35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
adventure and thrill
Really, it's good tour operator, specially it's driver very guided and generate thrill within trip.
Lots of supportive operator and enjoyed nice Christmas holiday with safari masaimara.
Thx,
From January 11 to 18th 2015 for 8 days It was awesome.
I and my hubby just returned from an 8 days Kenyan Safari and I am very happy we booked with Alligator Adventures Tours and Safaris.
I read about the company on TA but the information was not enough so I was a bit nervous booking with a company that is so many miles away and having to send money through bank transfer.
Though they had initially asked for 40% deposit upon confirmation and the balance cash on arrival it came as a great relief when they finally accepted that I could send 20% and the balance cash on arrival.
Compared to what I was getting from other agents their cost was much much lower but the service was the same.
I can now say the service was beyond our expectation.
Meshack was very fast in responding to all our questions and was very patient with us in the whole process.
One thing I liked about him was the flexibility to be able to work with me until we finally agreed on the suitable itinerary.
We visitited Amboseli (AA Lodge) Lake Nakuru (Flamingo Hill Camp) Masai Mara (Basecamp Explorer –our favourite)and finally Lake Naivasha Sopa.
All accommodations were very nice and clean and the food was excellent but we loved our accommodation choice in the Mara which Meshack had recommended. Basecamp is an Eco -rated that is also supporting and empowering the local communities. Taking a shower under open skies was very special.
Our driver/guide Simon was very nice to us and very knowledgeable. He always took good care of us and we felt very safe with him.
I highly recommend Alligator Adventures Tours and Safaris for anyone looking for a Safari to Kenya and East Africa.
ROSEMARY
US
35-50 years of age
Perfection Realized
Viewpoint responded to our inquiries right away. Donna is very attentive and did more than expected to help us organize our adventure. We chose a private safari for 2. It was amazing. Having the pop top truck to ourselves enabled us to get the best views of everything along the way. Also, not worrying about holding up a group, and making our way to breakfast at our leisure was a plus.
Idi was our guide and teacher. He is the best of people, proud of Tanzania, and happy to share all it's wonders with you. It feels we acquired a lifetime of experience in less than two weeks. Exploring Arusha. Tarangire. Lake Manyara. Visiting a Masai boma. Exploring Mto wa Mbu with Abraham as our guide. Spending time with locals. Learning about banana beer and it's relevance in the culture. Meeting artists and artisans. Shopping. Driving the Countryside. Absorbing the Serengeti. Mbuzi Mawe tented camp. Unforgettable tastes and smells and an awakening of the senses. Lunching with Lions. Observing countless animal and plant life. The Sights. A walking tour of the Serengeti with a Park Ranger, and Nature Guide! Ngorongoro Caldera. The Views. Visiting a primary school and an orphanage. Appreciating how precious life is and how lucky we are. Feeling in the middle of your life that it's just beginning. Enjoying the beautiful and relaxed Zanzibar. Learning the history of and exploring Stone Town. Forging lifelong friendships. This truly is an adventure that may you may not better.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our most exciting trip yet - made effortless thanks to Jonathon and his team at Encompass Africa.
Jonathon Wilson and his team at Encompass Africa really gave us our best trip yet. Initial telephone conversation with Jonathon was enough for us to choose this company. Jonathon was warm, informative and engaging - a pleasure to talk to and later to deal with. He advised us that Tanzania would suit all our requirements for what we wanted from a safari, and we truly loved every single minute. The whole trip was effortless from start to finish thanks to Jonathon and his team and we can't wait to book again! The whole process (about a year in the making) was exciting as Jonathon was always available to talk to and no question was too trivial to be answered. Look no further if you are considering travelling to any country in Africa as Encompass Africa are highly professional, highly knowledgeable and lots of fun!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a most wonderful individually and expertly guided nature tour in Uganda.
A magnificent trip took us to Uganda July 15 to July 29, 2014, expertly guided by Muhumuza Deogratius; Deo for short. We had intended to book our trip through a local Ugandan travel agent and were lucky to find Deo recommended on the www.birdingpal.org website. Deo responded to our inquiries immediately and to our satisfaction. He booked our travel route according to our wishes and the accommodations selected by him were all very pleasant, clean and located in beautiful and safe environments. Every detail of the planned itinerary in Uganda was provided as promised.
Being interested in nature, birds and anything else that flies and walks, Deo was the perfect guide for us. He could spot and name any bird just from hearing its song. He also showed us many mammals in the various diverse national parks of Uganda. As we had requested, he took us to the mountainous forest vegetation and animals therein, and with great patience let us enjoy nature at a relaxed pace of driving with many stops and observations on foot.
