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 Christina | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life Changing
It has taken me a long time to write this review, because I have found it hard to put into words how utterly incredible, soul-nurturing and life changing my Safari with Soul of Tanzania was. From our first communication, it was clear that this company was a cut above the rest. As a sole traveller who has previously owned and run my own tour guiding business, my standards are pretty high! I value ethical and responsible tourism, and Soul’s commitment to minimising plastic waste was very important to me; as was their commitment to employing great guides (knowing I would be in a car alone with one for 6 days!)
The level of service I received was excellent – every email got a prompt reply, and all of my questions were patiently answered. I got a thorough briefing at the beginning of the tour, and was made aware that I could contact the operations manager at any time with any issues. Not that I needed to… Because from the moment I met my Guide Emmanuel, I knew I had made a great decision in choosing Soul of Tanzania.
The six days that I spent with Emmanuel were the most amazing and freeing six days of my life. He was a consummate professional - friendly, engaging and funny. He indulged my endless questions (really, I had a lot…) and patiently taught me all the Swahili words and phrases I wanted to learn. Tour guiding in Tanzania is no walk in the park – the distances are vast, the roads are challenging and the guides speak all day in a second language (I can’t help but empathise, having been a guide myself...) Emmanuel made it look easy, and I appreciate how incredibly hard that is to do.
Each morning the car was clean, stocked with warm food (in reuseable containers), wine and water; and I was greeted with a huge smile and a brief for the day. The car had a fridge and, very importantly, chargers for phones, laptops and cameras (which would quickly run out of battery with all the use they were getting!)
Emmanuel took the time to get to know me and learn what I wanted out of the Safari, which meant that I got to spend the time seeing all that I wanted to see. I had no interest in the ‘Big 5’, I just wanted to experience the animals and landscapes as we encountered them – from the adorable Mongeese, to Jackals, thousands of different types of birds (which Emmanuel could name all of), and the hundreds of thousands of peaceful herbivores of the plains – Gnu, Twiga and Pundamilia. Seeing them all was a thrill to me – and the up-close encounters with Leopards and Lions was a bonus. Each day my experience of the last day would be exceeded – from a huge convergence of Zebra ringing out their chorus in Tarangire, to a hunting Lioness in the Serengeti, to the incredible, unimaginable and awe-inspiring spectacle of the Great Migration.
Emmanuel was skilled at finding positions that allowed for photos free of obstructions, yet remained incredibly respectful of the animals we were watching. By day three, and heading towards the Northern Serengeti, my heart was loosening – jolted free by kilometre after kilometre of rutted tracks, and by hour after hour of watching animals at leisure, work and play. Until this moment, I had not understood what it is to be wild, to share in the vastness of nature untamed. Every day Emmanuel would say to me, “Christina, you are free”… And for the first time in my life, in that great wilderness, I felt that I was.
I went specifically to see the Great Migration, and we were lucky enough to witness three river crossings in one day in the Mara Region. That incredibly special landscape has captured my heart forever, and I feel so grateful to have experienced this with Emmanuel. Thank you Soul, for your commitment to the wild places of Tanzania; and thank you Emmanuel, for making my short time in the wilderness such a unique and memorable experience. As you drove, and I stood on the passenger seat with the wind in my hair, I lost a part of my soul… Forever left to wander into the endless horizon, under an ever-changing Savannah sky.
Asante Sana.
You will see me again :)
MT
Email Godfrey Grima | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic, the stuff of dreams.
