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
CA
Email Anne Sinclair | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
N/A
Could not be better. We were looked after for the entire 4 days by really interesting and caring people
Email Vivienne Heinrich | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fabulous, flawless trip from start to finish
We highly recommend both eTrip Africa and David Moshi, our guide. This trip was a celebratory, luxury trip for my husband and I that took a year to plan. eTrip replied promptly to our inquiries both before and during our trip. They listened to us and made well thought-out suggestions to improve the whole experience. In addition, they provided a detailed cost breakdown that allowed us to decide how best to spend our budget. From arrival in Nairobi to our departure from Zanzibar, every pick-up and every transfer occurred exactly to plan.
Huge thanks to both Ben and Aurélie at eTrip who patiently responded to every question and organised every detail. We celebrated both our 30th wedding anniversary and my husband’s birthday. This information must have been passed to the camps and lodges by eTrip since we definitely were given star treatment and superior rooms in a number of locations!
The trip comprised a week on safari then four nights in Zanzibar. We stayed overnight in Nairobi on arrival then flew to the Masai Mara to spend two nights at the Entim Camp, located on the Mara river. From there we hopped over the border to the Four Seasons Lodge in the Serengeti for two nights (via two short flights and a drive across the border). This was followed by a night at the Sopa Lodge on the rim of the Ngorongoro crater. From Ngorongoro we travelled to the Manyara Tree Lodge for two nights, finishing our safari with a night at the Lemala Camp at Mpingo Ridge. We flew from Arusha to Zanzibar, staying at the Zanzi Resort for four nights before flying from Zanzibar back to Nairobi for the direct return flight to London.
A Masai guide and driver (Duncan and Daniel) employed by Entim accompanied us on game drives in the Mara (both of whom were great). Fans of the big cats, their skill enabled us to have numerous, amazing encounters with lions, leopards and cheetahs. It was an incredible start to our safari. David Moshi, our eTrip driver/guide for the remainder of the trip, met us when we landed in Tanzania. David was a wonderful guide who is clearly well known and respected on the safari circuit; it was an absolute pleasure to spend a week in his company. Not only was he hugely knowledgeable about every species we encountered, with an incredible talent for spotting game and wildlife, he was patient (with every silly question), good company and enormous fun. He took time to learn about our preferences. He drove slowly when needed to sneak up on animals to get great close-up shots without disturbing them. He was also terrific at explaining the animals’ behaviour and what he was looking out for. Additionally, he paid attention to our energy levels and adapted plans when tiredness kicked in (and when an old back injury resurfaced for me) allowing us time to enjoy the facilities in the camps and lodges too.
Thank you eTrip for an experience of a lifetime. Time to start saving so that we can return again….
NZ
Email Brenda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing once in a lifetime experience - Just Do It!!
My main reasons for choosing E-Trip Africa for our 9 night private Tanzanian Safari over all the other operators I contacted were: a) Excellent fast, clear and honest communications, and b) A fair and reasonable price all broken down and submitted to me to see how they got to the amount quoted. Also Ben was nice to deal with. We sent our deposit and final payment via International Bank transfer without any issued and were sent a receipt for both very promptly.
The vehicle - an extended Toyota Landcruiser with pop top roof was almost new and fitted with a working cooler, excellent binoculars, a decent beanbag for the camera and guidebook. We had no breakdowns although we sat on wet seats for the first two days as it must have leaked during the power clean prior to our arrival.
Our driver/guide, Aladdin was pleasant and a very experienced guide. He was very professional (although he smoked & as non-smokers I didn't appreciate this), and cared for our wellbeing and safety. He had lots of contacts/friends with whom he communicated with on the radio to find the wildlife and we did see A LOT of animals! I won't go as far as saying we left as great mates, but he did the job in a more than satisfactory manner.
I won't review all our lodging as I chose where we stayed and for how long. Having said that, Ben did come up with suggestions and we were more than satisfied with our choices and itinerary: 1 nights African Tulip, 3 nights Tarangire Safari Lodge, 1 night Sopa Lodge Ngorongoro Crater, 2 nights Kiota Camp Central Serengeti, 3 nights Chaka Camp Northern Serengeti.
Email Richard Hudson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What a Fantastic Trip
Stunning Safari, nothing was too much trouble and everything went very smoothly. Thanks to Ben and Aurélie for all the preparation, guidance and planning which ensured we had a fantastic safari followed by a relaxing break in Zanzibar. We were collected from Nairobi, and our guide Jonathan Maina, went out of his way to ensure had a fantastic few days at Old Peteta Sweetwaters Conservancy, proving to be really knowledgeable about the animals and surrounding area. Everything was well planned and we thoroughly enjoyed the game drives. We then moved onto Maasai Mara where Benard Njinu was equally skilled at keeping us informed about the large variety of wildlife and was great at locating the animals when we would have missed them. We stayed at the Eden Camp, which was great, with Hippos wallowing in the nearby river. Again nothing was too much trouble. It was sad to move on, but a week relaxing in Zanzibar before leaving for the UK was a great way to finish the holiday
I can't praise the whole experience highly enough, everything was organised for us with us only booking flights to and from the UK. I would recommend E-Trip Africa to anyone and hope to do a further trip with them before very long.
DE
Email Martin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
All previous excellent reviews for E-Trip Africa are correct
What can I add to the excellent reviews etrip already received? Actually, nothing. But all is correct and E-Trip deserves an excellent rating, and therefore I add another 5 star review.
