Dancing Zebra Safari
- Located In:
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United States
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Member Of:
- Africa Travel Association (ATA) & The International Ecotourism Society (T.I.E.S)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $550 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Mark and Nelly Emmerson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Delivered an unforgettable lifelong experience through local knowledge and attention to detail.
My wife and I had been looking to travel to Africa on a safari for a long time, we had many questions, started with Google and reviewed the many options available to us. One rainy afternoon we attended a travel exposition in Santa Clara where we met several tour operators, but we had no idea how fortunate we were to run across Jessica Mathews of Dancing Zebra. The minute we met her, we knew from friendly smile, detailed knowledge of Tanzania, and the fact that she is passionate about sharing her own experiences to provide others an vacation of a lifetime. After discussing our specific "safari" needs and expectations, she sent us an initial draft itinerary that was extremely well thought out and needless to say we were very excited about our upcoming adventure. After some additional discussions and some fine tuning based on her recommendations we had a detailed itinerary with a daily diary of what to expect. Everything about our trip to Tanzania exceeded expectations, from the time we arrived and met at the airport by our smiling guide until the day we left Zanzibar. A couple of highlights - first off our guide (Ian of Nomad) was exceptional, his knowledge and understanding of animals, local culture and respect for both made the trip very enjoyable. With his guidance we were able to see the BIG 5 (over 2000 photos taken) and so much more, we visited Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Northern Serengeti over an 8 day guided tour; The accommodations and food were also outstanding we stayed at Camp Kuro and Lamai Serenteti where the staff treated us like family, the meals and the rooms were first class. During our stay we also had a chance to visit a hospital (FAME) in Karatu, visit with some Masai children and walk with a Masai warrior to his village which was also very memorable. We finished our trip with 3 days in Zanzibar with some relaxing time on some of the most beautiful beaches ever seen. None of this would have been possible without the detailed knowledge of Jessica, every part of our trip was well though out, and the logistics of all travel was carried out without a single glitch! I would highly recommend Jessica if you and your loved ones want to experience Tanzania, she is wonderful to work with and has the knowledge and passion to make it a memorable lifelong experience!!
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Email John D. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Planned a Perfect Safari Experience and Adventure !!
From the moment we first met Jessica at the Los Angeles Travel Show, we knew we were making the right choice with our safari planner. While there were many safari companies to choose from, Jessica was friendly, knowledgeable, and genuine. It was important to us that our tourism dollars remained in Tanzania and were used to fund local operators, camps, and lodges that were owned and run by Tanzanians who employed Tanzanian staff. Jessica’s focus on cultural authenticity, conservation, and local empowerment was just what we wanted.
Since it was only my wife and I to accommodate, we were also looking for a safari planner who could arrange both shared and private safari vehicles and mix mid-level and luxury accommodations to keep our overall cost reasonable. While we had previously talked with some safari planners who were inflexible with these requests, Jessica planned the perfect trip, with the right mix of rustic, yet luxurious accommodations, and both shared and private safari experiences, in absolutely beautiful and authentic settings. She also worked with very well-respected local operators and incredibly knowledgeable and friendly local safari guides (including our new Rafiki, Ian), who all made our 14-day journey through Tanzania exceptionally special. Jessica and the Dancing Zebra team gave us a trip of a lifetime that was beyond what we had imagined. We can’t wait to work with her again!
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Email Candace S. Brown | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I did not want the trip to end, I was ready to find a job!
Every detail was taken care of, the accommodations were beyond what I expected and the staff were wonderful and welcoming. No one could have ever prepared me for what to expect, but it was like a dream, so Now that I am awake I need to go back !
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Email Dick Cataldi | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our Guide, vehicle, choice of camps, length of stay at each and quality of experience was excellent!
Dancing Zebra provided us with a quality guide, Alfred who was amazing in all aspects. Dunia camp was a great fit for our 4 days on the Serengeti, and Gibbs Farm was a wonderful choice for our 2 days in the NgoroNgoro crater area. We had to make some last minute transportation changes due to the schedules of family members living in Tanzania and Dancing Zebra (Jessica Mathews) arranged the changes seamlessly.
Having one guide, Alfred, through both locations was wonderful. Alfred provided excellent viewing opportunities and was very knowledgeable about all the wildlife, plants, geography, and history. We missed not having Alfred for the walk at the NgoroNgoro rim which turned out being a tedious hike through some dense vegetation. Overall we came home with 2000 wonderful photos and great memories. I wish we could have stayed longer.
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Email Jess | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent and memorable Serengeti and Ngorongoro safari
My husband, parents, and I spent 6 days on safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro and had a fantastic time! Communications from Dancing Zebra was excellent prior to the trip. Both Jessica and Abdullie provided great advice and insights in planning and were also very accommodating for some last minute changes in our flight and pick-up itinerary. We loved the extra special touches from both Dancing Zebra (customized printed itinerary book, safari luggage tags) and their in-country partner Asilia (fancy metal water bottles, safari books for tracking animals, airport lounge access). Our guide (Alfred from Asilia) was amazing and our lodging (Dunia Camp in Serengeti, Gibbs Farm near Ngorongoro) was also fantastic. Our guide was professional, knowledgable, flexible, and friendly. We had so many wonderful memorable moments from seeing huge herd of migrating zebra and wildebeest to shared picnic meals in the parks with excellent food and beautiful views of nature. We LOVED staying at Dunia Camp- specifically sharing communal dining, campfire stories, singing, and dancing with the ladies on staff there. Gibbs Farm was a beautiful tropical garden / farm paradise that was a great place to relax after being on safari and spending a long day driving from Serengeti. Food at both places was delicious by all standards (not just 'safari-good') and the boxed breakfasts and lunches were all delightful as well. We would definitely recommend Dancing Zebra to other travelers.
