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 Katie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experience of a lifetime
Before our journey out to Tanzania we had excellent communications from Sole Safari, supporting our wishes of parks to visit and making knowledgable suggestions.
All correspondence were quickly responded to and we arrived in country confident for the start of a great adventure.
We enjoyed a 5 day tour with the most wonderful guide Florid. A wonderful human, who was knowledgeable, kind and fun. At all times we felt confident in Florid and his professionalism allowed us to enjoy a carefree and relaxed adventure.
We saw all the big 5 and more… including the wilderbeast migration which was an absolute treat. ( be aware there can be quite a bit of waiting… these are wild animals and don’t “ perform on demand!! “ we found uno cards/ sweets/time to get to know our guide was a great time passer alongside going on short local drives to see other animals that were in situ.
We stayed in 4 different lodges, all with their own unique features. There were changes to accommodation whilst we were out there but all were an upgrade and gave us a different experience. Food was delicious, plentiful and always nicely presented. We loved lunch picnics with Florid, it was an absolute highlight to sit in the great outdoors with a glass of wine, great company and a stunning view.
All in all an incredible holiday, with a great company and the best guide
DE
Email Anja Fahs | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The perfect Great Wildebeest Migration Safari
Safari Soles organized a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. From the first contact with Happiness with excellent communication to the perfect organization of our Safari, everything was perfect. Safari Soles was super flexible in putting together the program and integrated all our wishes and ideas into the itinerary. Our guide Innocent gave us breathtaking animal sightings every day with his intuition and experience, and he is an excellent and very safe driver on the Serengeti's bumpy tracks, which he knows like the back of his hand. Always in a good mood and super friendly, he patiently answered tons of our questions and knew everything about the fauna and flora of Tanzania. Ask for him if you want the best guide. Absolutely recommend Safari Soles, thanks for a great job, next time with you again for sure.
Email Keith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a wonderful tour with Safari Soles, and highly recommend them.
Amazing 9-Day Great Migration Safari
The three couples of us just returned from an amazing 9-Day Great Migration Safari with Safari Soles. It’s a wonderful trip and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The trip started at Arusha and then moved on to Tarangire National Park, northern and central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and finished with a visit to Materuni Waterfall at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.
The whole thing went smoothly after we chose Safari Soles as our tour operator. Happiness at the office provided all the useful information, and she was always quick to reply to our questions.
Isaac was our driver and guide for six days at the national parks, and he’s a great guide with professionalism, experiences, patience and vast knowledge about the parks and animals. The highlight of the safari was obviously to see the wildebeest river crossing, the great migration as the title of our trip. On the evening when we arrived at northern Serengeti we heard from another couple saying that they had been there for two days but didn’t see the crossing. On the next morning Isaac took us to the Mara River and we waited to see the crossing. A large number of safari jeeps were also there and waiting. Isaac showed his great experiences and good judgement by knowing where to go and when to move. He got us the best position on the river bank to watch a great crossing event.
Isaac also knows the parks like the back of his hand and was able to find us the lion prides, elephants, cheetahs and others. Once, a lion walked towards us and passed by centimeters from our vehicle, and at another time a lioness sat next to our jeep for a good few minutes. We could almost touch her with our hands. Both encounters were excellent photo opportunities. Isaac was also attentive and caring, making rest times for us and attending to someone who’s too hot.
Accommodations for the 8 nights exceeded our expectations. Even the tents at the camps had such a high standard, all with ensuite toilets, and they just got better and better as we moved on to the next camp. The night at the Angata Ngorongoro Camp was cold at 2300 meters above sea level, and it’s a nice surprise for us to find hot water bottles under the duvet when we went to bed. Such a wonderful touch. Staff at the hotels and tented camps are all friendly and helpful.
We didn’t expect such good tasty food either. There were always 3 course meals for dinner as well as proper cooked food for lunch, better than we have normally in the UK (sandwiches). We even had beer and wine on our jeep in addition to water and soft drinks.
On our last day we couldn’t see Mount Kilimanjaro at the foothills due to clouds. I said to Joseph, our guide for the day, that I really wanted to see the mountain, and he really made an effort to drive us around to find a spot to see the mountain.
We really want to thank Erick (our guide in Arusha), Joseph, Isaac in particular, and Safari Soles for such a wonderful safari. I’ve already recommended Safari Sole to my friends.
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!