Encompass Africa
- Located In:
-
Australia
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, CATO & ATAS
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $228 to $1,953 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email LAURAINE | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service and super responsive
Bring our first safari, we did not know what to expect. After listening to our requirements, EA was able to curate an itinerary that ticked all our boxes within a challenging timeframe. We were very impressed that everything was done with a few phone calls and emails. No time wasted. Trip itself was beyond expectations and all arrangements went like clockwork. EA was recommended to us by a friend and we would not hesitate to recommend them to our family & friends. Good work Gen & Katie!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An adventure and experience of a lifetime with memories that will last forever
We knew very little about Africa as a destination but knew we wanted to see the major tourist destinations we had heard people speak about (Cape Town, Kruger, Vic Falls, Chobe, Okavango Delta). Encompass Africa put together our whole holiday based on what little information we gave them. We took advice from their highly experienced staff who had actually lived in the country and had amazing knowledge of the surrounds; we were able to see exactly what was planned through their amazing virtual tour which was emailed to us. Encompass Afrca captured exactly what we wanted to see from amazing safari parks so we could get up close and personal with the big five, seeing Vic Falls and experiencing the culture of the locals. All this was planned around beautiful accomodation which was in itself a memorable experience. We would absolutely book another holiday with Encompass Africa and would definately recommend them to others. We dealt with professional, polite, experienced staff who were able to accomodate and recommend places of interest which gave us an experience of a lifetime.
Email Will | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lack of flexibility , poor quality vehicles, sub-standard accommodation
We chose Encompass Africa to assist us with our African safari as they espoused flexibility, ensuring they were up to date with migratory patterns and were able to change their plans, itineraries and accommodation locations to cater for the unexpected and unpredictable nature of the environment. This was not the case. We spent three full days searching for the elusive big 5. Only a few wildebeest could be found. The great migration was delayed due to unseasonal weather patterns. There were very few animals. We were told this prior to traveling to the Serengeti by other travelers who had already experienced this. When we relayed this information to Encompass Africa, they refused to change the itinerary and relocate us to where the action was - central Serengeti. After the third day and only after we strongly insisted, did they move us from one camp to the other. Both of which, by the way, were well under capacity. We finally saw what we came for - animals in abundance - lions, leopards, hippos, many buffalo and of course wildebeest and antelope.
The vehicle we had was very old and run down. Roofs either did not open, or closed unexpectedly - luckily escaping serious injury. The seats were bereft of cushioning and the air conditioning did not work. Very disappointing.
Part of our trip was to visit a Maasai school at a local Maasai village. When we arrived, there were no children. They claimed it was school holidays, however, after seeing the empty classroom, it appeared the school had not been in operation for many months. Rat droppings covered all the children’s desks and the teaching materials looked ‘staged’ leading us to question the purpose of this visit.
We were told that tipping at the village was not expected, however, we were lead to their ‘jewelry’ market, where the Maasai women made and sold bracelets , earrings etc. We felt obligated to purchase many of their items, as we were lead around the area several times. The Maasai women continually appealed to us to buy their beads. We felt very uncomfortable, almost believing we may have been rude or offensive if we refused their products, leaving us in a very awkward position. It appeared we visited the village under the ruse of seeing the children in the school, when really it appeared to be all about selling Maasai beads for exorbitant prices.
I would not recommend this tour operator. We need to be honest with our reviews so that others are not left disappointed as we were.
Email Dinusha | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Seamless and memorable
Danica booked us a family trip to Tanzania/Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Nairobi, Victoria falls and Cape Town. We got other quotes like from Abercrombie and Kent which are were similar, but ultimately went with Encompass Africa due to the great communication, much more personalised attention and the better quality of accommodation. Unlike the other people we got quotes from, Danica was always on hand to answer any questions, could tweak itineraries even at the last minute and offer excellent advice, even when I sent so many emails and at all hours of the day/night. She was dedicated and efficient and it showed in the absolutely fabulous trip she organised for us. It was so seamless and stress free. We never waited with transfers, everything was organised timely and meticulously from her and her team. The accommodation was luxurious and exceeded expectation. All the flights were perfect as was the itinerary she suggested, and we are forever grateful that we chose Danica and Encompass Africa for our trip. The only thing that put a dampener was the rainy weather but I am pretty sure that if we had asked Danica to fix that, she would have found a way! Thank you again Danica and Encompass Africa. You made our trip so memorable and we can’t wait to book the next one.
