Team Shemeji Safari Tanzania
Shemeji Safari Tanzania
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $180 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
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Email Geri | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
In short: fantastic.
In short: fantastic. Saw everything we hoped for and more, while being provided excellent service.
Booked a 10-day safari with Shemeji during August 2021 after receiving offers from about 10 providers. What drew me to Shemeji was the larger scope and variety of the original offer compared to others. After some customization (many thanks for the colleagues for implementing all of the requests!) we decided on a 10 day trip of Arusha NP - Tarangire NP - Lake Manyara NP - Ngorongoro - Serengeti C - Ikoma - Serengeti N - lake Natron - Kilimanjaro. I liked the offered "Africa Safari" lodges on location, with some minor modifications here and there.
Within the first maybe 3-4 days we already saw all animals you can see on this route, and it just kept getting better. Leopards eating prey in the trees, hyenas and cheetahs on the hunt, multiple lion prides with many cubs at arms reach, lions feasting, elephants super close multiple times, thousands of wildebeest / zebra / buffalo, giraffes all around, 5-6 large Mara river crossings (WOW!), rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, monkeys, baboons, innumerable birds of all sorts, and so on. Difficult to list all of them. Check an "animals of East Africa" book, and you can likely check all species off the list.
Our guide Godliving has been top notch in every way. Delightful, professional, courteous, punctual, showed a great amount of enthusiasm and love for both nature and what he does, drove very well, took all around great care for us and has always been keenly attentive to all our wishes. After our long long days of adventures he'd still take the time to maintain and thoroughly clean the car each night and be up early and sharp nontheless. He always knew where to find the animals we were looking for and was an excellent spotter, all the while driving the *incredibly rough* terrains. He is a fantastic chap and we found a friend in him.
All accommodations were great, and there was quite a bit of variety. On some locations we were practically the only guests (fallout of corona I guess) which lead to the atmosphere as if we had owned the place with all the staff just looking out for our wishes, like a movie star. A.S. Lake Manyara is right next to the lake with hippos, zebras, wildebeest and monkeys all around. Rhino lodge has an unbeatable secluded atmosphere at the ridge of Ngorongoro. A.S. Serengeti is right on the plains where you can listen to hyenas and lions playing outside your tents. Serengeti is famous for a reason. A.S. Lake Natron has an unbeatable view. We were treated very well in all locations, everything was squeaky clean, and being able to take a warm shower after a day of dusty wilderness is a blessing, especially in the middle of nowhere. When it takes you days of driving to reach a spot, you appreciate the logistics of providing comfort for you there. I found the food to be excellent, delicious, no complaints, no stomach issues, no problems whatsoever. Water and sanitizer was provided all around. I saw virtually no mosquitos and only a few tsetse flies in Tarangire, who mostly died gruesome deaths under my palms.
It is difficult to list anything that was wrong. Yes maybe lunch boxes are a little repetitive after 2 weeks, but half the world is starving, and hey you are munching on chicken while watching lions eating a few meters away, so who cares what the food is. We had a punctured tire a number of times, but considering the exceeding amount of sharp rocks littered everywhere, this is not unexpected. The cars have double spares for a reason.
About the extra programs. The Maasai village was interesting but the locals can be a little pushy about trying to sell you stuff. Lake Natron waterfalls are great but you need some condition as the rocks are steep. Driving with a fully open safari car was definitely a different experience, which I highly recommend. We didn't do too many walking tours (harder to get close to animals safely) but the few we did were very interesting.
If you are going for the adventure, to be close to nature, to see wild animals at arms reach; while being well taken care of and in comfort, you will not regret booking with them. Hope to go back at a later time. highly recommended.
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Email Kris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our Drivers were knowledgeable about the wildlife, helpful, and very welcoming.
This was our families very first trip to Tanzania. After we compared many Safari tour companies, we decided to go with Shemeji. From the beginning of the booking to the very end, we were very happy with everything. We spent 5 days on safari and 4 days on Zanzibar at the Reef and beach resort. Emma was very helpful in answered all of our questions and coordinating our trip to match our wants and needs. We also found the entire trip to be very affordable, considering all of the comfortable camping and all inclusive resort amenities. The food was very good, and the entire staff was friendly and accommodating. Our Drivers were very knowledgeable about the wildlife, and were also friendly and helpful with our requests. The comfort tents we stayed in were very clean and safe, and the Reef and beach resort was stunning. The manager of the Reef and Beach resort, Petra, was Amazing! Petra helped us coordinate all of our requests, including an exciting birthday cake and song by the entire restaurant staff. We would definitely recommend Shemeji Safari to anyone looking for an affordable Amazing Adventure in Africa.
Tanzania Northern circuit safari
We loved our safari. Julius our driver was 5 star.
Emma did a wonderful job communicating with us and arranging all things. For that we are truly grateful. We had a phenomenal vacation. We will remember this trip always and forever.
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Email Tony | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari company!
We had a great time on safari through Shemeji! From planning to to actual trip, it was very well organized and we never felt rushed. Emma was very quick to respond on scheduling and planning before the trip. Very helpful in all the documentation needed to enter Tanzania. Our guide (Adson) and our chef (Godson) were awesome as well. We did end up seeing the Big 5 on the last day of our safari thanks to our guide Adson and his great eyes! Going to Zanzibar was a great way to relax and cap off the trip. It was beautiful and all the locals were very friendly. If you're looking to go on a safari, I would definitely recommend going through Shemeji.
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Email Ryan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding and amazing...
Everyone I interacted with at Shemeji Safari was outstanding in every way from setting up the itinerary, to being completely flexible when we needed to delay the trip by a year due to COVID-19, to every aspect of the trip itself.
