EE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Drivers and representative done well, communication between operator and accommodation was 50/50
Our trip started from Dar es Salaam to Nyerere national park.
Normally rain season starts end of February, not first week of February. Due to earlier heavy rains the road condition was bad.
You can say we started with a off road trip. It did ask a lot of our drivers and cars, thanks to their skills we got trough. Blocked roads, broken bridges, they passed it all. Even in the park the roads were partly flooded.
The knowledge of the team (drivers and representative of the operator) was huge, we are thankful for sharing this with us!
Due to the high water level it was hard to find the wild animals, but they succeed quite well.
Concerning the accommodation, our group booked all rooms with air condition. Seems only one room was reserved for us with air condition the other four were only with ventilator. Some communication issues between operator and accommodation owner.
Over all we had a great experience, our trip and safari!
PL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We are satisfied with the service
We were on safari with a group of 8 people.
Safari guides Saidi and William - they are true professionals, we highly recommend them.
Activity Foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro - there was in description: swimming near Materuni Waterfalls - there was no chance to swim at waterfall so do not take towells and swimsuits.
To sum up, everything was good, but it could have been a bit better.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Decent company and good safari (for budget)
We did the 4 day budget safari to Maasai Mara, and Nakuru and had David as our guide. It was our first safari and an amazing experience. David was a great driver / guide who was knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The only thing I would say that could be improved is communication- what the plan is for the day, when we will be eating etc.
The parks had an abundance of wildlife (saw all the big 5 apart from a leopard). The vehicle was in good condition (Land Cruiser) and the accommodation was really comfortable- we were expecting a lot worse considering we opted for the budget option. One thing to remember is the driving required to get to the places as we had a 4 day safari but in reality only did 1 full day and 2 half days of animal viewing.
Something to note is the vehicles essentially fill up with people from many different companies so if you’re booking a group tour, I would recommend just trying to get the best deal. We had done the research and chose this company due to good reviews however in our car of 7 people, there were people from 3 different companies. This was a bit disappointing. Also the communication with the owner wasn't great (we only got sent the pre safari info the night before (after having to ask for it to be sent) which didn't leave time to get any items we were missing.
Our guide David was nice and friendly. Once area for improvement would be communicating the plans a bit more (we would often drive for a few hours in the morning before being told what we were doing / when we would stop that day).
Also, I would recommend going in dry season as it is a lot easier to see animals (we struggled at times as it had rained a lot).
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great time on the safari, wish office was communicative.
Had a great time on the 5 day budget safari to the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Navaisha, and Hell's Gate. Raheem, our driver, was a great guide that tried hard to find animals and get us close.
I wish the office was a little more communicative after booking the safari through the phone, received little to no information or communication until the morning of and that was only what time the driver was supposed to should up.
LU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First safari of my life and it was beyond expectations!
Safari is really an amazing experience!
Steve is a nice and positive guy, passionate about his work. We had the opportunity to see 4/5 big five on the 1st day!! (we missed only the rhino which is really rare in Masai Mara)
We had some problems with the jeep (for example, we got stuck in the mud), losing some time but Steve and Axis managed to make us happy in every possible way!
I would definitely suggest it!
LU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice experince
We choose the option of 3 days and 2 nights, we did the visit to the Masai village that was very nice and interesting and the safari itself was amazing!
Unfortunately we had problems with the jeeps on the first and the last day and we lost a lot of time because of that but in the end they have been nice to find a solution and make us satisfied!
Our guide Stephen has been very kind and nice!
MX
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flexible, Diverse, Personalized!
Catherine was my partner in crime from the beginning to the end while planning this amazing trip. She was always dedicated and flexible to understand my needs or wishes to have on this trip and make some adjustments to personalize it the way I wanted and that has no price. Most of all the accommodations (6/8) are stunning, really well thoughtful and diverse one from the others and she was receptive when we would may comments or suggestions about them
The itinerary was perfect and she even got us a Spanish guide for my mom and I.
Thank you so much for make possible this experience!!!!!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
You want the Zambia experience book Lochinvar Safaris!
If you want to see the real Zambia go with Lochinvar Safaris! We travelled with Mark from Lusaka to Livingstone , with 4 people in a jeep. He gave us a lot of information and history of Zambia, really interesting! We saw the real life of the Zambian people. We ate with our hands in local restaurants. Every day we had a briefing over the next day, the time schedule is flexible. Dutch people are more strickt, I guess. The lodge we sleep in Livingstone was standard, the beds are short, but okay. It was clean but nog very fancy or luxury. We made some tours, really like the boat safari! We had one day of and Mark booked for us rafting at the Zambezi, great experience!!! If you want to see the big 5, or other wild animals, you go to Botswana at your free day. I’ve heard that’s really cool! The little park in Livingstone you can see the rhinos. I’ve had a very good time and one day I hope to see Zambia again!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
Positive remarks:
- Incredible experience, 7 days was a good time
- We saw 4 of the big five
- We saw a lot of different African animals from so close, we could nearly touch them
- We saw a lot of different types of birds
- As a budget safari, the accomodations were quite good
- All the people we've met are very nice and helpful
- The parks we visited were very different from eachother, it is really worth it to go to the different ones
Negative remarks:
- Our guide was not really interested in the animals. We had more a driver than a guide, we hadn't a lot of information and some were even false.
- Some activities needed additional fees (Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate, Masaï Village)
- Masaï Village in Masaï Mara is not worth it, it is a tourist trap
As a conclusion, we ended the safari with stars in the eyes and dark rings under them.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Small operation with knowledgable guides and comfortable arrangements!
Chris, our guide from Zimbabwe, was very knowledgable and eager to show us the best that Kruger has to offer taking us to different parts of the park to try to catch a diversity of animals. He was patient and easy to connect with. Being a private tour, we were happy to be able to have the freedom to stop and continue on as our schedule allowed and it allowed us to find what we were most interested in. We saw 4 of the Big 5 on our 3-day tour which is really 2 days with the transfers from Joburg taking half a day each way.
We didn't realize that the driver and guide were one and the same person but this seemed to be the norm at Kruger. Our chef was lovely and made delicious foods but we would have appreciated being given different options beforehand to select our menu from.
Thale from the head office was not very responsive regarding the booking after the initial engagements were made. He doesn't seem to be on the ground with his guides and so may be a bit out of touch with the goings on.
