African Big Cats Safaris
- Offices In:
-
United States
Australia
Canada
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $380 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
ES
Email Zori | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experienced guide speaking Spanish
We have lived an unforgettable experience thanks to African Big Cats Safari. We have traveled 3 generations, my 7-year-old son, my mother, over 70, and I, and the trip has been spectacular for the 3 of us. We have visited the parks of Tarangire, Serengeti, Norongoro and Lago Mañara in 6 days and now we are spending a few days in Zanzibar. Our guide Natal spoke perfect Spanish, which I appreciated because of the three of us who traveled, only I speak English and otherwise I would have to translate everything. We are also very happy with our guide because of the knowledge he has about the area and the animals and the patience he has had for all my son's questions
DE
Email Jan L | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Safari Trip
We had a wonderful safari in august. Nothing was left out and we had no safari car problems. Even though the roads were horrible, our professional driver had no problems maneuvering us to the national parks. We saw a lot of stuck and broke down cars from other companies which we could pass easily. Furthermore the competent driver (Moses) turned out to a wild life expert. No questions were left unanswered. He could even spot the faintest clumps of animals. Aside from the big five even rarer species that would hide in the high grad or usually is only night active. It was a pleasure spending 5 days with him on tour. Everytime again
DE
Email Vera | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My childhood dream come true - for me and my family
We can and want to fully recommend the Tanzanian travel organization African Big Cats Safaris: We lacked nothing whatsoever, on the contrary, we had everything! Thank you to our great guide Khaled and African Big Cats Safari, Emanuel and Justine, for making this travel to our family of five a great once-in-a-lifetime experience!
German children in the 1960s and 1970s grew up with reports and unbelievable films shown on TV about the Serengeti by the Frankfurt zoo director Bernhard Grzimek. We then 'followed' the lives of wild animals such as cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, marabous, lions and many other here unnamed animals with great fascination and excitement. At that time the wish was implanted in our generation to be able to see the fascinating African wildlife with our own eyes. "African Big Cat Safaris" as a local Tanzanian operator with a perfect organization should now fulfill this wish in 2023. At very short notice after only TWO months of planning, as we only decided at the end of May 2023, we already came into Tanzania at the end of July. Our choice fell on African Big Cats Safari, who made an offer that was cheaper than another company's - which makes a difference traveling with a party of five. The 6-day safari led from Arusha in a jeep via the national parks Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater to Tarangire National Park and back to Arusha. The exact sequencing of the parks suited us perfectly: first, at Lake Manyara, we got to see fewer animals from a greater distance (except for the elephants, who ate their meal just off the road in the green thickets, so we could see in the elephants eye on eye level...). In the Serengeti in the dry season, the experience was heightened: after a long drive, you first found yourself in the arid landscape of the dry season, where you could see few giraffes and gazelles (this type of travel requires long driving and sitting). We were rewarded after hours on a very bumpy and dusty road and saw what we had imagined: An incredible number of wild animals! Incredible! Very impressive! So beautiful! It's so striking to see that they can actually live their wild life in the protected wildlife park! Sometimes the animals are surrounded by many jeeps as the guides inform each other where the animals are near the road so that they can be observed closely by us tourists. We were struck by how unimpressed the lions were by the crowd of jeeps and excited tourists. They have become accustomed to people and their vehicles, whose proximity - obviously due to their experience in the national park - poses no danger to them - they sometimes even lie down in the shadow of a jeep. We are very happy that with Khaled we had a likewise nice and very helpful guide who was equally well versed in wildlife and ornithology, who always brought us to our respective destinations safely, concentrated and with good driving skills. It just felt right to be with him for six days in a row. Khaled as a guide with a degree is as well versed in wildlife as in ornithology. He was a good skilled and concentrated driver as well having brought us to our respective destinations safely. He was always in good spirits, attentive, localized many animals for us to see and was able to tell us a lot about the behavior and peculiarities of the animals, as well as about Tanzania and its people.It's good to be with a local guide also to find out about a Tanzanian perspective(s).
Due to the short-term nature of our trip, the lodges originally offered had to be changed. Since we don't know what would had expected us, we can only say that we are very satisfied with the choice of lodges now made for us. The beds were very clean, there were warm showers and toilets in every lodge - to us that was great luxury considering a trip into the wilderness. And there was always something to eat for our vegetarian and even VEGAN members of our travel group. In the evaluation of the lodges, we found that each had its own special features: one lodge was beautifully furnished, whereas food in other lodge was more delicious. Sometimes the location was beautiful, sometimes the lodge was far away, but the view of the landscape was spectacular, sometimes you could hear the sounds of a passing herd of wildebeests at night, at another site three buffaloes were grazing barely 10 meters away in front of the lodge and a beautiful sunrise seen from bed through the screen, sometimes the hyena howled, sometimes the food was especially excellent. One lodge offered a show in the evening, which wasn't really needed, but which wasn't bad and too time-consuming. Important to know: Tipps have to be counted in and added to the basic costs of the safari, as locals offer their services at all times that one has not foreseen and have not been covered by the fee for the safari. Taking a bundle of Tanzanian shilling on the way is helpful. For us it was hard to find out and know which amount was really appropriate for the respective service.
The most exciting and thrilling highlight was the migration of the animals - and the dry season was just right time for seeing the crossing of the wildebeest of the Mara River into the North Serengeti. It is a very touching experience to witness. First you see the seemingly endless treks of the animals, which move one after the other through dry landscapes, towards the river - and then one first animal jumps into the floods and then there is no stopping. As reported in countless animal documentaries, this is an incredible event of nature. Our guide emphasized that with nature you never know whether you are really in the right place on time, to be able to witness this, as nature has its own laws. It was our good luck that we were in the right place at the right time on the second try.
