Earthlife Expeditions
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Member Of:
- AMREF, TTGA & TLTO
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $175 to $650 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Shannon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
Finished a 24 day tour/safari with earth life expeditions about two weeks ago. Deo was amazing from the start when we were first looking into everything. He tailor made an itinerary for us and included everything we wanted to an exceptional level. All the accomodation we stayed in was so luxurious we couldnt believe it. We had five days in Zanzibar and then the rest in mainland Tanzania, including the Serengeti, the ngorogoro crater and Ndutu national park. All of these locations were amazing and Aggrey our guide was so in tune with the surroundings and could easily spot animals far away that we had no idea were there. He is a credit to the earth life expeditions team. A small but trustworthy and quality company to book through!
US
Email Sharon M. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a Lifetime, Customized to our Expectations
We had been on Safari twice before, one Budget and one Luxury but Earthlife Expeditions provided the best mix of fun, adventure and luxury. All communications were done by email and the response time was usually overnight because of the time difference. The owner Deo managed our itinerary and provided exceptional lodging upgrades. Our itinerary was also customized based on the Great Migration and we didn't miss anything. Deo met us at the airport when we arrived, drove us to our first lodging, briefed us on our adventure and answered any last minute questions. He was also at the airport when we left to make sure all went well. His exceptional customer service began with the first communication and never faltered. Our guide was knowledgeable, friendly, professional with a keen eye for locating animals. This is an honest, well managed company that will work hard to meet your expectations.
ES
Email Lisa | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hands down the best!!!
I would not hesitate to recommend Deo, Agri and Earthlife Expeditions. They organized our entire two week trip to Tanzania and everything was perfect. Deo met us at the airport on arrival and took us to our first hotel, explained the itinerary and explained why one thing needed to be changed. He gave us safety tips and our guide came to meet us and introduce himself. Agri was the best guide and I would highly recommend asking for him. He knew what the animals were going to do before they did it and was always able to get us into a position to see, take pictures etc. We saw the Great Migration, the Big Five and many many more things thanks to him. He can also change a tire at warp speed. The hotels/lodges were super as was the beach part of our trip, all organized by Deo. I would definitely say use Earthlife Expeditions for your Tanzania travel, without a doubt!
IT
Email Francesca | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The experience of a lifetime!
We had the time of our life on safari with Earthlife Expeditions! We couldn't be happier with our experience.
Accommodations, food and transportation were all great, safety was a priority and communication was always immediate and very clear. But most importantly, this company offered us many many magic moments in one of the most beautiful countries on Earth!
Deo, the owner, organised the perfect trip, listening carefully to what we were looking for and suggesting tons of amazing places to visit.
Our guide, Moison, was eagle-eyed when it came to spot animals, and could always answer in great detail to all our questions about wildlife, culture and tradition. He could even remember the name of each animal and bird in four or five different languages!
We managed to see the Big Five within our first 24h inside the Serengeti, so we spent the rest of our time looking for little "treats" like a lioness with very young cubs, or elephants bathing and scratching on their favorite tree, or rare birds.
All the game drives, experiences and walks included in our tour were amazing to say the least, and we are already planning to go back because there's too much to see in Tanzania to fit in one trip! :)
US
Email Kim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
EarthLife made our safari my favourite part of our honeymoon!
My wife and I finished off our 2 month around-the-world honeymoon with a safari through EarthLife Expeditions, towards the end of the dry season last August for 8 nights.
Spoiler alert – our safari with EarthLife was my favourite part of the honeymoon too and was genuinely sad to leave!
We went through Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Serengeti Mara & Ngorongoro Crater.
From the beginning I thought Deo’s explanation and route planning was the best out of the half dozen operators that I contact, he countered my own ideas with great explanations and reasoning whereas other operators were just happy to agree with my suggestions. Why would I pay for an expert if not to get their opinion and input?
All of the accommodation he recommended were just perfect and beyond our expectations. We had a mix of luxurious lodges and tented camps, all of which had their charm. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay in the same places again next time I go! He knew exactly what my wife and I were after, I felt he was always on the same page as us.
Our guide was Agrey who was fantastic, had humor and sharp eyes. We saw the Big 5 and also multiple leopard and cheetah sightings, getting up and close with a few leopards and a cheetah too!
