Our Head Guide Nico and our Signature Hot Lunches
Unlimited Expeditions: The Soul of Tanzania
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $400 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 Yemi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Trip, Wouldn't Change A Thing
Look no further!! If you are anything like us, you have multiple tabs and are weeding through lots of reviews. My wife and I went on our honeymoon last September 2020. All though there were some extra hoops to jump through with Covid, we were glad that we went. From the beginning of our planning, they took the time to listen to what we were interested in and were responsive to all our questions. They were able to plan a great 7 day safari for us. Once we got there, our guide Edward was waiting for us. If you get the opportunity, you should request Edward. He is a seasoned guide. He is also funny, knowledge, and will do his best to make sure you are comfortable and get the most out of your trip. As for the accommodations, we stayed at Rivertrees County Inn, Lemala Mpingo Ridge, Kitela Lodge, Four Seasons Serengeti, and Lemala Kuria Hilla. I can only speak for the accommodations we stayed at, but they were all wonderful and beyond our expectation. The hospitality was amazing and we had zero complaints from beginning to end. We will definitely be return customers down the road! My only advice - Don't look any further.
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Email Shaleem | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our operator, Jorge was went above and beyond his expectations from us.
We had an amazing experience with our 4 day safari which we ended up extending to 5 days. They were very accommodating of the experience we were seeking.
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Email Kristie & Evan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfectly Coordinated and Incredible Service!
We booked a private 8-day safari in Tanzania in Jan/Feb 2021 and were extremely impressed by Soul of Tanzania.
First, during the trip Onesmo, our safari guide, did a truly incredible job taking time to understand our needs and tailoring the game drives and conversations to exceed our expectations. He was tremendously thoughtful each day and evening with briefings so that we knew what to expect for the day and provided options for how to maximize our time doing things that we loved the most. He was proactive in helping us search for and see so many wild animals and had the knowledge throughout the game drives to answer our questions about each animal we encountered - including dozens and dozens of birds! The guides that care for you during the safari definitely make or break the experience and we are lucky that Soul of Tanzania employed Onesmo to care for us.
Second, prior to the trip Sandy, our Soul of Tanzania journey designer, was extremely responsive and helpful in arranging our itinerary. Even a week or so prior to our trip we had to reroute nearly all of our itinerary to add in a COVID test per our government requirements and Sandy did so within a day. Truly fantastic service! During the planning process, each individual is given such great care and attention. We exchanged probably hundreds of emails during planning and every time the response was not only very fast but also extremely helpful.
In summary - we would absolutely recommend Soul of Tanzania to our friends and family. Thank you for an incredible safari!
CA
Email Muna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most organized, well planned and well executed trip of my life.
My husband and I went on a 18 day honeymoon trip to Tanzania in September 2020. Our honeymoon was organized with Luis, he was so helpful, treated us with so much kindness, and patience. Every request we made was met. We were quite nervous about booking a trip during COVID-19 and had a lot of questions about Tanzania’s protocols and Luis response time was really quick and he informed us of everything we should expect. Soul of Tanzania took a lot of precautions to make sure we were safe. Luis also created the best itinerary for us! The amount of effort to make us feel good about our choice was the sweetest guesture and it left us speechless. Our trip was so organized and so well thought out. Once we arrived in Tanzania our guide Steve worked very hard to make sure we saw all of nature and the beauty Tanzania has to offer. He was so amazing, we are very grateful towards him. Steve was very educated and taught us a lot about nature and we had the best experience with him. We became a family and it was the biggest take away for me. We would start our adventures at 8 am everyday. Steve though would be up 2 hours before to make sure the cruiser was in tip top shape and properly sanitized so our day would go very smoothly. Every hotel we stayed at was impeccable. We were treated with so much kindness and care. We truly believe we could never experience something like this in any other country with any other tour. On the safari it was very clear the difference in the way Soul of Tanzania treated clients than other companies did. Every day we received the best hot lunches and Steve took us to the best places first. We were always first on the scene and saw the best show! We saw the big 5 animals, we saw the great migration of 2 million wildebeest crossing the Maya river, We saw the most intense hunts just a few meters from our vehicle. It was the most surreal experience watching live what we would see on National Geographic. The most surprising thing for me was how breathtaking the landscape was. Every morning we would see the most glorious sunrises and every night we would be humbled with the most beautiful sunsets. The noise you hear when it is completely silent in the wilderness is a phenomenon I cannot explain. We heard the thunder of the wildebeest footsteps, we heard the Erie laughing of hyenas near our camp at night, we heard the magnificent roaring of Lions and the trumpeting of Elephants always left us speechless and in awe. We live in Canada and it is currently the dead of winter, we reminisce about our trip constantly and the beautiful weather in Tanzania everyday. Our videos and stories has made all of our friends and family praying to go to Tanzania and get the chance we got. We will always recommend soul of Tanzania to everyone we know. Thank you very much Soul of Tanzania and if we could come back we definitely will come back to Tanzania in a heart beat. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to have the best honeymoon any couple could possibly have. If you are thinking about booking a trip to Tanzania, you will not regret it! Book with Soul of Tanzania to get the best experience of your life!
