Bright African Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2007)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB & TLTO
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $85 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email nicole hadson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Msangi made our trip the best
We leave and work in Dar es salaam for about two two years now. Am writing this feedback just to thank msangi and his team at Bright safaris. Msangi and BAS were recommended to us by one of friends we work together who comes from the same village as msangi. We went on five days safaris and all what he promised he provided to us. It is a bit worrying to pay large amount of money to someone you don't know. we are lucky we paid it to the right company with right people. Onema was our guide and he did his best to make sure we are happy. We went on 4days tented camp safaris to serengeti, ngorongoro and manyara.
All I can say, we real enjoyed our vacation.
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Email Denny Hess | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bright African Safaris Exceeds All Expectations and Delivers Real Value for Your Travel Budget!
Msangi at Bright African Safaris answered all of our concerns, and we had many, in a prompt and professional manner. The initial itinerary was changed several times by us prior to the actual safari without any problems. Msangi provided detailed information regarding the lodging and transportation and discussed all trip details in person after our arrival in Tanzania to minimize any issues or confusion. Our driver/guide, Junga, was very professional and provided excellent information regarding all of the animals that we saw during the safari drives. Junga was able to find the "Big Five" for us before our safari ended and provided a stop at a Masai village that was very informative.
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Email Mohammed Hamdan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spectacular lifetime experience!!
I went with my Father on May 1st and spent 6 days, visited "Lake Manyara", "Serengti Park" and "Ngorongoro crater".
BAS staff is such an amazing people, they consider every little details that can make your stay more wonderful
Our guide Othman is one of kind, and the chef Mr. D (delicious) adds special touches to the food
Finally, Mr. Msangi helped us before we come and he won't hesitate to promptly reply to every concerns.
I really advise to choose this company for the Safari tours.
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Email Krishnan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing safari experience
Just us husband and wife went on a safari to Tanzania in Aug, 2015 with Bright African Safaris and had an amazing experience. We had such an amazing time that we decided to retake the same safari with Bright African Safaris in July, 2016 but this time with our two boys aged 8 and 4. You can read the review I posted back in 2015 here - https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g297913-d2191230-r307988448-Bright_African_Safaris_Day_Tours-Arusha_Arusha_Region.html.
Msangi promised us that we would return with an even bigger smile the second time - and he did not disappoint. As expected, his excellent service started right from when I initially wrote to him till when I came back to the US. The wire for my second (full) payment for the safari was delayed for some reason and hadn't yet reached him even on the day of our flight from the US. I spoke to him on the phone and he assured me that he would look into it and asked me not to worry since all arrangements/bookings for my safari was done. Luckily the payment arrived the day we landed and all was good but I really liked the way he handled the situation.
We had an excellent guide this time as well - Masatu. Masatu took the effort to connect with my kids (he has kids the same age) and throughout the safari ensured that things remained interesting for them, taking the time and effort to explain things to them. He knew this was the second trip for my wife and me, so even though our route was the same, he ensured the experience was very different. We saw much more interactions between the animals this time around (a herd of elephants harassing a leopard on a tree, a cheetah hunt, a lion that had just killed a wildebeest, a lion couple, ahem, making love etc etc). So, despite going back in less than a year it was still am amazing experience for us and ofcourse our kids had a blast. When it comes to safaris the guide/driver is super important and based on our experience this year and last, Bright Safaris has some really good drivers/guides. Their vehicles are very well maintained (we saw a few vehicles broken down and on our last day even offered a couple a ride in our car and they were stranded in a broken down vehicle).
All of our hotels were great like last year - Msangi usually nails this. He put us in small boutique hotels, that had pretty good, personalized, non-rushed service and each place gave us a slightly unique but very immersive safari experience.
On the last day, on the way to the airport, our driver/guide (Masatu) gifted my kids football t-shirts/shorts in Tanzanian team colors which was really nice. The kids loved it and it was a really nice gesture.
