Easy Travel & Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 1987)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $320 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Winston T. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded Expectations!
Trip of a Lifetime!
Our family looked forward to an exciting time, but our expectations were exceeded due to the thoughtful planning by our Safari Event Coordinator, Voice Gerson and our expert Guide, Aniny Nkya.
Voice followed up with us with even the smallest details to ensure a great experience. Voice's help was so very helpful to us having the trip tailored to our needs, and we appreciate it.
Our driver at the airport, David, was very knowledgeable and very, very resourceful. A number of us in the group had requests to find specific souvenirs. David seemed to know right where to go and was able to do so while allowing us to keep on time for our schedule.
We highly recommend Aniny! He is a very experienced guide, which makes a huge difference in a safari. Aniny seemed to have a 6th sense about where to find the action. In fact, on our very first day, we saw the great migration up close. Aniny drove us up front into the action, so we could hear, see, and feel the wildebeast run by as they crossed the Mara. If that weren't enough, Aniny took us two more times over the days to see herds crossing. Amazing!
Aniny took us to see pretty much everything up close- lions on the hunt, lion cubs, leopards in trees with their catch, hyenas with their catch, cheetahs, hippos, crocs, birds, antelopes of all types from the smallest to the largest, and many more. Also, Aniny seemed to know about each animal we encountered, so we learned a lot on our adventure. Aniny helped make our safari an experience of a lifetime!
The campgrounds were a good combination of luxury "glamping" and being out in the wild- it was a very authentic experience. We think Easy Travel struck a good balance with choice of campgrounds. The staff at each campground will greet you warmly and see that you are comfortable during your stay.
I would say, if you go to the campground at the Ngorongoro crater, it can get cold at night and early morning, so you may want to pack a fleece jacket.
All around, thanks to the Easy Travel Staff, we had an experience we will always treasure!
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Email Amy T. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond my expectations - absolutely incredible!!
Amazing! My family and I have experienced some great vacations…Thailand, Vietnam, Bora Bora, Greece, Europe, etc., but hands down the safari with Easy Travel was absolutely incredible - top of our list! I started planning the safari with Voice Gerson at Easy Travel in 2019 and then Covid hit. What I liked about Easy Travel is their flexibility, the prices, and quality of service. I knew what I wanted in a trip and they were able to design a trip around what I wanted accommodating our family of four and still within a very reasonable price. Voice was amazing to work with as the trip keep getting pushed back with little notice because of Covid. Each time Voice reassured me and calmed my anxiety with “no problem, of course we do that”, and this was a year plus into the pandemic when many people were distraught at having lost their hopes for a vacation and losing large sums of money. I am SO impressed with Easy Travel as I was initially hesitant to work with a company located in another country. I just knew I was going to have a headache planning the safari and would have to eventually call them multiple times to make sure we were getting what we wanted. No pun intended but working with Voice and Easy Travel was beyond EASY! Voice was very knowledgeable, responsive, and her emails were very clear and precise. I appreciated working with just one person only from start to finish with all aspects (planning, payment, travel prep, etc.) of the safari. AND I never had to call! When we arrived in Arusha before starting the safari, we had our pre-departure meeting with Voice and she reviewed our schedule, and to my surprise since this safari was my birthday celebration she had a cake for me – very thoughtful! To me that speaks volumes of her ability to connect and engage with her clients beyond just scheduling their trip!
Voice left us in great hands with our guide – Aniny Nkya! He as well made this safari such a wonderful experience. Aniny is very warm and so engaging. He is so knowledgeable in many aspects beyond just the animals and the flora, we had many thoughtful discussions about Tanzania, the history of the Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro, etc. His years of being a guide is VERY evident, I highly recommend you ask for him. He was flexible with the day and very patient with all the questions we had and patient with giving the photographers in my family the chance to get the “once in lifetime photo.” We saw so many animals – It’s so amazing how he can spot out the animals. Our main purpose was to see the great migration of the wildebeest – we saw them cross twice! It's amazing how Aniny got us positioned right in the midst of the crossings! One of the great qualities about having Aniny as our guide is that you can tell he really loves what he does. Even though he’s seen the animals probably a zillion times, he would get just as excited as we would when spotting the animals!
