Visit Tanzania - Eastern Sun Tours
Eastern Sun Tours & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB & TAWTO
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $240 to $1,100 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Nacho | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience with Eastern Sun Tours, incredible trip!!!
We did a safari of 5 days with Eastern Sun to Tarangire Park, Serengueti and Ngorongoro Crater and the experience was amazing!!! The trip surpassed our expectations in every posible way. The kind and always prompt attention of Mercy, the unique and outstanding skills of our driver Amani, who was extremely kind doing his best so we could see as many animals as possible. We were able to see hundreds of thousands of animals, migrating, eating, playing, hanging around. The lodges picked
by Eastern were great! Like the ones showed at a travel Magazine. We will definitely recommend choosing Eastern Sun as a company that provides a great deal for doing a safari in Tanzania!!
Asante Sana!!!!!
TH
Email Mark | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Such an incredible experience
This was an incredible experience for both of us, and we couldn't be any more happy with our Safari. We were on a little bit of a budget for our particular Safari, and what Eastern Sun was able to do with the budget we gave them far exceeded our expectations. The hotels were very nice, the food along the way was delicious, and all equipment including the car was well above standard. I would also like to say that Mercy was incredible in handling the millions of questions I had before we even got to Tanzania and was very quick with all of the changes I threw at her. Our guide Richard was incredible and had incredible eyes for spotting wildlife I never would have seen. He had very good knowledge of all the parks an answered our questions very well. He was also very enjoyable to be around and to stay with for the five days. The only negative about our Safari was a small confusion or error about the final payment. Everything was completely legitimate, however, there was a mistake on the part of Eastern Sun that caused a bit of a scramble towards the end of our Safari. However everything was handled in the end. It was just s shame to leave on a sour note. But other than that I couldn't recommend the Safari more and you will be definitely happy with what they put together for you
US
Email Sevgi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
3 day safari
My friends and I had limited time in Tanzania, Eastern Sun Safaris was able to easily arrange a short safari. Working with the staff, especially the kind owner Mercy, was so easy! We were able to arrange everything over email, and they were very flexible with our travel dates. This was my second safari with Eastern Sun. The last time I used this company was in 2014. The safari is wonderful, the tour guides are respectful & knowledgeable. The accommodations are great. Food was good. Tanzania is beautiful. I always felt safe. I plan on using Eastern Safaris again in the future, and would recommend the company to anyone!
US
Email Anne Moelgaard | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience!
We chose Eastern Sun Tours Safaris based on their excellent reviews, and they certainly did not disappoint! We have never traveled in Africa before, so it's so important that you book with a trustworthy company - it's a lot of money, and a good chunk of it has to be paid before by a bank transfer, but everything worked 100% and we had absolutely no issues with anything. Nancy emailed us as soon as the transfer went through, to let us know all was well, and we felt in very good hands.
From the beginning, the communication with Nancy was excellent. She responded promptly always and answered all our questions. The 8-day trip she ended up putting together for us was just amazing.
I think we were very, very lucky to get Hassan as our driver! He's probably the best driver, I've ever driven with. He knows his landcruiser like an extension of his own body and always adjusts the speed to the conditions of the road and the traffic. We felt very, very safe with him. On top of that, it is obvious that he is very well liked by his peers, and has a ton of friends (not surprising, when you get to know him!), which means he always knows where the good sightings are. He'd "smell" a leopard from five km away, and then drive straight there and get us in the best spot of all. He did this over and over again, it's like he knows exactly where the animal is heading and can place the car right where it will cross the road fifteen minutes later. Amazing! We got absolutely stunning photos of two cheetahs walking straight toward us and crossing the road right behind our car. And an unforgettable experience with nine lions trying to ambush a wilderbeest - it got away, but it was still very exciting. We even got to see the almost extinct black rhino in the Ngorogoro Crater quite close up. It felt like every day was better than the day before - which had also been absolutely unforgettable.
We started in the Tarangire National Park, and had to stop every two minutes to take photos of new wildlife. We soon discovered, that if we stopped for every single one, we'd never get anywhere, there were so many new species. We totalled 42 different species of mammals during our trip, and this includes lion (we saw over 60 in total, including the most adorable cubs), leopard (five in total), cheetahs, elephant, buffalo, rhino (one), giraffes, serval cat (rare, because it's nocturnal), hippo, hyena, jackal and lots of different types of gazelles and other mammals. And that doesn't even cover the birds, which were also absolutely stunning.
