We'd rather take your smile to the bank!
Lush Africa Safaris
- Offices In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,000 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
US
Email Mary Daly | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Cyprian was the perfect travel guide.
I was very pleased with my 2023 trip to Rwanda that Lush Africa helped plan the itinerary. My purpose for the trip was to visit the gorillas one more time. I had been to Rwanda in August 2022 with a large tour company to see the gorillas and the eastern border of Rwanda to visit the Akagera National Park. It was a seven day stay in Rwanda.
I loved the gorillas and Rwanda. I had a planned safari trip this summer (2023) to several southern African countries. I decided to return to Rwanda on my own to visit the gorillas and the Nyungwe National Forest before starting the safari. Lush Africa was recommended to me by two individuals on the 2022 Rwanda trip who stayed on to see Nyungwe National Forest, home to chimpanzees and the Black & White monkeys and used Lush Africa.
I found Lush Africa to be as good as any tour company that I have used in my travels. I was offered interesting activity options to select from, beautiful hotels to stay in. and a perfect travel guide, Cyprian.
During the drives from one location to another, Cyprian was an excellent conversationalist. He provided interesting background information on Rwandan daily life. He was also very punctual and got me to all the destinations on time. He secured me a gorilla family located in an area that wasn’t too difficult to access. Which I truly appreciated. He is a safe driver.
Overall, I enjoyed all the Lush Africa recommended activities, Rukari Museum, National Ethnographic Museum, trekking in the Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzees and the Black & White monkeys, the canopy walks and especially, the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village which was more fun than I had anticipated.
As an older solo female traveler, I found Abbey Rafsanjani, the owner of Lush Africa, and Cyprian made the experience one that I will remember the rest of my life. Rwanda is a wonderful country to visit, so filled with hope.
US
Email Jeff B | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Top Notch Safari Provider. Perfect!
Lush Africa Safari provided me and my wife a top-notch experience in 4 countries, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania (for 17 days)! Abbey took the time for over a year, to plan, develop and make changes to my itinerary, He painstakingly added and removed items to suit my needs and upgraded until we had the perfect safari!! The pricing was more than competitive to other competitors out there, but the service set them apart. We were provided a Golden Monkey Trek, Gorilla Trek, Chimpanzee Trek, Rhino Trek and of course some stellar game drives. We saw everything we hoped to see and then some. Abbey made sure our accommodations were the best, the food and excursions were the best, and let’s not forget about the tour guides! Derrick and Joseph made our particular tours of these countries unforgettable. They were timely in making sure we were where we were supposed to be, and took time to make sure we saw the animals and great migration, including a 35-minute river crossing. They provided extra care in food prep (my wife is gluten free) and even shopping so we did not pay to much. We did a couple of balloon safaris, a sundowner, boat safaris, Volcanos NP, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Serengeti NP, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kibale NP, Ngorogoro Crater and even a wonderful couple hours at the top of Murchison Falls amongst everything else mentioned. They took the time to stop for any pictures or scenery we wanted to see, provided cold water throughout the day and really made the whole thing completely personalized. A very reliable up and coming provider with great value for the money and communications from start to finish! They even have done tremendous follow up after the safari to make sure everything went as we expected and to our complete satisfaction! Don’t hesitate to contact Abbey and Lush Africa Safari for your future East Africa trip! You will be glad you did!
IL
Email Diego | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliability and Quality
My trip to Africa with Lush Africa Safaris was in a way that I dreamt of it and more. Communication with Abbey was fluent along the planning and during the experience. Services along the trip were excellent and made the trip even better, so the accommodations so the guides and drivers.
I encourage you to make a trip to the wonderful land of Africa with Lush Africa Safaris.
US
Email Dan Konchan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dependable and knowledgeable, stress free trip of a lifetime!
My wife and I went on a 11day/10 night trip with Lush Africa Safaris and we could not recommend them enough. Our trip started in Uganda and we went to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to trek with the gorillas. We then flew to Tanzania and went on a multi day safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater and then finished in Zanzibar. Upon arrival in Entebbe we were met at the airport by our Ugandan guide Derrick. Derrick was a great guide, always on-tme, very knowledgeable, and had has feel very safe and comfortable for our entire Ugandan stay. In Tanzania we were met at the airport by Joseph who guided us through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Joseph knew all the best spots in the park to see animals and was also an absolute professional. He was very experienced and knowledgeable and was always in control. We were very lucky to have Joseph as a guide. We then flew to Zanzibar where we relaxed at Nungwi Dreams resort for a few days, snorkeled, and did a spice tour.
They say your guides make or break your trip and ours definitely made ours. Working with Lush was very easy and painless. From the beginning Abbey was always in touch and available to answer questions. The safari can be very customizable to fit your schedule and budget and Abbey is always happy to accommodate. Over the course of the booking some of our accommodations had to be changed to better fit our schedule but they were always the same if not better quality than what was listed. There were no issues during our entire trip, everyone was on-time, all accommodations were booked, and overall the trip was very stress free. You cannot go wrong booking with Lush!
Creating a great experience in East Africa with a smile
Abbey from Lush Africa Safaris was upfront right a the beginning or our communication, alaways helpful and ready to help. Information were accurate and quick. We got a great value for the money we've spent. Lush did create great memories for many years to come. The guide he provided for us where great to find and explain the animals in the different park but also on a personal notes they were endearing people. So many thanks to Sammy and Tuma. Hope to see you soon.