Without hesitation, I would recommend Easy Travel and their staff Voice Gerson and Aniny Nkyal! I can’t thank them enough for giving us a wonderful experience!
Tip 1. If you are arriving in Arusha on the first day of the safari plan to arrive early in the day or the day before so you can visit the local markets. We arrived early in the morning and Easy Travel was able to arrange a staff person (David) to drive us around after our pre-departure meeting. This was a spare of the moment request we had and once again, Voice and her team were flexible and were able to meet this need for us! David was really friendly and told us about Arusha. We knew what we wanted and he had great ideas where to find it. He took us to this great place, the Cultural Heritage market so we could buy some wonderful souvenirs made by local people. We then stopped by a place where we were able to buy some excellent coffee from local coffee growers!
Tip 2. When Easy Travel tells you it gets cold in the Ngorongoro crater it gets cold - even in July! I always get warm when I sleep and thought there is no way it would get that cold – they’re not kidding, dress warm!
Email Katie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
It’s difficult to describe what an amazing trip we’ve just returned from. From the moment we initiated contact with Lizbeth until the day we left, she has been fantastic. She helped us design the perfect bespoke trip for our family of 4 (2 adults, an 11 year old and 9 year old) taking into consideration our wishes and used her extensive knowledge to plan the ideal itinerary (7 nights safari). Email responses always came quickly- every detail was discussed and explained and no question was left unanswered. We travel as a family frequently and extensively and we are yet to encounter a company with this level of customer service and attention to detail.
We had contacted a number of key UK operators beforehand but not one could match what Easy Travel were offering and the level of care or responsiveness
Our arrival was smooth, with George picking us up from the airport. He chatted and made us feel welcome. We only took hand luggage to avoid the Heathrow chaos, so he swung by a supermarket en route for us so we could pick up toiletries. He then took us to the Easy Travel office where we could finally meet Lizbeth - she talked us through our itinerary again and made sure we didn’t have any questions and if we had any concerns along the way to contact her immediately for her to rectify any situation. The welcome was so warm, the rest of the team joined her and they sang to us all in Swahili (you’ll get to know the song by the end of your safari) and gave us gifts of Masaai blankets and games for the children. I was celebrating a special birthday so they also presented a cake. These were all such lovely touches. It’s such a slick operation there - we were surprised at the actual size of the company, their significant presence in Arusha and across Tanzania - it’s 30 years experience and family ethos. They are used by global operators mostly in the US and Asian markets - but the UK are missing out!
Don’t bother with overpriced big name UK operators. We felt nervous sending that amount of money overseas initially - but these worries were unfounded. If you’re unsure … Don’t hesitate! You won’t be disappointed :)
We stayed at the African Tulip Hotel in Arusha before we started our safari. The hotel is a lovely boutique hotel with character. The staff were very friendly, the family room was very spacious and the kids loved playing in the small pool outside. Beware it’s not heated - so is weather dependent - or how hardy your kids are! The meals were buffet style and plentiful with a variety of dishes to cater for all. The bar served international and local spirits/beers/soft drinks at a reasonable price.
Our trip involved a flight from Seronera central Serengeti to the north Serengeti for the Mara river crossing, as a result we had 2 guides. They were Adrian and Emmilian, they are both exceptional! They both are highly experienced guides who know the areas, the terrain, the wildlife …and the other guides - which helps!
There wasn’t a question they couldn’t answer and were both very friendly, we all felt comfortable with them. And we saw everything we wanted to see … and yes that includes all of the big five! They say we were very lucky, but it was definitely a mixture of not only luck, but also Adrian’s skill! We also didn’t have to wait for the Mara River crossings - Emilian had us there at the right times and got us in prime position for the best views. Nothing was too much trouble and we were happy to take their lead on start times and planned routes for our games drives - they are the knowledgeable ones after all!
