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
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing
For my husbands birthday, I booked a 6 night safari. I made the mistake of booking with Julius t. Safari in Kenya. Although, he has excellent reviews for Kenyan safaris, he subcontracts out safaris in Tanzania.This is how we ended up with Sunny Safaris. Our driver guide Khalifa, was unfriendly--not engaging at all. His English was poor. he tried to change the itinerary to suit his needs. We relied upon other guides to find wild life. We paid $6000 usd --very disappointing---older beat up land roovers
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.
CA
Email Kim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience with Sunny Safari!
Great experience with Sunny Safari! Jessica always answered all our questions prompty and organized our hotel in Arusha and ride from airport. Hamisi was our driver/guide for the safari and provided excellent service. He could spot an animal miles away- like a Leopard hiding in a tree. He handled driving the very bumpy and challenging roads especially in the crater with great skill and ease. My husband and I are middle age and did the Tangarerie National Park (1 night), Serengeti (3 nights) and Sopa lodge (1 night) for 5 nights. We found too much driving for 6 days and would recommend either flying to Serengeti or out of Serengeti or adding another stop in between. Also, the safari jeep are the basic vehicle with no frills. If you want the luxury jeeps with big comfy seats, a/c, nice big coolers then book the more expensive safari. Otherwise, we were satisified customers.
DE
Email Mila + Adi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip with good value
We went on a one week camping safari to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We had a wonderful time! The provided equipment (tent, sleeping bags, car) were in good shape. The tour was as booked, sometimes we did even a bit longer game drives - thank you for that! We went with Thomas (guide) and Dogo (cook). They were really nice and we had a great time and even learned some Swahili during the meals. We saw many big cats, buffaloes, rhinos, giraffes etc. and are very satisfied with our tour. Still we think our guide could have spot more animals - we found most because of other guides. The last days really felt like they wanted to go home and they didn't put as much effort into the tour at the end. Besides that we are very satisfied and happy with our tour and would recommend Sunny Safari!
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.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 days in the Serengeti/ngorongoro
Booked a last minute safari through Jessica. She did a great job meeting our budget and desired itinerary. Very timely responses via email helped us immensely. They even took our credit card info and passport scan in lieu of a bank transfer.
Truck was in good shape and we didn't have any breakdowns (saw many near ngorongoro). Wish that they had told us that it didn't have A/C. Afternoon drives were brutal because it was so hot and the dust from other vehicles gave us coughs.
Jessica also lent us her binoculars and called to check in on our progress and satisfaction during the safari. A very nice touch.
The driver, BJ, was knowledgeable and spoke good english. He was gruff and made it tough to get comfortable in his presence (we spent 6-8hours a day with him in the car). The cook, Vincent, was rude and did not ask us when and what we'd like to eat. We were at his mercy when it came to schedule. We also discovered that the meals he prepared for the staff were better than the meals prepared for us.
At the end of the day we were there for the animals and we tried to keep that in mind. The tour operator was great. In our case, the staff was lackluster. Hopefully you get nicer, more respectful guides/cooks. If so, your experience will be 5 stars!
Email Maarten, Steven & Vanja | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable safari experience
We did a three-day safari with Sunny Safaris in December 2014, starting in Arusha and ending in Mwanza. I can only say that it was an unforgettable experience! We saw all of the Big Five and witnessed two lions savouring a wildebeast from up close.
The first night we spent at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge,which offers a breathtaking view from the terrace, decent food, and fabulous rooms. The second night we slept at Serengeti Kati Kati Camp. An outstanding camping experience, with large tents including toilet and shower, solar lighting, a dining tent with excellent food and a campfire at night.
Our guide Ismael was friendly and knew all about the animals in the park. He clearly knows his way through the park and drove us all the way to western Mwanza without ever consulting a map. Yet, he had some problems locating the tented camp site; apparently the camp changes location frequently and finding the camp in absence of satellite navigation required quite some meandering.
One thing you should make sure to agree upon when booking with Sunny Safaris, is the number of days you will get inside the park. In our initial package we had a three day safari, but only 48 hours inside the parks. (Park entry goes via a sophisticated and rigid smartcard-system, which allows entr
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience
I had 5 days of Safari and I loved the service. The driver and guide (Hassan) was extremely funny and terrific once he had a great knowledge and led us to the best places so that we could see many animals. The only negative point for me was the food that was served during the gameplays. In general, the experience was unforgettable.
Email Usamah | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best honeymoon safari experience!
Me and my wife booked a 3 day safari for our honeymoon and I have to say that Sunny Safaris has to be the best safari company in Arusha. The people at the office were kind and friendly and helped us a lot through the whole process (as this was our first safari and trip together). The 4x4 was well kept cleaned every night and in prestige condition. You can tell they get serviced often. The lodges were lovely and clean- the staff were very friendly it was surreal. Emmanuel was such a good tour guide he talked to us the full time and was one of the nicest person I’ve ever met- he showed us the the full parks and we got to see every single animal (including the big 5)in a short time! He was amazing and such a kind honest man. My wife really wanted to see a cheetah and he said it’s a very rare find but he tried his best and they walked past our jeep! Some of the other tour guides we spoke to were a little awkward but he was just himself and brought everyone together. Overall i would say it’s the best experience of my life so far and made for a very special part of my honeymoon. Everything was amazing- nothing to improve. Just keep up the good work!
Email Nilima | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour and amazing tour guide/driver Simba
Our Safari holiday started with pickup at Arusha where we were met by our guide/driver Simba. We had a free day in Arusha where Simba gave us suggestions as to where to go and spent a few hours taking us there.
Over the next six days we had an amazing experience in Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Simba made sure we had the best game viewing experience by taking us to all the right spots and always stopping whenever we asked for photos etc.
Simba’s local knowledge and his enthusiasm about the country and safari added to our lovely experience. He made the whole trip very enjoyable and seemed part of the family by the end of the trip.
The accommodation starting from Arusha to Ngorongoro was excellent, amazing hospitality the kind of which I’ve not come across before in my many years of travelling for holidays and work.
All in all I’d highly recommend Sunny Safariis to my friends and family.