Next up was Lake Manyara, where we spotted our second leopard, when it ran across the road right in front of our car. Wow! Then the road to Serengeti took us through the Ngorogoro conservation area - so, so beautiful! In Serengeti, we decided against taking the long drive to see the big migration, but stayed in the proximity of the hotel (Four Seasons - amazing!), and we saw so much there, that we did not regret it. This was where we had our close-up with the two cheetahs and Hassan also found a spot where a big group of lions were feeding on a newly killed zebra.
In Ngorogoro, we were lucky to see a black rhino. We were told, that the three days before we came, there had been no spottings, and we were lucky to get close enough to get good photos, which was also rare. Be sure to bring a good camera with a good tele-lens! I saw people trying to get safari shots on a go-pro camera (I'm not kidding) - what a shame to spend so much money on a safari and come home with go-pro shots. Go-pro is great for mountainbiking, for safari - not so much... That being said, we actually got so close to many of the animals, that we came home with great iPhone shots, too.
We ended up in Arusha National Park, which is small (it didn't feel small at all, though), and absolutely stunningly beautiful. We went on a walking safari with a ranger there, and got up close to giraffes and buffalos (not too close, of course). That was fun! We also got amazing photos of flamingos flying in front of Mount Kilimanjaro. Ahh...
Another highlight of the trip was our visit to a Masai village on our way back from Serengeti.
The car is a Toyota Landcruiser with a roof, that pops up, so you can stand up and take photos. There is a powerpoint, so you can charge your devices, which was a very nice feature. And also a cooler for drinks. It was surprisingly comfortable, considering how much of the driving was on dirt roads (where you get the "African massage"). We stayed at luxury camps and lodges, and they were all amazing, but I'm sure you can also get a great experience with the cheaper lodges. Most of your time is spent on the road anyway. I think, Eastern Sun Tours Safaris got some good deals with the lodges - we felt like we got a lot for our money.
I could go on and on, but to sum it up, I'd go back in a heartbeat. And I'd definitely choose Eastern Sun Tours Safaris again! They were amazing!
Email Anna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Service
a group of 4 of us travelled to Tanzania in December over Christmas for a week of Safari. I contact Mercy from Eastern Sun around June/July about our prospective travel plans, she was wonderful and quickly set out an outline of the trip. Communication was excellent, and the service provided by Mercy and her team was good as I went and forth with her to make sure all details of the trip were perfect, and fit in with the rest of our travel plans. The lodgings Mercy picked for us were very good and we have a great Christmas meeting friendly people at the different sites! The driver also spoke well and had good knowledge of the area we were travelling in and the animals we were seeing and the trip would not have been the same without him! The whole group had the most amazing time with Eastern Sun, and I'm thankful that I picked this Safari Operator.
DE
Email Family Nilovic | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Family Choice !!!
First: Eastern Sun did a wonderful Job. We (2Adults/3Kids-Aged 12y/8y/7y) have been on a 10 days Safari Tour in July 2015. Mercy was always listening to what we wanted to see and we had a regular email updating of our trip giving us good advices- until it was perfect. We as a family would like to say a huge -thank you- to Eastern Sun Tours- and would like to recommend this Tour Operator to all Visitors/Families with Kids!! All was very professional and well organized- from the pick up at Airport-to the End of Safari Tour at the office of Eastern Sun. We have had a very good Driver (Hassan) who took every time care of save driving and had a lot of Knowledge- explaining us everything of plants and animals as well as the local way of people living.This all made us enjoying an unforgettable and memorable Safari. Thanks once more. 100% Reliable!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Value
This is a very reasonably priced company that offers fantastic service and excellent value holidays.
We took a ten day trip to see the great migration calving with them in February. They created a tailor-made, private camping tour for two people for as much as it would've cost to join one of the larger companies standard tours sharing with other guests. Highly recommend going on a private tour as it means that you can choose how long you want to spend at each animal sighting and you get the charging powerpoint in the truck all to yourselves (a big deal if you need to charge multiple devices). Another bonus is that you can choose the dates you are free. The destinations we visited included: Tarangire National Park, Serengeti Central, Serengeti South (highly recommend in February for viewing predators hunting or with their kills), Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara.