We have been to a large number of countries and this was not our first African safari, having already visited South Africa and Swaziland before, but our trip to Tanzania was definitely one of our very best trips ever anywhere. We travel a lot, in fact these last 12 months alone we have been to Italy, Norway, England Russia and India (tiger safari). The trip in Tanzania was perfect throughout. We wanted to have a good safari and then a couple of days relaxation at a beach resort and so we contacted Soul of Tanzania. They were very helpful and patient with us in the planning stages. When we were happy with the package we paid and waited for the day to come for our trip. As soon as we arrived we were picked up by Nico our driver/guide. Nico was a very knowledgeable and efficient guide and a superb driver. He knew we wanted to see as many animals as possible and he worked hard, from dawn to dusk to make our dream holiday come true. Whenever he spotted something (which was all the time) he always expertly and deftly drove up close to the action. We came up close to all kinds of animals including lions, but we always felt safe and protected by Nico. He was always calm and great to get along with and answered all our questions. He was patient with our requests. He knew we wanted to see the Great Migration of the wildebeest and with his expertise he managed against all odds to drive us to within feet of this migration crossing the Grumeti River. National Geographic stuff!! One day our game drive stretched beyond sundown, (due to distances involved) and he turned the rest of our drive into an impromptu night game drive!! He used to keep an eye out for the time due to the large distances involved yet always give us enough time to enjoy the wildlife milling around us and to take all the photos we needed. The jeep was always kept spotless and well supplied with drinks and goodies, and when it was time for lunch he used to park at the allotted site, lay out the tablecloth and serve us hot lunch, tea and biscuits much to the envy of other tourists with other companies who happened to be near by. When it was time to leave we left behind us a friend. If I had to go back I would simply head straight for Soul of Tanzania offices and if possible ask for Nico! The rest of the holiday was spent in Zanzibar at the Gold Resort (another review). Well done Soul of Tanzania. Everyone did his job to perfection, from planning to implementation. We know why you chose that name!
US
Email Matthew and Kristin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Soulful and Exhilarating
My wife and I did the Soul of Tanzania safari, the 8day, seven night package and our only regret was that we couldn't do it all over again when it was over. We had an unforgettable time. There was never a dull or frustrating moment.
Starting from Arusha, Soul of Tanzania (SoT) put us up in a very comfortable hotel, The Africa Tulip. From there our guide, Pius, otherwise know as the Lion Whisperer, drove us from park to glorious park. Pius (pronounce Puce) was an incredible guide and a very safe and skilled driver. With a week in the car together and over each meal we had a lot of time to get to know each other. Pius was kind, funny and honest and my wife and I will always remember him. If we ever make it back we will surely ask for him to be our guide again.
Since every safari vehicle is bound to the dirt roads/tracks of the parks it is essential that the guide has his own intuitive sense of where to take you in order to avoid crowds and spot rare animals. Pius did all of that. We saw a cerval cat – very rare. And we must have seen close to 70 lions. We even got to see lions feeding on a freshly killed buffalo, which we heard being killed the night before from our tent! That may sound scary to some, but we never felt like we were in danger throughout our safari.
Soul of Tanzania provided an incredible adventure with some luxury to boot. My wife and I feel very lucky to have found them when we were researching safari outfits, Pius' stellar skills as a guide and the company's fantastic customer service helped to create one of the most unforgettable travel experiences of our lives.
CN
Email Kong Y | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari, wonderful experiences!
I took a 6-day safari with my 7-year old son Curtis in Serengeti, Ngrongro Crater, Ndutu and Manyara, facilitated by Soul of Tanzania, between late December and early Jan. The tour was so enjoyable that we'll definitely come back to Serengeti in the near future.
4 months ago, Curtis and I spent 3 nights at a bush lodge in Kruger national park, South Africa, 2 safaris each day, we thought that trip was great, but to our pleasant surprise, this tour was even better.
A Leo himself, Curtis is a big lover of big-cats. We saw quite a few leopards in Kruger, but since leopards and lions wouldn't show up in the same territory, we missed the lions no matter how hard the ranger tried to find them. So when Soul local manager Iris asked Curtis what he mostly want to see when we were greeted the first night at an Arusha hotel, Curtis promptly replied, "lions, of course!" With a confident smile, Iris assured Curtis, "oh, you will see more than enough." Our soft-spoken tour guide/driver Amani added, a bit conservatively, "you will see no less than 20 lions." Really? Curtis wasn't quite convinced.
As it turned out, we saw at least 10 prides, a total of more than 70 lions, most of them from very close distance!
