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
AMAZING
Amazing experience. We saw the BIG FIVE and the cheetah also. Our guide Lody had a lot of experience, explain us every park, animals, etc. All people working around big cats safaris are so helpful. The hotels was perfec. We will repeat for sure.
AT
Email Franzi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They were very kind and professional!
I can recommend African Big Cats Safaris 100%!!
It was an awesome adventure!
The whole organization did work very well, our guide picked us up from the airport as promized before. He accompanied us the whole 5 days, explained us a lot of things and knew everything we asked him about the animals/the national park/the country etc.
When we saw an animal the guide immediately held on, once he even hurried to a special place were we saw the leopard, we just were on time to see it because he perfectly knew the way and hurried up, some cars arrived too late, but Venance was a real professional! We were so lucky having him as our guide! Before and after the tour we even met the consultant who explained the whole tour to us and interviewed us afterwards, the most important thing for them was that we had a nice time and enjoyed it.
The food was delicious, the accommodations perfect and we saw the big five!
What a nice time, thank you so much African Big Cats Safaris!!
Email Chris | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding safari with African Big Cats Safaris
While not having been on a safari before, I reckon our experience with African Big Cats Safaris & driver/guide Lovoi was outstanding. The safari was organized to meet our budget and experiences requests, for 9 days/8 nights in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater districts. Accommodation & food in fixed & tented camps exceeded expectations, as did the all day game drives, with an amazing profusion of animals, including lions mating, cheetah jumping up on our truck to use as a viewpoint, close examination by elephants, and exciting view of hippos, mongooses, birds of prey, snakes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, impala, leopards, buffalo, rhino, and many more. Lovoi did an outstanding job of animal spotting, while also driving the Toyota Land Cruiser through often challenging conditions. We included a balloon ride over the migrating herds, which was well worth it, plus a visit to the Hadzabeh tribe of hunter/gatherers. Very welcoming people, still trying to live their hunter/gather culture, while being pushed by circumstances into becoming more integrated into modern lifestyle. The difficulties this creates for them & their neighbours is showing, and as there are now less than 1200 in the tribe, they likely will not be able to continue their traditional way of life for much longer. We took a Nikon P1000 point and shoot camera with integrated 125x zoom lens, which enabled us to capture many beautiful closeups that would have been well beyond the capabilities of a mobile phone or standard SLR rig, and again Lovoi proved his worth by positioning the Land Cruiser to allow us to take clear shots. Many great memories, very enjoyable.
US
Email Mariana | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Kilimanjaro and Safari experience! Once in a lifetime trip with the best team!
I booked a 2 week trip with ABC Safaris, starting with Mount Kilimanjaro (Machame route, 6 days), and then Safari. ABC Safaris exceeding my expectations in EVERY single way possible. My group and I (4 people) summited Kili, and it was all thanks to the amazing team (guides, cook, waiter, porters). Everyone went out of their way to make sure we were happy, comfortable, and had a successful summit. I could go on and on about every single person in the team, but long story short - 100% have them as your team to trek up if you want a successful summit!
The food was incredible, everyone with a smile on their face, I even did not have to carry my daily water every day on the mountain. All we had to do was to walk and stay motivated and have determination that we would successfully make the summit; everything else was taken care of.
The best memory I have is coming down the mountain back to Barafu camp after we had summitted. The entire team was waiting for us, even walking up the mountain when they started seeing us, to come and celebrate and walk the last 30+ min with us back to base camp.
All in all, I could not recommend them more for any trip you decide to go on in Tanzania!
US
Email Balaji | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worth the money and time we spent for the safari vacation!
We started our research for African safari almost 6 months before deciding to go with African Big Cats. after reviewing over 20+ agents and talking to around 5 companies we finally decided to go with Big Cats. They were very flexible with changing the itinerary based on our requirements, selection of hotels, meal plans etc. Till we landed in KIA airport we had doubts about how the whole thing will turn out but once we met our guide Lordie (Lordlugard Peter), he really eased us out of all the anxiety. Lordie made sure our vacation was everything about what we wanted and delivered it to our fullest satisfaction. His knowledge about the various parks, flora and funa in thorough detail was very educative. He took the time to explain about the animal behaviors and knew all the best stops to find the Big5! we were lucky to see lot of lion/lioness, elephants, cheetha, buffaloes. After 2nd day of safari we wanted to see different kind of animals together eg. zebras and giraffes or wildebeest and zebras, hippos etc. We saw 100s of zebras, wildebeest migration in central serengeti, rhinos in Ngorongoro crater. The food was really good especially given that we are vegetarians, Lordie went out of his way to work with the hotel staff to ensure that we go delicious food. I would definitely recommend them especially for first timers since they take very good care.
JP
Email Chiaki | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, knowledgable, approachable, and kind.
Service was superb and the lodges they selected for our trip was fantastic! The respose to our emails were very swift and we had no trouble for booking and payment. The experience was beyond expectation, and we would love use African Big Cats again when we go to Tanzania again.
Our guide Levoi was great and he was able to find a cheetah in middle of nowhere using his knowledge, experience and eyesight. We were able to see all the animals we wanted to see(lions, leapards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos) and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
FR
Email Leslie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari
We had an absolutely timeless safari in August 2022. Valence, our guide was excellent, customizing each day according to our desires, allowing us to fully enjoy this unique stay. Magnificent lodges with absolutely delicious food, perfect hospitality and breathtaking landscapes. We are leaving with the family in December 2023 and once again trust African Big Cats safari to make us dream a second time.
