US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our guide the cat whisperer
Communications with David Maro where easy, once i figured out he was using WhatsAp. My friend and I were coming from different places and the transfers were smooth for both of us. The accommodations in Arusha were clean and pleasant with a lovely garden. Our driver/guide, Ziggy, really had an uncanny connection with animals, he not only knew where to find them but how they would behave. At one point dozens of other vehicles were watching a leopard in a tree near a small creek. Ziggy knew what the cat was looking for from his perch and drove us downstream where we waited a few minutes. Sure enough here comes the cat strolling down the stream and sits down in from of our vehicle to get a better view of the prey, a warthog across the road. We got to watch it get lunch! Pretty special. That gave us the Big Five!.
Accommodations were wonderful as was the food, especially at the Serengeti Mawe Luxury Camp where George of the Bush greeted us warmly and offered free drinks from the bar, as it was Christmas Day. Hanging around the fire at night hearing tales of animal encounters was so welcoming. And when it was time to leave we got a drumming-singing send off.
We decided to amend our program and go to Tarangeri Park instead of Lake Eyasi. I turned out to have walking pneumonia and Ziggy and David were quick to find me a doctor in Karatu, at the Lutheran hospital. My doctor has 30 years experience and was very kind. Visit and meds totaled $25! Having mobile phone connection made changing plans easy. David was so willing to be flexible for us; I felt very well taken care of. Ours wasn't a luxury tour, rather a mid-range, but the attention to detail and willingness to work around our needs was quite touching. We enjoyed it so much we added another day. David even called me after I got back home to make sure I arrived safely and was healthy. Now thats service!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A definite "bucket list" adventure and I would do it again!
The entire trip was a positive overwhelming experience. It is one of the cleanest countries I have visited.
The people seemed to be happy and proud of the culture and their country. I was never concerned for my safety. It is about a 3 hour drive to the mountain lodge for an overnight stay before the hike to see the gorillas.
The trip into the National Park to see the gorillas is very well organized. Please be sure to hire one of the men to assist you on your walk. It is only $10 US dollars and some of these men are reformed poachers. They are kind and very dedictated to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable trek. Several park rangers escort you and welcome any questions you have.
Our overnight stay at Gorilla Lodge was very enjoyable with great food and delightful entertainment from the local youngsters with native dance.
The security at the airport is very deligent and painstakingly repetitious but I wouldn't have it otherwise. Everyone was polite and made sure we had our tickets and completed luggage inspection in plenty of time for departure for home.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Unbelievably Amazing Experience!
African Heart Expeditions made my first trip to Africa unforgettable! I admired the beautiful and diverse nature an adored the very kind tanzanian people. Our guides were amazingly determined to show us the most beautiful places and animals, were helpfull and always open to a nice talk. All of this with a personal touch! The cooks did a great job too by making varied tasty food and always more than enough! I also noticed a very good and close cooperation between the organisers and the guides/cooks, always trying to improve their service!
I would like to thank ALL of the people of our team to make this an experience to never forget!
Thanks a lot!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Would recommend to all my friends
Firstly i would like to thank Steve for making the process of booking the safari so easy, and the information provided before we arrive was spot on. We had the absolute pleasure in spending 8 days on Safari with Steve our Guide. Throughout the 8 days Peter provided us with information, facts and small stories which made the trip mote worthwhile.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Safari Company Like No Other
When you travel, it’s the personal relationships that provide the memories you will cherish. Allen Mnyenye is not just a safari guide/tour operator. He is a person who cares deeply about the animals and the environment and also about making each trip a lifetime experience for every visitor. After two weeks on safari I believe I could also call him a friend.
We recently returned from our first trip to Africa, a 13-day wildlife and cultural tourism safari with Allen Tanzania Safaris. We were a group of 10 Americans with varied backgrounds and levels of travel experience.
Here’s what made our trip special:
- Allen has been a safari guide for over 25 years - he knows the animals, their habits and habitats, the way they interact. He has an extensive knowledge of birds, snakes, butterflies, geology, geography, and Tanzanian and African history and culture. No question from our curious group phased him, whether it was about animal behavior, house construction, bone fossils or water reclamation methods.
-Because we were in two cars, we had a separate guide for each car. No-one felt they got "second best" - each group was quite passionately attached to their guide after a couple of days and refused to switch vehicles!
-Both Allen and Amani seemed to have an almost telepathic sense about the animal behavior: where they were to be found, why they were there, and even what they were about to do. They also really know the parks and the surrounding areas, and found lesser traveled paths that let us get closer to animals we spied from afar.