All in all an amazing experience. Our go to tour operator for vacation in East Africa.
Email Steve and Colette | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
You Will Not Find Better
It was important to us to support a Tanzanian/Kenya based and owned safari company as we were informed that many of the largest companies are non African owned which means the revenue is not staying in Africa. Bright African Safaris and our guides Stephen (Kenya) and Athuman (Tanzania) made this an exceptional trip.
We initially made contact due to the positive reviews on Trip Advisor and BAS did not let us down. We started investigating our trip 8 months in advance and over the next month and many emails and suggestions later we booked a 12 night safari thru Kenya and Tanzania - Rukia and Msangi from head office were always prompt in their communications and offered great advice on lodges and parks to visit.
Our only tip would be to ensure you get accurate information on the time it takes to travel between parks as this may influence whether you drive or fly some legs of your safari.
We spent most of our safari with Athuman in Tanzania and would recommend you personally ask for him as your guide - he is easy to get along with, attentive, has a good sense of humour and generally made the safari more enjoyable. Athuman was recommended to us and his knowledge on all the wildlife, both animals and birds was exceptional.
Bright African Safari were very professional and were a major contributor to making this a trip of a lifetime for us.
Please feel free to contact us.
Our first African safari was a blast, thanks to Bright African Safaris
When we started to look at safari trip to Africa, we looked at Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. We chose Tanzania because of Serengeti (for the great migration), friendly people, and peacefulness. We were amazed in all three accounts. Tanzania has a more sustainable model for Safari and is not blindly going after mass tourism market - thankfully.
We chose Bright African Safaris (out of five tour operators based in Arusha) based on high ratings and praises here and also because Msangi and his crew were very prompt in responding to my initial inquiries and were extremely patient with giving various options and explaining the differences. If he has a recommendation, he does so in the interests of giving us best experience.
Since I am into photography, I asked Msangi beforehand if he can provide bean bags. He pleasantly said yes. When we were greeted by our driver/guide at the airport, he immediately told me that he has two bean bags prepared for me. That is great service!
BAS's car also is equipped with electric outlets for charging phones, laptops, cameras etc.
Like many other people commented here, we were a bit concerned about wiring money for deposit and paying up the full amount ahead of the trip, as it is an uncommon experience in US. Everything turned out very well for us in the end. Wiring to Tanzania does seem to take longer than usual, and we were a bit late on wiring the last payment so by the time we arrived in Arusha, BAS still had not received the money in their bank account. But Msangi assured us all lodgings were properly booked for us and told us 'no worries' and we were ready to go on safari.
Without knowing what kind of camps or lodgings we'd expect, we chose to have a bit of everything from beautiful luxury camps in serene surroundings to simple public camping grounds (where a cook from Bright African Safaris cooked for us for two days). All great experiences for us! In every lodging location, staff were extremely courteous and service was far above the business hotels in US. Everywhere we went, people were genuinely happy to see us and were eager to help us have a great experience.
Our driver/guide Junga is an amazing naturalist for our safari, and a wonderful cultural guide to Tanzania. Since we didn't quite know what to expect, he quickly observed our interests and adapted the game driver accordingly. We have two teenagers and they were fully engaged and immersed on the game drive thanks to Junga (and didn't pull out iphones once :-) - he would quiz them with questions before giving out answers. Junga has books of birds and animals that he apparently had studied and spent a lot of time on. He also has an app about birds and animals on his cell phone. At one time, in a quiet spot in the woods on our morning game drive, he played a bird song with his cell phone connected to my daughter's portable speaker via bluetooth, and a bird (an African Fish Eagle, I think) echoed back! It was amazing! My kids were delighted! Junga would tell us that Safari is so much more than just BIG FIVE. So many colorful birds are also eye catching. He is so right!
