"It was a very wonderful experience to travel again, be on a first safari and first trip to Africa. It was really nice to have Go Ahead watching your back especially traveling right now. I will say it was so hard to reach them more so than ever. The information about getting a QR code for travel to Kenya was almost zero. It was great getting the PCR test arranged in Kenya by our group leader, Francis. I advise to get the Kenya visa on the Kenya visa site, there is no extra charge and it really is the same thing as Go Ahead recommends if you want help.

Also, in some ways have two group leaders not just one as the tip information leads one to believe. You have your overall leader who is with you even when you are not in your jeep. Then you have your safari leader who you travel with in the jeep. I mention this only because it is one other person to calculate in your tip allowance. Our group leader was Hezbo, he was very knowledgeable, kind and patient.

We were not greeted right away because the group leaders were at the other terminal but it all worked out. The tour starts off a little slow but it is a good time to recover from jet lag. By the way we flew on Qatar Airlines and I thought the food was so good. We toured Nairobi, The Karen Blixen Museum and the Giraffe Center. We got to feed the giraffes here. This was the start of the trip.

The meals were all buffet style and you were mostly served the main dishes. I think it was the Mara Leisure Camp where you served yourself. The food was always good and served on time if not early. They never ran out of anything. Goat might be the most commonly eaten meat in the world but for me it was a treat.

The Ark was our first chance to view animals as they came to the watering hole. We saw quite a lot of animals and of the big five we saw the Cape buffalo and the elephant. Our room personally didn't have a good view but some rooms did. It was very cold in the rooms and the hot water bottles in the bed were excellent.

Then we off to Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge. This seemed luxurious compared to the ARK but it is not the same thing. The itinerary says bird walking hike but the leader organized a boat ride for $20 or $ 25 each to see numerous birds and the hippos in the water. Everyone went and it was well worth it. Seeing the eagles dive for the fish that the boat guide threw in the water was amazing.

I do want to give a hint to not drink a lot of fluid in the morning before the long dives between lodges and on safari in the morning because the stops are not within the hour or so. And especially on the safari drives it is very bumpy.

On day seven we were at the Mara Leisure camp. This day there was an optional hot air balloon ride. It cost $350 and those who went enjoyed it. You did have to get up early. For those who did not go you got extra safari time. We saw a Kori buzzard, the largest flying bird and the secretariat bird in the morning. The hippo pool on the Mara River was so memorable. There were lots of hippos and crocodiles. We did have a picnic lunch this day in the Maasai National Reserve.

We did see the rhinoceros at Nakuru National Park. We saw 4 of the 5 big 5. We saw ostriches, flamingos, baboons, camels on the road trip, loads of birds, the vervet and colobus monkeys, common zebras, Rothschild giraffe, Maasi giraffe, lions with their cubs and lions eating a meal, Thomson's gazelle and Grand gazelle, two types of wildebeests, impalas, cheetahs and so many more. The zoo will never hold a candle to this trip.

It was special to visit the Maasi Village and learn about their culture. There are 44 tribes in Africa and the guides we had were each from different tribes. Seeing the Maasi preform dances and wear their native garb and show us their houses and fire making was very heartwarming a change of pace.
The last part of the trip was Amboseli National Park at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. The anti poaching chat listed never materialized but that was not a problem. Seeing the area where Hemingway was inspired to write The Green Hills of Africa and see where he hunted was cool. We got to see Mount Kilimanjaro in the morning. The Amboseli Sopa Lodge was arguably the most rustic but it was lovely.

The last day our flights left for some of us at 1 AM the next day. So, they put us up for the day at the Sheraton. It was really the most modern accommodation of the trip and a great place to rest.







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"Rafael Calvo was better than any group tour guide I ever could have imagined! I had been to Costa Rica twice before, and I learned so much more about the history, culture, and wildlife than I had expected.
However, the communication with the EF tours staff in the weeks leading up to the trip sometimes was challenging."

