The Amazing Shadows of Africa Guiding Team!
Shadows of Africa
- Offices In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
SG
Email Joshua Yeo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Virgin Safari Experience with Shadows
Planner: Chris Walker
Local Staff: Ben / Joyce
Guide / Driver: Jackson (with Nick being the driver who transferred us from the airport to our first accommodations)
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TLDR:
Pros - (1) Staff was responsive and did their best to accede to our requests. (2) Actual safari experience was great with Jackson being an experienced guide (17 years under his belt), ability to spot animals and knowledgable enough to answer all the questions that we had about the culture, wildlife and Tanzania.
Cons - (1) Could have better advised us on certain locations / activities that we have decided on (i.e. weather conditions, things to pack for certain activities and plausible experience with the location / activity). (2) Last minute changes which we have agreed to but would have been a better experience if this was avoided altogether (nitpicking here but just to explain why it was not a 10/10 experience).
Overall - 9/10
Our Itinerary - Arusha - Taranguire National Park - Lake Manyara National Park - Ngorongoro Conservation Area / Crater - Lake Natron - Northern Serengeti
Period and duration that we went for - September (Dry Season, mornings and nights can be cold but day time will be hot) - 8 days
Full Review:
Just a day or two before our trip, we were informed that there will be some changes to our accommodations due to availability which we have agreed to. Though this did not affect the entire experience but could have been avoided.
Our virgin Africa safari trip finally happened after 9 months of planning and anticipation. Our first interaction with Shadows of Africa ("SOA") was with Chris who was really helpful and responsive to all the queries and requests that we had. After going through all the quotes from the different agencies and the suggested itineraries based on what we were looking for, we found SOA's offerings and pricing to be the most ideal.
When we first arrived at the airport, just having this trip as our virgin trip to Africa, an unknown place for us, we were relieved when we saw Nick holding up a sign that indicated that he was there to pick us up to bring us to our first accommodation. Overall, the transfer experience here was great as Nick was able to engage us throughout our ride and shared many interesting facts about Tanzania and the people in Arusha.
Fast forward, in terms of our accommodations, we really like Olerai Lodge (which we later found out to be owned by SOA), Acacia Farm Lodge and Mara Luxury Tented Camp. We found the other 2 accommodations (Rift Valley & Lake Natron) which were offered by Africa Safari Group to be sufficient but we were not blown away by the aesthetics, food variety and reliability of electricity.
For our experience at each location, our advice will be to skip Lake Natron altogether given the experience of the activities there, accommodation options and most importantly weather (hot throughout the year). If you are really pressed for time, you could consider just doing Northern Serengeti for the great migration and wildlife (you will pretty much see everything here except the Rhinos which is more likely to be found at Ngorongoro Crater). Even though we really like Ngorongo Crater and Lake Manyara National Park
Just highlighting here that we could have been better advised by Chris for Lake Natron, to make sure that we would have the best experience.
Activities wise, we have visited the tribe (Hazadbe) and had a Masaai guide to bring us to Lake Natron and the waterfalls. In our opinion, we feel that these activities even though it was not all bad, can be skipped once again if you are pressed for time.
In terms of communication, on the actual day for the start of our safari adventure (Day 2), we felt that communication could have been done better as we were left stranded for quite awhile before being informed that we will be transported to the office for our briefing.
For transport, if your budget allows for it, we would recommend taking the domestic flight options for a better travel experience especially after many days of safari in which you would have to wake up quite early every day for.
All in all, even though it just fell short of a perfect experience, we definitely enjoyed our virgin safari experience with SOA and would recommend it for others to try.
HK
Email King | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nzuri sana - Very Nice!
We have chosen SoA because of Karen's swift responses and patient to our questions. She's not just selling, but providing service. All along she responded quickly, when negotiating the plan, budget, then queries on visa after the down payment, further questions after full payment, so on. We never felt any impatient from her. In fact, all its staffs, Joyce, Reuben, Johnson, and Alex are so nice and professional. We would like to give our applause to Alex. He's so experienced and guided us to see everything we are looking for, such as the big 5 (though rhino is miles away 😅) and river crossings. Especially, he's so confident where the wildebeest will cross the river and we can have one of the best positions to see it. Fantastic!