I would like to point out again the excellent work of Aurélie and in particular of Ben during the preparation of our Safari. They carefully listen to your ideas and expectations, and then they add really good suggestions which ends up in a perfectly organized individualized Safari. We had a 7 day Safari in Tanzania (Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti including Mara river area with great migration).
And don´ t forget David - he is indeed the best driver and guide you can get, and really respects animals.
In my view etrip seems to be a well recognized agency in Tanzania, and also David seems to know everyone. We got an upgrade in one lodge, got one of the best table in a lodge where you were seated, etc. Could be just our imagination, but we believe it was because of E-Trip and/or David.
CA
Email Eddy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent from start to finish
Our trip to the Serengeti was perfect from the time we started planning until we returned home. In the planning stage eTrip was very helpful and replied quickly and patiently to our many questions. On arrival eTrips staff were friendly and attentive, looking after us very well. All reservations went smoothly and we were very pleased. Definitely will travel with eTrip again!
CA
Email Fred | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Experience
E-Trip Africa provided excellent service from start to finish for our trip to the Serengeti. They responded quickly to all questions we had prior to booking, and they also responded quickly when we had to make changes to the travel itinerary. Good suggestions were made along the way. All bookings were done perfectly and transfers were well handled from the time we were met by E-Trip Africa reps in Kilimanjaro until we left two weeks later. The quality of all aspects of our trip was very high. The price we paid for the trip was also very good value compared to others.
US
Email Ellen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience...Truly the Trip of a Lifetime
My family just returned from a two week trip to Africa under the careful planning of eTrip Africa. Our journey included a five night safari and a side trip to Zanzibar. Our guide, Alladin, was deeply knowledgable, funny, engaging, and a delight. We were in such good hands! I also appreciated Ben and Aurelie's work planning our time. They listened to our needs. They coached us through decisions. They gave us an experience of a lifetime. Their choices for where we stayed were spot on. The way they planned the pacing of the trip was logical and magical. Their commitment to their staff and to the communities in which they work was deeply evident. I just can't wait to go back! When we do, we will book with eTrip Africa...without a second thought.
DE
Email Kirsten | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari of a lifetime, with the best guide possible!
1) The preparation
The organization of this trip of a lifetime was superb! I contacted more than half a dozen safari operators and E-Trip Africa’s was the only reply which was really personalized, with sound advice.
Aurelie was incredibly helpful, very knowledgable and very patient with all my requests and questions. Her advice was absolutely invaluable for us since we had no experience whatsoever with planning a safari. This was how it all started:
„We (a couple) plan to go to Northern Tanzania in July 2019 and go on a safari to Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, and maybe Manyara and/or Lake Natron.
We’d like
-to see lots of animals incl. birds on the safari
-experienced guides pointing them out
-to experience Serengeti and Ngorongoro (these are on our bucket list) and other parks in the area
-preferably accommodation with bathroom/shower (can be basic but we'd prefer not having to camp — those safari tents with beds and bathroom would be OK though)
-vegetarian food for one of us
We plan on spending approx. 5-7 days on a safari“
Aurélie then sent me a first itinerary, with helpful advice (against Lake Natron, for Tarangire). On this basis we then wrote back and forth for several times, tweaking the budget a bit.
E-Trip Africa is the only company I contacted where the costs are completely transparent and with Aurélie’s advice, I could easily find alternative (and very good!) options for our budget.
Finally, we settled on a 6 day safari taking in Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Endoro Nature Trail Walk, Serengeti, Oldupai Museum and Ngorongoro.
2) The trip
Everything was absolutely perfect, from pick-up at JRO airport, our stays at Researcher’s Rest (it felt like home), the delicious food cooked by Eddie there, and of course the flawlessly organized safari through some of the most beautiful landscapes we have ever seen, with incredible wildlife. Which leads me to:
3) Our guide David
There are not enough superlatives to describe David, our guide.
He is super kind and has a great sense of humour, which makes him the perfect travel companion for a trip of over 1000 km.
But most importantly, he has 25 years of experience as a guide and he knows EVERY animal (mammal, bird, reptile) and plant you come across, plus history, geology, and whatever else you may want to know about.
He also knows exactly which animals to find where and when in the vast expanses of the parks. He would tell us that in this area one can find a certain animal, and after a few minutes, there it was!
He has an incredible eyesight, discovering tiny birds or lizards completely camouflaged 10 meters away in the grass.
Additionally, he seems to have 360° vision - or he is a witch doctor :-) (we still don’t know how he spotted animals which were halfway behind us!). Thanks to him, we spotted the Big Five, plus cheetahs, jackals, serval cats, hyenas, etc., and well over 100 species of birds!
We really appreciated that he is very respectful of the animals - in central Serengeti there were some quite ugly scenes with multiple cars chasing a lioness trying to stalk prey just 2 meters away from the cars. David made sure to keep a distance so as not to disturb the animals - which for us, was the whole point of the safari: seeing animals in their natural habitat, with their natural behavior.
I could go on and on and on, so to cut it short: David is THE BEST.
Asante sana for this wonderful experience!
NZ
Email Judy @ waiheke | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari 4 parks on Serengeti
Great company to deal with, easy comms, well organized. 4 camps, 1 night lodge and 6 in tent camps (which we preferred), good food and service, well appointed ensuite tents. Great itinerary saw so much and up close, exceeded expectations.guide was excellent. We have hadfamimy and friends also do this trip so it came recommended to us and did not disappoint. Highly recommended.