Sunny Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 100-250 employees (Founded in 1982)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $240 to $1,460 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
DE
Email Cathi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very enjoyable safari!
We (2 students, couple) were looking for a Safari in Northern Tanzania and collected several offers as we were looking for budget options. SunnySafaris made the best offer together with some good recommendations on e.g. Tripadvisor. Therefore we decided for a 3day/2nights camping safari with Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Tarangire NP starting from Arusha. Prior we had a very good email communication with Masha, and all our questions were answered. In the morning on the first day we were picked up by Paul, our guide, accompanied by our cook.
We were lucky to be the only ones on the trip, so we had the huge car for us, which turnded out to be great to move around during gamedrives and to have a real 360° view. Also, we could stop where and for how long we wanted. By midday we reached the Tarosero camp near Lake Manyara where our cook prepared a great lunch. After that we startet the gamedrive in Lake Manyara NP till the evening. Then evening - sleeping in good tents - we were surprisingly tired. Next morning we got up early, after breakfast we left to Ngorogoro. There we spend the day, lunchbox during the day, good dinner again and the next morning we packed everything leaving to Tarangire NP, in the afternoon leaving back to Arusha, where we got dropped off at our accomodation, even though it was a bit outside of Arusha and difficult to find.
Negative aspects:
- Prior to the safari we asked for the option to buy additional water because the provided 1 l per day is not sufficient. It was told to us that we will stop at a cheap supermarket for that and do not need to worry. However, this "cheap" supermarket was designed especially for Safari-Tours and was not cheap at all (water in the village near the camp was cheaper).
- The driver/guide stopped twice at some kind of souvenir shops where we were forced to spend time while he went for a coffee.
- The guides/cooks eat seperately at the camp - they cook local food (e.g. Ugali) prepared on a nice fire place. It would be a nice option to also be part of that.
- On the last day we really need to stress that we would like to spend as long as possible in Tangire NP, as our guide wanted to leave to Arusha.
Positive aspects:
- Guide and cook were very friendly.
- We saw amazingly many animals (from the big 5 we did not see rhinos) and the guide gave us an introduction for all the different species. He also knew good spots for animals and pointed out many things for us.
- The camp was very luxurious for a tented safari - there are good bathrooms - and power supply to charge cameras, mobile phones was available. Very secure feeling within the camp.
- The food in the camp was made of 3 course menus - we got catered with a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian option as ordered before. The food was very nice, the lunchboxes were okay as well.
- The three parks are very different in their topography, fauna and flora. We enjoyed that a lot and felt that this Safari really gave us an amazing insight in the wildlife in Northern Tanzania.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic 3-days safari
Me and my husband booked our 3-days safari with Jesca Simon from Sunny Safaris. She was extremely helpful with all the questions we had before, during and after the trip. We had a change of flight at the last time and arrived at another time and airport than we first had booked but it was never a problem for Jesca to rearrange our pick up.
We were very lucky to get our guide, Edward!!! He was for sure an expert to find all kinds of animals and he was respectful towards the nature and all animals. He really looked after us and made sure that we got fine rooms at the lodges.
During our safari we had a jeep only for us. We think it was great not to depend on other passengers wishes and we could decide all on our own, how long we stayed at different places, when we had our lunch and so on.
We visited 3 parks, Tarangire, Ngorogoro and Lake Manyara. We think it was perfect for us. We saw all the animals we had expect to see and we had no wishes for more. We were there the last days of December 2014.
If you plan to go on safari we highly recommend to book it with Sunny Safaris.
DE
Email Karoline | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great 5 Day Camping-Safari with friendly and fun guides
We booked our Safari (for 2 person) from home. Therefore, it was really great that Jessica, who works in the office, replied us quick and in detail and answered all our questions. Even during our safari she checked on us via phone calls to hear if everything was alright.
Our Jeep was really new and super clean and the tents were cozy and good against the cold during nighttime. Food during all 5 days was delicious, fresh (we even stopped at local women on the market to buy vegetables) and always more than enough! Our cook was very friendly and managed cooking even in the full kitchens of the campgrounds.
Our guide/driver Sam was always good for a joke and gave us some background information about the animals and other things. He informed us every evening about the next days plan and had a chat with us in the evening.
During the Safari we saw a lot of animals! Especially, because Sam was listening to the radio announcing where animals were. Due to his experience we were at the right spot all the time. He also always kept appropriate distance to the animals so that they are not disturbed.
So we had a great time! :-)
The only thing to critics are the stops at various souvenir shops on the way to the parks. (But every tour company does them). This was annoying but could be used to stretch legs and go to the toilet.
Wonderful safari with an exceptional guide
We went in a risky period, end of March, but got lucky with the weather since the rains were not there yet. We spent 6 days in Tarangire, Ndutu, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara. Our car was good, accomodations were comfortable, and we saw an abundance of wildlife.
We credit our best animal encounters to our guide and driver Ziggy. You always need some luck on a safari, but a good guide will know how to get the most out of it. For example, on our first day we were the only group to witness a lion kill an impala -- our guide knew from the start that chances for this to happen were high, and for this reason we had the patience to wait until the end (another car waited up to a point but then went away). Or in Ngoro Ngoro we were the only group to see a rhino up close on that day, everyone else came later and missed it.
