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
Email Tiia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hillary swapped customers to cheaper tour operator without disclosing this
I spent a good while researching safari options prior to my trip to Tanzania. I chose to book with Suricata Safaris based on their great reviews (#6 of 1,294 Outdoor Activities in Arusha) and accepted the cost as a part of the great experience I was in for. Weeks in advance, I had emailed the company to confirm this tour was going ahead on that day. Hillary from Suricata Safaris confirmed this.
When the tour started, I quickly realised it was not the 5-star treat I had paid for. Another day in, I realised that we had ended up with Arunga Expeditions & Safaris (#674 of 1,294 Outdoor Activities in Arusha) and their rude personnel. When I asked about this, our driver told me to "stop complaining". When I confronted the Suricata representative, Hillary, he said that they moved me to a cheaper operator to save costs.
My experience with Arunga was very poor. There was no toilet paper, no hot water and no WiFi in the camps, and I shared a small tent with two people (I was told differently when I made my online enquiry with Suricata Safaris). When one of our crew fell ill and needed transportation out of the nature reserve, our guide suggested that we need to sort that ourselves.
I ended up getting dinner and 10% of my money back from Suricata Safaris after the tour. This really does not make up for the difference in quality for the two tour operators.
Email Jeremy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good safari, but poor camping equipment and forced to leave 5 star review
Good safari, knowledgeable guides. Overall decent experience. 3 different parks, 3 nights in tents and 4 days of safari.
But - camping and sleeping gear was old and smelt mouldy. It was not hygienic.
Also at the end of the trip we were left with sour taste in our mouths as the company essentially held us in a location until we submitted a 5 star review.
So please take any 5 star reviews with a grain of salt.
It’s a good safari for the cost, but be prepared for some mouldy camping gear
DE
Email Christian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow - Suricata did a great job to give us the experience of our lives
We chose Suricata Safaris through Safari Bookings and we were not disappointed. From the first moment on we were in good hands for a 5 day experience which was more than great. Our driver Freddy did a great job in terms of driving, showing us all the animals and giving us so much information about the animals and Tanzanian history. The camps were great and the food prepared by the chef (breakfast, dinner, lunch) was super delicious. There is not one thing that could have been better. Thank you Suricata!
Email Paul heaney | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional,friendly and overall confidence inspiring.
Suricata’s team proved to be both friendly professional and competent. Finding ourselves with the time go on a Safari at the last minute in country they reacted quickly.
Ally the tour manager met us at our convenience and immediately inspired confidence giving us time and the information needed to chose the right safari for us and a day trip too.
We chose a 4 day private trip to cover Taringere, Serengeti and Ngorogoro , 2 days camping and a first night at their lake Manyara lodge.
Ally kept in touch prior to the tour and we were picked up promptly from our hotel by our guide Baraka who proved to be a great companion.With 6 years experience behind hiim , this showed with his competent driving and knowledge of wildlife, spotting what we could never have found.
The hotel proved to be very luxurious but fun with amazing entertainment from a local acrobatic troupe and an energetic post dinner sing song from the staff - great !
The camping obviously more down to earth but an experience to sleep with the sounds of the wild night. Zebra wandering through the site and giraffe and buffalo on the margins. Tents were prepared and meals cooked for us on site including the preparation of a hot lunch every day ! Lucas cooked for us and I don’t know how he managed to get so much done behind the scenes. A lot of hard work goes on that you don’t see to keep things right.
We had not planned to be on Safari this year but events conspired to give us the chance so no real pre-conceptions. To be honest the magnificence and variety of the parks alone would be enough but the abundance and variety of wildlife takes it to another level.
We saw the big five but that didn’t really matter it was the variety and complexity of encounters and plain amazing how close you could be.
Highlights for me were watching the reaction of a cheetah as it spotted a lion in the vicinity of itself and cub. It decided to lay low as the pack remained intent on the warthog they were tracking and in the end failed to catch in the final chase. Later Barak somehow spotted a black rhino in the long distance and we were able to see it trot along meeting couple of big male elephants as if out for a jaunt,amazing.
So overall a trip we’ll never forget, we will come back for more and will recommend Suricata to friends and family.
Email Annelies | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
everything great
Everything went on time and correctly as agreed! Very good, friendly, competent and patient companion who drove us through the five days! We saw a lot and felt comfortable the whole time. Highly recommend and would do the same again. Ratios for price and services is top!
