Team in Tarangire National Park
Gecko Adventure Tanzania
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TATONA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $195 to $950 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Linda | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A brilliant overland safari tour in southern Tanzania with Gecko Adventure
This was our first visit to Africa and our first experience of safari. We were delighted with every aspect of our contact with Gecko. They responded quickly to our inquiries, answered any questions and agreed a package that fulfilled all our requirements. The service was excellent from the moment we arrived at Dar Es Salaam airport to the point of departure. Bookings at each camp (we visited 5 over 19 days) ensured the requested vegetarian options for us (not always the case in our experience elsewhere), and the food was extremely good. We had opted to travel overland between camps to give us a chance to see something of the country and people. Our driver/guide, Said, was excellent, always smiling, anticipating needs and ensuring that the long journeys were as smooth as possible with breaks at appropriate places and ready to explain things we asked about as we travelled. Nothing was too much trouble, everything was done efficiently and with a sense of humour. He was very knowledgeable about the animals and birds and quick to spot things and point them out, aware of how best to approach them and ready to explain different behaviours and interactions. The safari tour lived up to our expectations in every way and we have no hesitation in recommending Gecko Adventure.
AT
Email Armin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We had a short 3 day trip with a boat, 4WD and walking safari in the Selous Game Reserve.
Our guide was extremely friendly and helpful and always answered also all our not-safari related questions :-)
The lodge was very comfortable and well located at a river with hippos visible from our small hut.
Elephants and monkeys were also very near and could be heard and also seen.
The game reserve itself was a beautiful place and we saw a lot of different animals.
Although we didn't see Zebras or Leopards it was a great experience I would recommend to everyone.
Would book them again everytime.
CH
Email Michelle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous Experience
Everything worked perfectly on our 3 day trip to Selous. Our driver was knowledgable, personable and punctual. He took great care of us and we had a lovely time.
The packed luches from the bush camp left a little to be desired but everything else exceeded our exectations.
AE
Email Adele | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had to get the bus back
First I would like to point out that out driver was Brilliant the whole way through. He could not do more to help us (his 7 month pregnant wife picked us up from DAS bus station to take us back to our hotel.
Booking was very easy and effective, the booking agent came to our hotel on the morning of pick up to collect the money from us (I think it is expensive, especially with the quality of car we were provided with).
The car was ancient (it never made it back from the trip) we got a flat tyre 2 hours into the journey (fine, it happens) then another few hours in, the car breaks down and take 2+ hours to fix (meaning the journey ended up taking 10 hours to reach the safari).
Lunch on the way to the Safari (not the modern looking stop) was lovely. It was a traditional buffet lunch.
The hotel at the safari was basic but clean and quite close to the Mikumi National park.
The safari was a great experience, our guide was knowledgeable and made the safari a lot of fun. The guys could not explain things enough and went out of their way to make sure we saw as much as possible.
Unfortunately, our trip back was a disaster!!
Our car broke down again in pretty much the same spot it had been fixed the day before. Except this time we were taken to the local mechanics place (off the main road) and were left in the car for 3 hours only to be told it would be $90 USD to have someone else drive us back or we could get the bus or wait another 4 hours for another car to pass on its way back to DAS.
We were not offered any refund from the company and I suspect that much of the cost of getting us back fell onto our driver (not the company we had paid $400USD EACH to). Both these point I find unprofessional and unacceptable. Only when we demanded did the company offer us a 'free' taxi back to the airport the next day'.
So all in all our experience was tainted (but not completely ruined) by poor quality transport provided by an expensive safari provider!
I hope the driver was not punished for the mishap (I suspect he was).
Email Hitesh | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything as promised
Rama and his team did a great job - all the way from picking me up from the airport to dropping me back after 10 days.
All the arrangements were as planned and the safaris / accommodation lived up to expectations.
I would recommend Rama without hesitation and am already thinking of using him for my next adventure!
Great
The guide was good. We've been in north serengeti and everithing was perfect. Lot of animals of different kinds!!! Food and camps very good.
US
Email sj | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
awesome
We were a bit skeptical about booking a safari ourselves over the internet, but Rama answered many questions for us through direct emails before we made a final decision. We were very happy with the experience. Samir, our driver/guide, was quite knowledgeable about all the animals, a skillful driver over "washboard" gravel roads, and willing to answer our cultural questions as well. Each day I thought must be the highlight of the trip; it just couldn't get better, and the next day we'd see something new and unexpected. Samir was very diligent about trying to help us see the animals in which we were most interested. We marveled at his ability to spot a leopard lying on a limb three football field lengths away and point it out to us. His love of all the animals was evident. We started at Ngorongo the first day and spent the night in the Rhino Lodge. The lodge was the only disappointment of the trip. It was nearly impossible to flush the toilet, there was no bottled water in the room, and the food was mediocre. The stay at the Kati Kati tented camp the next 2 nights was delightful. The tent was roomy and very clean, and for our safety, guides walked us to and from our tent to the eating tent. I heard lions "talking" one night: quite a thrill. The food was good and taking a "gravity shower" was actually a fun adventure. We spent 2 days watching elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, and more wildebeests and zebras than we could count. Because we went from the Serengeti to Tarangire the fourth day was largely spent in travel, but we still saw many animals and Maasai herding their cattle, sheep and goats along the way. The last camp, Maramboi, was luxurious. The tent was huge with a wooden ceiling, floor to ceiling screening and a small wooden porch for viewing animals. We awoke the next morning to the sound of zebras munching the grass right next to our tent. We wished we had another night to stay in this camp. It was a wonderful experience.
FR
Email Lionel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Family safari in south of Tanzania
Gecko has been very reactive for the preparation of the Safari with mails exchange from France. They have tailored the trip with my recommandations. No surprise during the safari, everything was perfectly organised
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing safari planners!!
very well organized trip to selous . First trip for a safari with my husband to Africa and we had alot of questions thanks to Rama for the patience to anwser all our questions and help us make a choice on which safari is better based on our available days.our emails were answered promptly and we were given options to choose from.Also gecko helped us book flights and accommodation. We did have a great time thanks to gecko for putting everything together. We will definitely consider gecko in the future too.
FR
Email Pauli & Laurent | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A breath taking Safari !
Our Safari was perfect from the beginning to the end !, very personalized, warm welcome, transportation was in a real "safari car" (we were really excited), the aircraft was a really good experience too. We stayed at Selous River Camp, amazing place! I have no words to describe the atmosphere, it was breathtaking. During our stay we were guided by Said, who showed us how amazing and beautiful the parc is. He knew exactly how to track all the animals around the parc. It was nice to spent our safari experience with him.
We stayed only three days in this paradise, (not enough for us to see all of the "big five"!, but we loved what we saw!), we would loved to spent more time.
Thanks Gecko for the organisation, thank you Rama, you were really helpful, thank you Said for all your knowledge, thanks to all the boys at Selous River Camp for the great service!
We definitely recommend it!!!!!!