Makasa is owned & managed by Selma and Ngomi Kamm
Makasa Tanzania Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A tour operator par excellence with personal, friendly and efficient service at a reasonable rate
Makasa Tanzanian Safaris arranged a wonderful 8-day tour for our group of six seniors from South Africa. The tour with a competent, knowledgeable and humorous tour guide, Humphrey, took us through Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro and was an absolute dream-come-true for us all. Everything ran smoothly and the accommodation in the various camps/lodges was excellent. We saw a large spectrum of wild life, birds, trees and wonderful landscapes, including part of the “migration”, which we also experienced at first hand in the Tenzan Tented Camp just outside the Ikoma gate of Serengeti. By the way, this was the camp and accommodation we all enjoyed most. A real experience in the bush, which we South Africans love so much. The management and staff in all camps made us feel most welcome and at home.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tanzania
We enjoyed a tour to ngorongoro Crater And tarangeri park. The accomodations were we stayed were beautiful. Our guide Thom spoke perfectly English en explained everything about the game.
Everything was Well aranged by Makasa. Thanks for a beautiful trip!
Email Amy McNair | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I cannot speak highly enough about Makasa Tanzanian Safaris!
We contacted Makasa Tanzanian Safaris for information about where to go on Safari and also noted that we were on a budget. Selma responded straight away with detailed information on all the different National Parks and what we could see at each one. She also went above and beyond and came up with an idea of joining with another group to make it cheaper for us as she knew we were on a budget. She went to a lot of effort to join us with a group who we would get along with and joined us with two girls around our age and put together our whole Safari package which included the Serengetti, Ngorogoro Crater and Tarangire National Parks. Our accomodation was in tented camps and in a hotel for our last night. The tented camps were amazing, something out of a movie! We made made great friends with the girls we were with and had an adventure of a lifetime. Selma picked great accomodation for us and we could not be happier with the stunning parks we visited. Our Safari guide was always polite and full of information. Selma and Ngomi were just so helpful on our visit to Moshi and did not hesitate to help us with whatever we needed. We decided the service was so great fpr our safari that we booked our Kilimanjaro climb and also a trip to Zanzibar with Makasa. Selma and Ngomi arranged everything for us and again the service was flawless. Our Kilimanjaro climb was the best thing I have ever done and our guide, Genes and his team, absolutely made the climb as fantastic as it was. Zanzibar was beautiful and our accomodation was exactly what we were looking for. Climbing Kilimanjaro can be a dangerous task but we were blown away by the extent of care we received before and through out the climb.
I am so happy we found a company as honest, caring and trustworthy as Makasa Tanzanian Safaris to help us plan each of our adventures. The service we received and the tour itself completely exceeded our expectations. I would not hesitate to recommend Makasa to anyone planning a safari, Kilimanjaro climb or trip to Zanzibar. Our experiences in Tanzania were all made incredible, without a doubt, to the efforts of Makasa Tanzanian Safari's.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience, perfect organization!
From the beginning till the end, everything was perfect. Thanks to our guide Kalebi the safari was a once in a lifetime experience. We saw all the big animals and were surprised that there were so many small animals (birds, butterfly's). The accommodation was super, especially the stay in the Serengeti with Kenzan. In the middle of nature with the zebra grazing around our tent and the elephant nearby. We will never forget!
NL
20-35 years of age
Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar
Together with a friend I climbed Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro and we went to Zanzibar. It was a great experience. We were picked up at our hotel (arranged by Makasa). Mount meru is in Arusha National park. When we arrived, we started walking with our guide. It is a very nice trail through this National park with wild animals. We slept in huts. We it is high season you will have to share them, but we had one for ourselves. The food was prepared by a cook of the team. You only have to carry your daypack, the crew will take care of the others equipment.
After one day of rest in Moshi we started our journey on the Kilimanjaro, Machame route in 7 days. We had 2 guides with the 2 of us (protocol of the park) It is a beutiful trail. The guides can tell you so much of the mountain and they know what to do with different kinds of weather and when there is altitude sickness. The mountains are their home. They adapt the pace to the physical condition of the clients, which is very noce. We slept in tents provided by Makasa. The food was prepared by the cook and also on the Kilimanjaro we only had to carry our daypack. The great team took care of the rest. The landscape is really beautiful and the sunset on Shira camp was stunning! The sunrise during the summit was amazing!
