CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AMAZING SAFARI WITH SCORPION TOURS LTD
Scorpion Tours organized the perfect Safari for me and my wife, we went on a 5 day Safari: Tarangire, Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. First all the booking, payments, doubts, communication, you know, all that prior-to-travel process, was fantastic. Emmanuel was very helpful, he was always answering very fast, we wanted to have different quotes and he did all for us, and we think we paid a really good price for what we got. The payment was instant and particularly easy with our bank cards.
Then once we arrived, everything happened as Emmanuel told us before hand, they picked us up at the airport, the accommodation was ready, everyone was nice and helpful, always with a big smile and happy to answer all your questions. then the safari, JOHN was really good guide, a lot of experience and a great spotter! He knew which animals he was seeing no matter how far they were, you can ask him anything, he will answer. Adam is a great guide. The car was comfortable and clean all the time, we never lacked of food nor water. Definitely Adam helped us make this trip unforgettable.
We stayed in Kirurumo Manyara, Serena Serengeti and Serena Ngorongoro. Scorpion Tours sorted all the bookings and we did not have any problems, they were waiting for us. If you are planning to go near Manyara, Kirurumo tented lodge is a FANTASTIC place, our favorite hotel from the three.
If you are planning to go to Tanzania, I have no doubt that Scorpion Tours is the best option. We saw all big 5, plus many more, including baby animals. Thanks again Scorpion Team! Totally recommended.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Heritage of African Jungles is the Best!
We are family of four booked 5 days (4nts) mid-range safari with Heritage of African Jungles to Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and 2 nights to Masai Mara. After researching and comparing price on the Safari Bookings website, we decided to go with Naomi (owner) because we found she was competitive, trustworthy and flexible with the payment options after reading reviews on the trip adviser. Naomi and her assistant Gladys efficiently respond to all our questions without any hidden costs. We stayed at our preferred camps Amboseli Serena, Sarova Lionhill and Ashnil Mara camp which are within the park so you have more time for games. As a vegetarian family we found food was excellent and staff were helpful. We paid 25% as deposit and the rest on arrival.
Naomi came to greet us up at Nairobi airport and transfer to the hotel for trip briefing. Francis our driver/guide was best and flexible with timing. He was brilliant with jungle knowledge where to spot the animal and will go out of his way to make sure that we are happy. With extremely good driving skills he managed to take on a wet and muddy Masai Mara without any problem. It was amazing to be so close to the animals and was best moment of our life. We saw the big five and many other animals and birds. In Masai Mara our lodge was on Mara river where we spotted crocodile and group of hippos in the river from the camp restaurant.
We thank Francis for many unforgettable moments including leopard hunting for food, lions with the cubs and a pair of cheetahs relaxing. He is one of the best most importantly he treats us as friends and brought us back safely. We have made right chose going with Naomi and saving money using 4 wheel minivan than paying extra for a land cruiser offered by other operators.
We highly recommended Naomi and her team at Heritage and grateful to provide us with memorable safari & wonderful experience.
US
Pamoja Tours and Oyer Charles are the absolute BEST!!!
Went to Uganda to view the mountain gorillas. What we experienced was so much more. Our tour guide, Charles showed us the best of Uganda and shared his experiences and life with us which made the trip more interesting and personal. He went above and beyond to give us a complete African experience and when we wanted to see something particular, he wouldn't give up until we found it. Not only did we we get to see an abundance of animals, we got to visit local life and meet people in his home village. Our personal experience with Charles has enriched our life and we will forever be connected to him. His compassion for his country and his home village is extraordinary and ayone who travels with him will be forever changed in a most positive way.
