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
DE
Email Maria | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best experience in my life!! Amazing safari and Kilimanjaro climb.
We climbed Kilimanjaro via Lemosho 8 days route and went for a 4-days safari to Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangiri.
At first, we were on a four-day safari with Fredrick and Salim. We spent nights in a tented camp, so felt very close to the nature. I personally didn't hear any dangerous animal sounds at night :-)
Fredrick was a real professional in his work - he spotted animals where we and the other drivers did not see them, made sure to show us and waited until we found them all. In addition, he told us so much about the habits and lives of the animals that we could probably drive tours ourselves :-) Salim was our cook. The food was amazing! It was so nice to get out of the car after 5 hours of safari and see a table served with a 3 course lunch. The guys became our friends! Thank you so much!
After that we climbed Kilimanjaro. We made a 8-days route in 6 days, because we showed a very good acclimatization. Our guides checked our oxygen and heart rate in every camp, so I felt very safe at a summit day. They are experts in climbing, so we spent many hours talking about the mountain and some local traditions. I will miss our guides very much!
That was my first experience of sleeping in a tent, but the equipment provided by Suricatas was very warm and comfy, so I felt like in a 5stars hotel with delicious food!
AE
Email Daniel Sternick | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Suricata has GREAT people, offers great quality service, for a very competitive price
From the initial moments of planning our trip to the minute we were dropped off at the airport to return home, Suricata Safari was absolutely impeccable. To begin with, they clearly offer an excellent price in an environment that is incredibly competitive. Safaris are expensive by definition, but Hilary and his team will discuss your budget with you and present you with the options available so that you can have the trip you dreamed of. Hilary showed us a lot of flexibility in tailoring the trip to our needs, adding extra days or trimming unnecessary stops, allowing us to choose our own hotels in some cases, and even changing the itinerary to ensure that pre-history buffs like us could make a stop at the Olduvai Museum. As we planned our trip, Hilary made time to speak with us on video late in the night, and in general not 2 minutes would pass before a question on whatsapp was thoroughly answered.
The safari experience in itself was mind blowing—among the best we’ve done so far, and we’ve been around. The stops Suricata Safaris suggested were all spot-on. We saw lots and lots of animals and an incredible wealth of nature in general. The car is excellent and provides all the visibility you need to get the perfect experience. Like in a magic trick, lunch is served hot even after hours on the road. While tourists in other cars are eating cold sandwiches, you’re eating a warm, delicious home-made style food, followed by dessert and coffee. The hotels suggested by Suricata were all great (full disclosure: we did replace some of the hotels originally recommended; for example, we stayed in Sheraton Four Points in Arusha and Meliã Serengeti in the Serengeti Park).
A word about our extraordinary guide Ezekiel: the man is a superstar. What a fantastic, special human being. As we told him at the end of our trip, your safari guide becomes an integral part of your trip—he will spend most of the time during the trip with you. He’s a part of your group. For this reason, a guide can really make or break your trip. Well, Ezekiel made ours. He was the best company we could have hoped for. He’s appropriate, respectful, and well-spoken—in fact, he is an articulate speaker who is very knowledgeable about Africa and its fauna and flora, but also one who knows to cherish silence at times. He is astonishingly driven and hardworking, but has a sharp sense of humor. He went out of his way countless times to make sure we saw something or did something we wanted, and we finished the trip with the feeling that we gained a friend. Watching young, talented, hardworking men like Hilary and Ezekiel has got to make you hopeful and optimistic about the continent’s future.
Amazing experience with Ezekia driver and chef Tito, who cook delishus in difficult condi
Great adventure. Good organization. Delicious food ( Thank you, Tito). The Ezekia driver showed us the best animals ( Tnanks, Easy). I was very helpful with them.
I had really wonderful time, I think it just can't be better
My husband and I just had really great time with Suricata Safaris! I feel like this company really cares about their customers experience. Our guide Rocky and our chef Chazz made every effort to make our safari comfortable and fascinating, I want to thank them a lot for that. We enjoyed it so much!
Now I'll describe everything step by step so you could make a decision yourself. We had a 5 day group safari with transfer, meal and accommodation included in February 2021.
When we got to Arusha Airport there was a driver waiting for us to get us to the hotel. At the hotel we met Hilary and he explained us the plan. The original plan was to visit lake Manyara, but because of the beginning of the wet season it was floody there. So he suggested to change our plan and to have Arusha national park instead with a walking tour included. That was really kind of him, because it wasn't the company's fault that the weather was bad, but he offered us, I think, more expensive option (because of the walking tour) and charged us no extra money at all. So after amending the plan was to visit Serengeti, then Ngorongoro, then Tarangire and then Arusha with walking safari. We were supposed to be in a group of 6 people for all 5 days but in fact we had a company only for 4 days, the last day was private (even though we didn't pay for it).
So the next day we met other tourists and our crew: the guide Rocky and the chef Chazz. I want to tell about the safari car, how comfortable it is. There are 6 seats for tourists and a small fridge, also you can open the roof, charge your phone, use free wifi and enjoy your safari. During the safari you will have very tasty breakfasts, lunches and dinners in camps and special picnic places.
So we got to the Serengeti national park and did a game drive for a couple of hours. Serengeti is an endless plane indeed. We saw a lot of lions, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, hippos, leopards and many other animals there. Then we went to the camp at 6 pm, because that is the rule in national parks.