TR
Email Nihal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
so happy to be a part of an environment where wild life is still respected
When you are choosing a safari company, in fact you are choosing a service to build up probably the most unforgetable trip of your life. I am happy that ours was a smart decision.
I should start with our guide Fredy: A very professional, knowledgable, cool and kind person! He spoke English very well, always gave lots of information about the animals, even showed their close-up pictures from his book, answered all our questions patiently, made sure to locate the car at the best angle for taking photos (and showing respect to people at the other cars and animals - which is so important to us), waited patiently while we took tons of pictures. Most importantly, he was more than a guide, a friend with nice character that we would like to have with us on a long holiday.
Our talented chef Chaz was a master. He always cooked very delicious food and made sure we had enough. He surprised us by serving tasty and special things very quickly even early in the morning. We will miss the excellent food we had during the safari. Also we will miss his joyful chats with Fredy.
We had a difficult time in choosing the safari company as there are about 1000 alternatives. When I decided on one and was about to pay, there had been a couple of things I did not like. I checked for an alternative and met Suricata. I thought it was a young company but experienced enough. Hilary answered my e-mails very promptly. He was flexible and did his best to tailor the programme according to our wishes. I noticed he is one of the founders and that made me feel more comfortable knowing that he will be there to solve any possible problem. I was right; there had been a small misunderstanding during the trip and was solved through a phone call between Fredy and Hilary. Paying the deposit was easy and safe and we did the rest of payment on arrival.
We were a family of 3 people and had an 8 days private safari including Arusha National Park, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi (tribe visits), Serengeti and Ngorongoro. These 8 days were full of magic. Surprisingly, visiting the tribes was the highlight of our trip. We met Maasai, Datoga, Hadzabe, Makonde and Gidangodic people and had a wonderful time with them. We learned the way they live. We went to hunting with Hadzabe, jumped with Maasai, sang with Datogas who asked many questions about ourselves and our country and we were warmly welcome by all tribes. We keep the souvenirs mostly done and sold by women for ourselves as they are so precious to us and all are a great memory.
During those visits local guides Deo and Yusuf (sorry if I mispronounce) accompanied and helped us to communicate as the tribes' languages are different. Also there was an armed ranger (Ali) and his intern who accompanied us in Arusha National Park for a walking safari.
While deciding about how to use our budget before the safari, we preferred budget camping. Doing so, we could take a longer trip rather than paying more for lodge-stays. We are happy we did. But you might prefer lodges if you do not feel cool and adventurous enough. In Serengeti and Ngorongoro you hear voices of wild animals just around your tent. In our case, something rare occurred and lions tried to hunt two buffalos very close to our tents and one animal hit the tent. We were lucky as nobody was hurt (buffalos also survived) and now we have a story to tell all through our life. Also we heard steps of many zebras feeding around our tents in Ngorongoro Simba Campsite.
Choosing November for safari also has been a wise decision. Although it is short-rains season, luckily there was no rain. Also the parks and public camp-sites were not over-crowded. The herds had already arrived Seronera region so we were lucky to experience the great migration.
And yes, we saw all of the "big 5" but a safari should be regarded not as an experience of seeing; but as feeling. It is hard to describe how happy we felt during all these 8 days. In most of the world, people have built up plazas and cities full of unhappiness. With a human-centric point of view, they left no space for wild life. We are lucky people who experienced to spend 8 days at a place on earth where things are different. We were able to be a part of an environment where wild life is still respected and preserved. And we would like to thank Fredy, Chaz, Hilary and the rest of the Suricata team who helped this dream to come true. Asante sana!
Email Charlotte | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 3 day camping safari in Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater
Suricata Safaris was recommended to us by some friends who used them previously and had a great time. After checking the positive reviews, we decided to book a 2 night and 3 day camping Safari through Serengeti NP and Ngorongoro crater. We’re so glad we did! Hilary (the manager) was very prompt to reply to all our questions via email and WhatsApp.
The safari itself was incredible; our guide Edgar was very informative, the chef Chaz cooked us tasty food every day and we saw all of the Big Five (and many more smaller animals) in just 3 days. Seeing a cheetah and and her cub was the highlight for me!
