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
PT
Email joao nascimento | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Safari with an incredible guide Edwin
We are a family of 5 and just returned from a memorable safari in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, where we've spent 6 days.
Even before the start of the safari, the experience with the safari design was very good, and credits to Jose. Since my first contact, the answers were swift, always very clear and aiming to please our requests. I also found interesting the packages “comfort”, “exclusive”, etc … it’s easy to understand and reflect well the different options.
The Safari was an incredible experience, everything was according to our expectations and went very smooth. A big part due to Edwin, our guide. We’ve seen an unbelievable number of animals 30+ lions, 50+ elephants, 4 cheetahs, 3 leopards, hyenas, giraffes, hundreds of zebras, Thomson's gazelles, wildebeests, etc … … truly remarkable! We’ve found Edwin to be a very talented guide. His knowledge of all animals and Serengeti is absolutely amazing, sounding like a real “encyclopedia”. His relationship skills were fantastic, both with me and my wife, but specially with our kids as he created a friendly mood, that was precisely what we were looking for in our vacation. A big, big thank you to Edwin!
All the accommodations were great, but the ones in the middle of the savannah were amazing - Acacia Luxury Camp, Acacia Migration Camp and Nimali (this last one, superb). The food and beverages were very good and prepared with care. We found all the staff to be super friendly and made us always feel at home - thank you to all of them.
Summing up, it was an incredible experience for all our family and we will definitely recommend Soul of Tanzania.
João
Email Scott | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
I booked a safari with Soul of Tanzania. I was nervous at first but they had high ratings on the websites I checked. Everything was first class starting with my initial conversations with them trying to determine what Safari was right for me. Marta who was my main contact worked with me for a few weeks to plan the perfect safari for my budget. It did not disappoint. Everything was well organized and well executed.
My guide Micheal was awesome. We spent 4 days together and and toured a number of parks including Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The wildlife, scenery and meeting the indigenous people was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Michael was a great guide and made sure we always had the best opportunity to see all the animals up close. A couple of times I thought the elephants and the lions would jump right into the car.
I compared other safari prices and for what I wanted this wan a great deal for the money I spent.
DE
Email Raphael | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour with a minor organizational hiccup
Our guide Hassani was amazing, funny and open to explain the different cultures, also he drove very well and made us feel safe. He never felt short of helping us in any way possible to make our tour the most comfortable possible. The hotels were very nice and in most cases well choosen, but a better understanding of the distances between them and the attractions would improve a lot the whole experience. E.g. for visiting the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, our hotel was located almost 2hours after it, so we ended up in the car 4h more than necessary. Our warrior guide didn't complaine about driving the extra hours, but it was really intense, even for us not even driving. Especially if all this could have been avoided if someone would have advised us a hotels closer to the park. Other than that everything was very smooth, the food delicious and in total an incredible experience. We totally recommend them!
US
Email Michael | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptionally Incredible Safari, Thank you!
Exceptional!!! Our 14 day private, customized (base on 11 Day Spirit and Soul of Africa) safari was incredible - exceeding our expectations. BIG Thank you to Sandy, our trip designer/main contact; and all 3 of our incredible guides: Nesta(Lake Nakuru, KE), Julius (Masai Mara, KE), and James(TZ - Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire).
From the start, Sandy was great and answered numerous questions, discussed park options, travel times and options transferring between parks, etc.. to create an incredible private, custom safari for us. She also helped communicate and coordinate changes during the trip due to flight cancellations. Thank you, Sandy!
A huge THANK YOU!!! to all 3 of our guides: Nesta(Lake Nakuru, KE), Julius (Masai Mara, KE), and James(TZ - Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire). All 3 had eagle eyes, spotting animals big and small. Guides make or break a safari trip. We simply cannot thank each of them enough for their contributions that made our safari absolutely incredible and the envy of other safari travelers we shared our experience and photos with during our travel home.
We saw all of the “big 5” during the trip and 4 of the big 5 on several days. We saw 2 male white rhinos fighting…We saw lions daily; including cubs to full adults both male and female….We saw leopards and cheetahs several days…We watched lions and cheetahs hunt and eat….We saw servals cats in two parks. We say hippos, giraffe, and elephants in almost every park; along with a variety of smaller animals and birds. Yes, we have almost 5,000 photos and videos (high end 400zoom camera rental from lensrentals.com) documenting our incredible trip. We highly recommend Soul of Tanzania and Spirit of Kenya; along with our guides (Nesta, Julius, and James).
Here are the items we customized and what we would do differently….if you are interested….
