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
Knowledgeable driver/guide helped make our safari memorable
We were picked up at Kilimanjaro Airport as planned, and taken directly to our Arusha Hotel with no delays. Our driver/guide, Isaac, was there on time to pick us up for the safari and delivered us back to the hotel at the end of the trip with lots of time to spare. So no timeliness issues.
Isaac was very knowledgeable about animals, birds, and vegetation. He was excellent – easygoing and friendly, and I’d recommend him to others. He was also a good driver – necessary given unpredictable traffic and terrible roads in the parks. He had been guiding for about 8 years and was very experienced and knew all the routes in the parks; in all our travels (about 1700 km) he never referred to a map. The competence and personality of the driver/guide are critical to the enjoyment of the trip. We were lucky.
Our safari van was about 15 years old and had about 300,000 km on it. It had been well maintained, I think, since it stood up to the roads, absorbed most of the shocks, and didn’t break down. No problems with it. But dust was incredible. People with breathing issues would want to consider this trip carefully.
Our Arusha hotel, L’Oasis, was comfortable, with a dining room, lounge and pool. Our room was fine, and the food was quite good. No problems with it.
The Maramboi tented camp was also very comfortable, even though our ‘room’ was a large tent with two rooms. Dependable running water and electricity in the tent/room. The main building included a lounge, large dining area (part inside but mostly outside on a large verandah). It even had a swimming pool which was good to cool off in. Very good food, with a large buffet selection at all meals. We also chose our own picnic lunch contents. Interesting to sit by the pool and watch the zebras and wildebeest herds grazing a hundred metres away. The camp, after all, was in a Conservation Area and thus open to whatever wildlife ambled through. It was also well-patronized; most tables were taken at dinner times. In many ways, this camp combined comfort and wildlife authenticity best of all our accommodations.
The Lake Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp was a high end place. Guest rooms were separate buildings (not tents) joined by a garden-bordered walk to the main building. The latter featured a lounge and dining room with an extensive front garden that ended in a swimming pool that overlooked the Great Rift Valley and the Maasai herders who drove their cattle and goats up and down. This was a very luxurious place with an outstanding view. The other thing we noticed was that there was only one other paying guest. The place was empty. So that meant that we had no choice of dinner fare, but ate what the chef had prepared for us. We also accepted the chef’s choices for the contents of our picnic lunches. Fortunately, these choices were very good, although the portions were large.
The three tented camps (N’dutu, Seronera, and Ngorngoro) were all variations on a theme. In each, our accommodation was a two-room tent with wood floors, running water (most of the time) but no electrical capacity to plug in appliances. Each camp had a main dining tent with lounge (the latter equipped with electrical charging capacity). Each camp was staffed by a manager (who may also have been the chef – this wasn’t clear) as well as two or three support staff whose jobs included carrying suitcases, accompanying us after dark from our tent to the dining tent, etc. These were not permanent sites; the N’dutu camp, for example, was due to be taken down and moved to another location a few weeks after we were there.
Again, in each of the three camps we were the only guests! So no choice of meals or picnic basket contents; we ate what the chef prepared. Generally this was quite palatable, though we became a bit tired of the standard side vegetable of sliced carrots and green beans, which we had at almost every dinner. And again, significant to realize that we were in wildlife terrain, so the water buffalo, elephants, zebras and giraffes that moseyed through the camps were in their own environment. We were the outsiders.
Serengeti and Ngorngoro were the highlights. These were the must-sees, in our view, in terms of variety of animals, scenery, etc. (especially the rhinos). On these grounds, Tarangire would rank third, Lake Manyara fourth, and Arusha fifth.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Service
We’re back after 6 days safari with It Started in Africa. Everything was top notch from beginning to goodbye. It took us about an year to plan this safari. During these time we exchanges hundreds of emails with the company to discuss the itinerary. How they always replied within minutes at any time of the day or week was beyond me. Or how they dealt with so many emails from me. But I’m so glad it all worked out to provide us with the itinerary and accommodation options that ended up being the perfect choice for our family and kept us within the desired budget.
The company director was availaby on the cellphone in case we need anything and always went the extra mile to take care of us. Fortunetely no call was required, everything went smoothly. We saw hundreds of elephants, dozens of lions and other big cats, even the rhinos we were able to see in the Crater.
