IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent organizer. Personalised tour.
We travelled with our 4 year old daughter and it was carefully designed to fit us. The hotels were chosen well, the food was very good, picnic hampers each day were excellent with beer and wine. The driver was very knowledgeable and would answer any questions we had. Overall, we had a lovely time and would recommend Akondo to others too.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was eye opening, awe inspiring adventure for what we did, saw, and most importantly, who we met!
Kilimanjaro Climb 2024 - Selfless Solutions Climb For The Kids
I wanted to get my thoughts down while they are fresh in my memory but in summary, I have never had an experience that has left me so encouraged about people and their endless positive possibilities.
From February 6 through February 11, 11 people that were together as a group for the first time, many having never met each other, 4 men and 7 women, ranging in ages from 23 - 61, met in Arusha, Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
We were led by 5 guides, Julius, Wilfred, Estome, Emanuel, and Assii and approximately 40 others which were porters, cooks, wait staff, etc. I cannot properly put into words the care, guidance and friendship that they extended to us who were perfect strangers before the hike began. When the hike was over there was a tug on our hearts not to separate as we exchanged smiles and hugs and the best Swahili that we could muster. We had such great conversations on the trail about their home and ours, their families, and our experiences. The bond created in such a short time was extraordinary.
As for the porters, they are simply amazing. Every day we moved on to a new camp meaning the camp we were in had to be totally dismantled and reestablished before we would reach the next camp; mess tent, kitchen, bathrooms, and sleeping tents. We left all of these behind and they would be waiting at our next location. Sometimes the porters would come back to greet us as we entered camp to help with your day pack if you needed it. The porters everyday would carry their own belonging plus about 20kg (44 on their head, climbing and descending in some very precarious terain. Physical feats that are amazing but not as amazing as their attitude as they went about super strenuous labor. I cannot capture all of their names here but can record their faces in my current memory. Malachi, Adam, Lemutu, Osman, Rasheedi, Waserie, Lorenz, Muhammad, Richard, Esiah, and Joshua are the ones that I can recount but there were so many that did so much.
The whole group genuinely pulled for our success often helping before you knew you needed help. Their slogan which became our slogan was “One dream, one team, non-stop, to the top”. They truly measure their success by our success. The true mark of leadership! The speed at which they gained our trust was remarkable.
As for the climbing group Patty, Annette, Maureen, Dom, Ryan, Marisol, Travis, Katy, Kim, Sara and myself, what an experience. No one had done the climb before so no one knew exactly what to expect. All had to overcome personal challenges to complete the climb to the summit. Apprehension and even tears were shared over our meals together and on the trail. Completely unplanned and unknown but a great catalyst for our success was the fact that we prayed together and for each other and our team at least twice daily. Each day presented a new challenge and caused us to have to overcome and also support each other.
On the summit day, at one point the group had to split within hundreds of feet of the summit, with some saying that they could not go on. But as the first half of the group celebrated reaching the summit, the second half emerged to complete the goal that they had set out with. That group had overcome significant challenges to get to that point and was truly a miracle to behold. As my wife told me this morning, the climb was “harder than child birth” which she has done four times.
I have never participated in anything that required such intensive and total immersion for that length of time that pushed me on both a physical and emotional level. The group dynamic adds an additional level of complexity.
As I shared with the entire team, in life you meet people and they either add to or subtract from you. This experience with this group has enriched us in ways that we did not expect and could not possibly repay.
All we can say is Asante Sana.
Best Safari In Uganda
I had the most incredible safari experience with Standard Safaris in Uganda! From the very start, the team was professional, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable about the region and wildlife. Every aspect of the tour was meticulously organized, making the entire journey smooth and stress-free.
Our guide was outstanding, passionate about Uganda’s wildlife and conservation efforts, and had an incredible eye for spotting animals even in the most hidden places. Thanks to him, we saw the famous Big Five and so much more, including breathtaking landscapes that left us speechless.
The accommodations arranged were comfortable and charming, providing the perfect blend of comfort and a true wilderness experience. I felt safe and well cared for throughout the trip. Standard Safaris went above and beyond to ensure our group had a personalized and memorable experience.
I would highly recommend Standard Safaris to anyone looking to explore Uganda’s beautiful parks and wildlife. I can’t wait to book my next adventure with them!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely knowledgeable and patient. I always felt safe
We knew what to expect every day of the tour and it was a once in a lifetime experience. The guides and porters were top notch, the food was amazing, and I would highly recommend to anybody.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best experience! Fantastic communication with a local operator and excellent safari guide
We booked a 6-night safari with Destiny Explorers and have nothing but good things to say about the whole experience! The communication with Issa was great and he was very prompt with responses. We customised our trip a bit and really appreciate his efforts to accommodate some special requests. Then our safari guide, Tom, was extraordinary. He was so knowledgeable, and it was a real pleasure to spend a week with him. It became evident very quickly that he had a lot of experience predicting animals’ behaviours, finding the best spots to get close, and a chilled personality that made us feel so lucky that he was our safari guide. I have so many examples to share but some of the highlights were:
1. Stopping to wait for a large male elephant to get close to our vehicle. He told us what he thought the elephant was after and to stay quiet. It was an amazing experience. We got close to several other elephants in herds in the Serengeti and it seemed like Tom always predicted their next move, so we got first row viewing to them playing in the mud, etc. while other vehicles tried to get closer.