What to complain? Our car was broken down when Alex tried to drive us to a group of lions. So we need to lunch in the car and watch the lions sleeping a hundred meters away😕. Again thanks Alex who quickly arranged us be taken to the rest site by another car, and then back to our camp. We saw close bonding and collaboration amongst the guides 👍
One suggestion I think can make tourists like us feel more comfortable - take along foldable table and chairs so that picnic will be more enjoyable 🥰
HK
Email Adrien | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shadow of Africa is a good and responsible agency and their guides also give us an unforgettable exp
The Shadow of Africa provided us a great experience for the whole trip. Starting from the planning, their staff, Karen ,drafted our itinerary based on our needs and budget. She also provided many useful information, including the latest situation of Kenya and Masa Marai before trip which eased our concerns.
During the travel, we met two guides, Johnson and Edwin, in Kenya and Tanzania respectively. Both of them are professional and knowledgeable to share their fruitful information to us during the safari. They are very friendly to us. Under their guiding, we have collected all the big 5 and witness the crossing during our journey!
However, we wanted to express that the condition of the safari vehicles could be improved. The sockets in one of the car were found not working while the other safari car has a technical issue that it need to be repaired 3 times throughout our journey in Tanzania. One episode also costed our time of safari for 2-3hour. We provided our feedback to the staff of their company. Their representative conducted an evaluation with us to listen to our feedback at the end of the whole trip (which we really appreciated) and they also apologised for the car issue to us.
To conclude, Shadow of Africa is a good and responsible agency and their guides also give us an unforgettable experience for our first safari trip. Despite of some technical issues of the vehicle, it is still a really good choice for your safari trip.
US
Email Mary McNeal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spectacular Safari Experience
I can't say enough about our spectacular trip to Tanzania with Shadows of Africa! Jake and Stacy helped our group of 8 plan our ideal adventure and handled every detail expertly. It really exceeded all of our expectations. We visited the Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater.
As requested, we stayed in a variety of accommodations from tented camps, lodges and luxury hotels. All were impeccably clean, comfortable, unique and beautiful. I was nervous about the food but it was fresh and delicious. Imagine a hot lunch in the Serengeti amongst giraffes and elephants!
We saw so many animals (including the big 5 and wildebeests crossing the Mara River) and were educated by our two AMAZING guides Dickson and Lomayani. I miss them already. Honestly, Dickson and Loma are what helped make the trip so special, as well as the hospitality shown to us by literally everyone in Tanzania.
There were so many highlights but staying at the Africa Amini Life Maasai Lodge was truly an experience that has stuck with me. I can't stop thinking about the whole trip. I would recommend it to anyone. Worth every penny!
US
Email Kim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They listened to all of my preferences and made my bucket list trip an amazing reality.
I found safari bookings and spent several weeks looking over different itinerary options and asked for quotes from a few different companies. I found I wanted a few changes from a normal itinerary and started asking questions from all the agencies. Karen from Shadows was extremely helpful and patient and I wanted to learn as much as possible before deciding. Karen answered all my questions thoroughly and was flexible when it came to booking. After booking, she was great with checking in to make sure I knew what to pack, how to prepare for the trip and to make sure I didn't have any questions.
The trip itself was amazing. Once our guide picked us up, they handled everything regarding transportation, meals and lodging as well as providing us with 3 incredible guides along the way. My husband and I loved the private game drives and the lodges went above and beyond helping me to celebrate my upcoming birthday (much to my embarrassment ;)
I will highly recommend Shadows of Africa to anyone wanted a trip of a lifetime!
US
Email Sowmya | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect planning, perfect execution, perfect trip!
We just got back from an amazing trip to Tanzania and Rwanda. Jake and Stacy from the Shadows of Africa USA office were very responsive, and accommodated all our preferences and even last minute changes. Emanuel (in Tanzania) and Ziwa (in Rwanda) were excellent guides, knowledgeable about where to find the animals. Emanuel gave us an amazing up-close view of the wildebeest river crossing migration. All local travel/flights were smooth and efficiently handled. The accommodations were all high-end and very comfortable, with attentive staff and careful consideration for our vegetarian requirements. Thanks Shadows of Africa, for a once in a lifetime experience that we’ll remember forever! It was one of our most expensive vacations but totally worth the price!
