35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
it was awesome, timely feeedback went out of their way to provide my family with the best room!
Communication was fast! Service surpassed expectations!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic 4 days
Great staff an great accommodation. What we were most impressed with was the general organisation and schedule of activities: everything ran smoothly, from airport pick up onwards. We didn't have time to get bored and the bush walks and drives were quite different from one another. The guides were really fantastic and we saw the big five!
A minor criticism: some more options food wise at dinner would have been good.
GU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic Safari with a First Rate Guide
My wife and sisters and brothers in law had an excellent experience with Gane and Marshall. We were seven in all. We did a week long safari in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Everything was very well organized and professional. Our guide, Nelson, was fantastic! Nelson was very friendly and informative. There was no question he could not answer. The food was actually quite gourmet, especially for being out in the bush. We wanted to see lions and leopards and we saw 11 lions, 10 cubs and 4 leopards and 1 cub, in addition to a multiple of other animals and birds. We recommend Gane and Marshall wholeheartedly and without reservation.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent and one of the best safari experiences in Tanzania
A memorable safari experience relies on your luck but a good driver/guide will definitely enhance it. Santos is a quiet person but professional. I'm happy I have chosen Migada Adventures.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Personalized service, great value and a pleasure to work with ..
In an age where most people prefer to do their own travel arrangements directly or on-line, my experience with Kruger Park Travel strongly reinforces the value add an independent travel agent provides. I found Kruger Park Travel while searching on the web. Their web site was well laid out, Mike Swart the owner responded promptly to my on-line request for information. I called and spoke with him, he took the time to understand what my daughter and I were looking for, and I liked his insights and honesty. His suggestions were spot on and he I liked that he was always available to field any questions we had and make any adjustments where needed during our trip. He created a custom itinerary for us covering Kruger National Park, Cape Town and the Garden Route; all a very good value for the price. His associate Kylie, who handles the bookings and ticketing was a pleasure to work with: responsive to our requests and efficient. Mike, Kylie and our tour operator (Outlook Safaris) worked together to give us one of the best vacation experiences we've had. I would highly recommend Mike & Kruger Park Travel.
IE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip of a lifetime, truly amazing! Breathtaking scenery , welcoming natives .. animals galore !
We travelled as a family of three, and are full of praise for Benson Safaris. All our queries were dealt with promptly and courteously in advance of travelling. We were warmly greeted and received such kind attention throughout. The day outings to such wonderful places as Serengeti NP, Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, were very special occasions. Our guide Charles was so patient, stopping to photograph the animals, answering our queries and showing us special places. He shared his vast knowledge with us daily, and looked out for us so much. David our chef, was excellent, most friendly and much fun. Our transfer driver was also so kind and taught us our first words of Swahili ! When my son left his camera (which contained loads of footage !! ) in the car, he had no problem in coming back to the airport to find us and return it safely to us - so kind! All in all a truly memorable experience - hope to go back and climb Kilimanjaro with Benson one day.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible Uganda Tour
We made a 9 days tour through Uganda with Wild Jungle Trails.
First of all we would thank Teresa for her perfect planning and organizing the tour. All our whishes were 100% conisdered and she made a lot of good recommendations. Beside of that we appreciate the personal contact with her during the tour.
Second we like to thank our Guide Twaha for safe driving an competent guiding. It was a pleasure to spend the time with Twaha and to learn so much from him an his explanations about the animals, birds, living in Uganda and so much more... Especially his seating tip for the boat trip at the Kazinga Channel was valuable ;-)
I am hundred percent sure that we will come back to Uganda one day and we will come back to Wild Jungle Trails. Please do continue your great work!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy booking, professional and courteous staff, wonderful recommendations
I heard about Southern Africa 360 through a friend and used them because I was getting very overwhelmed with planning my vacation to Cape Town. Right from the first email, Nikki was very attentive and helpful. She made sure to understand what exactly I wanted out of my vacation and made some recommendations that turned out very well! I was able to reach Nikki via text message whenever I needed to and she was very accommodating. I made the last minute decision to rent a car to drive to the safari and even though Nikki was out of town, she connected me with one of her co-workers who set me up with a rental car while I was out shopping! My group and I enjoyed our 2 days at the Aquila luxury safari cottages. The staff, food and safari tours were excellent and more than we had even hoped for. We even had the opportunity to visit the wildlife rehab center operated by the safari! Throughout out the trip, Nikki checked in with us to make sure everything was going well. If I am ever in need of their services again, I would not hesitate to use them. I highly recommend Nikki and her peers.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely recommendable!
We had a 3 day safari, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in October 2016. It was all super organized, although we booked by mail three days previously.
We were picked up early in the morning at the airport by our safari guide and were able to start directly with the safari. The lodges we agreed with Peter by mail. Depending on the budget, he offers appropriate lodges. Our recommendation: Luxury Tended Camp in the Serengeti and Sopa Lodge in Ngorongoro Crater. A bit more expensive but absolutely recommendable.
