Meet the Team - eTrip Africa
E-Trip Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATA, IATAN, IGS, KPAP & CODE
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email stacie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
best price AND service
Having researched our Tanzania safari and contacted several operators over the course of a year we finally decided on eTripAfrica after receiving a very competitive, concise and detailed quote and itinerary from Ben. He was able to secure the Lemala properties for the days we wished to stay, was cheaper than the other company's quotes and all without compromising on all the important aspects of a successful experience on safari. We had some initial questions and concerns and Ben set up a time to call us and addressed them all with additional follow-up emails to ensure we were comfortable with everything. We did an overland safari visiting Tarangire, Ngorongoro crater, Ndutu and then on to the central Serengeti. Our car was new and in great shape and was equipped with a refrigerator full of bottled water, binoculars, a library of reference books and charging ports for devices. The MOST important aspect of an enjoyable safari hinges on the quality of your guide and Eli did not disappoint. He could not only spot animals from great distances but was able to identify which animals they were before we were even able to lift our binoculars. He shared his expansive knowledge of the animal behaviors, habitats, gestation, lifespan, intelligence etc. with us and we learned about migration patterns and behaviors of the hundreds of bird species we saw that we unaware we were interested in previously. Who knew we were bird people?! We enjoyed everything from the colossal elephants to the minuscule working termites, ants and dung beetles. He also shared information about the Tanzanian people and the lifestyle of the Masai tribes en route to the parks. We were impressed by his expert handling of the vehicle on all kinds of terrain (including deep mud) and the vehicle was spotlessly clean and ready to go each morning of our trip. The safari included unlimited mileage and distances and the flexibility to go out on game drives for as long as you'd like during park hours. Most days we would take a packed box lunch from the camp and a couple of days we returned to camp for lunch and a few hours of R&R and then went out on another game drive in the late afternoon. Eli knew every nook and cranny of EVERY park we visited (no easy feat considering the vast expanse of each) and was able to recommend the best course of action for each day. A Tanzanian safari has been #1 on my bucket list and it exceeded my inflated expectations in every way. Do not hesitate to book a safari with eTripAfrica.
Email Simon Atherton | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best tour operator by far in Tanzania/Kenya after 3yrs research
I have recently completed a 7 days solo adventure with e-Trip Africa visiting Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara, Ndutu, Ngorongoro Crater & the Serengeti.
An exceptional journey overland with a very knowledgeable and conversant guide who complimented the newly modified 4WD Toyota LandCruiser... totally equipped with power outlets, fridge, a complete wildlife library and quality Zeiss binoculars. A very comfortable vehicle in comparison to others I have experienced, also the guide had great ethics towards the environment and wildlife opposed to many rouge operators I have uncounted over the years in my travels.
My trip included mid to high-end properties with likes of several new 5* locations with Lemala Camps, stand-out Lemala properties were Mpingo Ridge, Ndutu Camp and Nanyuki ... I believe there is a great all-inclusive stay-pay deal with this organisation (ask Ben for more information)
I also had a memorable stay at the new Nyumbani Tented Camp... I highly recommend anyone to consider these properties in your future adventure itinerary.
Tip of the day! When doing Ngorongoro Crater do stay at one of the ridge camps/hotels for an early morning decent into the crater... only if you have experienced and/or put in place in your itinerary you will be very grateful at the end for the additional expense especially due to the high number of volume of vehicle after 1pm within the crater as you are leaving ... so much dust, so may people!!!
Lastly, pre & post tour I required accommodation for recover from my flights inbound from Australia and of course recovering from my epic journey. e-Trip Africa also offers a delightful homestead/family feel property in Arusha called Researchers Rest, I recommend this as a cheaper add-on opposed to staying at a hotel ... full board can be organised inc' transfers and tours ex Arusha/Kilimanjaro. There are some interesting sights in Arusha should you have a spare day/time.
A special thanks to Ben @ e-Trip Africa for organizing my epic Tanzania safari journey, I look forward to my future Kilimanjaro climb in 2020 and proposed Kenya Mara/Amboseli tour later on this year again all with e-Trip Africa.
CH
Email John Varghese | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Absolutely brilliant, professional and most hospitable hosts.
Everything was absolutely perfect, efficient and polite. The guide was exemplary and even more your personal help Ben being on the ball to help is when we were in a jam when our flight to Nairobi was cancelled.
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Email Jane | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding!
David, our guide, was absolutely fantastic. David and the safari tour surpassed our expectations in every way and we had the experience of a lifetime.
Email Maria | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My dream came through thanks to the wonderful team organizing my Safari.
