50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Accommodation was good except for a leak in the toilet seat in Cottage 5 of Lower Thendele.
The trails are interesting, but I think they are too long before they reach the ultimate challenge such as climbing the rocks with the assistance of a ladder (the Tugela Gorge route).
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very Convinient and comfortable
Visited Kruger from 9th-11th Feb. Right from the pick up from Jo'burg airport to drop off at Skukuza airport later, everything went as described and was very comfortable and convinient. The entire process was smooth and there was no difficulty in anything.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip to Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara
Very well organized trip. George gave us all the help we needed ahead of time; Ruben was an excellent host on our first day. Finally, Ken was a great driver/guide; very knowledgeable and helpful! He was determined to show us the "big 5"....and by God he did! In addition, we saw a lot of fantastic birds and animals (including a baby white rhino).
The facilities we stayed in were also great; overall, a great experience.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Magic of Safaris
Now safely back at home we have had time to reflect on our recent Safari with you. We can safely say without any doubt that we had a great time, your organisation of our holiday was perfect. The two drivers, firstly Joseph and later Chicho worked their socks off on our behalf to ensure that we got the most from each day; in fact the final piece fell into place at the very final day, the Rhino! We saw two which made our sighting of the big five complete.
Our accommodation be it a camp or lodge location all came up to our expectations-and beyond. Our friend Terry will be visiting Trip Adisor for each location as well as for yourselves-with very favourable remarks.
Once again thank you so very much for organising our trip to both Kenya and Tanzania.
US
Wonderful!!!
“Wonderful tour!”
5 of 5 bubblesReviewed 4 weeks ago
We arrived on a cruise and arranged Tim Brown Tours to pick us up for our stops in Durban and Richards Bay. We visited Hluhluwe and Tala Game Reserves on two consecutive days. Our guide, Themba, was an expert on both parks and made sure we saw all the animals. Plus he is a real gentleman, and it was great to spend the days with him. The car was modern, air conditioned, and immaculate. I really enjoyed these visits!
Visited December 2016
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip with Soul of Tanzania
Soul of Tanzania deals since you send the first mail until you return to your country that you have a wonderful experience. His staff is super attentive, present in every detail and his guides (in our case the wonderful George) do everything in his power and more to have an extraordinary trip. Very understood and prepared, there was no question that could not answer about Africa, and knows everything about each animal you cross and we believe he have some sixth sense to locate them.
The trip starts with a lot of adrenaline, in a state of happiness that this company knows how to keep you, but there comes a time when they honor their name, once you adapt to the environment, because they make you feel like at home, you enter a state to understand the "soul of Tanzania" and I assure you that it touches yours. You drop a few rhythms and connect with those sunrises and sunsets that they worry about you to see in the best spots, the magnitude of nature invades you and there is the guide ready and prepared so that you take a teaching of each animal and each person that you cross in the path. We are grateful to have been able to get to know the "Soul of Tanzania" and help us to nourish ours with great values from humility, predisposition, kindness and cooperation for the other. We take a bit of the secret of happiness,to connect with nature and if those around you are well and happy you will be better too.
Without words it was a journey that mobilized us and we changed a lot. Thank you very much to all!!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari at a reasonable price
We, a family of 3, wanted to visit Kenya and Tanzania in February 2017. Our Kenyan part was taken care by our Indian tour agent but we couldn't want to chose any Indian agent for Tanzania as the price quoted was very high. After going through local agents in Tanzania with a lot of reviews, we contacted a top few who quoted almost the same price as their Indian counterparts (mainly due to brand name I guess). Finally came across safari star tours through a review in a blog. We were very scared due to many scam tour operators in Africa. To be honest, until we landed in Tanzania and met the guide (Mr. Roger Mengi), the anxiety/fear existed. But all our fear vanished once we met our tour agent who didn't make us wait even for a minute. Right from the meet till the drop back at the airport, everything was excellent, especially the Kubu Kubu lodge at Serengeti. I generally don't write reviews as all the trips I have gone was organised through one or the other local tour agents. This time I am writing to help others like me who want to book a local tour agent. Highly recommend them. One advice: try to pay the quoted fees as soon as possible so as to avoid any inconvenience. We ended up paying around 130 dollars per person extra because of our delay in payment.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Our tour agent, Jacob, from Afritrip was excellent. He was attentive, knowledgeable and patient.
He found a number of options within our budget and could give me information on them all. He followed up on suggestions and offered advice. On having experienced the safari it exceeded all expectations.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Rwenzori national park climbing experience.
For those that love Mountain Climbing, I argue you to try out Mountain Rwenzori climbing experience. It all comes with different challenges, experiences, and memories. That is exactly what I got when I did my climbing challenge at Rwenzori Mountain. The mountain offers such a wonderful experience. This trip was prepared courtesy of gorilla tour booking .
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safe, Within Budget, Knowledgable
We asked David at Elida to organise our climb of Kilimanjaro and a subsequent tour of Amboseli National Park.
Logistics: airport pickup and drop off as smooth and well organised. Baggage handling for 15 was never a problem.
Handling of monies: no deposits up front (no deposit cons) and payment made only when a service was provided. We paid for accomodation only once we had spent time there. Everything is receipted as you need it.
Accommodation: always safe, hygienic, secure, and always within our budget. David is well connected to a wide range of accomodation options and we enjoyed being able to 'upgrade' at Moshi. The Amboseli accomodation was spectacular, especially given many students were on a budget.
Budget: never over budget on anything. In fact if anything, these folk tend to undercook their prices.
Contact: always contactable by phone at any time. Email too, though given he is on the road a lot, phone is best once in country. Email and Skype were used in the pre-planning/planning stages and it proved very effective.
Vehicles: safe, well maintained, modern.
Drivers: not the usual mad, overtake at any speed or location East Africa drivers.
Guides: always unobtrusive and very knowledgeable. One gremlin in Tanzania with guides who wanted to be paid a tip at the end of the trip. We had already paid them at the beginning. Not the fault of Elida but something to watch out for if there is a 'package deal' done.
Package deal: Elida are very happy to work out a single price package. Very handy for those in your group who are watching their budget closely.
Government/border: our crossings were always smooth, assisted in each case by a local 'fixer' who was happy to guide us through the process.
Watch out for: David will always have things under control but operates in the usual relaxed African way, and does not always inform you of every detail, which can be disconcerting for the Western mind. But simply ask and he will show you what has been done.