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
KR
Email Sunny & Jin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
incredible POA KICHIZI moments ever
We were lucky to be with Soul of Tanzania and its best guide Erasto for our first trip to Safari. Those trips can be tiring, but together we could make it fun, exciting and unique with tones of cool crazy moments! Erasto is an experienced guide who knows where to meet the incredible moments of wildlife, best 'Pole Pole' driver, good DJ and good Kiswahili teacher! We'd like to come back in the near future and then, our journey partner would be Soul of Tanzania again definitely.
PL
Email Bartek | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience
It was one of the best decisions to book my safari experience with Soul of Tanzania. I have sent several enquiries to best safari tour operators and from the very first contact with SoT they made the best impression. First of all they have provided a selection of accommodations from different price ranges, they were always very responsive and answering all my questions with patience.
Second of all they have asked whether I would like to select a specific tour guide based on customer review. I was lucky enough to select Nico who was always very helpful, had tremendous knowledge about the animals and had good relations with other guides, which is very helpful for finding the best spots. Nico is also a very good driver which is really important on the bumpy African roads. Nico made almost everything that I could cross out from my bucket list the Big 5.
Third of all, SoT offers many small details that make the safari once in a lifetime experience. They are the only tour operator offering hot lunches with ice cold wine, the car was spacious, clean and had a power adapter so that my camera batteries were always full.
Finally, the camps and lodges Soul of Tanzania have recommended were more than exceeding expectations.
So I would definitely recommend Soul of Tanzania as tour operator.
FI
Email Susanna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 3 nights Safari
We had 3 nights Safari at the beginning of January. Safari was part of our honeymoon and included Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Manyara. It was very easy to communicate and plan with Soul of Tanzania. They personalized the trip to fit our schedule. Everything was well organized an we didn’t have to rush anywhere.
Our guide Vincent was amazing! He was so talented to spot animals that we saw the Big 5 already during first 2 days. He also had good knowledge of animals and nature so we learned a lot and got answer to all of our questions.
Everyday warm lunch and wine was a nice extra during Safari days. We can only recommend Soul of Tanzania Safaris and our guide Vincent!
US
Email Haley M. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our expectations in every way!!!!
I don’t even know where to start with this review, we were just beyond pleased with every part of the safari. From the moment we were picked up, our guide was accommodating and helpful. We had a flight change come up, and the office was happy to change our last night’s accommodations to get us closer to the airport for a very early flight. Moreover, at the office during our “orientation”, they asked if we were okay to change our schedule around to try to catch the Wildebeest migration. They had expected it to be more south at that point, which is where we were booked to stay, but had learned that they hadn’t made it that far yet, so they rearranged our itinerary last minute to get us in to see that. AMAZING service all the way around.
Beyond the logistics, were were highly impressed on safari. Our guide got us up close and personal to all of the Big Five. He gave us all kinds of interesting information about what we were seeing without going overboard. Emmanuel made the trip exciting, adventurous, informational, and definitely memorable. Some of the places we would go there would be “crowds” of trucks around, but for the most part we were seeing some very exciting moments with nobody else around. We got close enough to lions and cheetahs that they were—I’m not kidding—four steps outside of the truck. Had it been safe, we could have reached out and touched them. Emmanuel also went at our pace. If we wanted to linger and watch longer, he waited, and if we had seen enough, he carried on. We also had a couple of animals we wanted to try to find, and so he got us close to those as well. Our last day in Serengeti, he took us off the beaten path to a section of the park where there was nobody else around for miles and miles. We saw the plains stretch out for what seemed like forever while herds of zebras grazed around us. We could see a rain storm off in the distance, which just enhanced the beauty. We enjoy several quiet moments just there appreciating the beauty and standing in awe of what surrounded us.
A very important note is that we got a hot lunch every day. Every other tour group around us, without exception as far as we saw, ate a boxed lunch every day (a sandwich, chips, and apple, etc.). It seems like not that big of a deal, but it really does make a difference. Most other groups were quite jealous of our lunch. As far as accommodations go, we stayed mostly in the economy lodges, and we felt even there the service was exceptional. All of the food we ate was great and did not make us sick. We also never felt like we were in danger, as staff made safety a top priority.
I could honestly go on and on for a long time about how amazing this trip was. We had never really necessarily wanted to go on a safari, we just found ourselves in the right time and place to do one. Soul of Tanzania completely exceeded our expectations in every way and from here on out I will be telling everyone I know that they need to go on a safari, and to book with nobody other than Soul of Tanzania. It was truly the experience of a lifetime, primarily thanks to the care and attention to detail that Soul of Tanzania provided.
