In front of our office
Northern Circuit Adventure
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Budget & mid-range)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $195 to $580 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent adventure in the Northern Circuit of Tanzania
For months, the two of us had been planning our journey through Tanzania, and of course a safari was something we were keen to include in our itinerary. After some exploration and requesting quotes from different companies, Northern Circuit Adventure's Mike Ndallo positively stood out for his swift replies and well-priced itinerary. When asked, he presented us with the necessary official documents, which confirmed to us that we were dealing with a legitimate company.
When we finally set out on our three-day trip through Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara and met Mike in person, he struck us as very friendly. He informed us that on the first two days, we would be joined by two Canadian women, who turned out to be great fun to spend time with. Our driver - Godson - was also great fun to be around, because he possessed a very good sense of humor and more knowledge of local wildlife than an encyclopedia. In the evenings, we ate beautiful two-course dinners followed by fresh fruits, all beautifully prepared by our cook. Expecting to sleep in a wafer-thin tent - we were very pleasantly surprised to find that our tent was sturdy canvas with an en-suite bathroom and (cold) shower!
Our third day in Lake Manyara was a bit more quiet, also because of a change of drivers. Godson had a doctor's appointment, and our new driver - still a young student of wildlife management - was rather quiet. As a result, we did not get to learn as much about our surroundings as on the first two days.
But what the new driver lacked in communication he made up for in helpfulness. At the end of our safari he and the cook gladly drove us to the next destination that we had planned ourselves - which was a one-hour drive from Arusha.
So all in all - a very pleasant experience with only one slight hiccup!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 Day Safari
From the first time I contacted Michael Ndallo from Northern Circuit Adventures to then end of the safari, all aspects of the trip were catered for perfectly, Micheal was very professional and went the extra mile to ensure all details of the safari were as you expected.
The 4 night/5 day safari itself was spectacular, and one of the key reasons for this was our multi-talented driver/guide/mechanic and all round good guy James, he was so knowledgeable about all the animals, insects, trees, rivers, geography - it was very impressive, and a very nice man on top of all this.
I would certainly recommend Northern Circuit Adventures for you safari
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari and Meru-Trek
We wanted to do a 4day Safari and a 4day Mt. Meru Trek. Therefore i compared several offers and found Mike's offer to be the best - because it already included transport (from and to the airport), all meals and accomodation. Furthermore, Mike responds quickly to mails and answered all my questions in advance!
The accomodation on safari was better than expected (and even better than booked!) - tented lodges and the great Mountain View Lodge. Our chef cooked great meals in the evening and for breakfast! The lunch boxes were okay, maybe a little bit more variation would be nice. We booked a "joining group" safari and thus shared the car with 1 to 4 other people - but there is enough space in the car.
Our driver Nickson was a real expert in game drives - he stopped at the best spots for taking pictures and had a perfect sense for animals included loads of information concerning fauna and flora. After Tarangire and Ngorongoro (both breathteaking parks and incredible animals!) we had already seen the big 5! In Lake Manyara there were plenty of elephants and birds and Mike offered us to make a walking safari with an armed ranger in Arusha NP - which was also a great experience.
All in all, the safari as PERFECT!
The next day we were picked up by our cook and two porters and went to Mormella Gate in Arusha NP, where me met two other porters. Those guys carried our backpack, sleeping bags (Mike organized very warm sleeping bags for us which are very important because it gets cold), plenty of food and water. We walked with a group accompanied by an armed ranger to Miriakamba Hut on the first day. On the next day, we asceded to Saddle Hut and Little Meru. On day three, we started our summit-ascent at 1 am. The weather was perfect but it was cold! At 6am we reached the summit and watched a breathteaking sunrise next to Kilimanjaro above the clouds - wow! After this incredible moment we descended to Saddle for a snack and continued to Miriakamba. Next day down to Mormella Gate.
We were astonished at the meals - our cook Freddy did a great job. He offered us african and european cuisine with five star quality on 3500m - incredible! The huts were also better than expected.
All in all, the Trek was PERFECT too :)
The next day, Mike gave us a ride to Arusha airport and we went to Zanzibar for another week in paradise.
You can trust Mike and his team to make your safari and trek to a wonderful experience in Tanzania!
The only negative thing is the "tip-culture" we experienced all over the coutry. A tip is regarded as a fixed part of the salary and will be required for safari and trek. Although we would have tipped anyway because all guys did a great job, it's sometimes annoying when you're asked about the tip you will pay.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
every time again and next the serengeti
I am a german visitor and it is easier to copy Pedro ...everything is true!!!!!
Michael has responsibility for his costums and was all the time helpfull to help us and organize our trip!!
Thank you
"3 day Safari Tarangire, Ngorondoro and L.Manyaraimage description
Was a great 3 days experience of our 1st Safari ever. I recomend this agency if you want to do a Safari with best price quality. The Director, Michael was very very nice since 1st contact by Safaribookings and manage a Safari on dates and places that we wont. He picked us up on Airport, leave us on Hotel that was include on price (Very nice hotel, clean and friendly) and every time he was making sure that everthing was ok with us. Then on next day our guide and motorist (Denis) picked us up on hotel and the adventure started. We learned many things about the country and animals with Denis. We stayed on a campsite out of the parks, where the managers were very friendly also. we were on fullboard meals and the cook on campsite was very good. Taragire has many Elephants, Ngorondoro is amanzing (a place to see the Big 5) and lake Manyara is also nice but we couldnt saw the tree climbing lions on that day. We loved this Safari. Next time we will go to Serengeti.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent, well organized 6-day tent safari with Northern Circuit Adventures
We booked in advance a 6-day safari, including Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater.
