amazing Memories, be sure to request Peter in advance. He has been a guide for 18 years and knows everything about Nakuru and Maasai Mara National Park. He managed to show us leopards twice and cheetahs twice! Peter was incredibly patient, kind, always punctual, and reliable. It’s fair to say that he made our safari truly unforgettable.
The pre-trip communication with Nevill was also very good—he carefully adjusted the itinerary based on our needs and provided a reasonable quote accordingly.
However, it’s important to point out some issues. The transport team from Amazing Memories did not properly check the vehicle condition before our departure. Our vehicle broke down right after we set off, and we had to stop for repairs twice on the way to Nakuru. As a result, we missed the evening safari on the first day. Also, due to the vehicle change, we had to switch guides, which caused further delays—meaning we also missed the early-morning safari. Although this was how we ended up with Peter, the vehicle issues still caused a lot of wasted time, and for that reason, I can’t fully recommend the company in this regard.
Additionally, compared to other safari vehicles we saw during the trip, both our initial and replacement vehicles from Amazing Memories were noticeably older and more worn out. If you do choose Amazing Memories, make sure to confirm the condition and age of the vehicle beforehand—and don’t forget to ask for Peter as your guide.
HK
Email Ng | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad car and non-professional drivers
Bad cars, bad car driver.!!The car and driver used in Kenya are worse, the driver not professional and always keep using his phone even when he is driving. The car used in Kenya is worse, compared with Tanzania, the car seats are bad, very dusty inside and no cleaning. Also, the arrangements of the transfer between Kenya and Tanzania is horrible. The drivers always late, if you told us to wake up early and leave at 5:45am, we won’t suppose for an hour waiting of the another driver . During the whole trip, only one driver in Tanzania is good, helpful and diligent.
Email Christine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Caution to travelers considering Amazing Memories Safaris
Our 15 day safari tour was met with 3 days of frustration when the upgraded hotel accommodations we had contracted were not paid for in a timely manner. We contracted for all services in January 2018, made the $4K deposit and paid the balance prior to our departure from the USA as the Contract required.
It was not until the night before we were to arrive at the Mara Serena that we were told by AMS that the hotel had over-booked and our reservation was not available. We did find out from the hotel manager that AMS had been contacted for payment due, and when it was not received they released our reservation. The same situation for our reservation at the Ngorongoro Serena.
We feel AMS broke our Contract by not paying for our hotel reservations in a timely manner and not providing the accommodations in our Contract.
FYI - these tour companies must pay upfront for hotel reservations. Our advice if you plan to use this tour group, demand that before you leave home you have Vouchers for all hotels in your possession. This is your guarantee the reservations have been paid for and will be there when you arrive.
We also coordinated a visit to Zanzibar for 3 days to relax at the beach, following the safari. AMS did a good job scheduling the airlines and driver for pick up. AMS recommended The Sands on the east side of the island. There is a floor of coral and sea urchins at the shoreline, so this is not a beach you can run out in bare feet and swim. It is a good choice if you just want to relax at a quiet location with lounge chairs and covers from the sun provided on the beach at no additional cost.
Email N/A | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A trust-worthy agency
Everything was Okay and smooth-no drama. We enjoyed our trip overall. Brian was a nice guy. Everything was just as expected, if threre could be more surprise, that'd be fantastic. We couln't see enough lions and leopards, but overall was a nice journey.
Smooth Journey — Except the Main Highlight
We booked a 7-day trip with this agency. The hotels and the other parts of the itinerary were generally fine, except for the 2 days in Maasai Mara — where we somehow didn’t make it into the park on the first day (though tickets were already “handled”), and the second day was cut short with some rather creative explanations about the wildebeest crossing time while our visiting time is 7-8 Aug. Everything was eventually “resolved,” but not quite the safari we expected.
NZ
Email Sam Davis | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very reliable tour operator.
We booked a 14 day Kenya and Tanzania Safari for June/July 2025. We booked circa 9 months in advance.
1 - The booking process
The booking process was very efficient, and conducted via email. There were multiple iterations of our itinerary until we settled on one that worked for us and our budget. This only took a handful of emails over 1-2 weeks dealing with Titus. Perhaps it was our nativity/ignorance, but we assumed that once the itinerary, accomodation etc was locked in…..closer to commencing our safari there would be an opportunity to discuss/add detail. However, this was not the case. What you agree at the outset is what you get. Nothing more, nothing less. If you want to include some lunch or photo or village stops along the way (there are often some long drives), then you need to include that in your itinerary at the outset…..there didn’t seem to be much opportunity/flexibility to do that sort of thing easily at the time.
One minor criticism is that we had no idea that we were changing operators (from AM to Migada Tours) when we cross the border into TZ. We knew we would change trucks/guides…..but not entire operators. This was a surprise.