The accommodations were also superb. We had a family tent at the Tortilis camps and each camp is set out the same so you feel at home when you move from one to the next. (Tarangire/Lake Manyara/Serengeti). The tent was huge - we had a super king bed, while the kids had a bunk bed and a single. All 4-poster with mosquito nets - our daughter said she felt like a princess! There were 2 showers and a toilet. We had to give the staff 10 mins notice when we wanted a hot water so they could prepare it but this was never an issue.
The staff there were fab. Their welcome, their singing and dancing all add to the cultural experience and the special feel of Tanzanian safari. They escort you to and from your tent when it’s dark - this is no joke as the camps are not fenced and animals roam freely. You’ll hear them and get to know their distinctive sounds when you are zipped up safely in your tent :) The camps were quite busy so we had
buffet style evening meals which catered for a variety of tastes - simple but sufficient. Lunches were either individual packed boxes (e.g. pizza slice, egg, sandwich, sweet treat, juice box, fruit or pasta in a tub, chicken, crisps, sweet treat, veg/fruit) or a hamper - which was more like a meal and shared with the group. So your guide sets up at a picnic table with Maasai table cloth and serves food like spaghetti Bolognese and veg, sweet treat, fruit and a bottle of wine. There was always more than enough food and we never felt hungry.
We also stayed at Lion’s Paw and Serengeti Mara River camp which are “Karibu Lodges and Camps”. We had read a review that said Lion’s Pae was closer to the crater than the Tortilis camp so it definitely meant we had longer there to explore. All the camps we stayed in are in the national parks so you can start driving from 6am (the gates open at 8am) and you dont have to leave when the others do to be out by closing. My favourite time was 4-5:30pm when it’s much quieter and while the sun is low in the sky. Felt like a special time of day.
So Ngorongoro Crater was much colder, especially when you drive round the rim and the accommodation is high on the hill. So take layers! I couldn’t quite believe it would be so chilly, but we were grateful for the heater in the restaurant and the rooms plus the electric blankets in the beds! A nice touch. The rooms were enormous and had fabulous views over the crater.
We visited a Maasai village on the way out of Ngorongoro National park recommended by Adrian and were so pleased to have the honour of being welcomed into their homes and learn a little more about their culture. A donation to the chief’s son helps contribute towards their water deliveries and to send the older children to boarding school.
In summary, we had the most incredible trip and are grateful to everyone who played a part in making it so special. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. We’ll be singing Jambo Bwana for years to come!
Thank you all so much
(We had over 2700 picture so choosing just 10 for the review was impossible!)
Email Sarah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional service and experience
Trip of a lifetime
We have just returned from a fantastic 6 night safari with Easy Travel. This trip was delayed by two years thanks to covid but our sales agent Voice was fantastic, responding quickly and efficiently to our requests to postpone, change dates etc. Tanzania is a wonderful country for safari - the people are so warm and welcoming and the wildlife is incredible. Our driver-guide Adrian was exceptional. His knowledge of the roads, the national parks and the wildlife meant that we had a safe, well organized and highly memorable experience. He knew where to find the animals and the best times to see them in action. We saw a huge array of wildlife, but especially big cats - prides of lions, lionesses and cubs, cheetahs and cubs and leopards (particularly special as they are known to be hard to see in the wild). Adrian had a sixth sense with the cats, he would spot them from miles away and knew when to just wait quietly to see them in action (see photos, all taken with a standard DSLR). I would highly recommend using Easy Travel if you are considering a safari - the organization and communication makes life easy and the company make every effort to ensure you have a wonderful time. We stayed in the Tortilis camps at Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro and the standard of accommodation, food and service was excellent - again, the staff couldn't do enough to ensure we were comfortable and safe. The hot air balloon ride is also very worthwhile - incredible to see the sunrise over the Serengeti. All in all we truly had the trip of a lifetime and were very sad to say "kwahere" (goodbye) to Voice, Adrian and Tanzania and hope to return one day.