RU
Email Yulia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari with great company!
Journey started with planning. I reviewed a lot of proposals on Safaribookings and liked the one proposed by Soul of Tanzania. Unfortunately it was only for 4 days and I wanted for 6 days. I sent a request for custom journey with some personal wishes and immediately got and answer from Sandy with the custom proposal. We discusses many detals before the trip, Sandy always answers immediately.
Then we made a payment and came to Kilimanjaro. Our guide Edward (a real professional!) met us in the airport. After this moment we could relax and thought only about which animal we can see today)).
We could see leopards twice, one time even with kids. We've seen cheetahs, many lions, elephants and many other animals.
We had no one issue during our journey. Just relaxed, didn't worry about anything. It's very important for us that the journey was exactly how we planned, no even minor changes. Accomodation as planned (I could check the ratings beforehand on Tripadvisor), planned routes. No surprises!
Clean and new car, as many water as I need, and I espessially like hot meals for lunch instead of lunch box.
There was a power socket in the car, we could charge camera batteries and phones. It's very important as our Serengeti camp had problems with charging.
We took standard accomodation variant and found all camps and lodges quite acceptable. The staff was friendly and rooms comfortable.
Next time I will go to safari only with Soul of Tanzania.
IN
Email Nimrit | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experience of a Lifetime!
After a lot of consideration we decided to go ahead with Soul of Tanzania for our honeymoon. Our 5 day safari was tailor made and focused exactly on what we had asked. Right from our first email exchange with Soul to the time we said our goodbyes, everything was given special attention. What's special about Soul is that when they say - full board - they mean serious business. We had hot lunches everyday with new dishes and a mini fridge at our disposal which was always stocked with beverages and fruits!
Our guide Daniel who was truly a professional, left no stone unturned in order to get us up close and personal with the 'Big 5'. His knowledge about the flora and fauna of Tanzania coupled with his hospitable and friendly nature was more than we could have asked for.
We had a six seater land cruiser to ourselves. It had charging points which really helped in charging our cameras and phones. All national parks have check points and picnic areas which are quipped with clean bathrooms which was a blessing!
I would recommend booking with Soul to not only our friends and family but everyone out there who wants to experience African wildlife in it's full glory. We would never be able to forget how this experience made us feel.
Most definitely, this wouldn't have been possible without Soul Of Tanzania!
Email Jamieson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari company possible!!
My husband and I went on a 13-day safari with Soul of Tanzania in June 2019 and I cannot recommend them highly enough! I am from Australia and initially contacted local companies about our planned itinerary. However, after they all said they needed to consult “their providers” I decided to contact Tanzanian safari companies directly instead. From the first email, Luis from Soul of Tanzania was responsive, thorough and extremely helpful in planning the best possible safari experience for our timeframe and budget.
The quote from Soul of Tanzania was broken down into specific costs, providing us with numerous options for accommodation and activities at each location so we could customise our safari to completely suit us. We worked with Luis over the next few weeks to finalise our once in a lifetime trip. We decided to choose Soul of Tanzania for our safari because of Luis’s exceptional customer service – it was far superior than any other safari company I had contacted.
Even though I had an enormous amount of confidence in Soul of Tanzania based on their online reviews and my interactions with Luis, I was nervous about sending such a significant amount of money overseas. However, my confidence was definitely not misplaced and our safari was PERFECT from the moment we were greeted at the airport by our guide Ahmed – right up until our sad departure from Tanzania.
During our planning, we provided Luis with numerous details about ourselves which helped him suggest the best possible itinerary, but also helped Luis match us with the best possible guide – and Ahmed was definitely our perfect guide! Ahmed is an extremely knowledgeable and friendly guide, with a passion for both wildlife and birds, a fantastic sense of humour and he is dedicated to ensuring his guests have the most amazing experience possible.
Our safari took us to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Central Serengeti, Western Serengeti and Arusha National Park. Ahmed was with us for the entire trip and his exceptional spotting skills meant we saw some amazing sights, including over 150 species of birds and over 40 species of mammals and other wildlife. Ahmed was extremely patient with us when we wanted to take additional photos, and always tried to position us so we had the best lighting to get the best shot possible – resulting in some amazing photos to put on our wall.