2. Late driving in the Serengeti on our way to our accommodation looking for adult male lions by the river. We didn't see any vehicles in this area, and it seemed to me that Tom made the effort to stay a bit later and knew the spots we would find animals resting by the river. He was very respectful and didn't disturb animals, whilst managing to get close and staying as long as we wanted observing them.
3. We found a cheetah and stayed close for about an hour while it kept looking for pray, and we kept trying to get the best picture. Tom also knows a lot about cameras and tried to help us with settings to get the best picture. That day we saw 2 cheetahs and the staff in our accommodation couldn’t believe it, since they are hard to come by but Tom was able to spot them from miles away without binoculars.
4. Every day Tom helped other guides (from different companies) with car troubles, and it seemed like everybody knew him. We always felt safe and that we got the best possible experience while out in the vehicle
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good, reasonable and reliable tour company!! We had an amazing experience!!
We did 8 days Tanzania Safari with customized one day hike to Kilimanjaro with this company. From the planning till the end, it was an amazing experience!! The trip was private and very reasonable!!
Our trip consultant Mary, was very informative, honest and very accommodating with our trip planning. She was very prompt to answer any questions we had.
Our tour guide Justin was amazing! He was very knowledgeable, patient and went above and beyond to find the animals. He became our family. We really loved him.
We met the owner of the company in Arusha. He was very nice and kept in touch with us throughout our trip.
Each and every accommodation was unique and very nice. Food was delicious too!!
Overall we had an amazing experience!
Asante Sana Kilimanjaro Adventure Safari Club team for making our trip memorable!!
If we decide to come back to Tanzania we will definitely book through this company
35-50 years of age
It was amazing
We booked for a safari to Bwindi Forest and Murchison Notional Parks with Giant Holiday Safaris and everything was so well organized from the booking process, to the wildlife, Guide, the lodges perfect. Will surely be using Giant Holiday Safaris again for our next Visit to Uganda. Highly recommended Tour Company
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent quality of the service
We went for Kenya safari with Africa Starpal for 4 days covering 2 tsavos and Taita from Diani to Nairobi. It was a dream come true trip for us. This was our first time in Africa and Paul and Our Guide ensure we had a memorable trip. All our queries handled very swiftly before the trip. As I am a photographic enthusiast, Paul ensure I get a great guide and excellent , he made our trip very exciting. We will definitely recommend Starpal to anyone who wish to visit Kenya with them. Surely we will come back for more safari future in Kenya or other places.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Longclaw Expeditions made our safari experience truly unforgettable!
I highly recommend using Longclaw Expeditions! A group of 12 of us had guides Francis and David for our trip to Amboseli, and they both made it the most incredible experience.
We saw such an impressive amount of animals and both guides taught us so much about the surroundings and the animals.
Francis and David are both so friendly, reliable and cheerful and we can’t thank them enough for helping to make our trip so special.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Experience - BOOK WITH WAKANDA!
We booked a 6 day Luxury Safari with Wakanda after vetting many other safari options, and just got done with our guide, Andrew (more to come about him!). One of the reasons I chose Wakanda was because of the amenities that they offered during the safari, their incredible communication throughout, willingness to accommodate changes/different options, and they have an incredible social media presence which made me feel very confident in understanding what we would be receiving from them. We even added transfers and activities in Zanzibar (not initially realizing they also did excursions there), for the first stop on our trip last minute.
I've been looking forward to this trip all year, and it absolutely lived up to the hype. Going into Safari, you can never be guaranteed to see one thing or another, but we were very lucky to have seen some incredible moments along the way. We went to Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Eyasi along with seeing the Hadzabe & Toga Tribes.
All of our accommodations were amazing, beds were comfortable, Wakanda handled all of the bookings, and the meals were all great.
Now on to our guide, Andrew. Wow, I was absolutely blown away by him. He has been a guide for 10 years, and his passion for the animals, and leading safaris radiates through all he does. He is one of the most kind & humble individuals I have ever met, while providing exceptional service & experience. For example, he practically grew up in the Serengeti, and as he stated he "knows it like the back of my hand" - can absolutely attest to that, as he took us to so many incredible places while we were there, with the best part being they were placed without crowds.
Outside of just the experience, he was very inquisitive and conversational, and we wanted to spend more time with him than we did just to talk to him more. He felt like family by the time we had to say goodbye. He claimed his English wasn't great, but I firmly disagree, it was fabulous. We saw many other guides who looked like they didn't want to be on Safari with their guests (from other companies), and that made us extra grateful for Andrew. We will absolutely be back and be requesting Andrew again, and you should too (just not when we come back to visit)! :)
I am going to proudly recommend Wakanda for our friends and family who want to follow in our footsteps and getting to Tanzania for Safari.