It Started in Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- IATA, TATO & TALA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Memorable experience!
Our experience was wonderful. We booked the 5 day safari tour that brought us to Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorogoro Crater. Our safari guide, Aziz was fabulous. He was knowledgable about all the animals we saw and he tried his best to make sure we saw all the animals we wanted to see. He did such a great job, that we actually saw all the Big 5 in our short safari! The lunches and dinners provided by our accommodations were great. We would highly recommend your company and Aziz to our friends and family.
Email Ed And Halina | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
“A fabulous migration safari. A truly wonderful experience.
Our ten day safari (June 29th to July 8th) with It Started in Africa surpassed all expectations. We are a couple in our early-mid sixties and found the length, itinerary and variety in our safari perfect. We were left feeling completely satisfied and with the sense that we had spent our money wisely.
Why did we choose ISIA for our trip?: We chose It Started in Africa for our safari, firstly because of the impact of the wonderful brochure: Migration Footsteps had on us and secondly, because of the quick and comprehensive response from the organisers to our queries . Communication throughout the planning stages was constant and thorough and above all, very clear and direct. We always thought that we would like to choose a local company to ensure maximum benefit to the local community but just prior to our trip we did become a little apprehensive about organising such a big venture using a company via the internet, one in fact that none of our acquaintances, even some in the travel business, had no direct knowledge of. However, we were reassured by the continual correspondence with the firm as well as the positive comments about the company found on the net. From the moment that we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport we knew that there was no need for apprehension.
Driver/guide: We were met at the airport by our driver/guide Emmanuel and could not have asked to be in better hands. Within a day we came to realise that Emmanuel is a very kind and thoughtful person as well as a most competent driver and an excellent and knowledgeable guide. Before we had left Arusha he had organised a step for me to climb in and out of the land cruiser. This also proved invaluable for seeing out of the top of the vehicle.
Campsites/accommodation: The campsites chosen for us were an absolute joy to experience. We left the choice for most of them to ISIA after stipulating that we wanted to experience as much diversity as possible but with a certain degree of comfort. We were thrilled with our first stop at Tarangire (Burunge tented camp) and the accommodation just kept getting better. We particularly enjoyed the Chaka camps, both the permanent one at Kyoto in central Serengeti and especially the mobile camp in the northern Serengeti. It doesn’t get any better than camping in 5 star luxury in the middle of savannah and bushland. Who would have thought of safari themed hot water bottles and wake up calls of tea and coffee brought to our tent! Another beautiful touch was when the whole staff gave me an impromptu birthday party complete with cake and candles, singing and dancing to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments. Thank you so much to the staff of the Chaka campsite.
What we saw: We were absolutely blessed by the amazing things we saw. Not only did we see the migration, but we also witnessed the actual crossing, as well as seeing all of the big five. The sight of the crossing is absolutely without parallel. Our enjoyment was increased by the obvious respect and devotion Emmanuel displayed for the animals. Added to this was the spectacular scenery that enhanced our viewing of all the animals. The scenes around Lake Manyara were so amazing, as was the view of the flamingos at Big Momello Lake. As for Ngorongoro, well all I can say is that I’m glad we saved the best till last.
All in all it was a wonderful trip but for us the highlights were witnessing the Crossing, even though one of the wildebeest was taken by a crocodile, staying at the Chaka Camp in the northern Serengeti and seeing the rhino on our very last day.
Thank you to all at It Started in Africa.
Ed and Halina
Tasmania
CN
Email Zeng | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Both my son and I enjoyed the Safari and the company's professional service.
Just came back from Tanzania Safari, the company and the team provided very professional service. Especially thanks to the guide/driver Apollo and the cook Fazile's service.
US
Email Suri | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10 day safari June 27 thru July 9 2016
We had a wonderful Safari trip arranged via It Started in Africa. Our total trip was for 12 days (9 days of Safari + 3 days in Zanzibar) between June 27th to July 9th, 2016. The Safari included visits to Tarangiri National Park (2 nights in Tarangiri Safari Lodge), Lake Manyara National Park, (hunting) activities with Hadzabe tribe and Toga tribe (1 night in Kisima Ngeda at Lake Eyasi), Ngorongoro Crater (2 nights in Pakulala tented camp), flight to Central Serengeti (1 night in Chaka’s Kyota camp) with a day and half of game drives in Central Serengeti, drive to Northern Serengeti (2 nights in Chaka tented camps), and finally flight from Kotangade (N. Serengeti) to Zanzibar for 3 nights in Pongwe beach hotel).
