Reviews
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Email Leah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Best guide in Africa hands down! He’s not just a guide, he’s your friend, family, and confidant
I can’t scream loud enough about how our whole trip to Africa was beyond memorable because of Ernest! I’ve never felt safer in the presence of a stranger. His whole demeanor and presence is just felt like family. Going to a different country for the first time and trusting our guide to keep us safe on our tour was paramount. Ernest went above and beyond our personal expectations. He was super accommodating, catered to our individual needs, ensured we felt safe, explained everything with great detail, had great banter and personal connections with us, and truly made sure we were safe and he followed every precaution to get us a great experience with wildlife. We never felt rushed, everything was on our timeline, and it felt like we were just enjoying these extraordinary moments with another member of our party. He really knew every detail, and we learned so much for him. We did extensive research on comparing tours, reviews, and prices so I know we got a great deal hands down with everything that was included in our package. We were so sad when our tour was over and just felt a sense of pure love with Ernest that we requested to remain friends with him. Now, what experience have you had with a complete stranger that made you want to have a lifelong international friendship with? Ernest Magic tours is not just a guided tour with a boring person spitting out facts you’ll never remember and passing the time, it’s an experience with a truly genuine soul that will elevate your experience!
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Email Patrick | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
HANDS DOWN, HE WAS AND IS THE BEST IVE EVER BEEN WITH!
It is with great pleasure I write this review for Ernest. Words can't express the feelings that my family and I were overcome by this experience. It was religious, and to share this lifelong dream of showing my family where my ancestors came from filled my heart and soul. From day one of the safari, Ernest (whom I affectionately call eagle eyes) ensured that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We visited 3 national parks, each one more spectacular than the other. Ernest is the most thoughtful, caring tour guide I have ever dealt with. He made sure while traveling that we had cold drinks and snacks. He also isn't like the big companies, when we stopped for lunch each day, we had a warm delicious meal provided to us. We would look around at others that were on tours, they were eating box lunches. His company is definitely geared towards family. As we traveled, we saw every animal that your mind could imagine and why you came on a safari in the first place except the elusive black rhino. Each day my 4-year-old kept saying that she wanted to see a rhino, and Ernest turned to her and said I promise to do everything I can to so you can see one. Eagle eyes was true to his word. On the last day, with less than one hour left at Ngorongoro crater national park Ernest was driving everywhere to find a rhino for my daughter. Then all of a sudden, he put on the brakes and put the car in reverse and said to my daughter there is your rhino! To see my daughter light up like the sky made the whole trip worth it. Please visit Tanzania, and when you do give Ernest Magic Tours and Safaris your business. I have given all my friends and family his information, and they will use him. I have also given all his information to my family for their visit. Ernest my brother, we are coming back! Thank you for everything, my family loves and missed you, brother!
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Email Riley | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very trustworthy and helpful, would highly recommend.
What a memorable safari! Our guide, Jackson, was very knowledgable and great. Our accommodations were beautiful, and very welcoming. The food was good! We saw some amazing sights on our safari. Ernest made sure we were happy and comfortable for the whole duration of our time with him. I would highly recommend booking with Ernest Magic Tours, you will not be disappointed!
Email Jonah | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari Company in Tanzania
My biggest goal when choosing a company was to find someone who cares about the experience and would go above and beyond. Earnest was the right man for the job. I live in Tanzania and searched for a smaller company that could build a trip based on knowledge and experience working in the region where the safari would take place - not one of the big companies that doesn’t really know what’s up (aka Tanzania Specialist among others). Earnest worked with us to build the perfect itinerary at the price point we wanted. Him and our guide Jackson exceeded every expectation and delivered a truly memorable trip. The meals were 10/10, the lodges were 11/10, and our guide and the animal sightings were 100/10. Jackson could not have done a better job all around. He even went as far as ditching our itinerary to drive us far into the north serengeti so we could hopefully catch the wildebeest river crossing during their great migration (and we sure did catch it). Earnest and Jackson again went above and beyond during my twin and I’s birthday to arrange multiple cakes, songs, and dances with the lodges and make it an even more special day that it already was. Despite it being hard to choose who to safari with due to the # of companies, If there is one thing you takeaway from this review: DO NOT THINK TWICE WHEN CONSIDERING BOOKING WITH EARNEST, just book your trip, stop stressing out, let Earnest handle the rest and consider yourself lucky for finding such a great guy/company. 10/10 this company checks every box and I will be going with Earnest again.
