65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime with exemplary service both before and during the trip.
During the planning phase Encompass Africa's communication with us was first class. Any queries were answered immediatley. Jonathon took the ideas that we had and enhanced them considerably through his extensive knowledge of Africa. We left the accommodation to him and we were not disapppointed. He saw us through the ebola crisis with up to the minute information which allayed our concerns. He supported our idea of independent travel and of driving in Namibia and answered our numerous questions with great patience. He went out of his way to meet our requests such as a Cape Malay cooking class. We left Australia quite comfortable and confident with the details of our trip.
The trip lived up to all our expectatios - and then some. The length of time that we spent at each destination was adequate. We were pleased that we had three nights at each of the Botswana lodges but two nights at each lodge in Namibia was fine. Our trip extended over five weeks and all of the arrangements ran like clockwork. THe Encompass Africa rep in Johannesburg made frequent contact to check that everything was OK. When we had to contact her over a minor interpretation of accommodation arrangements, she attended to it immediately.
Looking back, there was very little, if anything, that we would change. Jonathon's suggestion of self driving through Etosha was a good one although we did wonder how it would work out before we actually did it. Each day we thought, "This can't get any better," - and it did! There was a new experience every day. The ultimate accolade that we could pay is that we could have kept going even thought we had been constantly on the go for five weeks - and we are either at or approaching 70! At no time were we treated as 'old' or as people who couldn't do particular activities because of their age, something we appreciated very much.
We would thoroughly recommend Encompass Africa to anyone interested in a stimulating trip through Africa and expecting first class service. They will tailor make your trip to your specifications and you can be quite confident that the outcome will surpass your expectations.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari to Ngorongoro, Serengeti & Tarangire
Overall we had a fantastic experience with just a few things that could have been improved upon. Our group of 8 people (ages 14 - 75) booked a 6-day / 5-night safari with EASTCO. First day/night to Ngorongoro, then to Serengeti (2 nights / 2-3 days) and 2 nights / 1 day at Tarangire. I know that numbering is a little confusing, but one blocked-road delay and the transiting between parks makes the "bookkeeping" difficult.
Itinerary: The itinerary was great in many ways, but in the end I wonder if we tried to cram in too much in the amount of time we had. There ended up being a lot of time driving. If I were going to do it again, I would try and stay in each lodging for 2 or more nights. We also had two walks scheduled into our safari. The one ended up being canceled because a stuck water truck blocked our way into the Crater on our first afternoon, so we went the following morning and skipped that hike, but putting in some walks is a really nice way to break up all the driving.
Accommodations: Mostly excellent. Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge - very cool with lovely rooms and an outstanding dining room / loungey area with fireplaces. Turner Camp in Serengeti - Nice tented camp, though apparently the camp had screwed up our reservation. When we arrived they told our guides that they could only host us for one night although we had been booked for two. The guides scrambled and found us a place for the following night in the Serengeti Savannah Camps, one of the Sera campsites. Since the Savannah Camp did not have much warning that we were coming, they were not very prepared for us and many of the staff had gone on holiday. (One of the tents we got was quite below-average compared to the others). But the few staff who were there worked really hard to accommodate us. Both tented camps had showers and flush toilets in the rooms, though limited water as would be expected out there. That seemed very luxurious given the location. The last two nights we were at Boundary Hill Lodge near Tarangire. This place is exceptional with beautiful and interesting rooms (all separate from one another with balconies overlooking the a valley). The staff were excellent. We were supposed to have been at Ol Tukai Manyara for one of the nights but after lots of heavy rain a part of the roof had collapsed and wasn't yet repaired. Though we don't know what we missed, we were very happy to spend two nights at Boundary Hill.
Guides: Our guides both had very sharp eyes and were very informative. Melk was very funny and chatty. Kessy was mostly quiet, though if we asked questions he was more than happy to answer them. Both spent a lot of time on their mobile phones, which, well, it detracted a bit from the experience. Kessy had a radio in his car, which he used a lot as well, though he turned it down when we asked. I realize the guides use the radios to help find game for the clients, but... I don't know, it's a mix. Both were good drivers, although we thought Melk drove way too fast at times (not while on game drives, but during transits between parks). I'm quite certain he could get a job as a stunt driver in the movies! It didn't even make sense since he would then have to stop and wait for Kessy. In any case, I finally requested he slow down, which he did.
Communications:
Pre-trip - Simon mostly responded to our pre-trip emails very promptly, though sometimes it would take a while. I had been on a trip with EASTCO in 2009 and I know there are often internet and phone problems, so I didn't worry too much when this happened. It never happened at any critical, time-sensitive moment. Simon is very friendly and also gave us a LOT of help organizing some pre- and post-safari travel for which he didn't request any compensation. He came out to our hotel to chat and never seemed to be in a hurry. I'm sure his schedule varies throughout the year, but we got a lot of his time and advice for nothing extra.
