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
AE
Email Jessica & Jenny | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An absolutely incredible trip!
Hi all.
A friend and I returned from an amazing 4 night, 5 days safari in Tanzania with Northern Circuit Adventure last month. We had the most amazing trip with Mike as our tour organiser, Dennis as our safari guide and Musa as our chef. What an incredible safari with so many stunning animals and sights to see.
We were extreeeemely last minute with planning our trip to Tanzania, but from the first point of contact Mike was very accommodating and on the end of the phone/whatsapp at all times. We were still in touch with a couple of safari tours the day we arrived in Arusha, but Mike's price was unbeatable. As there were only 2 of us we decided we needed to join a group safari to keep the cost lower and this is something that Northern Circuit Safaris offered us.
Our itinerary:
Day 1: Lake Manyara National Park - Lodging at Sun Bright Camp
Day 2: Serengeti National Park - Camping at Pimbi campsite
Day 3: Full day in Serengeti - Camping at Pimbi Campsite
Day 4: Sunrise safari in Serengeti afternoon depart to Ngorogoro Crater - Camping at Simba campsite with views of Ngorogoro Lake - stunning!
Day 5: Ngorogoro Conservation Park
We really wanted to see as many of the safari sights as we could during our stay, and Mikes tour made this possible for us.
We started our first day with the trip to Lake Manyara. We left Arusha with Dennis, Moosa and all of the camping equipment that we needed for our trip (provided) and stopped at a local supermarket to stock up on a few extra snacks, wine and beers.
During the drive we passed many Masai tribes and villages along the way before arriving at Sunbright Camp Site to drop off our things before heading to Lake Manyara National Park.
We were amazed by the wildlife in Manyara and just wanted to take pictures of everything. At this point Dennis told us that this really was just a starter, but what a fantastic way to start our trip - just watch out for the Tsetse flies, make sure you have thick clothes that cover you (we didn't and are fine, but the bites really aren't pleasant, and better to be safe).
Sunbright Campsight - actually really pretty! It's definitely more like glamping than camping, with camp beds and an outdoor ensuite attached.
Food so far: incredible!
Day 2 started with a rather chilly shower accompanied by a frog and gecko, and a breakfast of pancakes, toast, omelette and sausage. We grabbed our bags, packed up the jeep and set off for the Serengeti. Wow, just wait for the views along the way, and the stop off at the Ngorogoro Crater view point. stunning!
We arrive in Serengeti and Dennis our driver tells us that luck is on our side, and sets off to show us something spectacular. Within an hour of being in Serengeti National Park we see our first lions - mating! That was just the beginning...
Our second evening was spent in Pimbi public camp site where we set up our tents and enjoyed a dinner of pumpkin soup and spaghetti bolognese. What you will realise from this point is that Moosa makes the most amazing soup! We enjoyed an evening of hearing stories of what other travellers had seen during their day under the most incredible view of stars that we have ever seen. To top it off, we even heard the hyenas howling throughout the night. We really were sleeping wild.
Pimbi Campsite - pretty much just camping wild in the Serengeti, but with some cooking and cleaning facilities. The toilets and showers weren't great, but hey, there were toilets and showers :-).
Food: still delicious!
Day 3 started with a full day of safariing in the Serengeti. We woke up at 6.15 to watch sunrise at camp, considered showering (they are not quite as nice here) and enjoyed another 3 course breakfast. What a day! You will not be disappointed with anything in the Serengeti - simply outstanding.
Day 4 was our most favourite morning yet. We woke up at 5.20am and headed out on a sunrise game drive. Again, absolutely stunning. The sunrise was everything we imagined and more. Today we were on a mission to find the leopards, and Dennis did everything he could to make sure we found not just one, but two! We decided from day one that the migration was definitely starting (Dennis did not want to agree as it was too soon, and he really does know best), but today was just magnificent. We spent the day surrounded by thousands of wildebeest, and zebras all seemingly making their way north for the migration. If this wasn't the start of the migration, then I'm not sure you would be able to even move in your jeeps during the migration! Insane, but amazing.