Email Andrew & Linda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Safari & Kilimanjaro Travel Organisation
There are so many good things to say about Easy Tours.
1. We arranged everything through Helen. She was very well organised, nothing was too difficult, gave us lots of good advice, speaks excellent English and very friendly.
2. Gerald was our guide. We visited 4 national parks all different from each other - Lake Maniari, Ngorogoro, Serengeti. Tangariare. Gerald would often go to sites away from the other safari trucks. Saw 3 leopards, over 50 lions, cheetahs, hyena etc. English very good, knowledgable, friendly.
3. Kester took myself on 7 hour hike of Mt Kilimanjaro, walked 16km, from 1,750 to 2,800 above sea level. Spoke good English, took me to see the Colobus monkeys towards the lower crater. Very good guide.
I would recommend Easy Tours to everyone
BM
Email Crystal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari memories thanks to Easy Travel & Tours
After doing extensive research, we selected Easy Travel as the local tour operator for our tailor-made, 7-day safari and were not disappointed! From start to finish (including a pandemic in between!), Hellen provided prompt, exceptional, professional service, and no request was too big or small. We stayed in Tarangire National Park for two nights, Ngorongoro Crater for two nights, and central Serengeti for three nights - and all of the accommodations were well-located, extremely nice and served delicious food! Our driver/guide, Dennis, was fantastic throughout, very knowledgeable, and even though he’s done this many times before was still as excited as us to see the animals (and we saw many)! Thanks to Easy Travel, we managed to see the big five, have the trip of a lifetime and take home special memories of Tanzania. Asante sana!!!
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Email Al from California | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent guide and company
Edward was our guide, and he was excellent. He was thoughtful, very aware of our feelings and needs, and always positive. He constantly was looking for ways to make sure we were having a good time.
Furthermore, he was exceptionally good at spotting wildlife. For example, we were watching a herd of zebras by the river. He said they looked nervous and there was probably a lion nearby. He slowly drove forward and then spotted a female in the bushes, about 50 feet from the car, walking toward the herd. He then saw a male. Within minutes, both broke into a sprint, causing the zebras to stampede. The male lion grabbed a zebra from behind with both claws and his mouth. The zebra jumped wildly and kicked violently, breaking free. However, the female disappeared in the deep grass, most likely with a zebra.
He also spotted pythons on 2 occasions near the car, and they are very difficult to see. Additionally, we saw a cheetah chase a herd of antelope. We saw cheetahs and leopards about 5 times each.
While we went to 4 parks, the Serengeti was by far the best. The Ngorongoro Crater is beautiful and worth a half-day. I thought he was doing a better job than the other drivers out there. It just seemed like we were the 1st car at several sightings. We spent a couple hours at a Masai village on the 1st day, which was very enlightening and worthwhile.
Norah at Easy Travel was exceptionally patient as we set up our tour over the prior year. The airline changed our flight dates twice, resulting in Nora having to reschedule all the lodging. Yet, she was always pleasant. We requested their luxury lodging. Three of the four lodges were great. These were the Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge, the Melia Serengeti Lodge, and Lemala Mpingo Tended Lodge. The food and staff were excellent.
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Email Erin Richardson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
BEST SAFARI COMPANY!!
BEST SAFARI COMPANY!!