Here are just a few highlights:
-- A pride of 20+ lions magnificantly marching by our vehicle for several minutes, just a few feet away;
-- In the morning of New Year's Day, Lion King waled directly to our vehicle, a 4x4 Land Cruiser, encountering his young lady literally one yard from our right front tire, mating right there in our awe! Their happy hour repeated, on and off, every 8-10 minutes, until the exhausted queen climbed up a tree nearby;
-- 2 young cheetah brothers took turns to enjoy their kill, an adult wildebeest, lips red, belly full;
-- A leopard killed another on top of a tree, most likely out of territorial dispute, the victim miserably hanging up there, the guilty murderer ran hiding in a rock cave, serectly peeking out, gazing its prey from a distance.
Yeah, indeed, more than enough, not to mention thousands of flamingos in Manyara lake, wildebeests, gazelles and zibras in Serengeti and Ndutu.
Why I picked Soul over other big-name tour companies? I enjoyed the pleasant email communications with Soul's sales consultant Christina and Miguel from the very beginning, who are sincere, considerate, detail-oriented, honest, insightful, and always reponded in timely manner.
In sum, the 6-day program Soul carefully tailor-made for us, the comfortable accomodations, the very experienced tour guide Amani, the hot meal lunches (as opposed to the lunch box by other safari tours that we noticed at picknic sites), are all beyond expectation.
Good job, Soul, Curtis and I are already discussing the "crossings" in August.
ES
Email Marion | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, fantastic, superb, excellent, wonderful, unforgettable, unbelievable and incredible
I always do an enormous amount of research before booking any trip and as this was my my first safari, I wanted to make sure I picked a great company.
I used the top 10 ranked companies on Trip advisor and looked at the reviews (the good and the bad), checked how recent they were and whether the companies had responded. I looked at their web sites ( if a company can't put together a decent web site - why would anyone trust them with organising a safari), eliminated those that were not based in Tanzania and ended up with 6.
I wrote a comprehensive email explaining what was important to me and containing a series of questions, sent it off to all of them and waited for the responses to come flooding in. Most were surprisingly slow to respond, but one company stood out a mile above the rest.
The wonderful, amazing, Helena from Soul of Tanzania, got in touch within 2 hours of me sending the enquiry. She had clearly read every word of my rather long note, answered all my questions and provided a wealth of information. She included a sample itinerary as a starting point but made it clear that everything could be changed/customised to suit me and offered different accommodation options (with links to their websites) for each day to suit a range of budgets . But most helpful of all was the completely transparent breakdown of the costs, so it was a piece of cake to work out where savings could be made to bring the total cost within my budget. In the end, our email thread contained over 19 messages, but as she always responded within an hour or two, the whole process from first email to final confirmation and payment, took only 3 days. The other companies I contacted didn't stand a chance!!
As my trip approached, I had other more general questions and a quick email or WhatsApp to Helena, gave me the information I needed immediately. Throughout the whole process, she made me feel like a valued, important customer - even though I had opted for a "budget" safari.
Now to the safari itself.
I was met at the airport by Azizu, who drove me to my overnight accommodation. He was warm, friendly and full of information about the area.
The next morning I was picked up by Deo, who in my humble opinion must be the best safari guide on the planet.
Over the next 7 days, Deo went out of his way, to make sure my safari experience was the best it could be and on many occasions he said if I was happy, then he was happy. He had a great sense of humour, was fun to be around and made loads of suggestions that would make life easier for me. e.g. starting our visit to the smaller lake Manyara park very early, so we would avoid the pesky and painful Tsetse flies that come out in force during the hottest part of the day.
This amazing man clearly has some sort of sixth sense when it comes to the animals. His eyesight was incredible and he could see and identify tiny little blobs, barely visible to the naked eye, but it was his ability to know where the animals were and more importantly, how they were going to behave that made it so special.
I wrote a daily blog about my safari and this excerpt from one of the posts, sums up Deo perfectly.
"By the time we arrived, the line of cars was nose to tail along the track and everyone had their binoculars and cameras pointing towards a line of palm trees that flank the river.