CH
Email Vince | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing solo and first time safari
Soul of Tanzania is a very professional and responsive team to plan an amazing safari there.
My planner helped me to organize the best tour within less than 5 days before it started.
Everything was smooth and well organized, driver was one of the best (+20 years experience and great eyes).
I've been able to see all animals in a couple of days
Price is a bit high but you know what you pay for: quality
My Safari Was Beyond My Dreams
I've been waiting almost 60 years for this trip. I'm so glad I didn't wait any longer. This was the GREATEST trip of my life! Every day brought new adventures, animals, and smiles. My guide, DANIEL, was a perfect fit for what I was looking for. He knows where to find the tough-to-find animals, has eagle-eyes, and he knew his birds. He was personable and thoughtful of my special situation. He was a joy to be with for our 14 days - not easy to be for 2 weeks all the time. He went beyond the call of duty to make sure I was happy. I HIGHLY recommend Daniel Mkojera for your guide/driver. The other guides follow him. 14 years experience and always bright everyday.
The Land Cruiser vehicle had plug-ins for charging, a cold electric cooler, comfy seats, pop-up roof, and of course a hot lunch each day. West Kilimanjaro, Tarangire, Manyara, Eyasi, Ngorongoro, & Central/Northern Serengeti were the parks plus 3 villages: Maasai, Datoga, Hadzabe. I wouldn't leave out any of it.
We were in very special moments among the animals. Highlights: I saw the Big 5 and some of the Little 5: Cheetahs & lions hunting, all kinds of baby animals, elephants doing all that they do, my visits to 3 different less touristy tribal villages and the Great Migration to mention the highlights. My favorite memories: a baby white rhino (on my separate day trip in Kenya to Lake Nakuru arranged by Luis), 2 lionesses spreading out to trap their prey, zebras lined up in a defensive posture, listening to a lion sleeping, hunting with the Hadzabe, watching giraffes run, seeing a serval cat, and having my own stampede of wildebeests-zebras-giraffes in front of my final camp on my final night.
Every part of my trip starting with my arrival in Nairobi airport until my departure from Zanzibar was taken care of - even the various transfers. Every part was detailed so there were no surprises. I asked PLENTY of questions before the trip & ALL were patiently answered by Luis, my safari designer. Pretty much from when I arrived until I left - my days were all laid out according to MY plans and each day had flexibility to small changes. I traveled solo so I could have the flexibility that I needed. Soul of Tanzania has no problem setting up private safaris for just you & your family. I loved my standard lodging/tent camps - it was hardly "standard". The food at each place was very good - nothing was skimped. Everywhere we went - the staffs were outstanding. I am hard-pressed to find a complaint - other than that it had to end.
For someone who had never been here I have no hesitation to recommend Daniel, Luis and Soul of Tanzania to design your own dream.
If your dream is to go on safari then please do it now. Tanzania relies on tourism and every worker needs us badly for their livelihood.
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Email Mike | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!!
Just got back from spending 17 days in Tanzania, 3 days in Arusha, 10 days on safari and finished with 4 days on the beach in Zanzibar. Soul of Tanzania was absolutely fabulous. Helena, who helped me put it all together was great, very professional, quick to respond to my many questions and to give me ideas based on what I was looking for.
I can't say enough about Jacob Msangi, my guide. From taking me out for an afternoon of seeing Arusha and do a little shopping, on his own time, to his knowledge of the animals and things I was seeing. I truly feel like I've made a new friend! When you are travelling solo, spending 10 days with someone, you just hope that you form a bond and I believe we did. He was the best thing about the safari experience.
Seeing I went during the Covid pandemic I'm so thankful I didn't cancel or reschedule as it was a trip of a lifetime!
You can use Soul of Tanzania with great confidence and if you are lucky enough to have Helena and Jacob on your side, I know you will have a great time!!
Thanks again on showing me the trip of a lifetime!!
FR
Email Johann | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Travel number 1 !
