Grassroots Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $160 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
FI
Email Anni | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari and trekking in Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Mikumi and Udzungwa national parks
We had an amazing adventure with Grassroots Safaris! In all nationalparks the safari went smoothly and we could even catch the big five in their natural surroundings. The views were breathtaking and we had many cozy picnics on the way. In Udzungwa we even did a small trekking on the mountains and swimming in the Sanje waterfalls. Such a fun day! Drivers were professional and reliable and all the arrangements were very well done. My expectations were definitely exceeded with a true adventurous trip!
EE
Email Karin M | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised and very profession guide
Communication was very good and the operatir waa flexible and accommodated to our needs and last-minute changes. Our driver/guide Fikiri was absolutely perfect. Calm, knowledgeble and a very safe/secure driver. Highly recommended company and guide!
CA
Email Pauline | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fikiri was a wonderful guide with lots of knowledge about the animals, very safe and personable.
The tour surpassed my expectations. The lodging, food, cost and guide were great. There was never any confusion. Even when the vehicle broke down Fikiri was able to fix it without impacting the tour too much.
CA
Email Kristen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Could not have found a better tour operator, guide or route to experience Tanzania!
Right from the first correspondence with Micky the service from Grassroots Safaris was A+. Micky took great care to accommodate all my requests (and there were many) and always responded to my emails and inquiries in a timely fashion. He organized every little detail and made me feel very comfortable and confident in the whole process. Grassroots went out of their way to ensure my family was well taken care of, transported to and from Dar es Salaam and touring around Southern Tanzania, to what feel have to be some of the best spots in the country. Fikiri (our driver and guide extraordinaire) was the most careful and cautious driver, he was very punctual but also understanding of our need for frequent stops, and really made the whole experience top notch. He was an amazing safari guide and has a great eye for spotting even the most hidden animals. He is also very knowledgable and explained so much about all of the wildlife and their way of life, it really added a lot of value to the trip and we all left feeling like we had learnt and experienced so much more than we ever expected. The accommodations that Grassroots planned for us were seriously 5*, the service, food and scenery blew us away at each stop, the only regret was that we couldn't stay 2-3 nights at each place!
I honestly cannot thank Fikiri and Micky enough for planning and executing the best family safari I could have ever imagined, it far exceeded my expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend Grassroots to anyone looking for an extremely personal, affordable, tailored safari experience!
Thank you again,
Kristen
AT
Email Jacek | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour, worth recommending
We made Great Southern Tour in August, we are very satisfied. The tour - well structured, organised and carried out. The communication prior to the tour - good, all information/explanations/answers provided without delay
- our driver - guide very friendly, helpful, familiar with wildlife, dedicated, excellent driving skills and sense of humour
- accomodation modest but clean and comfortable enough (Hippo Camp - extremely nice)
- food tasty and well prepared - no stomach problems expiereinced
- a few minor obstacles/shortcomings during the tour well handled/solved.
- distances between the parks are huge and travelling might be exhaustive, but our kids survived without complaining
Your partner for the safari in Tanzania
I used their services for a 3-day safari in Selous, with lodging at Wilderness Camp, which is a great lodge with wonderful people.
Everything went as scheduled. The car they used was a good old Land Cruiser which showed its age but turned up confortable (as it can be with a safari 4x4). What was agreed was delivered in exactly the terms agreed. The safari was nice, and the driver Simon was a very good and knowleadgeable driver who managed to get us in the most exciting zones of the reservation, even thou he is "a man of few words", to say the least. So we did not really had a guide, but that worked fine for us, no worries here.
So all in all, Grassroots is a partner in which you can trust, and their prices are amongst the chepest you'll find for what is delivered.
Highly recommended!
US
Email Scott and Giovanna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great cross-country experience (Dar to Ruaha and back) with knowledgeable and thoughtful guide.
We chose Grassroots Safaris because we liked the idea of a journey across Tanzania rather than touching down on the coast and national parks only. We traveled from Dar Es Salaam through Morogoro and Iringa to Ruaha, stopped for a great hike in the Udzungwa mountains, visited Ruaha NP for several days, and then drove back with a stop in Mikumi NP. The drive in the safari vehicle is long but totally worth it! Every stop was planned carefully, but allowed our intergenerational family group (which included grandparents and teenagers) enough flexibility that we never felt pressured or rushed. We loved seeing the variety of the Tanzanian landscapes, from mountain ranges to highlands to baobab forests, villages, road-side markets, Masai herders, etc. Both in Ruaha and Mikumi we saw tons of animals including lions and a leopard. Our guide, Fikiri, was THE BEST. He was knowledgeable, thoughtful, flexible, patient, and we truly enjoyed getting to know him on this trip. He was always happy to answer our many questions on his country, its history, the variety of its cultures and languages, as well as the animals we saw. You will be lucky to have him as your guide.
