Hilary and Martin - owners of Suricata Safaris
Suricata Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $190 to $600 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
CA
Email Mike Jurcik | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 day group safari tour
My wife and I decided on Tanzania for our honeymoon, a 5 day safari was the one part of the trip we were most excited about. Hillary, the manager/ our contact for Suricata safaris was always immediate with a reply when we had contacted him with questions prior to arriving in the country. When we arrived at JRO airport, he had a driver waiting for us with a sign saying out names and Suricata Safaris. The ride was easy to our hotel In Arusha. The next day we met with our guide- Bryson and cook- Saleem. They were both very accommodating to us, as well spoke very clear English. Over the next 5 days we spent traveling to 3 different and parks and chasing after all the game we could find.
Each day Bryson was so knowledgeable about the game we had seen, teaching us about the lifespans, the unique habits, the mating seasons and the diets of each animal we had encountered. Bryson’s experience mixed with a little bit of luck, we were able to witness all of the big 5, including rhino in the low sighting season. We also were front row for a lion pride feast of a zebra. We spent over an hour, front row watching the pride juggle for a turn to feast, seeing the vultures circle waiting for their turn. Bryson was so patient and genuinely excited about what we were witnessing, it was contagious.
Our cook Saleem, or chef as he wished to be called, totally lived up to his name. Our meals were so much plentiful and beyond delicious. At our request he spent the majority of the 5 days cooking local meals, mixing in a western to give us some familiar tastes of home. ”chef” is so passionate about cooking, you can taste it in every meal he made.
My wife and I were so happy with the service that Suricata provided for us. We will definitely be making an anniversary trip back to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with them.
CA
Email Samantha | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
4 Day Private Safaris with Suricata Safaris
Hi !
My husband and I chose to do a 4 day private safari with Suricata Safaris and we were blown away !! We were greeted at the airport promptly, spent one night at the Jevas hotel where Hilary (the manager) met us and gave us the details of our journey. The next days were filled with amazing views and game drives through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Tarangire Park. Our tour guide Bryan and cook Salim treated us so well, Bryan was very knowledgeable about every animal and every park we visited- he made us feel very comfortable and safe. He found the best parts of the parks where we watched a pack of lions devour a zebra - a once in a life time opportunity! Salim is an amazing chef who kept us full with tasty Tanzanian dishes! Salim and Bryan would set up and take down our tents which were very cozy - one night during our tented stay a pack of zebras entered the camp site and we had to pass them while walking to the bathroom! Couldn't ask for a better experience . Hilary was excellent with keeping in contact with us and making sure we were cared for adequately.
Can’t say enough about our great private experience with Suricata Safaris! Will definitely be back to see more unbelievable animals with them !
US
Email Melissa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very organized and easy to communicate.
Everything was wonderful! Luka was fantastic! Must do tour.
BE
Email Mattia_BE | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Had a super amazing awesome time!!!
I had a group safari (sep. 2019) with them through the 4 most known tanzanian national parks in the north of the country: Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Manyara NP, Tarangiré NP.
I had the time of.my life during those 5 days. It was amazingly organized and I could see all most known African animals (4 of the big5). HILDA our cooker was just special. I loved.to much her meals so tasty and made.with love. She treated us as their sons ❤. BRYSON our guide and driver was special too cause he could spot for us all possible animals and he was always available to explain us everything about nature and culture of Tanzania. Finally thanks to Hilary for the prompt answer everytime and for the big smile he has when he welcomed us the first night at about 1am. It was just perfect! Thanks
ES
Email Gary | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really good quality service
We had , me and my girlfriend, a safari of 3 Days/ 2 Nights in Lake Manyara / Ngorongoro / Tarangire with Mandela and everything was perfect ! Mandela is a really nice guide and driver. The Camping and the food was good also. I recommend this company ! Thanks for everything.
RU
Email Dmitry Suhadolsky | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safaris in three parks (Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Tarangiri)
I went on a Safari from the company Suricata. I found them on the website: www.safaribookings.com I really liked the service provided. The price was average market. But the price included meeting from the airport and transfer to the airport after the safari. The price also included hotel accommodation before the safari and after the safari. The hotel is very decent. The company is run by three very active and friendly men. All with good English (one of them is American). The service was provided at a very good level, so I recommend choosing them.
If we talk about the Suricata company itself, I liked the guide, the cook (as it turned out later, in comparison with all the others he cooked very tasty). Every evening, as a gift, well, dinner was given a bottle of wine. Food was always prepared in excess. The guide drove fast, but very carefully. Car: six-seater Land Cruiser.
Now about the trip itself: the safari lasted 4 days (3 nights). Parks: Ngorogoro, Serengeti and Tarangiri. Tarangiri is separate from the other two parks. All parks are different and differ from each other in nature and animals. Therefore, it is interesting to see all three, but you need to correctly evaluate your strength and desire. Drive 300 km from Arusha to Serengeti Park, the road is bad, so be patient or choose other parks. But the Serengeti is the largest park.
I went in August 2019. When they tell you, take warm clothes, this really means that you will need them. Be sure to take pants, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, possibly another sweater. Also bring along a headlamp, pillowcase, soap, small shampoo, wet wipes, mosquito repellent. Personally, I did not take a windbreaker with me and regretted it. In the evenings there is a very cool and strong wind.
Bargaining in shops, taxis and markets should be 3-4 times. Everyone wants to make money on white tourists.
