50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great place for a holiday,everything anyone could want is there.
Everything is excellent and I highly recommend a trip there. An lovely experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great lodging, good food, long van ride to actual lodge
Safari Bookings was very accommodating and worked around our schedule to provide the best safari experience in our time constraints. We had some issues with communication as we were unaware of the time it was recommended to land in Johannesbrg and we ended up having to cut the safari a day short because of it. There was a 6-7 hour drive from Jburg to the Reserve which we were also unaware of until we got in the van to make the trip at 7am. We would definitely do this again but I recommend flying into an airport closer to Kruger if you want to avoid two whole days of driving in the car to and from the reserve. The safari and Game Drives were amazing! We didn't see the leopard but the open air vehicles and guides were fantastic! The food at Thorn was delicious.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Conned me of my clients money.
In the beginning communication between our company was great.we started incurring problems after we had just paid a deposit of 4000 usd to them ..and they claimed not not have any idea to do with the money.putting in mind we have evidence of the swift transfers this company has refused completely to refund our money. Beware of them they are conmen,we are tossed from one member of the company to another,no one wants to take liability of our 4000 usd.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
wonderful budget camping safari to kenya and Tanzania
we went on a 11 day trip to kenya and Tanzania. the service By Michael and his team was excellent. We were received at the airport. we visited & game reserves, Masai mar, Lake Nakuru, Hellsgate park, Lake Maynara reserve, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater and Tarangire national park.
The driver cum guides Joseph and Ziggy were very knowlegeable and very courteous. They were very patient in showing the animals and birds. We saw all the big carnivores and herbivores from close range with wonderful photogaphic oppurtunities. We also saw plenty of birds especially Flamingoes at lake Magadi In the crater.the 6 nights in tents were very comfortable and the food was very good . As two of the members in my family were vegetarians they took good care of them. the budget hotels were fine except for no hot showers available in Kenya.Overall it is a wonderful game viewing experience and very close to nature and the animals. It is great value for money as it was a budget tour. I highly reccomend it for budget travellers and for persons who are keen on seeing as many animals as possible. The highlights were the tuskers and cheetahs at masaimara, the white rhinos at Lake Nakuru, the gorge and cycling at hellsgate, the lions esp treeclimbing lions at serengeti, the abundance of animals at the creter with breatholing scenery and the elephant hers at Tarangire. Kudos to Michael and his team for this great experience
US
Gombe National Park
Gombe is beautiful, the scenery and waterfall very picturesque. If going, please know that the chimps do migrate and follow the food source. For example, when there in April, the chimps are at the top of the mountain. The hike is very strenuous and takes several hours. At other times of the year, the chimps are much lower in the mountains. The guides live and work there and are very knowledgeable. We were not able to see the chimps. But, visiting Jane Goodall's research center was very interesting.
US
Review about Tanzania by Marion
went to the Serengeti and Nngorongoro. So many animals, amazing. Even saw the big 5!
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Weekend with Golden Rwanda tours
Being on the business trip I had a chance to spend a weekend with Golden Rwanda Tours and its owner Frank. And this experience was excellent! Comparing to other offers the price was very reasonable, especially for comfortable 4x4 vehicle. I had a very tight schedule and ordered 2 tours at the weekend, both started from Kigali and required to wake up at 4 in the morning. Frank was OK with that and both time picked me up at the hotel. The first tour took the whole day and was to Bisoke volcano, which was pretty nice, despite of the raining at the second part of the day. The second tour to Golden Monkey was a bit shorter and we freed at 11 a.m, so Frank suggested to visit Kivu lake and Kongo border as a bonus.
I highly recommend Frank to travel with, especially if you first time in Rwanda and need to know more about the country, people, history, food, etc. Travelling with Franks is not the official way when you have a strict itinerary and should follow the guide. He is always ready to show you some more about his country. On the way back we also did extra stops to grab some local food and to buy gifts and souvenirs. Frank became a real friend during this trip and his attitude to customers is on a extremely high level. Hope I will have a chance to visit Akagera next time with Golden Rwanda!
CA
Budget friendly and kid friendly
Summary:
We had a great time with on the BTS budget safari with our young family. Our 1 and 3 year old children were safe, well-fed and cared for, and we got to see the Big 5 and more on our game drives. Food was good and plentiful, accommodation was suitable, guides were friendly. Not 5 star luxury touring by any standards, but it was better than expected and we had great service from Martha at BTS Kenya.
BTS:
- It's difficult to find a well-priced safari tour that allows young children, but Big Time Safaris provided us with a fantastic tour for our family. We traveled to Kenya with a 22 month old and a 3 year old, and BTS were very accommodating of their child car seats and general needs. Martha runs the show in the Kenya office and she's great. Answers emails and Whatsapp messages very promptly and she's very knowledgeable about everything. She was very understanding when our flight to Nairobi was cancelled at the last minute, and adjusted our tour so that we did not miss out on any game drives despite arriving 6hrs late and missing the original start time.
The tour:
- the tour was great. We were prepared for very budget lodgings given the cost of the tour but were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tented camp in Masai Mara. the budget hotel in Lake Nakuru was quite nice too. The Tanzanian side was more in keeping with the 'budget' title, and we slept two nights in the public camping grounds near the Crater and Serengeti, but the facilities were fine and we had no complaints.
- you get different guides in Kenya and Tanzania. Both sets of guides were very kind to us and our kids, and we enjoyed the game drives immensely.
The kids:
- The vast majority of Kenyan/Tz tours available on Safari Bookings had age restrictions to >8 or even >15yrs. Clearly that wasn't going to work for my family, and we had very few operators to choose from. That said, BTS were really excellent.
- Camping/budget safaris will obviously not suit every toddler, but ours really enjoyed the experience. They had fun camping and we were sensible and prepared extensively - we brought snacks and toys for them, installed our own child car seats so that they could sleep on the drive and were securely seated, etc.
- Be aware that the public camping sites get pretty cold in the evenings, particularly the Crater. We brought toddler sleeping suits and sleeping bags and the kids slept well.
Note:
- We chose a tour that covered Kenya (Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara) and Tz (Lake Manyara, the Crater, Serengeti). Be aware that the Tanzanian part of the tour is not conducted by BTS, rather it is run by a separate Tanzanian company. We did all our correspondence through Martha in Kenya, and I would recommend that other travellers do so, too, to avoid any confusion or payments issues with the Tanzanian office.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Met all our needs...
Our trip went well to Kruger NP with a fly in safari over 3 nights. The flights, ground transportation and lodge worked seamlessly together and met all our needs. Overall, we were impressed with the coordination and quality of services provided.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect trip, totally worth it.
The tour to Tafaria was amazing, we had a great time. Worth every coin....