KAMar Safaris -team of enthusiast!
Wild Hello Tanzania Tours & Safaris
- Located In:
-
Switzerland
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2007)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $104 to $573 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Cassidy Dauby | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and polite company. I would use them again.
First of all, I would like to reassure people shopping for a safari tour in Tanzania, that Hello Tanzania, operated by KAMar Safaris, is a real company. It was a little scary planning a trip to Africa and sending that much money to a Swiss bank account, but Sylwia was in touch the whole time and the trip worked out exactly as planned. If you would prefer to plan the trip in person, we found out they have an office in the Doubletree Hotel at Oyster Bay in Dar es Salaam.
This was the second company we tried on Safari Bookings. The first one advertised a trip price of about 550 Eur per person, but when I submitted my information, the quote came back as 900 Eur for adults and 800 Eur for children, which was way more than I had budgeted for. Supposedly, this was due to them putting us at a camp further in the park (which also requires more park fees). Unhappy with that, I wrote KAMar, and Sylwia came back with about 550 Eur for adults, and kids were 55% off... so way below the expected price for a family of four. For both, I had selected tented camping for a three day safari. We were picked up at our hotel (Doubletree) in Dar, and driven about 6 hours in a nice van to the park. Iddi, the driver, was very friendly and experienced, and had water in the car on the way out and brought boxed lunches for the ride home. He even swung by my friend's house in Dar to let me pick up our ferry tickets to Zanzibar, before dropping us at the ferry terminal and giving us some tips on how to get in and avoid the annoying swarm of porters.
The camp KAMar put us in was Jimbiza camp in the Selous preserve. I chose Selous, because it was a closer drive than the other parks. Looking back, we could have probably asked for more (airplane to the park, or even a different park), but I didn't know what possibilities were out there. We toured in mid-June, which is just the beginning of the tour season, so we basically had the camp to ourselves and there had only been two other people there in the previous two months (two Russian ladies were there on our first day, but flew out the next morning). The camp was right on the Rufiji River, outside the Selous Game Preserve. Judging by the equipment and reviews of other parks, it was one of the more affordable camps, and was probably more like camping than some others too. It was fairly primitive, and the equipment was a little older, but everything was orderly and the staff (maybe 10-15 people) was very friendly and attentive. They kept the camp very clean, but it was in need of some renovations. The pool was basically a monkey pond, not that we had time to go swimming. The sun goes down there at 6:30pm every day. The water was sort of clear and had a roof over it, but I'm not sure how they kept it clean, as there didn't seem to be a filter... and of course, baboons were playing around it. The food in camp was interesting, and drinks (even water), while in camp, cost extra. For lunch the first day we had spaghetti bolognese with nutmeg in it. It was nice, but an interesting choice for a safari camp. The dinners were very good, with bread shaped like animals. The meals were all three courses, with the excellently trained waiters serving from the proper side and bringing the food at appropriate intervals. The breakfasts were also multi-course, and very good. The boxed lunch and picnic in the bush were also nice, and our guide set up a cool spot for us to eat, while we watched elefants and giraffes. One thing we would have liked would have been a more traditional menu that let us see that side of th culture more. Maybe they have had complaints in the past from closed-minded guests, and just wanted to be safe. Either way, my hat is off the cook for making due out there with minimal resources.
The tent itself was covered by a hard roof (above the canvas roof) and had a porch and a hard-stand bathroom in the back. It had a toilet, shower, sink, fans, mirror, beds, blankets, pillows, desk, shelves for clothes, towels, porch chairs, backup solar lights, carpets, wood floors, and a lock to keep the baboons out. The cleaning man came every day while we were out to make the beds and take out the trash. It was basically a hotel room that smelled like mosquito repellent... so pretty nice camping.
On the first evening, we took a sunset boat cruise on the river to see the hippos and walk around on a sandbar. We enjoyed that, even though the kids had expected to be eaten by crocs.
The second day we spent about 10 hours driving in the Range Rover, looking for animals in Selous park. We saw antelope, giraffes, elefants, hyena, wildabeasts, water buffalos, pigs, birds, baboons, monkeys, hippos, and lion footprints (they were fresh, and we drove around looking in the tree lines, but never found it). Our driver had been working there for 25 years and the guide had only been there six months, but was very knowledgeable as well.
The third day, before driving back to Dar, we had a walking tour in the bush with a "bushman" and an armed guard. the bushman was funny, and put on a good show, while also teaching us about the woods. He had grown up in the bush with his grandparents, but had long-since gone off to school and might even be a doctor. He was a good actor, though, and was a highlight.
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Email Michael | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Selous with a 3-years-old
There are plenty of agencies in Tanzania offering similar safari tours. We have chosen Hello Tanzania as Sylwia really tried to adjust the trip for us to be perfectly suitable for a little boy who just turned 3. We even switched from our original plan of doing the northern circuit to going to Selous instead which we did not regret at all. Having no real comparison to other national parks we really enjoyed it having a quite diverse program - bush walk, boat safari, village tour, and game drive of course. The only downside was that the pool of the lodge we have chosen was out of order which Sylwia did not know either. Still she supported us to get a partial refund from the lodge afterwards.
