Best Leading Adventures in Tanzania
Focus in Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- IATA & TATO
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CN
Email Chuyang Zhong | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fun, extraordinary safari
I had 4 days safari with my friends to Manyara, Sirengetti and Ngorongoro National Park. Nice driver, he knew where to find those wild animals. The cook was fantastic, fed us well. We saw almost all kinds of animals in these regions including black rhino. Overall extraordinary experience. highly recommended
US
Email Rich | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Focus in Africa - Kili Lemosho and Arusha National Park
Dealing with Nelson and his assistant Heather was a breeze and I would recommend them to all my friends.
Traveling is intended for some to expand one’s horizons and foster cultural change. Well my horizons were literally expanded when summiting Kilimanjaro on August 28th and seeing the moon-set and the sunrise simultaneously. Landing at Kilimanjaro International (JRO) at 9 p.m. before starting the Lemosho Route the next morning was probably not the best of ideas, but sleep is for the dead. Upon meeting our driver and being taken to the Outpost Lodge in Arusha we were warmly greeted by our main guide with his soon to be signature smile, Babaluu. I challenge you to find a better guide. We were told to be up and ready by 9 a.m. the next day.
Upon getting onto the bus and meeting the remainder of the crew along with the fantastic assistant guide, Zige (SP?), who insisted we call him ‘Andy’ instead learning bits of Swahili along the way from the whole group. Zige was a legend on the mountain and there was not a soul who did not know who he was. He always looked to be sauntering around but would make a break neck pace look comfortable and relaxing. ‘Hakuna matata’ was his statement of choice and at first it was funny but it transformed into this reassuring subconscious thought.
I won’t bore you with the details of the trek, food and accommodations were fantastic. Listen you all sleep on the same exact dirt; you don’t need to pay for the more expensive trips. This is the one to do.
On the way down we were asked if we wanted to go on a safari in Arusha National Park as well. At first I was hesitant because it is not what we came here to do, but I am glad that we did. We were able to see an elephant right when entering the park as well as giraffes 10 feet away from the vehicle. Driving through the park it seemed that all this property was designed by humans with how dramatic that change of biomes was. Fantastic yielding a diverse amount of species.
Onto the next 5 summits!
US
Email Teresa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventure of a Life Time!!!
My husband and I traveled to Tanzania from New York for a 4 day 3 night tenting safari (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater) with Focus in Africa for our honeymoon!! Prior to arriving, we were comforted having several email conversations with Nelson. We flew Turkish airlines (which was great) but unfortunately missed our connecting flight to Kilimanjaro and had to spend the night in Istanbul, Turkey. ****TIP-- make sure you have a few hours between connecting flights. Each country has specific international protocol and it takes time!!
As soon as we were able, we email Nelson to inform him of our delay and that we would not arrive to Kilimanjaro until the next night -1am! We were very concerned that he would not see this and that our pick up would be waiting for us- but he responded back within the hour and said we would be all set the next night. This was a relief. Luckily, we had a day in between when were to start our safari for situations just like this happening**** TIP- plan to have that extra day!
When we arrived to Kilimanjaro airport our pick up was waiting with a sign with my name on it. He drove us about (1hour) to the Outpost Lodge ( this stay was included with the safari). The Lodge was perfect and we were able to get a few hours of sleep before meeting up with our safari guide- Beno.
Beno was amazing! Right away we felt at ease with his caring personality. We were extremely excited to start our adventure and loved that Beno thoroughly communicate what to expect each step of the way. We arrived in Arusha Town to meet with Nelson. We met at a coffee shop and he went over what to expect over the next couple of days and then we paid the rest of the safari fees. We used USD to pay for the trip and only exchanged a little money for souvenir shopping. The coffee shop was next to a large store and Nelson encouraged us to go in to get any other necessities before the trip. ( we grabbed some caffeine and exchanged some money ) :) even though, honestly, we were so excited we didn't need it :)
Then we were off! Beno drove us to the town bordering Lake Manyara Park. We dropped off our camping gear at the site and then went on our way to Lake Manyara. Each park that we went to ( Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongnoro Crater) Beno got out to register the vehicle and pay the fee. We did not have to pay any money at all on the trip other than souvenir shopping and tips to Beno and Peter at the end of the safari. ***TIP other sites suggested 10-15 USD a day for tipping we suggest more if you are extremely happy with your safari. We tipped 25 USD a day to Beno and 20 USD to Peter and gave an extra 10 to Beno because he drove us unexpectedly extra to our next destination.
Lake Manayara was amazing and we even witnessed a dust storm go through--hundreds of baboons running toward the lake! After our day adventure at the lake, we went back to the camp site, had dinner and went to bed early. There was a performance but we were working on 0 sleep so we went to bed. Our tent was a military style canvas tent, we had two cots, sleeping bags, sheets and pillows. It only rained once (our first night) and not a speck of water was in the tent.
