MY
Totally Worth It!
Everything was super nice.They made my vacation in zanzibar Island excellent. I loved how they staff are always willing to help and show you all the tourist destinations to explore. Ooh and did I mention their rates? They are the most affordable tours and company I have ever used.Totally worth it. Kudos safari Bando! :)
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
This camping safari experience was indeed an adventure of a life time!
Jane was very quick in responding to queries and provided a well designed two-week safari. You do not fly between camps, but rather drive and once and awhile may even get stuck in the sand temporarily, which adds to this African adventure. We were camped in national parks, thus stayed where the animals lived with an elephant or two walking through or near the camp. Falling asleep to the sounds of lions roaring, elephants trumpeting, and hippos snorting was fascinating. May was a great month go since there were few crowds. In fact, Jane was keen that we observed animals without the crowd of other vehicles. Often we were the only ones to witness a giraffe and Cape buffalo drinking, a leopard next to the trail, a lion calling to two 18-month old lion cubs and seeing them bound out of the grass. We held our breath as we observed a young lion stalk and chase an impala. We were thrilled to see a three-month old lion cub nursing, African Painted Dogs playing, elephants (cows, bulls, and many calves) everywhere, cape buffalo, zebra and wildebeest herds on the move, giraffes with calves grazing the tree tops, honey badgers dashing, warthogs running, dozens of various birds, hippos in and out of the water and the the list goes on...
Aside from amazing animal observations, the Ulinda crew provided delicious meals all cooked over an open fire. They even baked a birthday cake for my husband. The tent was large with a double cot, nice touch. Showering in an enclosed, open to the evening sky shower was priceless.
If you are looking for a camping safari, Ulinda is certainly worth consideration. Enjoy, we did!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly and professional service all the way!
Thanks to Derek and his team at Blue Crane Safaris who planned and organised a perfectly executed itinerary for our first Self-Drive in Namibia. What a beautiful country to experience with changes in the landscape around almost every corner!
Derek was always available to assist or advise, and went over and above our expectations to ensure our safety, comfort and overall enjoyment for a memorable journey.
We will be back for another trip and plan to travel with Blue Crane again!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing trip!
We arranged a long layover in another tour package and wanted to see as much of Kenya as we could. Happy we selected Spirit of Kenya to fill in our dates. Tiago provided lots of options and price ranges. We were thrilled with our experience. Highlights were Ol
Tukai in Ambroseli and the Amani Mara Camp. The staff in both places were exceptional! We also had George as our driver. He was an excellent, safe driver. A fact you’ll appreciate when you see the crazy roads with big heavy trucks wending their way along. Aside from his safe driving, George was an excellent guide and game spotter. He got us to lions on a kill before any other cars arrived. Keen eyes and lots of knowledge! He also was able to accommodate all our requests - not easy in our group of four women and one man. Okay the man never requested anything special! :)
Anyway thanks spirit of Kenya. I know we asked for many changes as we went along but you were always cheerful and responded quickly. And everything was spot on as you said it would be. We’ll be back!
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome, good job!!!
I can’t recommend Bateleur Eagle Safaris enough. They were fantastic from start to finish. Really professional.
From the initial quote to the final drop off the customer service, attention to detail and endeavour to deliver a mesmerising experience was something I will never forget.
Would recommend their team to all. The 3 day Masia Mara package we had was spectacular
Experience level: over 5 safaris
Experienced and flexible - phenomenal guides!
I'm surprised to read some of these negative reviews, and glad I didn't see them before and back out. I also booked through a different operator and Kenya, and there were some small changes to my itinerary, but a part of travel is being a bit flexible, no?
Innocent and his team were thorough in explaining my day-by-day tour, and why it was set up in that fashion. It was a budget camping safari, which I knew booking it - and it was all very comfortable!
The guide for most of the tour, Lazaro, was spectacular, he had a great sense of where animals were, how to get in good spots for photos, and how to answer our wishes and questions! Mike - the guide for our first day - was also great. The food was delicious, and they catered well to my dietary restrictions.
