SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Tour Company, Great Guide, Wonderful Visit to Akagera and Gorillas
Pre-trip service:
- We corresponded with Nicholas initially and with Nelson when Nicholas was not around. Both were very prompt and helpful in giving information and giving us a quote for the trip. Information provided was to the point and complete with packing lists, etc.
- There was a moment of anxiety for one individual in our group of 3 when his receipt for the deposit placed with Rwanda Development Board had only his first name and not full name. Nelson assured us that this would not be a problem as it was only the receipt and not the permit and that they have given the full names and passport numbers to the RDB. Indeed there was no problems at all.
On-trip:
- Our guide was supposed to be Eric; we had asked for him after reading reviews although Nicholas had told us that all their guides were very good.
- Nelson advised with apologies at the last minute that due to some personal problems he wouldn't be able to come and our guide would be Enos instead.
- Enos is a great guide; very punctual, patient and professional with fluent English and most importantly with so much charm, humility and politeness. His calm but confident demeanour put us at ease from the very beginning. We were super impressed by his nuanced answers to our queries and he, at our request gave us a Rwanda genocide 101 - the context of the madness and how it built up to what it was starting over a 100 years ago.
- There were 3 of us and on the 2nd day in Volcanoes National Park, one of us was doing the gorilla trek the 2nd time and two of us were going to do the golden monkey trek. And we had to go in different directions to two different starting points. Enos was very resourceful and ensured that we reached our destinations in time.
- I also need to mention that Enos was very sensitive to every one of our individual needs and ensured that all of us had a great time.
Trip Itself:
- We went to Akagera National Park where we did a boat ride and a game drive the next day. Lovely experience not because the animals were very close by (except for the zebras, buffaloes and impalas, topis) but because of the solitude. It was like it was just the 5 of us (3 of us, Enos and the park ranger Didier), the wide savannah and the animals. The silence in such a large place with so many animals was complete! We had a good time spotting animals which were generally far away for most of the drive but in the end we came to a huge plain which had a lot of zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, topis etc. We also got to see two herds of elephants but they were pretty far.
- The Volcanoes National Park is a beautiful place with the misty mountains peaks and the jungles. We had a great time on the gorilla visit - the apes were very close by so we had good views and it was the same for the golden monkey visit. Both the treks through the dense jungles of central/east Africa were very enjoyable and unique experiences. I am not writing much about the gorillas because they are widely covered elsewhere and this is a review about the tour company.
Overall
- Very impressed by Gorilla Trek Africa.
- We had found them from the TripAdvisor reviews and they are #1 amongst 26 tour companies doing the gorilla trekking in Africa and it is totally justified.
- Booking directly with Gorilla Trek Africa is highly recommended.
- They also have another website by another name (i forget the name); the reason is nothing other than to increase reach.
- Thanks to Nelson, Nicholas and Enos for a wonderful experience.
- If we do the gorilla trek or Akagera National Park again, I am going to use this company.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent throughout. No hiccups and everything as we'd planned. Would book again!! Excellent
We have just returned from the Mara.
May I thank you for organising and sorting all the trip for us. It was unbelievable
The camp was nice for the price we paid and the people were friendly and helpful with no hiccups. Just what we wanted
I have to give a special mention to David the guide and driver. He is an absolute credit to you and I would not have wanted anyone else. Not only did he get us in positions from a photographic point of view he sourced everything we would have wanted to see. To add to that he was one of the most easy going most genuine guys we could of hoped for. He really did make the trip for us.
Thank you again and if you can pass the feed back to Dave also I would appreciate
Many thanks and I will return
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our first experience in Uganda
Its still like a dream , I cant believe all that I saw in a wonderful small country Uganda.