-Allen knows and loves the wildlife and the people of East Africa, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Every animal sighting is a delight to him, from the most mundane Superb Starling to a rare White Headed Vulture or a leopard. We always felt that we were participating together in an adventure of discovery.
-Allen speaks fluent English. He could match any American in his vocabulary of animal biology or geology, for example. Some of his other guides speak other languages such as French. He has also made several extended visits to the U.S., which often helps with cultural references. (He pointed to a tiny hardware storefront and said “That’s my Home Depot!”)
-When appropriate, we had access to local guides (especially for cultural tourism) but Allen was often the go-between, knowing what questions to ask and what would interest us.
-In the central Serengeti there was a higher concentration of animals. There we also saw big concentrations of safari vehicles - one time we saw 20 vehicles crowded around the same tree. Allen would avoid this whenever possible - he knew how to find the crowd-pleasing big cats without hearing it on the radio. For most of the tour we seldom encountered another safari vehicle - we felt like we were in our own little world.
-Allen would sometimes add on little excursions, like an optional, early-morning walk to the flamingo-filled lake with a Maasai guide. When we chatted to other safari-goers we found out this is not something to take for granted.
-The safari itineraries are very carefully planned to maximize the experience. Our first couple of days offered easy-going cultural activities, giving us time to get over our jet lag. When we started on our animal-viewing safari, every day and every location was unique. The lodgings also were amazing, each one with some gem-like aspect, whether it looked out over a lake full of flamingoes, an outdoor shower with a view of the Serengeti, or just rustic beauty and clear stars.
-The cultural tourism was at least as cool as the animal viewing and I would highly recommend it. We danced with Maasai villagers, ground our own coffee, watched blacksmiths melt copper in a bush-forge, and hunted with Hadzabe bushmen. The people we met were genuinely happy to share their lives and experience with us.
-Allen understands about the needs of photographers - he would always orient the truck in such a way that we could get a good look - whether through binoculars or through the lens. He was aware of the direction of the light.
-Power, Charging, and Wifi: There were high-speed chargers in the vehicles, so our cameras and phones could stay charged. Most of the llodging has wifi and all amenities. The only exception is the mobile tented camps (which are an optional accommodation type). We loved staying in these slightly more rustic camps for a couple of nights, but they have only solar power, no wifi and the hot water is a bit more limited. For those nights our CPAP users found batteries to use, and we were that much more appreciative of the unlimited hot water in the next lodge.
-All our concerns about food and water were completely unnecessary. Bottled or sterilized water was available at all times. The food was fantastic - even in the mobile tented camps we ate delicious meals, and always had access to plenty of vegetables including salads and fruit that were cleaned with safe water. Vegans and vegetarians in our group felt completely satisfied.
-One of our group had to seek the advice of a doctor during the trip, and Allen brought her to an English-speaking, American-born physician where she was seen promptly and highly competently.
-Allen and his crew are extremely good-humored and easygoing. We asked a lot of dumb questions, I'm sure! We also never sensed that it was an obligation or a chore for to join us at dinner (which they did, nearly every night) and the feeling was mutual - we truly enjoyed their company.
-They also worked their asses off. Every evening as we lounged by the fire with a cocktail, the crew cleaned the trucks, and when possible had them checked by a mechanic, before they got to rest. On several mornings we were off at 6 and didn't get back to camp til 6 or later. They organized our boxed lunches, packed tables and chairs and even a tablecloth for our bush picnics and even made us tea and coffee after lunch.
-Speaking of lunch - nearly every day we were able to eat lunch in some secluded wild spot with no one else in sight. From what we saw, not all safari companies offer this treat.
-Before the trip we had a lot of questions, from the food to the climate to the number of animals we would see, to the availability of electricity and wifi. All our questions were answered completely and competently by Silas, the office manager.
-Because of his experience with American and European safari visitors, Allen has been consulted on the site location, construction and amenities of several of the amazing lodges that we stayed in. He also owns a moderately-priced, lovely lodge called "Eileen's Trees Inn" in Karusha. Wherever we stayed, he was greeted so enthusiastically, we felt like royalty.
Now I understand why people return to safari with Allen again and again and I recommend you start!
OM
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Service! Extremely helpful. 100% Recommended to all!
This was our first tour booked solely via a tour operator so we were a little sceptical to say the least. K&D completely surpassed all our expectations and after our holiday we understand we couldn't have done it alone. The attention to detail was second to none, every minor detail was thought of so we didn't have to worry about a thing!
