Makini Tanzania Safari a signature of excellence
Go Makini Tanzania Expedition
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $160 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
JP
Email Taiga ONo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable Safari in Serengeti National Park
【Good】
- I had an incredibly valuable experience that I will never forget in my life! Thank you so much.
- Despite booking the tour the day before my trip, the quick response from the staff allowed me to make a smooth reservation.
- The tour members were all great people, which made me feel very comfortable and allowed me to fully enjoy the experience.
- I had always dreamed of setting foot in the motherland of humanity at least once in my life, and seeing the vast panoramic view of the open plains with my own eyes. It was a thrilling experience.
- The meals provided were hearty and delicious, allowing me to enjoy a satisfying dining experience.
- The hospitality of the tour company was excellent. In particular, Naomi was very considerate, speaking with me kindly, showing me around the local market, and negotiating with Tanzanians who couldn’t speak English. I was very pleased with her hospitality.
【Requests】
- I would have appreciated it if I had been informed of the tour schedule beforehand (at the quotation stage), such as what time we needed to wake up in the morning. Since we were told the schedule for the next day only on the night before, I was worried each night whether I would get enough sleep.
- On the first day, I was told that I could take a shower, but the shower only had cold water, which was too cold, so I couldn’t use it.
【To those planning to go on a safari in Serengeti National Park】
- The temperature difference between day and night is significant, so I recommend bringing warm clothing. If you tend to get cold easily, you might need a down jacket for the night.
- Always keep your valuables with you. One of the tour members had their USD stolen while they were eating lunch, leaving it in the safari car.
- There are souvenir shops along the tour, but the prices are generally high, so I wouldn’t recommend them. There are some souvenir sections inside the departure gate at Kilimanjaro Airport. If you ask the tour company, they might guide you to a local market.
- The departure procedures at Kilimanjaro Airport take a long time, and it’s not possible to line up in an orderly manner. I recommend arriving at the airport with plenty of time to spare.
- At Addis Ababa Airport (Ethiopia) during the layover, my return flight was delayed by a full day due to overbooking by the airport. I recommend planning your return schedule with extra time in mind.
SE
Email Freja | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing organised tour
We made an spontaneous booking the same week as the tour and got all the help we needed. We were very impressed by the organisation, easy contact and great services! We booked four day safari and enjoyed it a lot. Very thankful for the services, we arrived late at the airport and was picked up and driven to a hotel to sleep the first night before the Safari. Everything was very well organised! We hope to be able to came back one day
Email Peter, Hanna and Damien | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overwhelmed by how well the safari went and by how good value it was.
The safari was great, tents comfortable and tour guide far exceeded expectations.
I wanted to see predators and we saw all three major ones plenty of times (lion, cheetah and leopard) including two hunting. The guide (Godfrey) always made sure to take us somewhere new and was able to spot animals beyond the horizon somehow, like a sixth sense. Of course we saw elephants, hyenas, buffalo, wildebeest, vultures, hippos, crocs, ostriches, mongeese, zebras and loads of birds. We even saw a few rhinos from a distance.
The tents and food were all arranged without fuss, and we were never hungry, nor cold or uncomfortable besides driving the dirt roads on safari but even luxury safaris use those same roads and vehicles.
The vehicle was clean and suitable, no one ever was without a view of an animal and we changed orderly to make sure front seat was evenly used.
I was sceptical of the whole arrangement after my time elsewhere in Africa but the whole thing went off as well as expected or better. The price didn't change from the quote, everything they said was included was true and the office staff checked in daily in case anything needed extra help (it didn't).
I highly recommend Makini and will be recommending them to friends if they go to Tanzania. I don't know what other tours were like or the price they paid but I couldn't find anything cheaper for the inclusions and even as a dodgy budget backpacker was extremely happy with the whole experience.