The next day after breakfast we headed to the Serengeti. Traveling from each park was an adventure in itself and we were able to soak in the beauty of Tanzania. The entire trip we saw the big 5 as well as hundreds of other species of wildlife. We are extremely grateful for Beno’s knowledge of the animals, birds, and plants. He literally knew the names of every animal and bird we saw. He spotted out leopards in a tree that without binoculars we could not see. He even (with binoculars) pointed out a rhino that was miles in the Ngorongoro Crater! Lions walked right by our vehicle, cheetahs ate lunch with no care, we even witnessed an Ostrich mating! We saw several baby animals too.
Our vehicle was a well-kept Toyota Land Cruiser. It had a latch roof so that when we entered the parks we could stand and site see. While it was a bumpy road (African Massage) we did not get car sick. I think it helped having the fresh air and standing was great fun too.
We were very happy that my husband and I were the only tourist in our vehicle. Other vehicles were jammed packed full of people and look extremely uncomfortable. Other company vehicles looked worn and not well kept *****TIP—request to be alone or pay extra if needed. It is 100% worth it. We are not anti-social people but we wanted to soak in as much of Tanziania as we could and we feel like we learned so much from the intimate experience with Beno.
Along the way we also stopped at the Massai Village and learned about their way of life. This was very interesting and worth the extra fee. This is the only time when we had to pay out of pocket. They leave this up to the tourist depending on if they want to stop or not.
We are extremely grateful that we were fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet Beno.
While Beno was our guide Peter was along with us and he was our amazing cook. Peter made delicious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for us. We enjoyed everything that he made and we appreciate the pride that he had for what he does. He always made sure we were happy with the meals and that everything was to our liking. He was a pleasure and we enjoyed meeting him and his company!
The entire trip was remarkable due to traveling with Focus in Africa. We are so fortunate to have had this experience and we will never forget Nelson, Beno, and Peter's hospitality!
PL
Email Magdalena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience with Focus in Africa!!!
In September 2015 we (my husband, my mom and me) spent wonderful 4 days on safari in Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngoro Ngoro. We arranged it via Internet from Poland, with no prior safari experience so we were not sure what shall we wait but everything was much better than we could expect. The safari was organized by Focus in Afrcia, a non-profit organization working mainly on improving of Tanzanian educational system. One of the ways of gaining funds for this purpose is organizing of safaris (and also Kilimanjaro trekking and climbing but we didn't do it). Nelson, the owner (or manager) of the foundation is smart, perfect English speaking person who knows his business and do not waste time for unnecessary things - either e-mail correspondation or arranging details already in Tanzania was quick, concrete and didn't bear any unexpected problems. So, from the begining: we were picked-up from Kilimajnaro Airport by a driver who took us to hotel in Arusha where we spent a nice afternoon with some cold beers what was the best thing that we could expect after a long journey. Nelson came to the hotel, spent with us about 30 minutes and explain all details about the safari. What was maybe not very nice was the fact that he asked us to pay the rest of total amount (we sent 25% in advance) already in the hotel a day before departure for the safari itself so we had no occassion to see his office or the jeep we were supposed to go with or anything that would give credibility to Nelson's words. As we travel a lot and have some experience in paying in advance we kindly refused to pay in hotel and finally meet Nelson again next morning and gave him money after meeting our driver Brison, checking the car and so on. So, we depart from Arusha about 10 am and started the safari.
1) Accomodation - First night in Country Lodge - perfect. Second night in Angani Tented Camp - very simple but also perfect, especially the elephant walking around the camp when drinking beer in front of the camp (btw - no bar or restaurant in the camp - we brought some beers and snacks from beyond the Serengeti). Staff in the Angani Camp was horrible but believe me - during safari nothing is able to spoil your good mood! Third night in Ngoro Ngoro Wildlife lodge - perfect. Nothing to add, organization was fantastic.
2) Meals - generally very good but breakfasts in Tanzania (it's not Focus in Africa's fault, wherever you go in Tanzania, problem is the same) are very, very, very simple but when check-out from hotels we were given lunch-boxes which was in general good. Dinners both in lodges and Angani Camp were absolutely fantastic. So, however meals are good and enough, it's good idea to have some snacks like rice wafers. Water is provided by the company.
3) Driver Brison - if there were something that might be improved in our safari it was Brison's attitude towards us. He's a very young, nice but really not-involved guy who was a really good driver (we felt safe whole 4 days even on very difficult roads in Serengeti) but not a guide. We didn't wait him to be very talkative or involved in our matters but he didn't show any initiative, seemed to be bored all the time and during stops he couldn't take his eyes off his mobile phone. I must admit that when we asked some questions about wildilife, animals etc. he gave us response so I suppose he has very wide knowledge and especially in this context it's a really big pitty that he doesn't want to share it with tourist. What was good - after 2 days of admiring zebras, gnus and all the horse-similar animlas which are fantastic but after seeing hundreds of thousands of them you may get used to it, Brison realized that we'd like to see big cats and took us to places where they really were! So, I think Brison has a potential but still need experience and and shall try to be more open towards travellers.To be honest - he did well all the cars staff - we had a flat tyre twice and despite the fact that our car was not equipped with a large jack (what was Nelson's oversight I think) Brison changed the tyre within 15 minutes.
