50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Exceptionally detailed with delightful enthusiasm & great magic memories
Belinda certainly lives up to her friendly & enthusiast approach to conservation & informative details regarding all our questions answered. Nothing was too much for her regarding our precious & memorable trip. I highly recommend the outstanding service & company. Thank you africa conservation tours!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Exciting itinerary, exceptional camp selections, seamless logistic
We were planning to travel in November/December. This would be our third trip to Tanzania and longest with 14 camp nights. We wanted to explore new areas. Moreover, our international flight arrived at Nairobi and we did not want to have an extra hotel night commuting to Arusha. All these presented a few challenges. Leah at Planet Africa expertly put together an unique safari circuit that accommodated our many requests. After an overnight hotel stay in Nairobi, we started our safari the very next day in central Serengeti at Namiri, a quiet and exciting area where cat sightings outnumbered car sightings by a wide margin. Then on to the Crater for a short respite. The game drive was tamer there but great hikes were the reason we went there. Afterward we headed to Ruaha, the definite highlight of this trip. This park reminded us our first safari, in Kenya, bush instead of open plain. The terrain made the drive more challenging and proportionally more rewarding. We completed the circuit travelling to southern Serengeti. The best part of this trip was the variations, in terrain, climate, encounter, and activities. This is our third trip by Planet Africa. Leah provided us vastly different itineraries that met our criteria. Questions were quickly answered and alternatives proposed, with great follow up and reminders as the departure date neared. For our next East Africa trip, we will call them again.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Namib-Naukluft National Park by ronmcbride66
Beautiful vistas ... great geology.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Damaraland by ronmcbride66
Stunning scenery. The highlights for many would be tracking the Desert Adapted Elephants (or rhino); taking a scenic flight down to the Skeleton Coast ... or visting a Himba village.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Etosha National Park, with its waterholes, is a wildlife experience, ideal for a self-drive holiday
Etosha is a vast National Park with 4 lodges within the park (Dolomite; Okaukuejo; Halali and Namutoni, travelling west to east) and a handful just outside the gates. The lodges are government-run and are not at the luxury end of accommodation. The largest is Okaukuejo with its iconic illuminated waterhole. In September we found it to be fairly busy: the accommodation, however, was very good with air conditioning. We were close to the camp site and only a short walk to the waterhole. The food is generally fine and the staff were always pleasant and helpful. The only mild criticism would be that the shop is poorly stocked and geared to campers. We could park our 4x4 right outside our chalet door. Most visitors were self-drive but there were a few huge trucks with 12 or so people on the camp site. Those who didn't wish to drive through the Park took advantage of the various guided tours. In terms of service in Etosha in general, one has to be tolerant. The service in the modern-looking restaurant at Halali was hopeless. It is the wildlife, however, that visitors come to see.
There is no point looking for hippos or crocs: there are none. Leopards and cheetahs are more or less impossible to find without a guide but the herds of elephants; zebra; wildebeest and oryx are superb. Solitary male lions and prides are a great sight, let alone rhinos slowly joining giraffes, elephants, jackals and springbok at the waterholes. The oryx, kudu, impala, Hartebeest and hyenas add to the rich tapestry. Driving along the road there are frequent sightings of Pale Chanting Goshawks; bee eaters and eagles (including the Martial Eagle).
A great thing about Etosha is that traffic is light. At the Goas waterhole there two other vehicles where we watched some 200+ zebras and around 80 kudus drinking: an amazing sight. There was a caracal, but I couldn't spot it. One aspect, rarely mentioned, is the silence at a waterhole: to hear the sound of hooves on stones as zebras approach or the splash of water, the snorting, is enchanting. The roar of a lion is something else! At the waterholes it is so marvellous to see the giraffes, elephant and rhino in particular slowly approaching, unhurried. This is especially so at sunset with the sun behind (the best for this Okaukuejo as night driving is forbidden and proximity to accommodation is vital). The illuminated waterhole at Okaukuejo is amazing at night. The hierarchy of 'rights' can be fascinating. Giraffes take a long time to have the confidence to drink but there was no panic as the roar of a lion filled the air: they stood up, faced one direction with ears pricked and slowly moved off as the lions approached.
