The Wayfairer team training in our UK office
Wayfairer Travel
- Offices In:
-
United Kingdom
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ATOL & ABTOT
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $941 to $2,383 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
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Email Adam Blair Golden | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nothing left to chance
I have been an avid traveler for most of my adult life and have never used a company to help me book anything, assuming that it was more expensive and would not meet my expectations. I have never been more wrong. Thea and Carmen from Wayfairer were both responsive, helpful, and honest throughout the entire process. We had about seven flights during our vacation and each one of them was expertly scheduled to allow time for transfers and travel between terminals. There were so many places that things could have gone very wrong, but in each one of them, Carmen had already planned for the solution. As I named in my title, nothing was left to chance, and I cannot explain how much I appreciated this.
Selous Game Reserve - Serena Camp: The food was incredible. This chef impressed us over and over again. The luxury tents are well appointed and very comfortable. To note: you cannot walk alone at night, as there are resident hippos in this open camp. The water pressure in the shower is not great, but if you use the hand wand, the pressure is more than adequate. Oscillating fans are provided but there is no air-conditioning. The wine they offer is great as well. We drank the Lion's Hill Cabernet and were very happy. For the safaris themselves, you are in an open six person jeep. You should know that it is not a smooth ride. The guides (ours were Noah and Khalid) are knowledgeable and helpful. You can see impalas/warthogs/other small game pretty much immediately, but to see the larger game, you will need to drive an hour or more away. Make sure that you have bug repellant (its not mosquitos, its tsetse flies that bite through clothes). I didn't find it to be that helpful, but I'm sure it helped more than I realized. We were able to see lions (that has just made a kill), elephants, water buffalo, water buck, wildebeest, giraffes, a leopard (had never seen this on any of my other trips to Africa), hippos and crocks. I highly recommend the river safari on the Rufigi River from the Serena Lodge. This was a highlight for me. Other memorable moments: breakfast in the bush, sundowner event (sunset), coffee over looking a dry river bed with animals.
Zanzibar - La Gemma: This resort is beautiful. Again, the food is wonderful and the Pinotage that they serve as a house wine is great. The Sunset Bar is also a great hangout spot. The staff is very helpful, and if you aren't able to walk much, you can easily call for a golf cart to transport you. The grounds are so nice though, I recommend the walk. We did several excursions in Zanzibar that were all coordinated by Carmen and Wayfairer but executed by SunTours. To note: La Gemma is at the northern tip of the island, which is arguably the best and most beautiful, but it is 1.5 hours from the airport and Stone Town. Be prepared to ride. The vans and SUVs are very comfortable with dual AC controls. The guides and drivers are also wonderful. Specifically I worked with Juma. He made sure we did everything we wanted and were well taken care of. Our excursions included the Jozani Forest Tour, Prison Island Tour, Nungwi Village Tour, Zanzibari cooking class with a local, and a sunset cruise on a typical dhow (handmade) boat. If there was anything that I didn't understand about the resort is that you are not allowed to have bottles of wine sent to your room without a charge. Even though it is wine that is included all inclusively. You also cannot get the bottle at the bar and bring it back. I didn't care for this but it was a small inconvenience.
Given the opportunity, I would have no hesitation working with Wayfairer, visiting Selous Serena Camp, or La Gemma in Zanzibar. All were wonderful companies with incredible people. Cheers!
CA
Email Maria Gwilliam | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They make dreams come true
The service was first class, the whole experience was more that we had expected. Personal guidance at the airports, luxury hotels, the best tour guides and a trip completely personalized all the way to our interests. One we had a problem initially at the airport, we were able to reach them 24/7 and they were all over it. We would recommend only travelling with them...so professional.
Email Katie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic Ugandan and Mafia Island trip that delivered all and more than we had hoped for!
From the moment that we started to talk to Wayfairer Travel we were impressed with their attention to detail and desire to deliver us a trip that absolutely met our needs and budget. When Leonie discovered my husband and I shared a birthday while we were going to be away, and that the main aim of our trip to Uganda was to go Gorilla trekking, she took the time to plan our itinerary to ensure that we had an amazing birthday.....and we certainly did....meeting Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Communication during the planning of the holiday and ahead of our trip through Carmen as our Concierge was helpful and informative at all times. Nothing was too much trouble, even when we decided to play a little with the itinerary. When we arrived in Uganda their travel partners Wild Frontier Safaris were highly professional and our guides were brilliant. The quality of the lodges that had beeen recommended and selected for us were excellent. The holiday certainly delivered all that we had hoped for and so much more....including lions, leopards, so many birds, elephants, chimpanzees to name but just a few of the wonderful wildlife that we got to see and of course the most majestic of them all Mountain Gorillas. We were event treated to a birthday cake and the entire staff of the lodge that were were staying at on the night of our birthday singing us Happy Birthday. All this was topped off with an opportunity to swim with Whale Sharks when we hopped over to Mafia Island in Tanzania for some rest at a beautiful beach location. We would absolutely recommend Wayfairer Travel and are already wondering where they can take us next......
