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
DE
Email Ivar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Statement from our 3 kids (Aged 10, 14 & 16) "best vacation we have ever had"
First of all, Thank you so much for all your effort planning our trip. All arrangements were according to plan, without any delays or other issues, so thank you again for the proper planning to make our trip the as good as it could get.
For our family, the balance between visiting the different Tribes and not too many days on Safari, turned out to be a success. Our family really enjoyd the hospitality from especially the Hadzabe and Datoga tribe. The Masai Tribe has become to commercial for us, but of course it was very interesting to alos see their way of living.
Our Safari guide (Martin) had a lot of knowledge and was very helpfull all the timen to make our days perfect. The different accommodations were also great. We especially enjoyed Pumzika Camp in Serengeti. Wonderful location with a very professional staff. Christmas Eve at Ang'gata Ngorongoro Camp was very special and a great experience as well. The place and the staff was wonderful, we all loved it a lot.
Zanzibar.
Lukemann, your agent at Zanzibar, was really nice and at our service at all times. He really did a great job to make our stay at Zanzibar perfect. Amaan Bungalows at Nungwi Beach, was a success. Our kids really loved the place, playing football on the beach with the local boys, the beautiful white beaches and the constant living atmosphere. After moving over to Fumba Lodge we really discovered (especially the kids) that the North part of the Island was better suited for us. Of course Fumba Lodge had a higher standard, but for us as a family we found that this place is better suited for "grown up families" without kids and younger people on their honeymoon :)
Thanks again for outstanding planning, we will have no problem recommending,
"It Started in Africa", to our family and friends.
Email Liz and Dave | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We were overwhelmed by the whole experience
While planning the safari, we appreciated the rapid and full answers to all our queries - and never having travelled in Africa before, we had many! Throughout the trip all our transfers were efficient. Our safari driver/guide, Dickson, and the cook/expert in all things, Paskal, were excellent. Pascal's skill in presenting varied, delicious and plentiful food with very limited equipment was admirable, and his cheerfulness, ingenuity and energy really added to our enjoyment. Dickson's patience with all my questions, his kindness when my husband's mother became very ill in Australia, and his tireless efforts keeping our vehicle functioning on such rough roads was extraordinary. Once a leaf spring broke, and our two heroes managed a temporary repair which enabled us to carry on, as well as providing us with unexpected entertainment.
We saw many, many more animals than we expected. Sometimes we were so close to the action e.g. mating lions, or vultures feeding on a buffalo carcass, that it felt like a tv documentary. The vast beauty of the Serengeti, the herds of elephant, wildebeest, zebra, and the various types of antelope, as well as all the friendly people we encountered made for a magical holiday.
Accommodation: The staff and accommodation at Christina's House in Arusha were very pleasant. On our return visit there were some problems with availability of water, but Helen and Christina could not have been more helpful. We liked the room at the back on the ground floor best, as it was quieter. Christina even took me shopping!
We slept very well in the tent - and the shower and variable toilet facilities of the public campsites really added to the adventure!
Hiliki House in Zanzibar was very comfortable and beautifully furnished - and the breakfast was wonderful. It would have been helpful to have known we needed shorts or similar and beach shoes for the trip to Prison Island, but that was a minor issue.
Nungwi was a bit of a disappointment after all our previous positive experiences in Tanzania. We had marvelled at the lack of rubbish in the landscape, but there was a lot of litter (and too many touts) there. I presume it was because of the number of tourists present. The accommodation at Amaan Bungalows was very pleasant, and the food reasonably priced.
We had a great time on the Safari. We saw 4 of the big 5 many times just missed the Rhino
In addition to the great Safari our trip to Zanzibar was romantic and relaxing . The arrangement for airport transfers as well as managing our luggage ... the office extended themselves particularly regarding our travel as we were going to other countries. They kept the luggage while we were on Safari and arranged to have it available when we left the country.
We were able to take tons of pictures of wild life and the beautiful landscape.
We realize we only saw part of Serengeti and hope to come back to complete this park and other parks in Tanzania.
CO
Email Katherine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magic experience with It Started in Africa
This was the best way to do a safari in the Northern Circuit of Tanzania. But not only by the amazing and breathtaking national parks and conservation areas, but also the dedication and excellence of It Started in Africa in paying attention to all details to do your trip personalized, friendly and confortable. You don't need to worry about anything! And you feel you are travelling with friends! In addition, delicious food! Thanks a lot!
Email Isabel Hopkins | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazin guide
I just wanted to thank you for an amazing holiday, I have put a review on TripAdvisor but wanted to say in particular what a fantastic guide Deogratius was and how much effort he went to, to make sure we had the time of our lives. He really was committed to us having the best experience of Tanzania possible and as a result - we did!