I know that luck is a big part of what you see in safaris, but the company and guides also matter. We saw everything we could have wished for, and were so glad that InnoAfrica was able to make the experience even better. I'm already trying to find a way to come back, and do another safari or tour with them!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great day trip to Ngorongoro
My Lodge set me up with a day trip to Ngorongoro with Rupia at the last minute. I was on a tight budget and was happy to see it was more affordable than other places. I had to wake up really early since Ngorongoro is pretty far from Arusha, but it was definitely worth it. Elsa was skeptical because I have been on a safari in South Africa and salt that I had checked that box. But Ngorongoro is a whole different animal, pardon the pun. There are animals EVERYWHERE in the crater.
The guide/driver was friendly and kept saying these unrushed and fun. They provided us with ample lunches. The one thing to note is that at least for that trip they used an older, somewhat slower vehicle, but it was a totally fine and safari-appropriate land Rover with a top that opened up. I didn't travel to Tanzania to experience luxury vehicles.
The owner of the company was very friendly and since I book last-minute was fine with me paying afterwards and he came to my hotel to make that easier.
Good deal, great day, locally-operated - exactly what I wanted. Thank you!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent care free fun
Hi what a great value. The lodge far exceeded expectations and was a phenomenal value. The park isn't as big as Kruger ,but it isnt as crowded either. I felt like I was almost on my own custom safari. The food was great and I will definitely have to do this again
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our lofty expectations and hopes for the trip BY FAR!!!
Why we're glad we trusted our safari to African Sunset Safaris (the short of it - *Click READ MORE below for "the long of it"*):
• Small, local business, with personalized service and a genuine desire (and ability) to deliver the trip of a lifetime.
• Hard-working, expert guides with experience and passion, who are amazing at spotting animals, and who you will come to love so much that you won't want to leave.
• Excellent value for the price; less than what the big-name operators were quoting without losing any of the benefits.
• Top-rated parks and preserves.
• Top-rated, beautiful hotels with friendly staff and delicious food.
• Manageable, flexible, well-rounded itinerary for getting up close to the best animals in the most beautiful locations.
• Photographer-friendly, comfortable, stylish, and well-maintained Toyota Land Cruisers with pop-up tops, electrical chargers, and mini-fridge full of water, local beer and wine.
Why we're glad we trusted our safari to African Sunset Safaris (the long of it):
I should begin this review by saying that I obsessively researched safaris and safari companies for several months prior to deciding to entrust our trip to African Sunset Safaris, and my husband and I could not have been happier with them. In fact, they exceeded our lofty expectations and hopes for the trip by far! We went to Africa to see the wildlife, and not only did we see everything we wanted to see and more, but we returned from a much more fulfilling trip than we could have imagined, having made several life-long friends, Haron, the owner of African Sunset Safaris, being one of them.
Haron was born and raised and currently resides in Kenya, and running African Sunset Safaris is his full-time job (not a side-gig a few days a week from the UK like many safari travel agents/companies). He's an incredibly hard worker, he's licensed, he's been in business for over 10 years, and he is highly regarded among his peers (a hotel manager described him to an employee as "the experienced one"). Haron responds quickly to emails and WhatsApp (even with the time difference with us being in the US), which made us feel comfortable sending him money ahead of time for the deposit.
While on safari with Haron, we always felt completely safe, secure and well cared for; he has a very fatherly air about him. In the same sense, it was his sincerest desire to make all of our safari dreams come true (which he did and then some). He has eyes like an eagle (even while driving), and we were constantly blown away by his skill not only in spotting and identifying animals, but also in getting the Land Cruiser so close to them with such speed. There are a ton of dirt roads through the parks and preserves, and in our 7 days (and 5 destinations) with him, he never once had to pull out a map, including in the cities and on the road to and from the different areas we visited. Haron is the best of the best, and we feel completely honored, privileged, and spoiled to have had him as one of our guides.
