Caracal Tours & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Nila and Jappie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari!
In October 2015 we arranged a safari in Tanzania by Caracal Tours & Safaris Tanzania, which took us to many parks in just three days.
Beforehand we didn’t plan on going on safari because we were visiting our daughter who was working and living on Zanzibar.
At the last minute we decided to travel to mainland for safari and after a hurried Google-search, we came across the website of Caracal.
In a short time, through email, Marion Sumari de Boer managed to draw up a three-day safari at a fair price.
The price was included that we were picked up from the Kilimanjaro Airport and on the third day, in the evening, we were nicely delivered in a lodge that we had booked in advance in a village near Moshi.
During the safari we slept in tents on a nice camping site.
Our driver and tour guide (Max) and cook (Albert) were real professionals. They were also always willing to answer / to act when we had questions or needs.
The cook had his own cooking gear, and made breakfast, lunch boxes and warm meals at the campsite. Perfect arrangement!
Our guide, Max, was in top form. Besides his binoculars he had books with him to give us additional information about animals and birds.
We visited the following parks: Manyara, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and finally the Tarangire National Park.
Summarized. We first and foremost want to note that we had a well-organized safari, which was realized in a very short period of planning.
The guidance during the safari was top notch. Max enjoyed conveying his knowledge to about the park and the lifestyle of the animals. He took the time to show and explain everything.
We highly recommended Caracal Tours for a well-organized safari.
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Email Angela | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
Our safari with Caracal tours was fantastic. Marion answered every question we could think of in advance and was always prompt with her replies. Ben is a wonderful and patient guide. He is very knowledgeable and has eyes like an eagle for spotting animals! He was absolutely flexible but never without a plan. We learned so much more than I could have imagined about the animals as well as the people of Tanzania and their unique culture. Caracal Tours is a small company and so they are able to accommodate your interests and give you the4 safari of your dreams. The accommodations that they chose for us were all quite nice. I am not a tent camping kind of person but I have to admit the tent camps were probably the best part of the trip!
ES
Email Mathew Demetri | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A safari that exceeded all expectations .
We requested a bespoke safari for 9 days and the recommendations were perfect . We saw wildlife in great numbers , and an unforgettable sight of a lion eating buffalo for breakfast surrounded by over 20 hyenas . Ben went to the right places and his timing was excellent . We enjoyed his company and appreciated his extensive knowledge . Thanks Marion for all your assistance .
NL
Email Waldine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful experience, great Safari guide and excellent service!
We wanted to combine a visit to our daughter who was doing an internship in Tanzania with a safari/beach trip. She had arranged her trip through Caracal Tours & Safaris, so it seemed the most logical choice to do the same. All mails and questions were always answered promptly, even though Marion was about to give birth to their second child. Marion prepared a schedule that made it possible for our daughter to join us for the latter part of the safari. We went on the 6 day trip and were really impressed by Ben's eagle eyes and knowledge of all animals and especially birds. We saw the big five, thanks to Ben who seems to be able to spot a canary at a 5 mile distance. He is a very skilled driver who is capable of simultaneously driving and having a conversation and even then spot animals miles before we did. Also his sence of humour and the sometimes philosophical discussions we had during our trip were really great! But beyond all this, they have been a tremendous help when our luggage got lost, they kept in contact with the airport and Ben spent hours to retrieve our bags when they finally arrived and the only comment was: that is al part of the job. We slept in really diverse but all very nice locations and had a wonderful time! After the safari on December 24th, Ben drove us to our next destination and we still feel a little bad that that even made him miss Christmas eve at home, because he had to drive all the way back again all by himself (abt. 8 hour drive!) luckily he was back home again on Christmas morning. In addition to that, they have been really great to my daugther and her friend, helping them in many many ways, for which we are really thankful. All in all, an experience that exceeded all our expectations!
NL
Email Iris | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our incredible journey to the roof of Africa with Caracal Tours & Safaris
When my friend and I learned that we were going to Tanzania for our internship we immediately decided we wanted to see more of the country than just the hospital we were working in. We planned on going on the biggest adventure of our lives: climbing the Kilimanjaro. I contacted some travel agencies and Marion was very quick with her response. We found out she was Dutch as well and actually studied at the same university as we did. Lucky for us she was in the Netherlands for teaching purposes and we got to meet her. We learned that she and her Tanzanian husband, Ben, started a safari company a couple of years ago. Having been a porter himself, Ben strives for fair payment of all the crew and keeping them safe and secure as well. This immediately felt right. Marion answered all our questions and helped us very well in planning our big trip. Over the months of preparations we could always come to her for tips and tricks and she would be very fast with her responses.
When we arrived in Tanzania, Ben picked us op from the airport in the middle of the night and took us safely to our hotel, which we booked on Marion's advice as well. It was very comfortable and close to shops and restaurants. She came to visit us the next day to make sure we were settled and doing well. She gave us tips for activities during the couple of days we had before starting our climb.