Yellow fever vaccine is best done just in case. Whether to be vaccinated against malaria, everyone decides for himself. Locals get malaria like a cold. Many tourists even having vaccinated have a high chance of getting sick. Just fly to Tanzania, before you go on a safari, buy a malaria test. If your temperature rises, you can immediately use the test.
Paying all the more profitable in shillings (you pay the safari in dollars). Therefore, change dollars at the airport or immediately after arrival in the city.
Have a good holiday and interesting adventures!
Email Lindsey | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari with a fantastic, ethical company
We have just returned after an amazing 7 day Safari with Suricata Safaris. We were so impressed with every aspect of the service we received from beginning to end.
Having arrived in Kilimanjaro airport at 4am we were met by a driver who drove us to our hotel in Arusha. Suricata had arranged for us to have a very early check-in which enabled us to get a few extra hours' sleep. We were then met later that afternoon by two of the owners, Hilary and Prince who introduced us to Ezekiel our driver, and Benjudah, our cook.
Our Safari started the next day at 8.30am. We are a family of 5, and so had our own private tour. We went to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks. Each park was very different, with different landscapes and animals. We saw so much wildlife in each park, and over the week we saw four of the big five (with the exception of rhino). Because we had 7 days, we had time to head to the Mara River in northern Serengeti and saw the wildebeest and zebra cross the river during their migration. This was definitely a highlight.
Ezekiel was a great driver, and an exceptional guide. He had so much knowledge of each of the parks and all of the wildlife. He knew just where to look for the animals and never failed to answer any of our questions (and there were many!). Each evening Ezekiel joined us for dinner to an amazing feast prepared by Benjudah who created incredible dishes, from his little box of ingredients. Each meal - whether breakfast, lunch or evening meal - was so delicious, varied and healthy.... Even our 3 boys loved every meal! Some of our 'picnic’ lunches were even served on white crockery while those around us were eating from cardboard boxes!
We chose a budget Safari and 4 of the nights were spent in 3 different public campsites. Each site was in a spectacular position within the national parks, and each night we could hear hyenas or lions roaming nearby, while zebra and even an elephant roamed freely around the campsites. Facilities were very basic and not always clean, but we felt it was still worth it to be in the midst of the park.
At the end of our trip, we returned to Arusha for one more night in a hotel (again included in the package). Hilary and Prince were there to greet us. However, the service did not end there. Prince was so helpful and enthusiastic and arranged for one of the Suricata drivers to take us to a restaurant where he knew we could get a good meal for a good price, and also helped us arrange transfers for the next part of our holiday in Zanzibar.
We would absolutely recommend this company - they are a great organisation with a great ethos. Remember to take enough US dollars to pay your driver and cook a tip (recommended as $US 10 per person in the group per day. This will be shared between the driver and the cook.)
Best safari experience and service ever!
Dear Prince and Hillary - Suricata safaris.
I can not thank you enough for this absolutely amazing experience! I got the best and warmest welcome I could ever wish for - followed by the most fantastic safari experience. Driving around in the national parks seeing the real wildlife - I saw the big five (YES!) - an experience I will never forget. I highly recommend Suricata Safaris - Prince and Hillary - to everyone considering a safari tour. Go with these guys - worth every penny! The service these guys is providing is outstanding and top professional . Thank you very much for taking so good care of me. You gave me an experience and memory for life. Thank you so much guys.
Hope our paths will cross again in the future ❤️
All the Best,
Sophie Corfixen, Denmark
IN
Email Anshu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Service oriented operator that aims for customer satisfaction. Will recommend highly!
Hilary was a good communicator from the get go. He was transparent with his pricing and stuck to his word. Unlike other tour operators with whom you feel exhausted after negotiating prices and still come out feeling cheated, Hilary is clear with his pricing and how much discount he can give. He also addressed all our concerns including our dietary preferences as we are Hindu non vegetarians.
Coming to the actual trip, Hilary made sure that the driver came to pick us up at Arusha airport on time. The hotel booked for us in Arusha too (jevas) was neat and clean.
For the safari, we had a vehicle from 7 wonders and Amos as the driver cum guide and Khaya as the chef. Both Amos and Khaya were wonderful. Amos took us on as many game drives as could fit in a day. He was never impatient or rude and was cheerful at all times, even sharing in our excitement although it must be getting old for him. Khaya was exceptional with his cooking skills and his kindness. He always had coffee and snacks ready for us after game drives. The lunches and dinner, whether picnic or hot, were so tasty with a lot of variety and included vegetarian items, eggs and chicken for two of us along with pork items for others. He plated exceptionally well too and every item was a work of art. I will forever remember Amos and Khaya and I thank Hilary and Suricata safaris for making this trip and enjoyable and memorable one for us.
Note: the camps we stayed in needed improvement but these are govt owned campsites so nothing the safari operators could do about it. At the end of the day, you are in the wild so luxury is not an option unless you spend too dollar on lodges.
Note 2: the car hire service Hilary ordered to drop us to JRO airport at end of trip messed up by being late, making us wait and being rude. Hilary made sure he picked us up from Arusha and delivered us to airport himself to soothe our frayed nerves and make up for that bitter experience. Also, he gave us some local currency out of his own pocket to make sure we had dinner at airport as we couldnt have anything earlier due to the delay. If this isn’t customer service, I don’t know what is!
FR
Email Pauline Solène Thomas Ronan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you
Thank you for these amazing days with your company.
Your team (Mandela and Chase) was so lovely with us. We will recommand you for sure !