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
Email Cath | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb
We had the trip of a lifetime with beach holidays in Zanzibar at either end and an amazing 5 day safari in the middle covering Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. The trip was meticulously and efficiently organised by the very accommodating Marta and every detail was paid attention to so that it all went smoothly, as planned and without hitch. The safari itself exceeded our expectations; we saw all the big five and a lot more besides. The quality and extent of the sightings was down to the expertise and experience of our brilliantly knowledgeable guide Erasto. He was fantastic - we learnt a lot about the animals and the environment. He also catered for us incredibly well with the most amazing lunches in fantastic locations. We would highly recommend the company and the guide. The hotels on Safari were very special and well chosen and we experienced a truly exceptional holiday.
CH
Email Madhu and Ekta | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised with great caring team that always puts customers comfort and safety first!
Soul of Tanzania team are a pleasure to work with.
For our Mt. Kilimanjaro hike, we got the best team. They took very good care of us and made sure we reached the peak.
Sam, especially, is a great leader and guide. He was with us every step of the way. He is the best guide we have come across in our travels.
For our Serenegti and Nrongoro safari, we got the most polite and knowledgable guide - Emmanuel. He did everything - driving, food, picnic spots, explaining landscapes and spotting animals. We got to see the big five!! Both the camps organised were really nice with warm an friendly staff.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda was an incredible experience too. we were taken care of right from the time we got off from the plane till we got back to the airport. Seeing those Gorillas was an experience of lifetime! Our driver Mbabazi was a kind and soft spoken person who was always punctual and taking care of us.
Overall an amazing and memorable trip!!
PT
Email Mafalda Nogueira | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent days of safaris! It was really far beyond all expectations
I decided to organize a 6 safari days in Tanzania - Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Central Serengeti, Ndutu, Ngorongoro - and decided to contact Soul of Tanzania which was very helpful and professional.
I had Fuhah Kileo as my guide and he was the best guide I could have on this trip. He demonstrated to have a large experience, he was very attentive on all details, he had an “eagle eye” and gave me all the information I may need. Fuhah is very polite and easy going. We had 6 excellent days. We were able to see all the Big 5, wildebeest migration, to be with Lions on our side more than once, chetahs, leopards, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, buffalo and even a rhino which is very hard too see.
I can assure that these days were above all my high expectations and I will never forget this trip.
I would love to return with my sons and I assure you that I will organize it with Soul of Tanzania and request Fuhah as our guide.
Thank you
DK
Email Daniel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I was looking forward to the safari ending.
TL;DR: The safari is amazing; the accommodations were pretty decent; the company was not great.
My partner and I booked a four-day, three-night safari from Arusha in late December 2022. At first, I was pleased with the constant updates and communication from Marta, my journey designer. We made the first 50% payment, via credit card, and almost immediately we were asked for the 2nd 50% payment. It was a little awkward because we're talking about thousands of dollars here. We had been previously staying in Arusha, so we didn't require a pick up from JRO, and we expected to meet our guide in the morning on the start of our safari.
And that is where my qualms began. I had to reach out to SoT to confirm the guide would meet us at the hotel, I wasn't provided his or her name at all. The morning of the safari, we checked out of the hotel at 8AM promptly, and had to go searching in the parking lot for our guide - it seemed like he couldn't be bothered to actually meet us. In fact, the first thing he said after hello was how much he expected to be tipped at the end of the safari. Off-putting, to say the least.
The car was fine, it wasn't that updated and the charging ports didn't work. It certainly managed across the rough roads and terrain. There was water for us, which was great, but there was also no hand sanitizer or wet-wipes, which in a post-COVID world should probably be standard. Setting out from Arusha, we made a pitstop to "support the local community" and were basically asked to buy trinkets from folks at a roadside gas station. Moving on to Manyara, the animals weren't out but our guide was indeed very good at spotting them and highlighting them for us. There were several times, however when we had an opportunity to take pictures of certain animals (giraffes, for example) that we asked him to stop and he did not, saying we needed to be "kept on schedule". After blasting through Manyara, we made two - two - pitstops at gift shop tourist traps. We expressed our non-interest in doing so, and the guide told us that we would stop because he got credit for how many tourists he brought and would get a present at the end of the year. It was frankly a bit annoying that it seemed like we rushed through Manyara just to spend time at gift shops selling the same things, and yet another Tanzanite Experience, neither of which we wanted to do.
