NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great stay travelling through Uganda
We hired a supercustom and had great service from Pamoja whenever there were problems with the car due to very bad roads.
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US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simon was great!
I found cuckoo safaris during my research when starting to plan this trip. They were super responsive and accommodating to making changes in the itinerary that we wanted. I think it’s important to know that cuckoo is not with you the entire time they have partners in different countries such as Botswana. I had no idea that we would be passed off to some other company so it was a bit nerve racking when you are not familiar with the country. We were with cuckoo for 6 nights and 7 days and here are our pros and cons. Pros: everyone is on time for pick ups and drops off, the variety of activities provided is a great mix, AC vehicles for long drives or transfers, bottled water is supplied daily, the price was within our budget compared to different operators, the game drives are very long days but you get to see all the animals which is a very unique experience. Cons: all the hotels except the one we stayed at in Victoria falls were just okay (even with researching prior they were rated 4 and up on Google but just didn’t really fit/meet our expectations) good thing is you can ask for a higher tier, and biggest CON was the food was absolutely terrible. On long game drives they pack you a lunch but it’s a boiled egg, some deli sandwich and randoms snacks that have been sitting in a open door SUV from 5am in the morning not refrigerated or the drivers have food like rice and a meat just chilling in the trunk for long periods of time. You feel bad saying no thank you because these people are working incredible hard but I do not trust food that requires refrigeration at home to just be in the back seat of a car when it’s 100 degrees. I would highly advise bringing a bunch of protein bars, jerky and snacks to get you thru the day. Even at some hotels the breakfast buffets had under cooked eggs or meat or flies swarming a huge bowl of yogurt. I find it better to not have open food buffets in areas with lots of insects.
We did have a good experience and very glad we saw Zimbabwe and Botswana but with the amount of money you pay you would hope that there would be better food during long days. But unfortunately the food goes across the board for many tour operators as you see several different companies throughout your trip.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gave us a great tour of Kruger and the Panorama route
Picked us up at the airport on time and drove us to Kruger and our accommodation for 2 nights at Sabie River bush lodge. Great location right next to Kruger where Hippos would play right in front of lodge. The lodge was fine, the food was less than acceptable. served child portions with old food at times. We saw big 5 2 times on our tour of Kruger. great experience. Then they drove us up to Panorama route and showed us all the cool sites up there with Gods window, waterfalls and Blyde river canyon. Drove us back to airport on a really bad road. driver would go so fast and then slow down really quickly for 3 hours, made my wife sick from the driving so erratic. We are happy with our tour and tour operator. I would recommend this tour for anybody who wants to be taken care of for the tour of Kruger.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Small group tours dedicated to showing you the REAL Zambia experience!
My companion and I took the Zambia: 10 Days Nanzhila Cultural, Historical and Wildlife Safari Adventure” tour in May of 2022. We chose this tour because it was a well balanced tour including time spent in villages with actual villagers, historical sites, natural wonders, and wildlife of course. I was born in Zambia but was very young upon my family returning to the States. So I was excited to see and experience for myself, all that I had seen pictures of and heard stories of life there. The tour did not dissappoint! Because it ended up being just the two of us on the tour, the operator was able to customize the tour a bit to include the place where I was born and the village we lived in. We even got to meet the chief there! Tour is fast paced but with enough time to feel immersed. We were very well taken care of and the guides made us feel like family. We were grateful to find a tour operator that enabled us too afford our dream homecoming trip. The only reason for the 4 stars instead of five is due to a couple of last minute lodging bungles that were stressful. But in the end, we would do it all over again. We have so many amazing memories. Thank you Lochinvar Safaris!
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent service and operations
With Green Places Adventures, Jane the Organizer was very professional to arrange our holiday. The lodges and destinations we visited were awesome. She came to meet us in Nairobi before commencing our safari. Lawi the driver had good driving skills. Lawi was also friendly and had a good knowledge of the wildlife. We spot the big five animals and other wildlife in our 6 days safari trip to Amboseli, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. For anyone looking safari to Kenya I recommend Green Places Adventures.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great company, good communication, excellent food and good guides
From the start, we have had very good communication with Lulu, answering all our questions. Our schedule got changed last minute, but regarding travel times that was even better. Throughout the safari, the food was excellently prepared by chef Victor and Ibrahim and sufficiently enough and healthy! We had some problems with the car, but that was solved as quickly as possible by the guides. William was a very nice guy, but a bit less assertive than Saidi regarding explanations about wildlife and local tribes and so on. The second half of the tour, we learned more about the surroundings from Saidi. But overall, both guides were very friendly, helpful and good. In term of value for money, we would recommend Sacred (and our tour guides) again!
IE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very flexible for changing arrangments.