Overall It Started in Africa had made excellent arrangements for us. As we were planning for the trip – It started in Africa customer happiness team was very responsive and patient answering the myriad of questions I posed – with good suggestions to customize the tour as I wanted. Impressed with their responsiveness to email – I got an email reply within a matter of hours no matter what time I sent them the question. Pricing / payment options and polices were clearly explained and there were no surprises. They provided us with our own safari vehicle with driver/guide (not shared), all the regional air travel were smooth (booked via Coastal Air), and we did not experience any unexpected expenses throughout the trip. Would definitely recommend It Started in Africa without reservations. See below for more details and ask all the questions so you are fully aware of what to expect.
Our driver/guide Erasto was absolutely fantastic – we would highly recommend him to anyone arranging tours with It started in Africa. He was very courteous, all ways on time, efficient as well as proficient in finding all the different animals we wanted to see and fluent in English. He did an excellent job of guiding us and seeking the right locations. E.g., when we wanted to see more lions – he took us deep into their habitats even though it was a longer drive – we were lucky enough to see a pride of male lions and the highlight was a lioness with 2 cubs (that were barely 2 weeks old). We saw all of the big 5 – Elephants, lions, leopards, wild buffaloes and even the very elusive black Rhino (this one alone was from afar – but we still could see it via the scope) and much more (zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, leopard, cheetah (with a cub and eating a kill), giraffes, hippos, Impala, gazelles, dik diks, mongoose, vultures, eagles, ostriches, jackals, hyenas, flamingos – the list is almost endless. Erasto covered the drive from Central to Northern Serengeti in about 5½ hours while still highlighting all the animals along the way (most other tourists mentioned it took them a whole day 8 to 10 hours to cover the same.) At the final stop Erasto was patient in tracking down the right crossing point for the Wildebeest crossing/migration across the Mara river as the final highlight of our Safari. Erasto appeared to be well connected within the driver/guide community across all safari companies and was able to glean a lot of information on animal locations via the radio, his cell phone and in talking to other drivers/guides. He also helped out several times when other safari vehicles were stuck on the roads (without creating any undue burden on us). Ask for Erasto if you are booking a trip with It Started in Africa.
We had excellent service at all the lodging options we used. Tarangiri Safari lodge was the largest camp (35+ tents) we used – the rest were all much smaller in size (10+ tents). The service at all the camps was exceptional (yes – we chose mostly the higher end of the luxury offerings). The tents were very well appointed and service staff were willing to cater to every request. Instructions were clear. We are all vegetarians and the chefs in every camp customized the menu to meet our needs – the food was delicious. We would recommend all of the camps without any reservations – without exception every camp went above and beyond to cater to our needs and requests (even doing laundry when the service was not generally offered). We were celebrating a couple of birthdays and our wedding anniversary thought the course of the trip (I had mentioned this in my preferences form to It Started in Africa which they had communicated to all of the camps) and the camp chef and staff at each camp surprised us with a celebration (including a cake, camp staff singing and dancing.)
Zanzibar and the Pongwe beach resort – the beach was definitely nice and interesting how much the water recedes during low tide (almost a mile exposing the sand bar that you can walk out on). We only had breakfast included in the package with Pongwe beach resort – so had to pay for lunch and dinners (and they were pretty expensive – so plan for it). We did not do any local activities in Zanzibar – most activities were a good distance away at other locations that were at least 1 to 2 hour drive – so choose your location wisely if you want to do any activities. We just stayed put and chilled at the beach. Had we planned better – I would have either picked a different location closer to some of the activities or would have skipped (or at least reduced the duration) of our stay in Zanzibar.
Specific things we wished we knew / planned better:
1. While the safari vehicle we had (an older 1990’s land cruiser) was mechanically sound (never broke down or got stuck) – it was still old and rickety. It did not have power windows and even the manual windows and doors were very difficult to operate. Given the dusty road conditions (exacerbated every time you pass a vehicle in either direction) – a good working set of windows that can be easily raised and lowered and doors that can be opened from both the inside and outside would have made the overall experience much more pleasant and easier to manage. It was definitely a difficult chore for us to operate the doors and windows on the vehicle we had. Not sure if we just got unlucky with the vehicle assignment – but most other vehicle we saw during the tour seemed to be in much better working order. I wish It Started in Africa had arranged for a better vehicle for us.