The lodges of the previous night always provided lunch provisions, which were unpacked at noon in designated picnic areas (once on the hood of the jeep at the border with Kenya due to the lack of a picnic area). The picnic-setting was always: Animals walked 'through the picture'. Sometimes elephants, sometimes a marabou, sometimes a zebra. Great!
On day five we visited the fascinating Ngorngoro Crater, which impresses as a natural spectacle in respect to geology and wildlife. As fascinating as the Crater was (there from very, very, very, very, very far away we spotted the one and only rhino on our trip) having already seen so many animals in the Serengeti, the gazelles, elephants, hippos, zebras, lions, buffalos etc. and considering the fact that an incredible amount - probably to many - jeeps go through the crater every day, if there were a next time I would make room for other curious visitors, foremost locals, who have often not had the luxury of seeing the wildlife in their own country due to costs.Ngorongoro is good a perfect one-day- excursion from Arusha with limited time budget - if you do not have time to visit other national parks. For those who do have time: There is a great possibility from an excellent view-point to get an impressive view of the Crater from its rim without actually driving into it!
For us a must-see and a wonderful last day was the Tarangire National Park, which we finally visited. We thought it to be the perfect conclusion of our trip. We saw so many elephants - several wonderful large herds led by the female elephant to watch at close range near the river. And in a humid, fertile marshland area at the far end of the park, the animals gather as if it were a big, live picture book!
We had the chance to make an incredibly beautiful and moving journey! It's a lot of driving that paid off for us: The safari was a dream come true!
PS.: Don't miss to see the film "Serengeti shall never die" by Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael, who sadly died in a plane crash while working on the film. Later on the film received an Oscar...
MX
Email Ana | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!!
It was amazing!
Lovoi was our guide and besides being an excellent driver he was an amazing guide. Found all sorts of animals, was very patient with us and specially with the kids (7 and 3).
The accommodations, the staff everybody was incredible nice!
Would definitely recommend it!!
Hakuna Matata
We hiked Kilimanjaro with BigCats Safaris and couldn't be happier with our choice. The care we recived from our guides and the porters was incredible. At the end of the day, they brought all of us to the top. They made these days really special and we would always choose BigCats Safari again. Asante Sana!
AT
Email Dejan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very reliable operator, great experience, perfect service and communication
We booked a 7D/7N Comfort Safari visiting Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Manyara as well as visited the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes near Lake Eyasi (not part of the standard offer, but highly recommended). The safari was perfectly organised, we had a great guide (Ernest) with enormous knowledge of zoology and ornithology, a good vehicle and a well thought-through tour. All accomodation was really nice: spacious rooms, good service and tasty food, everything clean and all well functioning. The communication with African Big Cats Safaris was very good and fast in preparation of the trip. In all respects, I can only recommend to travel with African Big Cats Safaris. And of course, I can also only recommend travelling in Tanzania, it's a lovely country, really friendly, helpful and welcoming people, and definitely a wonderful experience one has to have had at least once in a lifetime.
US
Email Dennis | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything we hoped for and more!
From arrival to departure, we couldn't have asked for a better experience. Our tour guide Obedi and the rest of the professional staff at African Big Cats Safaris made our trip an experience of a lifetime. Don't look any further. You will NOT be disappointed booking your Tanzania Safari with African Big Cats.
Email Keely | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Loads of similar operators offering the same tour, for similar price. V happy with the outcome.
Communication all the way through was good. Despite being expensive, ABC were comparable to loads of other operators. Lovoi our guide really made the experience - excellent English, loads of knowledge, knew exactly what we wanted to see and got us some amazing sights - at times in the Serengeti we were the only trick, which made us feel really special. Kids were amazed with what they saw and he was able to answer all their questions.
He made the tour such a great adventure, can't rate him highly enough.
CH
Email Daniel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional and flexible with attention to details.
We recently embarked on a journey with African Big Cats, and it was truly a memorable experience! As a family of four (myself, my wife, and our two boys), we were keen to experience the diverse adventures Tanzania has to offer. We were thoroughly impressed with the variety of activities available through the tour operator, not just the conventional Jeep safari.
Communications: From the start, the team was responsive and accommodating, ensuring all our queries were promptly addressed.
Service: One of the highlights was the flexibility they offered. We loved that they catered to our desire for more than just a Jeep safari, incorporating hiking, cycling, and canoeing into our itinerary.
Value for Money: Given the diverse activities we engaged in and the overall quality of service, we found the package to be of excellent value.
Reliability: Throughout our safari, the itinerary was followed meticulously. There were no unexpected hitches, which made the experience smooth and enjoyable.
The Tour Itself: The Jeep safari was beyond words. Tanzania’s landscapes and wildlife are mesmerizing, and experiencing them up close was a dream come true. The canoeing segment was also a highlight for us. It was serene and allowed us to connect with nature in a different, intimate way.
A quick note for those passionate about hiking: while we had a pleasant stroll during our tour, if you're looking for a more extended hike, it might be worth discussing the duration with the operator in advance. Similarly, for our French-speaking friends, just double-check on the fluency of the guide if that's essential for your experience.
In conclusion, our safari with African Big Cats was an adventure we’ll cherish for years to come. The sheer beauty of Tanzania coupled with the operator’s excellent service made this trip unforgettable. We wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone seeking a unique and comprehensive safari experience.
Excellent company
We recently used ABCS for our safari holiday. It was amazing - our two boys loved it. Nathan, our guide was fabulous, we saw everything we wanted to see and more. We are coming back next year.