SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A cultural safari with memories for a lifetime!
I spent some great days with Journeys Uganda during my second visit to Uganda which came to give me some of my most treasured memories.
As being a frequent traveller I this time went back to Uganda to visit friends and ended up making many new ones.
I requested a cultural safari which I surely got. Moving across Ugandas different kingdoms and with that different tribes and sights mixed together with the gorgeous nature scenes was just fantastic. The wildlife through my safari was very much alive even if the purpose was different but it just made it even better since it is all somehow connected.
I ended my trip in Kigali, Rwanda visiting a few of the genocide menorial sites to pay my respect with the victims. A very emotional experience but something that everyone that visits Kigali should take time to do.
Together with my guide Paul Tamwenya who truly is fantastic, I had the most amazing time that I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
"a wonderful East Africa safari experience"
We had a fantastic 10-day safari to Kenya and Tanzania in July 2016 through CKC Tours and Travel. Our trip planning began with weeks of searching the Internet for the best places to go in East Africa and the right company to work with. After a month or so we were able to narrow the search down to three companies. We made a request to three companies for a quote. We were most impressed with CKC’s prompt and very informative response, as well as their very competitive price. As this was our first trip to Africa, we had several questions regarding such things as how long (miles and time) would the vehicle drives be between parks we wanted to visit. We’d heard from friends that many roads between parks were unpaved and 4-6 hour driving time between them was not uncommon. After a few back and forth e-mails, John M. (CKC’s managing director) was able to modify the initial proposal to better accommodate our desired maximum daily travel time by dropping out one of the more outlier parks (Samburu) and adding a flight between two of our “must see” parks (Masai Mara and Serengeti). John’s knowledge of the region, ability to customize the proposal to best fit our interests and clarity in communication were key factors in deciding on CKC. Going with a local tour company was also important to us. Our private safari had guides very knowledgeable about the parks, their wildlife and local peoples and customs. Vincent was our driver/guide in Kenya (Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara and Amboseli) and Abdul and George in Tanzania (Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara). All three had over 15 years of experience, had good communication skills and seemed to be well respected by other guides - the latter being important in receiving up-to-date sightings on special wildlife happenings. We had many, many highlights on the trip, but seeing hundreds of wildebeest crossing of the croc infested Mara River was perhaps most memorable. In summary, we would recommend booking with CKC to our family and friends.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Serengeti Safari Exceeds Expectations
We arrived on August 27, left on Sept. 6. The whole time everything worked to perfection. Our guide, David of E-trip Africa, was professional, fun and very efficient. He was lots of fun and extremely knowledgable about animals, their habits and where to find them. I don't think we missed any. The communications were timely and very helpful, especially the packing list. The flashlights were especially needed. We enjoyed all our stays and the food and personnel we encountered. We saw so many dramatic moments in the life cycles of the animals that I know I will never forget it. The Toyota Land Cruiser was magnificent how it handled the challenging roads with no problems and The binocs he had were great. This truly was the trip of a lifetime.
20-35 years of age
fantastic experience with yala
Just from a fantastic trip with yalasafaris J booked a two night three days with yalasafaris with my family , I had a very good experience in muchisonfalls national park Godwin well organised my trip at a very good price the high light on safari was the baot to the bottom of the falls
I had never seen such big crocodiles and elephants in my life
Thanks to you yalasafaris I highly recomend you
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent ! Nature at its best, very good hotels, excellent guide Patrol. We would highly recommend
Awesome! Very good veg food, masala tea nature at its best. Plenty of animals in their natural habitat and wilderness.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing tour in Tanzania
I did an amazing tour in Tanzania (Ngorongoro, Manyara and Serengeti). The tour operator and the guide were fantastic. I recommend it to everybody
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb Safari Tour
My wife and I loved the safari that African Suburbs Adventures arranged for us. Lamech was extremely helpful and promptly responded to my emails, which enabled us to select the best package. The driver (who was also the guide) provided was really friendly and flexible and knew Masai Maara really well. As a result, we were able to see a lot of animals and that made the whole trip worthwhile.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Custom Tour Beyond All Reasonable Expectations
This is a first rate outfit. Everything went smoothly, easily, and there were no surprises. It is not an easy thing to spend the better part of two weeks in a small car with a stranger, but our guide, Kit Kirchner, was a blessing. Not only was he courteous, humorous, and easy-going, he had a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the fauna and terrain, having spent his whole life in Namibia. As if that wasn't enough, he had an uncanny knack for finding hard-to-see wildlife, including lions and leopards and even scarce raptors. Not only did we leave feeling we'd had a taste of this marvelous country, we left having made a new friend. All in all my family and I cannot too highly recommend Nature Travel Namibia.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Awesome !!!
