Our mellivora African travels team
Mellivora African Travels
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Member Of:
- TTB, TANAPA & TAWA
- 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)
Reviews
CH
Email Barbara Manga | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional
We had a 4-day fly-in safari from Zanzibar, and there's no way to fully express how satisfied we are with the experience. Everything was perfectly organized, from the excellent accommodations to the seamless transportation, and our guide was outstanding. From the moment we sent our first inquiry, the responsiveness was exceptional. We enjoyed a smooth journey and saw plenty of wildlife, including all of the Big Five. It was truly an incredible and unforgettable experience, and we highly recommend this safari to anyone looking for an extraordinary adventure.
SI
Email Izzy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very unprofessional and disruptive to mix different budgets (accommodations) in the same tour
So the feelings are mixed.
We did a 4 day safari with them, including Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire.
The driver David was very good and knowledgeable and we are really happy about him, his skills and the professionalism from his side. 10/10 for the driver himself.
Food was good (our chef was Richard). First night in a lodge was nice. Second night in Serengeti camp wasn't the best (facilities were super dirty and shower was only cold, but maybe also rain had something to do with it), but Ngorongoro camp was just lovely.
However, there were lot's of organizational issues that did significantly bother us.
What they did is they put 7 people from different companies and with different accomodations in the same vehicle - meaning that everytime everyone had to be delivered and picked up at a different location (sometimes literally 1 hour apart), so we lost a lot of time every single evening and then morning for pickups (things also didn't go so smooth with packing up) - very sadly on the account of our precious time for game drives (keep in mind that the best time to see animals is as early in the morning as possible). The 7th person was put in the last minute and so there wasn't any space left for our cook, which made it very inconvenient form him and us trying to find ways to get him to our destinations.
The driver wasn't really aware about plans of different people in our vehicle after the end of this trip - like that half of the group was supposed to continue the tour and that the rest were to go to the airport, and this wasn't communicated and caused some confusion, we also were not really sure about our luggage pickup (we were told to pack light and so we left half of the luggage at our hotel, to be delivered to the airport pickup on the last day).
So as said, the lack of organization did really bother us and we're not happy about this.
We've done many safaris elsewhere and nowhere in the world did "a sharing safari" mean different accomodations (but instead just a mixed random group of people, enjoying the same standard of the trip). I don't know how it seems to be the norm in Tanzania, as if everyone is doing it - we were joined by people from agencies like Serengeti African Tours and another company and they all said that they just share clients all the time.
Now I don't wanna be that "nothing was ok" person, but I just have to mention this -
we ran out of soda and wine on the second day (how can you promise wine, beer and soda with our meals and then provide only 1 bottle of wine for 7 people for 4 days?
The animals and the guide shed a nice light on the whole experience, but I have to say that organization-wise, this was by far the worst experience we've had in any safari. So my advice here seems to be - just take the cheapest tour as it obviously makes zero sense to pay more for a "preferably better company", or maybe make sure that people in your group will have the same standard or accommodations, to make things go smoothly.
Reply from Mellivora African Travels
Posted on Oct 30, 2024Dear Jerneja,
Thank you for taking the time to share your detailed feedback on your recent Tanzania safari experience with us. We genuinely appreciate your insights and apologize for any aspects that fell short of your expectations.
First and foremost, we're delighted to hear that you enjoyed many positive aspects of your safari, including the incredible wildlife sightings, budget-friendly, delicious meals,comfort,good driver and guide also the cook.
However, we are equally concerned about the challenges you encountered, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. Your feedback is invaluable, and we are committed to address the issues you raised to enhance our services for future travelers.
We also understand your disappointment regarding the guide's approach of not being able to start with an early morning game drive. This is mostly because, with a shared safari, the itinerary is pre-planned and most of the time it is not guaranteed to start at dawn,Often 1hour late. However, with a private option, it is easy to customize and guarantee to start early morning.
Our sincere apologies for the discomfort caused by the sleeping bags. We are doing our best to ensure the quality of our equipment meets the highest standards. We also highly advise our future camping travelers to bring their own sleeping bags whenever possible.
Dear Jerneja, your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are committed to continuous improvement. We would like to extend our gratitude for choosing our company and we hope to have the opportunity to provide you and our future travelers with an enhanced safari experience in the future.
Wishing you wonderful future travels Rafiki!
US
Email Neema | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional
Our trip had 3 different parts:
- Climbing Kilimanjaro in 6 days via Machame route. For this hard adventure, Gody was our main guide, with Emmanuel as our assistant guide, their experience and professionalism, as well as that of the dream team, took us to the summit (roof of Africa).
- 6 days safari at Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro area. We saw all the animals (cheetah and rhino included) with very amazing scenes and pictures :). Thanks to the best driver ever Jordan!
- 6 days at Zanzibar to relax after it all.
In general, thank you to Mellivora African Travels, in particular to Fransisca, for these memories, one of the most important trips in our lives. Chosing the perfect accomodations, guides and making it possible!
We truly recommend this company!
JP
Email Hide | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best team to lead your "once in the life" experience ro the success!
Fransisca responded promptly and appropriately to my requests for advice on what to prepare before the trip and adjusting the schedule. Goddy and the other guides explained and talked about various things to make the climb not boring, and on the day of the summit attack, they adjusted my pace and always encouraged me, leading me to a successful summit.
I believe that it would never have been possible without their support.
The only thing that was disappointing was that the quality of the hotels they booked before and after the trip was not worth the price, but everything else was so wonderful.