2. The transfer from Ngorongoro to Central Serengeti – we had specifically arranged to fly this sector (35 minute flight) as this was supposed to be the worst sector for road transfer. When we were planning the trip we had assumed that we would have a different car/driver/guide meet us at Central Serengeti for the Serengeti portion of the safari. We only found out after we started the Safari that our car/driver/guide would be the same for the entire safari and that he would drop us at the Lake Manyara airport for the flight and drive by himself (for about 5 hours) and meet us again at Serengeti airport. Unfortunately this meant we had to drive from the crater rim at 6 AM (in a complete fog where we could barely see 15 feet in front of you – needless to say a very scary drive) and a long wait in the Central Serengeti airport while our car/driver/guide covered the distance by road. Even though It Stared I Africa tried to arrange a different car to transfer us from Ngorongoro to the Lake Manyara airport – due to park fees and such – our regular car/driver/guide had to drive us down from the crater to park exit and had to drive back the same route again to get to Central Serengeti. Had we known this we would have definitely planned this portion differently – we would have exited the crater the previous night and stayed at a lodge in Lake Manyara near the airport instaed of a 2nd night at Pakulala tented camp – this could have given our car/driver/guide the extra time needed to get to Central Serengeti on time to pick us up at the airport while we could have had a leisurely morning at Lake Manyara (providing us some much needed rest and avoid the scary early morning drive down the crater) before catching the flight – and most likely would not have increased our overall cost. Wish we had known/planned this transfer better or gotten better advise/clarity from It Stared in Africa
3. Drive from Central to Northern Serengeti – more on this below – but this is another sector worth considering a flight – but not sure how you manage the car/driver/guide situation if you are using the same car/driver/guide for the entire trip. I was told this is where the “game package” option of flying and using different cars/drivers/guides may come in handy – but at a potentially higher overall cost.
4. Having said the above – we were very happy we had the same driver/guide Erasto for the entire trip.
A few general things to note:
1. There are almost no paved roads – all of the game drives inside the parks and most of the transfer drives were on rutty, unpaved, rocky and very bumpy roads. So drives are usually slow, long and bumpy requiring a lot of patience. Erasto did a fantastic job for us navigating the very difficult terrain.
2. Animals roam freely – so requires a lot of effort to track and spot them. Some are fairly common (zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, impalas), some are easy to find (elephants, giraffes) – we saw lots of them, but others are hard to track and find (specifically leopards, cheetahs, rhinos). Requires a lot of driving and patience. We had a 16 and 12 year old and there were times when their patience was tested
3. The roughly 1½ hour drive each way to Lake Eyasi/Kisima Ngeda (once you get off the main highway) is horrible – very dusty and bumpy (really no road or path that we could discern) – but is the only way to get in and out and get to the region where you can see the bushman (Hadzabe tribe). While the interaction and hunting expedition with the Hadzabe tribe was interesting – in hind sight not sure if the horrible drive required was worth the experience. But if you are interested in experiencing what you see In the movie “Gods must be Crazy” – then you will want to include this in your trip. The tented camp in Lake Eyasi though is a class apart – this is where we were first surprised by the staff with a cake and celebration – so unforgettable experience for us.
4. The drive from Central Serengeti to Northern Serengeti is long and arduous – again over very bumpy non paved terrain. While our driver covered this in 5½ hours – 8 to 10 hours seems to be the norm – so unless you want to specifically experience the drive (to follow the migration) – would highly recommend taking a flight.
Email SJ | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Affordable Option
As a student working in Tanzania, I had very little money to work with, but wanted to have a decent break that was memorable and fun. I'm situated in the south, so I did the Southern Circuit (excluding Ruaha, because I already work there).
This was a fantastic service. The safari was excellent and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone looking for a good value, professional and exciting experience. I am really glad that I chose this company and would happily choose to go on safari with them again in the future, pending a few minor adjustments. Nothing serious, but I would advise anyone going on a safari anywhere, with anyone to make sure that they explicitly tell the company what they do and do not expect of their guide. It is important to remember that you are in another country with different cultural values and norms, so be patient and understanding - realise that your standards and expectations may be different to those of others, and politely discuss them with your organiser/guide to ensure that there are no misunderstandings and everything goes smoothly.
