IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect recipe for a good safari!!!
A few months have passed by now. But as we are looking at the photos from our safari experience, we could not delay writing our review to Savannah any longer! The positive outcome of our safari is for sure the result of the great professionallity of our guide: the extremely hospitable and very well prepared Gerald. From the very beginning he was very attentive and reliable: he would always pay attention to whatever we needed and answer to the many questions we posed. He is the best guide and driver we could possibly hope for during our tours at Tarangire, Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro and we always felt safe and cared for. Our friend Gerald is also a very nice and fun guy! As for Savannah itself, Roberto checked-in with some calls to verify whether everything was good, or we needed any kind of things! Hurray for Savannah, indeed!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well-organized safari trip with a old, tired and bad maintained SUV
Positive: Safari company that has good deals with accommodations. Nice places to stay at, both in Ruaha and Mikumi. The guide we received (Ibra) was good and familiar with the local community. We were picked up at the agreed time from the airport and the manager was good at answering questions before we ordered the safari tour.
The whole trip went well and we saw what we wanted to see. The trip followed this plan we received in advance, not completely but almost. For example, in one of the days it was unrealistic to go for a game drive after driving to the next national park (Ruaha). Although it was in the program.
Negative: On a safari tour you spend most of your day in the car, So the car is essential and vital for a successful trip.
The car was not in a proper condition. It is a reasonably well-used land-cruiser that has not been maintained for a long while.
The left window shook all the time while the car was running and the ventilation system did not work. We noticed that especially when it rained and the front-window from within became foggy because there was no air. Fortunately, it stopped raining after half an hour. It also leaked water from the ceiling down to the feet on the left side of the frontseat.
If you had to close the windows for an unknown reason in the wild and there is no air coming from the cars ventilation system. This should have been fixed before the car was sent on a longer safari ride. Remarkable that this was not taken seriously.
All four tires were in bad condition, hard and old. Particularly the right rear wheel, was not far from bald tyre on the sides. And was directly illegal to use. completely worn out. Especially when driving on longer trips on motorway, rainy days and on rough terrain good tyres is crucial for safety.
Scream sounds were heard when the car braked.. It came from the brake pads. Probably due to very bad brakes.
The left backdoor was very worn out, and one had to pull the lock up/down firmly to make sure it was actually locked. And there was no doorhandle in the innside either if it suddenly opened and one had to close quickly. It may also be unfortunate in a safari situation, in case of dangerous situation where you have to close the door quickly. For example, if an unexpected animal is approaching.
This puts passengers and clients' safety at risk and these are small obligatory car-expenses every Safari company must have 100 percent in order.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Attempted to Strand Us in Arusha
My travel agent had booked us a tour with Ranger Safaris, and upon our arrival to Arusha, there was a mix-up as to whether our tour group would be the same as the group we had been in from the beginning of our trip in Kenya. My group simply asked that we be able to contact our travel agent in order to straighten things out, but we were first told Ranger Safaris had been in contact with our travel agent via email about this issue (which we later learned was an outright lie) and then told that if we did not get in the car we would be left alone in Arusha. When I raised these issues with management, Ranger Safaris never got back in touch with me. I would HIGHLY recommend all travelers avoid this company.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Surreal Masai Mara and excellent hospitality
I had an awesome safari experience with Magical Retreat and Adventure tour. The moment I started communicating my queries with Pamela, my trip organiser I got a very comprehensive responses from her. She answered most of my queries with adequate information before I even ask her.
After I registered with her, she was always there, very prompt in planning my trip and answering queries. The way she handled our concerns and planning, I was assured we are in right hands.
The day we reached Kenya, she surprised us by receiving us on te airport. We felt so good to be received so well in another country.
Then trip began, our driver was very jolly and cool company telling us exciting stories and facts about Kenya.
The stay and food was beyond expectation. And Masai Mara was surreal. Meanwhile Pamela kept tracking our trip and asking us our well being.
Lake Nakuru was also so beautiful.
Overall the trip was huge success without any hiccups , best memories were created. Thanks to Pamela
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy, cheap and customizable
I spent 9 excellent full days with Samuel Musyoki through Kenya and Tanzania along with 3 more friends. He recommended us very well where and when to go to very nice places we didn't know from travel blogs, and he always helped us to improvise were possible. He was a very trustworthy person who helped us a lot, making such a difficult travel (9 days together in a car!) an unforgettable experience. I strongly recommend him.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
WOW - UNFORGETTABLE "wild" EXPERIENCE.
An unforgettable experience with Tony & team. We were 20 of us who decided to spend the Easter Holidays in Savuti and we booked in time with Tony Mobile Safaris. We started our trip in two vehicles of Tony from Kasane, a town in Chobe district. After about 4 hours drive through the forest we reached Savuti. Enroute we sighted lot of animals the cherry being the 3 male lions and a lioness about 500 metres from the place where were to camp. Our camps were efficiently set up by Tony's crew. They are compact with comfortable bedding. The basic rules of the camp were explained and the ablution block was located about 100 metres from the camp. The ablution was decent. The next day morning we departed 6 a.m. We went looking for the lions. While the sun was rising on the eastern sky we sighted a male & female 'in season' and 3 other male lions within 50 metres lying lazily on the grasses. We spent about 45 minutes out of which few minutes were heart stopping as the male lion [golden sun adding to the appearance] majestically walked near our vehicle. We took loads of pictures & videos. We then took a drive around and sighted a lone leopard on a tree and and tracked it for a little distance. We also sighted giraffe, zebras, varieties of deer [boks], wildebeest, hippos, plenty of bird life. We had another drive in the afternoon and the following day 6 a.m. we departed to Kasane. We had a fantastic trip. Our comfort were taken care of by Tony, Vincent, and his other crew. It was heartening to see Tony, a Motswana [citizen of Botswana] owning and operating a safari company with so much knowledge and so humble and friendly to each one of us. All of us in our group felt this experience was unique and unforgettable. We as a team were thankful to our team leader Partha who facilitated the whole journey.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
WOW
This was our second trip to savuti with Tony and his team. Their knwoledge about the animals and skills of tracking wowed us again.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
excellent
I HAVE BEEN GOING ON SAFARIS WITH TONY SINCE 2009 AND THE ONE THAT I RECENTLY WENT WAS MY TENTH TRIP WITH HIS TOUR COMPANY.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A WONDERFUL TRIP ANY TIME I HAVE GONE ON A SAFARI WITH MR.ANTONY NTALAMO (THE OWNER OF TONY MOBILE SAFARI)
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Is this real life?
A friend recommended me this company, after she had a very good experience with them doing a few safaris. I choose to hike the Kilimanjaro.
I texted Burton and from then on I was treated like a king, the communication was very good from beginning to the end. I met my guide Hassan and felt immediately comfortable, also the porters were friendly and obliging.
The best part by far was the food!
I was blown away by the variety, from popcorn to main course to all kinds of soup not even my grandmother could have cooked better. It was truly an amazing experience, I didn’t expect this kind of service.
Keep up the good work!
David
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Untrustworthy, changes to itinerary, skipped site, misleading communications...
I do not recommend this tour company. No compensation for changed itinerary with a site completely skipped that was on my tour, no pickup in Arusha on arrival, poor customer relations and misleading communications from day to day, difficulty with payment at national park resulting in lost time on drive, not enough room in vehicle for equipment so stacked tents on top resulting in no pop up viewing one day. It just seems the operator wants money and cannot deliver what is promised. Be very wary when touring in Tanzania. Enough said. I have experienced several safaris, and this one is the only one that I can say was regrettable.