US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
My tour operator has perfect knowledge and experience, was very accommodating and understanding.
Samuel is a very humble, and is knowledgeable regarding safaris and tours. My experiences in Kidepo and Muchison Fall national parks top among the best experiences I have had touring parts of Africa.
Rafting on Nile river in Jinja, Uganda, and visiting the source of the mighty Nile river (called Kiira in local language) were added bonuses.
I recommend any body planning a safari in the East Africa region not to miss Deks Safaris & Tours
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most beautiful place to Start the new year
Petra advised us personally, uncomplicated and with her great travel experience. She was flexibel to our individuell wishes und always available for us.
A wonderful season to be in Namibia and Botsuana and start the new year!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic 2 day Nyerere safari
As a solo traveler I was a bit nervous that there would not be options available to me (especially at a reasonable price) but huge shoutout to Winnie who held my hand through the process including when some flight issues meant I had to shorten from 3 days to 2. Isaya was an amazing guide as others have noted and we made the most of the shortened time. Would note that drive to Nyerere from Dar was only around 4 hours each way as I saw some sources mentioning a much longer transit time. The road isn’t great but wasn’t as bad as I had feared.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The trip of a lifetime
It often feels a little risky doing business with an overseas company, especially if you don’t personally know anybody who has used them, but we were so pleased and relieved that we chose Nature Travel Namibia to make the arrangements for our trip to this amazing country. Our entire trip went smoothly and according to plan. If there were any hitches, we certainly weren’t aware of them. From the first email we sent to the last, Amber Lynne was professional, helpful and very prompt with her investigations on our behalf. She asked all the right questions of us (even when she knew it was going to lead to more work for her) and answered our questions as quickly as she could. She was a pleasure to deal with. We were very happy with the standard of the accommodation (mid-range), the vehicle (perfect for game viewing and in great condition) and, as you’ll read soon, our guide.
From our experience, travelling in Namibia with a private guide is the way to go. If you can scrape together the budget to do it this way, you won't regret it. The guide does all the hard work (and the driving, which is a big deal) and shoulders the stress while you get to sit back and simply enjoy your holiday. The guide knows where to find the best lookout points, the best places to eat (or just to have a stop) and the best game viewing spots. If they know what they are doing, they will quickly figure out your interests, point out the things they know you will want to see on your travels and tell you all sorts of interesting things along the way. Our guide was Joram, and he was great. Nothing we wanted to see or do was too much trouble for him and he was a crucial part of what made this trip so fantastic.
Our tour was based on the 11-day Classic Namibia (extended) safari on the Nature Travel Namibia website with a couple of extra days tagged on. We’d originally looked at the 8-day safari, but we were all pleased we decided on the longer one. The distances between places are vast, so to be able to spend a bit more time in each area is well worth it. We had read a warning about luggage being delayed going into Windhoek and that is exactly what happened to us (and several other people we spoke to). We had already decided to spend a day in Windhoek prior to starting our safari to get over our jet lag a bit, and when our luggage didn't arrive, we were very glad we did.
Namibia is a country I’d been wanting to go to for decades, so I had very high expectations. Well, this holiday exceeded those expectations. It honestly was the trip of a lifetime for our family of four adults, and Nature Travel Namibia deserves the credit for making it so. I can't recommend them highly enough.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
Our safari trip with Goldfinch Adventures was one of the best we have ever been on. Deo, our tour operator, was very accommodating and customized the itinerary multiple times to fit our needs. We saw amazing animals, from elephants in Tarangire to lions in the Serengeti. Deo even helped us to include a chimp trekking tour in Mahale. Our guide, James, was knowledgeable and knew exactly where to go to see the best animals. We truly had a great time!
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect organization
Me and my wife asked Nature Travel Nambia to organize our 5 days Safari in Nambia and we receieved prompt assistance from Amber. She was very kind since the beginning answering all our questions and requests.
