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
US
Email James | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
SCAM- avoid at all costs!!
Rama the owner is a very smooth communicator, and it’s easy to be very impressed with his handling of your booking and answering your questions, etc. But despite trusting him a lot, he completely scammed us.
First, take a look at the reviews he has on TripAdvisor, Google, and SafariBookings. Pretty impressive review scores. But take a closer look at the reviews themselves. Do many of them appear fake? Are they written mostly by reviewers with only one review, written by other local safari operators and/or have poor grammar? Are some of them written by “Rama Mo” himself pretending to be a customer?
Our first clue that something was amiss was when we tried to find the office that Rama claims to have. He told us specially what building his office was in (it’s also marked on Google maps in this prestigious location). The office does not exist.
Once we realized this, we asked to see the car that was “being repaired” as part of his story. This was the night before we were to leave on our trip. During the trip to see the car (which was honestly bring repaired as described, but based on its condition did not appear ready for departure the next day) we talked casually to him about our trip and how excited we were (that it was our honeymoon).
One hour after he returned us to our hotel, he sent a group WhatsApp text including an unknown person saying that his “business partner” (really just one of his drivers posing as his “partner”) was unsatisfied with the price Rama has agreed to and that the trip (which was to start the next day) would be 3x more expensive!! When I protested that we had agreed to a price weeks ago (Rama had gone so far as to specify what kind of USD bills to bring and I had sent him a picture of the bills laid out on a table), they refused to even acknowledge the deal they had agreed to. It was clear that they decided to take advantage of the information we had given them — that we were on our honeymoon- to try to extort us for 3x the price. How messed up is that?! The trip is now ruined and Rama has been increasingly dishonest in trying to justify this 3x price increase (we’re talking about thousands of dollars). It’s actually been quite embarrassing as Rama has repeatedly made new claims and I just keep responding with a screenshot of previous messages he sent contradicting his new lies. Avoid at all costs!!!
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Email Baptiste Kernan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Adventure in Tanzania
I have been Northern Tanzania a couple of times but this was my first experience of the south. I traveled with my brothers and we are happy that we chose to take the less trodden route in Selous and Mikumi because it been an epic adventure filled with great wildlife encounters, glamping in the wild and breathtaking landscapes.
Shabani our guide and Issa his assistant were perfect hosts right from Dar to the parks and back.
Planning the trip with Ramadhan was smooth and his insights helpful to creating a bespoke itinerary.
The trip should take six days to provide an extra day for Selous, because there is so much to see.
HU
Email Botjelo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It is 5 Stars for Me
We have been on Safari to Zambia, Botswana and Namibia however our favourite operator did not have options for Tanzania and Zanzibar but introduced us to Gecko Adventures who handled our tour flawlessly. We did a 6-day safari to Selous, Ruaha and Saadani parks and finished off with 4 days of relaxation in Zanzibar.
Rama is an amazing driver/guide with exceptional skills of spotting animals in the bush and kept us captivated with his detailed narration of the interesting sights we encountered and past guiding experiences.
Zanzibar- we spent the first day exploring past and present culture in Stone Town and Prison Island. We spent the next 3 days enjoying the pristine Matemwe beach.
We are very grateful to Gecko Adventures for putting together such a fabulous and unforgettable holiday filled with adventure and booked in amazing lodges for reasonable rates.
FI
Email Aarne Makinen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful Safari Experience in Tanzania
A big thank you to Gecko-Adventures for an amazing travel experience in Tanzania. We did the 7 day classic Tanzania Safari to Tarangire, Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro and also visited the Hadzabe people at the Lake Eyasi basin.
Communication with Rama was smooth as he listened and accommodated our wishes for a mix of lodges and camps. All aspects of the trip was excellently; game drives in a great 4x4, food, route-plan and to cap it all we had a likeable knowledgeable guide for the whole safari. He was always willing to answer any of our innumerable question about Tanzania, the animals and anything in general. He kept the car clean and well stocked with water, juices and snacks that came in handy in the bush. We saw lots of different animals including some rare species; we sighted a leopard and black rhinos on top of the numerous elephants, gazelles, buffaloes, hippos, wildebeest, zebras, hyenas…….
In a nutshell, our trip to Tanzania was a wonderful experience hosted by amazing people.
BA
Email Michal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was a really nice experience.
Our safari with Gecko Adventures fully exceeded our expectations! Rama put together a seamless trip. I loved his personal approach allowing flexibility to fit all the activities that we were interested in. Selous is so expansive and not crowded allowing for serene game drives enjoying nature in an almost natural state. We saw many elephants, lions, wild dogs, hyenas, zebras, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, crocs…….with our skilled guide.
The lodges were luxurious, offering great comfort in the bush.
It was a really nice experience.
FI
Email Teemu | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari and Zanzibar Experience
Our family four, including two teenage boys just came back from an unforgettable safari and Zanzibar trip in Tanzania. We decided to travel to Tanzania to sample the world famous game parks and pristine beaches and our experience has been much better than we expected.
The parks (Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara and Serengeti) are richly endowed with a wide variety of tropical wild animals. Zanzibar was awesome too, enjoying the sun, sand and azure blue waters.
Thankyou Rama for your choice of great accoms all thru.
RO
Email Laura Meluta | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Best Way To Unravel the Hidden Gems In Tanzania
This was my second time in Tanzania but the first for my husband, I have to accept that Ramadhan is a great host. It took months of correspondence to plan this trip, and all this time he was available and open to our suggestions.
Everything was well arranged from the timely transfers, excellent lodges, a well serviced 4x4 off-roader and above all an amazing guide who accompanied us all through the week-long exploration adventure.
It was a fascinating time in the parks, each unique and special with different animals and habitats. We also visited the Hehe Kingdom Museum in Iringa.
In the end we did not want to return back home because the trip went very fast.
CA
Email Christine Chapman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Flawless Tanzania Safari
Me and my friend went on an eight days tour through Mikumi, Ruaha and Udzungwa Mountains National Parks.
Ramadhani had done an amazing job in organizing this trip that we did not have to worry about anything.
Juma our guide was easy going, he put us at ease with his friendly demeanor while sharing his vast knowledge about nature, conservation and Tanzania culture. He is naturally gifted with game tracking skills because we saw many different animals in the parks.
We had a spacious safari vehicle to ourselves for the whole trip with Juma ensuring we were happy and satisfied.
We stayed in nice lodges that had fine food and nice comfy rooms for restful sleep.
I would urge fellow travelers to contact Gecko Adventures as our tour was flawless.
FI
Email S. Heroum | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Memories
Going to Tansania with Gecko-Adventures was the best decision we made.
We visited three magnificent parks Mikumi NP, Ruaha NP and Udzungwa NP, and the trip was amazing. Rama was an excellent guide. We saw numerous animals with him and he also taught us about them.
we learn so much from Tanzania; culture, music, politics and history.
Talk to Gecko Adventures for anyone planning a trip to Tansania.
MX
Email Lizette Lopez | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous Safari and Zanzibar
Overall out trip to Selous, Ruaha and Zanzibar was fantastic.
We enjoyed traversing Tanzania's different habitats with our driver. We started off with Selous where we did game drives and boat safari along Rufiji River.
We then drove to Ruaha which has numerous baobab tree, huge buffalo and elephant herds and lots of lions along Ruaha River.
Zanzibar was the ultimate relaxation destination. We enjoyed the sun, sand on pristine Matemwe beaches.
Thank you Gecko Adventures for this wonderful trip.