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 Bob | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional, knowledgeable, courteous, and accomodating
We were very impressed with the professionalism and attention to detail of the staff of Etrip Africa in
planning as well as executing our Safari. Ben and Auriele were very accommodating to ask us for our desires and interests, and they
went above and beyond to meet all our requests. We were completely satisfied, and highly recommend Etrip Africa!
FR
Email Robert | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 3 days safari, organized as fast as possible
Everything was ok, nothing to complain about! Eliamini has been a perfect driver/guide for us, and Ben provided us good advice.
IE
Email Niall | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A flawlessly organised trip for our group of 9
We used Etrip for our 6 day trip (9 adults total - extended family and significant others). We looked at a number of companies but ultimately chose Etrip due to their useful advice on tailoring our trip and the detailed price breakdown they provided which gave us a lot of comfort on the price we were paying.
We were coming from Zanzibar and wanted to squeeze as much as possible out of our time in Tanzania so on Aurelie's suggestion we flew to Seronora airstrip. While not cheap this proved an inspired decision as it avoided the need to retrace our steps and meant we saw something new every single day.
We were met at the airport by our guides David and Aladdin who were with us for the full six days from the Serengeti through ngorongoro, lake manyara and Tarangire. I'm not sure I could appropriately describe the quality of these two gentlemen. David was our guide (we had two jeeps) and was a wonderful companion on our trip. David had endless knowledge of the areas we visited and the behaviour of the animals. Time and again he found interesting experiences for us to enjoy and we never felt rushed. He is a very gentle soul who clearly is very popular with the other guides as he was met with smiles everywhere he went. Your guide is in my view the most important part of your trip (you'll ultimately spend almost every waking hour with them!) and Etrip have two very special ones here.
Vehicles were excellent. Given the hard life they live in the Tanzanian "roads" having new well maintained vehicles is essential and etrips stacked up extremely well (we saw the vehicles of almost every company and these were right at the top end).
Accommodation was solid throughout and we had no complaints. Although for anyone planning a safari I would say that in hindsight, I would rank accommodation as a lower priority. The high end camps are lovely but when you're out all the day you only get a very limited chance to enjoy them. Therefore if you want to manage your budget, I'd still recommend putting the money into a quality tour guide / operator like Etrip and maybe downgrade the accommodation.
We were flying out from Kilimanjaro airport at 2 o'clock on our final day. Helpfully Etrip offered us access to their hotel guesthouse in Arusha to shower, rest and eat before our flight. Our group found this to be a lifesaver (it's no fun getting on a 12 hour flight sweaty and hungry after a day's safari!). For anyone flying out of JRO airport, I'd rank this as a huge advantage.
One last thing I should comment on is the company's lack of presence on TripAdvisor. This originally caused us a lot of concern. Sending a large deposit is nerve wracking when the recipient isn't on the worlds standard (for better or worse) review site. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with their approach from a business point of view, their rationale is explained on the company's website. All I can say is that our experience with them was uniformly excellent. Guides, transport, logistics and accommodation were top notch and I would strongly recommend and will be travelling with them again.
FR
Email Sheryl Praktish | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hakuna Matata - no worries when working with Ben and colleagues and our awesome driver, Eli.
We chose E-trip from other very highly reviewed companies because of their quick, professional response. Ben and co. had specific information available in response to all of our questions - they had been to each location and could speak from personal experience.
All of our accomodations were beyond our expectations - we were very well taken care of. Our driver and guide, Eli, was an expert at finding, identifying and elaborating on animals in the parks. He accommodated any request we had without hesitation. We would do it all again!
US
Email Monica Noon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Could not have asked for a better safari plan. E-Trip Africa covered all of our needs and then some!
Aurelia and Ben responded quickly to all communication and were able to accommodate our needs. We were already in the country for work and had people arriving and taking off at different times, but they were able to get us airport transfers to fit our schedules. They also extended a lot of information that would have been suitable to prepare for first time travelers in Africa while having ample experience to keep veteran safari goers entertained as well. We were fortunate to stay at the Researchers Rest which offered excellent accommodation and delightful meals.
On the safari itself, we were taken across Lake Tanginyire and stayed within the beautiful park. We were hesitant to stay within the park due to our limited budget, but drinking coffee while overlooking the valley was an amazing way to wake up to be ready to set off for Lake Manyara. We ended the trip in Ngorongoro Crater and were impressed by the concentration of animals in the massive crater. Within 3 days we saw so much wildlife and diverse habitats in NW Tanzania. We had a great time with the guide; he was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. I think he especially enjoyed our rendition of "Jambo bwana".
