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
Email Andrew Fraser | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Safari Experience (and more)
Quite simply faultless, from start to end.
Michael was an absolute delight to deal with, not only organising a terrific safari, but also buses from Nairobi and to Dar, as well as additional nights' accommodation as needed.
The safari itself was incredible. Everyone on the tour (a terrific group of six well-matched people in a very spacious jeep) asked the same questions: Why on earth do people pay for fancy dan safaris? And how on earth do fancy dan safaris cost so much more? We had a similar jeep to the posh people; everyone had a great view; we had a wonderful driver; good food; and we saw all the animals we could have wanted (the exception being a leopard that came down from its tree while we were beetling along the road to find where it had been spotted).
For those wondering (as I was): the accommodation was great. Not what I'd call budget. The first two nights were in a permanent campsite, which meant it was pretty close to a hotel. Private tent with shower/loo under a permanent wooden roof (it looked awesome), plus food cooked in the restaurant there. The other nights were tented under the stars, but with a nice mattress and pillow provided. We had help putting the tent up (took a grand total of about five minutes) and everything was taken down and packed up for us while we were out on a game drive. I much preferred the tented experience to what I assume a lodge is like: felt a lot more adventurous, but was comfy enough. No spiders/snakes/scorpions etc.
I half-assumed the reviews of Northern Circuit Adventure were too good to be true, and that I'd have my girlfriend shouting at me for booking us on a cramped bus ride through jam-packed roads somewhere near the Serengeti with someone on a megaphone shouting that there was a lion somewhere in the distance.
But nope, we had an absolutely perfect time. Honestly could have expected or asked for more. I would highly highly hiiiighly recommend to anyone else. Save yourself a lot of stress, and just go with Michael's operation. They offer the 'standard' park itineraries that you'll see in tons of places, and they provided a faultless safari experience. I really can't expect that anyone else is better.
Thank you to Michael, Elias and Musa.
NL
Email Brigit | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 day safari
Just before Christmas, we went for a four-day safari with Northern Circuit. It was a perfect experience. We flew to Kilimanjaro airport, where some-one was waiting for us. In Arusha, Michael told us how everything was going to work. We had a jeep for the five of us, with our own cook and driver. The food we had there, was the best during our whole stay in Tanzania. We slept two days in tented camps (perfect accomodation, you have your own bed, toilet and shower per tent) and two days in smalll tents, in the middle of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We saw the big five and a lot more (big migration). We felt very comfortable. Northern Circuit Adventure is very much recommended by me. Michael responds very quick at questions send to him by mail. He is nice guy. The safari was very good value for money.
DE
Email Sreedhar | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply Amazing Memories !!
Probably our best holiday ever!! Full marks to Northern Circuit Adventure and its team for the perfect organization and coordination of the whole safari program.
From the time we landed in Kilimanjaro airport, till the time we exited Tanzania, everything was taken care of, and we had to barely worry about a thing..!
We were received on time from Kliimanjaro airport, and the 2-day accommodation that comes along with the Safari package was very comfortable - one can definitely know its value after a tiresome flight into Tanzania and after a few improper sleeps during safari days!!
Throughout the 5-days, the food cooked was simply mindblowing. Never ever did we think that we could get so delicious food at our campsites. Surprising that the cook even managed to prepare some Indian food too at times !!! :D
And, for the main part, Elias, our guide who took us around inside the national parks, he was truly awesome - in every sense of the word..!! Very soft spoken - but so alert to things happening around - and very knowledgeable about the places that were in our safari plan, he made sure that we got to see all the Big-5 animals - Black rhino, buffalo, herds of elephants, about 15 lions with even a Lion King pose, leopards (a baby leopard too), hosts of zebras, giraffes, elephants, a variety of birds including flamingoes - not to forget the Dung Beetle too!!
"Truly Memorable" - is an understatement - of an amazing vacation that me and my friends had during our time at Tanzania - full marks to Northern Circuit Adventure and its team for having helped realize our dreams!! :-)
DE
Email Hardy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip with wonderful guide and chef
I went on a 4-day budget (camping) safari to Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro and Serengeti with Northern Circuit. I had booked thru Tropical Islands vacations, but then Northern Circuit conducted the trip. I couldn't have been happier with the way it turned out.
Our guide, Elias, was simply fantastic, both as a guide and as a person. He was very knowledgable with all the animals as well as culture and history. He always seemed to know what the group was interested in seeing and doing (without us actually telling him). He spent extra time with us on evening game drives and he went out of his way several times to track and show us more animals (or to let us take the 500th photo of that zebra, when we'd taken 499 already from every possible angle but that single one). He had a peaceful and kind way of doing the safari, without ever being boring. We felt that he was genuinely interested in making this a special trip for us and that he was himself fond of the area and the animals.
Our chef, Sweetbart, was a lively and very likable guy. He cooked us amazing dishes in these rather limited facilities. It was always plentyful and all his dishes seemed to have a personal touch. They were always a bit more than your regular safari food. Actually, it was some of the best food I had in 2 months in EA.