This Safari has been a dream of mine for quite some time and I am very grateful to have seen it come true. I have visited Manyara, Ngoro Ngoro and Serengeti and I have no words to describe the Paradise that was this trip!
The Guide:
David is an amazing person and it was very difficult to say "Good bye" to him. He is polite, considerate, kind and, thanks to his experience, training and education I can now say that I have seen the Big 5!
Accommodation:
Karatu Simba Lodge was great. That is what I call Glamping :). Very friendly staff.
Kisura Tented Camp also nice. The staff was very kind and accommodating from the beginning. The Chef is very, very good.
The Coastal Aviation team, from ground staff to crew, excellent!
Once again, thank you to All!
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Email Chase | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic safari, great communication, great people, amazing animals!
I have been to Africa a number of times and have gone with a few different outfitters, but right away E-Trip stood out to me. Their communication from the beginning was far superior to other companies who didn't really seem to listen to our wishlist, but Aurelie and Ben totally got it. I imagine I was annoying with numerous emails going back and forth, but they did an incredible job and putting something together. Once in Kenya, our guide Simon was fantastic. As a guide myself, I couldn't believe how well he could spot and track animals. All the lodges we stayed at were brilliant and the wildlife viewing across Amboseli, Navaisha, and the Mara was out of this world. We saw so much and got plenty of great photos and videos to bring home. One of the greatest things about Simon is he knew when we wanted to stop or move on without even asking us. He was very in-tune with what we were doing and was so relaxed about our safari schedule. Overall it was a great trip and I will absolutely use E-Trip again when we visit East Africa. A big thank you again to Ben, Aurelie, and Simon for helping put it all together!
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Email Julie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Affordable custom safari trip
We went on a wonderful 16 day safari with eTrip in Kenya.
My husband and I picked eTrip because we could choose exactly what we wanted to do for an affordable price. We changed our minds several times before embarking on the trip as to which parks we wanted to visit and for how long, but Aurelie was extremely patient and took time to answer any questions that we had. We also appreciated the many (with each change!) break down trip cost attachments that she sent.
For each park we wanted to visit a preferred lodge to suit our budget was suggested but we certainly did not need to stay in that lodge if we didn't want to. Most of the time we did stay in their suggested lodges and we were more than happy with their choices.
As our trip was a long one, we were a little worried about spending so much time with one tour guide/driver, especially as we had never done a non-independent trip like this before. We needn't have worried - our driver David was knowledgable, patient and, most importantly, a lot of fun! Not only did we learn a lot about the animals we were seeing but we also learnt a lot about Kenya and its people.
The land cruiser we traveled in was very comfortable and we always felt safe. Overall we had a wonderful experience and can whole-heartedly recommend eTrip.
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Email Phuong and Tri Le | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, maticalous, communicatand went out of their ways to make sure we had a wonderful trip.
This is definitely one of the best trips we have been on. The trip allowed us to see so many animals and surrounding nature. Pictures we took did not do justice to what we saw - seeing thousands of Wilderbeasts and Zebras migrating across the plains is an amazing and breathtaking sight - In awe, I breathed and took it all in. The tour operators, Aurelia and Ben, were very attentive to our needs, communicated thoroughly, and made sure our trip goes smoothly. They made sure that camps and lodges had special gluten free diet for me (a request I made at the last minute). Our guide is professional, friendly and very knowledgeable. He went out of his way to make sure that we saw as many animals as we can; he was able to spot the animals well in advanced and positioned us in good spots to see and take photos of the animals. Game drives were amazing; early and late game drives enabled us to see cheetah and lions up close (few feet away) as well as enjoy beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Food and accommodations were great. Camp/lodge sites were serene and beautiful, service at the camp was excellent and food was delicious and exceeded our expectations. I was told by my friends that this was not camping but glamping as we slept on comfortable beds, had hot shower and full toiletry inside the tent. I highly recommend this Safari trip in Tanzania fro e Trip for those who want more adventure and seeing more of animal migration.
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Email Kirk Smith | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Experience!
Everything went smoothly from beginning to end. Our guide, David was knowledgeable, experienced and attentive and had a great eye for spotting game. He was a walking encyclopedia of birds, animals and plants and we also learned a lot about Tanzania in the process. The communication we received from eTrip before the trip was great and we were very well prepared for our safari. Probably our best vacation ever and we travel a lot.
CA
Email Jackie Koh & Glenn Mullan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It's perfection I couldn't plan alone.
The best part was the tour agent Ben Jennings! He was the most efficient tour agent ever in our travel history. Everything was planned with clear communication and transparency. Ben responded on even the smallest questions with long and detailed explanation. We would definitely recommend to all our friends and followers (facebook and instagram) to go to e-Trip Africa and ask for Ben Jennings.