Manna Expedition & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $180 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Samantha Seal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent tour operator
My family and I travelled to Tanzania in September 2015, and we were looked after by Peter Mapinda as our tour operator for our whole stay of 10 days. We had the most wonderful experience. Peter is an extremely knowledgeable, friendly and professional tour operator. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him, and felt very comfortable with everything that he had planned, and suggested. We saw the most wonderful natural wildlife experiences, and these are memories that I will keep with me forever. Thank-you Peter for the most amazing holiday.
Email Nigel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Tanzanian Safari
We took a family safari with Manna - my wife and I plus our teenage son and daughter and my 84 year old father. We were met by Peter at Kilimanjaro Airport with a glass of sparkling wine and from that point on the arrangements were faultless. We travelled to the Ngorongoro Crater for a 2 night stay, then on to the Serengeti (we stayed at Kuba Kuba Lodge which was recommended by Manna and was excellent), then back to Lake Manyara to spend some time in Tarangire Park and finally an overnight stay at Lake Diluti before an early flight out of Kilimanjaro. Manna booked all the accommodation, arranged entry to the parks and there were no issues with any of it - we had some of the best rooms in the camps. We discussed broadly what we wanted beforehand, timings, a budget etc and they came up with the suggestions that suited us.
What makes these trips so special however is the wildlife that you get to see. Manna were totally flexible in what we did each day and where we went. When we were out all day they organised all the refreshments / food(chilled beers in the 4x4!). Most importantly we had the best two guides I have ever had on a safari and I have been on a number (Peter for the first part and Samwel for the second). They were extremely experienced and knowledgeable and seemed to sense what was going to happen before it did. We spotted a lion kill from the way the wildebeest were behaving, a leopard up a tree that nobody else saw and a cheetah hunt. I lost count of the number of times that they said there was something "over there" when we couldn't see anything and then took us over to the spot and sure enough they were right. They didn't rely on the radio and other vehicles but trusted their own instincts. They also enlightened us on other interesting historical facts during our days out, for example the Masai history and migration, the formation of the Rift Valley, farming communities around Lake Victoria etc.
I wasn't quite sure how our party would get on with all the travelling given the age range but we all completely loved it, including my father who was rekindling a love of safari that he started in the 1970s. I have no hesitation in recommending Manna Expedition & Safaris as the tour operator and host. We will definitely be back.
CA
Email Jeff | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing National-Geographic-like trip
I travelled with my parents in Kenya and Tanzania. Peter Mapinda was our operator in Tanzania and was extremely friendly, helpful and sincerely concerned that we had a good trip. I strongly recommend Peter and his company.
US
Email Dalonda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Manna Expedition & Safaris_Feb 2016 Experience
Peter Mapinda and his staff at Manna Expedition are very conscientious and hardworking to provide the best service and accommodations to their guest during safari. Upon arrival at the airport, you are met by a representative from Manna Expedition.
The tent camps were extremely enjoyable and safe.
We were escorted to and from our tent to the main tent where we ate & met to leave for safari. The food was excellent. It was remarkable to be "in the bush" in the midst of the African wildlife.
Upon arrival to Arusa Tanzania we flew about 1 hour to begin our safari. After safari we began our drive back to Arusha, we had a wonderful cultural visit at a Massai village. Our driver and host from Manna Expedition stayed with us until we entered the airport for our flight to Rwanda to see the silverback gorillas.
Manna Expedition can arrange this for you!
Note: medical shots are required & a VISA. This was not a huge problem but did require several months to arrange. This was done by ourselves after we booked the trip.
Email Maria | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Everything about this safari was first class, from start to finish. Peter is a fantastic guide with so much experience, he knows where to be and when in order to get the best spots. The days itineraries were well thought out, we saw the big 5 within the first 3 days!
Each lodge we stayed in was fantastic and the food was great. The car was spacious, comfortable and clean.
Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend Manna Safaris for a truly memorable safari experience.
Email Sue | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Expectations superseded!
We chose Manna Expeditions Ltd, as Peter Mapinda had been the valued guide for friends of ours, before setting up his own company and we wanted to support his new venture. He came highly recommended.
Peter was in contact by email regularly to discuss accommodation, game park preferences and the itinerary.
From initial enquiries, to dropping us back to the airport, the service was personal and exceptional.
We booked our own flights and Manna Expeditions booked everything else.
Our flight arrival date and time changed more than once and an extra hotel night booking was duly booked. An extra safari was also offered due to our early arrival.
We were a party of 6 -me, my husband, our 2 sons, 1 daughter-in-law and a future (hopefully) daughter-in-law. This is the 4th safari my husband and I have experienced, but the 1st for the other 4. Nobody was disappointed. It was the best so far for me!
The jeep was roomy, clean and ran well. There was a large fridge which housed plenty of water, beers and wine.