The positives:
1. Food and accommodation was excellent! The guide made every effort to make a long and bumpy journey by road enjoyable. Having a few snacks for the road really made a huge positive difference.
2. Hippo Camp in Selous was beautiful. The staff were really friendly and did all they could to make guests comfortable despite having a few unexpected technical difficulties while I was there. I would highly recommend this camp to anyone.
3. The guide was very knowledgeable and did his best to answer my questions about plants and animals.
4. The vehicle was very comfortable and reliable.
5. The program was excellent, lots of game viewing time and the guide was kind enough to include some short stops in transit between parks for me to be able to talk to local people and learn more culturally when I told him that this was an interest of mine in addition to wildlife. So I really appreciated that.
6. The cost of the safari was very reasonable considering all that was included. I feel that I definitely got what I paid for and would recommend your safari business to others.
Thank you once again for a really enjoyable experience! Highly recommended.
Email Charlotte | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience
My husband and I had the most wonderful experience with It started in Africa. In the run-up to our trip, the team were very quick to respond to emails and very professional. We had looked into several companies, but this was the best quote we received for a 4 day safari, and their professional manner and good reviews put us at ease that we had made the right choice.
We were not disappointed - on arrival, everything ran like clockwork and we loved every minute of the trip (which included Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater). We were thrilled to see the big five as well as a leopard, in spite of it being a short 4-day trip. Isaac, the guide, was wonderful: good-humoured and very knowledgeable, he kept a very good handle on the schedule. Samuel, the cook, kept us all very well fed and happy! The campsites were basic, but generally clean and comfortable, and with Isaac and Samuel to help set up, we felt in very safe hands.
Just one thing that would have made our trip even better: we hadn't quite expected how cold it would be on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater where we camped, so would advise future guests to bring warmer clothes, especially something wind-proof (we just had sweaters/light cotton jackets). Also, if we were planning the trip again, we might miss out Lake Manyara and go straight to the Serengeti to have an extra night there, but that is just personal preference!
All in all, we had a fabulous time and would recommend the company to any visitors to the country - although it initially seemed expensive, it was worth every penny!
US
Email Judy Lafico | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our six day safari was the most incredible and memorable trip of our lives.
We just returned from a six day safari that included Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. From the beginning, "It Started in Africa " was responsive to all my emails, answered all my questions and the prices were reasonable. Our guide, Joel, was the best. He was knowledgeable, patient and friendly. He met us at the airport and was with us the entire safari. We saw the big 5 but more than that we saw wonderful scenes such as a small elephant nursing, lionesses hunting, cheetahs stalking and much more. Joel was willing to go further into the parks away from the majority of the vehicles so that we could experience these incredible scenes. The roads are bumpy and dusty but in spite of that Joel made any discomfort worth it.
Our accommodations were great. Very comfortable with fabulous views.
Each day surpassed the previous day. Cannot say enough about the friendliness of everyone I dealt with at the company. Best trip of our lives!!
TR
Email Ersin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best tour agency ever !!!
Me and my family spend 10 days in Tanzania. We had 2 kids 1,5 years old and 4,5 years old. Luis Gama helped us so much in the beginning and he even arrange us car seat for our babies. His team is wonderful guys.
First we went to Selous Camp and the best guide Manuel helped us and guided us %100 with smiley face.
Then we continue our journey in Zanzibar. Lucman helped us for this part of our journey.
This team is what a gorgeous that they bring us our baby stuff to Zanzibar by plane which we forgot in Selous Camp.
I strongly recommended this tour agancy !!!!
Ersin from Istanbul
davazli dot com
IT
Email stefania | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
thank you from Italy :)
Dear agency,
our experience was really beautiful!
I want to say thank to Isac and Peter for their professionalism, kindness and expertise! we have been very well in their company!
we will have a beautiful memory of it started and Tanzania! :)
Possibly our best tour ever!
Communications were efficient and very helpful. Difficult to know what you are booking from home but they where amazing and honest refunding us money when we changed accomidation.Tour was better than described, guide was amazing we saw so many animals. Due to guides knowledge even saw a black Rhino. Fell in love with Tanzania and It started in Africa. Would recommend this company to anyone visiting Tanzania. thankyou for an amazing experience.