PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Car crush & stolen money - make sure not to book any trip with It Started in Africa!
The safari with It Started in Africa was a series of bad adventures and lost money.
The trip started with a car crush with a fuel truck in the middle of Ngorongoro conservation area, caused by our car breaks malfunction. It was very dangerous situation, fortunately we managed to continue the trip next day in a new car (even it worse shape), without very serious injuries, but being really shaken up, in pain and with multiple bruises.
Secondly, the problems with financials appeared. Enough though we covered all the fees and permits in advance we were forced to pay again for entrances to National Parks. Not only we had to cover the expensive payments again, but also we were hold on each gate for hours, losing time planned for our safari (above on a whole day that we already lost due to the car accident). Moreover, it turned out that the company did not pay their subcontractors as well, e.g. for our car rental. Therefore, on a final day of our safari we were hunted through the Ngogoro crater by the car owner, who insisted on immediate car return. Instead of enjoying the nature we were forced to participate in multiple arguments between our driver and the car owner about the missing money. The problems continued also upon our arrival to Zanzibar where we had to repay multiple transport fees, which again we already covered by us before.
We discussed it with the ITIA office multiple times and did not receive any attention or support, at certain point the office simply stopped answering the phone or returning emails.
We are also aware that this was not an exceptional case, as during our trip we have met several other groups, who had to repay the fees already covered and like us lost a lot of money.
We selected ITIA as tour operator due to their highly positive reviews at TripAdvisor. Unfortunately, those turn out to be absolutely not true. Not only they stole money from us, but most importantly they did not ensure safety and support during our trip. Make sure you never book any trip with It Started in Africa office.
CA
Awesome
Excellent great Safari experience
We had a wonderful tour with this company, cannot speak highly enough of their expertise, experience and they really looked after us. Our Kenya Tanzania safari could not have been better, had a good knowledgeable driver/ Guide, very much flexible, friendly and awesome in almost all aspect that would make our trip more enjoyable. Saw all the animals and the Lodges we stayed at were the best of all the lodges have ever used before on a safari like this. I highly recommend wild race AFrica for a great safari experience of a lifetime.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An awesome safari with a great tour guide
I booked a 4-day safari through Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro Crater and Serengeti with a couple of other volunteers and the trip couldn't have been better. The communications ran smoothly and the price was fair. I didn't really knew what to expect from a safari except seeing some cool animals but the trip itself was more than I could have imagined. Our tour guide Sos gave explanations about the different animals we saw and really did his best to show us as much as he could. When we were searching for a leopard at the serengeti he kept driving for a while so we could spot one, which we finally did in the end. Although it was also because of a dose of good luck that we saw the things we saw (lions with 12 cubs eating their prey, a rhino passing the road right in front of us,...) the experience wouldn't have been the same with another company. The food was also really good and Sos was an easy-going, friendly guy who did everything he could to make this trip one of the best experiences I ever had.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wild Things Safaris support Hampshire Scouts
Where do we start with this? 4 years ago, some leaders from Hampshire Scouts had a mad idea to take a massive group of Scouts to Tanzania. We have worked with Wild Things on smaller groups, but scaling up to over 100 was going to be fun.
We can proudly say that Wild Things proved that they can cover everything from couples, up to groups of 110 Scouts. We had 6 different teams in Tanzania for over 4 weeks, and during this time, Wild Things deployed 19 vehicles and over 40 staff in drivers, cooks, project managers etc.
We had a complex program, with teams undertaking different activities at different times, and in different locations, hundreds of miles apart. We had challenges thrown at the scouting program, resorting in changes to the program, but Wild Things handled all of this without any fuss or issues.
All 110 us went on 5 different safaris in Mikumi National Park. Amazingly, all teams saw big cats, and had an amazing time.
A massive thank you to Roy, Zoe, Woody and all of the team at Wild Things. Hopefully, we will do it all again in 2020!!!
Jools
Julian Sore
Tanzania 2017 Expedition Leader
Hampshire County Scouts
IE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari and Great Value for Money
I had an 11-day awesome, unforgettable trip across Kenya and Tanzania.
Peter, the owner was incredibly friendly, professional, very responsive and helpful throughout the whole booking process and even got me some local mosquito repellent that I requested. Both the Kenyan and Tanzanian crew made sure that I am having a great and memorable time and helped me in every possible way. They provided very personalized attention.