The service leading up to our Safari was unlike any I have dealt with before. Rory (our representative) was helpful, understanding and answered all our questions to the very last detail (we had a lot of questions!). Rory took on our feedback and designed a custom tour that was perfect for us and within the budget we wanted. Even when we requested changes to the itinerary after confirming, there were no issues. The communication was impeccable - always responding within a few hours (if not minutes!).
During the tour the team were also on hand to help us with any questions or problems we had along the way and quickly sorted out everything. We were not quite happy with the standard of one of our rooms in Rwanda and after contacting K&D they quickly upgraded us without any hassle or additional charge.
Overall our Safari and Gorilla Experience in Rwanda was Amazing - A once in a lifetime experience. The service, the people, the food was unlike anything else. I cannot thank Rory, Barbara and the team more for their help in bringing our trip to a reality.
SK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
we were on a 4-day safari in tsavo west, amboseli park and tsavo east (in january 2017) and we have to say that it was really amazing 4 unforgettable days full of incredible and beautiful experiences. we have booked safari already four months before our departure to kenya, communication with Bruce and customer service of his agency was highly professional and program was excellent - we liked the most in Amboseli park. Accomodation in selected lodges and camps (Rhino valley, Ashnill Aruba, Kibo safari camp) were wonderful and had a super charming atmosphere.
Special thanks to our driver and guide Patrick with whom we had the opportunity to visit the original Masai village an to see a lot of african animals: leopards, lions, elephants, buffaloes, ostriches, impalas, wildebeest, gazelles, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, bush babys and various species of birds.
We are very very satisfied and once again thanks go to Bruce and Patrick.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tsavo east/west with Edward
Very satisfied customers. Private minivan split 4 ways with eagle eyed Edward taking very good care of us. Didn't expect to see anywhere near as much as we did. Would highly recommend. Wow!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Furahia Tanzania showed us how friendly, colorful and beautiful Tanzania can be!
Early 2017 my best friend and I travelled to Tanzania for two weeks. We booked a safari for the first week using a Dutch tour operator. Unfortunately we had same bad luck on the airport and had to take an airplane with one day delay. But the owner of Furahia Tanzania, Deograsias, made sure we wouldn't miss a single second of our safari. He even picked us up from Kilimanjaro Airport by himself, even though we would originally arrive at Dar Es Salaam Airport. Deograsias even managed to move the whole safari one day ahead, including the overnight stays.
During the safari we had our own driver and guide Manyama. This very friendly and smart guy was not only the best driver I had ever met, but was also very talented in spotting the animals in the parks from a great distance. Even with binoculars we still had trouble finding the lions or leopards that he spotted with his naked eye, while driving even! Our delicious meals were cooked by a sweet young guy named Fredrick. In the morning we had freshly made breakfast with eggs, yummy pancakes (that I still miss to this day) and the amazingly fresh fruit. Diner was also a true feast, and a well-needed meal after a full day of safari. Fredrick also took care of the lunches. Sometimes we got a freshly made hot lunch and sometimes he would pack nice lunchboxes to enjoy on the road.
Tanzania is an incredibly beautiful country. With Furahia Tanzania we were able to admire the beauty of this country even more. In the parks (Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park en Tarangire National Park) we saw an incredible amount of animals and natural beauty, thanks to our talented guides. We also had the change to witness the Tanzanian culture, de masai and the daily life of Tanzanian people. Manyama even gave us a boxing class in Deograsias' gym in Mto Wa Mbu, which was awesome!
After our week of safari fun we had trouble saying goodbye to our new Tanzanian friends. We had such a great time with them. There was a lot of laughter, there were good talks and we shared music. During the rest of our stay in Tanzania Deograsias regularly checked up on us to say how we were doing. He has already let us know that we could contact him whenever we needed to during our stay in Tanzania. De guys from Furahia Tanzania showed us how friendly, colorful and beautiful Tanzania can be!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
Jonathon was our guide and he was excellent! We saw much more wildlife than we had ever expected. :)
The ride from Nairobi to the camp is a bit rough, as there wasn't air conditioning in the van, and the roads are pretty bad in spots, but we were on a very tight budget, so beggars can't be choosers! The drive also provided a very authentic experience, with plenty of opportunity to see the villages and how the people live. The camp was lovely and the food was excellent! The only thing we would have done differently would be to take a flight back to Nairobi rather than drive back. Fantastic adventure!!