Extraordinary safari!
It must be said that the period was suitable because, unfortunately for Tanzania, but fortunately for us, there is no one in the parks, COVID obliges (and yet Tanzania does not ask for any PCR test, just taking the temperature at the airport).
So we have the animals just for us .. and there are! (BIG 5 done!)
In terms of organization, everything went perfectly.
Vincent, our French speaking guide, was just great and found us a ton of animals. The children are delighted and so are we.
Having hot meals for lunch with a small rosé glass is a big plus :-)
The lodges are also very good (special mention at Nimali Camp Tarangire and Tortilis Serengeti Central) and the visit of the Masai village off the beaten track will remain an unforgettable memory.
So a big thank you to Vincent and his lynx eyes and to Helena for her availability and professionalism.
BE
Email Murali | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
trip of a lifetime with the best operators
We did this trip in Feb 2020 just before the lockdown. In retrospect, we were incredibly lucky to do this trip since shortly after we returned the world has gone into a lockdown due to Covid-19, and is still in a lockdown.
We did a custom safari that consisted of Arusha national park (1 day), Lake Manyara national park (1 day), Serengeti south (2.5 days), Serengeti north (2.5 days) and Ngorongoro (1.5 days). It was altogether a 10 day trip and it truly was the trip of a lifetime.
With Helena, our trip planner, we planned the trip down to the finest details and customized numerous times. She was ever patient as we tried to make the most of our time and money. We looked at half a dozen tour operators and finally went with Soul of Tanzania because of the great reviews on tripadvisor, the great reviews their guides got (which is the single most important thing in a safari), and lastly that while SOT was not the least expensive it was not much more expensive that other outfitters who did not have as good reviews. Obviously while going to a new continent for the first time with family and young kids, and being in the wilderness for long periods of time, safety and comfort are important. For us, SOT was a perfect combination of cost, quality and internet reviews.
All arrangements such as hotels, permits, safari vehicles, food etc were handled efficiently by SOT and so all we needed to do was just show up. They assisted with the visa process and all other paperwork.While in Tanzania, all arrangements were handled very well by SOT and we could just enjoy the safaris. We are vegetarians and all the places had enough food for us- some places had extremely tasty veggie food. And Nico packed veggie food for our lunch every day to enjoy with the chilled south african wines.
The safari vehicles were in great shape. Nico kept them clean and well maintained which is quite a challenge in the dusty african savannahs. He had an almost unlimited supply of water and juice, and of course wine for lunch daily.The lunches at SOT have been described in great detail and all i'll say is that it was so special to have a nice warm meal every day surrounded by spectacular nature.
The unlimited mileage that SOT has is incredible. Nico drove many hours (2-4 hours each way) to find wildlife far away from the crowds. That's where we saw cheetahs and lions from close by, a zebra giving birth, herds of giraffes and massive herds of wildebeests and zebras.
Nicodemas Modamba was an unbelievable guide- he was in touch with all the other guides over the radio, he stopped and chatted with all the guides. If there was a good sighting to be had, Nico would know it. In addition, he had great eyesight and spotted Cheetahs and lions from a km away. He was knowledgeable about birds and good at spotting them while driving through the rough terrain. He was attentive without being intrusive and was an overall great guide and travel companion. My son fell ill near Ngorongoro national park but Nico was present at all times. as soon as we decided that we wanted to go to a doctor, he immediately took us to a really good hospital half an hour away. The doctors and service was very good at the hospital and my son was good enough to continue on the safari a few hours later. I'm forever grateful to Nico for being so available the entire time.
Overall we had the trip of a lifetime that i had dreamt about for many years- decades even. We saw all the big and small species we wanted to see, we saw a ton of birds (all for the first time), we had close encounters with the wildlife, we felt the magic of Serengeti that morning with three cheetahs lounging next to our jeep, we felt the magic of the land when we saw a huge flock of whiskered terns put on a flying display for us, we felt the love of Africa when we saw cheetah cubs playing with their mom, we felt the power of Africa in big African lions giving us growls and we felt the elegance of the place when a tower of 50 giraffes ambled by us. We could not have scripted such a safari- a lifetime of experiences packed into 9 days.
Don't think- life is short and unpredictable. Book your next trip with Soul of Tanzania and immerse yourself in the greatest show on earth.
A few (!) of our memorable experiences in Africa.
