DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a great time!
We booked the trip before arriving in Tanzania, as a friend recommended it to us! From the arrival at the airport to departure our trip was well organized and a great experience. Our first days were spent on the paradise island of Zanzibar, where Selma booked Kilima Kidogo for us, a lovely hotel on the east coast. From there we went to Kilimanjaro airport where we were picked up by our driver, a very nice and skilled man with great knowledge about not only the animals but also the culture and the tribes inhabiting the areas that we covered while driving to Ngoro Ngoro and Serengeti. The lodges picked for us by Makasa were great and the food was delicious and just right to end a busy safari day. Our thanks go to Selma, for organizing this trip for us, we never encountered any problems and everything went very smooth. We would like to recommend Makasa to everybody planning on going on a safari, you surely will not be disappointed.
US
20-35 years of age
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Five Stars Are Not Enough!
Country visited: Tanzania
Parks visited: Tarangire, Manyara (planned, but ended up skipping), Serengeti, Ngorongoro
Date: end May to mid-June (8 days safari, 4 days in Zanzibar)
Traveller: two women, no prior safari/African trip experience
Camps/lodges used: Bay Leaf (Arusha, start of safari), Oliver's Camp, Endoro Lodge, Katikati Tented Camp, Mbalageti tented Camp, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, Bay Leaf (Arusha, end of safari)
Transport
Flew KLM all the way* (departure Ottawa - Amsterdam - Kilimanjaro - Zanzibar, return Zanzibar - Dar es Salaam - Amsterdam - Ottawa). KLM rocks. What can we say!
*Precision Air was used for the Kili-Zan-Dar legs. Not as impressed with them. 5 hours late, no explanation, no meal or even a bottle of water provided (a bunch of us waited almost 6 hours at Zanzibar terminal, which is tiny with limited wifi and no charging capabilities that I could see). Had 10 minutes to spare for our KLM connection.
Food
At camps, the food was mix of buffet style, which meant we could get whatever we chose, and sit-down dinners with courses, desserts, and drinks. Food was plentiful, warm when it needed to be, and delicious. Bottled water in every room, every night (except Katikati, but it's so cheap at the "bars", about 2 USD, that it didn't matter). The boxed lunches camps provide for the road was always, always too much food. Usually, the meal consisted of a hard-boiled egg still in the shell, chicken piece wrapped in foil, veggie strips, a sandwich, some type of roll or muffin, peanuts, yogurt, a juice box, a bottle of water. Plenty of food! Oh, and a toothpick. I laughed at first, but ended up using it every time!
Money
We changed our USD to Tanzanian Shillings in Arusha. It was around 1600TZS to 1USD. Got plenty of larger and smaller bills. Used that for everything except our guide's tip, which we used USD. Things are mostly inexpensive, and we had lots left for Zanzibar (excellent shopping there!).
Tipping
We left 10,000TZS at every accommodation we stayed at. Some of them had a tip box in the “lobby” so that tip is shared equally, plus tip at the bars, or in restaurant. Usually 10-15% like in Canada. It’s hard to judge what is considered decent tip.
Tour operator
Safari Infinity, a company set up in Arusha. We found them on the internet, after having contacted a good dozen other companies. With them, we booked a private semi-luxury safari that was entirely
tailor-made to us, which we paid via wire transfers. We can't say enough good things about them! Everything went like clockwork, from airport transfers to accommodations, thanks to our organizer, Augustine. The organization is amazing, considering everything is done remotely. I know everyone says they had the best guide; but we have to dispel those rumours and say that *we* had the best ever :-) Kelly was patient, experienced, and had a great sense of humour. He comes from a family of safari guides, and it showed. You could ask him anything about any of the animals, birds, or plants, or tribal cultures, and he would explain it all to us. What a gracious host and guide! Plus he's an amazing driver who navigated the bumpy roads like a boss.
Clothing
We each had a small backpack, about 30-40L, and it was more than enough. It wasn't about the clothes, anyway. We had a mix of long sleeves, pants and t-shirts. For me, I wish I wouldn't have paid so much attention to the "got to be neutral colours, etc, etc" trends. Just wear something comfortable, weather-appropriate, and not too expensive because dust gets everywhere and is hard to hand-wash off. Aside from that, just be comfortable! We spent a good 10-12 hours in the truck every day, getting bounced around and fighting off the tsetse flies. So, comfort is key. It got cool in the mornings (maybe 15-18 Celsius, cooler in the Ngorongoro crater), even for us Canucks. We were glad we had hoodies and long-sleeved shirts. As for shoes, anything comfortable will work. I had hiking shoes and felt a bit warm sometimes. My friend changed into flip flops after a few days and was fine with that, too.
Bugs
The tsetse loved us, and I got bitten quite a bit. But I get bitten at home and react to mosquitoes, so nothing new there. It burns and itches for a few days, but it's ok. No amount of chemicals or layers of clothing seem to stop them. They got me through the socks and mesh part of my hiking shoes! For after-bite care, I found tea tree oil worked well to take care of the sting/burn/itch. Too bad I broke the glass bottle on the ceramic floor of the Sopa lodge!