IN
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Eight wonderful days with Kajie Safaris
I took my plane to Entebbe with a feeling of uncertainty clouding my mind, but it all dispersed as soon as I landed at the destination airport. Thanks to safaribookings.com for recommending kajiesafaris. It was an eight-day trip and I found to my great relief that everything was in place. Ronald Muvunyi of kajiesafaris is a well-organized, transparent, amiable and spirited young man. After having exchanged scores of mails between ourselves, the plan for the trip was finalized. My day in Uganda began on the morning of 9th June 2019. As was scheduled, Ronald guided me to Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Lake Bunyonyi that included, among others, chimp trekking, mountain gorilla trekking and game drive. The days flitted fast, and on the day of my return, a shroud of sadness wrapped me at the Entebbe airport, as Ronald left me with his sweet smile.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
From the first email contact to the last drop off at the airport Ronald and Kajie Safaris were A++
Kajie Safaris front man Ronald was a star from the very beginning. All email querys were answered within the hr and he understood immediately the needs of an ageing and demanding Scotman. The quotes were very competitive and I was fortunate to have had Ronald personally recommended by Ugandan friends who had also used their services.
The tour itself was one of a little drama, great excitement and sheer wonder at the glory of being 10ft away from a massive beautiful silverback. Please dont be put off by the stories of 2 to 3 hr hikes through tough jungle. If you are older like myself and perhaps equally a little unfit, please note that our Tour guide Onesmus put in the fix and arranged a visit to see a family that required just a 15 minute hike through the jungle. My wife and I have been on several African safaris, but seeing the silver back up close with his family was unforgetable ......... simply the best.
We stayed at the Lake Mutanda Resort .... if there is a more lovely area in Africa, then I need to visit there next. An absolute paradise for bird watchers. The welcome we received and the service were spot on.
If I have any advice to travellers ..... if you have the budget for it do use the internal flights. Long journeys on bumpy roads do take it out of you.
A visit that will remain in the memory banks and a company that are a credit to Ugnada. Well Done Ronald.
PL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting trilling and wonderful. This is how I could discribe the safari with wonderful driver
Excelent communication with Tunu. Very fast respond. I knew the answers to all my questions imediatelly. And what's more everything was true. The driver-guide Badry did everything possible so we would see many animals and we did
PH
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We hired a jeep and guide for a day trip to Arusha National Park.
Good communication, very responsive and helpful owner, Didas. Reasonably priced and very happy with our guide Michael. So it was a successful day, saw everything we wanted including the Flamingoes. I thought the jeep was a little bit old, but it did the job well. Would consider a longer trip next time we come to Tanzania.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and polite company. I would use them again.
First of all, I would like to reassure people shopping for a safari tour in Tanzania, that Hello Tanzania, operated by KAMar Safaris, is a real company. It was a little scary planning a trip to Africa and sending that much money to a Swiss bank account, but Sylwia was in touch the whole time and the trip worked out exactly as planned. If you would prefer to plan the trip in person, we found out they have an office in the Doubletree Hotel at Oyster Bay in Dar es Salaam.
This was the second company we tried on Safari Bookings. The first one advertised a trip price of about 550 Eur per person, but when I submitted my information, the quote came back as 900 Eur for adults and 800 Eur for children, which was way more than I had budgeted for. Supposedly, this was due to them putting us at a camp further in the park (which also requires more park fees). Unhappy with that, I wrote KAMar, and Sylwia came back with about 550 Eur for adults, and kids were 55% off... so way below the expected price for a family of four. For both, I had selected tented camping for a three day safari. We were picked up at our hotel (Doubletree) in Dar, and driven about 6 hours in a nice van to the park. Iddi, the driver, was very friendly and experienced, and had water in the car on the way out and brought boxed lunches for the ride home. He even swung by my friend's house in Dar to let me pick up our ferry tickets to Zanzibar, before dropping us at the ferry terminal and giving us some tips on how to get in and avoid the annoying swarm of porters.