All together everything was arranged as agreed and worked out very well.
Email Ariel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience.
Me and my boyfriend booked via Hello Tanzania a 3 days Safari in Selous in the second half of June. It was the first time we went to Africa and we were both very happy with this experience. We stayed at Jimbiza Selous camp and did a boat Safari, a classical game drive in the park and a morning walking Safari. The camp was very basic and you have to be an adaptable person to fully enjoy your stay - for the instagrammers, there is no wifi, which I personally found a nice detox. The staff was available and the food was very good. We never had any issue. Just one suggestion, bring a mosquito net ;)
Sylvia was always responsive and overall we were very happy with this trip, definitely a good value for money, especially after having seen how expensive safaris usually are!
Email Cheryl | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A friendly, efficient and well organised safari.
Our first point of contact was Slywia, who was always professional and understanding of our needs. Our accommodation was riverfront and exactly what we had requested. The staff were very pleasant and more than happy to help us if we needed anything. Our game driver was terrific and experienced in searching for wildlife opportunities. Our guide was easy to communicate with and we learnt a lot of interesting facts about the animals we saw. Thank you for a great experience.
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Email Sam | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing African safari experience with Hello Tanzania!
My brother and I had our expectations blown out of the water on this trip!
Lodging: 5/5 - We stayed in two locations over the course of the trip, African Safari Glamping near Lake Manyara and Pumzika Camp within the Serengeti. Both locations were unforgettable and had incredibly kind and professional staffs. The food at Pumzika Camp definitely exceeded any expectations we had!
Safari: 5/5 - We had the same driver for all of our game drives who was very knowledgeable about the all of the different animals and locations we saw.
Communication: 4/5 - Sylwia was our point of contact for the entire trip. She was very professional and always very responsive to any questions. There were only two instances where this could have been improved. The first was one of the features of our trip (a canoe ride in Lake Manyara) was cancelled and we were only notified a week before the start of our trip. The second, in our first day at the lodge before our first Game Drive, we did not have an itinerary for when we needed to wake up by and when we were planning on leaving the next day until close to dinner. However, unexpected issues are always bound to come up and Sylwia was very quick to resolve them as they occurred.
I would definitely recommend Hello Tanzania to anyone planning on visiting Tanzania!
Very professional and excellent service
Our group stayed 2 nights in Selous Jimbiza camp and had excellent service.
The camp was very clean and the food was fantastic.
The safari tour was very professional prepared.
We would want do it again and would recommend the camp to everyone.
Many thanks to all, very nice people.
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Email Gosia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome experience
We had a wonderful time on Safari with Hello Tanzania. Everything was organize on highest level. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful.The tour guide has deep knowledge about the wild. Accomodation and food was perfect. We are very satisfied.
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Email Marzena | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic experiens surfing safari in Seulous Game Reserve with Hello Tanzaniace
Very vell organized safari with professional people! Sylwia was always responsive to any our questions, our guid and driver was very friendly and competend.
I would definitely recomend Hello Tanzania!
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Email Anita | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience in Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti
Safari met our wildest expectations. Visited places full of various species of wildlife. A unique guide and driver, very knowledgeable, so we could see a lot of animals. We are also pleased with the places where we slept - Africa Safari Camp and Pumzika Camp, amazing places, tents like hotel rooms, delicious meals. And everything at a reasonable price. I recommend Hello Tanzania to anyone who wants to experience a real African adventure
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Email Marek | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hello Tanzania keeps the word - wonderful 3 days in Selous!
It was a very professional prepared safari. We got a detailed plan, all explained, good prices. Most important, every point of itinerary was filled
We were offered accommodation in a safari tent at Jimbiza Camp. A wonderful place on the river bank. During our stay in Camp, elephant came, which was an additional attraction. The tent itself neat and comfortable, very comfortable bed, and most importantly with a private shower and toilet.
The first day we start from Dar Es Salaam in the morning. Iddi driver picked us up on time, we were driving a very clean and comfortable car with AC. At Camp we had lunch and then a boat safari; we admired the sunset from the boat on the Rufiji River. We had the opportunity to see Hippos in their natural habitat and elephants playing in the river.
The next day full day safari in Selous - professionally carried out with open car safari. Lunch break on the nature.
The last day early morning bush walking - a great experience, very cheerful and informative. Breakfast at the Camp and return to Dar Es Salaam
This experience will remain in our memory forever. Communication with Sylwia without delays , always helpful. Our guid / driver Iddi - always helpful, intelligent and patient. He helped us after the safari with organizing tickets to Zanzibar. Service at Selous Jimbiza Camp - great. Thank you, Hello Tanzania!