NZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The most wonderful experience!
We had talked about this trip for some time so expectations were high! The whole experience was incredible and was everything we had been looking forward to and more. The accommodation/camps booked were of a high standard. Our guides were fantastic - knowledgeable, informative and fun. Lots of game and wildlife to see. The service we received was outstanding. Food was top notch and we enjoyed our evenings in front of the camp fires etc. Our travel between camps and attractions etc was well timed. All in all one of the best holidays our family has had. Thanks so much.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
GREAT safari company: It Started in Africa delivers it all!!!!
Four of us (friends/colleagues) took a 10-day journey with It Started in Africa. They organized the perfect trip for us - Tarangire, Ngorogoro, Serengeti, and Lake Natron/El Donyo Lengai climb. We can't recommend them highly enough - from the first contact with Joao by email to our final sad goodbyes at the airport - we had nothing but great service and warm interactions with everyone. ISiA really delivers what they promise, without exception. They were honest, open to our special requests, and very accommodating of our adding and changing the itinerary (before departure). They helped us book other portions of our travel (Zanzibar) and everything went perfectly. Best of all, our guide Isaack is one of the most generous, kind-hearted, funny people we've ever met. He took such good care of all our needs, and most importantly, he is a brilliant and talented guide to the wildlife and parks of Tanzania. His expertise was extraordinary. He knows every bird, every animal, and explains their habits and habitat with great flair. His driving skills were equally astonishing. And, everywhere we went he talked with people (locals, other guides, our hosts in the different camps) and though most of that was in Kiswahili, we felt that he is known and respected, and shares information with all sorts of people. We felt completely safe in his hands, and always cheerful. His humor and affection for people, places, and creatures were tremendous - we miss him and want to go back for another journey with It Started!
All four of us are quite experienced travelers - we travel to many places in the world as part of our research jobs (a great privilege, we know!) and often are tour leaders ourselves, for students and other researchers. We understand how hard it is to ferry people around and keep them happy: It Started has all the skills, and knowledge, and patience to take good care of their customers. We all highly recommend this company. All their guides are good, we are certain, but Isaack was a star. None of us will EVER forget the ten days we spent in his care. THANK YOU, dear Isaack! And Joao, Mathias, Bernard, Dickson, as well.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Erasto is the best of all guides; educated, interesting, thoughtful, and a wonderful person.
E&H surpassed all of my expectations. Erasto provides the ultimate guiding service in every way, and was constantly making sure we were having the best time. The accomodations and the food were among the best in Tanzania. But the quality of the guide is what can make the safari super special, and that is what Erasto brings to it. He is a college educated Masai warrior whose knowledge of the animals, as well as the culture and history of Tanzania is simply amazing. His English is completely fluent, and he was great to be with.
AR
35-50 years of age
Excellent Company and awesome people !
We went Kilimanjaro trekking via Machame route.
The people of the company were all great! Food in mountain was amazing.
The porters as well as the guides were very kind and helpfull at every moment.
We are glad we choose East Africa Travel Company and we recommend it !!!
Spend unforgettable time up there.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kilimanjaro Trek & Serengeti Adventure - once in a lifetime experience!!
From start to finish the customer service was excellent. Iris provided us with a very detailed itinerary of the services that Tanzania Serengeti Adventure offered and everything was explained up front, so there were no hidden surprises even down to our meals on the Kilimanjaro trek. She kept in regular contact in the months leading up to our holiday, including responding promptly to any questions I had. The week prior she arranged a Skype call so that she could make sure that we were full prepared and had all of the relevant equipment, especially for our trek.
We were met at the airport as arranged and greeted at the hotel by Blase the General Manager. Blase was extremely helpful and personable and made us feel like nothing was too much trouble. We were briefed and our kit was checked over by the Head Guide ready for the Kilimanjaro trek the following morning. We left our safari gear with Blase. The experience was AMAZING and thanks to the great service from our guides we made it to the summit without too much difficulty.
Blase then met us again at the hotel for our Serengeti Safari briefing, we collected our safari clothing and left our trekking gear with him. James our safari guide was extremely knowledgeable, and even after over over 20 years service it is evident that he has so much passion for what he does. The accommodation, food and service in our lodge and tented camp was excellent and was saw all of the BIG 5!
After flying back to Arusha from the Serengeti to save valuable time, Blase met us at the airport and arranged for us all to have lunch together which was a lovely personal touch.
I would no hesitation in recommending Tanzania Serengeti Adventure for both a Kilimanjaro Trek and Safari. They provide an excellent personal service and plan everything down to the last details.
Thank you
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great once-in-a-lifetime experience
We had an even better safari than we expected. For 9 days we experienced 5 National parks and we did a village-tour and a hunting with the Bushmen. And slept in all super lodges.
It was perfectely built up. The first park (mt. Meru) he saw Giraffes, two kinds of Monkeys, zebra's en some Buffels (1)en exotic birds and the shit of elefants(2), so they where there but we didn't see. Then the next park (Tangarine) we finally saw the first elefant far away then closer and closer Meanwhile we saw the lion (3). The first lodge at the mountain Meru was beautiful but the second (Roika) was beautiful and really in the bush. We were only allowed to go to our tents (=huts) accompanied by Masaai warriors with spears ! Nights we heard all kinds of game , like Hyena's , wildebeasts, elefants and other grass-eating animals. We were in the middle of it !!
Then one day walking in the village (Mto wa Mbu ?) where we had a local meal, a kind of rice table in the middle of the locals.
