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
Email Amyn Husain | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding service, a flawless program with a keen eye on sustainability and ethics
Ben and Aurelie patiently organised a Kilimanjaro and safari itinerary for a group of 18 of us. Covid delays meant the trip was postponed for 2 years and each time the trip was rolled forward with minimal hassle. What a fantastic crew, superior and experienced guides, a looked after porter team and attention to detail at every corner. We had a 100% summit success and the lead guide’s pole pole approach paid off. I would recommend them to anyone, whether a small or large group. We loved the fact that they are socially conscious with a high standard for all staff accompanying us and no short cut measures to compromise the highest ethical standards. A superb memory.
US
Email Keith Morgan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had an amazing trip!
My gf wanted to do something special to celebrate her 30th and we bounced between a few different locations/trips and finally settled on Africa. We have each travelled quite a bit but felt like a safari was more than we wanted to try to plan ourselves so we emailed several tour operators to get quotes/plans/proposals. eTrip stood out from the start with their very detailed proposal and cost breakdown as well as their quick responses, dedicated truck and driver/guide, and accommodations with Lemala camps.
Our driver, David, was a joy and knew not only every animal we saw but every BIRD as well [which is a huge feat with the variety present]. He kept our truck extremely tidy and I was impressed that it was even washed almost every night in the bush.
I would highly recommend eTrip and will definitely use them again when we go back [We've already talked about it!]
US
Email Suzye | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Emmanual has an unbelievably sharp eye for spotting wildlife and is incredibly knowledgeable.
This was one of the best experiences of my life. It far exceeded any expectations I had. My mind was blown by how much wildlife we got to see. We watched a family of lions feast on a giraffe while jackals circled around, waiting for their turn! The landscapes were breathtaking, from the trees to the sky, everything was a treat for the eye. The accommodations were exceptional! I loved the pools and the gorgeous views of the river valley and getting to hear the animals at night from our room. One of the best parts for me was the food though. Every meal was an absolute delight. I want to marry that chef! On the last day the staff brought us a cake and sang and danced and it was the purest thing, my whole family was moved to tears. Ahhh please take me back there!
US
Email Julia Hubbel | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This is trip #6, and there will be more. As always, a perfect job.
Ben and Aurelie have carved a very special niche out for themselves in this market, and here's why. Ben doens't stop at the uber-service, careful planning, detail management and now critical hand-holding that is necessary with the swiftly changing Covid landscape. What keeps me coming back are these:
1. Superbly trained guides, the best in the business,not just on the mountain but in every country.
2. He supports and promotes local businesses, charities and NGOs which are doing it right, and he puts his money where his mouth is by helping local families, activities and business whose integrity he respects. That helps them, helps me purchase from the right places, and in all ways we all benefit.
3. If you find something extra you want to do, Ben will bend over backwards to fit in into your agenda. He is great at keeping in touch and more than once had to wave his magic wand to get me a travel certification that a website refused to deliver.
4. I have spent a lot of time with his guides, both on Kili and on Mt. Kenya. I continue to be deeply impressed. Seeing them again is like coming home to family.
This time around Ben sent me to some familiar places, such as Reseacher's Rest and Moshi, but he sent me far afield to game parks near Same, TZ and to the MamboViewpoint EcoLodge. Not only are these places both remote and stunning, they were both uncrowded and as a result, unbelievable. The Lushoto drive was a full cultural immersion and the game park near Same had unbelievable black rhino viewings. While other sites are better known and more popular, being willing to do a little driving paid off handsomely in both photos and a chance to see without looking over or past many other vehicles.
I also spent time at the breathtaking and remote Mara Eden resort,which is also way out of the way, so much so that the drive through the Maasai Mara just to get there and back were game drives. Those few days left me with my heart in my throat from what we were able to view, and as always with a most able driver, Simon.
I had revisited the beautiful and incomparable Ol Pejeta, which is worth every bit of the four-hour drive from Nairobi. That wants its own review, but in every way, it's not to be missed.This was my second time and with any luck not the last. Game viewings, as it is a conservancy, are guaranteed, and the best part is that you get a solid education as you explore, view, photograph or ride the various parts of the 90k acres. And see lions and their meals, which is something else again.
Finally, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Safari sites and Trip Advisor are, unfortunately full of advice on how to go cheap. Folks, if you go cheap, someone loses, and that is particularly true when I see unsubstantiated information about how the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project Partners "jack the prices up."
As a prize winning journalist and professional adventure traveler who has written extensively about, spent time on the ground with and done far more research than probably anyone else on KPAP, not only is that false but that kind of narrative perpetuates porter abuse on the mountain. ETrip, like other partner companies with KPAP, are committed to a fair wage, proper conditions, good training and the kind of treatment which ensures not only our safety but folks who are happy to see us coming. You don't get that when you shave too much off the cost of a trip. Travel is pricey, plan for it. Get good operators. ETrip gets my business every single time, and they earn that money.I have the deep satisfaction of knowing that those guides and employees who are affiliated with them are not worried about a paycheck and can concentrate on ensuring that my trip rocks.
