Some of our Safari Driver Guides
Wild Pride Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CN
Email Junlong | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lilian is a quick and patient operator, always rapidly responded every request raised by me.
~Wonderful experience in a lifetime, smooth and relaxing!~
It's not an easy decision for us to go to Africa for a safari due to our short vacation in China, so we made a lot of comparisons among the safari companies. In the end, I chose Wild Pride for their quick response, smooth communication and cost competitiveness.
First of all, our operator Lilian is nice and patient, always rapidly responded every request raised by me, nearly 24/7 could reach out to her through WECHAT, which is convenient for Chinese people. She listened to every request, and answered every question, and organized a wonderful itinerary according to our wish.
Secondly, our safari manager Goodluck met us at the airport, no matter our delayed flight, and patiently introduced every detail we need to know before the safari, which give us a very reliable impression when we first come to Tanzania. I think it’s very important.
Most of all, our safari driver and guide, Peter, worth a big thumbs up! He has over 30 years of safari guide experience, could speak both English and Japanese, and has excellent driving skills. Sometimes we met heavy rain and lots of dust in the journey, but our car have never met any problem, which I think is very uneasy – we several safari car accidents on the journey. Also, Peter knows where to find the animals, and we successfully saw almost every animal we hoped for.
In the end, we arranged 2 days of rest in the beautiful island Zanzibar, saw beautiful sea and giant tortoise, and did our souvenirs shopping.
In a word, I would definitely recommend Wild Pride Safari to every friend in China if they want to visit Tanzania someday!
US
Email Yasmin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing :D
I'm not usually one to write reviews, but my experience with Wild Pride was so excellent I'm changing that.
My husband and I decided to go all-out for our first extended vacation overseas in many years and went with the Ultra Luxury Tanzania/Zanzibar itinerary that Wild Pride offered. When doing our research, we were actually a bit concerned that the reviews might be fake since they were all 5 stars, but we learned quickly it's because the team at Wild Pride really is that good! During the planning process Lilian was responsive, patient, and helpful.
We arrived to Kilimanjaro Airport and were greeted by our guide, Rama, who drove us to our hotel. Goodluck met us at our hotel reception area and checked us in. They both gave us a rundown of our itinerary, a safety briefing, and surprised us with some hospitality gifts. Rama met us the next morning and took us to Lake Manyara, where his skills immediately shone. We were very impressed; he was able to point out nearby wildlife that other cars in front of us drove past and within a few minutes on the trail we saw our first of the Big Five thanks to him! After Lake Manyara, we went to Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti. We were very lucky to see the big 5 on our trip, plus some other sightings of animals like cheetahs, servals, and secretary birds.
Throughout the trip, Rama was very professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and kind. He was good about making stops along the way for us to take breaks from the bumpy ride and browse for souvenirs.
A few things to note that didn't affect my opinion of Wild Pride but are still worth mentioning:
* Apply for visas online ahead of time if you can; the process at Kilimanjaro Airport was lengthy
* We had a few challenges with wiring money over, but it ended up working out
* If you have a layover in another country where yellow fever is a problem, make sure you either have immunization records or your layover is under 12-hours long
* Make sure passports are more than 6-months from expiration date
Overall, our experience was fantastic and I'd definitely recommend. Thanks so much for the memories, Wild Pride Safaris!
Email Richard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime, organised by people who care
Brace yourselves this will be a long one!!
My wife and I travelled with Wild Pride Safaris in August and September 2024.
We had a week on safari in Tanzania and a week at the beach in Zanzibar.
From the first contact with Lillian at Wild Pride Safaris they were absolutely fantastic to deal with.
Initially there was quite a bit of back and forward with Lillian producing several fantastic itineraries to fit in with different dates and activities we were thinking of doing while on holiday.
Each of these detailed itineraries showed the camps that we would be staying at and also the routes and plans for the safari. Very professional and helpful, queries were answered rapidly and nothing seemed to be a problem in the planning of the trip.
Lillian even managed to get us a Nikon camera with a 18-300 f3.5 Nikkor lens on hire for the duration of the safari, although this was quite expensive it was cheaper than buying a camera I will never use again and the pictures we have from it are absolutely stunning! I would say to anyone going on safari to have a good camera, phones just do not cut it for the shots you will be taking.
On arrival at Kilimanjaro we were met and taken to our first hotel, a lovely place just outside Arusha where we had the day to chill and get over the overnight flight. Lillian and her boss came to the hotel to meet us and drop off the camera, we even received a couple of travel mugs and Masai blankets. Only a small thing but it shows the detail and friendliness of the company. They explained the trip and what would happen over the next couple of days, all very straight forward and up until this point, exactly what they said would happen happened.
After a comfortable night we met our guide the next morning and loaded up the truck for our adventure.