2 - Accomodation/Food
Our accomodation was very good. This was mostly just outside the parks (this keeps costs down), but in the middle of Serengeti. The food was generally of a very good standard. There was plenty of it…..but it does get a bit repetitive after 14 days. We understood that places would provide kid friendly food when requested (i.e. if the buffet didn’t appeal to kids), however, this didn’t seem to be the case.
Our accomodation in Tanzania seemed to be of a higher standard than in Kenya. This part of our tour was through Migada Tours.
3 - the guides.
We had very good guides in Peter (Kenya) and Santos (in Tanzania). Both are naturally pretty quiet guys and while they answered all our questions, it was hard to develop a rapport. This was fine for us as we are a bit introverted ourselves….but an extroverted family/couple might struggle!
Where both Peter and Santos excelled were inside the parks on the game drive and they could not be faulted. Peter seemed to be well respected within the guide community and through these relationships he took us where we needed to go to see what we needed to see. Santos on the other hand just seemed to have a 6th sense of where we would find things. Both were awesome and cannot be faulted in this respect.
Once back at camp…..we didn’t seem to have much interaction with our guides. Other guides seem to have their meals with their clients. Again - perhaps if you want this, it’s something you have to ask for?
4 - General
In general, we would highly recommend AM. As New Zealanders spending NZD…..this sort of holiday is expensive compared to people with pound, USD, Euro and so we had very real expectations of what we would get for our money. That said - observing other travellers with other operators…..they did seem to get more ‘niceties’ than we did….things that would add very little cost but would add a lot of value. As an example, we had read how a ‘sundowner’ was a quintessential safari experience at the end of a days game drive out in the bush. However, at no time during our 14 days did this eventuate. Our vehicle had a fridge…..how hard would it have been to have a couple of beers and a couple of soft drinks in the fridge for the end of the day? Again - perhaps this sort of detail needs to be arranged when you book?
In summary, we would highly recommend AM. You get exactly what you pay for and the guides are fantastic. We cannot fault the guides, accomodation, game drives etc - we had a fantastic time. The booking process was just a bit clunky and not as highly rated as previous clients had talked about Anne from AM. We learned a lot from our experience and we would probably spend more time up front being more meticulous with defining what’s included and what’s not; however, we would definitely re-book with Amazing Memories and Migada (Peter and Santos!)
9 Day Safari Tour
We absolutely loved our 9-day safari in Kenya with Amazing Memories (AM)! We chose AM as they offered very competitive prices but also had some of the best reviews.
Booking Process
- Booking with AM was very easy. Anne (manager) is very responsive and provides lots of information. Likewise for the rest of the team.
Accommodation
- We opted for the premium accommodation. All of the lodges were of an excellent standard other than in relation to Samburu (which was still nice but I would not expect in the premium package).
Vehicle
- We opted for the Land Cruiser over the standard mini van. This is essential in my opinion as the mini van is far more limited off road (which much of the Safari is).
- The vehicle was very comfortable, spacious and well maintained.
Guide
- Our guide was full of conversation, patient and made sure we got the most out of game drives- I’m sure he would have driven us around the parks all day if that was what we wanted! We learnt a lot about the Kenyan culture and the different animals found on Safari. Overall he was very good.
- We were slightly disappointed by the extent to which the guide spent time on his mobile phone - this was both on game drives and travelling on main roads between parks. This lead to many instances where either the the guide did not pay attention to questions asked or it slowed down the travel in general.
Schedule
- We really liked the schedule that was offered for the 9 day safari and were generally very pleased.
- We did find that the itinerary differed from what we had originally received. We were meant to be arriving at the lodges by lunch time with time to enjoy the lodge before our afternoon game drives. As the drives between parks often took longer than stated we missed this on a couple of days and in one instance missed 40 minutes of our evening game drive.
Overall we had a fantastic experience and would definitely recommend others to use AM! The entire experience was excellent and the service offered at all stages was very good.
CI
Email Jaekwnag Lee | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Feel the wild animals in Africa.
There was no major difficulty in preparing for my first trip to Africa with sufficient advance guidance from this travel agency.
The safari was very informative with Peter's ample explanation.
The hotel restaurant was well served without any problems for Koreans to eat.
Email Jill B | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Memories certainly lives up to its name!
My sons and I traveled to Kenya where we were met at the Nairobi airport. In spite of travels being delayed, they were able to adapt to our changing itinerary. From the minute we were picked up until the moment we left, there was nothing for us to worry about. James M., our guide, took care of every last detail. If we needed something, he took care of it.
Our accommodations were great and the game drives were amazing. As we explored the country, James shared his knowledge of the country, the people, the environment, the animals, etc. We learned so much from him! If you need a guide, he is your man.
When we return to Africa, Amazing Memories will be the first call that I make.