Sunny will provide a completely hassle-free and comfortable experience, and a good guide will make your trip truly memorable.
CA
Email Rubina Hirjee | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life time experience
I heard about Sunny safaris though my sister in law who traveled in 2014 .
The main reason I picked Sunny is because Jessica impressed me with her prompt replies every time I emailed her. She was very accommodating and answered every question that I had. We took 5 days 4 nights safari.
I met Jessica on the day of safari and again was very impressed with the way she handled the payment very quickly so that we can start our safari. Our driver Pius was very friendly and informative. He picked us up on time and constantly took care of our needs.
I will recommend Sunny Safaris to anyone.
AE
Email Hanna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing safari experience
A couple of weeks ago we had our holiday which was booked with the Dutch agency AV tours for Kenya and Tanzania. For the Tanzanian part it seems they outsourced it to Sunny Safaris.
From 15 – 20 September we had to pleasure to have Joseph as guide for Lake Victoria, Serengeti and Ngorongoro crate. I really like to send my compliments since he was such a good guide to have. He explained a lot, spotted the most difficult to see animals and besides of that, was good company.
We are also very interested into the birdlife and he really did everything he could to point out the birds and the names in case we didn’t know it.
We can’t recommend Joseph enough as a guide,
CA
Email Pei | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible eight day trip with Sunny Safaris
Our tour operator Jessica was professional and patient. She replied promptly to all of our emails, with detailed advice on how to optimize our time in Tanzania. Without her suggestions, we would have wasted many hours on the road and missed out on seeing the beautiful Lake Manyara.
Abdul, our guide, was punctual, fun and always accommodating throughout our trip. He is a steady driver, and is absolutely brilliant at finding animals. We heard of his reputation for having an eagle eye; it’s truly no joke. We were often the first to see the big cats. Abdul spotted lions under a dense bush, snakes in the grass, hyenas strolling two hundred meters away. He has been a safari guide for fifteen years; and his experience shows. He knows where to position the car to photograph an animal, how to circle animals in order to stalk them and when to wait patiently to see animal action. Most impressive was when we saw a male cheetah in the shades of a tree, Abdul immediately pointed out a mother cheetah with cubs far away walking towards us. As other cars moved on, Abdul urged us to wait patiently because he could tell the female cheetah was contemplating a kill. We watched the cheetah inch closer to a gazelle, and an hour later we witnessed her chase after, kill and eat the gazelle with her three cubs. We were able to enjoy this once in a lifetime moment thanks to Abdul’s keen eye and his shrewd call to wait with the cheetah. The previous day, he also directed three other drivers to stall a female leopard so we could all stalk and observe her for an hour while she walked by two meters from our car, carrying her baby in her mouth. My family had an unforgettable trip with Sunny Safaris; Abdul’s knowledge and intuition about animals were invaluable to our fulfilling and exciting game viewing experience.
An excellent experience with Sunny Safaris!!
Our safari with Sunny was an excellent experience! Our guide Abdul was extraordinary, always very professional and very good mood... It was a unique experience.
5* for Sunny Safaris!
JP
Email Hiroaki Kaneko | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
best safari company
A really great company. I went on a 4-day camping safari in Tarangire National Park, and the driver, Peter, spoke Japanese, which was very helpful.The food served by his cook was delicious every day, and it was a very enjoyable and fulfilling safari.
IT
Email Simona&Silvio | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice experience, but critical points (management of time, communication, food)
Nice experience, although with some critical points. Communication before departure (we booked the safari online, before arriving to Tanzania) was very good: Masha promptly replied to all our (several) questions, although during the safari we discovered that some points were not so accurate (e.g. I asked information about electricity in the camps, and I was told that it was available in all them; but in 2 places there was no way to charge batteries and mobile phones.. I think this information is important and should be mentioned before). We enjoyed our gamedrives, although we were quite disappointed by their duration.. by reading the program you cannot really perceive how much time you will spend in the camps, especially for breakfast/dinner breaks.. many times, we noticed that we were the last to leave in the morning and the firsts to come back to the camp (also, one morning we asked our guide to leave 30min before - NB. everyone else left at 6.30-7.. we were told that we had to be ready for breakfast at 7.30, so we could leave only more than an hour later, when the cook had finished recollecting all his things - in order to have more time to try to see the most difficult seen animals of the big 5 - in the end, we could see only 3 of them -, but we were told that the cook needed more time to prepare breakfast and our lunch boxes, so it was not possible.. another time, because of an error in the office, we had to wait for a person coming to the gate of the Ngorongoro crater and pay for the entrance fees, which caused a 30-60min delay (we didn't see the rhino, and I know you have to be lucky to see animals, but by loosing time in this way certainly doesn't help). On the other hand, both the guide and the cook were very kind. Finally, one very important thing should be mentioned: after the last dinner we had we got both sick, probably because of the meat or some other foods which had not been properly preserved during the 5 days of the safari. I know we opted for the budget option, but we still spent more than $1000 per person, so, honestly, we expected more.