About Uthando Safaris
We own the vehicles and we employ the guides
Westlands, Nairobi. Kenya registered and TRA registered. When you book with us, the planning, the vehicle and the guide all come from the same company, which is the whole basis of how we work.
Who we are
An operator, not a booking desk. The distinction matters most on the day something goes wrong.
A lot of safari companies sell a route and then hire a vehicle and a freelance driver from whoever is free that week. It usually works. When it does not, nobody in the chain is responsible for it.
Our 4x4s are ours and maintained in house. The driver guides are our employees, working the same routes season after season, and they feed back what actually happened on every trip. If a road has washed out, a camp has changed hands or a gate has moved its hours, we know within a day.
That is also why our itineraries read the way they do. When we write that a drive takes about five hours, it is because one of our own guides drove it last month.
Based in
Westlands, Nairobi
Registered
Kenya and TRA
Vehicles
Our own 4×4 fleet
Guides
In-house staff
We arrange
Inbound and outbound
Employed, not subcontracted
How we work
One guide, the whole route
Your driver guide stays with you from the airport to the airport rather than changing at each camp. They spot, they explain, and they know where the light will be good at six in the morning, because they have been in that place at that hour many times.
It also means the day can be re-shaped. If the cats are still active at nine, you stay out. If a child has had enough at eleven, you come back. Nobody is waiting for the next group.
And there is a Nairobi number that answers while you are travelling, not only before you pay. Because the vehicle and the guide are ours, there is nobody else to consult first.
What we do
Two halves of one business
01
Kenya safaris
Our core work. Seven published routes from three to nine days, covering the Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo, the Rift Valley lakes and the north.
02
Regional safaris
Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, including gorilla permits in both Uganda and Rwanda.
03
Wider Africa
Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, the Seychelles, Egypt and Morocco, quoted to order.
04
Outbound tours
Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Bali and the Maldives for travellers heading out of the region.
Community visits are arranged directly with the villages we work with, and the fee goes to them.
Being straight about it
What is true, and what we are not going to invent
What is true
We are a Kenya registered tour operator.
We are TRA registered.
We own and maintain our own 4×4 safari vehicles.
Our driver guides are employed by us, not subcontracted.
We are based in Westlands, Nairobi, and you can visit the office.
Every property in our itineraries is named before you pay.
What we will not invent
We do not publish awards we have not won.
We do not display trade body logos we do not hold.
We do not print a founding year or a customer count to look established.
We do not write our own guest reviews. Our reviews section stays empty until real ones arrive.
We do not quote prices for destinations we have not costed.
We do not promise a Great Migration river crossing, because nobody can.
Responsible tourism
The parts of this that are actually within our control
We keep to the park rules that exist for a reason: no off road driving where it is prohibited, minimum distances at sightings, and no crowding a kill or a crossing even when others do. Community visits are arranged directly with the villages we work with and the fee goes to them. Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking follows the group size, distance and health protocols exactly, because those rules are the reason the populations are recovering. We employ locally, and our guides come from the regions they drive.
Park rules
Kept, without exception
Community fees
Paid to the village
Trekking protocols
Followed exactly
Guides
Local to the region
When we write that a drive takes about five hours, it is because one of our own guides drove it last month.
How the itineraries on this site are written
Questions
About us, in questions
Are you an agency or an operator?–
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An operator. We plan the trip, provide the vehicle and employ the guide. For destinations outside our own operating area, such as Botswana or Bali, we work with vetted local operators and we tell you so.
Can I visit your office?+
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Yes. We are in Westlands, Nairobi. Email or WhatsApp us and we will arrange a time and send directions.
How do I pay?+
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We send payment details along with a written itinerary and a price. We do not ask for money before you have the itinerary in writing.
What happens if something goes wrong on the road?+
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You call our Nairobi number and we deal with it. Because the vehicle and the guide are ours, there is nobody else to consult first.
Do you handle outbound travel as well?+
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Yes. Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, Bali, the Maldives, Egypt and Morocco are all arranged from the same office.
Kenya registered tour operator
TRA registered
Our own 4×4 safari vehicles
In-house driver guides
Westlands, Nairobi
Start planning
Come and talk to us about the trip. Westlands, Nairobi, by phone, email or WhatsApp, whichever is easiest.