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Email Alena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unique Honeymoon on Safari & Zanzibar
We went to Tanzania for our honeymoon and spent 8 day on safari and 5 days in Zanzibar. Our travel agent organised the Safari part and did a fantastic job creating a customised itinerary for us. She was very proactive with her communication and tried to understand what we wanted from this once-in-a-lifetime experience and she really outdid herself.
We got a mix of private and shared safari, stayed in the nicest lodges and camps and interacted with the most wonderful people. We visited a Maasai village and learned what it is like to live in the plains of the Serengeti. In total, we visited 4 National Parks or Conservation Areas and we loved them all for their very unique feel and the animals that we encountered. Our travel agent was really great to communicate with and answered all our questions very quickly. We wanted to splurge on our honeymoon but were also mindful of the associated price tag and Our agent did a wonderful job in helping us pick the best accommodations that met our requirements and our budget. They followed up with us after the trip and we felt the entire time like we were in good care. We highly recommend this company as an agency to organise your holidays in Tanzania with. Asante sana!
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Email Josh | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dancing Safari provided us with a fantastic experience and is highly recommended.
This representative was an amazing agent for us. The process was painless and we had a perfect honeymoon. She responded to any questions we had immediately and even checked on us during the trip. The five-star service of Asilia was great. Everything was on time and as advertised.
It was nice to forget about everything and enjoy the trip. I would cut out the Zanzibar part. It was a little bit of a disappointment after leaving the comforts of the safari.
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Email Sheila G. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
So Many Priceless Moments
Date of Travel: May 2017
Review Title: So Many Priceless Moments!
We can't say enough about how great our agent was to work with at this Africa safari travel company. I asked dozens of questions and she patiently, pleasantly and promptly answered every one of them. I felt like we had someone who was committed to assure our experience in Africa would be something to remember our entire lives. She helped me anticipate what each family member would most enjoy and fit in so many special moments. The trip included one of our family proposing to his girlfriend. The arrangements to make it an amazing and touching evening for them was priceless. Our agent anticipated our needs, planned every detail and we never gave it a second thought if something was done, a reservation was made and the itinerary was what we wanted. Thank you for an extraordinary adventure. I know we will do business with her again and recommend her without hesitation.
The breathtaking beauty of each location was only matched by the wonderful people at the lodges where we stayed. The manager at the Manor House is the standard for how individuals overseeing hotels should be measured. he was kind, professional and anticipated our needs. The team at Treetops and Pioneer Camp will be remembered always. Everyone was genuinely interested in assuring we had great days no matter what were doing. Our guide for the entire trip was a rock star. An encyclopedia of animal knowledge, so well versed in how to find the best view for the animals we wanted to see. he is in a bunch of our pictures, he was like family. We are looking at pictures taken on the trip that truly are like you see in a magazine and it's all because our guide knew where to be and when to be there. We saw every animal we wanted to see and jaw dropping events - lions in trees, fighting, mating, caring for cubs, herds and dozens of creatures we never even knew existed. Truly, so much more than what we expected and our guide made it all happen. Unbelievable! We went to a school to drop off school supplies (okay, really soccer balls) and I will smile every time I think of those beautiful faces and their delight. Our agent and guide made it happen, awesome.
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Email Cathy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
No worries! The staff was AMAZING!
We had an amazing trip in January of 2018. This travel agent reached out to us immediately when we asked for information about traveling to Tanzania through the Zicasso website. from that point on, she was responsive and supportive. She was willing to do several calls with us since this was our first safari and we had lots and lots of questions.
Things didn't go exactly as planned for our trip. I got a severe case of bronchitis and one of the camps was destroyed (Jabali Ridge). From our agent to the people on the ground at the camps, they were concerned about my health and had antibiotics and cough suppressants brought to the camp. I was so sick at Namiri Plains Camp that they brought all of my meals to my tent and also brought gallons of hot tea and honey to help me soothe my cough.
When the camp at Jabali Ridge was so severely damaged in a storm, we were rerouted and taken to a different camp that we loved. It was Sayari Camp and was in Northern Tanzania. We didn't worry about any of the details because our travel agent and the tour company were taking care of all of it. They were amazing.
Animal sightings and tours from each of the various camps we stayed in. eAch camp was so different and our agent kept telling us that but now we get it. All over the country, there are different wildlife, different terrain and we felt like we were exposed to all of it. We saw everything that we could have asked for (the big 5) and much more. We loved having our own tour guides at each camp and throughout the trip. We started at Lake Manyara National Park where we saw lots of baboons and birds. We then went to The Highlands Ngorongoro for the first events and while it was very remote, it was beautiful. The crater was amazing and truly indescribable. We saw herds of elephants, a black rhino, a hippo pool. It was great. We learned a lot about Maasai tribe and their traditions and way of life.
Our next adventure was Namiri Plains Camp which was in Central Serengeti and located in Serengeti National Park. We could see for miles and again it was awesome. There were great rock formations (Kopjes). You could hear the lions from your tents. There we saw lions, cheetahs, leopards, lions and zebras and wildebeests. There were a couple kills and by having our own driver, we got a birds eye view. The last part of our stay was in Sayari Camp which was in Northern Serengeti. It was amazing. The terrain was again very different and we had the benefit of the Mara River. This brought more elephants, giraffes, hippos and crocodiles. We again saw the cats, zebras and more that I can describe and ended our trip with a sunset toast. Finally we enjoyed a couple days in a very luxurious hotel on Zanzibar. I loved it.