US
Email Reenie and Kent | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personable and profesional
We had never been to East Africa before. Our youngest son introduced us to Abbey and the Lush African Safari folks. Abbey planned a great trip for us beginning in Nairobi and ending in Arusha, with Stops at Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara Conservancy North, Serengeti NP and Ngorongoro Crater. We were there 15 days with 4 nights in Nairobi, (due to flight schedules from Austin), 3 nights in each camp or lodge, one night at Lake Naivasha, and ending with one night in Arusha. We were on teh trip by ourselves and if I had it to do again , to save money we would invite two more couples or four family members. The luxury of a private vehicle and safari wasn't lost on us, though. The trip was well paced, and our guides, Sammy, and Joseph couldn't have been more accommodating or considerate. They were willing to make detours and accommodate minor changes in activities for us. Abbey checked in with us several times during the trip. We stayed in 2 tented lodges and one cabin lodge overlooking the Serengeti. November was a perfect time to go although since we were gone over the American Thanksgiving holiday, the hotels started to thin out of American guests around November 20, and we were able to meet more guests from Germany and Britain. We highly recommend Lush African Safaris. The one suggestion I have is that the more research one does prior to planning your trip the more you are going to get out of it, from lodging to activities, to rest. As a 66 year old, I appreciated being able to be in each location for three days so that if I wanted to take a day of rest and lounging around, I could and my wife could go out on a drive and we each got to do exactly what we wanted. We will use Abbey and Lush African Safaris again.
Email Maliha | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great safari experience with Lush Africa Safari
We were a group of friends on safari and Lush Africa Safari exceeded our expectations. Lush were flexible, accommodating and responsive to the group's preferences as we were all interested in different things.
Both of our guides were excellent (Sammy in Kenya, Joseph in Tanzania), they went above and beyond to ensure we were comfortable, engaged and informed. We were very lucky to have enthusiastic and knowledgable guides who were always respectful to wildlife and the environment.
We were fortunate enough to see the big 5 a few times and our guides always kept an eye out for our favourite birds and animals.
Absolute musts are: Amboseli, Maasai Mara and Serengeti.
Email Nusrat | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime!
We had a wonderful experience on our Kenya and Tanzania safari with Lush Africa, thanks to our fantastic guides Sammy and Joseph, as well as Abbey for catering to all our requests and creating an excellent itinerary for us. We felt assured that we were looked after by Lush and stayed in great lodges and both guides went above and beyond to ensure we saw all the wildlife we could dream of seeing, including multiple big 5 sightings. Our itinerary had a lot of long drives due to the locations of the parks we wanted to visit, in hindsight I would have enquired about doing an air transfer from Masai Mara to Serengeti as the road transfer is a very long and bumpy drive.
Overall we had the BEST time and I highly recommend Lush Africa and Abbey to plan your safari.
US
Email Maricel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Deceiving, not professional, stay away!
Abbey from Lush African Safari responded to my Safari booking request for a quote with a very expensive package for a 14 days Kenya and Tanzania safari. The quote had places’ names and pics of cars and accommodation included. Upon arrival to Kenya I found out none of the places he quoted were actually available at the time he sent me that quote. In fact, he did ask me to pay immediately to book everything, which I did, but it was just a scam since the places weren’t available. And he hired local companies that book something else. He even tried to put me in a minivan instead of a landrover in Kenya, which at least at last minute the local company was able to fix. In Amboseli, he sent me to a tent instead of a nice 3-4 start hotel I paid, I was scared for my life there. Not a joke. Solo woman traveler I paid more to him, a company based in USA, to guarantee that this situation didn’t happen :(
In Tanzania he tried to send me to another tent and I was literally crying that day contacting the Safaribooking team begging to please not to be sent to a tent. I paid for a nice hotel, he was making up all sort of reasons why me going to a tent was best for me, among them so I can see the great migration.
He didn’t even know I already saw the great migration in Kenya!
Finally they sent me to a hotel, not like the one promised but I was so grateful for having walls and feel safe that I didn’t mind. Both local tours realized what was been done and were very sympathetic. I’d strongly recommend to use those companies directly, they will be honest and not lure you with some pics. I paid thousands of dollars to stay in the nicest hotel with great food and they sent me to a tent without electricity, shower outside that actually didn’t work, he gave me a $300 refund which felt like an insult, but I was powerless.
When I told him he couldn’t just go against the client wishes and going to a tent instead of nice accommodations I booked were not my wishes he said: “we are going to have to agree to disagree”. So he feels he is in power to sent you wherever he wants regardless of what you paid for. Here is another, when I send the pics he sent me of a fancy place that I paid for and the ones of the horrible tent he was sending me to, his response was:”some places take deceiving pics”. We have internet and the local tours were honest so they did told me how wonderful the other places I had in the quote were and how they didn’t compared in location food quality and overall with what I was given.
CA
Email Ed | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful, and everything on point
we booked with Lush because of the wonderful itinerary we were given. This was our first trip to Africa, so their was some hesitancy, but the reviews and feedback from other travelers was invaluable to planning the trip. We were not disappointed!. Initially we were looking at Tanzania and Kenya, but after talking to Abbey we extended to Uganda, as being Ugandan, he knows that country particularly well. Abbey offered many helpful suggestions and insights.
The vehicles were relatively new, and got us threw some pretty rough roads, with an "African massage". Joseph was a wonderful guide and got our African trip off to a great start. Peter was a master tracker and driver, and had a nose for finding the animals. Robert went out of his way to be helpful. Lake Navaisha was a wonderful addition particularly for Christmas, and Amboseli turned out to be another highlight, as Peter got us close to a lion family near dusk. Every day was wonderful, and the safari ended far too quickly!