I must say that I was really impressed by camping in all national parks, because there are good toilets, showers with hot water, free wifi (limited, but still), kitchen and dining place, also you can charge your devices there. We spent three nights sleeping in a tent, the company provides you the mattresses, pillows and sleeping bags, it was very comfortable.
The next day we woke up at 5 am to start our game drive in Serengeti, because many animals can be spotted at early hours. This day we saw almost whole "the big five", there was only the rhino left. The night we spend in a camp in Ngorongoro, there were a lot of buffalos feeding just very close to our tents during night, amazing!
The next day we also woke up at 5 am and started game drive in Ngorongoro Caldera. It is much different from Serengeti, but also very beautiful place full of animals. We saw buffalos, rhinos, elephants, flamingos and many others. After late lunch we went to the Masai village, where they showed us their dances and everyday life. This excursion took us about 30 minutes, cost 10 dollars per person and was quite interesting, but it's optional, you may not take it if you don't want to. We spend the night in Mto wa Mbu town in a camp lodge. This day was the last for two guys from our group, so there was only four of us left. Later we had a free excursion in this town. We saw rice fields, banana forest, visited local artists and Makonde tribe, tried some banana beer and wine. We really enjoyed it.
Next day we woke up not that early, at about 7:30 am, and went to Tarangire national park. This park is also different from those two we saw before. It's more like hilly area, there are a river and not dense forest. There are so many elephants in this park! Later we came to Arusha to have a sleep in a hotel. It was the last day for two other people. We had a dinner in this hotel at the restaurant, it was included in our tour also.
The next morning we had a game drive and a walking safari in Arusha national park. This park is more mountainous, the forest is quite thick there. The walking tour is very interesting because you can get really close to the animals, the feelings are just amazing! And during the game drive we spotted some black and white colobuses, they are really rare and you can only meet them in this park. This night we also spent in a hotel.
The next day we had a plane back from Arusha. The checkout time is 10 am, but we were allowed to stay longer, because our flight was after 3 pm. The company provided us a transfer to the airport. That was the end of our safari adventures.
In conclusion I want to say, that we had really pleasant time, we enjoyed every minute of this tour. The parks have a very developed infrastructure, there are all the amenities. And our guide Rocky was so cheerful, he had so many surprises for us, shared so much interesting information with us about nature, animals, country and citizens. I will definitely come back here in few years, and I hope I could have a safari with this guide, chef and company again.
CZ
Email Jan D | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great company
We experienced a wonderful tour to Serengeti and Ngorongoro with Suricata safaris. Guides, food, organization... everything was perfect and profesional. After safari we joined one day trip to Materuni waterfalls and coffee tour. Our guide was Ally, very attentive and friendly. I can highly recommend Suricata as tour operator.
RO
Email Alina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari
We had a 3 days safari tour, to Serengeti and Ngorongoro, with transfer from and to Arusha airport.
It was the best part of our vacation, showing us landscapes and a variety of animals we have never dreamed of (hippos, rhinos, lions, leopard, zebras, giraffes, flamingos, gnu, buffalos, crocodiles).
The team is great, starting with Hilary who came before departure to meet us and after arrival, to get our feedback and check if everything went as planned.
Our guide was Lewis, he is an amazing guy, funny, energic and extremely patient, well prepared with answers to each question we had, even the stupid ones. He was also the driver, a very good one, cautious and careful, in 3 days we had not a single moment to be afraid that something can go wrong.
Chaz, the chef is amazing, everything he cooks is so damn tasty, it feels like having dinner at mum’s. In addition to this, he is funny, helpful, kind and positive.
It was the first safari experience we had, but for sure none of the following ones can be as great as the one provided by Suricata Safaries.
Safari to Remember
We had the best time ever. We did 3 days/2nights budget safari (serengeti+ngorongoro). Everything was perfect. From the owner, communication, guide, chef etc. Saw the big five and much more. Would highly recommend it to anyone interested in doing safari in the beautiful Tanzania. Asante sana
FR
Email Philippine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari
I just had a three days amazing Safari experience in Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks with Suricata Safaris. From start to end, everything was really great. We first thought that we would be lucky if we could see lions and one or two other fantastic animals, and we endend up seeing not only so many lions in so many different settings, but also buffalos, hyenas, elephants, so many other animals, and even rhinos and a last minute leopard ! We could not believe we caught a good sighting of them all, especially knowing how rare it is to see rhinos and leopards in the wild. Thanks Hillary for the organisation and thanks Mandela the guide for taking us to the best spots and showing us where to look, I would definitely recommend this experience to any nature and wildlife lover.
FR
Email Loic | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro
Loved the experience. We met Hillary, Suricata’s boss, in person so that he could brief us on what to expect. Everything was easy and smooth; we joined a group and enjoyed the complete experience. Everything is well organised; good food, good sleep, great guide (thanks Mandela!). We got plenty of time to admire Tanzania’s wildlife, Mandela made sure we were making the most of every encounter. Don’t hesitate!
CH
Email Denise & Markus | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic and perfectly organised Safari
We experienced a wonderful 6 days Safari. Our guide "Lion" with his eagle eyes brought us as close as possible to the animals and allowed us to have an unspeakable experience. Everthing was perfectly organised - pick ups / transfers from and to the Airport and hotels, the choice of Lodges during the Safari! We appreciated the freshly prepared picnic every day and were glad not to have to eat from cardboard boxes as others had to. Congrats to the whole Suricata Team which we can highly recommend!