NZ
Email Nancy and Hugh | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Five stars on most aspects
We chose Encompass to plan our African holiday because it was so highly recommended to us by a couple we met on another trip. We mentioned this on our first contact with Encompass. Unfortunately, they assumed that we wanted the same type of trip as our friends, when in fact we didn't even discuss the trip with the couple at all. The outcome was that we had a month in Africa that was about 2/3 of what we wanted, and 1/3 what we didn't.
We saw some amazing things, stayed at some great places, and had wonderful guides. Most everything went like clockwork. That all deserves 5 stars for the Encompass team, including their attention to my husband's health issues the night before we were to depart for Africa.
So why not 5 stars? We arrived home exhausted, having completed around 25 game drives (and having sat out about 8). We spent 16 nights in total at 5 camps, travelling mostly by safari vehicle between them . We were envious of those who were moving on to other activities and countries for non-safari adventures. Of the 30 nights in Africa, 16 were in camps, 6 were in transit, and one was a day of rest.
When we arrived home, we would have given Encompass 3 stars on this review, but instead we contacted them with our feedback. We have added one star because of the team's sincere response to and disappointment with what we expressed to them. They immediately gathered all the information we gave them along with that from the entire planning process, discussed it, and decided there were some mistakes made. We believe that they learned something from this experience, and that means a lot to us. Although everyone else gave them 5 stars, perhaps now some other couple in the future will not have the problems we experienced and they'll never get below a 5 again.
With over a month having passed since our return, we now look on our African experience in a positive light, enjoying and sharing our photos, talking about the great experiences we did have, and being very pleased with the response from the Encompass team.
We have no hesitation in recommending them to others, with the recommendation that you research Africa yourselves, read review of the places they suggest you stay, have a good understanding of what 3 days in a camp means and how many of these days you are prepared to sign up for, and finding out about all the other activities and adventures there are in Africa.
Email Sarah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Another outstanding African trip with Encompass Africa
We cannot thank Jonathon and Danica Wilson at Encompass Africa enough for organising yet another fabulous trip to Africa for us! It has taken us a while to get around to visiting Tanzania but boy was it worth the wait! We were completely blown away by this amazing country, its beautiful landscapes, wonderful people, warm hospitality and incredible wildlife. The trip completely exceeded our expectations and I am sure that this had a lot to do with Jono and Danica's careful choices for us of what local companies to use, camps to go to, locations to visit and careful planning. Jono and Danica knew that one of our reservations about going to East Africa was the potential for lots of vehicles and especially lots of vehicles interfering with the wildlife and their behaviour. Their advice on when and where to go and with whom made all the difference. We had an absolutely amazing experience which was so far from the busy and touristy experience we had feared, even in the very popular Ngorogoro Crater, so we are so thankful to them for understanding our concerns and using their expertise to make sure we were not disappointed!
Mirko had an amazing climb up Kilimanjaro with Summits Africa. They were absolutely fantastic and took such great care of him, I was incredibly impressed! What an awesome experience it was and the care taken by all the team to make sure the climb went well contributed so much to the positivity of the experience.
The camps in the Serengeti we visited were all great, well situated, set up, appointed and managed with great teams of people in each who were warm, welcoming, kind, helpful and hospitable. I must make a particular mention of Rodger and Annabel at Sayari who were just the most wonderful managers, professional, warm, hands on, very respectful to their teams and they made such a huge effort to make our stay special, with amazing birthday treats for Mirko and even a celebratory private candle lit dinner and champagne the night we got there to celebrate Mirko's successful Kili summit!
Our guides were fantastic, very respectful of the wildlife, knowledgeable, passionate, and great company. Kevin, who was my guide for the week I was on my own was just wonderful and made sure I had an absolutely fabulous time.