En route - At times the guides should have been more forthcoming with information. E.g. one day we stopped at a Maasai camp after leaving the Serengeti. Melk had arranged a hike for us to go on there because we had missed our Ngorongoro hike. We should have seen this coming, but after the hike (which was cool and interesting) the Maasai invited us to watch one of their traditional dances, visit the village, see their huts, etc. It was $50/car and we decided, "What the hell, we're here". So it was fun and we learned a lot and got the hard sell to buy some beaded products. We ended up with the Maasai for probably 3 hours. Fine. What we didn't know was that we were 5+ hours from our next lodge and it was already after 3pm. Had we known, we probably would have just skipped this or at least left directly after the hike. As it turned out, we were driving the last part of our day in the dark, we got lost for a while on the last stretch to the lodge and didn't arrive until late. They had been waiting to make dinner so it would be fresh, which was nice, but it meant we had to wait a while. It got to be a very long day.
In general: I have been on two EASTCO safaris now and I am impressed with what Simon delivers, especially at the cost. The park fees make up such a large part of a safari that it seems a really good value to get the fees plus the vehicle, guide/driver, unlimited miles, really nice accommodation, all your food and bottled water. And we saw so much cool stuff! All the "Big 5", including heaps of lions and a mother cheetah & 4 cubs. It was awesome. Good guides will know where to look for what you want to see, and we had that. No guarantees, of course, but we had a less experienced guide at a park in Kenya and it really showed.
People all want different things when they travel, but I would recommend thinking about how much time you want to spend driving and ask those questions when arranging a safari. The nice thing with EASTCO is that you are not on a pre-packaged tour. You can choose your own adventure. Simon will certainly help you choose a good itinerary, but you can weigh in with your preferences of what you'd like to see and do along the way. And then keep in mind that this is kind of the Wild West (or the Wild East). Things will happen along the way that are not really anyone's fault and your trip will likely have some glitches; if you can roll with it the misadventures sometimes make the best stories later on. If I decided to go on a third safari in East Africa, I would certainly go with EASTCO again!
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
perfect!! i have never gone with safari big5 but i saw some pics of groups from various places,woww!
Words cannot express the hard work and commitment!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly recommend Ute Sonnenberg - efficient, prompt, organized and a pleasure to deal with
Enjoyed our safari immensely. Saw the Big 5 (and the "baby" 5 as a bonus) during our trip. Had no trouble with the air connections - was well arranged by Ute. The accommodations were comfortable, the service exceptional, the food was plentiful (never felt hungry during the whole trip). Our guides (Roan at Ngala and Matt at Phinda Mountain Reserve) and trackers (Chris at Ngala, Musa at Phinda) were impressive and personable - had a lot of fun and laughter. Overall an amazing experience for the whole family. Would stay at &Beyond resorts again and would highly recommend to anyone that wants an over-the-top experience!
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best chance to see a black rhino in Kenya
Nairobi National Park is the only option of gamedrive entertainment while in Nairobi. It is fenced and the city center skyline and tidy roads always recall you that you are in an urban area. There are most of times antelopes like zebras,coke hartbeasts, impalas, giraffes, and also warthogs, and a good variety of birds, including eagles and ibis as the most interesting. Despite there are a couple of lion prides, including big males that they keep track of, we could never seen one single lion in our 4 visits to this park, and then the most interesting animal to spot there is the black rhino, a rare and critically endangered species that is easy to spot in the park, so this is the best attraction of the park. Guides provided by the lodges and camps are usually not good spotters, in our experience. We have tried already the Nairobi Tented Camp and the Emakoko, both inside the park. The Emakoko is in a beautiful site and the accommodations are excellent and food as well, we recommend it as the first choice, but be careful with their arrangements to take you to/from airport as their location in the very inner portion of the park it may have roads restrictions that require them to cross long distances to reach the park gates (just add a good time contingency to avoid losing flights, we almost lost ours!). Nairobi tented is fine too, but food is not so good as in Emakoko, and the staff is less prepared as well, accommodations are good enough.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
For my part it wasn't just a Safari because I also do ecovoluntering.
The weather in Botswana is very sunny and sometimes very hot. My wildlife guide was the director of the ecovoluntering project, it was a bushman so he had a lot experience with the wildlife, we saw beautiful animal like elephant and hippo.
Concerning the transportation we was in a land rover defender or a land cruiser this vehicules was great to move into the bush.
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kenya by Cassio Lopes & Alessandra Santos
I always recommend Kenya as the best country in the World to have the best safari experience. Either for regular visitors or one-time visitors, Kenya is by far the best served country in terms of wildlife variety and infrastructure and genuine bush experience. People are kind and the conservation mindset of this country is very serious. We can't stop visiting Kenya, and we do so since 2008, at least once per year.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wedding
Communication with the company and trip manager was well established from the start, we received timely and good advises as to how best to plan our trip. I liked the honesty and behavior oriented to the fullest client's satisfaction. The company made sure all our wedding ceremony details were met by the hotel. The company representatives were acting very professionally and friendly. Very safe and pleasant to have business with. The website is in good quality, easy to navigate and representative. Definitely would recommend.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy Travel made this the trip of a lifetime!
