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
AE
Email Audrey | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life time adventures
Our safari surpassed my wildest expectations! We were there for the wildebeest migration which was incredible and saw over many lion prides, half a down rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, and every other animal on my wish list all due to our highly experienced guide who was extremely knowledgeable as well as genuinely fun to be with for the week. We met many other tourists with other companies whose experience was no where near as rewarding as ours. Bright safaris even took care of some problematic travel arrangements for the next leg of our trip which I couldn't straighten out.
AE
Email rein | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top guide
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.
AE
Email pavel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Wildebeest watch trip
Africa Safaris is one of our life long dream. After long searching for the most knowledgable and accommodating tour companies, we decided to go with the Bright Africa Safaris. I and 8 friends had a fantastic and memorable trip. Thanks to our guides, Yonga & Othman, we witnessed migration and wildebeest crossing, and encountered (with safety distance) lions, cheetah, and leopards many occasions and of course at the last minute we spotted the rarely seen rhinos at Ngrongorn crater (Our 15 days trip filled with dust but also filled with excitement, laugh and educational moments (learning animals' habit and behavior, bushman hunting).
We enjoyed all of our lodging arrangements (especially at Tarengeri Resort lodge) ; and food was wonderful!
We certainly full filled our dream with the Bright Africa Safaris!
A wonderful experience with Bright African Safaris!
Our tour with Bright African Safaris was probably the best vacation we've ever taken! We had excellent help while actually planning the trip, as we decided which of the many lodging options we wanted to use and which parks to visit. Then the tour itself was outstanding, from the time Ally and Hasimi picked us up at the airport until the time they took us back. This trip totally exceeded our expectations! Bright African Safaris did a great job for us, we will definitely use them again on any future visits.
Email Tissa | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari Holiday with Bright African Safaris
From February 26th to March 6th, 2018 we had a memorable safari holiday in Tanzania with Bright African Safaris. With our experience with them we have nothing but good things to say about this travel company. Before we booked the holiday I took time to visit many a Tanzania forums and travel companies to check the itineraries and prices. I got many quotations from companies in Tanzania and in the UK.At the end Bright African Safaris had the best offer tailored to our requirements. They had the best price too. The company director Msangi Charema always prepared to change the dates, locations and accommodations according to our requests. He replied to our many e-mails instantly and provided all the information about many things that we wanted to know. We were highly impressed about his professionalism and understanding. We gave him a lot of trouble to get the best out of our money. It was not a bother for Msangi. During our holiday we were with an excellent guide Saleem. He has an unbelievable knowledge about the history and Fauna and Flora of Tanzania. He also has a very good and clear understanding about where to find wild life in huge parks that Tanzania has to offer. His knowledge about the road systems and the tracks in all the parks we visited is exceptional. He is very kind, friendly and nothing was too much of a trouble for him. He went out of his way to make our visit a the best we ever had. The vehicle we were given was a 4x4 jeep and had a fridge and a power point that allow you to charge batteries and mobile phones, that became a great help for us. Free bottled water and soft drinks were available through out our stay. Bright African Safaris has a policy of no limit on Fuel and Milage. So we were able to drive around all day every day in all the parks we visited. In all we were highly impressed about the services Bright African Safaris provided during our stay. We recommend this company to any one who is looking for a Safari Holiday.
Safari Videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxHiafK7J8E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AETTdz4hkuU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cZcv0AON_c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz6srAZi8Pg
SG
Email Ken | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A most fantastic and memorable experience for the entire family.
While researching for an African safari tour operator, I read about BAS on some of the online forums, and reached out to them (and a few other operators) via email. Their marketing person, Salim, was always very quick and helpful in his replies to us; and was able to accommodate some of our requests, like an extra night at Tarangire and Serengeti, a stopover at the Olduvai Gorge for a quick anthropological learning session for the kids on human evolution.
Everything was conducted smoothly, and no hiccups. Options for payment were plentiful: cash, credit card (with additional bank surcharges) or TT the funds to their account.
Prior to our flight from home (Singapore), we were informed who would be our guide as well as the telephone nos in the event of emergencies or if we need to contact BAS on arrival to Arusha. On arrival, Hamis, our guide was there waiting for us, and with a bright smile to greet us. We felt at home almost straightaway.
Our first leg of the journey was to Tarangire National Park, and Lake Manyara National Park. Tarangire was our first introduction to African Elephants (many of them), warthogs (Pumba), hyenas, Masai giraffes, and lions. The lions were a bit more challenging to sight. It was amazing how Hamis was able to rattle off the names of the birds that we saw during our trip. At the Lake Manyara, we saw more elephants, tons of baboons (we saw a troop that numbered around 300 - 400 baboons), hippos and buffaloes. We were not able to see the flamingos up close, but it was not the season for the flamingos to flock to the lake as yet.