Our days were very full and not a moment was wasted. Peter expertly spotted animals which appeared hidden or far away for our novice eyes to notice. He was very keen to impart his expert knowledge on us and appreciated the many questions which were thrown at him.
Peter arranged a bush dinner for us one evening and surprised us with an anniversary cake, which was a lovely personal touch.
We stayed 2 nights in the Lake Duluti Serena Lodge in Arusha, 2 nights in the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, 3 nights in Serengeti Serena, 1 night in the Lake Maseki Tented Lodge and our final night was spent in the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. The settings for all of the accommodation were superb, with amazing views. Our favourite was the tented lodge, which was luxurious and very different. Staff in all of them were friendly and attentive, especially in the tented lodge.
Our safaris were in Arusha, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Manyara National Parks and Ndutu area. We saw everything, and more than, we had hoped to see, including a cheetah taking a kill up into a tree for her cub, lions, hyenas, cheetah and vultures feeding, many babies, including lion, elephant, zebra and baboon. And, of course, the migration! An amazing sight!
We visited a Masai village, where we were entertained and educated into the traditional lives of the Masai.
Peter is very supportive of Tanzanian people and their future and took us to visit an orphanage in Arusha and a small village and school on the shore of Lake Victoria. Here we were taken fishing by some of the villagers, which was a wonderful experience.
There were so many highlights for us all, but my personal highlight was watching the sun rise over the Serengeti from a hot air balloon.
Every evening, before dinner, Peter would meet with us and we would have a briefing for the following day. Nothing was set in stone and we felt that our opinions and requirements were valued and considered.
I would not hesitate to recommend Manna Expeditons Ltd to anyone who wants a personal itinerary, with a friendly, experienced, knowledgeable guide.
Email Philip | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Company-Great Experience.
Peter and his team did a wonderful job creating our itinerary and changes had to be made almost at the last minute because of changes to our flights from the UK. All this was handled expertly. We packed in as many game drives as possible and very quickly saw the "Big 5". Peter has a phenomenal knowledge of all the animals, birds and plant life and there was never a dull moment. He made our holiday great fun as well as being educational. He went out of his way to make our time in Tanzania a most memorable experience. I would also add the he is a superb driver. I have no hesitation in recommending Manna Expedtions & Safaris Ltd for a truly memorable holiday and safari experience. This was our fourth safari holiday and probably the best so far.
Email Ivor | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Stressful experience for our 6 th Safari to Tanzania as Peter Malinda had clearly got serious financ
We. Travelled with two friends for their 1st and our 6th Safari in Tanzania. Peter Malinda had been an excellent guide with our previous Safari Company and we decided to support his company. All was well on arrival but we discussed a visit to Arusha National Park whist staying for our first day in Dilutu Lodge Arusha, this did not occur.Travel to Ngorongoro plus a Crater tour the following day was fine.
When we reached the gate to the Serengeti we discovered Peter had not payed the Park fees. After two hours of his failure to transfer payments to the Park Authories we paid over 500 USD by Visa. The next two days were only half day Safari trips asPeter wished to visit a tented lodge he. Had set up near te Seroners river, which was having problems.On our return trip to Manyara he stopped at Serengeti Airport as we found our payment had only covered one day Park fees and a further 1000 USD was required to cover the remaining two days. 6 hours of stress at the airport, including the attendance of the Police finally found Peter arranging money transfer to the Parh Authorities. He then drove like a man possessed to the Serengeti gate where we were told we could not cross the Ngorongoro Conservation Area until a further 350USD was found. After one hour Peter was unable to raise this money so we paid again by Visa. We arrived at Manyara in the dark at 8.30pm instead of the planned 1.00 pm. We had eaten nothing from breakfast. That mornings d missed the afternoon Manyara game drive.
The following day we returned to Diluti Lodge.
Peter then failed to pick us up at the agreed time and we had to pay a further 100 USD fora taxi to the airport.
Peter Malinda had received full payment for all hotels and Park Fees etc. In early March.He told us he would pay back the money we spent to the Parks but this has not occurred.
This trip became a disaster, anxiety inducing experience from what seemed to us a fraudulent company having clearly used a part of our payment for other than the arrangements for our Safari.
Email Ivor Donaldson | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We have still not received the large amount of USD we had to provide for unpaid Park Fees
Further to my last review I feel that I now need to update other possible clients that Peter Mapinda has still failed to reimburse the National Park Fees which we had to provide to access and leave the Serengeti.This is despite promises made over the past 5 weeks.
Email Murtaza Bashir | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best tour operator
Our Ngorongoro and Serengeti tour was very well planned. Peter Mapinda and our organiser Nisrin Lokmanji arranged it very well. We experienced the lodge and camp safari. Elephants and lions paid us a visit too at our tents. We saw all the big 5 and many other animals. Our guide Wilson was also a very well experienced guide. I would highly recommend manna expedition and safari as best and resonable.