Ben has become a trusted friend, for good reason. He has earned my respect many times over, and it is a joy to plan another trip. Which, with any luck, will be next spring.
US
Email John and Madoka | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Look no further to choose your safari operator! Ben and his team are very professional!
We came back with a lot of great memories that will last our lifetime. Many thanks to Ben who made our dream vacation come true! We were supposed to travel last August (2020) with a different company in which we ultimately had to cancel because of the pandemic. We were desperate for a legitimate safari operator after our bad experience with the company called “Wildebeests Safaris”. We still have not been refunded for the service we did not receive. However, we were lucky that we have found Ben and were very happy that we chose his company! Ben was very patient throughout the booking process and answered countless questions mainly of the current travel restrictions associated with COVID. The quote he provided us with was very easy to read and it was precisely laid out with breakdown expenses. He also helped us customize our itinerary and gave us extensive discounts on tented camps including a complimentary stay at the Researches Rest in Arusha. We really enjoyed our stay there. Eddie cooked a home style meal for us and and he told us an interesting story about the lodge.
We wanted to focus our trip on the river crossing of the wildebeests so Ben recommended us to stay three nights in the Northern circuit of Serengeti and three nights in Maasai Mara. We could see the river crossing six times on our first day in Serengeti! Vultures and eagles were circling around in the sky waiting for the wildebeests and zebras to get killed by predators. We also saw a lot of wildlife including lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, antelopes, birds, storks, vultures, eagles, and many more…! We could see everything we had hoped for.
In Tarangire, we could find three climbing lionesses on one tree. Young male cubs were roaming right by us. We were very satisfied with the number of times we saw lions close up. We saw many “honeymooners” in Serengeti and Maasai Mara. We did not see this many in South Africa six years ago.
Most importantly, all of our guides were fantastic! We couldn’t have great safari experience without them. We had three guides during our 18 day trip to Kenya and Tanzania. All of them were experienced, intelligent, passionate, and knowledgeable about the wildlife. They can spot animals that no one else can. Simon was a very friendly and outgoing guide who was great to spend time together. He sensed immediately a coalition of cheetahs that were chasing after a gazelle. We could video the dramatic scene of the kill. He also knew that a massive number of elephants were coming towards us so we made a stop to see the elephants crossing the road in front of our vehicle.
Eli was our guide in Tanzania. Not only is he an excellent guide, but also is a very good driver. He was driving careful for us on the rough terrain because my partner had a back and abdominal pain from a surgery two years ago. What we were amazed by his skills was how he could quickly spotted animals. He was also patient until we finally saw the wildebeests started come down the river and we were the first one to see the entire scene of the river crossing! He was able to show us and told names of a unique and diverse flora and fauna in the area.
Mike was our guide in Maasai Mara. He was also skilled in spotting animals. We found more lions in Maasai Mara than any other places! He made sure that we received our negative COVID test results on time for our next destination. He recommended us to visit Lake Nakuru and Samburu next time to see some animals we didn’t see on this trip.
We highly recommend Ben and his team for booking your East Africa vacation. We will definitely book with ETrip again!
Email Peter Bacon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A great safari, from start to end.
My wife and I travelled to Tanzania in early January 2021, pre UK lockdown, to continue our long standing educational project work there. We also allowed ourselves time for a safari before returning home, but had made no arrangements prior to arrival in Tanzania. We sent out email enquiries with an outline itinerary of collection from Bunda, 3 nights in Central Serengeti, 4 nights in Ndutu and 2 nights in Tarangire to 7 Tanzanian safari operators, and received 5 responses, including a very quick response from Ben at ETrip Africa.
Due to the pandemic tourism in Tanzania has significantly declined and not all camps are open so many of the operators offered similar camps to one another, but ETrip did offer us some different, and slightly more up-market, camps at a reasonably comparable cost. We followed up on several of the itineraries proposed and during this process ETrip offered us further savings based on additional discounts offered from the camps which made them one of the cheaper options. We also asked Ben to look at a better alternative in Tarangire which he did with little price difference. At all times ETrip were open about the pricing and discounts that were being applied.
We were very happy with all our communications throughout this planning stage and chose to take our safari with ETrip, at which point we were sent a comprehensive itinerary with advice about the safari and full and clear breakdown of costs, with payment details. We were able to pay by bank transfer to an American bank account via internet banking.
We had indicated we had an interest in birds and Ben had proposed that Alladin should be our guide. Alladin came and met us at our hotel in Bunda the night before our safari started to make arrangements to pick us up the next day.
