FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the best experiences of my life !
I highly recommend booking your safari with Pavillons Safaris and Tours. After researching and comparing several safari companies, I found them to offer a great balance between quality and price.
We did a 6-day safari in Kenya, and overall, we were very happy with the itinerary, the accommodations, and the vehicle. The team was also very responsive and quick to answer all our questions before and during the trip.
A small tip regarding the itinerary: I wouldn’t particularly recommend the guided walk in Naivasha National Park. In our experience, it wasn’t the best value for money compared with the other activities included in the safari.
One of the main highlights of our trip was definitely our guide, Moussa. He was extremely knowledgeable about the animals and the different places we visited, very funny, and genuinely dedicated to making our trip a success. His passion and good mood really made a difference.
A big thank you to Moussa and the whole Pavillons Safaris and Tours team for an unforgettable experience!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy and an absolutely wonderful journey
The travel plan was made six months in advance. We compared many travel agencies on Safari booking and finally chose this one. The staff in charge was very patient and adjusted the itinerary according to our needs. Although we could only communicate via email, the responses were very prompt, which gave us a lot of confidence. The guide who led us was very patient and helped us see many animals. Although there was some language barrier, he did his best to make sure we understood what he was trying to say. I highly recommend choosing Amshar.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Individual and professional organisation with a wonderful good organised program with nice lodges
The organisation was very good. Our contact was extremely friendly and determined to find a good itinerary for us. We were very happy about our accommodations and the tour plan. We saw all big 5 and had very good food. However we weren’t that happy about our guide who was a bit distant. Also his driving made us a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless he was kind.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very attentive and helpful.
Live in Love review:
Peter, with Live in Love,was super helpful, attentive, and deeply knowledgeable guide. He picked us up at our hotel and helped manage the park entrance process.
Peter’s knowledge of her park, habitats, and its wildlife, helped put us on black and white rhino, lions, giraffes, zebra, hippos, and a wide variety of other wildlife.
He read animal behavior well and positioned us for great viewing and photography. As a wildlife photographer, I recommend Peter and Live in Love to anyone looking for a quality safari experience.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great
We had an amazing 4-day safari experience visiting Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and we couldn’t have asked for better people to share this adventure with.
A special mention to our guide, Shedrack, who was absolutely fantastic. He was incredibly warm, attentive and knowledgeable. He explained so many interesting things about the animals, the parks and Tanzanian culture, and was always happy to answer our questions. What made the experience even more special was his great attitude — he was always in a good mood, smiling and making sure we were enjoying every moment. He really made us feel comfortable and well taken care of throughout the entire safari.
Our driver, George Ludovick, was also very good and did a great job throughout the trip. We felt safe with him and he worked very well together with Shedrack to make the safari a memorable experience.
We also want to thank Rehema, our agent, for organizing everything and being attentive to our needs.
The parks themselves were incredible, but for us, what really made the difference was the people who accompanied us during those four days. Having a great guide and driver can completely change the experience, and we were very lucky to have Shedrack and George with us.
Thank you to the whole team for an unforgettable safari in Tanzania! We highly recommend this agency, especially for the wonderful people who make the experience so special. 🐘🦁❤️
NL
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect
Everything is great, everything is settled, driver is the best and no need to complain
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable safari, with pre- and post-safari organisation that needs improvement
Rating: Safari experience 5/5, organisation 2/5
We booked our safari with Mountain Warriors through safaribookings.com. The trip itself was a mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the organisation before and after the safari caused us a great deal of unnecessary stress and can be improved.
The organisation (Rehema)
Rehema replied quickly and promptly to our questions before booking. We paid our 30% deposit 4 weeks before the trip. Then came silence. We expected to be told the next steps and to receive flight confirmations, taxi times, driver names and phone numbers, and details of our safari guide. Instead, when we asked for the status and said we were extremely worried one week before departure, we were told to "worry less". We felt forgotten the moment the deposit was paid, and we had to chase repeatedly for information that should have been shared proactively. We genuinely feared we could be left stranded in Zanzibar with a cancelled trip and nowhere to stay.
4 days before the trip, Rehema sent us flight details to Arusha, but not to our correct destination of Seronera. She corrected this a day later. We then had to request the return flight details ourselves, and she booked the flight at that moment, which left us with a very late and unfavourable return departure. We were also only told about the luggage limits three days before travelling, which meant we had no time to manage our luggage allowances. Rehema said she would take care of the excess, and that the tour operator would kindly store it for us.
On the morning of departure, our taxi was due at 4:30 am for the long drive from Nungwi to Zanzibar airport. No taxi arrived. When we called Rehema at 4:45 am, we learned there had been a mix-up, and a few minutes later that the driver had been sleeping and believed the pick-up was at 5:20 am. We were given no name or phone number. When Abdul arrived, he asked for another traveller by name and was only expecting one passenger (we were two), so we had no way of knowing we were in the right taxi until several phone calls later. Our booking had apparently been forgotten. Abdul also knew nothing about the luggage storage Rehema had promised, and had to call her to confirm it.
