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
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!
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.
IT
Email Verena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized and transparent in its communication
It was very easy to communicate with them. They were always available for any kind of questions and also helped me with things that had nothing to do with the safari.
As I still go to university, the price was really high for me, even if I know that a safari can never be cheap. At least they offer the possibility for a budget safari, but maybe they should think of another way to make it possible especially for young travellers to save some more money.
I did the tour during the rain season, but was lucky enough to pick some sunny days. I would say that the rain season has some advantages too (zebra migration, less tourists e.g.), but obviously it's also kinda risky.
I cannot complain about the tour operator, but I also have no possibility to compare it with others, as it was my first safari and I usually never do that kind of organized trips. So it's difficult for me to rate it.
DE
Email Aylin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good and always a quick response
We did the 5-day tour to Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire NP.
The booking went very nice and we got a lot of recommendations regarding the perfect places for the season.
Everything was well organized, all the pick ups and drop offs went smoothly. We could always contact Fransisca and she would respond very quickly.
The hotels we stayed in were good (especially in Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara).
We saw a lot of animals, especially in the Ngorongoro crater - that was the place we enjoyed the most and would definitely recommend.
FR
Email Charlotte | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really reactive , easily reachable , and well organized
We had a really great experience for our first safari . It was well organized , everything we prepare we did not have to think about anything.
Our driver was really nice and explained to us a lot of things during the safari and made us feel comfortable .
We enjoyed it !
Email Luke Hammond | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6 Days 5 Nights Serengeti and Ngorongoro Honeymoon safari
I honestly couldn’t recommend Mellivora highly enough. The communication from the moment we enquired on safari bookings was impeccable and Francisca was very accommodating in helping us alter our trip throughout the initial stages. The service we received was fantastic, including all meals every day and drinks in the jeep whenever we liked.
From what I gathered however (as this was our first safari and an observation from our point of view), the quality of the guiding that we had with Mellivora was really exceptional. Our guide Elia was incredibly knowledgeable about the animals and worked extensively to find what we wanted to see on each day. Further, he seemed to have much more of an understanding of the animal behaviour than other guides as sometimes he would tell us to wait patiently near some animals as they were about to do something whilst other jeeps would stop and then shortly move on. Lo and behold they begun to hunt shortly after. This really added to our experience and made our safari after we saw both lions and cheetahs hunting (although we did feel quite lucky to have these encounters).
I would highly recommend going on safari with Mellivora and will be doing so to friends and family who visit Tanzania in the future. I myself was somewhat hesitant as they had slightly less reviews than a peer but I am very glad I made the choice to go with them (and the fewer reviews is one of the main reasons for writing this as I truly want to support this business)!
Thank you for such a fantastic trip!
DE
Email Rico | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great!
We spent two weeks in Tanzania with our two boys (5 and 9 years old). One week of safari and one week of beach vacation in Zanzibar. Fransisca organized everything brilliantly, fulfilled our every wish, and was there for us at all times. We had a fantastic driver/guide who told us a lot about the country. The highlight for the boys was the Land Cruiser with the pop-up roof. Here they were up close to the animals. Highly recommended and we'd love to go again. Thanks Fransisca.
UA
Email Andrii | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
Thank you so much for very well organized safari in Tanzania. We had a great time and actually seen all we expected and even more
Also thanks to Francisca , who was always in touch and helped with everything we needed
Great team!
Mellivora African Travels Very professional, our journey was without any mistakes. Fransisca is very sincere and friendly, and the itinerary is fully implemented according to my intentions. Mellivora provided very satisfactory service throughout the entire process.
The guide, Eli, has excellent eyesight and is very kind. He loves his work and knows a lot about animal knowledge. In addition, his driving skills are also excellent.
She was the best
Mellivora African Travels provided us the perfect experience in Tanzania. A perfect mix of wildlife and cultural experience we could not have possibly asked for more.
Our tour guide, Jordan, was incredibly knowledgeable on all we had to ask and had an answer for every question. We were so honored to spend 5 days with him.
Along with planning a literally perfect itinerary, Issa was super responsive and helped us resolve any bumps along the way immediately (of which there were very few, for a very active and involved trip!).