35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great in-depth tour of Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park
We had a great trip to Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park. Marvel and Busani were both great guides, taking us to different parts of the trip and to a village on the final day. All of the individual activities (boat cruise, Victoria Falls tour, helicopter ride, game drives) are run by different groups, so there is a hand off between different groups and buses but it was pretty smooth. The hotels were really nice, especially Chobe Bush Lodge in Botswana. We did have a few hotel scheduling issues, but Marvel made adjustments and it worked out well. I also unfortunately got sick at the Lookout Cafe and missed a boat cruise and afternoon game drive, but thankfully recovered and was able to enjoy the trip. I'd recommend the tour and the company.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Boutique Safari Company
Ngotea Distinctive Safari is a small-scale boutique company, which is preferable over the big companies. They handpicked an excellent lodge from where the safari was perfectly organised - and we got excellent lunch boxes. Transfers from and to the airport were swift and punctial.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful Safari experience with nothing to worry about and where you totally can enjoy!
The communication with the organisation was very good and fast.
It provides a wonderful chance to explore several National Parks at a short time. The accomodations and lodges as well as the food were always very good.
However, you need to bring a little flexibility as your route and accomodation may be adjusted or changed. For us, this was no big deal and we really enjoyed our safari experience.
Please be aware that if you do not book a private tour that the number of tourists may vary every day. Also, the daily start of the safari may be later and the Game Drive itself may be shorter than wished.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Martin is a great tour guide, recommended to book with Across Horizon.
Martin was my tour guide for the first 3 days, he did a really good job. Helping to find the animals, especially the rare once. Explaining us a lot about the wildlife, very communicative on the radio. It was a blessing to have him as a guide. Although after the 3 days I had to change to another car with Richard, he was less assertive and a lot on his phone and we definitely saw less animals. That’s why I give 4 stars instead of 5. The accommodations were good, always enough & good food available, the lunch boxes got prepared well and the pancakes in the Nyati lodge were a +++
We had some issues on our trip because of the missing communication to our driver from different agencies. Our driver was about to bring me to another hotel. In Nakuru we had to go out of the park and lost half an hour to pick up 2 ladies from another agency. Communication is key.
SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Kenya experience
Seven of us went on an eleven-day safari trip to Kenya-Tanzania. Our local guide in Kenya was attentive and highly enthusiastic both in terms of searching for wildlife and in interacting with us. We had an impressionable and thrilled experience for the 6-day Kenya safari.
We could not enjoy Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania due to persistent flooding of the lake. The 2-3 hours morning could consider alternative instead.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Responsive and supportive
I booked a 3d safari at Tsavo with a friend and we enjoyed it a lot.
We had an issue and John was open to support us to find a convenient solution.
We can recommend Trav Interactive for their services
MT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very educated and well informed us.
Saw of lots of wonderful animals, accomodation offered was good, car ride was fun with an equipped car
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great
We booked an 8 days budget safari trip with Bencia to Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Navaisha, Amboseli and Tsavo West.
We traveled with our driver Joseph and our cook John.
The entire trip was great, just as we expected ; the itinerary was good and well respected, the accomodations were very decent, the food that John made was always very good, and we saw all the animals we wished for thanks to Joseph which is a great driver and very good for spoting animals.
They were both very nice and we had great holidays :)
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well-organized, Reliable service, Excellent dollar/value, Punctual, We felt very safe, Will return
Clarissa and Robert at BTA arranged for us, three woman, a two-week tour of Dar-es Salaam city, Zanzibar beach, spice tour, Serengeti-Arusha safari and Mount Meru trekking. Our guide Jackson took us in his open-top jeep to game drives at Tarangire, Rift Valley and Ngorongoro Crater; explained the wildlife, plants, birds, insects, geographical features, and the history.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Safaris that could use a little more organization
My partner and I recently finished the 11-Day Mara Nakuru Amboseli Serengeti Ngorongoro Nairobi Safaris.
Kennedy, was very helpful in the planning process. There were a few times where I asked specific questions that went unanswered, but in general our back and forths were good.
Our time in the parks was great. We had many rare and fascinating animal sightings and our guide was great at positioning us for optimal viewing. I wish that our guide had been a little more forthcoming with information though. He would answer questions but not volunteer too much. Additionally, on the Kenya side, we were only provided 1L of water per day. This is not enough, especially in 30+ degree weather.
The accommodations and food were good. I would advise people to bring battery packs and take advantage wifi when it is available as both electricity and Internet will often not be.
The safaris had some issues with organization and professionalism. On our very first day, we sat at the office for an hour after being picked up. We were told that it was because other members of our group were late. Then, after discussing with those travellers, we discovered they were told they were kept waiting because we were late. It is ok to run late in the morning but it is very unprofessional to blame tourists to one another. Another issue we experienced was due to a typo in the itinerary that I was provided during the booking process. The date of September 13th was forgotten, so after the 12th, the itinerary was off by a day. This was a big issue as it forced us to spend an extra day and night in Arusha at the end of the tour. This was money we did not intend to spend. It also caused concern at the Kenya-Tanzania border because the date of entry on our visas was the 15th when we were actually crossing on the 14th. Lucky for us the border guards understood. Regarding the border crossing, this was not handled well by the company. Our guide dropped us off at the border without any information on what shuttle we were taking or when it was leaving. Instead, he told us to just trust his friend that was there. This friend had no association with the tour company and was obviously inebriated. If this wasn't stressful enough, once we arrived at the bus depot in Arusha, the representative from Seven Wonders (the company running the safaris on the Tanzanian side) failed to collect us so we had to take a cab. This was not a great day. The organization was also lacking in Tanzania. We were collected on day one by what turned out to be the wrong tour so we had to switch the next day. This was not a big deal but decisions on what tourists were going where and with which guide seemed to be made on fly each day.
Despite these hiccups, the safari did leave us with many great memories and positive feelings. It is good value as a budget safaris and earned the 4 Stars I awarded it. I would choose it again if I had the opportunity.
Recommendations: 1) While planning your safaris, make sure to scrutinize the schedule; 2) Be flexible. The itinerary will not be strictly adhered to; 3) If crossing the border, make sure your guide provides you with a shuttle number; 4) Buy water when you can (particularly in Kenya); 5) Take advantage of electricity/wifi when it is available