1) our first sighting of the african giants: as soon as we got into Arusha national park, our first safari in Africa, we saw a tower of giraffes along with the zebras.2) black and white colobus monkey in arusha national park. What a sight to see these gentle creatures chewing on leaves.3) hiking in Arusha. We did a small hike in Arusha national park and were within 20 ft of a family of giraffes! they were just across a small stream and it was incredible to be so close to them.4) hornbills in lake manyara: we saw a lot of hornbills around dusk.
5) the great migration: between ngorongoro and serengeti, we saw the migration! thousands of gazelles, wildebeests and zebras along with a huge herd of giraffes.
6) Leopard on a tree
7) Hyenas in the campsite! Hyenas and dik diks were comfortable in our Shushudia campsite in Serengeti. We were the outsiders and had to be careful. You can't walk alone after dark here- it's just too dangerous.
8) Cheetah with cubs: on an early morning in Serengeti: we saw a cheetah mom with 3 cubs and it was amazing to watch her play with them.9) Three cheetah brothers: Nico had some magic eyesight spotting these 3 cheetahs from a km away in the grass. there was no other jeep around us. just the three cheetahs almost at a touching distance.
10) A trio of lions: again we were the only jeep in their presence thanks to the deft work of Nico. The lionesses lounged in the heat while the big lion gave us a warning growl to make sure we left them alone.11) Zebra giving birth. This zebra was lying on her side giving birth and there were a bunch of zebras standing at the sidelines looking at her. We sadly could not wait for the birth since it could take several hours!
12) hyena and wildebeest: right outside our campsite in the Ndutu area of Serengeti, we saw a half eaten wildebeest and a hyena waiting around to finish eating it.
13) Tree climbing lions. twice in Serengeti we saw tree climbing lionesses. once there were 2 of them but far away. the second time there was only one sleeping on the tree but very close by.
14) Cheetahs relaxing after a kill. Three sub-adult cheetahs sleeping in the bushes. Nearby was the carcass of an impala that they had killed and were being scavenged by vultures.15) a group of maybe 500 terns near lake ndutu. These birds were putting up a big display of flying around and landing.
16) Flamingos in Lake Ndutu: we didn;t see flamingos in lake manyara due to the high water levels there but were lucky to see them in lake Ndutu just before leaving Serengeti.
17) Seeing the big five in one evening in Ngorongoro. Just one after in this garden of Eden and we saw a leopard crossing the road, rhinos in the distance and numerous buffaloes, elephants and lions. Ngorongoro is truly a garden of paradise. Just looking into the crater from the above with your binoculars is an unreal feeling. Big beasts roaming around all over- variety and quantity!
18) Bat eared foxes! rare, nocturnal! We were one of the earliest in Ngorongoro crater and hence had the fortune of seeing these animals before they disappeared into the bushes.19) Huge herd of hyenas: maybe a herd of 40-50 hyenas squaring off against each other. in the background, wildebeests roamed around nonchalantly.20) Birds, birds, birds: I think we saw 150 species (we made a checklist) of all the birds on our trip. From large birds like the Kory bustard, ostrich, secretary bird to scavenger birds like numerous vultures, to flocks of terns and flamingos, to birds of prey from kestrel to martial eagles, to the numerous colorful common birds like splendid starlings and weaver birds to the numerous exciting hornbills to the colorful and rare birds like paradise flycatcher and cinnamon bee eaters.
A few tips:Handicrafts are actually less expensive and of better quality in the airport after you clear emigration. it's probably better to buy it there than in the overpriced roadside shops.
Lake manyara, in my opinion, can be skipped. you see better diversity of birds and animals in serengeti and ngorongoro.
Arusha national park is great only for the colobus monkeys. we went specifically to see that. If you are not interested in this species of monkey, you can skip this park as well.
Nothing in this world can beat Serengeti. maximize your time there.
You can check out pics of our trip on https://www.instagram.com/murali_nature_photography/
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Email Susan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly Recommend Helena P & Emmanuel Macha
We met Helena P. at the NY Times travel show at the Javits Center in January 2019. All I knew is that I wanted to see the great migration and I had no idea how to plan the trip. Helena made everything so easy - we just had to pick a level for the safari (exclusive) and we added on Zanzibar and she took care of everything. Helena also took care of the changes we made due to COVID - eliminating our visit to Kenya and adding on to our safari in Tanzania.
Emmanuel Macha is an amazing guide. We saw everything you could want to see on safari - the big 5, pride of 20+ lions, 2 lioness & 6 cubs tracking & killing a warthog, and the wildebeest crossing. On safari you spend a lot of time in the jeep and Emmanuel was great company.
The hot lunches with wine were also a nice touch and I can't say enough good things about Helena & Emmanuel Macha.