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Email Megan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!!
We had such an amazing trip to Rwanda and Tanzania! Before leaving Jake was amazing helping us curate the perfect trip, gave tips for booking flights and securing visas, and helped with all our questions along the way. In Rwanda, Paul picked us up at the airport and was with us every step of the way. He was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed learning about the history and ecology of Rwanda. We were sad to say goodbye, but upon arriving in Tanzania we met more amazing members of the team. We had the best time talking with Esther who picked us up at the airport and drove us to Olerai. The next day we met our guide, Eliamani. He was also wonderful! We wanted as much time on game drives as possible and he was more than willing to get up and go each day from sunrise to sunset. He taught us all about the animals and the environment! We can't say enough about how wonderful everyone in this team is and how well thought out their itineraries and lodging selections are. 5 Stars! Highly recommend! Look no further!
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Email Sidney | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent guides, itinerary , and value
The staff at Shadows tailored our itinerary perfectly, including a relaxing stay in Arusha, 5 amazing safari days in Tarangire Nat'l Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, and a night to experience the Massai life. Guides Dickson and Loma are encyclopedias of knowledge, incredibly safe and efficient drivers, and helpful and thoughtful.
Asante sana.
BE
Email Jan Mertens | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trustworthy
Great communication, correct and accurate information about everything! Very competitive prices!
Their sustainabaility efforts such as for example lunches without waste are remarkable!
As an experienced safari traveller, I can strongly recomment the Shadows of Africa team.
US
Email Cofley | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Tour company.
Our journey first began in March 2023, where we found shadows of Africa(SOA) on SafariBooking. As a family of six, coming from Los Angeles we needed certain assurances such as organization and clarity. Working with Tash she did exactly that and more. The itinerary was thorough with maps, descriptions, and the cost analysis. She was able to build in some rest days to accommodate for our 4 kids so they can be refreshed on the safari.
When we took our safari June 2024, the pick up was smooth. The next day, we went out the Meturuni waterfalls / coffee tour. This is a must to do. Check out the photos. The water comes directly from Mount Kilimanjaro. Our guide, Sylvester was well knowledgeable when doing the short hike to the waterfalls. He knew a lot of ppl in the village that helped made the experience more memorable. We ate bananas, avocados, passions fruit and more. The 2nd part which is the coffee tour was excellent too. He showed us how coffee is grown, processed, and made.
As we begun our journey to Arusha, we stopped at a place to eat called Kaliwa which so happen to be a lodge too. It was one of the two best vegetarian meals we had our entire safari trip. Also you had a chance to see Kilimanjaro.
We had the privilege to have Lucas as our guide. He was great with our little kids (pole, pole) on the safari. He made sure all of our dietary and exploratory needs were met. Although we had an excellent itinerary, he made sure we were not restricted by it. I see why people called going on safari, called it an once in a lifetime experience. We ate an hot meal in the middle of the Serengeti with wildebeest and zebras. The food was freshly prepared the morning of each safari trip that added to the loveliness of our trip. I give Lucas an 10/10. We saws the black rhino, Dek Dek, flamingos, hippos, elephants, of course Lions and many more. It was also fluently English, Spanish, German, and off course Swahili.
Tash recommended we do a cultural tour on our last day. I wish we did the tour over two days. We visited banana farm, rice farm, painting, word carving, local market, and then ate the second best vegetarian food on our trip from a local cook. It was a terrific option.
Lastly, Ben was our contact in Tanzania. We were able to quickly troubleshoot any situation. We appreciate his constant assurance and checking in with us daily.
Here are a few points I think you should think about. Bring more cash for tipping. Although it is voluntary, you will see the ppl that cater to you really deserves the tip and it goes directly to their pockets. Second we wish we brought more cash for souvenirs. I made a mistake thinking they will have a card machine in the middle of nowhere(Safari) when purchasing local honey or local crafts. It doesn’t exist. Also you can bargin more if you have cash especially shilling. As the cliché, says expect the unexpected!