The scenery in Etosha is nothing spectacular, of course, being fairly flat. The salt pan can be very dramatic with, perhaps, a dozen ostriches crossing the blazing white salt. There are many areas of bush and of light woodland in which one might suddenly come across a herd of 100 or so zebra: this type of vista is as compelling as seeing a herd in the open. To drive for ten minutes seeing little and then to see a male lion under a thorn bush or indeed a rhino is amazing. There is a degree of luck involved, of course as they can easily be missed. The herds of elephants are dramatic. In some areas they are very dark coloured, in others almost white from dust from the salt pan.
Amazingly, there a few small saloon cars around. A 4x4 would be the norm, giving height and ability to cope better with the rougher roads (the roads around the Goas waterhole were very rough but OK in a 4x4). The Park is so dramatic that after a 3 night stay, we stayed outside the eastern gate and re-entered it for another half day. If visiting Namibia and doing 'the circuit' over a fortnight, do finish the trip with Etosha rather than begin it ... leave the (fantastic) country on a high.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Namibia by ronmcbride66
The country is vast and sparsely populated. It is SAFE. The road system is good. The country has an amazing diversity with vast sand dunes, coastal experiences along the Skeleton Coast, beautiful mountains and Etosha. Accommodation ranges from camping, guest farms and lodges, some of which are really top-of-the-range: one at Doro Nawas, may have 7 light aircraft on its airstrip. Trips thus can be self-drive or fly-in ... or a personal guide can drive visitors around. The experience is breath-taking. The urban centres of Windhoek and Swakopmund are interesting with a pleasant ambience.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant !!!
Had a most brilliant time. Anthony was fantastic. He we always helpful, attentive and looked after us well.
Anthony made sure that a trip was a memorable one.
I would recommend using this tour company as well as Anthony again.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Soaring Falcon
We have used Falcon Safaris on several occasions over the years to book accommodation,arrange excursions and organise transfers from and back to Livingstone Airport.Had their service not been first class throughout we would not have used them again ! That speaks for itself.
Occasionally there were hitches - not of Falcon making - which were put right without fuss or bother and we were kept in the picture at all times so we knew what was going on without being worried.
undoubtedly a professional organisation which delivers as promised.
FI
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent! Amazing guide and amazing trip!
Safari Multiways was above and beyond expected! They made our trip so easy for us. They set up all our stays at nice lodges, took care of park fees. All this was included in our safari package. Our driver/guide Amos was wonderful! He was patient with us if we wanted to stop and look at animals longer and his eyes were like binoculars! I was amazed at how he could spot animals so far away! We got lucky because of him and saw the big 5! He even taught us how to take a picture with our phone through our binoculars! He was very knowledgeable about the parks and all the animals! Best trip we've ever taken!
NO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A magic experience with Tanzania explorer gave us a dream come through safari in Tanzania!
From the very first contact we had with Tanzania Explorer and Sondre we got the best advices and recommendations for our holidays in Tanzania. Close and personalized contact and communication with us all the time ensured that our safari holidays were perfect and we were well taken care of from landing in Dar es Salaam and taking off again two weeks later. In fact it exceeded my expectations. Everything was taken care of, even the dietary needs of to persons with celiac disease was handled with care and discretion. We stayed at Selous Kinga lodge where service and food was excellent. Everywhere we met friendly staff taking care of us. We also loved staying at Hondo Hondo tented camp in the Udzungwa forest. Beautiful situated and very nice "tents". Again where the staff extremely friendly and nice. We enjoyed the safari trips in both in Selous and Mikomi parks where we preferred Selous where we experienced all the animals and even though it was peak season we felt as if we were alone watching the lion recover after the morning hunt and kill. Strong and magic! Our drivers and guides where also excellent and professional. Zanzibar was a nice ending of the dream with white beaches, coral reefs and dolphin swim:) We loved all of it and highly recommend planning your trip with Tanzania explorer - its a dream come through.