As I got off Kilimanjaro climb earlier than planned due to illness, my thanks to Almighty Kilimanjaro for bringing my 2 day Safari forward a day and reshuffling arrangements. Thanks to strong cocktail of prescription drugs i was on after being discharged from hospital I found the energy to continue with my booked Safari. I had a great time going to Tarangire National Park on day one and Ngorongoro Conservation Area on day 2. The Safari drivers were all great but a special mention to Frank a Safari driver as he was brilliant on the last day of Safari. He drove like crazy so I could make a flight to Zanzibar. Also Nico my Safari driver in Ngorogoro Crater, was great in organising for Frank to bring me to Arusha. Also my thanks to Abdul of Almighty Kilimanjaro was great in picking me up in Arusha and getting me to Kilimanjaro airport. Lesson learned do not have a flight on the evening of a Safari. it puts too much pressure on everyone, me included. Air Tanzania brought my flight forward by an hour at very last minute notice. The effort by everyone to get me on that flight was outstanding. Both Safaris are well worth it but the Crater is something special. it was like a movie scene. it is a special place dropping through the early morning mist to the crater floor, emerging into a paradise of natural beauty. Be sure to get contact details for Rasheed in Almighty Kilimanjaro as it saves the Safari drivers a lot of hassle trying to figure logistics out, especially if you are on tight timelines like i was. I got lots of pictures and videos which I treasure but they fail miserably to capture the beauty of the place and the wild animals.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best part of the tour operator was its guide Jimmy
- Jimmy our tour guide was excellent, patient and kind. Made the trip worthwhile. Always made every effort for us to get the most of the trip and seeing the animals up close in every given opportunity. Patiently attended to every request. Also, excellent driver. We saw other vans running up to issues and we did not had one. Jimmy always helped every one who needed.
- The tour operator was overall ok, but some things could have been better.
- Responses to emails was quick but sometimes did not answer to everything
- We were told that we could either pay by cash, or by a link provided that had a 3.5% bank commission fee or bank transfer with a 20 USD bank commission fee. We chose the latter, but when in Nairobi, at the office to proceed to the payment, the guy kept trying to negotiate a "bank fee" ranging from 3-5% over the price of the safari. We denied and managed to just pay the safari price, proving that there was indeed no bank commission fee.
- Accomodation was good, some more basic then others but overall good. Specially enjoyed Amboseli Manjaro Tented - lots of contact with nature.
Overall, great trip! If you are thinking about this operator highly recommend Jimmy as the guide
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jimmy is an excellent guide however Jocky tours themselves were sometimes tricky to work with.
I'll first start by saying that our guide, Jimmy was absolutely excellent throughout the whole trip and went above and beyond to make everything memorable for us!
Initially upon booking, email responses were fast but a bit short. Sometimes I'd send an email with a few important questions and only receive answers for one. We were told we could either pay the $2600 dollar fee by cash in USD (not really comfortable carrying that much cash with me), pay by card and incur a 3.5% fee for "processing", or make a bank transfer and pay an extra $20 to cover bank charges. I chose the latter. Upon arriving in the office, we were told that wasn't an option and repeatedly had a card terminal thrust at us. He said the 3.5% covered bank charges but he could make it 3%, then 2%... (Dodgy). Finally he dropped the fee and we paid the $2600 by card with no fee - I'm still not certain whether this fee is genuine.
We were asked to take 3 guests with us on the 6hr drive to Masai mara. We agreed but feel like many others would prefer not to - having paid a lot more for a private tour - it is difficult to say no when put on the spot like that.
The tour itself was great - Masai mara was excellent and saw so many animals close up thanks to our guide Jimmy. He was one of the highlights of our trip - kind, knowledgeable and skilled at driving off-road. Where many others got stuck, Jimmy didn't. Lenchada tented camp was great - basic but that is what we bought. Hot showers and nice beds. Good food with vegetarian options.
Nakura accommodation was great. Good food and pool. Next morning was Nakura lake game drive which was a highlight - black rhinos and lions and much more. Naivasha lake was also cool with a boat ride to see hippos and other animals on the shore.
Hells gate national park was excellent where we rented bikes and cycled among zebras and gazelles to the canyon. Factor in an extra $20 per person for bike rental and a guide for this.
The long drive to amboseli was next but unfortunately Jocky tours had neglected to book our guide a room leading to him having to find accommodation some distance away from us. This meant the next days pre-morning game drive was delayed till nearly 10am and by then Kilimanjaro was covered in cloud. A bit annoying but I must stress this was not the fault of our guide.
Overall a great trip and amazing memories made, could have been a bit better on the organisation side by Jocky.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Suricata in itself is a Tanzania travelog
A Photographer's Dream
This was my first safari in Africa and Suricata made it an amazing experience.
From the bookings handled by Tizia, to the guide Max and chef Tito, everything was top notch .
Our guide Max was friendly, well versed, and helped us take in some amazing views of the Tarangire national park, the Serengeti
the Ngorongoro Crater, and the lake Manyara National Park.
What made the trip even more enjoyable was interacting with Max
about his love for the environment and how passionate he is about nature.
Chef Tito made us look forward to everydays' meals on the safari and in the camps.
On the last day to Lake Manyara we were transferred to another company vehicle ( Travel Africa) which was slightly more comfortable than Suricata's.
It was a newer vehicle and had a portable refrigerator with beer, soda and water.
Suricata needs some improvement on this front.
Overall a great experience.