After climbing mountains we went to Zanzibar. The continental flight was arranged by Makasa, as were the transfers from the airport to the hotel and vice versa.
The communication was good and personal (and in Dutch). They came to the hotel in Moshi to see if everything is fine. When we sended an email we had quick respons and with our Tanzanian numbers we could easily reach them through phone. We could choose how we wanted everything, the hotels, the timetable of the continental flights, almost everything. It is no problem if you have requests for the food, it can be arranged.
Thanks to Makasa we had a sportive, relaxing and beautiful holiday!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic 5-day safari to Tarangire and Serengeti
Thanks Selma and Ngomi for organizing a perfect trip and Tuma, the guide/driver, for great company and a professional performance! We saw literally hundreds of elephants in Tarangire, we didn't know so many could fit in one 360deg field of view! Game viewing in Serengeti was excellent, with several prides of lion, cheetah, hyaena and even a close encounter with a leopard. Also all the other animals - gazillions of gnu of course, grazing from horizon to horizon on the green plains, topi (a new sight for us), dik dik and many others, birds such as ground hornbills, the colorful buffalo weaver, a secretary bird, kori bustards, various birds of prey, and others we still need to identify from photos. Tuma got excited with us over a busy dung beetle, and was always happy to stop for anything that tickled our fancy. I even got (painlessly) sucked on by a tsetse, also a novel experience (!?!) The accommodation was excellent. A booking glitch at one lodge was instantly resolved by Selma (while over-seas herself). The best thing about Makasa? The two delightful and professional owners.
US
Email J Almond | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Makasa's flawless planning & perfect execution exceeded our high expectations
Tanzania Northern Park Circuit: Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, 2015 (14 nights)
Summary: From our initial email to Makasa Tanzanian Safaris to our (oh, so sad) drop-off at Kilimanjaro Airport (jro), we were delighted. We consider ourselves experienced travelers with high expectations. Makasa's flawless planning and execution gave us delights and experiences we didn't dare hope for. We give Makasa our highest possible recommendation & would never consider any other operator should (when!) we return to Tanzania.
Operator Selection: George, age 61, & I, 56, had talked "safari" and googled options for 4 years. Finding Makasa's great reviews & fairly priced sample safaris on Safaribookings.com (& Trip Advisor) inspired us to finally act. The "hands-on" owners' backgrounds meant they quickly became our choice among the many operators we researched. As almost-fit middle-aged Americans on our first trip to East Africa, we were reassured by 1) Ngomi Kamm's family background in safari tourism, his German heritage (stereotyping yes, but I trust German's to deliver on high standards!) and his college time in the U.S. and 2) his wife & partner Selma's background as a Dutch nurse raising two little ones in Moshi said to us that she'd know how to keep clients safe and healthy in the wilds. Also, Makasa's sample itineraries on Safaribookings offered tremendous value for totally customized trips (just two of us with our personal guide going precisely where we wanted). From our first email contact, Selma's prompt professional responses exceeded our every expectation. She was patient & so helpful as we continued to add days to our trip, only possible because Makasa was offering such great value!
Guide: We've read many reviews about how kind, knowledgeable & professional all Makasa's well trained English-speaking guides are & that was repeated by several Makasa clients we encountered with various Makasa guides at crossroads during our safari. That said, we still can't say enough good things about our guide, Humphrey. He has remarkable eagle eyes, and we learned much from him about every animal & bird & culture we encountered. (We frequently said "It's ok we don't have Internet access now. We don't need Google; We have Humphrey!") He was wonderfully accommodating to our every idiosyncrasy (yes, George needed 50 shots of every bee-catcher & Humphrey wouldn't let me apologize for needing to tinkle every 30 minutes; he was happy I was following his wise recommendations to stay hydrated). He shared so much knowledge of our beloved Serengeti enroute that we were calling it "Humphrey World" before we got there. It would have been the trip of a lifetime if that were all there were to Humphrey but that's just the beginning! We were kinder, happier people because we were with Humphrey: He urged us not to boast at lodge lunch & dinners about our remarkable wildlife encounters (and there were many!) because it could make other safari clients, regardless of their operator, less content with their day or guide if they had missed something. And my, how we laughed. Big clowns ourselves, Humphrey's intelligence, quick wit & cleverness means we'd love spending time with him anywhere.
