How we guide
Guiding first. Everything else follows.
Guiding is where our depth lies. Everything about how a WBB safari runs, from where we stay to how long we stay out, is there so the guiding can do its work.
We read the land first
You find animals by habitat. Before anything else, a guide has to know whether the habitat for the animal you hope to see even exists in that part of the park. The Mara–Serengeti is a story of soil and grass: volcanic ash, short grass and long, the rivers and the kopjes, and every animal in it is where it is for a reason. Our guides read that country, and help you read it too: why a lioness waits, why the herd moves, what happens next. By the end of a safari, you start to see it for yourself.
Full days in the field
We leave camp at first light on hot days, with breakfast packed, or a little later after breakfast in camp. Lunch, camp chairs, a table, tea and coffee come with us. We stay with sightings as they develop, and return to camp by evening for a hot shower, a warm meal and time by the fire. A full day also reaches parts of the reserve that a morning or afternoon drive never gets to.
Always private
The vehicle and the guiding team are yours alone. We never put separate parties together, so the day runs at your pace, and we stay with a sighting as long as it takes rather than moving on to keep to a schedule.
Out in the field
How we treat the animals
- We hold the 20-metre approach distance, so the animals behave as they would without us.
- If an animal walks towards the vehicle, we move away. We never let animals settle in the vehicle’s shade: they get used to it, and then the vehicle moves.
- At the river crossings we hold back and watch the entry and exit, so the herds can make their own safe decision.
- We don’t run night drives anywhere. The animals need the night to rest.
- We don’t handle animals or pose them for photographs.
In the Mara, and in the Serengeti
The Maasai Mara
One open game viewer for your party, with a roof overhead and open on three sides, so everyone can stand, turn and photograph in every direction. Your guiding team of two drives, and everyone’s eyes are free for the bush.
The Serengeti: guided self-drive
Two of our own Land Cruisers, linked by radio, each with a pop-up roof. You’re welcome to drive one with a guide beside you, and hand it back whenever you’d rather sit back and watch. You are never out there on your own, and no driving experience is needed.
Where we stay
We don’t own camps, and we’re not in the business of selling you one. We choose camps on one criterion: whether their position makes for a good game drive. A camp in the wrong place costs you the first and last hours of every day, and those are the best hours there are. In the Mara, that means Enchipai Mara on the Oloololo Escarpment, above the Triangle. In the Serengeti, it means following the herds, so we don’t name camps in advance. Every camp we use is a welcoming place to come back to, with good food and a hot shower.
Animals, land and people
The wildlife has never existed apart from the people who live alongside it. That is why our safaris include time with the Maasai in the Mara, and with the Hadzabe and Datooga at Lake Eyasi: honest visits, to listen and learn, with no staged performances.
All-inclusive, end to end
From the moment we receive you until we drop you back:
- Reception at the airport, and every transfer on the itinerary
- All nights in camp, with all meals
- Bush breakfast and lunch on full days in the field
- Your private vehicle and guiding team throughout
- Park and conservation fees
- Cultural visits on the itinerary
- Binoculars in each vehicle, and first aid on hand
You won’t spend a penny unless you choose to: drinks at camp, laundry or shopping.
Not included
- Your international flights
- Visas and the Kenya eTA. You can apply yourself, or we can process them for you.
- Travel insurance, now mandatory for Kenya and for Tanzania
- A hotel night in Nairobi or Arusha, if your flight home is the next day
You’ll also need a yellow fever vaccination.
Who you are dealing with.
We aren’t an agent booking you into someone else’s trip. We work one ecosystem that runs across a border, so we have a company on each side of it, with our own guides, our own vehicles and our own people on the ground.
- Kenya
- WBB Africa Limited, PO Box 152, Karen, Nairobi. Runs our safaris in the Maasai Mara. Tour Operator Licence TRA1/34/CO1/87303, Tourism Regulatory Authority of Kenya
- Tanzania
- WBB Tanzania Limited, PO Box 338, Karatu, Arusha. Runs our safaris in the Serengeti and northern Tanzania. TALA Licence TA-01-009497 · BRELA No. 202832741
- Headquarters
- WBB Global FZ LLC, Dubai. Where invoicing and the wider business sit.
- Our guides
- Registered with the Tourism Regulatory Authority in Kenya and TALA-licensed in Tanzania.
- Call or WhatsApp
- +254 704 435 814
- @wbbafrica
- Wander Beyond Boundaries
- We reply
- Within 48 hours. We’re in and out of the field, so WhatsApp is the best way to reach us.
Questions people ask first.
What does all-inclusive mean?
Everything from the moment we receive you until we drop you back: transfers, camps, all meals, park fees, your private vehicle and guiding team. You won’t spend a penny unless you choose to, on drinks at camp or shopping. The only things outside the price are your flights, visas (including the Kenya eTA) and travel insurance, which is now mandatory for Kenya. We can process visas for you if you’d like.
Is the safari private?
Always. The vehicle and the guiding team are yours alone, and we never put separate parties together. That is what lets us stay with a sighting for as long as it takes.
Who are the guides?
Every safari has a guiding team of at least two: a senior guide and one or two guides working alongside. Our guides know the resident prides individually, and they read the land as well as the animals: the soil, the grass, the water, and why the animals are where they are.
Kenya, Tanzania, or both?
Kenya is the concentrated safari for fewer days: the Mara is compact, rich in resident cats, and easy to reach from Nairobi. Tanzania is the bigger, wilder one, where the guiding matters most and the ecological story is fuller. Together they make one ecosystem, and our Kenya & Tanzania journey covers the whole of it.
When is the best time to come?
Every month has something happening. The lion prides, cheetah, leopard and elephant of the Mara live there all year. The herds are always somewhere on their long loop through the Serengeti and the Mara, so we plan around where they will be. See When to come for the year, month by month.
Can I drive?
In the Serengeti, yes. We run two of our own Land Cruisers there, linked by radio, and you’re welcome to drive one with a guide beside you. Hand it back whenever you’d rather sit back and watch. In the Maasai Mara our guides drive the open game viewer, so everyone’s eyes are free for the bush.
Can we bring children?
Yes, children of every age come on safari with us, and it is a lovely time to introduce them to animals and their worlds. Children under 5 travel free, 5 to 11 are charged at half, and from 12 it’s the adult rate. That isn’t our choice: the camps charge by bed and the park authorities charge entry by age on the passport, so we pass those on as they are.
What about food?
Vegetarian and Jain meals are catered for regularly, and our camp in the Mara uses only halal meat. Our camps are chosen for where the animals are, not for their kitchens: they’ll happily attempt Indian dishes, but the flavours may not taste quite the way they do at home.
How do I book?
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We check the camp and the guiding roster, then send you the itinerary and exact costing. To confirm, we need the names as they appear on your passports and an address for the invoice. A 25% advance holds your dates and the balance is due 30 days before you travel; within 30 days, full payment confirms. We invoice in US dollars. Bank transfer is preferred, and a card payment link is available with a 3.5% card fee.