It was also great to chat with Ben, as conservationists working in Africa, about his wealth of knowledge of development and conservation in Africa, and to share some old Peace Corps Stories. I would certainly travel with E-Trip Africa again should I return to the region in search of a safari company as it is a small, well organized company dedicated to the happiness of both their clients and staff.
ES
Email Ada | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
E-Trip was perfect! They took care of every detail, and made sure we had a great time!
Everyone we dealt with was amazing. My partner had all sorts of trouble with his flights to Tanzania and Ben continuously stayed on top of it all and made the changes necessary as they came up. We had emails letting us know what to expect and how to prepare for the trip. The accommodations were great and had already been vetted (i.e. the food is handled properly so you don't get sick, mosquito netting, etc.) They've been doing this a long time and you can tell, everything was very well organized.
My Safari guide was also very good. He knew were to go to find the animals I wanted to see, always made sure I was in a good position to see and photograph them and was happy to be flexible with our schedule. He never rushed me when taking photos and would stay out later than scheduled or go out early when there was something specific I wanted to see. He made sure I didn't miss anything with his Eagle Eyes!
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better experience and had I known ahead of time, I would have had E-Trip schedule the Zanzibar and Kenya portion of the trip as well. I really can't say enough about how well we were treated, how well organized they were and most importantly how they responded when things went wrong on our end! I highly recommend them.
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Email AJ Slater | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazingly great service and safari
Ben and Aurelie are incredibly helpful. I screwed up my travel plans a couple times, (entirely my fault) and they made every effort to accommodate me and provide me with a great experience. I can't stress enough how helpful they were.
My friend was able to go on the Safari while I was not and she had nothing but great things to say about the guide, lodging and experience.
Highly recommended.
US
Email Carl & Beth H. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime - Great Migration and Big 5 Safari in Tanzania!
My husband and I have been wanting to do an African Safari for a long time. We finally found a time with our work schedules to make it happen in the end of September to beginning of October 2017. Ben was so accommodating of my many, many questions until we had booked the perfect itinerary for us. It included Tanangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Serengeti Central/ North. We had an amazing guide in Joachim, who could spot an animal from miles away so that we could fine the perfect photos of all the animals. This allowed us to see all of the big 5, including a last day sighting of a rhino, and many sightings of lions, elephants, buffalo and leopards. We took the last day before an evening flight out of Arusha to enjoy the CREW animal rescue and a hike to a waterfall on Kilimanjaro. Overall, it was all we had dreamed it would be. Thanks to the team at eTrip and Joachim!!
US
Email Alex Covert | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable, organized, customizable, and professional safari planning team!
My brothers and I were traveling to Africa for the first time and looking for an unforgettable experience in Tanzania and Zanzibar. At first we had a hard time finding the right safari company to plan a customized trip that met our needs, but then we found eTrip Africa. They exceeded all of our expectations in every way. Every step of the trip was executed seamlessly and we never had to worry. They listened to all of our requests and tailored an experience that we will never forget. We did a 5 day safari through Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti National Park. We then flew to Zanzibar for a night in Stone Town and spent several days on the NW coast at Kendwa Rocks on the beach. The progression of this trip was perfect, starting at the smaller parks and ending in the Serengeti was perfect. We saw almost every animal we had hoped to see and had a wonderful time relaxing on the beach in Zanzibar. Our safari guide, Alladin, was the perfect tour guide. He knew everywhere to go to see the animals we wanted and made our experience fun and informative. We will never forget this transcendental experience and are incredibly thankful for the hard work put in by the eTrip Africa team! I would highly recommend this safari company to anyone planning a trip to Africa!
CA
Email Wendy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Easy to work with-quick to answer any questions
We used E-Trip Africa for our recent safari to Southern Tanzania, Ruaha and Selous. E-Trip looked after all our camp bookings as well as domestic flights. We received quotes from 6 companies and E-Trip was the least expensive. Along with their excellent communication, this made E-Trip an easy choice for our safari booking. We liked that they gave us detailed broken down quotes, we knew exactly what we were paying for each camp, flight, and park fees. We would highly recommend and will definitely look at using them again for our next safari.