We saw the Big Five animals within the first three days of safari - and saw plenty of other truly unbelievable sights along the way. Cannot say enough good things about Peter and Africa Flash McTours! I highly recommend this company!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect local agency
The best way to climb Kilimadjaro !!! Amazin team :) We had a lot of fun
And of course don't forget to finish your trip with a Safari
PA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip
Excelente service, good to repeat the experience at masaimara
US
Scammed
We got duped for 5k from this company. We paid in full and the company ran off with everyone's money. Someone removed the trip advisor comments of everyone beginning to try and figure out what happened. Endless lies and deceit.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
After spending many hours researching which company to use for our first safari in South Africa we decided on Wild Wings. They provided an amazing, flawless, and unforgettable experience!!!
Madi became our travel consultant and after numerous emails and a few phone calls we had a fantastic itinerary. Throughout the planning process she was extremely professional, friendly, and very patient! She arranged all the lodgings, transfers, safaris, tours, and national airfares. Madi made sure that everything was just perfect!
My husband and I started our journey in Cape Town. We stayed in Cape Town Hollow Hotel which has an excellent location and our room had an amazing view of Table Mountain! She also booked tours to Cape Point and Hermanus with African Experience. We then flew to Nelspruit for our three-night safari in Kruger (Skukusa Rest Camp) and our guide was Simon!!! He is just the best! Excellent guide with an extraordinary knowledge of the animals and birds in the park. His passion for nature is contagious. Simon was not only our driver and guide but he was also a wonderful cook…. with a great sense of humor; eating our meals with him was such a pleasure! He offered genuine individual attention and tried to cater to every want and/or need of each person in the group…. We couldn’t ask for more!!!
From Skukusa, Mishak from Gap Tours transferred us to Machaton Private Camp located in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. This lodge is incredible! We felt so pampered by Lezel and her fantastic team… from the beautiful rooms, wonderful meals, friendly staff, and magnificent game drives. Their attention to every single detail was superb!!!
We were again picked up by Gap Tours for the very scenic Panorama Route drive tour. Our driver and guide, Mishak was very knowledgeable and passionate about the area and the animals. He even spotted several birds throughout the drive.
Our next destination was Johannesburg and Madi arranged a half day tour to Soweto and Johannesburg with Spurwing Tourism Services. This was a very interesting tour that provided us with a historical history of South Africa.
From there we flew to Kasane Airport and stayed at the Chobe Marina Lodge for two-nights. We had a beautiful room facing the Chobe River and did two spectacular cruises on the river (morning and night) that offered us a distinct perspective of the animal’s interaction with the water. We also did game drives and saw different animals from the cruise.
Final destination: Victoria Falls…. Breathtaking !!! We stayed at the Ilala Lodge which was within walking distance from the falls and you could see the falls’ mist from the hotel! Madi arranged for us via Wild Horizons a beautiful sunset cruise and a microlight flight (from Zambia) over the magnificent falls. This was an incredible experience!
Throughout our journey in South Africa Madi arranged for us multiple transfers and tours that were always punctual, reliable, and guides that were friendly and knowledgeable. We saw an incredible number of animals and birds... a lioness nursing her cubs, a hyena stealing a kill from a pack of wild dogs, a close encounter with a leopard sitting up on a branch with his kill nearby…. Just amazing and incredible sights!
Many thanks to Wild Wings and Madi for exceeding our expectations by providing us with an unforgettable experience!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding budget safari to Masai Mara for two with transfer on to the Serengeti
Excellent, reliable company to organise a safari with and very highly recommended. We wanted something a bit different (a land transfer into Tanzania at the Sirare border on the western side of Masai Mara) and Serene East Africa Safaris coped wonderfully with this, providing us with good options for a private safari (just the two of us) that were within our budget-level price range. The accommodation chosen was amazing given our budget (Mara Base Camp - highly recommended). Vehicle comfortable and reliable (minivan which is typical for here and much cheaper than land cruisers), driver helpful and capable. The wildlife viewing was exceptional (the wildebeest migration had crossed into Masai Mara from the Serengeti). Transfer from the MM to the Sirare border does not seem to be common so I provide some detail here. It is a 4 hour, really pleasant scenic drive - not a main roads so on dirt roads but not a problem. There was a fuss free handover directly to our Tanzanian safari driver at the border; the two safari vehicles just parked beside each other. The border passport controls (the Tanzanian side is a new building) and paperwork took just 15 minutes. You absolutely MUST have a yellow fever vaccination certificate to cross the border (although theoretically I think this is not required - depending on where you have traveled - you will still be asked for it). Taking vehicles across the border can be a big headache so we had a Tanzanian reistered vehicle and driver waiting for us for our Serengeti part of the trip. The two drivers were in good communication so this all went smoothly. This way of getting around to the Serengeti is a good budget alternative to going back to Nairobi, flying from there or going via the main land crossing. Be aware that it is still a few hours drive from this border before you get into the Serengeti National Park. Thanks Lucy and Serene East Africa Safaris for helping make our trip a fantastic experience.