(automatic translation from French)
US
Email Martin Alswang | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I have been on many safaris; you cannot find a better tour operator, experience, value than ABC S
I live in Denver, CO, USA but am from South Africa originally. I am a physician. I have been on numerous (over 30) safaris, including Kruger, luxury safaris near Kruger, Chobe, Okavango, but have always wanted to do the "big one" - Tanzania.
As you know, there are many different tour operators, so it was difficult to choose one. My son is a medical student (at Harvard), doing research in Dar Es Salaam. We wanted to do a Tanzanian owned and based safari, in order to try support their economy in our small way. He asked around and the consensus was ABC Safaris (African Big Cats).
I then looked at reviews and saw only 5 star reviews. I was a bit suspicious at first as it seemed too good to be true, but the reviews and their websites seemed genuine, so we went with them.
Best safari decision I have made.
Communication: excellent.
Justice, the organizer, Emmanuel, the owner, and our guide (Endeni) always answered promptly, politely, professionally, in a welcoming, reassuring and friendly manner. Their correspondence was informative and they addressed and answered all our (numerous) questions. We were never left guessing.
Flexibility: excellent.
We changed our itinerary a few times, making it 2 days longer, and included two hikes. This was never an issue with ABC - they gladly made all the changes we requested in a seamless and accommodating way, never making us feel we were being demanding or difficult.
Itinerary: excellent.
We went on the Ndutu Calving Luxury safari, to Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara.
Numerous baby animals seen - so adorable.
Saw teeming game, more than I've ever seen, including their calves, of numerous different antelope, elephant, rhino, buffalo, hyena, eagles, vultures, numerous other birds, hippo, jackals etc etc. We saw "kills". We saw carcasses being eaten. We saw the big 5. We were part of the migration (not the crossing of the Mara River though - wrong season).
Accommodation: excellent.
Luxury glamping, lodges had awesome views, great abundant food, immaculately clean and comfortable, safe, and the staff are the friendliest nicest people you can imagine.
Vehicle: excellent.
There were three of us, my wife, son and myself, in an 8 seater. Comfortable Land Rover, with a roof that pops up so we could stand and look for and view game even while driving. Also has a fridge and chargers.
Guide: Unbelievable excellent!!!!
Endeni was the best guide and spotter I have ever met!! He knew the roads, how to find game, was so knowledgeable, patient, friendly, funny, kind, caring. Never tired of our questions. He honestly was BRILLIANT, the best, and I've met many guides in the past. Spoke excellent English.
Value: excellent.
For what we did, saw, got, the price was more than reasonable, fair, appropriate, affordable. Excellent value for the money.
Reliability: excellent.
We received everything we expected and asked for. Seriously, nothing went wrong, and it could not have gone better...
Side note: on the way to the airport, my son's flight was cancelled by Tanzania Air (not the most reliable airline...). He had to be in Dar the next morning. ABC had nothing to do with our transport/airline. Nonetheless, Endeni phoned Emmanuel, who then drove to Precision Air, booked my son a flight, paid for it, and "saved the day" - an example of how ABC went above and beyond...
US
Email Diana | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience
We booked African Big Cats based on a recommendation online, and we are so happy we did! They were very responsive to emails and were helpful through multiple changes to our booking (we added people to the tour after our initial booking). They’re obviously happy to customize anything, although we went with the recommended package and were very happy. The guides were kind and informative, and the vehicles were in good shape and comfortable. I would absolutely recommend this company.
US
Email Caitlin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
African Big Cats Safari – Beyond Extraordinary!
My dad and I decided to book a safari to Tanzania in February to celebrate our 80th and 40th birthdays. After reading so many reviews on a number of different companies we chose African Big Cats Safaris and are so glad that we did! We chose the 8-day, 7-night Comfort Ndutu Migration Safari.
The communications with Justice and Naomi were timely and thorough. They were so kind in answering all of our questions and the booking process was very easy. Although we didn’t customize the itinerary, they offered that we could change any of the accommodations, if desired. Even the company founder, Emanuel, briefed us the day we landed and met with us the day we left which we really appreciated.
The accommodations were a mixture of beautiful lodges and tented camps and we enjoyed the experiences at all of them. The meals were bountiful and delicious and the staff working at each location were gracious and interested in meeting our every need. They ensured our safety out in the bush by providing Maasai warrior escorts to and from our tent when dark (we could hear animals at night so this was comforting)!
The highlight of the trip was discovering the beauty of Tanzania’s wildlife, landscapes, and people with our exceptional guide, Lordlugard (Lordi). I recall seeing numerous glowing reviews about him pre-trip and we felt blessed to have him as well. He blew us away with his knowledge of the animals and their behaviors, the plants, the ecosystem, the history of the country, the life of the Maasai peoples and other tribes, and the list goes on. Not only was he so thorough in his explanations (we learned SO much!), but he was so kind, upbeat, and personable. You could tell he was passionate about his work and wanted to ensure that we got the most out of the trip. When approaching the animals in the vehicle he was careful to maneuver as close as possible, while remaining safe, but also was very cognizant of the sun and best camera angles. We saw the big 5 numerous times (counted 50+ lions in all) and so many other species, and are reminiscing about our trip as we flip through our many amazing pics. We would repeat a tour with Lordi and African Big Cats in a heartbeat and will highly recommend the company to our family and friends.
Thank you for making it a trip of a lifetime! Asante Sana!