The vehicle was in excellent condition and Ahmed kept it clean at all times, and our hot lunches were consistently delicious, with Ahmed setting up in the perfect picnic spot everyday with a cold glass of wine and a hot tea or coffee. Very indulgent when you are in such picturesque and remote areas.
We cannot be more grateful to Ahmed, Luis and Soul of Tanzania for making our Tanzanian safari better than we ever imagined it could be! Soul of Tanzania is a small company who customises their trips to suit each guest and provides the best service you could possibly ask for. For anyone planning a trip to Africa (Soul of Tanzania operate in countries other than Tanzania), make sure you contact Soul of Tanzania!
PT
Email Diogo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Honeymoon - 4 day safari
I want to start by stating that Soul of Tanzania delivers a service with a very high standard which you don't usually see anywhere in the world.
Before reviewing my experience in itself, I would like to give information about a matter that you don't usually see in the reviews and I believe can help other people when planning a safari.
I was somewhat hesitant to transfer the down-payment as all the contacts I had established at the beginning of my planning were only by email and it was a significant amount of money. My advice - don't worry! Soul of Tanzania is extremely professional and your money is safe!
Also, during the planning phase, I have to give a special word to Sandy, the person we always had contact with. She was amazing, always replying fast and very patient to all our requests, which were changing constantly. I just hope we didn't give her too many complications!
Regarding the experience, it was AMAZING! I was so happy we decided to book a tour with Soul of Tanzania, it was the perfect choice for our honeymoon. We liked it so much that we already want to go on another safari! We visited Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Talking about the tour in itself: our guide, Nickson, was very good! We felt very lucky to go on the tour with him. He was very experienced, he was always spotting animals where we couldn't see anything and he had a lot of knowledge, he answered all our questions very easily, besides being a very nice person.
During the tour, the lodges we stayed in were incredible. All of them had a very good service and each of them had different highlights, which we found really nice.
The vehicle was also excellent! It was very comfortable, it did not have any issue on the road and had a lot of space. It was so good that I even fell asleep in the car in one of the days when we had a larger trip from one place to another.
Another thing that I feel it must be pointed out was the food. It was unbelievably good! We ate so well during the whole tour, we loved the food! And it was really a great advantage to have full meals during the tour instead of the lunch boxes the majority of people had.
But above all, what we think was the best in our tour was the organisation as a whole. We never had any issue with the check ins during the safari, Nickson was always ready on time, the vehicle was perfectly equipped, etc. SoT provides a very good service, it is a very high standard which I feel most companies cannot reach.
The best example of this was when Sandy sent me an email (when the safari was already over and we were spending the night in Arusha) telling me that the flight to Zanzibar was moved to an earlier schedule and when we asked at the reception of the hotel we were staying in to have an earlier breakfast, they told SoT had already contacted them saying precisely that the flight was earlier in case we didn't see our email.
The only thing that didn't go so well was the airport pick up. And why do I feel it must be stated? Because it was so perfectly taken care of that it just shows again how well SoT works.
In fact, our flight had a delay and we also took much time to pass through immigration. When we finally exited the airport, our driver wasn't there, which was a bit overwhelming because it was the middle of the night and we were very tired. Nonetheless, I had the phone number (provided on the planning phase by Sandy in case anything went wrong) of the operations manager, Mr. Beatus, who solved the issue in 5 minutes. It is in fact a great organization.
To conclude, I want to ask Soul of Tanzania to keep up the good work. We will never forget our honeymoon and an important part of it is because of the amazing service you guys provide! Asante sana!
US
Email Hank and Julie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience of a Lifetime
We toured Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater with Soul of Tanzania. Our guide, Saiid, was very knowledgable and helpful in naming the various animals we saw in the wild, and in providing more information about their habits. All our meals were top notch, and our guide paced the tour to our preferences.
We had been given excellent guidance from Mei Ling of Soul of Tanzania in planning our tour ahead of time, to ensure that the duration fit our desires and that the accommodations were to our liking. By staying in a tree top lodge in Tarangire, the Four Seasons in Serengeti, and a coffee plantation in Ngorongoro, we had a variety of lodging experiences.
Our only suggestion for improvement was that we felt an upgrade of the vehicle fleet could help the customer experience. While we realize that we were traveling along dirt roads with many ruts and holes, we felt that improved air suspension and more comfortable seats would make the rough ride more tolerable.
Overall, we were quite pleased with the experience and recommend Soul of Tanzania to anyone who wants a true safari experience.
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.