The guide and cook set up and packed all the camping facilities, allowing for us to kick back and relax while viewing the beautiful scenery. The company provided us with sleeping bags, matresses and pillows free of charge and bottled water free of charge everyday. We didn't expect the food to be the highlight of a camping safari, but our cook Stephen really had a command over spices and made the most delicious soups for entree everyday which was always followed by a tasty, generous main and dessert and warm drinks afterwards.You will not go hungry. He uses a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, which was important to us as we like healthy, wholesome meals (so many cooks load up the pan with oil, leaving to you feeling sluggish). We still talk about his soups today, he really made an impact on us, he is also just a really nice guy.
The 4x4 trucks are equipped with a fridge, powerpoint, roof that pops up so you can stand while on safari and, most importantly, a radio (so other guides can share what they have found). Our guide, Hassan was one of the most respected guides amongst the Tanzanian guides. He always got us the best, or a very good, position for viewing but he never compromised the welfare of the animals, as some other guides from other companies sadly did. Due to this respect from his fellow guides, he was always in the loop with what was the latest animal sighting.
I have nothing bad to say about this company, they are very professional, friendly and they don't rip you off. I couldn't imagine doing a safari in Tanzania any other way.
IS
Email Thorbjorg Kolbeinsdottir | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My Safari tour with Eastern Sun Tours & Safaris was great and big adventure with great guide.
Very good communications and service from Mercy. It fulfilled all my expectations. The safari tour was on big adventure with great guide, Richard Nicholas, and he served us also very well. I give recommend to Eastern Sun Tours. Thank you all :-) Greetings from Iceland.
Thorbjorg Kolbeinsdottir
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
serengeti and eastern sun tours exceeded all my expectations
Huge thanks to Merci for all her help in planning the safari of a lifetime. She is so knowledgeable and helpful. She tailored our safari to suit our wishes and budget. The accommodation she chose was excellent.
The safari well and truly exceeded all my expectations. Never did I imagine we would see so many animals and get so close to them. I would have to say that our driver Eddy is the big reason for that
We couldn't have asked for a better driver and guide, and such a great guy. Eddy was so informative, fun and knew exactly where to find all the animals. His driving skills on the bumpy roads in the national parks made for a very smooth ride.
I couldn't recommend him highly enough.
Anyone that is thinking of doing a serengeti safari, do youself a favour and don't go without booking through Eastern sun Tours. Merci and Eddy will provide you with the safari experience of a lifetime.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience in Tanzania!
My husband and I booked our honeymoon with Eastern Sun to hike Kilimanjaro, go on safari and to visit Zanzibar, and we had a fantastic experience. From the time that we arrived at Kilimanjaro, everything went very smoothly. Our driver picked us up right on time and even had flowers to greet us with. We then spent a night at a relaxing little hotel before heading out to start our hike. The hike was great- our porters were amazing and all of the food that Stephen cooked for us was delicious. We could not have asked for a better guide, Arnold, or assistant guide, Tuma. They were so knowledgeable and helpful, and just really enjoyable to be around. We've even kept in touch with them over whats app and facebook since we left Tanzania.
We also had great experience on Safari with our guide Richard. He was also very knowledgeable about the animals, which we saw tons of- baby cheetas, hippos, elephants, and rhinos, lion cubs and the all of the big 5. We really enjoyed the accommodations on the safari as well, they had really friendly and helpful staff and we met some other great travelers as well. I especially loved the Maramboi camp where we were able to go for a run and had a close encounter with some Giraffes.
After Safari we were off to Zanzibar, which was absolutely beautiful. We got to spend a bit of time in Stonetown and explore on our own which we really enjoyed. After that we headed out to the resort where we got to kayak, run, and go Scuba diving. We also went on a spice tour and got some really great lunch in Stonetown on the way back to the airport as well.
The only issue that we had the entire time that we were there was with the weight of luggage when we flew to and from Zanzibar, as we had quite a bit of since we had done the hike and safari. We contacted Mercy and she was very quick to respond and help us through this issue, which we appreciated. My only suggestion would be for those doing the hike to somehow have the baggage held while traveling to Zanzibar to avoid this issue.
Overall, we had an amazing experience with Eastern Sun. We absolutely cannot wait to go back and visit Tanzania again in the future!!