4) Car - Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4, a little bit old and raddled, no large jack and only one spare tyre so after the first flat tyre we didn't have anyone more in case such a problem occurs again. Brison being aware if this situation lend a spare tyre from another driver from Focus in Africa met in the middle of Lake Manyara. Considering the fact that another day we had another flat tyre - I have to prise Brison for being far-seeing.
5) Price- I'll not give here concrete amount that we paid for the safari (if anyone is curious please send me a private message) but it was really reasonable and the conditions we were provided significantly exceeded our waitings.
6) In general -the safari arranged by Focus in Africa is absolutely worth to be recommended, it was one of the best travel experiences in our whole life!
IT
Email Rachele Orlandi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
well organized, full of extraordinary, friendly and prepared people
my experience woth focus in africa has been made by voluunter program at Good Hope Prphanage adn by 4 days of safari in the best tanzanian african parks. Focus in Africa is the PERFECT solution if you wanna be a volunteer and a tourist at the same time. Everything is very well organized; everybody is very friendly and ready to help you whatever you need. I lived for a month in one pf the volunteers' house of Focus in Africa, which was a very good, safe and funny solution!
Email Amy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing trip
I chose Focus in Africa to climb Kili and for a 4 day Safari and was extremely satisfied.
I climbed on my own with Speight as my guide. He was great and supported me all the way and espiecially on the last 7 hours to the summit, not letting me give up. We arrived in time for the sunrise, was fabulous.
I had also 4 porters and one cook, Johnny managed to prepare me the most excellent fresh food even with conditions that aren't easy, you have more than enough to keep you going on the hill. They were an excellent, professional team for a very good price.
For the safari, we were a group of 4 with Hermann as guide and William as cook. Again, it was excellent. Hermann always manages to spot the animals and so we all came back with beautiful memories. William is an excellent cook and you are always looking forward to the next meal with him.
So don't hesitate, Focus in Africa was for me the best !!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
100% success on Kili with a very professional supportteam plus Safari
We were a group of four men from Germany in their late thirties and can fully recommend Focus in Africa. Very professional guides, good equipment and great support before and during the trip. We did the Machame route, 5 days up, one day down to celebrate new years (which I would not recommend). After a day break we went to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Arusha National Park. The first two were fantastic, the last park not necessary, better to go to Serengeti or Tarangire.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience with Great People!
I did a six day Kilimanjaro climb up the Rongai route wi the Charles (Chelsee) as my guide. He was, by far, the best I could have asked for. We trimmed the climb to five days after discussing during the early days of the hike. Very fulfilling and amazing experienced. I highly recommend Focus AND Charles. I am not sure that I would have made it without him!
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really good experience!
When I decided to make a safari, I looked at this site to find a good and expert operator and a not very expensive one and I met Focus In Africa. I looked at the site and I knew I liked it, cos Focus in Africa is into volunteering. I exchanged phone number with Nelson and we chatted for hours about the safari and he suggested everything, from the hotel in Arusha to the best way to reach Arusha from Dar Es Salam. I was travelling with a native Maasai and we had the problem of his passport and Nelson helped us for everything. We went to a 3 day safari, visiting Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Tarangire and all was perfect. The hotel in Arusha, the camp site, Branson, the driver and William, the cook!! I highly recommend Focus in Africa, cos everything was ok, the safari was perfect and Nelson even helped me to buy tickets for the bus we had to take at the end of the safari to start another safari on the long, dusty roads of Tanzania! You can trust Nelson and speak with him on whatzup! I hope to come back one day and see Serengeti!
Email Matt | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 day safari; Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Manyara
The team at Focus in Africa were very accommodating. They picked me up from Kilimanjaro airport and transferred me to Arusha. I wanted my first day in Tanzania to be relaxed and the company was very happy to delay my safari departure to allow me to rest in Arusha before starting the safari. I told the company i was happy to go on safari as part of a group, but when they didn't have anyone else booked to go on my departure date they sent me off on my own with the guide; my own private safari for the same price! I imagine a lot of other companies might try and delay the departure date to get more people going but i was very impressed with Focus in Africa providing this service.
Nelson (company owner) was also very accommodating with my itinerary. He told me that i was more likely to see animals in the Tarangire national park than in Arusha national park at this time of year, so cut Arusha and sent me to Tarangire for no additional cost.
My guide (Kom) was very knowledgeable and a very safe driver as well. I will definitely be recommending Focus in Africa to people i meet on my travels.