DBNorthCarolina

We are leaving for Kenya in two weeks with Collette Expeditions, and figured out from the information we received recently that a company called "Vintage Africa" appears to be actually providing the in-country safari, accomodations, travel, meals etc. Is anyone familiar with this company and its reputation?
When we get back in mid-May, we'll let y'all know how it went.
Thanks for all your suggestions and information to date on this, our first Africa trip!

aknards

no idea but i'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. just curious, where in NC are you? i'm in greensboro.

anita

long2travel

Hi DBNC,

I was wondering how your trip went. I am scheduling a trip to Kenya for this August and our ground handlers are also Vintage Africa so I'm wondering if all went well for you. Did you do a trip report by any chance?

chris

atravelynn

Collette is highly reputable, so you can feel good about that. I've heard of Vintage before. All multi-destination travel agents deal with a local ground operator and many Africa specialists do too, so there is nothing unusual about your situation. Have a great trip.

sandi

As atravelynn, Collette is very reputable and using Vintage Africa which is likewise well established and reputable, you should have a wonderful experience.

long2travel

Hi Sandi & Atravelynn,

Thanks for responding. I'm actually using Goway Travel for my trip and I'm glad to hear about Vintage Africa being a reputable company. You'll being sseing more posts from me as I will need everyone's expertise in prepping for this trip. I am a newbie to safariing.

Chris

lifesavernumberone

Vintage is one of the well established companies in Kenya . You should have a good safari with then . Good luck and hope to see your trip report after the same .
H.

long2travel

Thanks Lifesaver! I feel good about them and I'm very excited about the trip!

Laurie52

Vintage Africa has been around for a while, and it is common to see their vehicles in the parks. I traveled with them on a group tour a few years back and had a good trip. However, when I went to plan a private safari with them a while back, I ran into some snags. They agreed to a price, then kept increasing it over a period of months prior to sending me the request for the deposit, always giving me some reason. So I ended up going with a different company.

long2travel

Laurie52 - Thanks for your input. I'm using them through a TA which may mean it gets marked up twice? Not sure. I got the first quote OK but now we're making some changes and the price is going up, more than the TA expected, and they aren't responding very quickly. The properties are starting to book and I'm afraid we are running out of time. Who did you eventually go with?

atravelynn

Long2Travel, If you are going in Aug, you will want to pin down reservations for the Mara fairly soon. Is your agent doing the whole trip or just the Kenya part? If you want Egypt and Kenya, you could see what The Africa Adventure Co. says. If just Kenya, there are lots of other companies you could check in addition to AAC. Africa Serendipity in NYC, Premier Tours in Philadelphia, Eastern & Southern Safaris in Nairobi, Go2Africa in South Africa. No harm in making a call or two. You always learn something and dueling quotes are enlightening.

long2travel

The agent is doing the whole trip including international air. I can't even get close with an int'l flight going through Cairo. I did some back and forth with Af Adv Co. early on in this research but the trip has evolved a lot since then. Can you beleive I started this last summer and am now at risk of getting closed out. AA Co. may not want to start up with me again but I can try. You say the others you mentioned are good for just Kenya, know any others that would do the whole trip?

MARISAL3

How was your trip? We are also using Vintage Africa. Any feed back. Any suggestion on what to take, do etc to prepare for this trip? Leavin in two weeks.
Did you post a trip report?