Itinerary: Our main objective was the Northern Park Circuit wildlife, but our trip was even more enriched because we trusted Selma to guide us on other experiences: cultural, philanthropic & more. We asked for an easy first day around Moshi, and were thrilled with the informative Chagga Village Cultural Tour & the phenomenally beautiful Marangu Falls. Makasa's in-town guide Theo was a wonderfully knowledgeable host and ambassador of Tanzanian culture. Olpopongi Maasai Cultural Village overnight was a life-time experience -- comfy & accommodating to western standards, yet a genuine education on how a renown people continue to live & honor their culture. We loved the Mama Clementina Foundation Kilimanjaro Lodge, first stop in Moshi from Kilimanjaro Airport (jro). Yes, our other lodgings were more modern & polished, but this clean comfortable lodge gave us a glimpse into a school that's uplifting and educating girls in a country that's trying hard to catch up on women's rights. Like every accommodation booked by Makasa, we wish we could have stayed longer to enjoy the delicious meals, our gracious host Ruth and her sweet students, training to work in hospitality. The lush mountain setting for Rhotia Valley Tented Camp, also supporting a school, took our breath away. We're also delighted that Makasa's good value package and our flexible timeframe gave us a day Lake Manyara & about 3 at Tarangire national parks.
Accommodations: All Makasa's picks exceeded our expectations, with gracious managers & staff, beautiful settings, comfy to luxurious accommodations and very good to fantastic food. I'll review, eventually, Maramboi (Tarangire) & KatiKati Tented Extra 1 (Serengeti) -- both are Tanganyika Wilderness Camps properties, Endoro Lodge (Karatu) and Ngorongoro (Crater) Sopa separately. Summary: We would have loved to stay longer every place Makasa booked us.
Wildlife: We embarked on our safari knowing that the landscape, people, culture & any animal sightings would be new & exciting to us; we were determined not to worry if the rare black rhinos or cautious cheetahs decided not to come out for us. What follows are major highlights among hundreds of sightings. Serengeti: two huge male hippos fighting above ground, multiple cheetah sightings, including one very close to road eating Thomson gazelle, herd of 18 elephants crossing road to waterhole, and lion, hunting, crouching, stalking, using nearby jeeps for cover. In transit, Serengeti to Crater: Caracal hanging by roadside; Ngorongoro Crator: 4 different black rhinos sightings, one very close and one of mother & child, herd of zebras, with one or two at a time, rolling in dirt about 20 feet from jeep and then surrounding jeep, Manyara National Park (a favorite for me for its intimacy & forest setting!): hundreds of pink flamingos, small herd of elephants (about 10) surrounding jeep as they crossed road. Tarangire National Park: 2 lion brothers finishing up a kill & much, much more. As for the total number of lions, I stopped paying attention to the guys' count around 90, spread among all the parks. We're so delighted that our abundance of time & Makasa's value pricing meant we got adequate time in all these parks. We had great experiences in every park.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We highly recommend Makasa, they gave us our dream Safari trip in Tanzania
We found Makasa online, and began working with them because they are a local company. They were very easy to work with, they responded quickly and gave us a recommendations for a range of tented camps and lodges, and what was reserved for us was exactly what we wanted. The tour guide/driver was exceptional; his knowledge of the animals and birds and their behavior was excellent, he was friendly and enthusiastic, and he could not have done more for us. He was able to find animals we would never have seen.
We spent time in Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti, and each park had its unique features.
US
Email Bob and Barb | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The heart of the Serengeti
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit into the Serengeti with Makasa for several reasons:
1. We wanted to understand as much as we could about the ecosystems, more than just animals but all the flora and fauna
2. We wanted comfort and coziness but not obsequious luxury and we had great accommodation-just right for us.
3. We wanted to see and understand what we saw; the staff (Ngomi and David) did a superb job.
4. The office through whom everything was set up was clear and efficient in the process.
Overall, a great experience and we intend to go again soon with a son and grand daughter added to the experience.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent!
I have known Makasa Safari in internet. After a long correspondence with Selma we "built" the perfect holiday.
8 day safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro and a week in Zanzibar.
Flawless organization from the welcome at the airport, excellent facilities and accomodations, the guide (Humphrey) really prepared and professional.
I have to thank Makasa for allowing me to live a dream.