The safari car was a relatively new Land Cruiser with pop up top as used by most safari companies and was in the best condition of any vehicle we have used on the 10 or so safaris we have enjoyed. It was well fitted out with convenient drinks holders, and large seat pouches and a cool box and charging points. We had no mechanical issues with the car all trip. ETrip also provided two pairs of good quality binoculars for our use in the car.
Our guide Alladin was excellent, he was a very good driver, a good game and bird spotter, and good company throughout. We enjoyed every day of the trip with him and had some great game viewing, and with the small number of visitors we were often the only car at a sighting.
The camps proposed by ETrip were all very good, we suspect in non COVID times they would have been outside our usual budget, but it made for a very nice to experience for us. On several nights we were the only guests at some of the camps.
We are extremely happy that we chose ETrip Africa, everything from their initial communication to the follow up when we finished the trip was spot on, and we will definitely be contacting them again the next time we are lucky enough to think about a safari in Tanzania.
MA
Email Tara Fraiture | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Our family safari with E-Trip was an epic, life-changing adventure!
My family and I would like to recommend E-Trip Africa wholeheartedly! We just returned from an incredible 12-day adventure in Tanzania and Zanzibar. Ben and his amazing team arranged every detail, and we were delighted with the results. Our guide, David Mushi, became an honorary member of our family-my daughters, ages 11, 14 and 16 loved him! He was incredibly professional, warm, efficient and knowledgeable. He was 100% available for any of our concerns at any time. We all felt like we learned so much about nature, geography, geology, conservation, and science in our time with him. We started out our adventure at the lovely Researcher's Rest in Arusha and I was happily reminded of my early childhood days with my parents, who lived in East Africa for many years in the 60's and 70's. A beautiful, tranquil escape right off the busy neighborhood road in Arusha, we thoroughly enjoyed our overnight there. The setting, the dinner, the quaint and cosy lodge, we loved it all. It was also apparent that this unique, lovely lodge has suffered from a lack of tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We happily donated to help keep this little oasis in business.
Our trip was perfectly planned and carefully thought out, down to where we stayed every night. We appreciated staying at three very different Lamala Lodges, where ecotourism is a must-solar electricity and no plastics. Lalama is truly a gem in Tanzania-we could really tell that the staff cares about its people and the beautiful country of Tanzania.
My girls were anxious to see all of the Big Five animals, and we certainly did! On our first full day in Tarangire National Park, we were in the MIDST of a herd of about 200 elephants, it was truly amazing! The Serengeti was also incredible; we must have seen a total of about 30 lions in our three days. We came across a pride of lions eating a massive cape buffalo; astonishing!
The most incredible moment, however, was about 30 minutes from our Lemala camp on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, where we were amazed to see a huge male leopard saunter our right in front of our vehicle, pause and stay for a few moments and then slowly walk back into the bush. We caught it all on film and it's astonishing.
We also thoroughly enjoyed the wildebeest and zebra migration-it is truly a sight to see when you look out onto the Seregenti and see wildebeest and zebra in the thousands, as far as the eye can see!
Zanzibar for three days at the end of our trip was so much fun. The Blue Bay Resort is a lovely place; also eco-friendly with solar paneling and moving towards no plastics. Our Christmas day at the resort was fabulous. Thoroughly enjoyed our arranged tour of Stone Town as well; what a colorful, buzzing town with a fascinating history.
Many, many thanks for the trip of a lifetime, Ben, for the Fraiture Family!!!! We are so grateful for your careful, compassionate planning. Please send hugs to David from all of us.
One more IMPORTANT thing to note-we were nervous, evidently, about traveling from Morocco to TZ and on to Zanzibar during the pandemic. Qatar Airways did a great job of keeping us safe and secure and E-Trip Africa was amazing in regards to our health concerns. They went above and beyond what was expected to reassure us and to keep us safe. We had one vehicle and one (amazing!) guide during our 8-day safari. He wore a mask in the safari vehicle at all times. He asked us that each time we entered the car, that we sanitize our hands (the sanitizer was provided, even though we also had our own). Each of our lodges were VERY careful about social distancing. We always ate outside and the entire staff were masked and careful. I would 100% recommend E-Trip, even during this difficult time. Cases in TZ are relatively low and we also easily and efficiently got tested in Arusha before returning to Morocco. Again, this made SUCH a difference in our comfort level. Many thanks again, Ben!