IN
Email Sajid | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Organised reasonably well but should have given more safari time in Serengeti and ngorongoro
The tour started with Tarangire safari which is a decent experience, with some large herds of elephants and buffaloes. We did see lions and giraffes. The stay at a resort on the way to Serengeti was ok. Serengeti was wonderful and the guide made every effort to take us wherever there were interesting sightings. The camp site at Serengeti was bearable at most and we spent just one night there. We could hear hyenas and a lion roar at night, which was quite exciting. The next half day is all we got at Serengeti though we did see a lion hunting a zebra. After a quick lunch we headed back towards ngorongoro. Considering the distance we had to cover both ways, the stay at Serengeti was far too short (you require at least 3 nights and 3 days for a relaxing Serengeti safari) . We reached ngorongoro before sunset. The tents, stay and the weather were very comfortable. The next half day is all we got (again too short) at ngorongoro. The park though small still requires a full day if you wish to relax and go around at your pace. There again it was found wanting as we just completed everything hurriedly. I feel the guide stopped at too many places on the way to the parks and we spent unnecessary time at stops. The operator (Makini) who organised the tour tried to squeeze in too many things in a short span. We could easily have skipped Tarangire and added another day to Serengeti. The food was great at times and mediocre at times. The guide and chef I would say did their best but as I said we moved too often from one place to the other leaving very little time for them to do their job properly and for us to relax. In the end we did cover a lot of distance which could have been avoided giving us more time for safari.
Email Jordan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I would not use this company
The safari day and crater day were good everything seemed to be going well.
When we arrived at the second hotel it went down hill from there, the hotel was not as expected. Food took nearly 4 hours to come out and didn’t want to eat it as it was cold and looked awful as such we did not want to eat breakfast and risk food poisoning, when I gave feedback to the person I was in communication with for our tour I was told to “just go and eat the food multiple times.
The next day we arrived at the waterfall experience, where there was a complete lack of communication, I was very clear that we had an older person traveling with us and therefore couldn’t do much physical activity.
There was a 30 minute walk which involved climbing down and up rocks to get to the waterfall.
The lack of communication and the behaviour of the tour guide was unacceptable, the tour guide tried to push us into doing something else when we were very clear we could not do that activity, we lost money as they wouldn’t give a partial refund and made the end of our holiday very unenjoyable.
I would not recommend this company if you are traveling to Tanzania
DE
Email Tim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 5-day Safari with Agustino
Good value for money Safari. We did 3 days Serengeti, 1 day Ngorongoro and 1 day Tarangire, which turned out to be the best route in our opinion. Our guide Agustino was amazing and had an answer to every question, sharing knowledge about his country enthusiastically.
Some last minute changes in the itinerary were a bit inconvenient, but all in all an amazing experience where we got to see the big 5 and many more animals (some really up close) than we could have imagined.
NZ
Email Eunice | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great communication and very welcoming.
Makini Tanzania Expedition made our first safari experience unforgettable. The communication was great all throughout. They have gone above and beyond. They picked us up from the airport, drove us to our accomodation and also helped us get to an ATM. I highly recommend booking your Safari tour with them. We had David as our tour guide/driver, he was absolutely fantastic. So knowledgeable and caring. Really good at driving too. Richard the chef cooked delicious meals. Thanks again.
NZ
Email Hyewon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing first safari experience.
From the booking process with Naomi to arriving in Arusha and meeting the team, the whole process was very smooth. David was a very knowledgeable and personable tour guide with great driving skills. Richard was our chef and his food was amazing and fed us very well through out the whole safari. Would definitely recommend to others and would use them again in the future.
IT
Email Riccardo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice
It was a very beautiful and interesting experience. we spotted all the animals we were interested in. very recommended
Email Meg | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Magical tour!
We had a brilliant three days with Makini going to Napuri waterfalls, Dulati lake, Ngorongoro crater and Tangarine National Park. Nancy, Jobar and the team made everything so easy and went above and beyond to make our trip special.