I'm planning a trip to Kenya for September 2007 and got in contact with Serah at Eastern & Southern three months ago, based on some excellent review of E&S on this board. At first she was very responsive to my e-mails and helpful, but about 3 weeks ago I received an e-mail from someone else at the company who said Serah was ill and he would be handling our safari planning. I asked some follow-up questions about different itinerary choices and costs, but have heard nothing since. I'm wondering if anyone else is working with this company right now, and if you are having any trouble getting in touch with them. The other Kenyan operators I contacted for comparison prices have all replied to me in a day or two. Thanks for any input or opinions -- I really had such a great impression of Serah that I hate to have negative thoughts but I am a bit worried.

I'm sorry to hear that Serah is ill

I didn't realize that's why my last few emails had been answered by Siema. I thought Serah was just out of town.

Who are you in touch with now?

I've used Eastern & Southern twice before (going again in November) but have had very little contact with anyone else in their office except recently with Siema who BTW has been replying promptly to my emails. Previously, I had dealt with Serah almost exclusively.

I think Paul (kimburu) is in contact with them right now too, so hopefully he can tell you his experiences lately.

I found Southern Cross and African Serendipity even slightly less expensive than E&S. We booked with Benjamin at S.C. However, Sandi at A.S. (out of New York) was very helpful. Just got back last week. The trip was wonderful. I highly recommend you make sure you visit the Samburu (I assume you are also going to the Mara for the Migration).

Kevin from California

Serah is back at work now and in fine form. I have received 3 emails from her in the past 5 days. I assume you have heard from her now but if not, just send her a reminder. I would have done it for you but I presume she doesn't know you as MyDogKyle.. ;-)

Nope -- surprisingly, that's not my real name!

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The person who wrote to me 3 weeks ago was Boaz, but I still have not heard anything back from him. I'm going to try again, replying to my last message from Serah, and hopefully I will be able to reach her. I have also been considering several other operators and want to compare prices before I decide for sure who we'll book with, but I liked E&S so much from the beginning that I didn't want to give up on them. I'm glad to hear Serah is all right.

In case anyone is interested, I e-mailed Serah again and this morning got a reply that said she will be in touch with us soon about our questions, and she thanked us for our patience. So hopefully we'll be back on track soon.