Ben made sure we had all the things necessary to reach the top safely and arranged for a meeting with our guide. The day of the climb we were picked up by our guide and crew. After meeting them and recieving a few encouraging words from Ben we drove to the gate. Everything was taken care of. Lunchboxes, water, two guides that were clearly experienced and ready to go. Our porters took on the big task of carrying everything up the mountain. We chose the Machame route, which normally takes up to 7 days to complete and has you sleep in tents.
The days were long and hard, but our guides sang and talked us through it. Every night we would get a steaming plate of food. Everytime we wondered how the cook was able to create such a nice dinner with so little resources. Every night and morning we got a health check to see how we were doing and the guides made sure we drank enough water. The nights were the hardest on us and to help us stay warm we got a nice warm bottle of water to put in our sleeping bags. Everybody did everything to help us make it to the top.
Considering the weather and us feeling so well, we decided to do day 3 and 4 in one day and shorten our climb with one day. As the guide said: you never know what the mountain does to you tomorrow, so better continue when you still feel fine. This turned out to be the best decision ever, because on the night of our ascend to the top we had perfect weather. No rain or wind, just a clear sky, followed by a bright sun, while we were walking in fresh snow that had fallen the day before. Seeing the sun rise from the top of the mountain was amazing.
The guides never failed to stay alert on our health and safety. When we were on top of the mountain, my friend started to feel unwell and we immediately started our descend. Which is much more difficult than going up. They guided us down the slopes and made sure we were back in time in base camp for us to have a rest before we had to continue our descend. When we finally reached Mweka Gate to get our certificates we were exhausted, but very content.
Climbing the mountain took almost everything we had. Sometimes we faced our boundaries and had to step over them. We reached the top because of our guides and crew and for that we are very greatful. Caracal Safaris went out of their way to make this trip unforgetable for us. And they succeeded.
NL
Email Mahlet | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable, well organized and fun
Our family went on a safari and Kilimanjaro trip with Caracal and it was absolutely lovely. The communication before the trip was very informative, we got all the information and breefing in advance. During the safari we had a guide called Max, a young tour guide who impressed us with his knowledge. He put a lot of effort in showing us the big five and he succeeded! Before taking off to the kilimanjaro we met up with one of the owners of the company and our tourguides for the Kilimanjaro and they made sure we went up the mountain well prepared. We would definetely recommand this tour company!
NL
Email Lieke | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A once-in-a-lifetime experience
We are 5 students from Holland and heard good stories about Caracal Tours & Safaris from friends. We spend 3 months as student doctors in Tanzania, and started travelling across the country afterwards. We didn't hesitate to book our 6 days safari and 4 days of climbing Mount Meru with them, and we didn't regret this at all. We had such a great time!! Everything was very well arranged and exactly how we wanted it. Marion was always very fast in responding to our e-mails and trying to think with us the best she could.
Our safari guide, Temba, did a really great job. He showed us such a lot of different animals and had a very good knowledge of all of them. He was always ready to make our safari the best as possible, also in the evenings. When there was no power on our campsite, he even arranged to have our camera's and phones charged in another place, so we would be able to make as many pictures as we wanted the next day. He would also take us to the local pub for a fun night of dancing when we asked for it.
Also our trip to the summit of Mount Meru was perfectly arranged. Our guide Jackson did everything he could to let us feel comfortable, so that everyone of us was able to make it to the top! Marion would call him frequently to ask if we were all doing well.
Those ten days we spend with Caracal gave us really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We would recommend it to everybody, you won't regret it! (We actually already did, since my parents and also colleague student doctors went on safari with Caracal after our recommendations!)
NL
Email Family R | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
excellent holiday, recommended!
Caracal provides excellent and flexibel service and cares about your personal needs. We went on a two-week safari, mountain-climbing holiday in Tanzania with the family (2 adults, 2 teenagers). We had a well-prepared and enthusiastic guide and our own jeep. The lodges, maramboi tented camp, rivertrees inn, kitela lodge, were fantastic (environment, rooms, food), despite the food at Weru-Weru lodge.
We highly recommend using caracal tours & safari to organize your personal custommade holiday.
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Email vj | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A good guide is what makes a good safari - and Bernard is the best!
I honestly don't know how he does it, but Bernard is amazing! He can see the animals early and he also has a great rapport with the other guides. He uses both of those talents to be sure his clients are in the middle of all the action in the parks. Just watch him greet everyone with a smile and handshake! And trust him when he suggests cruising for another hour because there might just be a black rhino active this afternoon.
Bernard and Marion are truly responsive to their guests. Moment by moment, they customize everything to meet the guests' needs - food, water, rest, a type of hotel, a photo opportunity, more time to watch an animal, time to move to something new, answering questions about everything from animal behavior to local customs!
A safari is about observing animals in the wild - no guarantees about what nature will show you. But traveling with Caracal is a guarantee that you will see everything available in just the way you want every single day.
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Email Deb | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond our expectations- we saw everything we wanted to see and more!
The 4 of us had a great time. Max was our guide & he was great. He quickly spotted the animals & seemed to know that if we waited we would see the animals do amazing things.We saw a river crossing which was amazing plus all of the big 5. The accommodations & food were great. We would definitely recommend Caracal.