Then we had to change guides as Hamis fell sick along the way and felt it was not best to continue on the journey with us (into a more remote part of the country aka Serengeti) and we got a new guide, Salim (or Salim Salim to differentiate with the office Salim). Salim had a gift (as I'm sure so do the other guides) of finding animals far away with only his eyes and we're still trying to look for the animals using our binoculars! And at the Serengeti, he made an effort to try to get us to see as many types of animals as possible. Including a whole morning hunting for a cheetah (success), and we came across many packs of lionesses and cubs along the way. At the Ngorongoro crater, he found 2 lionesses stalking a pair of water buffaloes, whereas we at that time was a bit tired of seeing all the lions not do much.. except he said to look at the posture of one of the lioness, was one of stalking the prey. We stayed for a good 20 minutes while the pair stalked the buffaloes and got to see some action, the chase, the fight back... but it would not be a successful hunt. But exciting nonetheless.
The hotels and lodging booked by BAS was first rate. A word of caution for Tarangire Osupuko lodge was that it was powered by generators and there would be no power for most of the night and early morning (it got quite hot in the room), but the view of the national park was lovely (situated right on the edge of the park). The best time we had in terms of lodging was at the Serengeti Tortillis Camp, which I am glad we booked an extra night. The kids got to learn about near zero carbon living, and while luxurious, it was as close to camping as they got in a while. And the night sky was wonderful! Sadly it rained for part of the time we were there so not much chance to see the striking sun rise or sun sets.
Overally, it was a first rate tour from BAS, from start to end. Could not have been happier with the trip, and the team at BAS.
AR
Email Thomas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
perfect trip
We are are a group of 27 young boys and girls from argentina who just done our trip with Bright African Safaris and everything went perfectly.
We did a 7 days safaris to serengeti,ngorongoro, ndutu and tarangire park. This is a lifetime expirience.
Our drivers were good and did their best to make sure we are happy. We were with mrindoko who did a wonderful drive.
If i go back to Tanzania, I will use bright african safaris.
Asante BAS
Linda group
FR
Email Veronique L | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari Tour
We booked a Bright Safari 5 day Tour and was Beyond expectation. We had a great driver, Salim, who is very experienced and really took time to answer all our questions. Spending time with him during 5 days was very pleasant. In addition, he speaks english and french very fluenty. He was able to spot the animals also in hidden places. The Lodges Chosen were also very good.
For us, first Time Safari was a great experience.
US
Email Regenia & Don | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
VERY Knowledgeable & Determined to find the BIG 5
From the first email, working with Bright African Safaris (BAS) was GREAT. I sent out 3 emails to local Tanzania Safari groups with a few questions + info about my husband & me & asked for suggestions. Of the 3 companies, one replied a week later & one replied in 2 days which said "let me get you some info". It didn't matter if the other 2 responded in a timely manner or not because SALIM @ BAS had already WON us over w/his Professionalism & Quick Response. I received a very detailed email from Salim in less than 24 hrs complete w/a suggested Itinerary, info about BAS's community service, email addresses of previous clients that agreed to give a BAS review & Salim's confidant promise that I wouldn't be disappointed in BAS. I told Salim we were celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary by visiting "7 Continents in 7 Months" & that Africa would be our last Continent. Salim said "You saved the best for last". Their reviews on TripAdvisor, Google & Face Book were Great. Within a few weeks, Salim had sent almost daily emails with suggestions of lodges & tented camps to make sure we were pleased with our accommodations & our African Safari was now all planned.
We arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport & had no problem in getting our Visa as Salim had told me exactly what we'd need, we got our luggage & waiting for us was our BAS Guide, RAJABU. It was 9:30pm but Rajabu was so friendly & helpful so we instantly felt at ease that we were in great hands. After taking us to our 1st stop, Lake Duliti Lodge which was wonderful, Rajabu went over the upcoming first day of our safari w/us so we were ready to start our amazing 9 day Safari & 2 day rest.