DE
Email Christian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Safari off of the beaten tourist tracks
We had a great safari with Grassroots. We booked a pre-defined package and saw Udzungwa, Ruaha and Mikumi. The idea was to see the parks and areas of Tanzania that were not flooded with tourists. This worked quite well. With Yunus we did have a very knowledgable guide and a very safe driver. Both of which is of the utmost importance. Since we were traveling on a tight budget we chose a "camping-safari" and Grassroots delivered. All in all we thought it was too much driving but the country is huge and so are the distances. Since we started and ended in Daressalam we lost almost two of our six days for very long driving days. In the future we would think about that twice and plan differently. On the other hand we did get a good impression of the real Tanzania with its little villages and how people really live.
Grassroots is a small company and transfering money via international alley into local tanzanian accounts is not always easy and needs some trust in the unknown as well as bringing lots of dollars in cash but it was worth it. We would recommend to use some other form of international accepted payment like Paypal or the like. This would make thinks much easier for your customers and would safe you a lot of money in currency exchange and hustle.
Anyways - all in all we would definitely recommend Grassroots for the more southern part of beautiful Tanzania.
CH
Email Lea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We (4 people) got much more than our expectancies, which were very high! Incredibly wonderful safari
Jambo,
Everything went so incredibly smoothly from the first minute of our arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, till the last minute of our departure from Arusha Airport, and every hour, minute, second was worth it. For me it is completely incredible that such a place like Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro exists on the Earth. I can say my family had an unforgettable experience in Tanzania with Grassroots team.
Our guide used all his knowledge to find colourful birds and every possible animal, even leopards, male and female the next day. The dream became reality, of course we never expected to see them. Lions on their Honeymoon, cheetahs chasing and eating a Thompson gazelle: every time we were on the right place at the right moment, and always had a lot of time to photograph and observe. Unlike other guides, ours didn't use the radio, so he didn't annoy us with loud speaking in it. He answered all our questions and was very discerning about animal behaviour. Driving from sunrise till sunset and loving it. Just a word about the elephants: we overlooked 3 huge families at one glance, and I counted 102 adults through my binoculars, so I let you add the babies to this number !!!!
Our chef satisfied all our demands, for example he thoroughfully prepared our big lunchbox every day. In fact we almost never wanted breakfast, but better drive to see sunrise instead, and enjoy morning cool temperature.... We were fine all the time, without any stomach pain, always sleeping like babies after a plentiful evening meal. And his kindness made us very happy. He worked hard while we were enjoying ourselves all day, plus woke up very early, in such a good mood, so easy. Try Palau Masala, gently spiced rice and meat... Asante Sana !
I will recommend Grassroots to all my friends and colleagues, because I got much more than my expectancies. My three children look very happy about their first time in Africa.
I also noticed Tanzania is very peacefull and safe, and people are friendly everywhere. And we have so many pictures to look at and show our friends.
You should not forget binoculars for everybody, not that the animals are far away, sometimes you could rather think they are going to enter the Toyota through the window, but binoculars allow you to examine every beautiful detail.
Did I speak about the landcruiser car? Spaceful, comfortable, powerful, and protective with very good shadow under the open roof. Changing a flat tyre is a question of 30 minutes and may happen (2x in 8 days), for that reason there are 2 more fixed outside the back door. Hakuna Matata !
And the nights were so peaceful. We really slept well under the tents during the full moon nights, and even sometimes stand up to watch the stars, we had a lot of space under the roof.
The toilets and showers are rebuilt and very clean. You overlook the old ones, just to compare. Water supply is not limited, huge water tanks are delivered by trucks at every campsite.
Of course you think about how to begin, and how to buy a safari. My advice would be: write to Micky Shigela, his precise answers come within a day, his advise are helpful, and his experience makes everything so easy.
BE
Email Lander & Annelies from Brussels | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 9 days Honeymoon Safari In Southern Tanzania
We would like to thank Grassroots Safaris for our amazing 9 days Honeymoon Safari in Southern Tanzania!
And especially to our contactperson Mickey and to our driver/guide Fikiri.
We visited the mountains/waterfalls/rainforest of Udzunga National Park, the Savannah of Ruaha National Park and the riverbanks of Selous Game Reserve.
We saw all the animals we wanted: elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeasts, baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, hyenas, hippos, eagles, vultures, pelicans, storks, warthhogs, buffalos, impalas, kudus, waterboks, elands, more than 30 lions and even a leopard!!
Special thanx:
-Convinced us to go down South instead of to the more expansive & much more visited north.
-Gave us a reduction when we asked for more days/nature/wildlife instead of fancy hotels/resorts.
Conclusion:
Thanx to Grassroots we could go on a 9 days Safari instead of 5 days without spending a fortune, we slept at awesome locations in the middle of 'nowhere', we hardly saw other tourists during the day and ... we saw more animals then we could have hoped for!!
Definitely the 'experience of a lifetime' we wanted!! :-)