Deo double parked giving me a gap between the cars to look through and after giving me some directions, I found her. A beautiful cheetah walking through the grass. I'd just got the camera into focus, when Deo shouted "hang on" and sped up the track past all the cars, way past where the Cheetah was walking, turned the car to face the way we had just come and stopped at the entrance to a gully.
What on earth was he doing?
We were a fair distance from all the other vehicles, I couldn't see the cheetah any more and our previous spot had been much better. I sat down hard and pointed out this very obvious fact to Deo.
"Don't worry" he said with a grin, "she's coming this way and she's going to cross".
Even with all his experience, I have no idea how he knows these things, but by now I had supreme confidence that he knew exactly what he was doing, even if, not a single one of the other guides had followed this rather high risk strategy.
He was absolutely right of course and not only did she cross - she entered the gully right in front of us.
I was smugness personified, as all the other cars raced to our position. You can say what you like about safari guides, but the ability to anticipate the animal's movements and get you into exactly the right spot, is priceless. He is truly the best.
The cheetah made her way up the bank and walked off into the high grass. I managed to follow her ( I'm getting better at this every day) and then Deo ( who hadn't even stood up or picked up the bins) said, " she's going to get up on that termite mound". She did and I think he must have some secret communication system with the animals, because with a vast open plain in front of us, who would have guessed she would give us such an amazing photo opportunity."
As well as providing a truly outstanding guide, Soul of Tanzania offered many other small details that made a massive difference.
The Safari vehicle was clean, spacious and provided excellent viewing opportunities from every angle.
There was a 4 gang power adapter in the car, so I had no problems charging my camera batteries, laptop and phone.
The binoculars supplied were incredible ( way better than my powerful telephoto lens).
The hot lunches, served on proper plates with nice cutlery and a glass of wine, were amazing and were the envy of all the other visitors sitting there with their cardboard lunchboxes.
And finally - all the accommodation options recommended by Soul of Tanzania, exceeded my expectations by a mile, especially given my limited budget.
So in summary, I cannot recommend Soul of Tanzania highly enough. They genuinely seem to have thought of everything when it comes to providing an outstanding, first class Safari experience. So if you are planning a safari, book with Soul of Tanzania - it will be the best decision you have ever made.
Mixed experience with Soul of Tanzania, likely would not use them again.
We booked a lengthy safari through Soul of Tanzania that included gorilla trekking in Rwanda and a 12 day safari through Kenya, Tanzania and back through Kenya. This review will focus on the role of Soul of Tanzania - i.e. planning, communication and execution of the actual logistics of the safari. Accommodations will be reviewed separately (with 1 exception) on their own merits. Every segment had a different operator, which in and of itself was an issue, but ultimately I worked with, and paid, SoT, so feel there is a role of overall accountability with them.
The Good:
Communication, responsiveness and professionalism with Luis throughout the planning process was excellent. Looking back, I think this is the "hook" that people look for. Our assumption was that the execution on the ground would have that same level of professionalism and this was simply not the case, for reasons mentioned below.
All our guides were there upon our arrival point - pick up at the Kigali airport, Nairobi hotel, border transfers between Kenya/Tanzania/Kenya, which was a welcome relief.
The guides were mostly good, with one horrible exception. Our itinerary meant we had 4 different guides. 3 were generally good but 1 in Kenya was very poor. As mentioned on SoT website (and it's true) that guides make the experience. So to have a very poor guide is not acceptable to me. All were good drivers and we always felt safe when in the vehicles. Mugabe in Rwanda was very personable and Shafino in Tanzania was excellent.
When I shared my concern/frustration with guide/vehicle in Kenya, Luis did offer a Land Cruiser and different guide for the second Kenya portion.
The Not So Good:
One of the first transfers arranged through SoT was from our hotel in Nairobi to the airport to fly to Kigali. They no-showed. It meant us hastily having to connect to wifi to WhatsApp SoT on a Saturday morning. The woman who answered sounded half asleep and rather annoyed and I had to coordinate with her and the hotel to have the hotel drive us and be paid by SoT. I was not happy. When I emailed Luis his eventual response was "sounds like it worked out". Yes but it was ME doing the legwork, otherwise I would have been waiting forever, as the driver had not communicated that he was not there.