For those of you who are thinking about going to safari for the first time, I can say for sure that the experience of seeing these amazing animals in their natural habitat up close is absolutely unforgettable and there is no substitute. Everyday at dinner time, Junga would ask everyone's most favorable moment of the day. Now with a few weeks passing by, I could still vividly remember:
- the first glimpse of a herd of zebras and giraffes in Arusha NP, with green Mt Meru as background, so elegant and peaceful. The scene reminded me of Jurassic Park (just substitute dinosaurs with giraffes :-)
- a lake full of flamingo birds at Momella Lake in Arusha NP. I got beautiful bird-in-flight pictures here.
- surrounded by a HUGE herd of 40+ elephants passing right by our car to across a river in Tarangere.
- the breathtakingly beautiful lilac breasted roller bird in Tarangere.
- a nice walk to the shore of Lake Manyara escorted by a Masai warrior. Saw beautiful flamingo, stork, and other birds. And wildebeest and gazelle.
- the troops of baboon jumping up and down a big tree in Lake Manyara NP
- a leisurely hike down to the floor of Empakaai Crater, accompanied by an armed park ranger. My son was into macro photography. It was on this hike where he took the most beautiful pictures of insects and flowers. The ranger was informative and patience, telling us to 'pole pole' along the way.
- beautiful view into Olmoti Crater after a short hike to the rim, accompanied by the same park ranger
- a freshly killed zebra lying by the road on Ngorongoro Highlands, with the predator nearby but no where to be seen.
- the moment entering Ngorongoro Crater floor was a sensory explosion
- Ngorongoro Crater floor did not disappoint: tons of buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles, zebras. We also spotted hyenas, jackal, hippo, and a rhino (very far though), thanks to Junga's keen eyesight. In the late afternoon, saw our first BIG CATS: four lions napping and yawning.
- got inside the home of a Masai family and a classroom of Masai kids on a visit to a village
- two couples of ostrich dancing on the plain, as elegant as ballet dancers, not long after entering Serengeti
- spotted two white rhinos (out of 40 or so total) in Serengeti in open space right after picnic lunch on top of a kopjes;
- nine tree climbing lions in Serengeti; a lioness ready for hunt;
- a pair of cheetah; three leopards on trees, once with a prey (an antelope) on a nearby branch.
- sensational sunset at beautiful migration tent camp in Serengeti. Knowing that we are into photography, Junga made the effort to talk to one of the staff so that he can escort us to go out of the camp into open plain so that we can take better pictures. The pictures turned out to be the best sunset I have ever taken!
- vast amount of wildebeest and zebra on migration route in northern Serengeti. The terrain is vast and nothing like I could have imagined. We saw wildebeest kills along the way, and vultures scavenging on the bodies. The ultimate danger of migration!
- the camping at Lobo public campgrounds; the comfortable tents, beds, blankets, sleeping bags and pillows BAS prepared for us; the delicious meals our chef cooked us; the chat with fellow campers, from three different countries, two of them from less than 20 miles from where we live back in US!
- the scenic ride on a small plane from northern Serengeti to Arusha to Zanzibar. The plane was delayed for about two hours. Junga patiently waited with us and even took us for a quick drive to a nearby sight before boarding. He and the chef also prepared us boxed lunch for the day, which was must appreciated later as we only had about 20 minutes when transferring at Arusha.
- many many more
We did ran into some car problems. One was a small accident on the very narrow road between Ngorongoro crater and Lake Empakaai in the highlands; it could be a real accident but we were lucky. It's not our driver's fault but that is a small road with many blind turns. Another time some debris broke the cooling fan and we had to leave the Mara river to find help. Junga contacted BAS in Arusha and they were able to get a replacement part flown in to a nearby airstrip and had it fixed by a mechanic at a balloon tour operator in the afternoon. While waiting for the part, Junga was able to drive us along the river looking for wildebeest crossing with frequent watering to keep the car cool enough, but we missed seeing the crossing that day (due to interruption of game drive looking for help). That's a small disappointment for us.
