Somak Holidays
- Located In:
-
United KingdomUnited States
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 1968)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, IATA, ATOL, TATO, KATO & ABTA
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $1,040 to $8,088 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Natanya | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Kenyan holiday - excellent service and staff
I cannot rave enough about the professional, friendly and helpful service received from Somak in Mombassa. Somak provided our hotel to airport transfers - staff were unbelievably professional, gave us a breakdown of the ride, valuable tips about travel in Kenya etc. - so much more than an average pick up /drop off would do. In addition, we arranged a last minute full day Mombassa tour with them - not only were they accommodating- they gave it to us at a great price. The best part about this company - its incredible staff. They are friendly, knowledgeable and nothing is too much trouble (even walking around with us for hours in the rain)! Thank you - you made us feel like rockstars!!
QA
Email David | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointed a real shame and ruined honeymoon
I never want to write a negative review but on this occasion I must as we were badly let down. Despite being notified at an early stage Somak failed to register that this was our honeymoon trip. In our group of 6 there was another honeymoon couple and they received special treatment but my wife and I did not, this lasted for the 7 days of our safari. This culminated with the last stage of our trip on Zanzibar when we arrived at the hotel and I told staff it was our honeymoon. However, they told us that they had not been notified of this, so we were denied the honeymoon package. I spoke with the Somak rep and he said he would pass the complaint on to his manager, and that the manager would meet us at the hotel the following day. He never came, in fact they just avoided us for the duration of the stay and did nothing. Thankfully the hotel guest relations manager became aware of the situation and stepped in to made our last three days special.
It is a real shame that we suffered this negligent communication error as the safari driver was great and he was tireless in searching for the fauna we wanted to see. Another plus was the Serena lodges we stayed at which were fantastic. To date we still have not even had a reply from Somak to offer an apology...
Email Peter Sinyard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simple and efficient!
From beginning to end the whole experience was one of smooth and easy efficiency added to a high quality of product.The safari was excellent with special praise for Charles the driver/spotter/guide.The hotels on safari were superb in ambience and quality.Zanzibar was fascinating helped by Somaks agents who supplied knowledgeable guides.The hotels on Zanzibar deserve special mention,The Serena in Stone Town beautifully appointed positioned and run and the Z Hotel in Nungwi also beautifully appointed and positioned with excellent staff who are a credit to the general manager ,Julie who has efficiency and hospitality down to a T.Our highest praise is that we would happily do the same tour next year with 1 amendment,we would go for longer!
Email Val Gall | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
17th Safari with Somak. Great company & staff, great locations, well organised & extremely reliable.
The service provided by Somak is 1st class. From my first contact to plan holidays, I know I will get expert advice to plan my holiday. Personally, I ask for Nishma who has arranged many of my safaris in Kenya & Tanzania. Safaris can be chosen from excellent, informative brochures or tailor made to clients preferences. The range of destinations & accommodation offered is superb with good images & descriptions. All information is also available on the excellent Somak website.
We always know that we can rely on Somak to collect us on arrival & make us feel welcome. Vehicles are good, comfortable & well maintained. All game drives are well organised & drivers are excellent & knowledgeable of all species encountered. All reserves are different & descriptions are accurate & informative.
I would recommend Somak to anyone considering a safari - you will not be disappointed.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful experience! The Somak people cannot do enough for you, cannot recommend highly enough.
I cannot express how well we were looked after, from the first minute of being greeted at Nairobi airport to the sad farewell to our Guide, Francis (Mappa)
The organisation, information and general attention to detail was second to none. We all felt very safe and no request was too much trouble.
If we wanted to be picky, the Lodge at Naivasha is getting a bit tired and was nowhere near the standard of the other two, but was still comfortable enough and the staff were very pleasant and accommodating.
The OUTSTANDING element of the Safari was no doubt FRANCIS! he was perfect, such a gentleman, courteous, so knowledgeable and obviously very well respected around the game parks by the other drivers and lodge staff. He could not do enough for us, always happy, always pointing out points of interest and generally happy to answer any questions and converse with us on any subject. The children loved him and wanted to bring him home!!! If there is a better guide in the whole of Kenya I would like to meet him because he would have to be something exceptionally special to surpass Francis!!!