The hotel for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park - Mountain Gorilla View Lodge - was awful and should not be offered. We had no hot water for 3 days, it was dated and run down. Not the responsibility of SoT, but just should not be an option. In Rwanda the day of the gorilla trek there was no lunch provided on the trek. It was absolutely required, we were hiking in difficult for conditions for most of the day. All 6 others in our group had been provided a packed lunch. Thankfully I sourced some of my own snacks. The Ibyiwacu Cultural Village was listed as optional on our itinerary and we expressed our desire to go. The guide said we'd have to be pay $20/each entry. I questioned this given it was listed in our itinerary. It should have been included. Again Luis was responsive and suggested an alternative, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.
The guide and vehicle in Kenya for the Lake Nakuru/Masai Mara portion were not good. When he picked us up at the hotel in Nairobi to start the safari there was no welcome, no overview, no introduction - just get in the vehicle and go. Within 3 minutes of leaving, the guide asked for $20, which was an apparent shortfall in the amount paid but had been resolved prior to even leaving with Luis. Very poor first impression. We were surprised that the vehicle was a minivan. I guess this was in the fine print somewhere when we were booking, but it is a very poor vehicle for a safari. I could not see out the side window without slouching down. Imagine being on safari and not being able to look out the window properly... This guide was actually just a driver. He provided almost no information on flora or fauna and did not spot one single animal on his own. We just followed the masses of vehicles or would go to a location based on the radio chatter. At picnic lunch, we mostly set up and packed up ourselves. He was eating before we were and at one point was burping in front of us. It was entirely vulgar. At the end of the first Kenya portion on they way to the Tanzania border, he started asking for the $20 again! I was so frustrated by this point, it resulted in raised voices. For the amount we paid AND that the issue was resolved and documented via email, this was entirely tone deaf. When I provided my feedback to Luis on the guide his response was that the guide would be immediately suspended, but guess who we saw on the first night at second time in Kenya. Just saying what they think the customer wants to hear.
The food. The SoT website really markets their food as a differentiator. It was not. At all. Of the 12 days, we had "hot" lunches twice. And they were cold by the time they were eaten. Trust me, there was absolutely no food envy by any other safari goers. And not ONCE was a table and chairs set up. It was either on a blanket on the ground or at park site concrete picnic tables. Most days were cold lunch boxes like every other person had. In fact when we enquired about hot lunches at some of the accommodations (including the Four Seasons), they said they will not provide them due to food safety issues.
There was too little information provided on the details. With a trip of this magnitude, I would have expected more details than a 1 page summary of the itinerary. There should have been much more information provided prior to departure on what to expect, how to prepare, etc. We had to source all of this entirely on our own. As previously mentioned, when we started the safari in Nairobi, there was ZERO information provided, just get in and go. I had to ask if he was going to be our guide or is he a driver, etc. The accommodations provide varying inclusions in terms of beverages with meals. Some offer full open bar, some offer beer and wine, some you even have to pay for water. There should have been a short summary provided on each place and what to expect, inclusions/exclusions, etc. We learned we had to ask about this at each check in. Other travelers had professional looking folders full of information provided by their tour operators, luggage tags, etc. We were not provided with one single item.
Soul of Tanzania appears to be a marketing name only. The providers (even in Tanzania) were not SoT. They seem to just be an organizer who then contracts to guides, vehicles, etc. In Tanzania alone, the guide and vehicle was actually branded Exclusive Africa Safaris and another vehicle was branded Gosheni Safaris. This seems to result in an overall lack of cohesion and accountability.
Drive times were understated by up to 50%. This became a running joke, and not in a good way. 4 hour drives as stated in the itinerary would become 6 or 7 hour ordeals. There needs to be transparency and honesty in drive times based on the (very poor at times) road conditions.
For us the animals and some the accommodations we chose made the trip. Would I do a safari again? Absolutely! Would I choose Soul of Tanzania again? The answer is, unfortunately no.
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