My wife and I wanted to send our heartfelt thanks to Easy Travel for making our past safari the journey of a lifetime. The outstanding level of care we received from our safari consultant, Chislon and our driver/guide, Benedict, exemplify the remarkable company Easy Travel is. Chislon’s and Benedict’s hospitality showed us a different kind of Tanzanian warmth that we would return for in a heartbeat. We came back with so many stories and experiences that we will always treasure for the rest of our lives.
From the very start, Chislon’s prompt communication and flexibility in helping us plan our itinerary gave us the assurance we needed to book our trip. There are literally HUNDREDS of tour companies to choose from so we did our due diligence by researching them and compared each across an Excel spreadsheet (It’s my inner nerd, I work as an analyst). Our careful research paid off because we found that the value Easy Travel offers and their commitment to customer service is unparalleled.
Our adventure first brought us to Tarangire National Park, where a curious baby elephant playfully danced in front of our jeep as her family grazed all around us. Since it was wet season, the grass was high and we thought it would be impossible to spot any animals. To our amazement, Benedict still managed to spot a lion’s tail wagging through the tall grasses off in the distance, and that’s when we knew we had one of the best in the business. Benedict continued to amaze us throughout our trip with his eagle eyes, especially when he spotted a black rhino that was camouflaged by dried mud and when he stopped the jeep while driving up Ngorongoro Crater to point out a vervet monkey observing us from a tree. He was simply amazing.
As we traveled to the Serengeti, Chislon was able to upgrade us to the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel for our honeymoon. At the Four Seasons, we were amazed see a baby leopard, a dozen elephants walking to a watering hole, as well as dozens of zebras and gazelles grazing on the plains, all from the balcony of our room! We even got to experience a close encounter with 3 baboons who managed to break into our room in an attempt to steal our chocolate covered granola bars. (I managed to chase them away with a pillow before the Maasai warriors showed up :)
In Serengeti National Park, Benedict delighted us by finding the following: lions mating (repeatedly!); 9 lionesses sleeping in a single tree; lions fighting off hyenas after killing a water buffalo; a cheetah on the prowl at sunset (along with a family of warthogs scurrying off just a few meters away); a hundred hippos conversing in a river; black backed jackals on the prowl; a tower of giraffes on the move and herds of elephants grazing on the plains and drinking at watering holes. Throughout it all, we appreciated the fact that Benedict shared his knowledge and observations to help us understand life on the Serengeti. For example, when he spotted an elephant amongst the herd with a short truck, he explained that it was most likely bitten off by a crocodile. Those observations would have been easy for us to miss without the help of Benedict.
In Ngorongoro, we were greeted by thousands of zebras, wildebeests and gazelles, and thanks to Benedict and his knowledge of animal behavior, we even got to witness a live kill. While driving, Benedict noticed that some of the zebras were all facing the same direction so he pulled over and grabbed his binoculars. Off in the distance, he spotted four lionesses with their cubs. He encouraged us to be patient and while we waited, he explained the relationship zebras and wildebeests have. As we watched through our binoculars, he explained that the two travel together because zebras have good eyesight, but a poor sense of smell whereas wildebeests have bad eyesight, but a good sense of smell. By traveling together, both herds are less vulnerable to predators. We then continued to watch as a wildebeest unwittingly galloped straight into the pack of lions and was killed within seconds, affirming that wildebeests really do have bad eyesight.
By the end of our trip, Benedict became more than just a driver and guide; he was a caring friend who even helped us mail postcards to Australia, Hong Kong, New York and California. Everyone received them even before they knew we returned home! The stories of his life, and his knowledge and appreciation of wildlife really helped give us insight into Tanzania that we could never get from reading a book. There is no way this experience would have been as rich without his guidance and care.
Even after our safari was over, Easy Travel’s staff continued to amaze us. After we became stranded at Kilimanjaro Airport, Chislon went above and beyond by sending a driver to pick us up and communicated with Kenya Airlines to get us a refund. He even called Cape Town, South Africa to help us reschedule our hotel and car rental. That commitment to service, even after our trip had officially ended, showed us how much Easy Travel truly cares about their customers, and that’s something that makes them stand out amongst the pack. :)
With a heart full of gratitude
F&T
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting Safari to Rwanda
After reading reviews of gorilla tour booking safaris i decided to book a 3 Days Safari to Rwanda , they spontaneously organised a fun and exciting safari trip for us The tour was afforadable and the guide was very knowledgeable , I would highly recommend gorilla tour booking safaris as tour service providers.