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Hekima Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $210 to $1,200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
FR
Email Florian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very friendly and professional!
I went on a one-day safari in august with Hekima, and everything was great! I was only interested in going to Tarangire (as I had other safaris planned later in Kenya), but they managed to find me a group to join and a private car to get me back to Arusha! The price was very reasonable comparedto the competition. Our driver was very knowlegable and taught us more about the Masai culture, the history of the region, and of course the animals in the park. Lunch was also very tasty!
Eli and Jackson are both incredibly friendly guys, and I would for sure trust them again if I come back to Tanzania! Don't hesitate to stay at their hostel when you're in Arusha.
Thanks again for the breathtaking experience!
IN
Email Ethelvina Susngi | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience
We did a 4 day Safari with Hekima and it was a really wonderful experience. The team is well organized and treat you more like friends rather than customers. Amaani was our guide and he always made sure we were the first team out of the camps. He was very experienced despite his young age and would often spot Cheetahs and lions despite them being really far away and well camouflaged. The food was great and everything was well taken care of. If you're looking to do a Safari, I'd suggest you stop looking and book with them as they're also the most reasonable in terms of cost that we could find on this website. Highly recommended!
PL
Email Malgorzata | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lifetime adventure with very professional & passionate team!
Tour was perfectly organised, well scheduled, safe and fulfilling all expectations. Guides and staff are not only highly professional but also friendly and passionate. Everything starting from cars & accomodation going through food & experiences and getting to people & atmosphere - everything totally fulfilled my expectations.
FR
Email Manon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Couldn't expect a better experience than with Hekima Safaris!
Jackson and his team were perfect and amazing. They arranged the 4-day safari in tents for my friend and I. The organization was really good from the pick-up to the drop-off at the airport, including the safari itself, the food (very tasty), the accomodation and even the great night out (thanks again for the great fun!). Jackson even dropped my forgotten sunglasses to one of my friend in Dar. I recommand really much Hekima Safaris which is a reliable company. Thanks again for the great memories and hope to come back again!
BE
Email Wim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice safari experience, with an organisation that has room for improvement.
My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed this safari experience. We had a fun group (us and 4 others we did not know beforehand), and each national park visit was breathtaking in its own way. The organisation was adequate in some regards, but did fall short in some others.
- Our guide knew his way around the parks, and managed to make sure we saw a ton of different animals. He answered our questions but did not take a lot of initiative to give us explanations about the animals/areas we saw. He was enthousiastic and playful at times, but overall did not seem very interested in getting 'connected' with the group, with an attitude that can be best described as nonchalant: not to a problematic extent, but not very involved. Adequate, but not great.
- The camping experience was quite adventurous. The tents were ok, but it was not possible to really secure them into the ground. During a storm at night, this lead to some panic with someone's tent flying around the campsite (that had a large number of jackal and hyena visitors). Nobody got hurt in the end, but several people of the group were (understandably) scared out of their minds throughout this all, yet our guide did not seem to care very much and did not give an impression of being committed to helping out, and to keeping the group safe and at ease. "Just keep sleeping" is not an appropriate response if a scared person asks what to do incase a hyena manages to enter your tent at night.
- The food tasted good, but the way it was stored was often quite unhygienic. Of course, while on a safari adventure in Africa you need to have realistic expectations about this, but there's a minimum of effort you would expect a cook to make regarding hygiene and ours didn't always do that. The best example: the fruit and vegetables that we were to eat later on were lying on the ground in the camping site kitchen, with rats and birds running rampant through them. We suggested to the cook to put this food in a box (the least you can do to keep it protected a little better) and helped him do it, just to find the food lying around on the dirty ground again the next day for no apparent reason (once again between the rats and birds).
- On the fourth day of the trip, we were told the plan was to visit the Ngorongoro crater for just +-3 hours and then leave by noon, even though our park entry pass allowed us to stay in the park until much later. The group needed to do some negotiating with the guide to keep us in the park for the maximum amount of time. In the end we had a great day there (and after talking about all this, our guide did put in a much better overall effort in Ngorongoro), but that does not change the fact that that day would have been cut inexplicably short had it not been for the group intervening.