I am sure this company has a bright future ahead. We would not hesitate to use them again.
JP
Email Yumiko Izumisawa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
worth more than 1000 pictures
We are doing a RTW tour and so far Tanzania has been on of the main highlights. To blame is this tour operator who had the best price from all the reputable tour operators and organized a dream vacation for us. It is my first safari but the experience is difficult to improve. Car was great, guide was out of this world, accommodation had incredible value for money (maramboi camp, manyara wildlife camp, and ang'ata camps) and we saw more animals than our best expectations. Definitely recommended
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour in Ngorongoro Crater
Did a day tour in Ngorongoro Crater with my girlfriend. Tour started in Arusha at 9am and we were back by 5pm. We spent most of the day inside the crater and it is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. It Started in Africa guide (Raphael) was perfect for us and always smiling and informative. Car was great and very well maintained and the lunch box was delicious. Plan to go back for a longer tour.
Visit a masai village for one day
Hi,
I had an inspiring and humbling time in a Masai village with my husband. We just returned from a conference in Nairobi and had one day to spare and ISIA took us to a masai village for a daytrip. We asked for something not very touristic, a bit out of the beaten track and that's what we got. We learned a huge amount of stuff from the village leader, we understood how they got food, made medicine, healed the wounded, avoid lions and things like that. It is such a wonderful experience to see these people living with so little, having to walk miles to get water, while at home we just waste so many liters just washing our teeth. This is something I recommend to everyone who has the opportunity to do it and change their perspective over life a little bit.
FR
Email Georges Huart | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent value for money
This tour was an incredible experience. I booked through agent Joao and he was really heplful explaining to me all the different options available. I went with my wife and kids. We are french and It Started in Africa provided us with a fantastic guide with fluent french and apparently bionic eyes :) Amazing. His name is Gasper and he was awesome. Besides that, we had a fantastic cook who served the most delicous food we had in Tanzania. You can’t go wrong with them.
US
Email Samuel Wilson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Last minute trip organized to perfection
We read on the internet it would be better to wait until we arrive in Tanzania to book our tour as it could be considerably cheaper. Upon arrival, it was easy to find all these cheap companies trying to sell us their tours. Most of them didn't seem trustful at all. We decided to go to the hotel, rest a little bit and then search for a tour operator. We chose It Started in Africa as it comes highly recommended everywhere. We also contacted other top tour operators but the price was better with It Started in Africa and the answers were always prompt and professional. We are very glad because we had an amazing time in Tanzania, they organized our lodge safari with just 2 days notice, and all went smooth with a great car, guide and accommodation. Definitely an extremely reliable tour operator.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best Safari I've Been On
I've been going on safaris since 1981, and It Started in Africa did the best job of any of them. They were able to accommodate my schedule by moving some of the events around. Even more important, the owner Joao responded to my emails sooner than any other company told me the best time of the year to come and why. He also gave specific advice on what camera lenses to bring, and which places to camp "rugged" and which ones to camp "easy." The guide that drove us around did a yeoman's job of finding us ALL of the "Big Five" as well as organizing a 3 hour walking tour with a guide. He also stopped scores of times when I wanted to take a picture of local scenery. These guys treat you like Dr. Livingston.
DE
Email Claudia Amina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Honeymoon in Tanzania
It Started in Africa organized our honeymoon in Tanzania. We did the south of the country and visited Selous game reserve and Zanzibar. Joao was very prompt to reply to all our emails and phone calls, we were received by a lovely driver in the airport and the safari guide was awesome. There was some confusion regarding the hotel where we were supposed to stay in Dar es Salaam but apart from that minor issue, everything was flawless and the zanzibar stay was unforgettable. Thanks Joao, Baraja, Martin, Sylvia and Lawrence for making our dream honeymoon reality.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari-experience with "it started in Africa"
In February 2015 we did a 5day safari including Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Everything was perfectly organised. Our guide/driver was very friendly and competent/professional. We even saw the "big5" and a lion-hunt!!! The guide always looked for our wishes, e.g. for crocodiles. The car and camping equipment was in a very good condition; our cook made delicious food.
The nature, the mass and diversity of animals in Tanzania are unique and amazing. It was the best we ever experiecend. "It started in Africa" was a perfect partner for our perfect holiday: everything was well organized.