65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Easy trip from Addis making a great place to stay if you have a few days too spare.
An easy ride from Addis via Nazret by bus, although I came via Butajira. This means most tourists are local. A pleasant place to wander, with enormously wide streets which away from the main roads carry mainly horse drawn vehicles. The food is excellent with lots of fresh Tilapia from the lake. Its BBQed on the lakeside. I'm not a birder, but lots around particulalry pelicans and the rather ugly Marabou storks.
Ziway gets compared with Hawassa which is similar in its lakeside location. Hawassa has more to offer but not such an easy run from Addis
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Totally recommend
It's funny because I got a last minute booking and having a bad experience with Tanzania in the previous days (total rip offs), I was not very confident in the arrangement. However, them and the staff were absolutely amazing. Not only did they fulfill all their obligations at a great rate, but included some other benefits by comparison to other operators. Guide, Johnson, extremely educated and a great company.
I would recommend to anybody interested in a safari experience
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This service is reliable and professional. Hotels and meals selections in Safari is great
We bought a package which included a six-night-seven-day safari and three nights in Zanzibar. The reason I gave four stars instead of five stars is the hotel in Zanzibar did not live up to our expectation. Other than that everything was excellent. If we did not have the three nights in Zanzibar I would have given Reginal a five star review for the Safari.
All the hotels/tent we stayed for the Safari were excellent. The meals and services at every place we stayed were excellent. Our driver for the Safari, Emmanuel, was very nice. He was a very good driver. We experienced a lot of rain. The drive was very difficult, he was calm and managed all of it. Emanuelle kept Communications with other drivers so that we could find the games.
Zanzibar hotel was described as luxury hotel in the description. One of the reason I don't think it was a luxury hotel was that it had a very strong bad smell. We asked for a different room. Similarly, the new room had the same strong bad smell. I could only stay in the room for three minutes. Having to stay there for three nights was miserable. Maturaf, the owner of Regional, was very nice. He booked different hotels for us for the rest of the nights.
Regional is a very good company. Very trustworthy. My balloon ride was canceled because the pilot was sick. Regional refunded my money no problem.
I will recommend this company to you for the Safari.
CH
First time and overwhelming
As a couple of 2 we booked a 4-day Kruger Park tour. We were picked up at JNB Airport, transfered to a lodge nearby and the next day transferred to the lodge next to the Kruger Park entry. After noon we were picked up by Charles (CD Tours) and were driven by him through the Park the next three days (2 day exclusively, one day with two other couples from SA). We loved his experience, driving style, "Feeling" for the places where something was to see (he was always very well informed about sights of beasts by other tour Operators). On the last day the trasfer back to the Airport was well organised (whenever the driving style of this Driver was not comfortable).
The tours were not at all what we were offered (tours early in the morning, evening tours), however due to the nice and experienced treatment of Charles we were more than happy.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful place and people
We are a couple and we were in Tanzania in january 2016. We stayed at Selous Reserve and it was amazing.This experience will be in our heart for ever. Communication and Service were super thanks to the kindness and helpfulness of Mrs. Mwajabu Sultan. We'll come back for sure!
Hakuna Matata! :-)
NL
A good Matoke Safari Tour experience
It was within one (1) month from our arrival date, that we were able to arrange our Queen Elizabeth National Park Safari tour. An example of good service.
With a polite, knowledgeable chauffeur/ guide with lots of patience it has been a wonderful experience.
The selected lodge accommodation with full breakfast, lunch and dinner provisions was good!!!
It was unfortunate, that our lunch on our return trip was not up to standard. No comparison with our lunch break on the way to the park. To conclude this brief description of our experience with Matoke Tours, we honestly can say, that it has been a good experience.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service, great people, great safari!
I booked the 9-Day safari trip to Mara, Nakuru, Naivasha, Amboselli, Tsavo West and East and loved every minute of it. My budget wasn't that big and Celestine, the owner, offered a very affordable itinerary along some of the best parks and reserves in Kenya. I booked the standard package and found the first nights in Mara, where I slept at Lenchada tented camp brilliant. I love to go camping and this place is beautiful, just don't expect brand new beds and scolding hot showers. Back to basics, but I love that. It did made me realize that instead of the hotels they booked for me that were in the city (Nakuru, Naivasha and Voi) I actually wanted to sleep in nature as much as possible. When I asked Celestine to see if she could change the accommodations mid-trip, she immediately offered me other options and provided great service. She and guide John found great alternative spots that same day which really enhanced my trip. So, a big 'thank you' to them both! If you are planning a safari, please don't hesitate to ask them for more details about your accommodations. It's good to know the places you will go and stay beforehand and ask yourself if that is what you're looking for. I'm sure they can arrange whatever requests you have, and really want you to have the best possible experience. My trip was great and I certainly recommend Adventure Backpackers for your safari. A special shout-out to John, my guide, who was great company! I spent 6 days with him in a mini van, so I should know. John is very knowledgeable about the parks, the animals and their behaviour and made sure I got some really great shots is. Beside that, he's funny and keeps up with what goes on in the world, so you're never bored. Thanks again John and Celestine!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Amboseli National Park by Emma D.
Beautiful park at the foot of impressive Mt. Killimanjaro. The amount of elephants, hippos and monkeys in this park is great.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Inés
You can see the big 5, there're lots of animals in this park as it is the big one. However the scenic beauty is not as amazing as in Amboseli or Lake Nakuru.
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I saw the amazing mountain gorillas in the jungle.
I really enjoyed my three day experience with Sparkle Safaris. I was very limited for time, and I didn't have a permit to see the gorillas, but they managed to organise for me to get to see the mountain gorillas in the jungle at really short notice. They drove me all the way from Kampala to the jungle, organised a nice cottage for me to stay at for two nights, and then drove me back to Kampala. It was a fantastic three days that I will never forget, and they took very good care of me.