On the way from Nairobi to Amboseli, we picked up Charles, one of Haron's newest guides, and within 24 hours we had a new best friend for life (no exaggeration). Haron has a knack for "match-making" friends in a safari vehicle, and he hit the nail on the head by adding Charles to the mix. Over the course of a week, we made so many unbelievable memories with Haron and Charles, sharing in deep, fruitful conversation, immense laughter (and immense tears when it came time to say goodbye)...so much so that we came to a point where we were no longer preoccupied with wanting to see more animals; we just wanted to hang out with Haron and Charles. All that being said...Charles is a first-class, top-rate guide, with a particular talent for identifying birds. Within just a day or two of our arrival, they had already found four out of five of the "big five," lacking only the elusive leopard. We also saw a cheetah, a ton of giraffe, zebra, and countless other animals.
After our time with Haron and Charles, we spent three days in the Masai Mara with Johnson, resident
guide, historian, botanist, animal behaviorist, and language instructor. His breadth and depth of knowledge about Kenya and everything in it was truly amazing. I don't think we had one single question he wasn't able to answer, and he made seemingly uninteresting animals interesting by teaching us about their specific traits and behaviors. We saw the first wave of the wildebeest migration, which was incredible, as well as several cheetah, lions, hippo, crocodiles, hyena (cubs!!!), and some beautiful Mara sunrises and sunsets. Perhaps the highlight of our time in the Mara was visiting a Maasai village on our 10 year wedding anniversary. We got to watch them perform several tribal dances/songs, see them make a friction fire, tour a Maasai house, play with the kids, and have the chief's son give us an anniversary blessing.
Upon our transfer from Kenya to Tanzania, Haron and our new guide, Gideon, were waiting for us at the border station when we arrived with Johnson. They helped us get through the immigration process with ease, and transferred all our luggage to Gideon's Land Cruiser so we'd be ready to roll after the border check.
Gideon, our guide in Tanzania, was Mr. Personality, and we thoroughly enjoyed the five days we got to spend with him. His other qualifications include studying an additional two years to become a certified birding guide, comedic relief, rocking a pith helmet, and having eyes in the back of his head. It is literally unbelievable how good Gideon is at spotting animals, and Serengeti National Park is the perfect place for doing so. Within three hours of entering the park, we had already seen several elephants and hippos, 4 lions, and 4 leopards (including a cub). Since it was nearing the end of our trip and the early morning were getting more difficult for us, Gideon gave us different options for game drive times, which helped us enjoy the time we had remaining.
Transfer to the JRO airport was easy. We stopped in Arusha for a delicious lunch at a local restaurant, and then picked up Peter, Gideon's friend and fellow guide, who rode with us to the airport. We had a laughter-filled drive to the airport, which was really nice since it took our minds off of being sad about leaving Africa and all the life-long friends we had made during our stay.
We never in a million years could have asked for or imagined a more perfect time on safari or speak highly enough about African Sunset Safaris and the "trip of a lifetime" they put together for us. We felt completely spoiled by Haron, who arranged several detours and surprises along the way for us, including getting to feed and pet Baraka, a blind black rhino (which was unreal), picking up a bike for us to ride around the various hotel grounds, arranging for us to get to spend an extra day with Charles (who we missed tremendously after we had to drop him off after the first week), and his and hers African Sunset Safaris sweatshirts that will forever remind us of our (first) trip to Africa. We already cannot wait to visit again and to see all our friends at African Sunset Safaris.
About Our Trip: "15 Day Best Program for Photography" Tour (May 21st - June 5th)
• Day 1 - Nairobi to Amboseli National Park
• Day 2 - Amboseli National Park
• Day 3 - Sweetwaters, Ol Pejeta, Kenya
• Day 4 - Samburu National Reserve
• Day 5 - Samburu National Reserve
• Day 6 - Lake Nakuru National Park
• Day 7 - Lake Naivasha
• Day 8 - Masai Mara National Reserve
• Day 9 - Masai Mara National Reserve
• Day 10 - Masai Mara National Reserve
• Day 11 - Serengeti National Park
• Day 12 - Serengeti National Park
• Day 13 - Ngorongora Crater
• Day 14 - Tarangire National Park
• Day 15 - Arusha
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Free to enjoy the tour, in great hands!
We enjoyed our tour, incident free, because the tour company had experienced care and plans in place with our utmost enjoyment being paramount!
We always felt safe and in great hands. It was a wonderful experience and a great tour company certainly enhances the experience.