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Email Lisa S | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded expectations in EVERY way!
Choosing a safari provider can be a very hard decision when you are starting with no information or references. There are literally hundreds of safari companies and most appear to offer similar options and service levels. After doing some online research we somehow connected with Ernest and had a live call to ask some questions about the itinerary, the lodging, the food, his guides, pricing, etc. Ernest was responsive and open to answering our many many many questions throughout our decision process. In the end we decided to book our 6-day private safari with Ernest Magic Tours and were not disappointed. I was definitely nervous pre-paying for the safari without having ever met or knowing anyone who had used this company. However I decided to go with my gut and am so happy I did. Our trip was fantastic in every way…great lodging, super food, amazing sightings, a comfortable and safe vehicle and so much more. The best part by far though was our SUPER-STAR GUIDE JACKSON who made our trip unforgettable and so much fun. Jackson has been guiding for 15+ years and is so passionate about serengeti safaris. His excitement was apparent in everything we did as he went out of his way to ensure we had sooooo many animal sightings. Recognizing nature is unpredictable Jackson did his best to scour the horizons and surroundings to spot as many animals as he could. And boy did we get lucky! Aside from the animal sightings though, Jackson is a great and safe driver who is a true professional that knows the landscape, animal patterns, etc. in every way. I would highly recommend Ernest Magic Tours and Safaris and would be happy to connect directly to answer any questions a potential customer might have.
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Email Ann Marie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing trip of Northern Tanzania
Ernest was our tour guide for our first trip to Tanzania where he took us to Manyara, Tarangire and Ngorongoro. He is a very professional and courteous guide, ensuring our trip exceeded our expectations. We were treated with top notch service, including a high end 4x4 Jeep, wine/beer and hot lunches. This set our tour apart from other companies that only provided water and cold lunch boxes. These extra comforts made our tour that much more enjoyable. During our safaris, Ernest even did little extras such as cutting the engine when we stopped to see an animal so that our videos could pick up the sounds of them munching on grass, breaking branches or rumbling to each other. It made our tour so much more magical. We really enjoyed our time with Ernest and would highly recommend him. Ernest, worked for Safari Sole at the time of our tour, but has since started his own company and I’m sure he will continue to foster the same customer care services. We are very excited to return to Tanzania to visit the Serengeti and Ernest will be the first person we call!
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Email Trevor Sandidge | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Authentic Safari Experience with Expert Guide
I booked Ernest for a Tanzania honeymoon Safari and had the absolute best time exploring the beautiful country and Safari parks.
Ernest has a best in class eye for finding all of the animals, including the Big 5.
Safari was great value and I hope to join Ernest again soon for another adventure.
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Email Robert | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip, fantastic service and an unforgettable experience
We did a four day budget camping safari, and oh boy was it worth the money. We went to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, all in the short time span. It was super fascinating to see all these very different national parks back to back. Even we came in the supposedly off-season (because of the tall grass), our driver and guide Stanley still managed to show us so many animals, that we almost started to get bored towards the end. It was overwhelming. A nice side effect of coming here in the low season was the low number of other tourists, especially in the Serengeti. We had many spots and animals there to ourselves which was super special.
Sleeping in the tents was really chill for us (as experienced campers). Mattresses and sleeping bags were more than appropriate. And the campsites were absolutely beautiful!
A review would not be complete without mentioning our chef extraordinaire Sule. He really spoiled us with his creations (pizza in the middle of the Serengeti!?) and was a fun companion on top of that.
We didn't pay the full amount up front (which we highly recommend in hindsight) and had some complications with our credit cards for the remaining amount. Ernest sent a representative who was super helpful and very supportive, so we managed to pay everything easily. Still, if you can: try to pay up front.
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Email Marietta | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best experience I have ever had
The safari was much better than I imagined. We saw a lots of animals traveling 700 km through mainland Tanzania. Each park was different. We saw the 5 big animals of africa. Ernest is the best guida in the world. He is very responsible, wise, well educated. He took great care of us. He showed us everything we asked for. He told us a lot about the animals, the african culture, the places, and the costums of the people. He helped us in everything. My group felt very well cared for and safe. I highly recommend this experience and the safari with Ernest!