Whoever books your guides please pass on our comments because if all your guides are as good as him then I am surprised if anyone would travel with another company, we would certainly make sure he was available, should we return! He is a great advertisement & ambassador for your company, Cherish Him!!!!!
With regards to our stay in Zanzibar, I again cannot fault this, the Gemma DELL EST definitely one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in!!!
Food Great, staff superb and the location is idyllic.
Fantastic first African Safari experience!!
This was my first ever safari and my first trip to Africa, and I was travelling alone, so was unsure what to expect. From the moment I arrived at Nairobi airport and met our Somak representative, I was put at ease by his friendliness and professionalism. We did an 8 day Cheetah safari and moved around from camp to camp - our driver was so knowledgeable about the animals and the African terrain and I learnt so much from him. He was very conscientious and always "went that extra mile" which resulted in us seeing some rare sights and occurrences. The accommodation was very comfortable and some of the camps were luxurious! The people of Kenya are lovely, smiley people and I can't wait for my next trip to Africa!! I would thoroughly recommend Somak for your safari.
Experienced and Dependable
This is the third time I have used Somak for a 'special' holiday (having been, with them, to Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar and Mauritius). Somak are experienced in their field and 'know their stuff'. They will advise as appropriate and also research and arrange any bespoke requirements their clients have - I usually have something I've read about that I'd like to do and they've never failed to disappoint. All of our holidays have been multi-centre but the experience is seamless - when we travel to a new destination, without fail there is always someone to meet us - which is invaluable when you are in unfamiliar surroundings. The only thing I would recommend to Somak is that they build in a courtesy call when their clients return from holiday - I usually have some constructive feedback where improvements could be made and I feel they are missing a trick by not doing this. But, in terms of recommending Somak as a tour operator, I wouldn't hesitate.
BE
Email Nancy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good jeeps with enough space and water
Kenia, driver Laurence.
Not very interested, except for his cell phone. Not very informative and not a careful driver. My husband suffered a head injury. Asked a couplof times to stop for a picture, but did not.
Tanzania, driver Erneste.
Very friendly, caring, protective, accurate, and helpful. Received a great deal of useful information. Trieded to stop on a good place, when asked. This is one to keep and recommend.
Negative was that de 3 jeeps always had to wait for each other, so we lost a lot of time waiting, sometimes even more than half an hour.
IE
Email Brona | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Non existent as never got to go!
I have travelled with many travel companies and this is by far the worst experience so far. Extremely poorly organized, no help when in need of emergency assistance and incredibly rude customer service that shouted over me on the phone at me. Due to the poor organization we were unable to go on our trip and there wasn't a cent refunded or credit noted.
Reply from Somak Holidays
Posted on Feb 3, 2023This client was booked to travel to Kenya with us on 05 Nov 22 and she and her husband turned up at the airport without a visa to travel to Kenya even though we had told her. We tell all our clients: 'It is the responsibility of all passengers to ensure that they hold the correct and valid travel documents, including visas for all countries to be visited. Failure to do so may result in your intended travel being curtailed or terminated, and we will not accept liability for your loss in such circumstances.'
In Somak's 55 year history Brona and her husband are only two passengers that have arrived at the check-in desk without a visa.
IE
Email Michael | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Terrible customer service
Our visa arrangements were mismanaged and we were offered no recourse when we weren't allowed on our flight. Terrible company and really rude people.
Reply from Somak Holidays
Posted on Feb 3, 2023This client was booked to travel to Kenya with us on 05 Nov 22 and he and his wife turned up at the airport without a visa to travel to Kenya even though we had told him. We tell all our clients: 'It is the responsibility of all passengers to ensure that they hold the correct and valid travel documents, including visas for all countries to be visited. Failure to do so may result in your intended travel being curtailed or terminated, and we will not accept liability for your loss in such circumstances.'
In Somak's 55 year history Michael and his wife are only two passengers that have arrived at the check-in desk without a visa.