Did I mention that we also caught two Mara river crossings? Deo had the best instincts and he decided to go separate ways from the other two vehicles, which meant we were the only ones to catch that first crossing… amazing!
We did encounter a slight mechanical issue with the land cruiser but the roads are so rough and we weren’t stopped for more than 10 minutes as Agrey was practically a mechanic too! We always felt safe with him. Because the roads were very tough, we passed many other cars who had issues such as flat tires or had engine issues which meant they couldn’t move (Agrey stopped to lend them a hand, and we were glad to see that he’s such a gentleman and so helpful). All in all, our small breakdown that took only 10 minutes was not a big deal as it may just be down to luck.
Deo and Agrey made sure the lodges knew of our honeymoon so we received amazing service and special dinners with private fires! All staff at all lodges were simply amazing and we were so fascinated with their culture. Before our honeymoon ended, I was already planning our next safari! Looking forward to our next trip with EarthLife!
Email David and Celia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience and very helpful and friendly
We just got back from a 3 week trip to Tanzania. We were two weeks on safari and one week in Zanzibar. The organisation before we arrived in Tanzania was incredible. Deo completely understood my illness and was able to arrange all the accomodation and travel for the 4 of us as a family. The itinerary was interesting with the most luxurious unique accomodation and totally different from other safari companies. Deo even tolerated our changes and helped us find alternative activities when we needed it. Deo arranged for us to have a terrific guide and driver, Aggrey, who made the experience all the more wonderful. Thank you to Deo and Aggrey and the rest of the support staff for a memorable experience and for tolerating our changes and helping us when we had problems. Nothing was too much trouble and Deo even managed to find us an amazing place in Zanzibar on New years Eve when the hotel that was booked closed down suddenly. Earthlife provides a terrific service with great communication and local knowledge.
DE
Email Stefanie & Manuel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A once-in-a-lifetime adventure
Firstly in a nutshell:
We have been to safaris in several African countries before, thus our expectations were pretty high. Earthlife expeditions and especially our guide really managed to exceed our expectations by far. A real outstanding once-in-a-lifetime adventure which we will never forget.
Now in detail:
We spent 15 days in Tanzania in January 2017. We found Earthlife expeditions on a website for safari providers and decided to ask for an individual offer for our safari from Earthlife expeditions. The owner, Deo, immediately replied and sent us a taylor-made offer with great value for money.
Our guide and a lady picked us up at the airport and from the first minute we felt very welcome and comfortable. On our way to our first lodge we got some general instructions, hints and even learned a few words in Swahili. This was extremely helpful and opened a lot of doors for our journey.
Our safari included Lake Manyara, Greater Serengeti, Nduto, Ngorogoro and Lake Eyasi and we finished our trip with some relaxing days in Zanzibar. A great selection recommended by Deo. We had a lot of adventure, experienced breathtaking wildlife, met and interacted with local people, had unforgettable nights in tents in the Greater Serengeti and Nduto. We stayed in tented camps and lodges and all accommodation was great. All this was really fantastic, but what really made this experience outstanding was our guide Gilbert. This guy is just fantastic, really well experienced with a great eager to find animals and a passion for his home country. Very soon we became much more than clients, we really became friends and this made the trip so special.
After our safari we flew to Zanzibar which was also organised by Earthlife. We expected a nice hotel at a nice beach but also here our expectations had been exceeded. Our hotel "Next paradise" was really worth its name, it was an amazing hotel at a great beach. Much, much more than anything we could have expected for the total price we paid.
Initially, we had a problem in transferring the money from Germany to Tanzania before we travelled to Tanzania, so we were a little nervous about this. However, Deo helped us to solve this problem and everything turned out very well.
For a better impression, please find some photos attached. Thank you Gilbert, Deo and the team, for this memorable tour:-)
Manuel & Stefanie
Email Puja | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What an "awesome" experience
My family had wanted to go to Africa for years, so it was quiet daunting when I was asked to organise a trip of a lifetime. We started looking in December of 2015, we wanted to find the best of the best, that was able to provide us with everything we needed and able to accommodate to us as we had some plans of our own as we have family out in Africa. After 2 months of research I came across Earthlife Expeditions. At first we wondered if this was a genuine company – only because it was not like the others that we had come across (big brands) but I very quickly learned that even though this may be a small company everything was about us and our trip.