NL
Email Edward Kornet | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
best guide ever: Alladin, best car too: cooling compartment for food and drinks + a powerbank
We were very well informed in advance about what to expect in different travel periods, national parks and accomodation. Ben the "manager" was also very flexible in changing accomodation on our demand. He also took care of the inland flights. We could not find all of them at the internet ourselves but he could still book them.(Zanzibar-Arusha) We did not aim for the greatest numbers of lions and elephants but wanted to experience nature at its best. The proposed trip to Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater fitted us very well. Tarangire being not as flat as the Serengeti but hilly and dotted with trees of which the baobab trees stood out was outstanding. Not only the landscape but also the numbers of animals and the variety: not did we only see hundreds of elephants a dozen of lions, lots of wildebeast,zebra,giraffe,gazelle,buffalo and impala but also eland, reedbuck, bat-eared fox, jackel, banded mangoest, common mangoest, small mangoest, rock hyrax,dik dik, waterbuck, brown parrot, ostrich,lapped faced vultute, hooded vulture, saddle billed stork, marabou,martial eagle,long-crested eagle,goshawk,tawny eagle, bare-faced go-away-bird, white browed coucal,hornbills,rollers,starlings,barbets, spurfowls,francolins, chestnut-bellied kingfisher and even more. Our guide Alladin made us feel very comfortable/at ease. An outstanding friendly and knowledgable person. Not only professional but also human. We stayed for two nights in a simple but pleasant "bungalow" from wich we could overvieuw the tarangire landscape including the river( tarangire river camp ?). We saw three lions sleeping in a tree right in front of the accomadation ( at +/- 100 meter)
From the bathroom we saw impala, warthhog and dik dik. How enchanting. Alladin told us we were lucky to be just at the end of the dry season(all animal need to visit the river for water) and exploring tarangire during three days( 1 + 2 x 1/2)( instead of 1) gave us the opportunity to see more of the park and the animals than day visitors. Lake Manyara although small was complementary with its dense forrest, wet land and (salt)lake. It provided us with new impressions an vieuwings of new species: bleu monkey, silvery-cheeked hornbill ( thanks to Alladin: he spotted all of them where we failed to spot them ourselves) black heron, african spoonbill, hammerhead,jacana,black crake, yellow billed stork,hadada ibis,sacred ibis,little egret, great white egret and more. It was the wrong season for lake manyara but we would not have liked to skip it. It is very charming in its own way.We stayed near the ngorongoro crater and Alladin was eager to leave before sunrise to be able to show us some rhino and he did. We saw three of them among which a young. We also saw heyena chasing wildebeast and three kori bustards, a pelican, grey crowned cranes, hippos and more. Ngorongoro crater provided us with new sightings but was not green at all ( at the end of october)
Maybe we were so spoiled by the other parks especially tarangire that we lacked to see the full beauty of the crater.
According to us ( three times on safari) you do not need to spend more than 3 to 5 days on safari to be completely satisfied.Next day we stayed at planet lodge in Arusha. Alladin drove us to the airport in the morning.
We really would like to recommend e trip africa if you want a relaxed and convenient safari and you might be so lucky to meet the best guide ever; Alladin.
AE
Email Claus Larsen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
From the first contact to the end was a world class experience. This is how great looks like!
To deal with e-trip Africa have been a really great experience. Everything went really smooth and with 100% focus on giving us the best possible service and a memorable experience. Its one of the few times where delivery is above expectations but this was the case. Everything was taken care of and we could focus on having a good time and absorb the experience. I will recommend e-trip Africa to everyone in my network who plans to visit Africa and I will without a doubt use e-trip Africa again. A lot of other agencies could learn from this and learn how world class customer service looks like. The few points we have which could have made our trip absolutely perfect is not worth mentioning.
We can highly recommend e-trip Africa and you will for sure be guaranteed value for money!
Email Brett McKenzie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant from first Contact to saying Goodbye
I can not recommend E-Trip highly enough! I’ve travelled to 68 countries and dealt with a lot of operators - E-Trip were brilliant from my first email interaction. I sent email requests to 22 Safari operators asking for a recommendation 10 day Safari.
It was t my first time to Africa Ron safari and I wanted to see who could meet my needs.
Ben and Aurielle ( Owners) provided a customised itinerary options ad stood out from any other operators I contacted. It was obvious they have visited the various camps they recommend to stay at and promptly answered any Q’s I had.
Once arriving for safari my primary clothing g bag was lost by Airline - Ben firstly lent me clothes and he took over responsibility to get my bag to me 2 days later - The bag loss was t E-trips fault but that’s the kind of service they provide their customers.
David our private guide for the whole 10 days was simply superb - experienced guide with vast knowledge of animals behaviour and was funny and always looking after my daughter and I. His ability to see animals we couldn’t see was amazing and as an avid photographer always managed to position the vehicle for best photo positions.
E-Trips custom Land Cruiser is roomy, New , well maintained and comfortable on what can be rough roads.
The camps and lodges we stayed at were superb and food was always of high quality - as were lunch boxes provided each day.
Finally the fact that E-Trips bank account is in USA gave me piece of mind when making payments for the trip.
I unreservedly recommend the E-Trip team as a brilliant Lifetime experience provider for your safari trip.
