Absolute Africa
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 1986)
- Member Of:
- ATTA & ATOL
- Tour Types:
- Budget camping tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary (clients assist with camp chores)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $44 to $170 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Daniela and Greg | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible
My husband and are did the 23 day safari around lake Victoria and absolutely loved it. Definitely best value and liked that we were in charge of what we ate instead of being given premade meals like some other tours.
Wycliffe, our tour guide, and our driver, Hezron, were both the nicest, most considerate people you could find.
We both were comfortable with the camping, tents were really good quality and because we were lucky with a small group, got to stack the mats up 2 high which made it very comfortable.
BR
Email Vitor Mangualde | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything worked fine
AA took me from Nairobi to Vic Falls and I really enjoyed the experience. The group had people from different ages and backgrounds, from uni students to retired ladies. After a few days you feel very familiar to your travel buddies and there is a general feeling of cordiality and warmth. The food was great and I could make it healthysh. There is options for vegetarians, lots of fruits and vegetables if you like.
The truck is fine if you keep in mind that an overland camping tour in Africa not supposed to be comfortable. I felt safe all the time and reafirmed my belief that dangerous places are not necessarily those where many people live a very simple life.
Do it!
Email Norm Knight | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The time of our lives
Just had a great 4 days in Masai Mara and the sighting of animals was above all expectations (even 2 pairs of mating lions). Sitting in Arusha today and reading reviews and being amazed by the comments. If these people had read all the info from AA they would have been better prepared to go on a camping tour. Still have 5 weeks more to go with AA on Sthrn Cross Safari and and still want to see more. After only 5 days with Wycliffe and Steve we were extremely disappointed that they are to leave the tour. Very sad to see 2 friends depart
NZ
Email Kirsty | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highlight of the year!
My husband and I have been travelling since December last year and by far, our trip with Absolute Africa was an absolute highlight. We did the 32 day Wildlife and Spice Island tour with Vee (the host) and Patrick (our driver). They were amazing - we were always well informed and knew what to expect and prepare for each day. The truck was well equipped and the tents etc were fantastic and well looked after. Africa is an incredible continent and overlanding is the best way to see it! We would definitely like to tour with them again and would highly recommend them!
US
Email Mary E. A. Lucas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa Budget Travel at its Best
My husband and I traveled with Absolute Africa for their Maasai Migration tour which took us on game drives through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, and then took us down the coast to Dar Es Salaam where we then continued out time in Africa independently. Our time with Absolute Africa was the best we could have imagined - the game drives were incredible - within two days we had seen the "Big Five." However, it is travel on a budget - so the expectations going into such a trip need to be set accordingly - it was tent camping, participatory cooking/cleaning, often cold showers at camp sites, and some long days on the big, yellow, very bumpy truck. But if you're looking for an affordable, rugged and real way to enjoy Africa - Absolute Africa is the way to go.
Email Craig | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Rivers of Africa Tour 2015
I had never been on a tour like this before but having done so now, I would recommend Absolute Africa highly to anyone.
The office staff were prompt and efficient in their responses and happy to help out with all aspects of your trip planning (insurance, flights, health, finances...) I felt organised and in safe hands throughout the booking process.
As for the tour itself, I can't rave enough about the crew. Our guide and drivers were all great at their jobs - both professional and fun - and made the trip what it was. Life on a truck can be testing at times but with a guide there to pull everyone together, it ends up being a huge positive part of the experience.
I plan to visit other continents next but if I was to return to Africa, I would have no hesitation in booking with Absolute again. A sensational seven weeks and I miss it already!
CA
Email Sean | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro
Greetings,
Anyone interested in challenging themselves with a picturesque climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro should strongly consider contacting Natasja and David at Absolute Africa as they were professional, prompt, friendly and courteous in helping me book my trip with them as well as deal with any issues on which I required their input.
Moreover, my team of six, lead by my guide, William, were friendly and always helpful in getting me whatever I needed to make it to the summit, well before sunrise, on July 8th, 2015.
It was a fantastic trip, well organized and with plenty of information and food on the mountain!
My equipment and the gear provided were fine and again, the service was excellent!
I highly recommend the team at Absolute Africa as a reasonably priced operator for trips up the mountain.
Thanks to everyone in the UK and Tanzania!
Sean
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolute trip of a lifetime!
I have just finished the full 72 day Absolute Safari. We covered an enormous distance seeing and doing so many incredible things.. Game driving in the big yellow truck, crossing boarders, mountain treks and gorillas, islands and beautiful beaches, house boat charters, wild rafting down grade 5 rapids, sleeping under the stars, water holes, desert, mountains, rainforest, 4 seasons... I have hardly scratched the surface! This is a hands on camping safari which is a bit rugged on the edges but well organized covering a great trip route on an itinerary through Africa, and comes with the support of 2 road crew to assist you on your adventure. I highly recommend this company to those with a sense of fun and adventure to get the most out of the people and places visited on this safari.
Email Mary | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
the crew and office were fantastic! made a great trip - lots of fun and value for money
The trip was varied in what we saw and what we did, animals and scenery were fantastic. My guide and driver were friendly and full of information. The accommodation was basic camping but good - some lovely campsites. The Big Yellow Truck was exciting! food was excellent, i want to go with them again!
Email xiaoxiao90 | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wouldn't use again
I did the 52 day Southern Safari trip with Absolute Africa traveling from Nairobi to Cape Town. Highlights include rafting along the Zambezi river, Spitzkoppe and of course all the amazing animals we saw on safari (Serengeti, endangered rhinos at Matopos, Etosha). Some driving days were long (we covered a lot of countries in 52 days), tent equipment was good quality and food was usually plentiful (unless people in your group want to eat breakfast before breakfast time and they don't save you enough food). For the first 10 days our tour leader Kip/Edmund was great, he had a positive attitude and he was really patient. Then we joined another group and had Martin as our tour leader. Whilst Martin was really informative in the beginning about the daily itinerary, with time i felt he became less informative. It was also clear to some people that Martin favoured certain individuals in the group. I understand that there will be people (even tour leaders) that get on with certain people more than others but as a professional i expected him to treat the group as a whole and listen to us as a whole, taking control of the group during more difficult situations when needed. There were certain situations where Martin acted quite childishly to certain members of the group, a few times he did not respect people's confidentiality by talking to certain members of the group about other people. One particular incident he publicly ridiculed someone in front of the whole group during dinner for not helping cook dinner one night because she was tired. You wouldn't expect this from someone who's been a tour leader for 20 years.
Some of the optional activities i did i felt like it wasn't worth the money, for example we spent 3 days in the Okavango Delta and one day had 9 hours of free time where we had to stay in the bush camp or swim in a pond. Our tour leader didn't tell us this so some people didn't bring things like books etc. Absolute claim that they send you the most updated information (itinerary and optional activities list) however they included activities that haven't been running for years or they don't even run. We went to Antelope Park, Zimbabwe a private reserve home to a lion conservation programme with the aim of breeding lion cubs from captured lions in order to release them into the wild. Since 2005 they haven't released a single lion. I read articles by National Geographic and Africa Geographic that questioned the ethicacy of the programme and there was also speculation about whether the park involved itself in Africa's lion industry (look up Blood Lions for more info). Animal conservation should never involve animal-human interaction or breeding and these do/use to do both these things e.g. cub handling and lion walks.
Correspondence with Absolute prior and throughout my trip was thorough and professional. After giving feedback about my experiences there was an obvious lack of accountability and ignorance. Overland tours are a great way of traveling to so many African countries and overall i really enjoyed most of the activities i did and the people i traveled with. However there are quite a few African overland tours and I am unlikely to use them again.