Everyone we had contact with was so friendly and did everything they could to make our trip truly exceptional. We had way too much good food at every meal in the camps.
Our tour guide Adam took great care of us all week! We saw everything we were hoping to see (including all of the big 5) and much more.
The welcome we received at each camp and the accommodations each night were excellent.
I definitely would recommend Shemeji Safari if you are interested in a great Safari in Tanzania!
Email Julie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding service and value for money.
From the first contact with Emma at Shemeji we received an unsurpassed customer service. I lost count of the number of emails forwards and backwards before our trip as I wanted to customise the itinerary, and Emma was very helpful with suggestions and recommendations. In the month before the trip actually happened we had quite a few flight changes & cancellations due to the Covid situation, and this meant a knock on effect for the holiday itself. Emma had to make various last minute changes to hotel bookings for us and this all happened smoothly with no fuss. Once there, our guide Adam was excellent, and the vehicle with pop up roof was better than expected. I've been going to various African countries for over 10 years and my dream photograph that I've never been able to achieve was of a leopard draped over a tree branch. Needless to say Adam found one for us and we had the sighting all to ourselves. The hotels were mostly very nice although the one in Arusha has seen better days and the swimming pool is a pile of rubble. All other hotels were perfectly good though. The day that we were due to fly on to Zanzibar happened to be the day of the general election in Tanzania and at the last minute Shemeji thought it wise to change our itinerary so that we did not stay in Stone Town as there was potential unrest there. Instead we went straight to the beach, and finished our trip in Stone Town when the situation had become calmer. We appreciated them taking our safety seriously even though it meant extra work in rearranging hotels and transfers for us. I cannot recommend Shemeji highly enough and if you are looking to arrange a reasonably priced safari then look no further. We also loved the option to add on Zanzibar at the end.
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Email Robbin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly outstanding safari experience
We reviewed many different options for safari operators over the course of several months, and ultimately went with Shemeji Safaris. Our experience was outstanding, and we would absolutely recommend them: communication, logistics, meals, comfort, the vehicle, wildlife guiding, and more were all excellent.
I’ll include more detail below, but in our positive interactions with Julius and Godson, our guide and chef, as well as in our observation of other people on safari, it became incredibly clear that we made the right choice when selecting an operator. Experience, consideration, a welcoming spirit, and concern for us having a good time made Shemeji stand out from the pack.
For reference, we opted for a six-day private camping safari for two adults. Our itinerary included Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara NP, Serengeti NP, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
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More detail for those who are interested:
Booking and planning – Emma, the contact at Shemeji’s office, was professional, helpful, and courteous from our first communication through our follow-up after the safari. She responded efficiently to all of our requests, and even when the office limited hours because of COVID, we didn’t wait more than two business days for an email response to questions about everything from outlets in the vehicle to payment.
Guide – Our guide for this trip was Julius, who is an experienced safari guide whose years in these parks gave him an edge in making our safari successful. He considered both my priorities (close encounters, especially with elephants) and my husband’s (as much diversity of viewing as possible), and we were able to have special moments close to animals every day, and saw nearly every animal we hoped to, including a black rhino and three leopards. A little bit of this comes down to chance, but Julius’ experience is what really made all of this happen; he knew what to look for, he assessed what we were prepared to do (use the “bush toilet”, sit in the vehicle for long periods of time patiently in search of some elusive cheetahs), and he made it happen. Julius was informative and answered all of our questions, never rushed our watching or viewing, shared his knowledge with us, and generally made this a great experience. We were blown away by how many animals we saw.
Chef – Our personal chef for the trip was Godson, and he made our trip comfortable and full of delicious food. We are vegetarians, and weren’t sure what to expect, but every meal was different and full of local vegetables and fresh flavors. Dishes were somewhat familiar, but always had Godson’s flair (carrots on pizza are fabulous), and servings were always way more than we could finish. More than once I thought about ways that I could make his dishes at home. We also appreciated the welcoming details: a Masaai blanket tablecloth even at lunchtime, hot water for tea and coffee at all meals, and always a warm smile and “Karibu.” Godson made the savannah feel like home.
One final note on Camping – We opted for a 100% camping safari, and are both extremely happy we did so. Our first two nights “glamping” included real beds in a surprisingly large and comfortable tent at a site that Shemeji’s parent company owns. The next three nights were at public campsites in or next to parks (meaning wildlife interaction, like giraffes by the parking area or an elephant drinking from a water tank!), and Shemeji went out of their way to make those sites comfortable, adding cots, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, and real pillows to the tents for us. Ultimately, it was still camping (which was our choice), yet the most comfortable type of camping I’ve ever done!
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Email Stan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip in challenging times
We initially booked our 5 day safari back in February and decided to go despite COVID-19 outbreak and flight cancellations.
We are grateful to Shemeji Safari for making this trip happen and highly recommend them to everyone.
Our special thanks go to Emma for her patience and flexibility with re-booking and our wonderful guide Adam for making
our visit to Tanzania so memorable.
Email Alex | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing family adventure
Great attention to detail. Julius, our driver and guide, made the experience extra-special. He was patient and flexible - invaluable when traveling with four young children. The teams at each camp were amazing hosts and demonstrated genuine commitment to making our family’s experience as pleasant as possible. Julius organized a tour of a Masai village for us which resulted in one of our favorite moments of the entire trip.
Email Nora | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
everything was exceptionally great
Booking was straightforward thanks to you always getting back to us very quickly with all the info we needed, it made coordinating booking flights/hotels easy. Our guide, Julius was fantastic, he is is very knowledgable about nature, animals and local culture, and did his very best to make sure we get the most out of the safari. He is also a very safe driver, which was important. Accommodations were great, the places were clean and we received a very warm welcome at every place. All staff were super helpful. We will definitely recommend your company to friends.