When you're spending so much time with someone as we did with him, such an easygoing personality, and such kindness and consideration makes a huge difference. He really did go the extra mile and I would have no hesitation in recommending your company as a result of our experiences with him. I would say he is a true asset to your company
Email Stephen & Jasmine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible safari from an excellent safari operator
My wife and I were so impressed with every aspect of our safari. Our guide, Arosto, was absolutely brilliant. He was funny and friendly, very knowledgeable, and very good at spotting animals that we missed. He worked tirelessly and successfully to ensure we saw lots of animals, including the Big 5, and on several days kept driving until it was dark so we could make the most of each day. He seemed to know intuitively when to wait at a particular spot, and as a result we saw a lion hunt in action as well as two wildebeest river crossings during the great migration. We cannot speak highly enough of him and would ask for him specifically if we go on a safari in Tanzania again.
We were also very impressed with the all round service provided by It Started in Africa. Their responses to our questions over email were always very prompt and they were very helpful in helping us organise the details of our trip. We always felt confident with their suggestions and the help they provided us when booking our hotel on Zanzibar was very useful. We would definitely recommend It Started In Africa to all our family and friends.
CA
Email Tori | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect adventure
My father and I planned our first father daughter trip, it was really important to me to have a company that really listened to us and I felt really cared about our experience. There were so many companies, it was overwhelming! Immediately I was impressed with It Started In Africa, they responded within a day and never pushed us to book with them no matter how many emails we exchanged. They accommodated all our needs and took the time to create exactly what we wanted. We were even able to change our pick up times the day of our arrival, it was completely stress free! Our guide was Dexter, he was so patient and knew how to find all the exciting game drive moments and you could tell he really enjoyed his job. We stayed in Rhino Lodge, Serengeti wildlife camp and Burunge tented camp. All the accommodation exceeded our expectations, I highly recommend the Serengeti camp- its an experience you must have and the team was fantastic! Overall this trip exceeded our expectations and we have nothing but positive messages about it!
AT
Email Andrea | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing 6 day safari
Our trip to Tanzania was among the best holidays we ever had so far and I believe we are what you would call "well-traveled". Some friends of ours recommended It started in Africa to us. The customer service is just great. Email replies are prompt and they answered all questions that we had upfront. Also on site they rechecked our itinerary when we were in thior office and also called us on our last day to make sure that we had a great experience. Overall I think that when you go on safari the difference between a good and an excellent experience is the guide and Jackson was definitely an excellent one. He spotted every animal including cheetas and leopards, could answer any question about the wildlife that we had and we had a lot of questions and we very much enjoyed his company and his sense of humour. Even though we had some issues with the car, he could fix almost anything or knew where to get good mechanics and we always felt safe and very well been taken care of in his company. He even took us to lake Victoria which was not part of our initial itinerary. At the end of our trip he even invited us to his house and we had lunch together with his family. His wife prepared fish from lake Victoria for us that we were not able to find when we were there as our time was limited. We were truly amazed by their hospitality and kindness.
Also all camps and lodges where we have been were just excellent, however, we overall prefered the tented camps at Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro over the lodge at Lake Manyara. The staff was really nice, the food was excellent and the location of the camps was just great. We had a long discussion about what was the best part of our trip and we came to the conclusion that the overall experience at Serengeti was unbeatable. From an amazing sunrise to the most beautiful sky at night, we even saw the great migration even though it was not season for it it in the western corridor due to the unusual dry weather conditions. The only drawback on our trip was that we could not see a rhino but our other wildlife spottings more than compensated for it.
Email Adam Cooper | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Best Honeymoon we could wish for!
To all of you at It Started In Africa,
We recently got back from our honeymoon which you organised for us and we would like to say a huge thank you to all of you. We had the time of our lives in Tanzania and Zanzibar, and we are incredibly grateful for all the efforts you put in to ensuring we had the best time. Please thank Allan our driver especially, for making our trip so enjoyable and for how hard he worked. We'll be sure to leave a positive review for you on Tripadvisor ASAP, and if there is anything else I can do to encourage other travelers to use your company I certainly will do.
Thank you so much, you don't know how much it means to us! Best holiday company I have ever used.
Thanks again, and take care all of you.
AT
Email Chris & Marlies | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing holidays with the best organization
We went on the 5-days Safari through the northern part of Tanzania (Tarangire National Park, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater) with It Started In Africa. Our whole trip was organized perfectly. So we would like to thank the team again for all the quick responses, helpful comments and recommendations during our booking process.
We had an awesome time during our Safari and our stay in Zanzibar and I would really like to give some feedback :)
Safari:
It was top organized and we had the best tourguide!!!
Michael was great, showing us and telling us all important things about the country, the animals and nature.
His calm, friendly and professional way of handling the trip, was the best match for us.
We were so happy to have him and always felt safe driving around with him.
We booked also during our Safari the visit to a Maasai village what after all wasn't such a great experience.
Besides that, everything was great!
The service and the people in the lodges were absolutely friendly and helpful.
We loved the Maramboi Lodge!! It was really cool there.
Zanzibar:
Also Zanzibar was a great experience.
I would like to mention that the service in Pongwe Beach Hotel was amazing!!!
We had such a good time there and the people were so sweet and friendly and the service couldn't be better at all!
To sum up, I can and will recommend the organization It Started In Africa to all our friends.
It was a great holiday and we enjoyed it a lot!