US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First safari trip turned into one of our favorite vacations!
I traveled as a group of 4 females to Kenya and heard about Big Time Holidays through coworkers. They spoke very highly of the exceptional service they received and we were not disappointed! Allan, Simon, and George met us at the airport and gave us a huge welcome upon our arrival. They greeted us again the next morning when we left for our safari. Our camp was beautiful! We stayed in 2 person tents that were warm, had hot running water, flush toilets, and mosquito nets. We enjoyed breakfast, lunch, and dinner from an excellent chef while were at the camp, as well. George guided us on our safari for the next 3 days and we were impressed with his knowledge and explanations of everything we saw. George wanted us to see as much as we could in our relatively short time in the Masai Mara Reserve. We have never had such an awesome experience as getting so close to wildlife normally only seen in zoos or on television, as well as seeing animals that we didn't even know existed! This trip was definitely at the top of everyone's favorites list. We would not hesitate to recommend Big Time Holidays to anyone looking to visit Kenya. George and Allan were as friendly and helpful as people come and gave us a most pleasant experience!
NL
50-65 years of age
Review about Phinda Game Reserve by Marleen
Accomodation is too expensive for us, but we were allowed to drive through the park and in a few hours we saw several lions, cheetahs and rhino's.
BE
Ruaha National Park, the best hidden secret
After several safaris in Kenia and Uganda, we decided to go to Southern Tanzania to visit the still unspoiled Selous and Ruaha parks. Ruaha National Park is a beauty. From the landing at the airstrip, you see elephants, zebra, giraffe,... This park is totally uncrowded, you can drive around for several hours without seeing another vehicle. Wildlife is therefore not disturbed by jeeps and is very relaxed. We saw at least 12 lions (even up to 10m), cheeta, leopard, and of course dozens of elephants and hippos. Ruaha is a must for game drive lovers... We stayed outside the park at Tandala Tented Camp. A beauty...very comfortable tents, great bar, excellent food, very friendly staff. Masai protect you as wildlife come into the camp and every evening many elephants come to the waterhole in the camp.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent People... beautiful Animals
I took a chance and booked a 3 day safari with Outlook over the internet and hoped for the best. We certainly got it. The service was fantastic and our pick up in JoBerg was on time and the driver (Edi) friendly to chat with during the drive up to Kruger. Once in the park the staff was really great and the game drives outstanding, we loved our tour guide Debbie. She has a passion for the animals in the park and it shows even though it's "just another day at the office for her." We never felt like she had seen these animals a hundred times. The food was delicious and the wine flowed freely at the evening meal. It's a tremendous value and we would definitely book with Outlook again. *ONE NOTE*...if you're thinking about ending the safari with the Panorama tour ask ahead about the weather. We drove 2 hours out to do the tour and everything was fogged in. It was a complete waste of time, I wish someone had thought to phone up a guide in the area to ask about the visibility, then we would have been better off to stay and do the last game drive. I heard the same conditions applied the next day for the people who opted for the Panorama drive, so again it was a drive to see white out fog.
NL
35-50 years of age
Uganda, a beautiful country with lots of magnificent wildlife and nice people.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is an area where mountain-gorillas live, so main goal was to see a family of gorillas. After a pretty long walk through the beautiful green rainforest it's really breathtaking to encounter gorillas in the wild. An experience I'll never forget. There are guides who lead you through the forrest, so you need to have a rather good condition and good tracking-shoes.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful perfect travel organization of Regional tours
Thanks M. Maturaf Maanfou. We have met when we arrived in Zanzibar and we were received at his office in Stone town. For the safari we recommend MBilal Mabera which is a very good guide who speaks perfect French and English and has great kindness. Our stay at the Zanzibar beach Mapenzei went perfectly in a word. Everything was perfect.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Arrangements were as we requested for our private safari.
The guide was very competent and knowledgeable. The hotels that we used in Tanzania were excellent.
Highly recommend this safari.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic safari! Well worth booking with Shadows of Africa!
A friend and I enjoyed a spectacular safari with Shadows of Africa in January 2014.
Honestly, we were a little concerned before arriving in Tanzania as we had booked purely based on online reviews, however we soon realised we'd hit the jackpot!
We opted for the 5 day camping/lodge private safari as we were really keen to experience sleeping in the national parks. It was truly amazing!! It was very exciting to be woken up at 3am to the sounds of a wild buffalo chomping grass by our tent! A male (huge!) elephant also walked through our campsite twice to have a drink from the large water tanks!! Nothing quite like being that close to such a magnificent creature!
The safari trunks are well cared for. As are the staff. They seem very happy with their employment conditions and are mostly long serving staff. Our safari driver was great! Lots of knowledge and always happy to go put of his way to give us the beat experience. We also had a personal chef cook all our meals which were all wonderful! He even made us chapati on request and was happy to take us for African cooking tutorials :-)
The company is run by Natasha, who is the most wonderful hostess! She went above and beyond to ensure we were experiencing the best Tanzania has to offer. She checked in on us (by phone or in person) everyday. She was even so kind as to organise for us to be dropped off at a local orphanage for a little extra experience for no extra charge!
While Natasha is a very modest lady I must boast that she is extremely generous. Natasha funds a local orphanage which cares for 50 children. The money she raises from her safari company helps feed, cloth and shelter these children AND (if this isn't enough) she also pays to send them all to a private school to give them the best chance in fulfilling their dreams!
Shadows of Africa is a wonderful company. You are not only guaranteed a fantastic experience, but the money you pay is being injected back into the community to help the generations of tomorrow have a bright future.
Hope this helps! Happy travels :-)
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience of a lifetime.
This trip exceeded our Safari expectations. Moriti Private Safaris is the best! Shaun was a pleasure, he made our first time in South Africa a truly unforgettable one. The accommodations were exceptionable, food incredible, sights remarkably beautiful and guide a true delight to spend time with. His knowledge was that of someone who holds a true respect to all of natures beauty. Shaun was very flexible in our schedule and took a vested interest in all of our desires for the trip. Would never consider booking with anyone else. Can't wait to book our next adventure!
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice tour :)
I booked this tour by e-mail. The person in charge of tour replied soon, and she was very kind.
Though I asked many questions,she answered correctly and what she wrote was actually correct.
The tour is great. I could see more animals that I had imagined.
I could see BIG5 all!!
The Driver(joseph) was kind and reliable. He found many animals, and told me that, so I didn't miss animals that I wanted see:)
Tent is confortable. There is mosquito net. And food is good as well.
The tour cost is very nice!!
I'm surprised that tour quality is so nice, but cost is cheap.So, I could go to safari though I'm student.
And boat safari was exciting ;) I could see many birds and rhinoceroses.
I joined bigtimesafari tour for 4days.The time passed by in a blink of an eye.
I have never such an great experience ever. I'm so glad.
Especially, special thanks for Martha and Joeph. Because of you, I think I could enjoy and have a safe trip.
Before going to kenya I was worry a little bit, but I was wrong. There is big nature.I relaxed too ;)
The nairobi city was not safety maybe, but this company is very safety and kind!
I want to join another tour of bigtimesafari someday. Thanks.