The first night's accommodation was fine. It was us and another solo traveler staying at the Mandhari Lodge as the original accommodation was booked up. The food was fine, nothing to write home about. The bed was comfortable and the coffee was strong. The staff was friendly and I really enjoyed chatting with them. The second day was a long drive to Serengeti which was fantastic. The guide was informing us about the great migration, and how we would see a lot of wildebeests and zebras. However we stopped at **two more** gift shops and were asked multiple times if we wanted to go to a masaai village and make a "at minimum" fifty-thousand schilling donation. We were exceedingly clear we didn't want to stop at anymore gift shops nor the masaai village and it seemed that it annoyed our guide.
The accommodation at the Acacia Central Camp was by far the best of the entire four days. The staff at Acacia was professional, warm, helpful, and just a great deal of fun to be around. We clicked more with the guys at Acacia than we ever did with our guide, unfortunately. The dinner and breakfast at Acacia was wonderful, and the bed and tent were sublime. No notes.
The third day was more Serengeti and the drive back to the Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro was fabulous, however we were slightly disappointed at the accommodation when we arrived at the Pakulala Luxury Safari Camp. This was also the most expensive accommodation (at $740/night) and so I think we had a certain expectation that the food would be fantastic and the place would be comfortable. We were disappointed - the food was fine, but not great. And there was no electricity so we sat eating dinner with a high-powered halogen light in our faces. Not entirely sublime. We don't discount that the remoteness of the camp makes it more expensive, but the camp was also located between two permanent, luxury lodges, that were priced not that much more than the camp.
When we booked the safari, we contracted that the SoT would take us straight from our fourth day at Ngorongoro to JRO for our evening flight. We spent the entire safari reminding the guide that this was something we expected - he very clearly did not want to take us to JRO and in fact arranged for another driver to take us - he drove us to a mall outside of Arusha where another driver picked us up and took us to JRO. It was super awkward.
Finally - the lunches. The website goes to great lengths to say that your lunches will be the envy of other safari groups, with hot plated lunches and wine. We had three plated lunches, all variations of spaghetti bolognese and all stone cold, to the point that I was curious about food safety concerns. The wine was fine, it was incredibly inexpensive South African wine that was served room temp and in glasses that weren't cleaned. The lunch on the last day was a piece of cold pizza wrapped in foil and some cookies and juice. I was really not impressed with the lunches and I strongly advise a potential customer for SoT to manage their expectations.
My partner and I were happy with the animals on the safari and with the people we met - we had a fine time with the guide though it seemed like he was pre-occupied with other things, to the point of watching videos while we were stopped trying to take pictures of animals. We certainly don't discount that safaris are expensive, and that we were in an expensive country. However, we definitely did not feel that SoT, nor our guide appreciated just how much money we had spent to even do this safari - we felt a little like we were treated as an ATM, and it soured the experience a little bit. Our guide tried to even have us agree to stop at the same four gift shops we stopped at on our way out - it was a bit much.
I also got some insight from a friend in Arusha who runs another safari company (I didn't know this before booking with SoT, else I 100% would have). She informed me of the things that she does for their clients (provides a recommended list of packing, reminders for sunscreen, bug spray, etc.,) and I realized that SoT was only communicative when it came to getting the payments - I never received a recommended list of anything, a highlight of what to expect, emergency contact information, nor even the name or picture of the guide so that we could find him on our first day.
Do the safari - it's an incredible experience and you will want to do more. We do, but we will not go with SoT the next time
US
Email Rajib | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable safari experience with an awesome tour company
We just got back from a 5 day safari with Soul of Tanzania to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Ndutu & the Central Serengeti. Our sales specialist Jose was amazing & helped us customize the trip to meet our time, price & schedule requirements. He was always very prompt in his responses & gave us tons of options to choose from.
Our designated guide Shaffie took amazing care of us & ensured that we always had incredible experiences during every game drive. We saw the big 5 & a lot more thanks to his knowledge & perseverance.