Bestday Safari is definitely recommendable, thanks again to Peter.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not use Tembea East Africa
Never use Tembea East Africa Safaris out if Nairobi. What should have been a once in a lifetime, carefree trip turned into a stress-filled experience as a result of the firm's poor cash management, incompetence and the deceitful customer service. In the end to continue with our trip I had to pay over $850 in additional costs to cover their admitted mistakes and they have not refunded me. From my perspective they have stolen cash. Full story below.
We recently returned from an 8 day safari tour in Kenya and Tanzania through Tembea East Africa Safaris. Throughout the planning process the owner operator Issa S was helpful and responsive. As required bY Issa we paid our deposit well in advance of our trip to secure our lodgings and park entrance reservations. Two weeks prior to our arrival we confirmed our trip and wired the final payment. Although we were met at the airport and taken to our first night's accommodations we had considerable issues with Issa as the trip progressed.
We did not have the luxury accommodation reservations in the Masai Mara park as contracted and only learned of a change while en route to an inferior substitute -AA Lodges- (our room had no hot water, the lock on door was broken, the toilet in the room didn't flush, and the pool was out of service). When I told him I was not happy with this change Issa said he would call and make reservations for us at the contracted Mara Sopa Lodge. He ultimately called and said there was nothing he could do since he called but they weren't answering their phone. Unlikely story? We ended staying two nights in the inferior lodge.
Things deteriorated further when we were at the entrance gate of Serengeti Park. Issa had failed to deposit the appropriate amount of cash required in advance and after more than 2 hours waiting at the gate for resolution, the only solution was for me to use my personal credit card and charge $400 for one days entrance. Both the guide and I reached out to Issa several times by phone but after our initial discussion where he blamed the problem on the "banks being closed on Sunday" and not that he failed to deposit the cash on time, he simply refused to pick up his phone. We missed our evening safari drive and arrived at our camp late, frazzled and $400 lighter. No money was available the next day in time to pay day two fees so we spent additional hours riding to various entry points (taking away from our safari time) and ultimately I had to pay an additional $400 in park fees. Issa sent an email apologizing and told me he would meet me at the Kenyan border upon our return with $800 in cash.
Things got worse upon leaving Serengeti to enter Ngorogoro Crater. He again delayed cash arrangements so we needed to wait at the entrance 2 hours until the transfer cleared. Unfortunately he didn't deposit the correct amount and because of the park payment system we could not use cash or credit card to make up the difference. As a result we waited another several hours at the entrance for the transfer. Because of this delay we were only able to spend 2 hours in the park (versus the 6 hours scheduled) and missed a good portion of our safari drive that day in the Crater. Everyone in our party was disappointed since this was a key part of our trip. Again, Issa refused to respond by email, text or phone in spite of the guide's and my attempt to reach him for some explanation. To add insult to injury we arrived at the Ngorogoro Farmhouse for our overnight and they couldn't find our reservations. They ultimately came back and said that reservations were only made that day so we were initially not on the list. Luckily they had accommodations.
We did make it to the Kenyan border the next day but Issa was not there with the money. He sent an email apologizing and said he would meet me in Nairobi at our hotel with the cash. Our last day at Amboselli went well but upon checkout there was a cash shortage and for us to leave at a reasonable time to return to Nairobi (5 hour drive) I once again had to personally charge $66. I was now owed $866.
I was obviously angry with Issa and his lack of professionalism in managing this safari trip. When we arrived at the hotel (6:30 pm) he was not there. He finally answered his phone and when I confronted him about these issues and his absence at the hotel as promised he said he would be there shortly with the cash refund and we could discuss. We waited until 8 pm and he never showed. His guide, the hotel clerk and I tried to reach him. He simply let the phone ring and then would not pick up. He eventually emailed me around 10 pm that he didn't show because I was too aggressive when I spoke to him. He guaranteed that I would be refunded the $866 by the time I returned home.
I have been home for more than a month and have received numerous emails from his finance person Damien assuring me that I will receive a refund. After reading comments on Trip Advisor (and Damien's recent silence) it is apparent that no refund is forthcoming.
I need to be fair and say that the trip was saved from total disaster because of the knowledge and professionalism of our guides, Abraham in Kenya and Dennis in Tanzania. When we were on safari rides they were excellent, answering all our questions and seemingly blessed with a sixth sense to ferret out the animals. We have no complaints on that end.
Issa is an obvious incompetent who lacks professionalism and unless I get refunded, an obvious crook as well. He never offered any sympathy, apologies and definitely compensation for the downgrade in hotel and for our time lost from our safaris because of his failure to transfer adequate funds for hotels and park fees. We planned a long time for this very costly trip and were very disappointed with our decision to go with Tembea. Do not make the same mistake.
I am glad to answer any further questions on my experience.