50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trouble free, great accomodation, driver OK
Good communication by operator and efficient good value for money safari. First class accommodation at three national parks but recommend looking for lodge within Masai Mara. Guide was a great driver but nowhere near as communicative on game drives as my other experiences on safari.
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Both Good and Bad Experiences (9-day trip with kids)
I just came back from a 9-day safari trip from Kenya and Tanzania. I want to write down both good and bad experiences. We have 2 adults, one 10.5-year boy and one 2.5-year girl.
Good experiences. (Peter is the one who runs the company)
1. Peter is very nice, from email contact to meeting me in the airport.
2. Peter upgraded my last night room in Nairobi for free, since I had some bad experience (see shortly below).
3. The travel guide is good.
4. The hotels are good.
Bad experiences.
1. On the trip from Masai Mara to Serengeti, Peter told me that it will take 4 hours. In fact, it took 14 hours, which was a terrible mistake. Although Peter said later that there is another route that he tried to ask the driver to use, however, I don't quite trust it since (a) the > 12 hours route is written in the itinerary; and (b) we have met in that day, if he knew another way, he should change it. BTW, the 12 hours driving is without traffic, but with very bumpy and dusty road.
Things got worse that night that the car we ran out of gas, in the middle of the big Serengeti national park. I don't know how professional people can make such mistakes. That was totally a mess, and we were lucky that the Tanzania guide found his friend to fix the problem, which took one hour. The worst case could be that we stayed in the car with kids for the whole night.
2. The car in Tanzania was bad, with a lot of dust, which made my daughter coughing and in fever for 2 days. Peter has no ability to change it, since it is from another company.
3. From Ngorongoro to Lake Manyara in Tanzania, it should take only a little bit more than one hour. However, in fact, it took us 4 hours. The reason is that Peter forgot to buy the pass. In Tanzania, you cannot even pay cash for the national park, the money should be transferred and the car should be registered before hand. This made us very unhappy since my son was sick and we wasted >2 hours for the pass (ticket) that was not prepaid.
Adding to the above bad experience is that, if you take more hours (for nothing) on the road, simply you have less hours to see animals, which you have paid for.
Again, Peter is very nice and he is very sorry for my bad experiences. However, I have to write down my experiences.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dry and hot, but worth to see. Few animals at this time but nevertheless awesome.
Elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, impalas, okapi, dikdiks, baboons, cheetah, ostrich, different birds... to see!
Hot and dry but great weather. Sentrim Samburu camp very nice (warm welcome, friendly people, nice food and accomodation). Umoja women camp not be recommended (unfriendly people, very basic)
Nice game drives, very nice driver, sunrise...
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Small but plenty - but no big cats
We visited as a day trip between Moshi and Arusha while on a business trip, and for this purpose - to get a short glimpse into the Wildlife - this park is perfect. It takes less than an hour to drive there, and you do not necessarily need a 4WD. Entrance fees are lower than in Serengeti and there is plenty of accommodation within half an hours drive.
It is also refreshingly uncroweded. We were there quite lat,e but there were one, maybe two other vehicles, and other than by Momella Lake, we were on our own. Roads tend to be dirt, and ther eis a lot of grass and bush on the side, which makes animal spotting a little harder. After a while (when you come from the main entrance off the main Moshi Highway) the scenery will change alot - first you'll be rewarded with magnificient views of Mount Meru, then you get pictures like in an Africa storybook - complete with giraffes and zebras.
This may not be the park where you get close to a lot of animals, but it feels like you can view them in their natural habitat withour driving right through it, and this makes it somehow more authentic.
Last not least it has Momella Lakes, breeding place of thousands of flamingoes - this is quite unique in Tanzania, maybe even Africa, and although you can take the long drive to Lake Natron, there is nothing that makes the experience superior there.
We saw flamingos, giraffes zebras, buffalo, gazelles, monkeys and lots of unnamed birds aplenty. Sometimes you may spot an elephant, but there are definitely no big cats here.
In summary, this is a small but fine NAtional Park with good infrastructure, easily visited as a daytrip.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience of a lifetime
Oh where to start - abundant wildlife, the most variety of birds that we've ever seen,... The lodges and huts that I stayed at were comfortable and the food served was delicious. The staff were absolutely amazing, friendly and accommodating. Last but not least, the tour guides were welcoming, knowledgeable and ensured our safety throughout the trip.
My trip to the Okavango Delta, Botswana was the best trip I've ever been on, it was an experience of a lifetime.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kenya by Gunhild & Ina
expected to see lots of animals, beautiful scenery, national parks as protected area, still untouched by mankind
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by Anja
Too expensive and infrastructure can make National Parks difficult to reach. I have been on safari in South Africa and Namibia, which altogether has a more "Western" feel, but also is less expensive, easier to reach by normal car.
US
An excellent experience on our first African Safari!
Chalo Africa contacted us every day during our safari to make sure we were satisfied. Sangeeta immediately solved any minor problems that arised and took full responsibility. We were beyond satisfied with the service and Chalo Africa did everything it could to make sure our safari was exceptional. The rooms, restaurants and cars booked by them were nothing less than stellar.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dave was a blast and made our Mozambique your wonderful. He took us to some amazing hidden sights.
Excellent all around. We did the 4 day Mozambique tour and loved every moment of it. Dave was able to take us to some truley unique sights that we would never be able to discover on our own. It was spectacular.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic tour - Masaai mara
My family and i enjoyed every moment of this trip. The planning was perfect, met the best driver and tour guide
and we managed to see all the big five. Accommodation was well organized just like what we expected.