We find the national parks in Tanzania well preserved, not overwhelmed with tourists, and very clean. The rangers are very friendly too. We had two walking tours with rangers along the way and we liked the experience of on foot, to feel it more directly and see other things (like a beautiful chameleon) you cant see in a Land Cruiser. The only complain we had was the long wait at the entrance of most National Parks. It seems there's endless and inefficient paperwork.
All in all, the Safari trip in Tanzania was a blast for all of us. We are grateful to Junga, our cook, Msangi, and Bright African Safaris and have wholeheartedly recommend them to all my friends and family.
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Email Elizabeth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible Experience - Thank you again, Bright African Safaris!
Wow. Where to begin? The first comment I have to make is that Bright African Safaris was the best choice we could have made for our Tanzanian safari. I wholeheartedly recommend this company, and I will certainly use this company again in the future.
From the moment I first contacted the company, I was impressed. Rukia responded promptly and thoroughly, answering my numerous questions with ease and making excellent recommendations for our safari. I felt no qualms at all about wiring money overseas to this company, having done so before for past excursions. I appreciated that Rukia contacted me as soon as the money was received, and she ensured that our driver and guide, Mrindoko, was at the airport well before our arrival.
In terms of the safari itself, Mrindoko was an exceptional guide. He was friendly, flexible, and extremely knowledgeable, engaging us from the moment we met him. He drove carefully and efficiently, and he truly made our first experience in Tanzania incredible. We went to four different national parks with him: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Every park was an exceptional experience, and we were very fortunate to see lions every single day of our trip. During the last part of our trip, in Ngorongoro, we were extremely lucky to see the rhinos, which are very rare in the wild. Aside from lions, we also saw countless elephants, zebras, hippos, birds, and numerous other animals; thanks to Mrindoko’s trained eyes and patience, our high expectations were consistently exceeded. In addition, at the end of each day, Mrindoko reviewed the day’s activities with us to ensure that we were satisfied and that he fully adhered to the schedule, which Rukia provided several months before the safari.
Aside from the spectacular wildlife, we were also extremely happy with the meals, lodging, and other excursions. The meals were excellent, often featuring fresh vegetables and other healthy cuisine, as well as a wide variety of meats and desserts. The lodging was outstanding; we stayed in the Maramboi Tented Lodge, Acacia Farm Lodge, Serengeti Serena Lodge, and Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. Truthfully, I’ve travelled through several countries, and Tanzania has some of the best, if not the best, hospitality in the world, and every lodge exceeded my expectations. In terms of other excursions, we also did a village tour, which I really enjoyed, as it gave us the opportunity to learn about the Masai Mara and obtain some nice handmade gifts for people back home. At our request, Mrindoko also took us to The Tanzanite Experience, which gave us the opportunity to purchase additional, unique gifts, as tanzanite is only mined in Tanzania.
At the end of our tour, we personally met Rukia and Msangi, who owns the company. They were extremely friendly and asked for feedback regarding the safari. In addition, Msangi also provided excellent insight into additional opportunities offered by Bright African Safari, including Zanzibar add-ons, the Selous Preserve, and even excursions in other countries, which really interested us. This was the first time we had personally met the owner of a safari company, which demonstrates the level of commitment that Bright African Safaris has to its customers.
Overall, I was extremely satisfied with Bright African Safaris, and we were very fortunate to have Mrindoko as our guide. Whenever we use Bright African Safaris in the future, we will certainly request him.
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Email Chiara Vecchi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing!
Everything was perfect: Travel, food and accomodations (we mainly appreciated tented camps near Tarangire and the ones in Serengeti). We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. The latest two were wonderful. We saw many animals and big cats, our favourite! We stayed only few hours in the Ngorongoro, we'd liked to stay there more, considering the beautiful landscapes and animals. Thanks to our guide Hoffman to let us meet so many big cats!
