“It’s RB Collection that gets this 5 star rating” – Kenya & Zanzibar client review
Nathan CollinsHow we turned a first-time safari into a once‑in‑a‑lifetime journey.
For over 35 years, this client and his family have booked their own holidays; from city breaks to cruises without using a travel agent. Recently, that changed. After trusting us with a trip to Sweden’s Ice Hotel and then a Silversea cruise, they asked us to plan something completely different: a Kenyan safari with time to unwind on the beaches of Zanzibar. Below, in their own words, is their review of the experience and how our team helped every step of the way.
Google Reviews ★★★★★ 5/5
“The purpose of this review isn’t to confirm that our holiday was a 5 star experience (which it was, by the way) but it’s a review to say that RB Collection’s involvement in planning, booking and safety netting our holiday experiences has been truly 5 stars.
Are people bothered if my wife and I had a great holiday – I suspect no……
Are people interested in the company that was instrumental in creating 5 star holidays – I suspect yes
……and so it’s RB Collection’s skills and involvement that get this 5 star rating.
As a family we have booked our own holidays almost exclusively by ourselves for 35 years – until a year ago when we used RB Collection’s services for the first time to book a holiday to the Ice Hotel in Sweden. We chose to book through them because we had no experience or knowledge of the Ice Hotel and their exclusive Ice Hotel Website was great.
Their involvement made all the difference – in particular their personal commitment to making things work and since the first contact, they have been getting to know our travel “needs, wants and likes” more by each contact.
Our next holiday was a Silversea Cruise – one that we could easily have booked ourselves, but RB’s influence allowed us to save a significant (4 figure!) sum. Reason alone to recommend!
Our third and most recent booking with RB was a safari which could not have been a better holiday experience.
The reasons for this are as follows:
Up until raising the possibility, I knew nothing about safaris i.e. where to go / at what time of year / for how long etc. Within 72 hours of a discussion of a suggestion by me for a Tanzania trip (based on a google AI search), I was infinitely far better informed and after weighing up possibilities, we opted for a Kenyan trip to Amboselli and the Masai Mara. What a brilliant decision!
Whilst the travel options were perfect for our particular needs, RB’s involvement to seamlessly arrange the multiple transfers on our journey came to the fore. This was particularly evident on coming back from Zanzibar (beach unwind) to Nairobi International, which would have presented a significant challenge had we opted for self booking, due to the (multiple) security & immigration stages. (Yes, of course – we would have negotiated the stages – we’re grown ups – we can look after ourselves, but oh my. the loss of wasted heartbeats would have been significant!)
Turns out that what was arranged for us was faster than “fast track” and I certainly became aware of lots of people looking enviously towards us and our safari representative as we whizzed by!Photography is an important aspect of our holidays. Good photographic subjects / scenes are our means of ensuring that we’re seeing good stuff, which – IMHO – is a main focus of a holiday. Our safari guides had been well briefed about my photography wishes and from the get-go, they discussed what we were looking for from our holiday and so every day we had a mutually planned itinerary for the wildlife that never disappointed. Our guides had been particularly selected from the briefing given by RB pre-travel to the safari people.
In a nutshell, RB have changed our attitude to holidays and their associated experiences. In our time with them, we have undertaken holidays that we have never done before and we are now definitely thinking differently about what to do in the future.
Add to this, the reassurance and safety net that travel agency booking confers and I think that RB Collection definitely deserves a 5 star review.
By the way – we live distant to their location – all of our dealings have been by telephone and email so don’t think you need to be locals to use their services.”
– Colin, Kenya safari & Zanzibar, via Google Reviews
What this review says about how we work
For us, this review captures exactly what we try to do for every client, whether it is a short European escape or a complex, multi‑stop safari and beach itinerary. It is about far more than flights and hotels; it is about understanding your travel style, anticipating the details that could go wrong, and quietly solving them before you even notice.
On this trip, that meant advising on the best time of year for wildlife viewing, steering the conversation from an initial Tanzania idea towards Kenya’s Amboseli and Masai Mara, and then adding time in Zanzibar for a gentle finish. It also meant hand‑picking guides who understood the importance of photography, so every game drive was planned around light, landscapes and sightings rather than just ticking animals off a list.
This booking was managed by Nathan, our safari expert who coordinated the many moving parts – from internal flights and transfers to airport assistance – so that tricky journeys, such as returning from Zanzibar through Nairobi’s layers of security and immigration, were as smooth and stress‑free as possible. That “safety net” is one of the reasons so many long‑time DIY bookers now trust us with their more ambitious plans.
Thinking about your own safari or tailor‑made trip?
If you are starting to think about a Kenya safari and Zanzibar beach holiday or a more adventurous holiday but are not sure where to begin, that is exactly where we come in. We will talk through when you want to travel, what you most want to see and how you like to travel, then design an itinerary that fits – whether that is Kenya and Zanzibar, southern Africa, or something completely different.
We work with clients all over the UK and beyond; almost everything can be arranged over phone and email, just as it was for this Kenya and Zanzibar journey. When you are ready to chat through ideas, simply get in touch with our team and we will be happy to help.
Photograph used courtesy of Colin Scott / colinscottphotography.com
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