- The Hekima House, were we stayed our last night of the trip, was ok overall but our room was quite unclean. The food, bathroom and staff were nice though.
In the end we got the impression that the organisation was receptive to our feedback and willing to improve, which is definitely a positive aspect worth mentioning. We believe Hekima is a young organisation capable of giving many people great safari experiences in the future, but also that they need to improve in the aspects mentioned above. Even though these things did not ruin the entire experience for us, they very well might for other travelers.
About the parks:
- Tarangire: various types of vegetation, many hilly parts so beautiful viewpoints, lots of animals.
- Serengeti: more flat open spaces, less vegetation, many animals yet more spread out from each other, lots and lots of lions.
- Ngorongoro: unbelievable setting, many different animals close together in a breathtaking volcanic creater, no doubt the highlight of our trip.
- Lake Duluti: definitely not a 'safari' day, more of a relaxing experience on the last day, enjoying some peace and quiet (and birds). A nice day but not comparable to the true safari experiences in Tarangire, Serengeti & Ngorongoro.
Reply from Hekima Safaris
Posted on Dec 18, 2018Dear Wim,
thank you for your review. We would like to take this chance to apologize for all the inconvenience and we are sorry to hear that you were less than fully satisfied with the service. We used the chance to talk to you in person directly after safaris as the owner of the company found you at Hekima House and tried to clarify some details.
We pride ourselves on our customer care so it came as a surprise, and we would like to explain as follows!
We make sure that our guides are competent and knowledgeable. As far as we understand some people love fully enjoying the nature. The guide makes his best to find his way to find animals for you and provide you some information. Than, without questions, he can stay quiet in order you can enjoy yourself watching the nature. It is his part of the job to replay questions as they appear and we do hope you found it satisfactory when you had some questions.
We do understand that camping experience can be quiet an adventure for some people. We make our best to prepare tents and all the equipment in order you can enjoy it. We always explain the difference between camping programs and luxury lodge programs. Yes, there are some animals around the national parks. Some people find it exciting, some a bit scaring. Yes, some unexpected situation may happen during the camping eg becose of weather conditions. Yet we always do explain to you the real situation and try to react on time. Please take our apologies if you didn't have an impression of your guide being committed enough to comfort you when you get scared during the night time. As our team get used to with animals around, maybe the guide didn't understand how big impression this situation made on you and was not sensitive as he suppose to.
Thank you for bringing the issue about food to our attention. The safety and security of our guests is always our top priority! As we do receive people from all over the world the quality of food and water provided is very important issue. Our team do everything possible to keep people safe which sometimes is hard due to diffrent bacterial flora in Tanzania. We are sorry if you had diffrent impression. First of all, the food kept for guests is store in diffrent conditions than food kept for the team (guide and cookers themself). Secondly, on campsite there are some places especially prepared for storing food - it is the governmental requirement and foreigner guests are not allowed inside those places. Maybe you didn't understand well the situation and due to some language differences didn't understand each other well with the cooker. At the end, we are really happy that the food itself was tasty.
If it cames to the itenary of safari, you are provided of it before the experience. Time spent in Ngorongoro depends on two circumstances - first, the permit is limitited of time becose of Conservation regulations and second, it depends on your itenary. Guide do not decide himself about the time spent in crater but is strictly instructed from the company. Please remember, doing gamedriving genarte costs eg like fuel for the car you use. We do our best to provide for you the best possible experience and sometimes we try to go an extra mile in order to create amazing memories for you.
We do appreactie your feedback about Hekima House and we take it in serious consideration to improve the facilities. We are on process of changes inside the property and you are welcome any time to be back and see how the positive improvements may suprise you!
Last but not least, we do hope that you will keep good memories only from your stay in Tanzania, thank you for traveling with us.
With kind regards,
Magdalene,
Hekima House
PL
Email Anna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceeded the expectations!
My sister and I had 5 days for a safari, and we spent a lot of time researching which safari provider to use. Most of them were not able to arrange Safaris to Serengeti start from Mwanza most of Safaris provider start from Arusha , but Hekima created a customized, one-way itinerary for us by starting our safari in Mwanza and ending in Arusha Hekima finalize our itinerary. Emails were addressed quickly and the guys deals with reservation provided great advice and suggestions. We also like that they have connection with people from Poland made us feel more comfortable submitting payment to them and feeling confident that everything was all set.