She quickly offered us a satisfying intenerary around Etosha natural park with very well chosen lodges to stay. Everything was perfectly detailed and organized. This organization made us very comfortable ready to enjoy our safari
Arrived in Nambia, we met our tour guide Delano who is a very passionate about nature, animals and his country; we appreciated his passion.
We spent great days "gaming" with him enjoying wild life and chatting about many different subjects. He was super kind with us (and we're sure he is with anyone) .
Based on our experience I'd certainly reccomend Nature Travel Namibia to anyone who needs a perfect organization and prefers to live the experience together with someone local
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A dream come true (Safari in Kenya)
We have booked our honeymoon with Best Memory Safaris. The trip was excellent. It last 14 days including 8 days of safari, 5 days at the beach and 1 day for arrival and departure.
planning and booking
Our contact person for the organization and booking of the tour was Isaac Musyoki. We were requesting for our safari offer very late, only 3 weeks before the 1st game drive started. Despite this fact, in consultation with Isaac we have created a customized journey in less than one week of time. The booking process is characterized by a high level of flexibility. Even special wishes like meeting up with my wifes godchild would have been possible.
arrival
After our arrival at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya Isaac and Bernard Ngei, our game driver, picked us up directly to start the safari tours. The warm welcome immediately made us feel that we are in good hands. After Isaac left us in the city of Nairobi, we went on our tour together with Bernard.
game drives
Our ranger Bernard first took us to the national parks Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and Tsavo West before he drove us to Diani Beach. We have spent the whole 8 days of safari together with him and enjoyed every second of it. Together we drove approx. 2000 km through the country and its national parks. Usually we did two game drives a day. One in the early morning, starting between 6 am and 7 am., and one in the afternoon.
Due to the fact, that a safari trip probably stands and falls with the guide, we would like to share some of our impressions of Bernard:
a) He is very friendly, attentive and always cares about his guests, which means he is asking if a toilet stop is necessary or if there is still enough drinking water in the car to give a few examples.
b) He shapes the game drives flexible (i.e. weather-dependent) and is very regardful about his passengers. Whenever we needed a rest, i.e. after a long trip, he adjusted the time for the upcoming game drive.
c) He respects the habits and habitats of the animals. He knows how to provide an excellent view to the animals and the scenery for taking very nice pictures without disturbing the animals.
d) He is extremely experienced (> 25 years of safari tours) and therefore gained so much knowledge about his home country Kenya and its animals.
e) Moreover he understands and predicts the behavior of the animals. That’s why he is always one step ahead of many other game drivers to get the best views to the animals for his passengers. He acts absolutely far-seeing.
f) He does not overload the passengers with too much information about the animals. He doses information the right way and is also a good listener when talking with each other.
g) He is cross-linked to so many people across Kenya. It is unbelievable. It seems like he is knowing every person in Kenya.
h) He is multilingual. He speaks Swahili and the other languages spoken in Kenya (native languages). Furthermore he speaks excellent English (2nd native language) and also German. Probably he is even speaking more languages that we did not find out.
i) He knows the limits of his land cruiser (recommended) and the conditions of the roads. That’s why we always felt very safe.
j) He helps in every situation and clarifies that vegetables are washed with drinking water in the accommodations we have been.
Bernard Ngei made our honeymoon very special. Every second with him was so much fun. We really enjoyed our community.
accommodations
We have stayed in high standard tent camps and lodges, that were very clean, provided a wide range of meals and had a very friendly and helpful staff.
departure
A business-partner of Best Memory Safaris brought us from our hotel in Diani Beach to the airport of Mombasa, from where we flew home with all these beautiful memories in our bag.
conclusion
If you are planning to do a safari tour, book with Best Memory Safaris. The name says it all. They get a five star rating from us.