Organization and handling (setting up tents, leaving on time, etc.) was also superb.
I honestly cannot think of anything I disliked about the trip. Of course, the stunning environment and animals also help in making this a unique experience.
I can strongly recommend doing a safari with Elias and Sweetbart.
CZ
Email Richard | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Garden of Eden
I have booked my 6-day Tanzania budget joining group safari with Northern Circuit Adventure in advance before departing from Europe. The manager - Michael - was able to reply promptly to my e-mails and tailored our trip according to our needs.
We visited: Lake Manyara NP, Tarangire NP (home of tse-tse flies, be ready), Serengeti NP and Ngorongoro Crater (the temperature dropping below zero during the night on the crater rim).
The number of fellow-travellers in a car varied from two to four persons.
We stayed at Clouds View Hotel the night before and after the safari. The place was OK. While still in Arusha, we took an interesting Coffee Plantation Tour also organized by Michael.
Ratings:
Booking process/communication: 10/10.
Safari organization/logistics: 10/10.
Driver/guide: 10/10. Elias, very communicative and funny.
Vehicle: 10/10. Pop-up roof Toyota Landcruiser 4WD.
Sleeping: 9/10. Permanent tents with beddings outside the parks, tents with matresses inside the parks. You should bring your own mosquito net.
Food: 10/10. We had our own cook named Bruno travelling with us -- the food was extra-class. Don't forget to buy enough water before your safari starts.
Number and variety of animals seen: 10/10. We were able to see all the Big 5 game.
Overall African experience: 10/10
FYI: Be aware in Tanzania they don't accept US dollar bills issued 10 or more years ago! If you try to use them to pay for anything (your safari, bus ticket, in currency exchange) they're gonna tell you it's a fake money. Experienced this behavior multiple-times.
This was my first time in Africa and I consider it my best vaccation ever. I can recommend Northern Circuit Adventure to all of you.
If you're interested please see my pictures from the trip: https://goo.gl/photos/4zfekxXzufmwQWT3A
NO
Email Magnus | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Northern Circuit Adventure in deed!
We had 4 great days on safari with northern circuit. Our guide had fantastic knowledge about the animals mowements on Serengeti and this made ut possible to se all the wild animals we had been dreaming about seeing for so long. We saw Giraffes, Hippis, Lions, Leopards, A rhino, Cheetahs, Elephants, Zebras, Wildebeest, Impalas and so on. Our Safari was during the great migration, it was great to see!
Our chef was great to, and we had some fantastic meals in the wild. Also, NCA offered great service, picking us up in the airport in Arusha.
I would definetively recommend a safari with NCA, and the time of year we went was perfect for us, not to hot and we got to see a lot of cool animals!
Email Alberto | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First Safari, best budget option!
We had an incredible time, our driver was incredible knowledgeable and our cook superb! We had some issues with a rain storm at our camps and the guys went beyond their duties to get us a warm room to sleep, best value for the money overall!! No way to have a better experience on my first safari, everything was great and according to what they described.
Experience of a lifetime!
We recently returned from a six day safari with Northern Circuit Adventure and I could not have asked for a better experience! The owner, Michael, was very responsive to any questions I had via email, I always received a reply within 24 hours. We had a wonderful guide, Ellios, who was very knowledgeable and could spot the most hidden of creatures miles away! Ellios noticed we were interested in birds and so would stop to show us all different species and explain their habits to us. Our cook Sweetmatt made us delicious food and was fun to have along on the trip. Our safari was an adventure of a lifetime and I could not have imagined a better experience! I would highly recommend this company to others - my sister is hoping to have an opportunity to visit Tanzania in February and I have already given her Michael's contact information! Thank-you Michael, Ellios, and Sweetmatt for the most amazing week!
CA
Email Lyne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari, with amazing people!
I went on a four day safari with Northern Circuit and I had the best of times. Before the safari, I was doing some volunteer work at a school outside of Arusha. Michael arranged for transportation to and from the school which was very convenient for me.
Sweetbart was an amazing cook. Every meal that we had was spectacular. Elliott was also a great guide. He answered all of our silly questions and when he didn't know the answer (which was very rare), he would come back with an answer within the day.
After th safari, I kept in touch with Michael and he helped me out with some of my transportation plans for the rest of my trip. He was very helpful and answered all of my emails quickly.
FR
Email Constance & Nicolas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing adventure through North Tanzania with Northern Circuit Adventure
We had 6 amazing days during our trip with Northern Circuit Adventure. Micheal, the owner of the company, welcomed us on our arrival. Then we left for six days with our perfect crew made of Freddy, well advised and falcon eyed guide (with a diploma of Tsé Tsé fly hunting, you are safe with this guy !), and Sweetbart, our lovely and gifted cook. We completed the Big Five and met Masaai. The nights in the campsite inside the parks were very comfortable and full of surprises. We totally advise you to go for an adventure with them !