Myself and Deo must have exchanged over 100 emails with one another from December 2015 right up until December 2016 – Deo ensured that what we wanted is what we got with every one of our needs met. We started of with a Low-Mid range safari and quickly realised that someone with a back problem would need something a bit more luxurious and Deo was able to provide this, finding us the best hotels, lodges and camps for the right prices – we did not feel much of a difference with the cost. Deo also promised to provide us with one of his best safari guides, and did he!!!!!
Junior is an amazing guide – going out of his way to make things comfortable for us during travels, funny, honest, friendly, entertaining and going out of his way to make our experience “awesome” :D. He got to know us individually and tried to tailor what we all saw to what we liked, especially the boys on the trip that wanted to see a lion hunt (OH and did we see the most amazing hunt ever with a lion and 2 lionesses). He also helped us get some amazing snaps with his photography knowledge and made our trip the most memorable ever. I and my husband were able to celebrate our 1 ½ year anniversary – because Junior spoke to all the guys at the camp, we had a good sing along and dance with an awesome cake that the chef had made us. From the moment we met at the airport when he came to collect us to the moment he dropped us to the airport and saying our goodbyes, it was like we were saying bye to family.
Being Hindu I had totally forgot to tell Deo about our dietary requirements. No meat on certain days, but this was not a problem – Junior and Deo quickly realised we were slightly fussy eaters and because of the relationship they have with the hotels, lodges and camps they were able to accommodate.
After our Safari we had a week and a half at our own leisure which we spent with family, we were finding it difficult to get transport to the airport with all our luggage, I asked Deo if he could recommend someone and he sent us one of his cars (without charge) and guess who came to drop us off? Junior!!!! We were so happy to see him again and sad to say goodbye as it felt like we were leaving Family.
Tanzania is a beautiful country, Earthlife Expeditions made it even more beautiful by providing us with an experience of a lifetime and we will definitely be going back.
Thank you Deo and Junior – you guys are “awesome” – we miss you and will be back soon.
US
Email CA Fly | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They Treated us like Family !!! Trust their years of experience!
VIP experience All the way! Stop your search for a company you can trust and get the best value for your money. This is it! From the first time we called to the final goodbye we felt like Earthlife Expeditions wanted our experience to be everything we had hoped for and More!!! Deo was the first person we called who asked us what we wanted out of our vacation and gave us options of accommodations to fit our budget. He knew where the animals were at the time of year we were going, and put us in all the right places. I can't imagine trusting anyone else to plan my vacation.
There was always someone to greet us every step of the way! At airports, hotels, excursions, we truly felt like super stars!! It was the trip of a lifetime! Special thanks to Angelina too!
Moustapha was our driver, Ask for him!!! He has over 20 years of experience driving though the Serengeti and the experience pays off! He could spot things miles away. He knew how to approach animals in the truck so they wouldn't feel threatened. And when it rained he knew how NOT to get stuck. We even had to help others out of the mud. He made us feel so safe and secure out in the middle of "no where" He was amazing. His knowledge of the animals, birds and foliage is something that only comes with his many years of experience! We leaned so much and forever grateful to him for making our vacation as wonderful as possible.
On a side note; before, were hesitant to do the Maasai village and Mtowambu town tours. We thought that they would be too touristy and hard sell trinket places. They do have things to buy in those places BUT... the memories of walking through the rice fields and drinking home made banana beer or sitting with a Maasai warrior in his stick and mud hut home and discussing children...Priceless!!! ...Go!
Our lodging was great,(10 Day Safari) the safari truck was nice and filled with refrigerated water! The itinerary gave us different terrain and different looks of Tanzania every day. It was so great I want every one I know to call Deo and Catherine to book a trip with them!!! I even want my 84 year old mom and her best friend go! The only regret is that we didn't do it sooner! It would be a perfect family vacation. Forever Grateful!
US
Email Jason Maynard | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
O U T S T A N D I N G! In Every single aspect, Earthlife Expeditions overdelivered!
So after extensive research (and I mean extensive ... I hate spreadsheets, but I created one to compare tour operators and their offerings), I selected Earthlife Expeditions. It was the single best decision I've made in quite a long time. Deo Japhet is the owner and the main point of contact while discussing your safari needs. We were looking for a family (two parents, two kids) safari on the northern circuit. Deo was patient, helpful with suggestions, and open to more dialogue. Unlike some other tour operators I contacted via email, I never felt any pressure to sign a contract or make a deposit. And even after I had booked, I was allowed to add on other activities (a coffee plantation tour), which he deftly scheduled in a suitable timeframe.