Serengeti Smile is courteous, responsive, and affordable, providing an excellent and friendly guide
We (two couples) had a fantastic time with Serengeti Smile in our 7-day Tanzania safari (Tarangirie, Serengeti/Mara and Ngorongoro) and 5-day Zanzibar beachside holiday. We chose Serengeti Smile as a mid-range provider (even though they are a relatively new company) based initially on the TripAdvisor review score of 5, and then on how reassuring and responsive Frank (the company owner) was in our planning meetings in What’s App and Zoom. He helped us design a customised itinerary that fully covered our various interests, was friendly, courteous and professional right through the organisation process and then during the actual safari, right down to arranging a sunset sail on a dhow in Zanzibar with just a few hours’ notice on our last day.
Our guide Ayubu was also excellent – courteous, friendly, and professional, with excellent driving skills, incredible animal-spotting skills, and a great sense of humour. He clearly knew his way around the parks and had a great rapport with other guides and so was able to get information from them on where they were seeing animals. We must admit that it did take a day or so to gain confidence in his driving skills at what initially seemed to be high-ish speeds over some rough roads. However, after a couple of days we realised he knew what he was doing, as he clearly knew every inch of the many kilometres we travelled. Ayubu was very skilled at placing the vehicle in the best possible place for viewing and photographing animals when there was lots of competition from (sometimes) 10 or more other safari vehicle looking at a lion pride, for example.
Our safari vehicle was a few years old but was comfortable enough with just four of us. Six people and luggage would be a squeeze. Our lodges were also very good, without being 5-star, and the tent camps in Serengeti were impressive in providing roomy spaces with comfortable beds, functional bathrooms, electric lights and even in-tent Wi-Fi facilities, as well as a dining room & bar tent.
And the animals were fantastic – not just the ‘big-ticket’ items like the Big 5, and the wildebeest crossings of the Mara (we saw two!), but the myriad and often ridiculously colourful birds and lizards, the amazing diversity of antelopes and more. Plus, of course, some insight into the lives of the local people – the Maasai with their herds, and the locals in the towns and villages.
Asante Sana
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, providing exceptional customer service and fantastic tour experience
Excellent communication from onset with speedy response to queries. Outstanding customer service throughout. Well planned and organised tours in Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar. As well as fascinating game drives in Massai Mara and Serengeti seeing the Big Five, we were also immersed in the history and culture of the countries and had a relaxing beach stay in Zanzibar! The lodges and hotels we stayed at were of a high standard with good food. Our guides Kevin and Vincent were very knowledgeable, friendly and contributed greatly in our very memorable tour. The tour was good value for money. Fredrick did a fantastic job. We absolutely loved our tour.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The name says it all: RUN RUN (Mbio Mbio)
I'm pretty sure that the good reviews here are from David himself. We had a bad experience with our safari tour. It would be too much text to list everything but now the worst: When we wanted to leave the Serengeti National Park, we waited longer than the other groups until our guide came to us and asked if we could pay the fee, because there is a system error and David's payment is therefore not registered there. We were skeptical because we had already paid everything in advance and the other groups had no problems. After asking several times, it turned out that David had kept the fee for himself and never intended to pay it. In a phone call, he simply said: "Either you pay the fee or you're out of luck and have to spend the night there without accommodation". After hours of waiting and many phone calls back and forth, we finally made it out. We had to drive through the park in the dark, our car broke down (we also had to pay for the repairs ourselves, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to get out of there) and so we only arrived back in Arusha late at night. During a phone call with David, we mentioned that we would give him a bad review because of all the things that had happened. He didn't wanted this under any circumstances and offered to pay for an overnight stay in the hotel. We emphasized several times that we didn't need an overnight stay because we already booked one. We also told our safari guide that we wanted to go to our hotel. When we arrived in Arusha, we were driven to a creepy backyard and it turned out that we were driven against our will to the "hotel" that David had booked. We were three young women and were now quite scared and had to exert real pressure to get out of there. After we asked our guide why he had taken us there against our will, he said that he had been instructed to do so by David, even if we didn't want it. After we confronted David on the phone, he offered us a refund. We will probably never see the money. I can imagine that David will try to deceive people again in the future under a different name. I can only recommend booking Safari Tours, which has been around for several years and has many reviews.