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
KR
Email Jingu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, Transparent, Reliable
My dad and I went 3N4D tour with It Started in Africa.
Especially I would like to mention two persons ; Bernard, the reservation manager was very agile and flexible to my request and David, the driver/guide was very knowledgeable and experienced in the endless plain.
Even though there were some hassles in payment process, since their local bank had in problem to clear my Pesapal payment, Bernard transparently & frequently shared what's going on and my tour was well done without any discomfort or concern.
As many communities said, It Started in Africa had hard time due to their oversea agent problem in 2017, however, now they are doing best to rebuild their brand and reputation. I highly recommend to ask quotes to them and take a tour with them in Tanzania!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience, no problems
We signed up for a 10 day safari with It started in Africa in July this year. There were just two of us together with the guide Kueka and the cook Fatheli, not sure how it is spelled, Pronounced Fazili. They spoke amazingly good English and looked after us brilliantly. Both were great company, easy to be with, warm, not intrusive, and put up with us beautifully.Great food, lots of it, and modified to suit my gluten free requirements really well. Far too lovely besan flour patties for me to resist though, a wonderful change from bread, not that there is any gluten free bread in Tanzania, as far as I could tell. Kueka is an animal and bird enthusiast and really happy to take us out looking at animal as much as we liked. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge about the animal and birds and was a fantastic spotter.But he was deft in not overwhelming us with too much information. We slept in tents, with basic beds in the tent on four nights, on mattresses other nights. comfortable enough for us.(We did not opt for the luxury camping option) The vehicle was a sturdy commodious four wheel drive, which had a lift up roof for when we were looking at animals. It felt completely safe in the vehicles opened up because there are strict rules forbidding any kind of interaction with any animals in the parks. As a result, the animals go about their own business ignoring us. We are neither prey nor predator.This means they do not usually run away either, so we get close up viewing a lot. The results of feeding animals, inadvertently or otherwise, are obvious in the permit office areas on the edge of the parks where baboons attempt to get into vehicles to get at food and can be dangerous. There were an incredible variety and number of animals and birds in the four parks we visited.It started with a large family herd of elephants, together with ten or so zebra and a similar number of wildebeast fifty metres inside the boundary of our first park and it just carried on like that. We had one long drive or two shorter drives in a park each day. We visited Tangarire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti National Parks. We stayed in public camping grounds some kilometres from the first three parks. In the Serengeti, we stayed in the middle of the park, about three hours game drive in, seeing lions, ostriches, baboons, giraffes etc on the way. The Serengeti camp was open to animals (No fences nor a man with a gun to scare the big animals off!) and there was elephant poo by our tents. We got up one night to find several zebra grazing close by. Elephants spent a lot of time by the shower block one afternoon. Lions roared in the distance one night. I was a bit nervous getting up in the night but no-one else worried. The camping grounds have a large kitchen for the cooks and a large dining hall for us to eat in, all covered over, and netted in and with power and point points for chargers, not that they all work all the time. The whole trip was fairly comfortable and fun and just wonderful in terms of seeing animals.
US
Email Nancy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
GREAT safari company: It Started in Africa delivers it all!!!!
Four of us (friends/colleagues) took a 10-day journey with It Started in Africa. They organized the perfect trip for us - Tarangire, Ngorogoro, Serengeti, and Lake Natron/El Donyo Lengai climb. We can't recommend them highly enough - from the first contact with Joao by email to our final sad goodbyes at the airport - we had nothing but great service and warm interactions with everyone. ISiA really delivers what they promise, without exception. They were honest, open to our special requests, and very accommodating of our adding and changing the itinerary (before departure). They helped us book other portions of our travel (Zanzibar) and everything went perfectly. Best of all, our guide Isaack is one of the most generous, kind-hearted, funny people we've ever met. He took such good care of all our needs, and most importantly, he is a brilliant and talented guide to the wildlife and parks of Tanzania. His expertise was extraordinary. He knows every bird, every animal, and explains their habits and habitat with great flair. His driving skills were equally astonishing. And, everywhere we went he talked with people (locals, other guides, our hosts in the different camps) and though most of that was in Kiswahili, we felt that he is known and respected, and shares information with all sorts of people. We felt completely safe in his hands, and always cheerful. His humor and affection for people, places, and creatures were tremendous - we miss him and want to go back for another journey with It Started!
All four of us are quite experienced travelers - we travel to many places in the world as part of our research jobs (a great privilege, we know!) and often are tour leaders ourselves, for students and other researchers. We understand how hard it is to ferry people around and keep them happy: It Started has all the skills, and knowledge, and patience to take good care of their customers. We all highly recommend this company. All their guides are good, we are certain, but Isaack was a star. None of us will EVER forget the ten days we spent in his care. THANK YOU, dear Isaack! And Joao, Mathias, Bernard, Dickson, as well.