It was a pleasure for us to realize that Deo was very open to our special interest in insects. He was fascinated and eager to be introduced by us into the world of little critters that he had never paid attention to or seen close-up through a magnifying lens. Therefore, the marvel of learning and enjoying was reciprocal and made this trip one of the best of our many travels. And we are sure, by traveling with us Deo became a more broadly interested, and interesting nature guide.
For any visitor who wants to enjoy African nature Deo is the best and most dedicated guide that we can think of. We highly recommend him and wish that he will be able to guide many more nature-loving tourists through his beautiful homeland of Uganda, and thereby enhance the mutual understanding of the people in this world.
Ursula and Rudolf Jander
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
David and Goliath Tours - Beware of the Thief !!!!
I have just returned from a Kilimanjaro Trek booked with David and Goliath Tours.
We booked with David's company after a local recommendation as we liked the idea of our money going straight into the local economy.
We asked David to arrange an 8 day trek (usually 7 days) to give us an extra day to acclimatise (an additional US$150 each for the extra day).
We agreed an itinerary and paid US$350 deposit each into David's Bank account.
4 days before the trek, David advised us that in addition to the cash balance, we also needed to bring just over US$400 each for tips for the mountain team.
I became suspicious and even more so when David wouldn't give us a receipt for the balance we paid to him in cash when we arrived.
However, the hotel was fine and we were picked up the next day for the start of our trip.
At the National Park entrance, David dropped us off and then disappeared completely.
There was also a shortfall of US$10 for the park fees which I had no option but to pay on my credit card.
And when we signed in, we had to sign in for 7 days which we were told was the standard trek duration.
I was even more suspicious.
The trek itself was fantastic.
The mountain team of 15 people were brilliant and we had a great time.
But we could never get an answer about the extra day.
We did however all reach the summit which we were really thrilled about.
On our descent, this is where our suspicions became reality.
We found out from the mountain team that the trek WAS for 7 days and when we complained, they said David would make everything right (would this explain why some of the team were on their mobile phones a lot ???).
We reached the exit gate where David met us.
We told him straight away that we were a day short.
He didn't explain.
Back at the hotel, we asked for a meeting with David and politely asked for a refund of the US$150 each for the extra day we didn't get.
This is where David changed.
He became very aggressive, told lie after lie (he said we had told the guides we wanted to come off the mountain a day early and he had only been notified the night before), and refused to give us our money back.
As he became more angry we realised we weren't going to get our refund.
We felt we had no option but to pay the mountain team their tips who had now been waiting almost 2 hours in the hotel reception.
David then came back and had the cheek to ask us for more money.
We sent him packing.
Although we had a great time on the Trek, I would not recommend David and Goliath tours to anyone thinking of using this company to book a holiday.
David is far from honest, he is not trustworthy and I believe that, if given the chance, would not hesitate to take money from tourists and not deliver what has been paid for.
In future, we will never use a local company for any type of holiday.
It has left us with a bad impression of Tanzania.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant safari
We booked our Milestones safari through Honey Badger Lodge (a fab place to stay). There were six of us plus Cornel our guide on a five day safari. Our trip was tailor made for us and we relied heavily on Milestones/Honey Badger to suggest areas to visit and places to stay. It was a fantastic experience - the lodges were varied (in places such as the Serengeti choice is limited) from a luxury lodge to a tented camp and all had their own charm, plus points and quirks. Apart from the food at the Serengeti lodge, everything was great and we would stay in any of the lodges again - Thank you Milestones! The actual safari was amazing, Cornel was a brilliant guide (with a great sense of humour) - he could spot a Leopard hidden in a tree at 100 yards (we needed binoculars!), we saw all of the big five as well as giraffes, monkeys, warthogs, hyena, elephants, Ostrich etc etc. On different occasions we were surrounded by lions and then by elephants - what an experience! Thank you Milestones, I can't recommend you or Honey Badger (Moshi) enough
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised, interesting and exciting.
This was my first safari, and I could not have wished for a better experience. Everything was planned well, everywhere we stayed was excellent and everybody was helpful. Certainly a professional team. We visited Amboseli, Tsavo, Naivasha and Nakuru and saw the 'Big Five' as well as many, many other animals. A truly breathtaking trip. Highly recommended.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amboseli Tsavo Great safari
A wonderfully organized safari, everything went on as expected, will be back soon hopefully for a longer stay. Thanks Robert for making the safari a success
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well run and professional, but with a personal touch
The safari was everything we had hoped for, and more. It was very well organised, the service was personal but still professional, the different accommodations were all excellent, and we had a marvellous time with a knowledgeable driver in a comfortable and suitable vehicle. A fantastic experience all round.