I also want to especially mention Joseph who was our guide at Sayari - he was such a lovely young man, intelligent, professional, knowledgeable, motivated, driven, with a great sense of humour, kind manner who was great to spend time with and very passionate about the bush.
Travelling on my own was not a problem at all, I felt safe, welcomed and cared for all the time, both out and about and in the camps. Everyone was incredibly friendly and kind to me.
Asilia is a fantastic company and I am so glad Jono and Danica recommended them to us. They really walk the walk, not just talk the talk! Eco-conscious and eco-friendly, great conservation and community initiatives, great guides, respect and care for the environment and wildlife, very supportive of their staff and providing great career progression opportunities, as well as great camps in great locations with wonderful wildlife.
We had so many amazing sightings that I cannot list them all but a few highlights were a cheetah and her 3 small and adorable cubs, lost of cheetah, 2 servals, an African Wild Cat, tree-climbing lions, seeing >100 lions, a pride of >25 lions all together, a female leopard and 2 playful young cubs, the migration, black rhino and calf, morning tea in a herd of 70,000 wildebeest and so so much more! Cant wait to share stories and photos!
We couldn't have asked for more and as always Jono and Danica and the Encompass Africa team have exceeded our wildest expectations! We are already thinking of returning to Tanzania.....as well as visiting some more countries on the beautiful African continent! Cant wait to book our next safari with Encompass Africa!
Email Tony | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Australian travel agency that really knows Africa
This was our second trip organised with Encompass, the first in 2014 to Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. The second this year was to Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. Encompass work with you, finding what interests you then puts together suggestions and work with as a partnership to end up with an itinerary that suits you and your budget. This could happen quickly or take some time, Encompass are happy yo take phone calls, emails, etc., to reassure you. Having a representative on the ground in Africa is another assurance for the first time traveller. Very professional and personable family travel agency, great people to deal with.
Email Catherine | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do your own research
The main lesson I learned having booked a Tanzanian trip with EA is do your own research too.
When we arrived in Arusha, the accommodation was well below average. We have traveled all over India and are familiar with accommodation in an under developed country, however, this was quite shocking. We managed to upgrade to a nicer room at no extra charge, courtesy of the hotel.
We decided to travel by road throughout our trip so we could see the countryside, however, the vehicle was a rust bucket. The air con didn’t work and we were unable to close our windows for protection against the elements, mud and tsetseflies. The car seats had no cushioning left which, given that most of the trip was off road, made for an extremely uncomfortable ride. It also felt like the shock absorbers were shot too. The vehicle had done in excess of 380,000km all of which were off road. We all ended up with sore backs as a result. Just to note, some of the game drives took over 6 hours with no toilets around. It’s ok for guys, but I wasn’t comfortable going behind a bush for rest stops. It’s not something you are told prior.
A big part of our trip was to see the migration of the wildebeest. We had been warned by other travelers that the migration was delayed and all the animals were still at the Wester Corridor, so we should tell our driver so he could make alternate arrangements. He was very reluctant to do so. By the time we got to camp, the wildebeest has just started to arrive, but the other big animals had not. We spent hours and hours each day for nearly three days searching for signs of lions, elephants and other large animals. We finally insisted that we move to where other travelers had advised us to go. Reluctantly our guide agreed. We managed to see leopards, lions (many), hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, zebras, hyenas many different antelope, all in one day. However, because of this earlier reluctance to move, we only managed to stay overnight. It was wonderful and we wanted to stay longer, agreeing to pay the additional costs associated with it. It was refused and we ended up moving very early the next day to stay at a hotel, which was not ideal. Another 10 hour drive in a sub standard vehicle.
Our driver could not be contacted the next day so we missed out on the morning game drive. So we spent over 24 hours in a hotel room. Not what you want when you pay big $$ to see wild life.
After missing out on seeing the migration, it was extremely disappointing that we were forced to leave the one place that had all the action we were searching for.
There were many enjoyable moments and the guide was extremely knowledgeable and a superb driver. Just make sure you do your own research. Check hotel reviews. Ask about the age and condition of the vehicle you will be traveling in. It will make all the difference when traveling through this stunning country. Africa is amazing. The people are warm and welcoming and the animals are breathtaking. It truly is an experience of a lifetime.