65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great trip with an experienced and friendly owner-operator who ensured we did all the highlights.
Communications and service were excellent. We were able to communicate with John (email/phone) before the trip to clarify any matters. John went to great lengths to ensure our trip was fuss free. The tour from Cape Town, SA, along the W coast of Namibia, to Botswana, (Caprivi strip) and ending in Victoria Falls covered all the main points of interest and animal sightings, plus a few bonuses. The accomodation was, for the main, boutique style. Always interesting and comfortable. John was friendly and accomodating to our needs.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Samburu National Reserve by sebastian brandner
We stayed at the Saruni Samburu Lodge, which is more upmarket that the Offbeat Meru. It is located on a rock, overlooking the plains. Guests come from all continents. The rooms are spacious, with electricity and a weak wifi, which is good enough to download the occasional email, and browse the web. The accommodation and the main dining and entertainment areas are separated by 200m concrete paved trail making is easy and safe to walk between the two places. Shower was not sufficiently warm, making it a bit unpleasant to shower in the morning or evening. However it was a special experience to shower outside at night overlooking the vast valley and watching the starry sky. We have however not complained about the cold shower so the management may not be aware.
The overall service was more upmarket and the food was higher quality and more refined than on Offbeat Meru, and comparable with Ol Seki in the Mara Naboisho. We were really fantastically entertained by Tom, a young British Camp Manager, and he looked after all guests very well. We had relatively junior drivers, who were familiar with the wildlife, but explained less and we had the impression we saw less wildlife than in Meru. The vegetation is hilly shrub land an there is one large river, where lions wait for a catch. The red terrain makes it a great photography area for landscapes. The drivers had less experience dealing with photographer, but still we were able to make a few excellent photo-shots
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by sebastian brandner
Ol Seki in Mara Naboisho
This was the last part of our Safari. The accommodation is very upmarket, in robust tents, embedded in the middle of the wilderness. It is a 10 min drive from the airstrip, and it is located in the heart of the Naboisho conservancy.
Run by a British Manager, this place is spotless, clean, very well looked after and the Manager (Melinda) looks after all guest very well. There are 6 tents, and all guests meet for breakfast, lunch and Dinner, depending on the safari arrangements, but if preferred the meals can be brought to the individual tents. Whilst we were here, all other guests were British and all were on honeymoon. This may alienate guests from other countries. There is electricity all day and decent Wifi to upload images. There is excellent hot shower (with extra boost in the evening).
Wildlife is excellent, we sighted a cheetah with a fresh kill, crocodiles, of course lions, giraffes and elephants and all the wildebeests, impalas, and gazelles. We had a one-day excursion to Masai Mara, which was to watch the large migrations, mainly zebras and wildebeest. David our driver was very experienced, and had lots of stories to tell. He knew the spots for photography and made stops when requested.
Overall this place was best for luxury, great food and service, great for wildlife, but less impressive for scenery than Meru.
Note, the masai mara has much less of a bush vibe than the Naboisho conservancy, where our lodge was. We made a day trip to the actual masai mara, which was full of minibuses, loaded with tourists and there was no feeling of solitude. The three stars for the bush vibe relate to that park, The Naboisho conservancy instead gets four stars for bush vibe!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Solitude, Great scenery and wildlife
This was our first visit to East Africa and also the first time that we went on Safari. We combined this travel with a work-related trip to Uganda, and all booking of the Kenya Itinerary (Meru, Samburu, Mara Mara) was arranged through Imagine Africa UK, which made the organisation and the entire journey hassle free.
Our first stop was Meru, and we stayed in the Offbeat Meru Camp. It is a beautiful place, unfenced, located near a river and we saw lots of wildlife just at the front of our tent (Elephants, Baboons, warthogs, Impalas, birds, and more). The overall service was absolutely excellent, and it was to our advantage that we were the only guests. The food was on the basic side. No electricity (you can give your batteries/chargers to Craig, the camp manager, and there is no Wifi. There is no running water generaly (water is provided in a large pot) but thy provide a hot shower in the evening which is basic, but fully sufficient, and pleasant. We had a safari guide who was excellent (the best of all the three that we had throughout our journey) and we were lucky to be in a location in the conservancy where we met very few other travellers. In fact we had only two or three encounters with other safarigoers throughout our entire stay in Meru.
The camp is located in an area where five rivers pass through, making it a rich environment to see a wide spectrum of wildlife. With our excellent guide (Stanley from the Offbeat Meru) it was a truly extraordinary experience, he explained the traces, we understood how he tracked animals, how to distinguish them, their habits etc. He also had a very god understanding of a photographer’s need, he know when the sunrise would happen and positioned the Vehicle in a suitable spot, he understood the importance of the best illumination, the angle of light in relation to the animals, and much more. He soon figured out that I was a photo-enthusiast and pointed me to all sorts of wildlife, including rare birds, small mammals etc.
