NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a very nice trip with Nyati Travel
On our 4 day trip we went from Mutare to Great Zimbabwe Ruins, Lake Muturikwi (Lake Kyle) Recreational Park, Chivero Recreational Park and back to Harare. We really had a great time. The driver provided, Alec, first of all was a very good driver. He was also kind, helpful and patient. He listened to what we wanted and had some good suggestions himself. We enjoyed the beautiful landscape and the wildlife. We will be sure to recommend Nyati to others!
Review about Okavango Delta by rgcxyz35
The highlight to our trip was 3 nights at Eagle Island Lodge (Belmond) on the Okavango Delta. This was a beautiful location with first class accommodation and service. In addition to the game drives we enjoyed a walking safari and trips out on the delta, both in powered boats and by mokoro.
A great safari experience
This was our first safari experience and will not be our last. We loved Chobe and were surprised at how close we got to so many animals. We stayed at Salute Elephant Camp with Belmond and had a great experience. The accommodation was good, we enjoyed the game drives and the experience was made even better by our guide. May was a good time to go as it was approaching 'winter', so only 30º which was just right for me.
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Tanzania trip
Last december we visited Tanzania for the 2nd time. Africa Tried and Tested organized our safari to Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. We ended on Zanzibar, 2 days Stone Town and 5 days at the beach at Fumba Beach Lodge. Wow. It is hard to use any other word than perfect to describe our experience.
From the moment that our guide picked us up from the airport to the minute we left absolutely everything went flawlessly. Not to mention the absolutely excellent correspondence from Karin, whose prompt, friendly and incredibly informative emails were the motivation for us picking Africa Tried and Tested for our safari. We were not disappointed!
As for the safari itself, we saw absolutely evrything one hopes for on a trip. The Big Five, including two separate leopard sightings (South of Tarangire), and a lion kill (Ngorongoro) werw more than we could have hoped for!
Throw in the rhinos we encountered in the crater and the vast array of other animals and birds you really have an unforgettable experience. The guide was wonderful, friendly, funny and impressive, we could not have asked for more! He was particularly great at finding the right angles to allow us to take some great photos of the animals, and at making quick decisions when action was happening ( e.g. whether to follow the lion kill or stay put.......we followed and got to see the whole thing!!). Zanzibar was a splendid ending. We loved to walk through the small Streets in Stone Town, and the beach, just wow, total relaxation!
There is little more praise I can give but I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is considering a safari in Tanzania.
Visited December 2014
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantasic Family Safari Experience
Our Southern African holiday was initiated by my father-In-law who thought it would be a great experience for our 2 children. He came upon Darren and Compass Odyssey from mutual friends in Perth. All arrangements were made via e-mail. Darren suggested several itineraries that would suit our family, including my Father in law and 2 young children 7 and 5. Our final arrangements included Cape Town, Kruger NP, Victoria Falls and Chobe NP.
All our accommodation was superb. From a beach House in Kommetjie, Cape Town to the quirky rondavels in Kruger NP. All accommodation was arranged to be self catering so we had flexibility when it came to feeding the kids.
African Safari's with young children can be challenging as many operators do not allow children as young as 5. Darren had arranged and drove our own private mini van which meant our youngest could be a part of the experience.
There were several internal flight between Kruger and Zambia as well as Botswana to Johannesburg airport not to mention less than straight forward border crossings between Zambia and Zimbabwe. These all went of smoothly.
As our group consisted only of us and Darren as our guide ( for the entirety of the trip) the days and scheduled events were very flexible. As a parent himself to 3 young children, Darren had a good sense of how much to fit into one day, never did we feel rushed and plenty of rest stops were catered for on the longer drives.
Darren's passion for South Africa is evident through his extensive knowledge from politics and history to the bird life and wild life which he is more than willing to share.
Our holiday was one that will not be soon forgotten. From the initial contact to the final goodbye everything went smoothly and without any hassle. I couldn't recommend Compass Odyssey and Darren
highly enough. Especially to those thinking about travelling with a younger family.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Astonishingly beautiful
Ngorongoro has been my favorite national park from our trip, where we also visited Serengeti, Tarangire and Manyara. The crater has a special climate, it is nevertheless on about 2,000 metres above sea level and there have always been some clouds on the crater rim, which made a great atmosphere. Compared to other national parks the crater seems so manageable - you kind of feel, that you can comprehend the whole place. But it nevertheless offers an amazing amount of wildlife and nature: jungle, lakes, a forrest, steppe etc. We've seen huge elephants, lots and lots of gnu's, gazelles and zebras, pumbas, ostriches, hyaenas, hippos, lots of lions, and also some rhinos. We spend our night at the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, which is an amazing place, with an outstanding view over the crater. But the street to get there is awful, it took us forever on this wild road.
20-35 years of age
Best Value Safari!
John our guide picked us up from Nairobi, ad after an 'african massage' we arrived at our very comfortable tent.
With each safari drive we saw different animals with our guide stopping for perfect picture locations. Great value for money with a smiling guide for a recommended budget trip. We saw 4/5 of the big 5
US
Gombe National Park
Gombe is beautiful, the scenery and waterfall very picturesque. If going, please know that the chimps do migrate and follow the food source. For example, when there in April, the chimps are at the top of the mountain. The hike is very strenuous and takes several hours. At other times of the year, the chimps are much lower in the mountains. The guides live and work there and are very knowledgeable. We were not able to see the chimps. But, visiting Jane Goodall's research center was very interesting.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful
We had a wonderful experience ! We traveled all the way from Orlando , Florida to South Africa, Zambia and Batsowana. Our tour was handled very efficiently , professionally. The owner of the cimpany met us in Krugar. What a present surprise ! Aron, our tour coordinator was just perfect.
I recommend them highly.
FI
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Day Trip to Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park is worth visiting only for a day if you do not have time for longer visit. It is easy to access and reach from Zambia and Zimbabwe if you happen to spend time either of these countries. You can find real bushes and secluded areas from Botswana, but Chobe is easy to reach and services are great to support your visit. We visited there on May, 2016 and trip was organized by a local travel agency in Zambia. We were a group of 5 people from Zambia and we joined another group from Zimbabwe (6 people). The morning was spend on the river with the guide who's experience and knowledge were excellent to support a very informative drive. We had coffee, cookies and soft drinks onboard, and we saw a lot of animals in the water and on the banks. There were hippos, elephants, crocodiles, lizards and lot of different kind of birds and the scenery itself was exactly the same you can find from public websites. After the pleasant boat ride, we had a lunch break with decent food in one of the lodges were we had an opportunity to fresh up and rest. Afternoon was spent on a game drive and then we had only a group of 5 in the same car. We basically drove the marked roads in the area and again the guide was excellent. We were able to spot a lot of animals and in this area, animals are quite used to vehicles so they are not running away as soon as you spot them. If you get overwhelmed about the scenery on the river, the view from here to the river is even more spectacular with the number of elephants, hippos, giraffes and other animals you could see in the wide area. The highlight of the visit was when we spotted lions - our guide was able to drive very close and that was one of the best experiences on our three week's trip.
When visiting Chobe like this, keep in mind that it is a public park with many other visitors in the same area and there are self-driving tourists, as well. Definitely you find more bush vibe from private parks but for the day trip this was value for the money.