The campsites (Nguricho and Simba A) were basic but clean - both had working showers, toilets and a dining room. Wild camping was a great experience and seeing/hearing a herd of buffalo outside our tent overnight was exciting! We The tents, mattresses, pillows and sleeping bags provided by Suricata made sleeping comfortable and Edgar helped us to set them up each night. Tips are not included in the overall price and are optional - we were very happy to pay them for the great service provided! (Hilary recommends $10/day as a tip which is then split between the chef and the guide.)
I would really recommend this company for a budget safari.
RO
Email Victor | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour guide, great tour overall, but the attitude of the management was absolutely terrible
Everything started when we first met their contact person, Daniel, who came to brief us and take the rest of the payment for the tour, which we chose to pay in cash. We paid 60 USD more, as, of course, he did not have change. He promised he will give us the change back when the tour ends.
We started the tour everything was ok until the second day when we ate the lunch prepared by their hotel, Suricata Boma Lodge, where we stayed the first night. The food was bad and we had got food poisoning, exactly what you need in a safari.
Considering this, when we arrived at the next accommodation we asked them to prepare a lunch with rice and more solid stuff so we avoid getting sick again. Guess what, they did not care about what we asked, we ate only part of the food and we got sick again.
We were promised by Daniel, who we believe lied to us, that we will have our own chef which will prepare exactly what we want, considering some limited options. We never seen such a guy.
Besides this, the tour guide was kind and helpful and he did his best to make us comfortable. He planned the days in a very smart way and we were most of the time almost alone with a lot of animals. Thank you again Paul!!
Now, let's move to the nasty part. On the last day, got back to Arusha and we were supposed to meet with Daniel, for a feedback session and of course, as promised to return us the money he owed us.
Guess what?
He kept saying that he is coming soon, and at some point he called saying that we should do the debriefing via the phone, because he is stuck in traffic and during the discussion he asked us to not mention anything about the food poisoning as he wouldn't want us to generate a bad image for the company. And then he promised again that in 30 minutes he will come with the money. It was already past 9 pm. At around 10:30 PM he said that we will get the money from the driver who is going to drive us to the airport. Of course the driver did not have the money and did not know anything about this.
I discussed with Daniel again and he said the money were left at another hotel reception, then that the money were in the company's office and then that the driver actually had the money and forgot to give them to us. He was clearly lying. These different versions are from a Whatsapp conversation with him.
He clearly wanted to keep the money.
Now, it is not about the money, it is about their attitude in regards to this.
I told them that I want to get the money back via a bank transfer. They said they only do western union, which was not an option for me at all. I am not going to waste time to open accounts and run arround in my holiday at different western union places to get back the money I was owed. After multiple different conversations and pressure, I was told I will receive the refund via Revolut, and that the money were already sent. They lied again. This is the moment when I started to threaten them with a bank claim (I did pay the deposit via a bank payment). After threatening them, I got the money back the day after, from another Revolut account, which is an instant bank transfer (so they cannot say anything about the transfer taking longer than a day).
I would never recommend them and I feel lucky that nothing really bad happened during the trip. Considering their attitude, I am pretty sure they would have not done anything.
NL
Email Sam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing safari experience organised by a great team
We went on a 5 day safari with Suricata starting in Arusha. Before we started the safari they picked us up from Arusha airport and brought us to our hotel where we were given a briefing by Dennis that explained everything we needed to know for the next days. As we had some time to kill in Arusha they also organised a small tour of the city for us with a great guide called Chuke.
The next day we started our safari for five days. The first day was spent with Rocky as our guide, the next four with Elias. Both were warm, informative and great to have as guides. The lodges we stayed in were beautiful, and the food was delicious, as were the lunches had on safari cooked by our chef from Suricata, Pius. We ended our safari with a debrief with Daniel in Arusha who also arranged a complimentary transfer to our next hotel. Overall nothing was lacking in the adventure. The communication was excellent and we felt fully cared for the entire time. I would really highly recommend this company to anyone looking at doing a safari in Tanzania.
FR
Email Clémence | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
100% recommend the 3-day safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro
The 3-day safari tour in Serengeti and Ngorongoro was amazing! Our local guide Max was very nice and professional, with great knowledge of the animals and how to find them (we saw the Big five!). We had two long game drives in Serengeti and one in the crater, which was beautiful and enough to enjoy all the wildlife. Suricata Safari took care of the accomodation (campsite) and all the meals (the chef Tito cooked the best local food we tried during our stay in Tanzania). We 100% recommend