Our guide was Deo, he is a very nice guy, knowledgable, polite and he knows where to go in the parks to get the most out of the experience. One of the most pleasant things for my wife and I was the respect that he has for the country and the animals. Unlike other safari destinations, Tanzania does not allow you to go chasing down animals that you see. You have to stay on the tracks, this is strictly enforced by rangers and creates some interesting moments with trucks jostling for position and right of way.
However as Deo explained, if you have animals doing their thing and going about their business they do not want to get harassed and stressed by people in trucks doing anything to get the best picture. For Deo it is about appreciating the animals in the environment that they live in and creating the best trip for us. The other side of this policy is that the animals are not scared of the trucks, they have no reason to be since the trucks are not allowed to chase them. This means that the animals will interact and go about doing the animal things they do right beside you, lions walking in between the truck or guarding a kill right beside the road. Literally nothing runs away, to the point of it being difficult to move on the road sometimes for buffalo or antelope refusing to move.
First day on safari was at Tarangire NP, this was a great way to get broken into the safari life, it is a big open park with plains and little bits of forestry and bush. Animals are everywhere and there are specific places that are better for certain animals. Highlights from this day were the train of elephants who just wandered across the road in between the trucks, incredible to be so close the these magnificent creatures without them bothering at all. From here we travelled to lake Manyara to our next camp.
Maramboi tented lodge right on the lake front, beautiful location and a very special place. I had my birthday here and my wife had asked Lillian if she could organise getting the room decorated, a cake and some champagne. What a surprise and what a fantastic way to spend your birthday evening, overlooking a stunning lake from a private infinity pool drinking champagne. Memory that will last a lifetime. Again Lillian pulled out the stops and made it happen!
Next day safari was in Lake Manyara NP, this is a completely different type of safari, mainly forest and woodland driving very slowly trying to spot the animals in the trees, this is where the climbing lions are although we never saw them it was still an amazing day of wildlife and nature. Highlights here were the elephants in the river and the monkeys and baboons. From here we headed off to Kitela lodge for our next night. Again a beautiful place, calm and blended perfectly into its surroundings.
From here it was off to Ngorongoro crater, what a place this is, I am not going to list all the animals and birds because it would take forever but some of the sights were incredible. This really was when the camera came into its own, some of the shots that we managed to get are beautiful. Four separate prides of lions and thousand of animals on the plains. We left here just after lunch as we had a fairly long drive to the Serengeti ahead of us.
The road is extremely bumpy, like driving on corrugated Iron sheets for about 4 hours. If you have back pains or issues with this kind of travel then you should consider flying.
On arrival at the Serengeti we had another game drive of several hours before we arrived at our accommodation for the next few nights - Kubu Kubu tented lodge.
This is another beautiful lodge camp on the edge of some hills giving absolutely stunning views down onto the plains and into the distance of the Serengeti. From our room we could watch the giraffes and elephants strolling across the plains, not to mention the buffalo and Hyena who seem to hang around the camp at night. We have never before thought that an escort was needed to walk 75m to dinner, we did here! This is a beautiful relaxing camp with a chilled vibe in the most incredible of surroundings.
This was our base for the next few days as we explored the Serengeti with Deo. Although we had missed the great migration it was still an unforgettable experience. Seeing the animals and birds going about their business with very little consideration or interest in the humans who are gawking at them is a wonderful thing to see.
Balloon trip - we had taken the option of a balloon trip with Serengeti balloon safari, this was booked for our second last day. However when we arrived at the launch site the wind was out of limits and the balloon trip was cancelled. We got the option of doing it the next day and although we were flying to Zanzibar the next day we were able to make the timings work. And we are so glad we did!
The balloon trip was a highlight for me, having never done it before I would recommend it to anyone who fancies it. The experience from start to finish was fantastic.
Another game drive on the way to Seronera airstrip before we said our goodbyes to Deo and got on the plane to Zanzibar. What a fantastic opening week to a holiday. The trip to Zanzibar and the transfers all went without a problem and again Lillian had organised everything perfectly.
Even when we left a phone in the safari truck Lillian organised it to get taken to the airport at Arusha the next day, flown across to us in Zanzibar and delivered to the hotel reception!! For this incredible service all we had to pay was the taxi fee from the airport to our hotel. I just wish you got customer service like that everywhere in the world.
On Zanzibar we stayed in a beach front pool villa at Ycona villa resort, that will have its own review so I will not go on here apart from to say........ WOW. What a beautiful chilled place.
From there again it was a smooth trouble free transfer to the airport and back to reality.
All the camps we stayed at on the safari were amazing, really high quality of accommodations and food. They far exceeded our expectations and they really were not what you would expect in the bush in Africa. All of the staff at these hotels were so lovely, I know that customer service is the job, however coming from Europe we are well aware that doesn't always mean a great deal. The staff were friendly, helpful and seemed to be very proud of their country and keen to share the beauty of it with tourists. The group who own this hotel chain are called Tanganyika wilderness camps. Big thumbs up to them, whoever is running them knows what they are doing and is making it happen.
Wild pride safari, Deo and Lillian made this a trip of a lifetime and I would recommend them to anyone.