Your partnership with Shayne's photographic tour is working out very well and I'm looking forward to next years' itinerary and venue. The safari experience was great. Seeing the migration in real life is incomparable.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Six day safari (luxury option). Pros and cons
Victor replied to my request for a quote very promptly. He arranged a pick up from Arusha airport for the following day. We discussed the details of our upcoming safari in his office in Arusha, and one day later we were on the road for our 6-day safari. After making contact with Victor, we researched a bit better and came across a few reviews about him which put us a bit off. In particular, what didn't convince us was the fact that he suggested to pay half the safari via card and the rest via cash - without giving us valid explanations as to why he preferred this option. We insisted and eventually we paid the total via card. There was a minor change in the original itinerary, which he told us about the day before departure, and which did not really change the quality of the trip. As mentioned, we were a bit concerned given the previous negative reviews (not of Care Kilimanjaro, but of other companies he managed in the past). I have to say, in the end we were actually very positively surprised. He threw in the price an extra night of accommodation (the first one in Arusha), the pick up from the airport, and upgraded us to a better hotel for two nights of the trip. He was also very kind to send one of his guys early in the morning to our hotel, two days after the safari ended, because we had realised we had forgotten our Tanzania travel guide in the car. This was really kind of him.
Our guide duirng the safari was Peter. A knowledgeable guide, but we had a few instances in which he wanted to impose his agenda over ours. In particular the first day, when he was pushing for us to go to a curio shop to buy souvenirs at the end of the first tour of Tarangire National Park. We politely declined and said we preferred to stay longer in the park, to which he told us that we wanted to teach him his job, and even accused us of manipulating the other couple that was in the car with us to agree with us on not going to the shop! We were all quite shocked by such an angry reaction. Also, at times during the trip, he was rude with my wife - to the point of telling her "I don't talk to you", more than once. Very unpleasant.
Besided these episodes and the lack of manners, he did his job and drove us safely to the Serengeti and back. Also, he was good in spotting animals during our game drives.
Overall, our experience with Care Kilimanjaro was good - in spite of all the concerns we had before the departure and despite the difficulty we all had in dealing in a relaxed way with our driver. The car was solid, and Peter solved quickly a couple of mechanic problems. The hotel choice was really excellent. The animal spotting was impressive: we saw 25 lions during the whole trip (some of them hunting), two leopards, three cheetas, a black rhino, and countless elephants. Well done Peter in spotting the cheetas and well done to me (Mr Lucky, as he called me) in spotting the second leopard in Lake Manyara Park ;-)
Victor means well but he needs to be more organised. He told us initially we would have been six people in the car. It turned out we were four (two couples). This meant more space, of course. But then why did he tell us six? On the second day a fifth person joined us. This person, and the other couple with us, also complained about the conflicting info we all received about the group. This is not a major problem, but makes people a bit suspicious and shows that the tour operator is trying to squeeze in different travellers with diferent packages into a single car. So in brief he should be more transparent and more organised. Also, the whole cash Vs credit card payment was confusing. One of our fellow travelers, who joined us for one day only, had to handle cash given to her by Victor to our driver, and then to another driver later in the day. She seemed (and rightly so!) quite stressed having to carry around about 900$ in her purse. This was, obviously, unprofessional of Victor.
Again, more tansparency is needed, so that people who have spent quite a lot of money on a safari trip can relax and just enjoy the scenery, istead of having to deal with all these issues.