The camp KAMar put us in was Jimbiza camp in the Selous preserve. I chose Selous, because it was a closer drive than the other parks. Looking back, we could have probably asked for more (airplane to the park, or even a different park), but I didn't know what possibilities were out there. We toured in mid-June, which is just the beginning of the tour season, so we basically had the camp to ourselves and there had only been two other people there in the previous two months (two Russian ladies were there on our first day, but flew out the next morning). The camp was right on the Rufiji River, outside the Selous Game Preserve. Judging by the equipment and reviews of other parks, it was one of the more affordable camps, and was probably more like camping than some others too. It was fairly primitive, and the equipment was a little older, but everything was orderly and the staff (maybe 10-15 people) was very friendly and attentive. They kept the camp very clean, but it was in need of some renovations. The pool was basically a monkey pond, not that we had time to go swimming. The sun goes down there at 6:30pm every day. The water was sort of clear and had a roof over it, but I'm not sure how they kept it clean, as there didn't seem to be a filter... and of course, baboons were playing around it. The food in camp was interesting, and drinks (even water), while in camp, cost extra. For lunch the first day we had spaghetti bolognese with nutmeg in it. It was nice, but an interesting choice for a safari camp. The dinners were very good, with bread shaped like animals. The meals were all three courses, with the excellently trained waiters serving from the proper side and bringing the food at appropriate intervals. The breakfasts were also multi-course, and very good. The boxed lunch and picnic in the bush were also nice, and our guide set up a cool spot for us to eat, while we watched elefants and giraffes. One thing we would have liked would have been a more traditional menu that let us see that side of th culture more. Maybe they have had complaints in the past from closed-minded guests, and just wanted to be safe. Either way, my hat is off the cook for making due out there with minimal resources.
The tent itself was covered by a hard roof (above the canvas roof) and had a porch and a hard-stand bathroom in the back. It had a toilet, shower, sink, fans, mirror, beds, blankets, pillows, desk, shelves for clothes, towels, porch chairs, backup solar lights, carpets, wood floors, and a lock to keep the baboons out. The cleaning man came every day while we were out to make the beds and take out the trash. It was basically a hotel room that smelled like mosquito repellent... so pretty nice camping.
On the first evening, we took a sunset boat cruise on the river to see the hippos and walk around on a sandbar. We enjoyed that, even though the kids had expected to be eaten by crocs.
The second day we spent about 10 hours driving in the Range Rover, looking for animals in Selous park. We saw antelope, giraffes, elefants, hyena, wildabeasts, water buffalos, pigs, birds, baboons, monkeys, hippos, and lion footprints (they were fresh, and we drove around looking in the tree lines, but never found it). Our driver had been working there for 25 years and the guide had only been there six months, but was very knowledgeable as well.
The third day, before driving back to Dar, we had a walking tour in the bush with a "bushman" and an armed guard. the bushman was funny, and put on a good show, while also teaching us about the woods. He had grown up in the bush with his grandparents, but had long-since gone off to school and might even be a doctor. He was a good actor, though, and was a highlight.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A SURPRISING UGANDA, ORGANIZED BY AN EXELLENT TRAVEL AGENCY
I came back from a beautiful 14 days (27th May to 9th June) to Uganda with friends two weeks ago, impeccably organized by the Crystal Safaris agency. Great hotel accomodations and food.
Thanks to our guide Joseph a 28-year-old driver of great experience with an eagle view, we were able to spot during the morning safaris many animals, including many lions in the Queen Elisabeth Park and in the Murchison Falls Park and a leopard in the Lake Mburo Park with his little puppy in the jaws. Kind and patient he has made our trip unforgettable. Also the meeting of a gorillas' family in Bwindi impenetrable Forest was just as exciting and touching.
Thank you Joseph, thank you Barbara and thank you Crystal Safarys for allowing all this.
Angelina Pagliotta
Italy
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I went for 3 days Safari , it was just amasing, we saw all five big animals of jungle
Everything was well organised, Guide was very professional and experienced. Explained and showed us animals. I am very satisfied from the tour. I advise everyone to choose Crossriver safari.