I would highly recommend Soul of Tanzania for an unforgettable safari experience to Tanzania!
US
Email Judy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
Magical Trip!
We Just finished an unforgettable six day Tanzania Safari with George our expert guide. We visited three national parks, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Area and Serengeti. Our guide George was extremely knowledgable, he knew how and where to find animals, allowing many up close and personal encounters.We saw the big five, as well as many other animals.
It was very comforting to have someone meet us after deplaning our flights. Luis did a great job taking care of us in the planning and George was awesome every day of our safari. He not only was amazing at driving and spotting animals, he was also very kind and aware of our comfort at all times. George is simply THE BEST!!
This was a three generation trip and George kept everybody interested. Our eleven year old grandson’s heart was set on seeing a crocodile, which George found on the final day.
Our lodges and tented camps(2) were first rate. We chose the second to the highest housing category and were very satisfied.
The Nasikia Migration Camp has an enthusiastic, polite and fun staff; they make you feel like their camp is your home. Two of our other properties were Melia brand hotels, which had well trained attentive staff and great swimming pools.
We spent 4 days at the Gran Melia in Arusha before our safari began. It was beautiful, with extensive gardens; every roof of the hotel complex was a garden, as well as acre after acre of gardens that supply all their herbs and all of their coffee beans.
The Kilimamoja Lodge was amazing! We had a double shower, an outdoor shower and a beautiful stand alone bathtub, as well as a comfy bed and a fireplace.
The Melia Serengeti Lodge did not disappoint. It was beautiful with gorgeous views and a lovely swimming pool.
We spent 5 days post safari in Zanzibar resting up before our long flights home. The water is the most amazing color and we were happy to have the experience of visiting another part of Tanzania.
Would do this trip over again in a heartbeat.
MX
Email Daniela | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
excellent
I wanted to leave this review as it was the best experience I have ever had. To start with the booking process was so easy, my agent Marta was always super helpful in answering all my questions and making suggestions. I was a little hesitant because I was travelling by myself so I wanted a secure company. From the moment I arrived everything was as planned, the pick ups, the drop off's, the experiences and my guide Sele went over his way to make my dreams come true in terms of wildlife spotting in Serengeti. He was always so worried about my comfort and happiness. I can never thank him enough for making it possible for me to have an undescribable experience. I will definitely recommend this to all my friends. Asante Sana from the bottom of my heart Soul of Tanzania.
CH
Email Kate | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
S of T what an experience
What an experience, we saw the Big Five and so many more animals one of my favourite vacations
First of all thank you Josè, for organising our trip to The Serengeti and The Ngorongoro crater and all the accommodation…
Special acknowledgment to Our driver and Guide Mwinyi he was amazing he listened to all our daily requests, and told us so much about the areas we visited, the animals and there habitats including making the animal sounds when we were close to some of the animals which made them come closer.
The meals we had, hot and presented so well, my only issue was that my partner doesn’t like vegetables which there was in every dish which we did mention to our guide…
The first accommodation which sadly wasn’t our first choice, but it was Christmas and had a lovely view and pool.
The second accommodation was perfect, luxury glamping campsite next to the lions and hyenas. We stayed there for 2 nights right in the middle of the Serengeti the staff were amazing and very attentive… We would definitely go back
Our last camp was above the Ngorongoro crater it was very cold up there compared to the other camps but they did have an open fire and hot water bottles and 3 course meals
The Soul of Tanzania I would highly recommend especially our guide Mwinyi
FR
Email Dulce | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The days I spent with the Soul of Tanzania team were wonderful, the safari was perfect! All
The days I spent with the Soul of Tanzania team were wonderful, the safari was perfect! All of the team are very helpful and well prepared, the selected hotels were very good, the guide Paul very knowledgeable. Great.
(automatic translation from Portuguese)
AL
Email Gisi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Soul of Tanzania ❤️
The best tour operator ,qualified staff, they reccomended us the best accomodation during our stay.During our safari the food was every day excellent.The guide told as a lot of new things. Visiting Tanzania was the best decision of our life.
Xoxo
Gisi & Dani