Email Mark | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon Safari & Beach Holiday
We had a brilliant experience with Wayfairer Travel when we booked our honeymoon with them. They looked after us well and answered all the questions we had. Would highly recommend using them.
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Email Antonia Hedrick | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Selous Game Reserve - Tanzania with the all of the wildlife to yourself.
Wayfairer Travel arranged a perfect trip. We loved the Serena Selous Camp, the Serana Mivumo River Lodge and the Breezes Resort on Zanzibar. The staff at all of these places was fantastic. We especially loved the staff, service and Jumbe, our guide, was professional, lovable and knowledgeable. Each day we saw something new and unexpected including a pack of wild dogs and hundreds of cape buffalo in one spot. The Rufiji River and associated lakes and tributaries in the northeast corner of the Selous Game Reserve rival the wildlife viewing we experienced on the northern circuit in Tanzania. We loved the river safaris with Zach mixed in with the land safaris. He and Jumbe work well together. We even had a sundowner on an island surrounded by a pod of hippopotami.
Our Safari Blue and Stone Town tours on Zanzibar were fantastic. We especially enjoyed the Safari Blue staff snorkeling and lunch. Our Stone Town guide did a great job in Zanzibar. We really liked the history museum on slavery and visiting the sultans' buildings. We had a great time visiting with local shop and bar owners and friends in the shopping area around the Slipaway in Dar es Salaam, a lovely accommodation, too.
Thank you very much Wayfairer,
The Hynes and Hedricks
US
Email Lori Goodman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good service - more reasonably priced than high luxury
We traveled to Tanzania on Safari planned by Wayfairer travel. We used one private guide to visit three camps plus the Ngorongoro crater. Our experience was excellent. We loved our choice to have one guide and drive through the country. Wayfairer was helpful and worked with us on price. One thing I wish they had done was to let us know at the time of booking that we would need to visit a travel specialist doctor to get vaccinations. We didn't receive that information until 6 weeks before our trip and we were out of the country for business much of that time. It made our immunization visit more stressful than necessary. We loved this once in a lifetime trip and would absolutely recommend Wayfairer.
Reply from Wayfairer Travel
Posted on Sep 23, 2019Thank you so much for your great review Lori and we're delighted that you had a wonderful, once in a lifetime trip to Tanzania! Regarding vaccination advice, please note that this is always given to you at the time of booking as well as in your pre-departure documents. Thanks once again for your feedback and it's great to hear that you'd recommend our services to others.
Email Nick | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great advice and seamless organisation
Had a superb trip organised by Wayfairer to Tanzania for beach and safari. Cat advised us well, listening to what we wanted to get out of it and making the organisation very easy. Choices were presented with clear understanding of the details not by reading a promotional brochure - our agent had visited all the places we went personally. On the trip, everything was seamlessly organised, and the concierge service before and during the trip was very helpful for trip bookings etc.
Email Robbie Hardingham | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great, thoughtful and experienced agency
We had a great 11 day honeymoon in Tanzania which included a city break, safari and time on the beach. The last 4 days on Mafia Island was our favourite part. We were treated very well by the staff at Pole Pole. The food was delicious and the snorkelling was fantastic. Wayfairer were extremely helpful before, during and after our stay. I particularly liked how easy it was to get in contact with them by email, phone or WhatsApp throughout my time dealing with them. Thank you.
Email David Smith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Family trip to Southern Africa.
Wayfairer organised our trip of a life time to Zimbabwe, Zambia & Malawi. They listened to our requirements and found beautiful small personalised places to stay and the whole trip ran like clockwork. We stayed at Batonka Lodge in Victoria Falls, Flat Dogs Safari Lodge in Zambia, Huntingdon Lodge (tea plantation) and Blue Zebra Lodge ( lake Malawi).
Email Julie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Personalised and knowledgeable tailor-made experience
We had a wonderful holiday in Tanzania, arranged at short notice with the Wayfairer team. They were flexible in tailoring the holiday around a week we had already booked ourselves, and patient and accommodating as we tweaked things, such as putting the safari at the end. Having a dedicated concierge on hand via email at all times is a great boon when dealing with odd glitches such as taxi no-shows and changes of plane times. The safari in Ruaha was the stand-out highlight, with a truly astonishing camp experience and expert guiding. We learned so much and ate even more. We would love to return.