Tech
If I would have checked things more carefully, I would have known that with an adapter, I would be able to charge my North American Blackberry Playbook in the wall sockets (240v, no problem). So I bought one at one of the lodges (5 USD). But our guide had the mother of all adapters for the 12v outlet in the truck (plus, Safari Infinity vehicles have actual wall outlets/adapters in the back of the truck).
Time of Year
We felt it was perfect. Not too cold, not to warm, not heavy rains and not yet the insane red dust (although there was a fair bit of it, we were told it was nothing compared to July and August). Depending on the time of year, one should pay attention to the animals’ whereabouts. The tour operator suggested certain parts of the parks versus others, and we were glad we listened because we got to see portions of the great migration (Wildebeasts and zebras as far as the eye could see!).
Animals
We had a tally of animals we saw, which was great fun to update (my “bush writing” improved every day!). 33 lions, 2 cheetahs, 3 leopards, 3 black rhinos, etc. Exciting!
Zanzibar Portion:
Accommodation
Dhow Palace. Just a lovely, lovely place. Friendly and attentive staff. Great location in Stone Town, and with a glorious pool that was kept meticulously clean. Would definitely stay there again.
Food
Found two very nice places: Hot Spot Bistro (free wifi, yay!) and Lazuli. Great food, cool places, affordable.
Stone Town in general
Shopping was great, but the constant harassment of the so-called papasis was just too much. They are *not* easy to ignore, despite what I had read. We were hot and tired and only wanted to walk around town and look at shops, maybe have a bite to eat and buy a few souvenirs. But these men, some of them very pushy, would just suck the fun out of every endeavour. We'd get swarmed if we so much as stopped to look at our map. So we'd go out in the mornings, endure the aggravations, then retreat to our hotel and relax all afternoon, swim in the pool, etc. If we were to do this again, we would skip Zanzibar entirely and stay for a longer safari instead.
TW
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best 2 days safari experience in the wilderness of Tanzania
We were a group of 12 who went on a 2 days safari with Safari Infinity to Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater in early June. The operator took us on 2 safari vehicles with open roofs. From meeting us at the hotel in Arusha to taking care of our safety and meals, to traveling in the parks and finally sending us back, we had a perfect trip. All of us agree that we had one of the best packed lunches in our lives and enjoyed the evening stay at the Rhino Lodge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (with 300 buffaloes sleeping outside our doors and the milky way in the night sky).
Eric our tour guide is an excellent, experienced guide with a wealth of knowledge on wildlife. He could spot and track animals instantly that we otherwise would have missed. We learned about the characteristics of elephants, how they were right or left tusked, and how elephants travel alone in their final years. We saw an abundance of animals, most memorably being two lion hunts, hippos flipping and bathing, a 60 members baboon family traveling right beside us, and an elephant encounter on the road to the Rhino Lodge. The other car had Vincent as their guide and equally enjoyed their trip.
The best part for me is the scenery of the Ngorongoro Crater. I have never seen any place like this, a vast, green and lush sunken crater formed millions of years ago with steep hills surrounding the land. Animals roaming free without any worries of "men" and their next meal... it is truly a paradise for wildlife. The Crater is a place that I think anyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Breathtaking.
To Lucia and Sam who run the operation and coordinated for us, we could not thank you enough for such a wonderful trip!
Review about Kenya by Claus Hjoernet
Not a Zoo like South Africa, not a bush discoteque like some lodges in Tanzania (with South African owners) - only the real thing, spiced with smiling locals.
US
50-65 years of age
One outstanding trip that would be hard do duplicate.
This was my third trip to Serengeti ad my second during the dry season. It was without a doubt the best trip I have had there, ever. We saw more wildlife being active than ever before. I shot over 12,000 still images and well over 3 hours of HD Video.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
honesty
Touch africa adventures planned our trip exactly how we said and they gave some recommendations without self interest. We visited the places we wanted and slept at incredible places, and they were ineterested everyday about our trip and how everything was going.
One of the very best safari destinations in southern Africa
The huge variety of habitats from the unique Okavango Delta to the Central Kalahari Desert, and ultimately the majestic Mkgadikgadi make Botswana one of the most interesting wildlife/nature destinations in the world.
Accommodation varies tremendously from luxury safari camps offered by Wilderness in the Okavango to the most basic camp sites like those in Kwai Community Reserve in Moremi where there are literally no facilities at all, giving the very best bush experience you can imagine for the seasoned explorer. For such places you'll need roof tents as the animals will definitely visit you, especially at night.
The best time to go is in September, before the rainy season makes quite a few places too difficult to get to, and if you are 'going it alone' you'll need a 4 wheel drive vehicle with all the kit, including all camping equipment, water, food (no meat allowed in the reserves), fuel, at least two spare wheels, tools etc, etc.
Review about Etosha National Park by Steffen
You can defenitely see the "big 5" here. The scenery on the other hand is relatively unspectacular as it is a dry savanna or bushland.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
First class operator!
The most important factor to me in a safari experience is the guide. They are the ones you spend countless hours with day after day searching for wildlife. Their personality and their wealth of knowledge of the wildlife's habitat their behaviors and the lay of the land is critical to a fulfilling trip. Tanzania is a breath taking place that you only have one chance to capture. Safari infinity ensured we had first class accommodations even though we had a semi-luxury budget...I will be recommending this group!