Without question, Easy Travel & Tours is the BEST Safari company to work with to design your dream safari! We are seasoned safari travelers and have used Easy Travel & Tours everytime, and will for our future safaris as well! Let them know exactly what you want and they will put an itinerary together that will work perfectly with your thoughts on what you want to see or do! ! Animals are unpredictable but their extremely experienced guides will more and likely find what you wish to see, or least try their best, and we have NEVER been disappointed! Safety is a priority with Easy Travel ( and with us) and we have always felt safe with the guides we were given. We have personally watched a few other safari companies break ethic rules with regards to the animals welfare, which bothered us greatly. We also saw another company get a ticket by a ranger for their clients sitting on top of the roof while driving. Our last guide Ally, was another gift from Easy Travel, and we feel he has become our lifetime friend as well. We also appreciated Kabwe for all her experience on helping us put together our great itineraries for everytime we visit Tanzania!! She is the best! We hope your safari to Tanzania will be as great as ours has been, and it will be, if you let Easy Travel & Tours be the Safari Company to use!
CA
Email YTOTripper | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredibly proficient, efficient and professional safari company that gave us a trip of a lifetime.
If we didn’t live it, we’d hardly believe it ourselves - had the most stunning 10 days of our lives - thanks to East Travel’s team especially Lizbeth and Ombeni.
Started by “messaging” a few tour companies through TA and others with a “shadow” of a thought on visiting Tanzania (being in a lockdown probably had us thinking on breaking out big). Most firms sent us back uninspiring and disinterested messages about their website, days and a link to their credit card processor.
Lizbeth from Easy Travel responded back asking “questions to our questions” on what we hoped to see, days, and if we preferred to go as a group or in private. She then re-appeared a few hours later with a detailed a la carte safari that touched on an opportunity to see the migration in Northern Serengeti, game drives through Central S. culminating in Ngorongoro. She took the time to account for the age of our child in keeping him engaged and untaxed. While other you companies seemed to want to pigeon hole us into a category of safaris, she gave us the places of accommodations at various price points - allowed us to select. Then allowed us to further customize some accommodations based on what we’d seen on TA and our whims.
Once set, she kept us in the loop through the 3-4 months in between with detailed updates on visa procedures (opted for VOA- very smooth), updated us on Covid protocols and sent us detailed information on what to expect, best practices, payment schedules and in general built up a sense of excitement and welcoming to her country more as a friend than client.
Every aspect of our stay in TZ was a marvel in efficiency and care. She put us in the capable, personable universe of Ombeni- our guide and fixer through the entire time in there. He was engaging, knowledgeable, caring - equal parts accomplished guide and close friend.
While everyone in every safari truck seemed to get out every breathtaking sight that Tanzania had to offer, we seemed to be the ones privileged to be experiencing it all in the company of “our extended family“… Easy Travel just seemed to be placing together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle with practiced expertise.
From arranging for breakfasts before hotel personnel got a chance to wake up to calling ahead and insisting that they try to put together meals that satisfied our adventurous palettes (I mean - the pastas and pastries are incredible at every place but once you maharage or bhajiya, pesto seemed stodgy);
from patiently waiting in the truck for hours to allow us to get a chance to see the Mara River crossing - (saw 2 crossings) to timing out washroom breaks or driving back an hour to pick up forgotten camera batteries
From Ombeni “sniffing out” animals and then teaching us the flora and fauna (he’s even got a library on his dashboard to cross reference) to teaching our son secret handshakes and goofy camera poses looking down Ngorongoro crater. Easy Travel, Lizbeth, Ombeni and the others behind the scenes made sure we had the trip of a lifetime and start making plans to go back soon.
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Email Kelley | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Vacation!!!
Magnificent...PERFECT!!
Fantastic! We are calling this our PERFECT Holiday! We are seasoned travelers and built a custom 13 day safari with Easy Travel and Tours Ltd. The staff is Amazing! Mr. PROTAS was the best guide we have ever met! Amina was our rock at your headquarters in Arusha and worked with us for almost a year to build this!! The locations were spectacular! The people of Tanzania are incredible! We saw every kind of animal imaginable! Some in great herds!! Saw 2 Mara river crossings in less than 24 hours! Saw a lion kill, and even a lion birth!! We also were able to meet the real Maasai peoples, the Datoda tribesmen and even the Hadzabe hunter gatherer Bushmen!! Our experience was magical, soul touching and life changing!!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!