35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The highlights of Namibia in 15 days
The itinerary was very thoughtful. We travelled to, in this order, Damaraland, Etosha, Okonjima, Swakopmund, Wolwedans, with a return to Windhoek in the middle for Christmas with friends.
We self-drove for part but also took 4 internal flights with Scenic Air. Logistics were faultless. ATI were excellent, which is very reassuring when you have 3 children with you (12, 10 and 8).
Etosha was quiet but we still managed (on the trip) to see elephant, lion, rhino (black and white), giraffe, leopard, cheetah etc. Not to mention kayaking with seals which was very special.
I particularly recommend Mowani Mountain Camp and Wolwedans. These are landscapes you will never forget with beautiful accommodation and a sense of peace, far away from the digital blizzard in which we all now live.
For Europeans, Namibia is still mostly an undiscovered gem. For a family with sense of adventure, I recommend it unreservedly.
EG
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wecam: Highly responsive, okay service, some missed key details
Wecam was mostly good but got quite a few significant details wrong, so I give them 3 stars to make a point that the operator in a situation like a Kenya/Tanzania safari trip should come with strong experience, clear recommendations, and quality equipment to soothe over the difficulties of a trip like this. Wecam overall provided okay service, were honest and responsive, but fell short on the details. I emphasize the details missed below.
Starting with the positive, Wecam was the most responsive of the operators contacted, which counts for something. They also were honest enough to pay for an error in a flight booking that I showed via old emails was there fault. While that represents missing a detail, on the flip side, they were honest enough to pay for the flight even having already paid for the safari in full at that point. So the positives of their service along with one strong lifts them from below average.
We chose a safari and beach vacation. The first vehicle assigned for our safari was the oldest we saw around and a bus rather than jeep-style, better suited to the terrain. More importantly, the windows did not shut well to keep out the cold morning draft (which the limited heat could not offset sufficiently) or dust, with one periodically even falling out when I opened it to take photos. Nor did it have air conditioning as an option to keep drafty windows closed and prevent my girlfriend from coughing from a mild allergy to the dusty road. The second vehicle assigned in Tanzania was significantly better, though it may have been a governmental requirement. It also lacked air conditioning, plus the trunk stopped working, which would have been a big problem if we were more than two people. The first vehicle advertised that it had wifi, but they didn’t send the driver with the wifi unit so that it could work. The second vehicle didn’t advertise wifi onboard though the driver had the unit, and didn’t clarify it was available until we were out of range of towns anyway and then ran out of airtime promptly and couldn’t get it back working. The first driver wasn’t that great with English or explanations, although the second one was outstanding, raising Wecam from two stars.
Another significant detail missed was that I specifically made it a much more expensive two-country safari to see the Great Migration in action, which was heading from Masai Mara to the Northern Serengeti. However, they had the itinerary skip right past the Northern Serengeti. Good thing we were lucky enough to see a decent number of wildebeest including a river crossing in Kenya and so many lions in Central Serengeti, or we’d feel really miffed.
There also were problems with estimating time. Drivers generally under-estimated amount of time to arrive, while the central office person initially estimated our timing to arrive at the airport four hours early for merely a domestic flight. The second driver was better at estimating time. Wecam booked internal flights without engaging us as requested with respect to flight time, they ignored one message with a specifically-requested time that was available, and they communicated a slightly incorrect flight time. They also put us at a hotel a 90-minute drive away from the airport after a long day of driving and flying when much closer options were available, even if without quite as nice a beach, turning a long, tiring day into a late, exhausting one unnecessarily. Wecam did not provide clear recommendations from among mid-range hotel options, forcing me to try to review choices and advise though without sufficient time while working a busy job to check accurately, leading to staying in a couple second-best stays among the second-rate places.
Overall, there were a number of positive elements in their service and strong responsiveness. For the price paid though, I expect stronger assistance with providing recommendations and smoothing out the details.
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you for wonderful experience in Tanzania !!
We reserved 8days(30th Dec - 7th Jan) mid-range class tour by e-mailing to Mr.Richard.