We customized their 11 Day Spirit and Soul of Africa trip), removing Lake Manyara, adding an additional day to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater parks, and replaced Amboseli Park KE with Tarangire Park TZ. We were very pleased with our substitution of Tarangire for Amboseli and highly recommend Tarangire. It wasn’t on the original itinerary, but we (and our guide James) would highly recommend Tarangire. We saw and watched several different large elephant families (infants, adolescents, and adults) on every game drive. We saw more elephants in Tarangire than at all the other parks combined. We also saw leopards, lions, and cheetas; along with many other animals. The park swap allowed us to avoid long travel drive times to Amboseli and from Amboseli to Nairobi by flying directly from Kilimanjaro airport to Nairobi.
We recommend spending at least 2 nights or ensuring a full day of game drive (6-8 hours) in each park, i.e. spend more time on game drive(s) in a park than it took to get to and from a park; otherwise reevaluate why you are going to that park… We would drop Ngorongoro Crater completely and shorten the trip or add those days to Masai Mara or central Serengeti. Yes, we saw some huge herds of buffalo and wildebeest, and the landscape itself was unique being inside a crater. But, we didn’t see anything new, the crowds around an animal sighting were huge (40-50 vehicles) – making actual viewing and photography difficult; and beyond buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, and gazelles… other animal sightings were sparse and often from a great distance.
We replaced any drive between parks that was over 4+ hours with air transfers (SafariLink, Coastal) – think large (10+ passenger) propeller airplane “bus type service” between park air strips (aka these are not private, direct charter flights). Inter-park Air Transfer Recommendation: If your considering inter-park air transfers: Don’t just focus on the travel drive time, but also on road conditions…i.e. ask if the inter-park road is paved versus unpaved… if unpaved – travel by air. Unpaved roads = cross breed a motel vibrating bed with a mechanical bull ride. 3 ½ hours between Serengeti and Ngorongoro was absolutely brutal and exhausting.
If you are transferring between parks by air…get the name and phone number of the guide(s) you are meeting at the next camp/location. If you have any flight delays or cancellations, this will provide you a way to communicate and coordinate accordingly.
African airlines (both commercial and those providing transfers between parks) are known for delayed and cancelled flights… plan as best you can…then go with the flow . Flying between parks/locations definitely increased game drive time…but with added complexity, hassle, cost, and risk versus driving. Honestly, if the roads between the parks/locations are paved – I would drive instead of fly. Note, air transfers between parks are at an additional cost and you will likely have a new guide at your destination. Driving = same guide through all parks in a country and no additional costs.
Cost & Accommodations
Private vs Shared safari/vehicle – the guide and vehicle were $560US per day…the more people you have in a vehicle = lower cost per person (Shared option). We saw many vehicles packed to their maximum 7-person capacity which looked quite cramped… In our opinion, a maximum of 4 persons per vehicle is ideal, providing room to move and the ability for everyone to easily reposition to see things. I would also expect a “shared” safari would likely limit your ability to customize it, but I’d ask accordingly.
Accommodations – This is likely the largest cost component of the safari. We were offered 4 levels from budget to luxury ranging from $100-200 per person per night up to $1000 pp/night. Do your research and read the reviews… Is the accommodation in the park? How far/long is the drive from the accommodation to the main game drive area? One of our accommodations was in the park but 1 hour away from the main game drive area, hence we wasted 2 hours’ round trip each day. Tent Camps can be better than large lodges, don’t automatically discriminate. Our tent camps were far superior in service and quality versus a couple of the lodges we used.
If you are still reading and interested, here is a list of questions I compiled to compare operators, tours, etc… Good Luck
Categories Question
Company How Long Have or Your Safari Company been in business?
Company Do you run your own tours or outsource to others?
Contract What are your deposit and cancellation policies?
Contract Require Vouchers for all accommodation 1-2 months prior to departures…to ensure the room is booked and paid for(avoid canceled accommodations/last minute changes)
Insurance Do you offer trip insurance? Can I get a ballpark quote?
Company Where can I find reviews of this trip, you, the tour operator(if different), and the guide?
Contract Request detailed Itinerary, including travel time between locations.
Contract Ensure contract lists of what is included; meals, lodging, beverages, park fees, game drives, airport transfers…
Contract, Extras WHAT NATIONAL PARKS FEES OR CONSERVATION / COMMUNITY FEES ARE NOT INCLUDED?
Contract Payment terms? Payment Options(direct transfer, credit card, etc…)
Contract/Rates Are all Taxes included? If not what & how much is it?
Extras What Extra charges should I expect at each accommodation and how can I settle them?
Tour WHAT CURRENCIES ARE ACCEPTED at each destination/accommodation?
Tour, Game Drive Ensure this is a Private tour…what part of this tour will be shared with others…such as game drives? Vehicle type, max people?
Travel, Transport How many days/hours of travel between each leg?
Travel, Transport What type of transportation for each leg? Vehicle Type? Amenities?
Travel, Transport If driving between legs, is flying an option? Cost?