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Email Mark and Teresa | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond our wildest dreams
We really can't think of anything Bright Africa could have done to make this trip better. Everything was amazing and wonderful. Our guide Athuman made this safari perfect in every way. We are already planning a return trip and certainly want Athuman as our guide. The accomadations (permanent lodges and tented lodges) were better than most high end hotels in the US which was a surprise. Our vehicle was reliable and very nice. We did see some other tours that had broken vehicles on the side of the road so this is a very big point in planning a trip like this. We recommend Bright Africa Safaris very highly.
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Email Jim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous doesn't even begin to describe Bright African
The short version is this: You're in great hands with Bright African. Don't hesitate to arrange your safari through this locally owned company. Be sure to request that Junga guide you and Jamal do your cooking.
Here's the long version:
Just like you, I waded through the huge numbers of safari companies I found online. In the end, I relied on the Trip Advisor reviews and a gut feeling about Bright African. Our group of four was sooooo lucky that I recommended BA.
From the start of our inquiry through finalizing the itinerary for our 8 day northern circuit safari in mid-September and all the logistics, Msangi, the owner, and Rukia, his delightful office assistant, were prompt to respond to emails and were true professionals. It was such a pleasure to meet them when we arrived in Arusha!
Little did we know that Msangi had chosen a man to guide us who, quite honestly, none of the four in our group can describe with words alone. There just aren't enough superlatives for Onema Junga. (Everyone calls him "Junga".) I'm sure all of Msangi's other guides are wonderful but do yourself a favor and juggle your trip dates if that's what it takes to make sure Junga is your guide.
This man went above and beyond in every way imaginable. From dealing with broken leaf springs in the Serengeti at night and getting us to a camp site at midnight to turning around as we were leaving Ngorongoro on our last day when reports of a rhino sighting came over the radio he was superb. Junga could have just called it a safari and headed out of the crater but he was relentless in his pursuit of our satisfaction. We got the big 5 and more.
He has an uncanny ability to anticipate what animals will be doing and putting the vehicle in the best viewing position possible. Other safari companies' guides weren't doing what Junga did and trust me, we were treated to better viewing than many others. He was also relentless in his search for animals in spite of the long hours behind the wheel. Junga did this even though it meant extra work for himself and Jamal. He would also stop to offer help to any other vehicles or guides that looked like they may need help. He struck us an overall good and trustworthy man.
Here are a couple of examples of how Junga went above and beyond. We were at a hippo pool and were enjoying the scene for quite some time when he popped the driver's hatch and announced that he was going to find us a snake. Five minutes later he announced that the game was on for us to find it with our binoculars. He described generally where it was and said its recently shed skin was nearby. We had the best time spotting this snake, a boomslang, and it was a treat. Its bright white skin being right next to it was just a great bonus. While I can't guarantee that the other safari vehicles parked near us didn't spot a snake, I highly doubt it.
He brought us in the "back entrance" to Lake Manyara which was absolutely the right call. It seemed we had one entire section of the park all to ourselves. It made for a longer day and another late arrival at camp that night but Junga really did put our interests ahead of his and Jamal's comfort.
As for Jamal, our wonderful cook, again there's good news. We had some onerous dietary restrictions and this man bent over backwards to accommodate us. I gained weight on the trip due to his huge portions of delicious food. It was simple but delicious and exactly what you'd expect on a camping trip. We even had a scratch baked cake and banana custard a couple of evenings! I was glad to have brought plenty of snacks, though, as it sometimes got be a while between meals.
Msangi went above and beyond as well. He met us at the Mvuli hotel at the end of our safari to see how things went and to say goodbye. When he learned we were going to Zanzibar for a few days he arranged for a taxi driver to pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel. He told us that even though our safari was over, we were still his clients until we left Tanzania and to let him know if we needed anything. How gracious!
