The Amazing Shadows of Africa Guiding Team!
Shadows of Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SV
Email Margarita | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our First Experience in Africa
All transfer and accommodations were excellent, we went to Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar, our entire experience was magnificent, excellent hotels and our contact Jake and our driver Mussa was amazing!!!
Definitely we recommend Shadow of Africa.
US
Email Brian | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nothing but praise for Shadows of Africa
I have nothing but praise for Shadows of Africa. Our safari with Shadows of Africa was flawlessly planned and executed. In all respects, it surpassed our high expectations.
Credit for the success of our safari must go to the capable professionals that planned and conducted our tour of Tanzania. Jake and Stacy answered our emails promptly, asked the right questions, and assembled an itinerary that conformed to all of our requests. The accommodations they booked took us from beautiful lodges and deluxe rooms to tented camps without a glitch or disappointment. Our meals were good, and often excellent. We received excellent service, which was usually delivered with a smile. All of our nights were delightful. We savored magical, panoramic views and intimate wildlife encounters while enjoying the amenities of modern life.
Our Shadows tour guide, Bashiru, was exceptional. He planned our game drives and used his remarkable talents to provide us with magnificent wildlife viewing. By working hard and remaining personable throughout the many hours we spent together, Bashiru allowed us to enjoy every moment of our safari to the fullest extent possible.
I will always feel indebted to Shadows of Africa for giving us 10 spectacular days in Tanzania, and I am happy to recommend Shadows of Africa to those who read this post. They earned my high praise.
FR
Email PieroNath | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional teams, Amazing planning, Amazing safari
We had a quite precise idea of what we wanted to do (Serengeti including wildebeest river migration, Tarangire, Ngorongoro), within 6 days.
We contacted ourselves around 20 agencies by email to ask for quotation.
Why we chose Shadows of Africa :
- Amazing reactivity all through the planning process
- One of the only 2 agencies that proposed to call us within short delay of time
- The platform is the best practice we saw for trip planning: user friendly, nice to look at, detailed and precise
- Very easy, friendly and clear discussions while arranging the trip
We also really appreciated to meet with the team before in the office, and got face to face explanations about what to bring with us, what we will see and few recommendations (our planning contact was Marjeta who has been very professional).
About the safari :
The experience has been better than expected.
We are very happy we chose to start by the North Serengeti, then go back, so the hotel got better and better all through the trip. and we had the chance to see many different type of landscapes.
Special mention to the Maramboi Tented Camp where everything was very good and surprising (staff, service, rooms, swimming pool, happy hour, food, animals very near, nice walk near the lake).
Alex (our driver) has been very good, safe and responsive to any our questions or inquiries.
It has been an amazing experience.
The price definitely worth it, and we appreciate the work done to meet all our requirements within affordable budget.
We will definitely recommend Shadows of Africa to our friends who expect to make a Tanzanian safari.
Email Yue and Marius | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari with Shadows of Africa!
After comparing quotes and accommodation offers from a number of safari operators, we decided to book a 6-day safari with Shadows of Africa to visit the Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater parks. The sixth day was actually not a safari day but was spent at the remote but amazing Maasai Amini Life Lodge (north-east of Arusha), which we can highly recommend.
Apart from a short trip to Kruger Park, this was our first real African safari experience and it did not disappoint us for a single second. We only have positive feedback on both Shadows of Africa. Everything was perfectly organised from the very beginning, and Marjeta in the European office who prepared our itinerary is very helpful and responsive. The company was upfront about the fact that it might be difficult to see the migration of Wildebeest in Northern Serengeti as most of the animals were in Kenya already, so we were offered the option to change from the Ang'ata North to the Ang'ata Central camp, which we could decide upon once we are in Serengeti.
Our guide Bashiru really made the difference to our safari. He is extremely knowledgeable about wildlife, and more importantly, he knows where to spot them and has eagle eyes to see small animals from miles away. In addition, Bashiru has a great sense of humour and we really enjoyed discussing everything with him. In terms of organisation, Bashiru was really focused on our needs. He always discussed plans and timings with us and was open to all of our requests. Following the discussion with Bashiru, we decided to exercise the option to change our day 3 camp from Ang'ata North to Ang'ata Central in order to focus on game drive rather than covering large distances within the Serengeti.
Despite the driving distances to cover to visit all three parks, we do not regret our choice of visiting three parks in five days. Each of the three parks has totally different landscapes and sceneries on offer and cannot really be compared with each other.
All accommodations we selected from Shadows' offering were amazing in their own right. We enjoyed the wonderful and luxurious Acacia Farm Lodge in Karatu on the way from Tarangire to the Serengeti, but also loved the glamorous camping in Mbuzi Mawe and the Ang'ata camps where we could even have a hot shower upon request. All the camps have extremely friendly staff and provide delicious food. The thrill of sleeping in a tent while the animals are roaming around the campsite added an extra dimension to our safari.
All in all, Shadows of Africa made our safari in Tanzania an unforgettable experience which really exceeded our expectation. We would definitely go with them again if we come back to see more wild life.