So what did we learn that might help people?
1. If you can get a private safari, the difference in the experience is immeasurable.
2. Take or hire a good camera and lens, take the time to find out the settings it should have.
3. Balloon safari if you can.
4. Do not wear navy at the Tsetse fly areas.
5. Tip if you can, it is all appreciated.
DE
Email Petra and Family | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful 3 days Safari-Tour
We did Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara in three days and it has been wonderful. These three places have been a good combination to see many animals and even various types of vegetation. Our guide Elisante could provide us interesting information about all these places and the life/behavioir of its animals. Due to many years of experience he always knew where to go.
Email Claudia Armellin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect safari
We had the most amazing time with Wild Pride Safari, from beginning to end. Lilian helped us organise the perfect itinerary for our 4 days safari, she was always kind and never pushy. She really made our honeymoon special with little gifts and making sure all the lodges where we were staying knew about it. The airline we were travelling with lost our bags, but fortunately Goodluck did everything in his power to get us the bag in less than three hours - I’m sure we weren’t going to get them so quickly without his help.
The safari was amazing, Eli (our guide) was knowledgable but also so nice to be around. We could see how much he loved the parks and his commitment to protect the wildlife. We saw all the big five alongside witnessing the great migration. We couldn’t be happier, this was the most incredible start of our honeymoon!
Thank you Lilian, Goodluck and Eli! We will never forget our safari.
JP
Email Hiromi | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trusted people
It was one of the few tour operators that met my three stated conditions : ①short tour days, ②airport transfers and ③single participation
I was surprised at how quickly I received a reply when I enquired about the details. When I told operator Lilian that I wanted to spend as much time as possible in Ngorongoro, she recommended a hotel closer to the crater than my original accommodation, and I had my own personalised tour. The itinerary attached to the email was full of images of animals, which was exciting to see and so well done that I showed it to my family and friends.
My tour guide, Elisante, kept his eyes on our surroundings through the muddy bad roads with rain & fog, and taught me a lot about the Maasai people and their animals.
He must have been tired after a full day's driving, but he checked the condition of safari car for very early morning 6:00AM departure, kept the muddy floor clean, and made sure I had a safe and pleasant game drive.
After all, a reliable tour operator.
US
Email Hajira | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Prompt
The trip organized by Wild pride safari was excellent! Lillian was always available and would answer any questions we had within minutes. Deo was a great driver and guide too! Price was reasonable compared to other safari companies. When booking, no need to do city tour of Arusha. 2 days in Serengeti is enough and Ngorongoro Crater is a must. Tarangire is optional. We did 5 days safari but 3 days is enough. Lillian also planned for us to go to Zanzibar which was fun. She booked our local flights and allowed us to choose which hotels and lodges to stay at. Make sure not to do budget safari and at least do midrange safari.
DE
Email Niklas Amann | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great planning, great tour, great tour guide/driver, we were thrilled by the many animals!
From start to finish, everything was very good and I can only recommend it. Lilian gave us very good advice and put together a perfect tour. Everything went without any complications - thank you very much Lilian! We were warmly welcomed at the airport and after a short picnic we started a 5 hour safari. Baraka and tour guide and Deo our driver are well trained and showed us all the animals to the best of their ability, we were all thrilled and happy. That was always our dream. Our tour guide Baraka spoke German very well. The hotel was also great and our second day continued with a great safari. We can highly recommend the 3 day tour and will always remember it. Thank you everyone, keep it up, all the best!
RO
Email Frank | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and perfect organization
Hello,
we went on a 5-day safari, organized by Wild Pride.
They offer standard programs which did not really fit to our needs (travelling arrangements etc). I just gave them what I wanted and needed and everything was organized in a perfect and easy way.
Communication was very easy - I had previously spoken with a different provider and they were incapable to react to my wishes.
Driver - we had Deo as driver - a very nice guy, communicative and with a lot of background information he could give to us and even more important an absolutely professional driver.
Animals - well, we saw them all, Deo knew the right spots, the Big Five of course and many many other animals and all close by. So really a great experience.
Hotels - we stayed at the Four Season, the Melia at the Ngorongoro and the Melia at Arusha - all were perfect choices. Not the cheapest ones, but that was our selection, Wild Pride took care of a smooth organization.
I usually don't write such positive reviews, but here really everything fitted very well and was adjusted completely to our needs.
Therefore: at least 5 stars for Wild Pride!
US
Email Shane | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very responsive, personable and helpful
Wild Pride Safaris did an amazing job planning our honeymoon. The tour operator was very responsive (often answered within 24 hours or less) and custom built an itinerary that suited our needs.
They greeted us with roses for the bride as well as customized “Just Married” stickers with our names on the Safari vehicle. The hotel accomodations were world class. Our driver, Deocary, was with us every step of the way and was very knowledgeable about the animals and the landscape. Thanks to him - we saw the entire Big 5 in one morning. He knew exactly where to be and has a great instinct for where the animals will be.
