US
20-35 years of age
Worst work ethic
My review might be the odd one among all the positive reviews. But I need to share my experience so others can avoid a similar experience with this tour operator. I booked a safari tour with Natural World Safari for Sept 2014 , paid all the advance, but had to cancel the tour in Aug 2014 for personal reasons. The experience and communications were fine until my cancellation but after that everything changed and was a nightmare. As per their terms and conditions, I was eligible for 80% refund. But every time I contacted them I was only getting false assurances that the refund shall be done shortly. This continued for the next 1 year 8months. After reporting this to KATO and other efforts from my side, I was finally able to get my refund in April 2016. I believe a good business should abide by their terms and conditions and also show professional ethics. Unfortunately this is not the case with this business once you cancel their service. I hope everyone booking safari with this tour operator understand these risks if you ever have to cancel.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeding our Expectations in Every Way!!!
We cannot say enough about the positive experience we had visiting South Africa, thanks to the support of Tailor Made Safaris. This company is small and nimble. They provided excellent service. They are organized and sensitive, able to really help you identify the kind of experience you want and put it together at a very reasonable cost. Every aspect of our 2 week vacation was well planned, yet flexible on a day to day basis. We were able to really see the natural beauty of the Elephant Coast without feeling like we were among a herd of tourist. Our guide was a big reason why we got so much out of our tour. We think of him as the "coolest Mary Poppins" you could imagine. He was very friendly, intelligent and supported our adventure in every way. The food was terrific! We got to experience the local cuisine, and our one vegetarian traveler was accommodated equally well. We really loved the hardbound book we received a few weeks before our trip. It helped us visualize the details before and during the trip and is now a very sweet souvenir. We cannot recommend this company enough and have already talked some friends/family into travelling with their services.
QA
An amazing experience
I spent a long time trying to search for a safari company that would do
what we wanted at a reasonable price. I found Amazing Memories Safaris and
contacted them. Anne was great in answering all my questions and replied
very quickly to every question and was excellent at suggesting things for
us. We booked a private safari for our honeymoon with our custom itinerary,
which was really great being able to do that.
On arrival in Nairobi we were met at the airport by Anne together with the
guide, Simon, who would be with us for the next few days. He took us to the
hotel for the first night and picked us up early the following morning to
set out on safari. Our guide really made the holiday special. He was
extremely knowledgable and knew where to find all the animals. We saw 4 of
the big 5 on the first evening game drive!
Accommodation throughout the safari was a mixture of lodges, camping in the
wild, and hotels. All were good and unique in their own way and the food
was first class.
After a couple of days exploring the Masai mara our Kenyan guide drove us
to the Tanzanian border where he helped us through the visa process and
made sure the Tanzanian guide met us for the next part of our safari. Again
the guide was great and very knowledgable. After a few days in Tanzania he
then drove us back to the Kenya border where our first Kenyan guide met us
for the last couple of days in Kenya.
Nothing was too much trouble for these guides, they really helped us and
answered all our questions. At no point did we feel unsafe, everything ran
smoothly. They made sure we got where needed to be!
To sum up Amazing Memories Safaris provided us with a first class, prefect
safari for our honeymoon and at a reasonable price. I would not hesitate in
booking with them again or recommending them to family and friends. You
won't be disappointed with them.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Experience
Going on a safari in Africa has been a dream of mine for many, many years. The choices available are countless. After doing much research, I chose Viva Safaris. Of the options offered, I decided to stay at Tremisana Lodge, and I'm so glad I did. Where to start... The property was exactly what I was expecting... Large, well maintained and authentic. On arrival, I was greeted by at least a dozen monkeys running around the area, a great start! The room itself was spacious, simple and kept very clean. The bed was quite comfortable, a must in my opinion. The food prepared for the guests was tasty and enjoyable. Now, for the best part... The people who work at Tremisana. They made everything perfect. Lianne, master organizer and go to person for anything needed onsite. Pretty (who incidentally fits her name perfectly); the game drive organizer (among other things). The guides: James, Tanya, Bongani and all the other guides who truly go out of their way to make your time in the park sensational. And sensational it was. Way too many sightings to mention, but I do have to mention the last one. On my last morning in the park, James took myself and another guest on an hour tour. Somehow, James noticed footprints in the dusty road and raced to the area he thought the animal the foot prints belonged to would be. Low and behold, we came across the owner of the feet. A mature lion named "Sonof". He was just going about his business calmly and was so close to us, I was able to get at least 50 truly awesome shots including a lion selfie!
If you're debating which safari tour to take, I highly recommend Viva Safaris. It's is the best, bar none when looking at quality/price, (or bang for your buck) and the friendliness of everyone just makes it all the better.
US
Enjoyable trip. Learned a lot about Tanzania natural resources and people.
Tony was an excellent driver easy to communicate with. The trip planning was good and interesting. Tony was well informed about his country and its wild life. He was punctual and went out of his way to make the experience great. I can recommend Tony for your safari in Tanzania and Kenya.
CM
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An excellent trip with friendly people and good service.
The Safari was excellent and our driver was both knowledgable and an excellent driver. We saw a lot, enjoyed the company and had a very fun trip. We were picked up close to the advertised time and dropped off even before the scheduled time. We had plenty of food and loved eating lunch with the giraffe. Our camp was neat and clean with meals on time and quite tastey. We would use jockytours again.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organized safari with great guides.
We had a very nice safari at the Kruger Park with Outlook Safaris. Everything was very well organized, from our cottage to the game drives and the food. The guides were experienced, knew what they were talking about and did a great job.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The staff was well qualified and many animals were observed and photographed.
Overall this was a very good experience, but it was initially disappointing when the staff failed to pick us up at the airport and we had to call the emergency number and wait about an hour. The facilities were good, but not quite as nice as we expected for the price we paid. There were not enough power outlets in the bedrooms. Our room had one free, which I used for my CPAP machine, but the two rooms of our guests only had one for the air conditioner and both men had CPAP machines that needed power. The food was good, but not exceptional. The staff did a great job in finding animals to observe and photograph. We saw the big 5 twice on our outings. The half day optional excursion to sight see was worthwhile, but not quite as spectacular as expected, probably because we have previously seen the Grand Canyon in the USA and Iguassu Falls in Brazil. It was the animals that made this a trip to remember and KrugerPark did a great job in getting us in positions to view and photograph them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari 3 days 2 nights!!!
In three days,
we have been to tarangire national park, NgoroNgoro national park, Lake Manyara national park by private car.
We had never observed animals closely and carefully in our life.
You can meet the big five and a lot of flamingos.
We have caught unforgettable memories.
Thank you for giving us precious time.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wonderful Masai Mara Tour with a fantastic guide in all situations
We went for a 24h safari tour into Masai Mara with our own rented car and were very happy to be accompanied by Tumuti from namnyaksafari. He was very reliable and punctual and was waiting for us half an hour before the planned time. From the first minute it felt he is part of our family. He helped us alot when stuck in the mud and did everything to give us a wonderful time. We saw lots of amazing animals including a cheetah with its prey and astonishing landscapes!!! Just in time before darkness we arrived in the camp he had organised for us and got a delicious dinner. For our budget the camp was just great. The next day he saved us after having a car brakedown and made sure we got out of the park and home safely.
All together we had an amazing and adventurous trip with a very flexible and commited guide! Thank You!!!