During the safari, our driver-guide Paul help to exceed all our very high expectations on safari. He was super friendly, answered tons of questions (both on animals and just about life in Tanzania), has that uncanny ability to spot animals.
The safari started in Arusha, after Paul picked us up at JRO. We left the next day for Tarangire National Park. In consultation with Deo, we selected Tarangire over Lake Manyara, and are so happy with the decision. Tarangire was a wonderful start. Don't skip out on it. We stayed at Tarangire Simba Lodge, which Deo selected and was wonderful. This felt like a luxury safari without the luxury price tag.
The next day, we did a cultural tour in Mto Wa Mbu village, hike to Enduro waterfall and explored the elephant caves, and visited a coffee plantation. All arranged by Earthlife, with expert local guides for each. Paul was waiting for us at the end and we headed to Ngorongoro.
The crater was incredible. Paul was expert at plotting out our day. We stalked lions as they stalked buffalo. He spotted a bat-eared fox first thing the morning, which are tough to spot. We forded a rocky stream in our Land Cruiser easily. And speaking of the Land Cruiser, this vehicle has it all. First, Deo promised plenty of water, soft drinks, candy and snacks in the vehicle to be sure the kids were always fueled up. Paul didn't disappoint on that front. The icebox in the back was always accommodating. And ginger snaps, butter cookies or cashews would appear on the shelf in front of us. The four seats were spacious, with lots of storage (a shelf ran across the front with walls ... very handy), and each seat had at least one outlet with international prong access, no adapter needed. Two large beanbags were under the seats for your camera. Don't waste space or weight packing one. And some tour operators promised 1L of bottle water per person per day. Earthlife has no limits, which is good when you do long game drives under the Tanzanian sun. Stay hydrated!
Paul knew that in June, the main road between Ngorongoro and Serengeti would be under construction, causing some slowdowns and even more bumps than usual. With our permission, we went off the road (allowed in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, not in the crater or SNP) and found amazing sights we would've missed otherwise.
In Serengeti National Park, we stayed at Kubu Kubu Tented Camp in the Seronera area. Again, Deo hit it out fo the park. Paul had not yet visited this camp as it was relatively new, and even he was impressed. Staff, food, views, cabins ... all excellent. Without Deo, we'd have missed out on it.
We relied on Paul to plan out our time in the Serengeti (three full days). He was masterful at it, with one day going into the Western Corridor for the migration, another searching (and finding!) one of only three packs of African Painted Dogs (aka, African Wild Dogs) relocated from the south of the country. Even other driver-guides were incredulous of our find, pestering me to confirm what Paul had told them.
Deo had booked our tickets out of Seronera to Zanzibar and Paul delivered us and handled all the logistics at the airport. It was a sad time since not only was our safari ending, we had to say goodbye to Paul, who had become a great friend.
Bonus Plug for Earthlife Expeditions: We had booked our international plane tickets into JRO and out of Dar es Salaam, going to Zanzibar after the safari. Deo graciously booked our plane tickets from ZNZ to DAR. However, after we got to Zanzibar, reasons cropped up that caused us to want to be in Dar for a night before our international flights. We contacted Deo on a Saturday afternoon, asking a HUGE favor: could he rebook our tickets for a day earlier? Not only that, he had already given us gratis two free aiport transfers, so could we get picked up a day early, also? He called the airline (Coastal Aviation, recommended) and got the manager he knew at home. He secured a promise to get us rebooked in the morning and told us to be ready for the pick up. He said to expect an email by 9:30 am with the new tickets. Well, Africa Time is a serious condition and I wasn't sure if we'd have the tickets then. Call me a Doubting Thomas: the email arrived at 8:48 am.
This was supposed to be an item I had always dreamed of doing (African Safari!) and then I could check it off and move on to other things. It went sooo well and simply was far better than anything I had imagined, that we will return to Tanzania. We will book with Earthlife and we will ask for Paul to guide us again.
If you have been searching for a Tanzanian tour operator, stop now and contact Earthlife Expeditions. You. Will. Not. Be. Disappointed.