Then we went to the Serengeti Park via the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. what a beautiful journey and what a wonderful African massage (roads !!) we all had, me my wife and my daughter (12).
this is a huge park where we constantly looking for game and always saw them everywehre. Our guide Manuel, who was with us during these 10 days, was perfect. He gave us all kind of information on the animals, on the vegetation, on Tanzania and it's history and so on and he had the eye of an eagle. He saw more than the 3 of us together. And he didn't drive too fast like a lot of Jeeps do!!
Although the roads sometimes were terrible I think it should never change because you're more in the bush , more in the safari.
And at these two Parks we came across he leopard (4) and the Rhino (5). So the big five was complete.
Then one morning at 7 o'clock the thre of us went hunting whith the Bushmen and we (=they) hit a squirle and a dikdik, which we ate on the spot after making a campfire . Wow how those people live ! Primitive to the basic.
Then the last night we arrived in a the most beautiful lodge (Karama) at Arusha and we realised how quiet all the other lodges were: NO TRAFFIC ! the only sound at the other lodges was the sound of nature !
I've done a 3 days-safari about 20 years ago in Kruger Park, which impressed me already but "living for 9 days in parks really is the way to do a safari."
After this we went to Zanzibar for 5 days to rest and to process all the impressions from the days before.
Matoke tours, thanks for the impeccable organisation (and for giving us Manuel as our personal guide) and we would recommend you to anybody who would go on safari.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildbeest Migration the Masai Mara follwed by summiting Kilimanjaro
Had a chance to evaluate many Safari and Africa trekking companies and went with Aardvark. Was not at all disappointed. The service was great and for a first timer visiting Africa they helped in arranging all the necessary details. The Safari camps we stayed in were unique and beautiful, much better than the run of the mill super tourist accommodations you often see with other companies. Our Kilimanjaro climb was amazing. The guides particularly were extraordinary and helped our entire group reach the summit. During our trip we saw many second rate outfits making us glad we chose a great travel adventure company. Our family plans to go on another Safari and we will use Aardvark again. I would recommend talking with John at Aardvark as he was very helpful as we were narrowing our choice of Safari company to go with.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bunch of liars and fraudsters in my opinion. Never trust them!
Simply fraudsters if you ask me. We organized a 3 days safari one month before the departure, but after we paid them half of the bill in advance, they totally disappeared. We tried to call them multiple times but they never answered; by email they continued to say that everything was fine, but they didn't tell us any further detail about the transfer, they didn't book any room in the lodge in which we were supposed to stay and, furthermore, no one actually showed up on the agreed day of the meeting. In the end, in my opinion they are liars and I would advise you to never trust them (even if they offer you a convenient package! ) unless you want to have your holiday completely ruined by them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Best Day
Having stayed with Tanzania Expeditions previously in their hostel, and got to know Justin (the owner) well, I knew I could trust him to organise a great safari for a friend who was over visiting Tanzania.
We were limited in time, so decided to do a day-trip to Arusha National Park. The quote was incredibly competitive, the service offered before hand really informative and the day was utterly unforgettable. We wanted to do a walking safari as well as a drive, and Justin arranged for this around our limited budget.
Our guide, Steven, picked us up from my apartment in the morning and spent the day engaging us, teaching us, making us laugh and looking after our every need. He took us to some wonderful view points within the park, and made sure that we were happy to move on every time he drove. The day felt completely our own; we only saw a few other people in the park, as Steven wanted to take us away from the tourists, and we were rewarded with a spectacular array of animals and a feeling of complete isolation within the landscape. At one point, we found ourselves totally surrounded by a herd of giraffe, who stayed with us for half an hour; a completely mesmerising and unforgettable moment.
The walking safari took us into the plains midst buffalo and giraffe and our experienced guide / ranger from the National Park taught us a great deal about the natural flora and fauna growing in the area. Being on the ground in such beautiful surroundings with such knowledgeable guides was a really tremendous experience.
I could not fault the day for enjoy-ability, entertainment and learning, and felt that every part of the service that Justin and his team offered was excellent. I will be taking trips with them again and recommend their company wholeheartedly.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beware of Mathew Adams & Tropical Vacations
In my opinion you should NOT use tropical Vacations! Our money was wired in full almost a month prior to our safari. We paid the director, Matthew Adams, $1630 in total for our lodge accommodation, safari drives, and flight to the Masai Mara from Nairobi Wilson Airport.
We got to Wilson airport at 14:15 to check in with Air Kenya. When we checked in the lady informed me that there was a problem with our ticket, and she sent us to the reservations office. When we went to the reservation office, we were informed that our tickets had not been paid for. An agent, Mary Anne, helped us to attempt to communicate with Matthew.
Matthew said that he was waiting on the refund from Sarova, and said that we just need to pay for our plane tickets, total of $644 for Casey Parker, and myself, Caroline Wallace. He said, and I quote, that he would "sort us out tomorrow". We told him that we could not do that, we can't afford that. We asked him to give Mary Anne his credit card number. This is when he began hanging up on us, talking in circles, and he never gave us an answer.
We had to pay for our plane tickets, which was an additional $580, that we had already paid for well in advance. I am exteremely dissapoointed in the service I have recieved. Matthew Adams said that he would sort us out the next day, well unforunately that day has come and gone. He has turned off his phones, and has been dodging our calls and e-mails.
I do not want this to happen to anyone else. Please do not use Tropical Vacations!