We arrived back at camp at 11 for brunch, packed up our tents, and set off on our way to the Ngorongoro Crater rim. Our evening was spent at Simba Campsite - highly recommended - with a gorgeous view of the crater and hot showers. We enjoyed more conversations about people's safari experiences over beers and hot chocolate. We were told that the elephants sometimes come to drink the water at this campsite, but no such luck for us, only the Buffalo came.
Our final day began at 6 am as we started our decent into the crater for our final game drive. The views heading down were incredible and the crater itself was just as we imagined - beautiful. The highlights of our day: watching a pride of lions lazing by a small lake, spotting a black rhino, more lions mating, hyenas and jackals eating the left overs of a buffalo, and finishing our safari just in time before the huge rain shower that had been heading our way hit the crater.
Simba campsite: our favourite yet! Peaceful, good showering facilities, hot water and gorgeous view of the crater.
What an amazing trip! Thank you so much to Dennis, Moosa and Mike for making this possible
CA
Email Kilmeny Heron | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari Experience!
I had the good fortune to have the recommendation from an friend who went with Northern Circuit Adventure last year. Michael always responded quickly to any questions I had which is a very important starting point for any planning from a different continent. Our guide China was excellent: he clearly wanted us to have the best experience possible and made every effort to locate animals in the various parks we visited. He was patient with our photography needs as well. Our cook Sweetbart, was, well, a sweetheart! He also was very friendly, engaged, and cooked some fabulous meals. I highly recommend using Northern Circuit Adventure.
CA
Email Brett | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent experience thanks to our guide and cook.
I believe NCA did a great job overall. Michael was very responsive to and of our queries. I thought our guide/driver (China) went out of his way to make sure we had a good experience and in the end it went far beyond my expectations.
Email Craig | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari
We just got back from an amazing 5 day camping safari with Northern Circuit Adventures. From our initial enquiries with Mike through to the safari itself with China (driver/guide) and Sweetbart (cook) we cannot recommend them enough. They are an extremely professional operator, extremely knowledgable about the parks we visited / wildlife, and delivered everything as promised (or better).
Email Dan Potter | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Had a great time on a we really well organised Safari
The details of the safari were communicated very clearly and informatively in the build up to the safari. We were met in Arusha by Mike who talked us through the fine details and was always around to help. Our guide and chef for the 3 days were excellent and a pleasure to spend time with. As for the safari, well I don't think you can have a bad experience visiting some of the best safari destinations in the world. Thoroughly recommend!
Great experience
Everything was great, from the trip to the food to the planning.
TR
Email Silvia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
100% perfect safari experience
We spent 5 days in Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Tarangire.
Organisation was perfect (Thanks Mike) and our driver-guide SULE was the best. He showd us every animal , give us a lot of information about them. A dream come true, to see Serengeti with theese beautiful people. All of my childhood me and my brother wathced that documentaries about Africa, Serengeti and the animals now we could see them in real life. Thank you for this, you are a really professional team and company.
Also i have to mention about Roderig the chef. I was a bit afraid from the food part, but he made us really delicious food and suprised us every day with something new.
Email Sam | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding Service and Value
Truly professional team with a true desire to serve and support their customers. Fantastic team.
AR
Email Martin (from Argentina) | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
absolutely fantastic experience, we asked for Spanish guide and they gave us this. the guide was very friendly with too much experiences about safari and animals. about the food, they ask me what I would like to eat, really fresh food and very good cook very friendly too. about accommodation we pay for a tent, really nice, the tents have a mattress inside so this was comfortable. thanks for everything
SE
Email Cecilia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Caping Safari
Our family (mother, father and 2 children - 13 and 14 years old) were on camping safari and slept in small tents in Serengeti and Ngorogoro and we didn´t miss a thing! Mike (the owner) took good care of us from the arrival in Arusha airport to the flight back from Arusha. He is extremely service minded and he helpful. Our guide and chef then took good care of us on the safari trip. We saw Big Five and of course and a lot of other animals, we learnt a lot about all animals and at dinner time our guide also told us "scary" safari stories, very exciting especially for the kids! The food was also very good. And our chef was also a very nice guy! They both made the safari to a very nice trip. I can also really recommend the tent safari, you feel very close to the nature and it is really exciting at night time! We also want to recommend you to go with Northern Circuit Adventure.