We forgot to pick up a couple of t-shirts at the Bright African office and Msangi learned this after we were on Zanzibar. Imagine our surprise when his taxi driver arrived at our hotel with the t-shirts. Msangi had them sent to Zanzibar on a flight later that day and arranged for his taxi driver to deliver them to us! Unbelievable service!
Here are a couple of helpful hints for you. Number one is tipping. I'd read many formulas for what constitutes an appropriate tip and saw one of Msangi's posts that suggested 10% of the safari price. We ultimately took the 10% as a base and increased it significantly for Junga and Jamal going north of 15% to make a nice round number. I also gave each of them our headlamps to help with future night breakdowns and tent set-ups in the dark. Last, I gave them what remained of the roll of duct tape I brought. Do yourself a favor a bring a roll along - we made good use of ours several times.
I could write a novel about the vehicle breakdowns (yes, plural) but be advised these vehicles take a beating on those roads and if you don't have at least one breakdown I'd be amazed. We saw other victims of the worst washboards you'll ever drive. Just be patient and realize that AAA does not exist in Tanzania. No complaining. Hakauna Matata. You're all in it together and you'll have a great story to tell.
If you're doing the budget camping trip like we did, be prepared for very refreshing, almost cold, showers at some campgrounds. Take sturdy sandals and expect no place to hang your towels or set your shampoo. It was also helpful to have some good sturdy sandals, like Keens, for the campgrounds in the evening. The first night I used flip flops and got a few nasty stickers in my foot that were difficult to remove. It is also a good idea to bring toilet paper as it was frequently in short supply in their bathrooms. Oh, and I saw a fairly creepy spider on/under a toilet seat so be prepared to do a toilet sweep and sit at your own risk.
I was a little nervous about the comfort of tent camping expecting to be sleeping on the ground but they provided very comfortable cots and sleeping pads with good wool blankets which I found surprisingly comfortable. I was still a bit chilly when we camped on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater so bring some warm clothes and socks if you itinerary takes you there.
Take along some type of plastic bag in case you have to relieve yourself in your tent in the night because the buffalo/lions are too near to risk going to the restroom. Better to go in your tent than die by buffalo.
Get the best binoculars you can, they will make the animal viewing even more spectacular. We rented Swarovskis from optics4rent.com - Todd, the owner, is great. When Junga first saw them, he immediately told me they were the best. No kidding! We were all amazed and trust me, when your Rhino and her baby are 400 yards away or you can count the whiskers on the leopard in the tree you'll be glad you brought them.
The Mvuli hotel has basic clean rooms - it's not a Hilton but you're not paying Hilton prices. It's really off the beaten path at the end of a very bumpy dirt road. Going into town will require a taxi. The food was good. Check out your shower before you accept the room. The first night we stayed there, our shower had virtually no pressure. After our safari, I made sure we had a different room. They will also do laundry for you for a small fee and have it folded and ready by morning.
Start your safari with a trip to Arusha National Park. Do the walking safari with an armed park ranger. It's a great appetizer for what lies ahead at the crown jewels of the northern circuit. It also gives you a day to get over jet lag before you start driving long distances. If you do it at the end of your safari it won't have much of an impact.
They did not ask for additional passport photos or a copy of our passport when paying for our visa at KJO airport. Just $100. Be prepared to stand in lines for about 45 minutes.
Be careful at the roadside curio stands. They are ruthless, high pressure negotiators and we ended up paying higher prices than we found later in Zanzibar and even at the airport for the same articles. As much as I would like to support them I felt the prices were pretty outrageous.
We tried to pack light and do laundry every few days but if I were to do it over I would just pack enough clothes to get through the whole trip. Since you are sitting in the vehicle most of the time you don't really get too hot and sweaty so it's no problem to get a few days out of shirts and pants. Laundry was difficult to do in the showers and did not dry by morning causing unneeded hassle. The zipper pants were handy as the mornings were a bit cooler but as it warmed up it was easy to unzip the bottoms and convert to shorts.