IN
Email Priyanka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent service. Very warm. Well organised. Helped a lot with crisis managements with airlines too
They made our family vacation really special - our tour guide(Frank) was the best! Our contact person(Bernard) also went out of his way to solve crisis with airlines & helped organised everything smoothly. Definitely will come back again & tour with them & have already started recommending them to my friends.
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!
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!
AE
Email Shogo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everything is more than Incredible!! For your best Safari
Everything happened in Tanzania was like a dream for us.
My wife and I had the best and most incredible experience ever in Tanzania.
It is all because of Charles Joseph, the driver and guide, and Pascali, the cook.
We spent 5 days together and I just can't have enough word to explain how thankful we are.
Every single minute is full of joy.
Our journey was fulfilled with happiness and pleasure.
Charles Joseph's characteristics are awesome.
He always tries to entertain us.
He is always punctual.
He always cares about us.
He never neglects maintenance of his vehicle.
everything is more than perfect.
Pascali is the best safari cook.
We were so surprised that he cooked so tasty and delicious food within such a limited facility in camps.
We sometimes felt cold at night, and in that time, his soup warmed us not in the meaning of physically but mentally as well.
Yes, we completed Big 5.
On last day, Charles Joseph made a great effort to find the last piece, Rhynos.
and we made it by finding a family of them with a baby in Ngorongoro.
To see many animals in wild life is one of our major purposes in our journey.
but, what remains in our memory the most after leaving the country is one that we sung Jumbo song altogether on the way.
After we departed from the safari car, my wife kept crying for more than one hour at the airport because she missed both of them so much.
We are really really happy and lucky to have a safari with Charles Joseph and Pascali.
Words cannot explain how much we feel in that way.
Honestly speaking, I sent emails to 4 companies to ask for quotation and their context of safaris.
"It Started in Africa" always reverted emails to me faster than any other companies with full of answers.
We exchanged our emails more than 50 times, which obviously displays their dedication to customers and aspiration to entertain people who go to Tanzania.
For sure, I recommend you to travel in Tanzania with "It Started in Africa"
PT
Email Cátia Zigue Gonçalves | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 day safari in Tanzania
It was my first experience in a safari and it was really amazing! For sure I would repeat it with It started in Africa. The guide, the cook, all the team, they were all awesome! Taranguire, Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater, I recommend :)
LB
Great trip!
My boyfriend and I booked with "It started in Africa" after reading their reviews, but also because they were extremely responsive as we asked lots of questions and changed our mind a few times about where we wanted to go and how long we wanted to stay. Each time, they gave us very detailed information and were quite patient. Once in country, the same type of service continued. Everything was very well-organized and planned. The flamencos in Ngorongoro were stunning, and so was the whole experience! I highly recommend this company. They're also a small local company so I'm glad to have booked with them!
US
Email Joe and Debbie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Crown Jewel Of Our Anniversary and Vacation of a Lifetime!
Our safari with It Started in Africa was the trip of a lifetime! A colleague recommended It Started in Africa and guaranteed that we would be very pleased. From our first contact, through the planning and then, from our arrival in Dar es Salaam through our last day in Arusha, everything went perfectly! Our trip was totally worry-free. It Started In Africa provided our in-country flights, all ground transportation, food and lodging.
The three-day safari provided us memories that will last our lifetime. Each day was a totally different and unique experience and each day topped the next. The first day we saw more than 100 elephants in Taranglre National Park. The second day, Ngorongoro Crater was one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen and down inside the crater was like being in the middle of a zoo without any fences. Animals were everywhere!! Damien, our tour guide, stayed with us all three days and he was a fantastic. I mentioned to him that my hope was to see Africa’s Top Five, especially, the black rhino. He seemed to know exactly where to go to find the animals and we saw four of the top five (including a black rhino). Afterwards, Damien was humble enough to say that it was all luck. The third day hunting with a bush tribe was just as unforgettable. Watching a movie 30 years ago called, "The God's Must Be Crazy" was the first time I heard about nomadic bush people who speak a "tick" language. To meet, hunt, sit and eat with this nomadic tribe of hunters and gatherers who actually speak this" tick" language was like traveling back into time.
Everyone that I am in contact with on social media now knows about “It Started In Africa." We are already planning our next trip to Tanzania and we will definitely use them again when we bring our grandchildren to Africa for their first safari next summer. We really did received top-flight professional service. Choosing It Started In Africa proved to be a great decision. Thanks!