Communication/service:
Communication with Mike was fast, informative and very friendly. Example: We arrived in Arusha and decided to make an one-day safari in Arusha National Park. We called Mike for an offer, met him few hours later and he organized a perfect one-day Arusha National Park trip for us within minutes.
Safari tour:
The safari tour itself was incredible, it was really worth it. The tour was perfectly organized, the driver informed us very well about all the different animals and we had a lot of fun on the tour. He was very friendly and patient when we took all the photos.
Our chef Mr. D(elicious) cooked very well and set up the tents.
Conclusion:
Outstanding organisation, good value for money, beautiful safari tour, delicious food.
We would absolutely recommend booking with Nothern Circuit Safari.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful landscapes and plenty of animals in few days
We went for a five day tent safari and were really satisfied with the trip. Camping in Serengeti was the best, tented lodges were nice but less interesting. We saw all the animals you could possibly hope for thanks to our driver who always went to the right places. Dinner was always very tasty. Mike was very helpful, driving us around in Arusha ;-). To sum it up: Great experience for little money!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about a 5 day safari (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro)
I was on a 5 day safari including Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro in August, 2014.
I had a wonderful time on the safari. I was completely satisfied with our driver,Hassani and our cook, Pius. They both made the trip unforgettable, with their knowledge, sense of humor and kindness. Hassani proved to be a wonderful driver and guide, who knew everything about wildlife and always found the animals we were looking for.
Pius concocted the most amazing and tasty foods there are!
The luxury tents just outside of Tarangire were fabulous, and i loved sleeping in our tents in Serengeti and Nngorongoro.
The national parks were amazing and we were lucky enough to see the big 5!
Thank you for your professionalism Hassani, Pius and everybody at Northern Circuit Adventure, who made this trip amazing! I would highly recommend this outfit to anybody!
Email Justin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great 6-day safari
There were 3 of us on a 6 day safari, covering Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater, and Lake Manyara. Our guide was Dennis and our cook was Rhodrick. Both were excellent, especially Dennis who was very knowledgeable, friendly and easy to talk to.
The food was good, fairly simple, but fresh and there was lots of it. The campsites were all clean and Dennis provided us with everything we needed (eg sleeping bags, toilet paper).
We saw loads of wildlife and Dennis always made sure we had the maximum amount of time in all the national parks. He even took a detour on our way out of the serengeti to try and catch a pride of lions for us. And when the shock absorber on our jeep broke he spent 2 evenings at a neighbouring campsite getting it fixed so we didn't miss any game viewing time (kindly charging all our camera batteries at the same time).
Micheal was there to meet us at the start and finish of out safari, and was always quick to respond to our emails when planning our trip. Our only criticism of Northern Circuit is that we had agreed on a slightly different itinerary, spending 2 nights in the northern region of the serengeti, to try and see the migration. When we arrived we were told it wasn't really necessary, and we instead went to a different public campsite in the central region. I think the main reason for the change is that we wouldn't have been able to get there in the time, but that should have been discussed with us during our planning.
Apart from that we had a great time and would recommend this company.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Tour, great safari guide, awful hotel in Arusha
We booked a 3 day Safari with Northern Circuit in November 2014.
The Safari and all the Transfers were well organized. We had the best guide ever (Denis). He spotted all animals and knew a lot to tell about the National Parks, animal behavior and also Tanzanian culture. Also the Manager from Northern Circuit (Michael) is great.
Unfortunately they had booked for us an overpriced, but low quality hotel in Arusha. It is called cloudsview hotel (http://cloudsviewhotel.com/). It is located far from the center at a noisy street. Although everything was clean and the staff friendly, the service quality is bad, the breakfast not worth the $90 per night ad the WiFi does not work (because of internal network login issues). In the end they also wanted to charge items, which they said we had consumed, but which were actually part of the breakfast. Dreadful place!
We definitely recommend Northern Circuit, but ask for a different hotel!
Reply from Northern Circuit Adventure
Posted on Nov 17, 2014Dear Sir/Madam,
Thanks for the updates regarding your safari review which you have done with Northern Circuit Adventure and we are very happy to hear that you have enjoyed our service excluded the Hotel accommodation at the Clouds View Lodge for the nights you have stayed before and after the safari!
Dear Sir/Madam:
Since we have used this Clouds View Lodge from the year 2013 we have not had any negative comments to our preciously clients, but we are very sorry for what happen to your staying but things like WiFi and network login power supply in East-Africa is notoriously unreliable apart from power-cuts we frequently experience brownouts (low power situations) and, worse still, power spikes and over voltage, easily damaging sensitive electronic equipment.
We are very sorry about that but we will try our level best to make happy our clients and to recommend them and staying to another Hotel as we don't know when the electricity problem in Africa will never end!
Below is the reviews about the Clouds View from the other clients!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297913-d5888236-Reviews-Clouds_View_Hotel-Arusha_Arusha_Region.html
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
2-Day Safari (Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro)
We traveled with Children and we only wanted a short Safari trip. We contacted many tour operators but finally we decided to go for Northern Circuit and we are glad we did. Northern Circuit arranged pick up at the airport, hotel (before, during and after the Safari) and arranged transport back to the airport for further adventures. Our plane was delayed with 10 hours. Instead of landing on the evening we landed early in the morning. Michael and his driver slept in the bus at the airport and when we arrived they stood outside the airport waiting for us. The guides were very friendly, knowledgeable and easy to talk with. We had two great days in Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro. The last night Michael came to our hotel and socialized with us and in the morning he came and sad good bye before we left. I strongly recommend Northern Circuit as your tour operator for your Safari.