The Safari Soles Team
Safari Soles
- Offices In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $600 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
Email Kevin Bee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime safari to see great migration
We had an amazing safari with safari soles during a holiday to Tanzania and Zanzibar to celebrate my daughter's and son's end of exams (A-levels and GCSEs). It was truly a holiday of a lifetime.
I chose safari soles through the safaribookings.com website, mainly because of Patrick's excellent communication but also because they offered a fly-in from Zanzibar.
We were very lucky with the migration as we literally flew into a wildebeest herd on the kogatende airstrip. We met Raymond, our very cool and friendly guide for the 5 days, and within an hour we were watching wildebeest crossing the mara river. Raymond was great at seeking out the animals, going against the flow of traffic (the other jeeps) at one point to get us to a pride of lions as one of the first jeeps on the scene.
Safari soles are a well organised and established outfit based in Arusha. They were extremely knowledgeable, helped me select the right itinerary and made sure everything was seamless. We stayed at very nice luxury tented lodges moving from northern Serengeti to central Serengeti, to Ngorongoro crater and Lake Manyara.
A particular highlight was the balloon ride over the Mara river on day two.
I would definitely recommend going through a local operator like safari soles. Not only are they cheaper than the major international tour companies, but they are much more knowledgeable and are committed to ensuring you have a perfect trip.
CH
Email Bea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable days in Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire & Kilimanjaro
We’ve just returned from our safari.
A big compliment to safari soles tours, everything went smoothly without exception. The safari was exactly as advertised.
We had the honour of experiencing the safari with Simon, an incredibly great guide. He was very friendly and courteous and always endeavoured to make the safari an unforgettable experience for us. Which he succeeded in doing. We‘ve been incredibly lucky to be able to observe many of the animals at close range in the wild. With his good instincts, his many years of experience and his admirable patience, Simon managed to capture spectacular moment's.
To our astonishment, we managed to observe countless lions in a wide variety of actions.
One highlight was witnessing the wildebeest crossing the Mara River. The tension to see whether the animals would all make it to the other bank without being swept away by the current or eaten by a crocodile was enormous. Simon always behaved professionally and respectfully towards the animals and gave them time and space. His knowledge of nature and the animals was fascinating and it was very exciting to listen to him.
Simone is not only a very great guide, he is also an incredibly talented photographer. He always shared the great pictures with us.
Thank you very much for that.
The overnight stays were very nice except for the Tulia Boutique Hotel.
The staff was very friendly and helpful everywhere. We particularly enjoyed our overnight stay at Ang'ata Ngorongoro Camp. The food was incredibly tasty and the hot water bottle in bed was a very nice and a thoughtful gesture.
The Kilimanjaro hike with Frank on the last day was also very nice. With a bit of luck, we even got to see Kilimanjaro for a short time with practically no clouds.
We would like to thank the whole team very much and would go on safari with you again at any time. We would be happy to recommend you and of course Simon to others.
CH
Email Nathalie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
amazing
we first booked the 4 day hike to mount meru. it was a really great experience which we will never forget - nice people and beautiful nature. because our experience with safari soles was so nice we decided to book a 1 day safari trip to tarangire national park. the day was amazing, we were lucky to see the rare animals in the park and had the best driver (simon) who made this possible.
ES
Email Lindsey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service and value for money
My husband and I booked our honeymoon trip with Safari Soles and it was a great experience overall. Everyone was always very friendly and Catherine helped me craft the perfect 13 day vacation and customize it according to our budget and desired itinerary. She was very responsive and everything went smoothly and according to plan when we arrived which we were very grateful for. Our driver from the airport in Kilimanjaro, Andrew, even stopped to buy us typical corn on the cob that they sell on the side of the street.
Our guide Chris and cook Athumani were both wonderful. Chris was always responsive to our needs and went out of his way to find animals and make sure that we were having fun. He was a great driver and was able to fix our one flat tire quickly and effectively to make sure we didn’t miss out on anything. I was very pleased with this after seeing so many stranded vehicles on the roads we were driving on.
The food was impressive, I don’t know how Athumani made such elaborate dishes in the camping sites we stayed at, but we never went hungry and the quality of the food was always amazing. I loved the moussaka so much he made it for me twice and even asked us if we had requests for future meals.
The hotel we stayed in in Zanzibar was amazing and we couldn’t have asked for a better location in Kendwa Beach.
Overall great value for price and we are very happy with our experience with Safari Soles. Thank you again!
DK
Email Anders | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An overall good experience with room for improvement
What we liked
- Our main contact person (Boniface) was super quick at responding and always very friendly and informative.
- The lodge we mainly stayed at (Arusha Farm House) was beautifully constructed, had a nice garden with pool, bar and sofas and a well equipped gym
- Both the safaris at Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro were absolutely amazing and we saw many of the animals that we hoped to see
- Between the two safari days we stayed at Suricata Boma Lodge, which blew our minds with its stunning views over Lake Manyara, friendly staff and authentically designed rooms
- Our guide on the Foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro tour (Balthazary) was happy and cheerful, and very knowledgeable. He shared lots of stories and facts about the places we visited, giving us insights into the life of the Tanzanian people today.
The coffee farm was also an incredible experience. We were given thorough insights into the production of coffee, from coffee berry to processing, and finally, to drinking it. It was the best coffee we have had in years, and the lunch we were given was the best food of our two weeks in Tanzania.