"Iceland was beautiful, make no mistake about it. There are so many things that can only be done there. One day you're boating among glaciers, the next day you're relaxing in geothermal pools. Go Ahead tours is very organized and their guides are top notch. They have the ability to slightly alter the itinerary, depending upon the situation. The food was outstanding (again, eating things we couldn't get at home). The hotels were ok. I guess they weren't used to the warm weather we had on this tour. One of the positives was that thy provided a lot of leg stretch and bathroom break time. It was appreciated. I would have made a couple of changes on the itinerary. There were times we drove a long way to see basically the same thing at the next stop. I would have preferred more time in the cities, especially Reykjavik. Also, it was tough changing hotels every night. Lastly, lose the first hotel - the Center Hotel. The room was incredibly small with no climate control. The rooms had lips in the floor by the door - which made it easy to fall. Regardless of these issues, the quality and organization of Go Ahead Tours and their guides **** back again and again!"

"This trip was one of the best I have had . Even with the limits put inplace to combat Covid the trip exceded my hopes . We saw everything we had hoped and with one exception dis all that we had planned . Our guide Geoff knew what we wanted and persuaded out bus driver Alan to stop or take a route to allow us the chance to see more than normal . It is great to have a guide and driver that go out of the norm to help the trip go well.
We also had a great group of fellow travlers hat worked as a team to make things go smoothly . It became a running theam that at each park someone came back to the bus with a new cowboy hat . 11 of 17 got new hats with one guy getting 3 . I got mine in Mesa Verte . Come and enjoy the trip and treat yourself to a new hat ."

"This was a great adventure. Everything was planned out nicely and we got to do popular tourist activities as well as off the beaten path activities like making corn tortillas by hand and making traditional Mayan pottery. "

"Bad experience from the start, the next thing was our guide Keith!
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"Good balance between planned activities and free time. Beautiful scenery throughout, included meals were exceptional!"

"We had a great time and our tour director, Maria Soulas, was wonderful. We highly recommend this tour and Maria!"

"Due to Covid, this trip had to be be rescheduled a couple of times so we went more than a year later than planned. But it was well worth the wait! There is so much beauty in this country to be seen and this was an area that we had not been to before so were very anxious to see it. Go Ahead makes everything so easy for you and takes you to great places. We were so pleased with this trip from beginning to end. The tour director, Christina, was awesome! And I called our bus driver, Robert, 'driver extraordinaire'! He took us up and down mountain roads that I wouldn't want to drive in a small car, much less a bus. But he did great. This is why we wanted to do a tour and not try a trip like this on our own. We wouldn't have known about some of the places we went to and getting the tour director's stories made it so much better and fun. Also, our tour group was the best. I am so glad we finally got to go on this trip. "

"We loved the trip! The scenery was beautiful. The hotels were lovely. Our guide was excellent. The people of Costa Rica are very welcoming."

"The idea that I would not have to plan the whole trip was very appealing. Everything was well planned and organized. Tour guide and driver wonderful. Already thinking about next trip."

"The tour guide Gloria was excellent but felt the tour was rushed and you didn’t have time to really absorb and find hidden special places on Mykonos and Santorini towns or beaches. Accommodations were good. Was disappointed 2/4 excursions got canceled. Didn’t get to do a wine tasting and would have liked to see Paros and Naxos. Did add on travel before and after So I could see and explore Tempke of Poseidon/Sounio, jewelry making class, Isthmus of Corinth, Nafplio,
Jala mata and others. Tour just gave a glimpse and there’s lots more to see and do on the islands and other places. It was advertised as 9 days but they include your travel days coming and going which means the trip is a week. "

"It was absolutely fantastic. Our guide Glenn was outstanding and we go to see so much on the trip. One of my best trips ever.
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"What a wonderful way to travel!! Go Ahead takes care of all the details…from hotels and early arrivals to delicious dinners and Covid testing! "

"Our tour guide and bus driver were phenomenal as were our fellow passengers. The sites were amazing. However for the cost of the trip, the hotels and food were substandard. Also disappointed with our plane accomodations. There are many exclusions as tipping was not included at all. For a trip that cost almost 6000 dollars, only breakfast and 3 dinners were included on a 12 day trip. Breakfasts were the free ones included in basic motels anyway and were minimal or just a bag. Our hotels were clean but many times far from a town. Our tour guide and bus driver tried to accomodate us as much as possible. Some of the issues were because of Post Covid. But Go Ahead should have booked hotels that were in town especially Rapid City."