They all customer care from Poland they been responding our questions quickly. Our safari guide, Juma was amazing! So so so knowledgeable :) , patient and friendly. He navigated the roads after heavy rains with ease and has eagle-eye vision to spot animals. We saw all the animals and never once felt rushed by him. He was also extremely punctual he showed up the morning of our safari ahead of schedule, and also checked in on us the night before to ensure we checked into the lodge safely.
Hekima runs the Hekima House where we stayed after Safaris , it was fantastic with all the energy of the stuff! Beautifully designed, friendly staff,
There are so many safari companies out there, and I'm sure a lot of them are very good. However, I was very impressed with Hekima Safaris and recommend them eagerly
Ps: I saw Hekima working with one organization in Southern part of Tanzania that helps woman farmers!I was impressed by the impact they can have on society
Guys kip doing what your doing.
FR
Email H. Adel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience with amazing and honnest crew
Hekima provides more than you need before,during and after the Safari.
They make you feel home.
They do their best To satisfy all your request and They realise it.
We had a great Safari experience thanks To our guide Amani and his eagle eyes.He really loves his job Which makes the experience more amazing and Roch.
We had really good and fresh food thanks To the cook Markus.
We had great management from Elieza (Mopo) and Jackson who cared about all the details To make us confortable and live this great experience safely with lot of fun.
They cared about all details before du ring and after the Safari.
I really appreciated their honnesty and transparency for communication.
Besides we were Lucky To attend a family event thanks To Mopo who niveau invited us To share a wonderful tanzanian party.
Thank you guys
NL
Email Meis | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I enjoyed even minute of the safari with Hekima
I booked a 5-day safari and a couple of nights at the Hekima House (hostel). On the day when I arrived, I felt very welcomed imminently. Every moment all the guys who work at Hekima try to make the experiences as good and suitable for you as possible. Even after the safari, we watched the Lion King together, played cards and they took us out to the party.
I would recommend this company if you enjoy being with a nice group of people and don't mind camping. Even if you want something that their standard program doesn't provide, just email them to see what the options are. They will find a way to make it work for everybody.
Email Jack | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The experience of a lifetime!
I spent 6 days with Hekima this summer for my 30th birthday, and it was just completely beyond anything that i expected. The guys took hospitality to another level. Upon arriving (the day of my birthday) our now good friend and brother Issa provided us with transport from Arusha Airport to a small but charming hostel in Arusha, where we were melted by Elieza and Jackson. Unknowingly, these guys had made a huge effort to make us all feel welcome....and celebrate my birthday! I had no idea that they knew it was my birthday, but they organised a fantastic party for me and my friends, and all the other guests at the apartments. They provided us with amazing, home cooked food, local cocktails and just a warm, welcoming atmosphere. We were all really overwhelmed by how friendly and welcoming these guys were, and they really treated us as though we were their family. I have been to many places, but have to say that I have never received a reception as warm as this before. They are good friends of us now, and like family. The safari itself went beyond any expectations that we had. We saw everything that we could was to see and more. Issa was our guide, and he was very knowledgable, very kind and very funny. We really had a great time not only on the safari, but just getting to know Issa. We listened to reggae music through the day and just smiled and laughed the entire time. The locations for the safari were incredible, and it was just amazing being so close to nature, and camping in these surroundings. The food provided during the safari was plentiful and of a good standard. I can't say anything other than very positive things about Hekima, and all the guys that put their time and love into running a business that provides people with an experience of a lifetime. I love all of the guys, and I will keep in touch with them long into the future. I hope to see them again soon.
CR
Email Meylin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service! Good places to stay, safe and friendly for a solo traveler
Jackson and Eli are great. They gave me a good price for my safari tour that combined Tanzania and Kenya. I was a solo traveler but Eli joined me in my trip to Kenya to make sure I was staying in nice places. He was great companion. We visited many places and I always felt safe and in a well-organized tour. In Tanzania, Jackson made his best to accommodate to my needs under some unexpected events happening. He made sure I was happy with my itinerary and with service.