What could be improved
- The food was generally of a low quality. On the last day of our time with Safari Soles, one of us had a severe stomach infection (Campylobacter) because of the food. As we are writing, it has been two weeks since we came home and the infection has still not gone away. No guests should ever experience this again and we hope that this will be looked into.
- Although Arusha Farm House was beautiful on the outside, it was a terrible experience in. The acustics were awful, our entrance card had to be activated every day, the bed was hard, there was no hand soap, only half of the sockets worked, there were no bed lights and in the end, our toilet got clogged. Luckily, many of these things can be fixed quite easily and we really hope that this will be improved going forward.
- Our safari guide (Abouu) was mostly very quiet and did not communicate a lot with us. This was especially present on the first day in Tarangire National Park where he several times drove on, although we wanted to see the animals for longer, e.g. the giraffes, that we only saw once.
After we posted the above review, the owner of Safari Soles got back to us with a long and sincere response. He apologized for our inconveniences and promised to follow up with the relevant parties. Although it does not change the mixed experiences we had with Safari Soles, we very much appreciated the sincerity in this response.
CN
Email Queenie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very pleasant and comfortable trip close to nature
We made a 7-day trip for 4 people and the overall experience was fantastic, eating well and sleeping well. I told the guide that I wanted to see the leopard, and he took us to see it many times, and I was really happy. The guide Reginald was very attentive, very good at driving and very helpful. He took good care of us. My only regret was that my time in the northern Serengeti was too short to wait for the wildebeest to cross the river. For those of you who are coming, please reserve some time in Serengeti, preferably four days, and at least two days in the north.
US
Email Stephanie Polak | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely amazing from start to finish!
We booked a 10 day safari vacation with Safari Soles. Everything was absolutely perfect from start to finish. Magreth put together the itinerary for us. Magreth planned a perfect agenda and she was very quick to respond to questions via email. Magreth did a phenomenal job planning our vacation. Frank picked us up from the airport and took us around Arusha for a nice start to our trip. Abdul was our safari guide. We cannot say enough positive things about Abdul. Abdul was absolutely wonderful. We spent 7 days with him and visited Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Abdul was extremely knowledgeable. Abdul did a great job with spotting animals and provided us with so much information. Abdul made our safari part of vacation one we will remember forever. After the safari part, we visited local tribes with Alex. Alex was very knowledgeable about Hadzabe and Datoga. He spoke their language and translated for us while also providing an abundance of information and helped with taking great pictures and videos for us. Ellis took us to the waterfall, coffee tour, and hot springs. Ellis was also very knowledgeable and shared information about each activity while taking really nice pictures and videos for us. We spent our last day with Andrew. Andrew took us to Serval Wildlife. He made sure that we had the best personalized experience there while providing us with information during the drive. Every single individual that we worked with through Safari Soles was wonderful and went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. We will recommend Safari Soles to everyone. Thank you for making our Safari vacation absolutely perfect!
SE
Email Sanja | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing tour - highly recommended
We booked a Materuni waterfall, hot springs and coffee tour with Safari soles. We had an incredible experience on this tour! Everything was exactly as described, and we couldn't have asked for a better guide. Our guide Alex was excellent—extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and always willing to help. The insights provided into Tanzanian culture and nature were both fascinating and enriching.
The tour offered great value for money, and we left with a much deeper appreciation for the beauty and diversity of Tanzania. If you're considering a tour in Arusha area, this one is a must-do!
IN
Email Shubhendra Mittal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super friendly and knowledgeable tour guides
An experience of a lifetime eapecially because of the super friendly, knowledeable, ever ready to help and nevet say never attitude of the tour guides ernest and raymond
US
Email Julya | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Will do it again and again!
I just returned from a 9 day Serengeti tour w my teenager daughter. I would do it again and again if I could. It was a "never forget" closeness and experiences w wildlife! 6 days we spent camping and visiting Ngorongoro, Serengeti, and Tarangirw w out chef İDRİS and our guide/ excellent driver INNOCENT was hands down just an awesome adventure. İdris went out of his way to satisfy me and my daughter's picky eating habits and he also nursed me back to feeling better as I entered the country w a sinus infection. We had 3 full course meals a day that was tailored to our choices.
Our guide INNOCENT was our comfort zone. Being from the western life style he made it very easy for us and kept us comfortable in the conditions that we aren't used to. Being an emergency vehicle operator myself I applaud his driving skills in the rough terrain and foggy/ muddy hillsides. He kept us safe and comfortable. His knowledge of his country/ culture/ and wildlife is just off limits. He got us as close as arms reach to some wildlife and we never doubted our safety. He knows his Serengeti like his own palm and will find you that animal you wants to see. I can tell you that I wanted to see a male lion up close and boy did I see them! An abondance of 🦁 and lioness'. He even managed to get us a viewing of a very rare sighting of Rhino 🦏. We did see the BIG 5 ! And it was amazing. We had front stage view in f the Wildebeest river crossing. Innocent was organized and structured , he let us know, in advance of the schedule, what to expect, and what can go wrong-as in foggy weather and limited visual of places. If we didn't get to view certain places due to inclement weather conditions he managed to make it back there on a clearer day. At no point did we feel threatened ur uncomfortable being that I was w a teenager. He and İdris were very respectful and giving. We enjoyed having meals w them. His level of English was also great. Able to speak to you fluently w great vocabulary. Our tents ⛺️ and luggage 🧳 was always readily available and always secured for us. If I had the opportunity to do it again I will definitely request Innocent and İdris!