Our safari included Arusha N. Park, Tarangire N. Park, the endless Serengeti Plains, Central & Western Corridor of Serengeti N. Park, Ngorongoro Crater Rim & Crater Floor. RAJABU was so Awesome at finding the Wildlife. We saw Lions (even 1 pride of 24 lions), Cheetahs, Leopards, Elephants, Giraffes, DikDiks, various eagles & other birds, huge Crocodiles, Caracal, Honey Badgers in Daytime, Banded & Dwarf Mongoose, Wart Hogs, Hyenas, Black Backed & Golden Jackal, Hippos, Zebras, Wildebeest, 9 varieties of other Antelopes, Buffalo & Yes, the elusive RHINO. We saw ALL of the BIG 5.
Altho our safari was over, Salim arranged our 2nd BAS guide, HASIMI, for a City Tour to Arusha Markets & Heritage Culture Center on Day 10 of our trip after a restful night & relaxing breakfast & lunch at the beautiful Mount Meru Game Lodge. Our trip was far from over as I'd asked Salim about visiting a local community & a coffee plantation. So on our last day before flying out at 9 pm, our weekend guide, Hamisi picked us up as planned @ 8.30 am, then picked up a local guide, Gifttairo "Young Rasta", to guide us as we hiked to Materuni waterfalls, then to help make our own fresh coffee at Hillborn Organic Coffee, enjoy a wonderful Lunch provided by a local Chagga tribe, taste local brew made from Ripe Bananas and learned about the local culture of the beautiful people that live in this area. We then left for the airport with Hamisi but he announced "Kilimanjaro is in view now so we'll stop for pictures". Sure enough, the clouds had cleared & Hamisi took our picture w/Kilimanjaro.
This entire 11 day Trip was so well planned. I suspect Salim told the lodges about our 50th so we had a Celebration Anniversary Party w/cake at Sergenti Tortilis Camp w/singers, a tasty fruit-cheese-chocolate tray at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge & a bottle of wine at Mount Meru Game Lodge.
If you want to enjoy a worry free safari, just tell Bright African Safari what you'd like and they'll make sure you have everything that you can imagine. ASANTE SANA SALIM, RAJABU & HAMISI. The Perfect Team that made our African Safari PERFECT.
US
Email Valerie C. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari Company!
We booked an eight day safari with Bright African Safaris in the middle of June 2018. From our first contact by email to our departure home from our wonderful trip, BAS exhibited an extremely high level of professionalism and competence with genuine warmth, caring, and thoughtfulness.
Salim, in the BAS office, was very responsive and helpful. He provided lots of great information in his initial emails to me including suggested itineraries, choices of accommodations, and pricing. He promptly answered every question I asked over the months preceding our trip including many questions about accommodations, getting a visa, and safari vehicles. Salim also went out of his way to drive to meet with us after our safari to say hello, inquire about our trip, and ask for any feedback. Needless to say, we were happy to let him know about our amazing trip and we couldn’t be happier.
Now I want to review our driver/guide. His name is also Salim and we feel so lucky that he was our guide. Salim is incredibly knowledgeable about the animals, birds and plants of the area as well as the people, cultures, and ecology. He has “eagle eyes” and can pick out animals and birds in the distance that we could only see with our binoculars! He could also find animals close by but hidden in rocks or trees. Most of the animals are so close that you can take a picture of them with your iphone, but Salim’s ability to find some of the shyer and rarely seen animals was truly amazing. He worked so hard to make sure we saw as many species as possible. He made sure we always had the best viewing and would anticipate where the animals would go next so we would be waiting for them.
We saw so many species including over 70 lions, 2 cheetahs, 2 leopards, thousands of zebra and wildebeest (migration), warthogs, elephants, buffalo, giraffe, baboons, monkeys, many species of antelope, 5 black rhinos, hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, foxes, flamingoes and many, many other birds.
Highlights included a lion hunt (the prey got away), the great migration, and a huge majestic male lion on top of a cliff outcropping at sunrise.
Salim cleaned the land cruiser every night and made sure we had drinks and snacks. We had amazing boxed lunches out in the bush with a nice table and chairs. Salim is wonderful to spend time with and you can tell what a good heart he has after spending only a short time with him. He loves his work and enjoys sharing his knowledge with his clients. I noticed many drivers of other safari vehicles just sitting while their clients looked at animals. Salim had his binoculars out and was looking at the animals with us most of the time! We would discuss what we were seeing and he would answer questions we had. By the way, for the few questions he couldn’t answer, he had a couple of books in the truck and he would look it up.
There were 3 of us and Salim in a big 7 seat land cruiser for the same price as other companies were charging for a seat in a full vehicle with other people. We had plenty of room for standing up to see the animals/taking pictures and stretching out on the road trips. Very comfortable!
I could go on and on, but this review is already long! Please do not hesitate to book your trip with Bright African Safaris. You will be very happy!