When we arrived at the airport in Zanzibar, Rehema informed us that the final 70% was due in cash or card, in person, during our transit time in Arusha. This gave us no time to prepare, and we had no idea the payment was due then. On top of that, she was not at the gate in Arusha when we landed for our stopover. We waited, but eventually had to check in for our next flight. She arrived later, made several calls and chased us in front of our boarding gate, and then her card machine wasn't working. She finally agreed to send us a link for a bank transfer, something we had requested from the very beginning. The payment went through smoothly online, which makes the stress at the gate all the more unnecessary.
The safari (Victor)
Victor is the reason this trip was so special. He met us in Seronera, calmly and kindly put us at ease after a long, worrying morning, corrected one error in our itinerary, and clearly explained how the safari permits, timings and flexibility worked. He is very friendly and professional, drives safely and was always checking on our comfort. He has extensive knowledge of the wildlife and a true "eagle eye" for spotting animals and birds at huge distances. His fun facts on weights, lengths, mating habits, inter-species interactions, population sizes, history, conservation projects, international support and Maasai life made the trip about learning the region as well as seeing wildlife. The game drives and lunches were excellent, and the Serengeti and Ngorongoro are places we will never forget. We would recommend Victor to everyone.
We stayed at Warriors Luxury Tented Lodge on the first night, Ang'ata Ngorongoro Camp on the second and at Karibu Heritage House for the third. All were very comfortable, with very friendly staff and excellent food. Warriors Luxury Tented Lodge was noisy at night due to the very windy conditions.
Materuni Waterfalls (Carlos)
Carlos was a cheerful guide on a joyous day out. We enjoyed a coffee stop and lovely scenery. Because of the very late flight time booked by Rehema, we had a great deal of excess free time, but Carlos very kindly stayed with us until we left for our late flight from Kilimanjaro. Our flight was then delayed by 2.5 hours. We arrived in Zanzibar tired, but the driver was waiting with our stored luggage and kindly took us to our hotel in Stone Town.
Verdict
We would recommend travelling with Mountain Warriors, especially for Victor and the wonderful places we stayed. We hope they improve their communication and organisation before and after the safari. In the meantime, we suggest confirming flights, pick-up times, driver names and numbers, payment arrangements and luggage storage in writing well in advance.
PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All good with Juma!
Our guide was the msot experienced of them all. He knew the shortcuts,he knew how to position with the other jeeps,he knew how to read the client. He has a quick yet safe driving style. And althought is not entirely controlled by him,we got to see the Big 5!
Sightseeing Luxury Lodge was a must! Definitively,the best accomodation we could have!
Suggestions:
We wished the agency could provided binoculares for both of us,and more comucation on the day we arrived. And maybe the Arusha hotel could be better...
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience from beginning to end thanks to Lappet Faced Safaris
We traveled to Tanzania this time with Lappet Faced Safari (Lappet Faced Forever) and specifically chose Frank Sabore, a guide with a glowing reputation in the travel social group.
Our Itinerary: He took us through Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and both Central and Northern Serengeti.
Vehicle & Comfort: Lappet Faced Safaris' Toyota Land Cruisers feature extra-cushioned seats, which were a lifesaver on the bumpy, all-day drives in the Serengeti. They also provided bean bags in the vehicle for camera support.
Connectivity: Instead of in-car Wi-Fi, Lappet Faced provided physical SIM cards (5GB each). Make sure to bring a unlocked phone with a physical SIM tray. While cell coverage across the Serengeti is generally weak, the SIM card signal was actually slightly better than the eSIM data package I had purchased before the trip. Plus, hotels have Wi-Fi, so we didn't even use up the 5GB data by the end of the trip.
Overall, Frank is an extremely responsible guide—highly recommended! Here are the key highlights:
Flawless Communication: His English is exceptionally fluent and natural (so much so that my wife was jokingly worried he was silently judging her English, lol).
Great Anticipation & Spotting: He knows wildlife behavior inside out and can accurately predict their movements to position the vehicle perfectly ahead of time. Once, he drove us quite a distance away, set up his position, and told us to watch a specific gap where a leopard was likely to emerge. We had our cameras ready, and sure enough, the leopard walked right out! Thanks to him, we didn't end up with just photos of animals walking away.
"Eagle-Eye" Vision: He is a master at spotting animals from a distance. Even better than other top-tier guides, he could identify the sex of the animals right on the spot (we couldn't independently verify it, but it sounded super impressive!). He didn't need to take a photo and zoom in to guess like others do.
Photography-Savvy Positioning: Frank mentioned he has guided multiple photography tours, and it really shows. He understands lighting direction well and proactively repositions the vehicle accordingly. When he noticed I preferred low-angle compositions, he went out of his way to find parking spots that accommodated low-angle shots—a huge plus! (Although reviewing my shots on my R5 Mark II later revealed that tall grass still occasionally messed with the autofocus, his effort was 10/10).
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent experience
Great experience, especially our driver cum guide Rony has been responsible, caring and aware of the parks in and out. We could see many animals because of Rony's effort. Overall very good experience.