Travel, Transport Is transportation between legs/locations included in this package?
Guide Who will our guide be? Same or different for game drives?
Guide How well does out guide speak English?
Game Drive Does the game drive have a CB radio? Sharing/Receiving sighting information?
Guide How many years of guide experience does he/she have? Feel free to ask for a specific driver?
Guide, Contract If I am not satisfied with the guide during the trip, what are my options and how would I exercise them?
Guide How many times has the guide done this tour?
Game Drive Are game drives included in every accommodation? Any limitations, like # I can do per day?
Game Drive What is the game drive schedule and lengths at each accommodation ?
Game Drive SEATING POLICY ON GAME DRIVE VEHICLES
Tour, Game Drive How accessible is each park relative to its accommodation? Is the accommodation inside the park?
Accommodation Any special/required attire for dinner at any of the accommodations?
Accommodation Can you tell me about the accommodations, amenities, communication facilities?
Accommodation What are the laundry options at each accommodation? Cost?
Accommodation Sustainability and ECOTOURISM PRACTICES, Policies, etc...?
Accommodation, Food Are the meals included individual, family style(limited to our private tour, or buffet?
General What sort of day and night temperatures can be expected?
General What is the malaria risk in the area you are travelling to?
Tour, Game Drive Which of these are national parks versus private reserves? If private reserves, are they open or fenced?
General What are the tipping and gratuity expectation for every aspect/activity/accommodation of this tour? Are they included?
Email Amber | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari trip + perfect holiday, with every detail taken care of by SoT
We travelled as a family of four (grown-up children), following a personalised 6-day itinerary that covered Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Serengeti. All of us absolutely enjoyed the trip! We cannot find fault with our experience, from airport pickup on day 1 to the drop off at Seronera airstrip on the last day. We really appreciated how well planned the trip was, and are glad to have chosen Soul of Tanzania as our tour operator. Despite the relatively short trip (effectively only five days, the last day being a travel day), we didn’t feel rushed and felt we were able to enjoy each location fully, thanks to Martha's expert planning and the hard work of our guide, George. We really benefitted from the unlimited mileage and the flexibility afforded by the fully private tour, with George taking into account our opinions as to when we’d like to start each day, what we’d like to see on the day, etc. Moreover, George and the team took care of every detail of our trip, which allowed us to be completely hands-off and do nothing but relaxing and having a good time. The same perfection goes for the many small details on the road, e.g., slowing down upon pits to reduce impact, patiently answering our most random questions, dealing with check-in and bags at the airstrip.
With accommodation and food, everything met and often went beyond our expectation. In particular, it was good to have experienced both tented lodges (highly recommend Nimali in both Tarangire and Serengeti) and a more traditional resort hotel (Melia). The food was always of high standards, both in terms of the selection and quality, and always served attentively, both when at the dining table and when out in the fields (shoutout to George again). The lunches were always hot, well prepared and the portions more than generous (including wine). As a vegetarian myself, my dietary need was always well catered for.
In short, a big thank you to SoT's best team who brought us this incredible experience! Glad we chose the company, and would highly recommend if you're looking to book an unforgettable, hassle-free safari holiday.
CH
Email Lauren | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A guaranteed experience of a lifetime!
This safari exceeded all expectations, it was honestly an experience of a lifetime!
We (a couple) did a private 6 day/5 night Safari in Tanzania, including visits to the Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara NP, Serengeti NP and Ngorongoro Crater.
Marta our trip organiser quickly helped with all our queries throughout the planning process and ensured all logistics were organised ahead of the trip, including all accommodation and transfers.
Shaffie our tour guide was AMAZING! He shared his great knowledge and passion for the local wildlife, culture and people throughout our trip. His in-depth knowledge of the parks ensured that we were able to see a large range of wildlife, including of course the Big 5. He always went the extra mile to ensure we got the perfect photos.
The accommodation, food and included wine was also great!
If you’re thinking of doing a safari - do it. And I highly recommend this tour provider!
Email Claire | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience with our main man Wilson!
We did a safari with Soul of Tanzania for our honeymoon and it was incredible!!
Booking - we booked through Soul of Tanzania and were looked after my Marta. Marta was amazing and helped shaped our experience and itinerary based on our budgets and needs. Thank you Marta for being so patient and creating and excellent experience.
Guide and safari - we were blessed with having Wilson as our guide and he was literally the highlight of our trip!! Wilson made us feel like family as soon as we got off the plane and I really feel like part of his extended family. He is not only Knowledgeable in wildlife and where to find animals but also Tanzania and East Africa history and culture. We spent most lunches questioning him and he was more than happy to explain the importance and significance of where we were. Wilson is a kind, hospitable and engaging host who I cannot recommended enough to anyone looking to book a safari. He has an Amazing eye for wildlife and spotted animals from miles off! Wilson has greay communition skills and we always knew what would happened and when. He let us know when bathroom breaks woule be and when we would eat. He was totally flexible and changed the agenda according to our neesa. We feel so thankful to have had such an amazing, Knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide during our tour. Wilson we cannot thank you enough for a brilliant stay, we look forward to meeting again in the future.