Rhinos were abundant in the Rhino conservatory, but they are nowhere else.
All three places (Meru, Samburu, Masai Mara) had their specific charm, and I would recommend Meru for its solitude, richness in wildlife, gorgeous scenery. The Offbeat Meru is on the basic side, but with excellent service, and unbeatable for its integration into nature and wildlife
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Owner Bernard, a reliable person to book your safaris in East Africa
Hello, have been in Kenya already several times, period between 2005 - 2013 - mostly January/February, first acclimatize a few days at Diani Beach and visit Gichmak to book my safari - wherever you want to go - Gichmak makes your tour to either Kenya-Tanzania or Rwanda unforgettable - if you are with a small group of people - you get your private car - even for 2 or 3 people - you can discuss and make your own decision about the lodges you want to stay. Really booked all my safaris in the years I have been in Kenya with Gichmak - Shimba Hills - Tsavo East - Lake Nakuru - Mount Kenya - Masai Mara - Serengeti & Ngorongoro crater - the last one with guide John - will never forget him, a great guy - service meets expectations - have seen big five in Masai Mara and partly the migration of the wilde beast. Beside the Gichmak safaris - I could easily book a flight and resort in Zanzibar for a couple of days. Bernard is for me a friendly and honest man - what ever trip in East Africa you want to do - he make you dream come true - visit him at Diani road.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Obsolutely fantastic
Having travelled to many parts of the world, Africa was probably one on the most memorable. From the greeting at the airport to the tour guides, from the hotels and accommodation to the food I was pleasantly surprised. The manners, service, and general knowledge shown was impressive.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A smooth, fluid and unforgettable experience
I first contacted Deo with a few questions and options for a Safari itinerary that matched my family’s schedule and specific interests. I soon received a detailed and personalized itinerary that met all our expectations. We contacted additional references who highly recommended this small local company and we were set on our Earthlife safari. Communication leading up to the trip was professional and timely and payment went smoothly. Soon we were in Tanzania and our safari began. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable on everything from culture to the amazing wildlife we saw in all of the parks. The accommodations were more than suitable; many had amazing views of the landscapes and good local food. Deo and the people at Earthlife ensured that everything was taken care of and we were able to fully enjoy our safari!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda truly is the 'Pearl of Africa'
Africa Adventure Safaris provided a wonderful tour of Uganda. Our guides Robert and Cris took excellent care of us and were very knowledgable; we learned a lot from both of them. The gorilla trekking experience was amazing and well worth the difficult hike. We were very satisfied with the accommodations and the food was fantastic! While we had already been on safari in Kenya in 2013, this experience allowed us to see many new things that we did not see in Kenya. The boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel allowed us to get closer to hippos and crocodiles which was very exciting. Uganda is a beautiful country and we are so happy we chose Africa Adventure Safaris. I would recommend this company and tour to anyone who wants a comprehensive, first rate tour of Uganda!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our first time in South Africa, what a great experience!
We booked our 24 day self-drive tour with Tailor Made Safari’s.
A few weeks before departure we received our self- drive pack, including a GPS and wonderful travel guide book, written specifically for our itinerary.
Our whole tour consisted of highlights, but our favourites where our stay at Leopard Mountain Lodge and Tembe Elephant Park. And we really enjoyed our first guided drive through the iSimangaliso Wetland Park with a great guide and lunch at the beach.
But our visit to the Drakensberg and the whale watching at St Lucia was also superb!
We saw lots of animals, but we have not seen the leopard from the Big 5, a good reason to go back again!
It’s likely we are going to book another tour with Tailor Made Safari’s. We would recommend this tour operator to anyone, everything was perfectly organised. We have experienced the booking process to be very convenient and personal, especially the personal visit by one of their representatives whilst staying in St Lucia
Overall a fantastic holiday!
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely great 3 days in Serengeti and Ngorongoro
After few days in Zanzibar we decided to book a 3 days in Serengeti and Ngorongora. We chose Bestday Safaris among the long list of agencies and we made the very good choice!
Peter was quick to answer our emails and provided all the infomation we asked. Once arrived in Arusha, he meet us at our hotel to discuss with us the latest details in order to make the trip the more confortable for us (we were 6, 2 adults and 4 kids)
The driver was very friendly and spoke a very good french. He even known the french name of every birds we saw in the parks! The hotels in Serengeti and Ngorongora were just perfect! Far more comfortable than we expected. Everything was great during these 3 days!
We definitively recommend this safari agency.