Frankly speaking, at first we felt a little nervous,as it was first time to send such a big money through web.(of course it was fully securited web site tough)
We sent 50% first on booking and the rest of 50% was sent a few weeks before departure but anyway total 100% advance payment was required before departure.
Richard answered very quickly all of our questions, he updated all the situation right on time and the process was very smooth!
As many people say on this site, Richard works very quickly and that makes us relieved surely.
(Thanks for it Richard !! :D)
About tours itself,
Our driver(Mr.Horace) was very nice and professional guide and drive safety always.(That's why sometimes we feel asleep in the car...sorry! :D)
He accompanies us for 8 days always including a Happy new year !!
He was punctual always and knew a lot of things about animals,trees,birds etc.... and shared all the knowledge with us.
What is more he tought us what it is about Tanzania(culture,people,language,life,problem etc...) and that made our trips even special as it is always nice to know about the country itself.(in additional to main purpose which is Safari)
During the trip we faced flat tyre 2 times unfortunately(as expected !?) but no wonder as the road is very rough.
But Mr.Horace fixed it very smooth and quickly and it was no problem at all.(it was even good experience as a part of our journey)
We strongly recommend this company and the driver Mr.Horace especially.
Please enjoy it and von voyage !!!
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everything was great
Like in a title above, everything was perfect. I had lucky that a group was awsome and a tour guide as well. Defenetly I recomend ACZ.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
excellent
Everything was perfect and according to plan, from the moment we landen in Kilimanjaro Airport to our flight back home. Our 2 weeks stay in Tanzania and Zanzibar were very successful. We are grateful to Makasa and specially to our guide Kalibi.
It was a fantastic experience and have memories to cherish for the future.
Robert and Dorith Katan
JP
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Payment was very unconvinient
Guide and operator who take us to the safari actually was very friendly and excellent.
But conductor who manage our trip from Arkman Africa was problematic person.
I wished to pay VISA card, but he did not understand what I wanted to do and we waste time a half day. In addition, the day of the trip, he did not come despite he said he also will come to make sure the attendants. And he did not communicate the guide who will attend actually in the trip. We loss one our or more to make sure who will attend.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzanian wildlife Safari with a super friendly and experienced guide
Our dream was to visit Tanzania and see as much animals as possible, for us it was not only the big 5....we wanted to see reptiles, small mammals, as muh as possible.
John was a perfect guide and helped us finding those small ones aswell.
We were very happy with the information John could give us, as we are both animal people (i am a zookeeper) we know more about the animals found than others might. The tent and places we went for the night were good and the food we had during the safari was really special and absolutely great!
This was the best experience we could have had in Tanzania, we loved it.
SS
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised, friendly and professsional
I booked and confirmed my 4D/3N trip to Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru with Africa Flash Mc Tours at extremely short notice during the Christmas/New Year holiday season. Although I had not received a receipt of payment, or details of my additional hotel bookings and airport transfer by the time I departed, I was pleasantly relieved to be greeted at the airport by a driver who took me to a hotel that was already paid for. My whole trip was smooth and very well organised, and the only thing I had to worry about was making sure my camera was charged! One thing to note, the actual programme did not exactly match the itinerary that was suggested - I understood my itinerary included 2 paid entires to Lake Nakuru, although our driver only brought us for 1 entry. Overall, I am extremely happy with the services of Africa Flash McTours. They are also kindly organising to send me my laptop charger which I carelessly left at the Masai Mara tourist camp. Thanks, Peter and team!
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good service throughout the entire experience
We did a 3-days safari to Masai Mara including pick up/drop off in Nairobi. The operation manager Leah was very serviceminded and professional and our guide as well. In short - we had very good experience with no complains.
NG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I have walked with the Masai, Stared at a lion, run with zebras . . .
We got picked up by a guide named Peter.
Peter arrived punctually and very cheerful.
He had a VERY GOOD knowledge of the park.
He knew his way around and we successfully saw a lot of animals including rhinos, giraffes, buffalos, antelopes, zebras, wildebeests, crocodiles and to top it all off, 2 prides of lions.
The safari tour definitely lived up to our expectations and Peter definitely showed us some Kenyan hospitality.