Food - the food was fantastic during our trip. We were wined and dined throughout our trip with the most amazing views. As a vegetarian I was a little worried but I was well and truly full after every meal.
Accommodation - I must thank Marta for helping us to choose these but we were BLOWN away with every place we stayed.
Value for money - I couldn't recommend Soul of Tanzania enough, they really came through and helped us create an amazing experience based on our budget. On top of that, our guide Wilson truly made it a magical experience and the wildlife we saw was unbelievable!
A huge thank you to Soul of Tanzania and especially Wilson for an unforgettable experience!
CA
Email Adam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Great Experience!
Overall, a great experience—probably once in a lifetime. My wife and I did an 8-day safari for our honeymoon. Each day and each accommodation had a unique flavour. I didn’t know what to expect with the hotels, but was very impressed by the ambience, service and cleanliness. A couple of the hotels were even comparable to high-end hotels in the Mediterranean!
Just want to advise folks to bring a lot of cash as a lot of places won’t accept credit. There are also a few points in the tour (the tribal visits) where you’ll be expected to tip. For an 8-day safari for two, I’d bring at least US$500. You don’t really need Schillings, but bringing US$100 worth would be good.
We want to give a special shout-out to our safari guide, Cleopa. Don’t underestimate the impact that the guide will have. He wasn’t just the driver, he was our travel companion. He was reliable, and we trusted him fully. He had amazing eye sight as well! But more than anything, we developed a special connection with him on a more personal level, and will keep in touch hopefully for years to come.
We’d recommend Soul of Tanzania for your safari adventure, and Cleopa in particular if you can get him.
CA
Email Peter | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very organized and responsive
Our Safari exceeded our expectations. We have been on many safaris in Southern Africa and anticipated a much larger scale experience. And Tanzania did not disappoint. Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Eyasi, Ngorongoro crater (the most plentiful sightings), south and central Serengeti were all unbelievable. We were fortunate enough to witness the southern migration and experience a hot air balloon ride too.
This incredible Safari of a life time, was made all the better by our 2 amazing guides, Wilson and Hassani. Cannot say enough about these two gentleman - extremely knowledgeable, very reliable, kind & helpful, they looked after us impeccably. We did not want for anything. Seek them out if you are considering a Safari with Soul of Tanzania!!
Besides the incredible wildlife (highlight being the 9 cheetahs we saw that we have never seen on any of our numerous safaris), the people of Tanzania are wonderful.
Possibly only downside was that we tried to cram too much into 8 days. Maybe a couple of days at each camp, rather than moving on every day would be preferable.
Very very highly recommended. We will go back!
MT
Email Keith Galea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A dream come true
Our journey began in 2019, when we started shopping around for tour planners in Africa, as most of us do we read reviews to find the best operator according to travelers opinions. Soul of Tanzania was rated the best, so we sent an email to inquire further. From that moment on, it was a daily communication back n forth with proposals, questions and ideas, back then our tour planner was Helena, she was so professional and met all our requirements instantly, unfortunately due to covid she departed the agency and we were transferred to Luis, another very professional planner who continued where Helena left off as if he was in contact with us from the beginning. We had to postpone our 2020 experience due to covid, initially to 2021, but then to 2022. All was set to depart Malta on August 8th, a minor hick up evolved, August 5th, my partner got sick and was tested positive for covid, just our luck...when contacting Luis he did not hesitate, and told us not to worry, just to give him another date and he will try to make all the arrangements necessary. A week later, my partner was tested negative, so we asked if we could opt to start the safari 21st August, within 2 days Luis made all arrangements, now we had planned Kenya, Tanzania & Zanzibar, all was settled including the internal flight to Zanzibar, that was an amazing task Luis managed, so 21st August we began our experience. Kudos to Luis :)
The safari was amazing, guides were great both in Kenya (Joseph) quite, not much of a talker man but knows the Mara and animals like the back of his hand, he did all he could to get us close as possible to the animals not bothering them or putting us in any danger. In Tanzania our guide was Gabriel, such a nice humble person, he was a talker :) An encyclopedia of information on legs, my gosh how many things he knew and talked about, again another guide that knew Serengeti all to well, and also a great animal spotter...one time he spotted an owl in a tree from 50m away, and it took us a while to see it and he literally gave us co ordinates! The images we brought back and the great memories will last a life time, thanks to Soul of Tanzania and their team of experts. If you are going on a safari, just look up this agency...you will not be disappointed :) Thank you Soul of Tanzania :)