Wonderful Safari
We had a wonderful safari with shadows of Africa in Tanzania (6 days incuding Arusha NP, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Tangire). It started with the easy booking process and the flexibility regarding all wishes we had. Lesia created a great tour for my husband and me. Additionally she organized airport pick up and a lodge for the first night prior to the safari upon request. She also booked a transfer flight from Arusha to Zanzibar for us, which was much cheaper than anything we could find on the internet. During the safari, Mussa was our driver for the 6 days. He is really experienced and knowledgeable. He is super nice and could spot animals from far away. He always got us in the right spot to take beautiful pictures and made this experience really special. We had a great time with him. In Arusha National Park we did a walking safari which was included in our package, Shadows of Africa was the only company offering us this opportunity . And it was worth it, very nice experience to see animals close without the vehicle around. Even after the safari Lesia helped us to organize a guide on Zanzibar and a driver for Dar Es Salaam on our way back home. We can really recommend Shadows of Africa to everyone. You are dealing with people who are very helpful, reliable and honest. No hidden costs or promises they don’t keep.
US
Email Dan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
Shadow's of Africa did a great job of putting together a safari for my family. There were 5 of us including kids and we all had a wonderful time. Jake and Natasha knew exactly where we should go, where we should stay and which guide's to use we will use their service again for sure. Job well done!
US
Email Marie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shadows of Africa-An Excellent Choiice
We booked 15 days in Kenya and Tanzania with Jake from Shadows of Africa. He was so easy to work with and gave us many choices of accommodations and parks to visit and then we made the decisions as to where and what we wanted. Jake was always available to answer question about visas, immunizations, accommodations and all the other questions we had. We reviewed the guides/drivers and selected Ken in Kenya and Timothy in Tanzania and could not have been happier with their expertise. Both had great personalities and could spot the animals from far away. They always got us in the right spot for the best picture and we seemed to be the first vehicle at many of the "hot" sights. We had a good vehicle-very clean-even with all the dust and the guides found bathrooms, if needed, even in the middle of the Serengeti. We saw the Big 5 in both countries and many other animals and beautiful birds. We visited the Hadzabe, Dakoota and Maasai tribes for an inside look at how the tribes live and work. We stayed in tent camps, lodges and a Maasai lodge made with sticks, cow dung and straw roof and loved every night. The tent camps allow the animal noises to be heard and nothing like lying in bed and hearing hyenas or lions in the distance. I would choose Shadows of Africa for a great adventure in Africa again.
Email Jeff | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Look no further for your safari.
On a friends recommendation my wife and myself chose Shadows for our three day safari to Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. Very helpful advice from Victor and Natasha. Our guide for the trip Mussa was a wealth of knowledge, and having twelve years experience he knew the parks and animals behaviours very well. On our trip, at the end of the wet season when the grasses and vegetation are lush, we did not see leopards, but thanks to Mussa we saw every animal and bird we hoped to see including two black rhino! When our camera charger was damaged during the journey to Dar Mussa made sure it was not a problem, he looked after us wonderfully.
We were collected from Arusha bus station, Victor and Mussa helped us buy our tickets for the return trip to Dar. Our over night stay at a hotel McElly's was comfortable and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful.
The Country Lodge at Karatu were we stayed after each day, lived up to its name. Lovely gardens, great showers with hot water and good food. Phoebe and the rest of the staff were also extremely friendly and very attentive.
As to the safaris themselves it's difficult to choose a favourite place. Each one was wonderful in its own way and more than lived up to our expectations. You will not be disappointed! Regarding cost it was probably mid price range, we felt the quality of accommodation and care we received was excellent.
US
Email Jason D | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari, Superior Staff and Coordinators
We did a long safari (5 days Kenya, 8 days Tanzania, 5 days Zanzibar). We were met at the Nairobi airport and loved our Kenya guide. He really worked hard getting to locations broadcast on the radio with rarer animal sightings. The whole family loved Ken the driver. We knew about Masai Mara and Amboseli but Crescent Island and the walking safari amongst the animals was an unexpected highlight. We transferred to Tanzania midway through the safari which is an awkward border crossing. Our Tanzania driver was very knowledgeable. We had wonderful upscale resorts throughout our stay. It was a mix of luxury tent and gorgeous hotels. My wife developed pneumonia in Kenya that didn't improve with oral antibiotics. Our coordinator Natasha in Tanzania was superb with rearranging our trip so that my wife could get IV antibiotics and we could see game parks closer to Arusha. We still had awesome hotels and I was so impressed with how helpful and caring she was.
US
Email Karthik | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
1 Day safari to Ngorongoro crater
I chose to go on a 1 day safari to Ngorongoro crater in the last minute, through shadows of Africa. My experience with Jake in coordinating the schedule was outstanding. He made every attempt to make the schedule work. The email responses were very prompt.
The safari itself was awesome and couldn't have asked for a better experience! Richard was my guide, he is very experienced, friendly and knew his ways around at the crater!
There was no delay in the arrival/departure times. The lunch was good too and most importantly we were able to see most of the animals!!
I would definitely recommend Shadows of Africa to anyone I know without a doubt!