Home To Africa Tours and Travel took amazing care of us throughout our three day excursion. They were also incredibly helpful in getting the safari set up and having all bookings taken care of for us in advance. I searched on google for almost most tour companies in uganda, we selected Home to Africa Tours and travel because their budget was affordable and they were so fast and quick at responding to your emails and all the questions. Elephants, giraffe, deer, antelope, warthogs, hippopotamus, crocodiles, hyena, lion, beautiful birds, and a leopard. It was incredible! The boat ride up the nile to Murchison Falls is a must do and a perfect way to end the tour. I Did not have any Idea on how beautiful Uganda is . wow, I highly recommend Home to Africa Tours and travel for anyone who is interested in adventuring Uganda to its fullest .
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic time in Uganda with Home To Africa Tours and travel.
In June, I , my wife and my 4 children planned to make a trip to Africa, we urgued on which country to go to. My elder son suggested Uganda . We contacted several companies regarding our trip to Uganda but we selected Home To Africa Tours and Travel company because of the way were packages were setup, had a unique approach to packaging of tours and their budget was affordable.
My family and I have just returned from a two week trip round southwestern Uganda (Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Mburo). Our driver/guide, Paul, was a fount of knowledge, a superb driver and a real pleasure to be with for the whole of the trip. We have come back keen to visit other parts of Uganda in the future and would definitely go to Home To Africa Tours and Travel Again . We already miss Uganda. we will surely send more of our friends to Home To Africa Tours and Travel.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent in every way
We rented an extended Toyota Land Cruiser, with pop-top & seven seats for a week. The company was prompt in all communications, easy to work with, and the vehicle was exactly as described. While it had some miles on it, it worked perfectly and had no mechanical issues. They even provided maps and a Garmin GPS. This is a "real" safari truck - the same as many of the guided safaris use and that you can pay upwards of $400 a day from some operators. Driving in Uganda is not as scary as many say. Drive with purpose, without crazy maneuvers, and give way without giving too much way, and you will be just fine! Very much recommend this company, as they deliver what they promise.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience with Big Time Safaris Ltd for our deal with them for 11days trip
We have successfully completed the 11 days trip of Kenya and Tanzania to cover both Masaimara and Seringitee through Big Time Safaris Ltd .Our journey beings with then on 11th August 2016 and ended on 22nd August ,2016 evening it was fantastic tour and the Big Time safari Ltd guys have been immaculate in their arrangement ,program,schedule,itinerary ,car,driver and guide ,cock.Right from the day 1 we have been in constant travel as per their itinerary with their expert Driver like ,Richard,jackson,Animo and George.The camp we stayed are excellent barring few occasion where we did not get hot shower.food excellent ,safari excellent .And above all thankful to Martha Mutanu the main coordinator for the tour with whom we have been in constant touch from our country and she has been excellent in networking with us throughout the tour .We look forward to enjoy more such trip with Big Time safaris Ltd in the years to come .Our heartfelt thanks to all who have been in constant stay with us for the trip...
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience, excellent service, interesting and safe journey
My friends and I, we 5 people chosed Big Time Safari company during our journey in Kenya. We all felt satisfied with its good service and the safe journey it offered to us. And it offered the best price than other companies. We would like to recommend this company to our friends. Big Time旅行公司的服务质量和态度都很棒，我们这次5个人组团，每个人都很满意这家公司的服务，经过不同公司间的对比，我们发现他们提供的价格是最合适的，因此推荐给大家。
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
friendly, good service, knows to find the animals
Justus helped us very nicely planning the itinerary and took care of all bookings.
Ben was our guide. Important to state that he drove very safely (not like many other guides on the roads) and tried to accommodate us at every occasion. Very patient, well connected with all other guides to track down rare animals. We even saw a leopard which is very rare!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Andy Saidy made fantasies come to life!
I relied completely on KrugerPark.com, and especially Andy Saidy to put together my holiday ... and I was not disappointed! Everything I had dreamed and fantasized about Africa came true and was brought to life. From the exceptional staff at every lodge I visited, the literal "works of art" that were my dinner plates, the 5 Star accommodations, to the animals, animals, animals! And I won't even attempt to describe the beauty of Africa itself! My transfers were all handled smoothly, efficiently and with a great deal of aplomb due to the drivers being so well informed with not only the locale, but also about my itinerary, timing, and destinations.
Not only did I see the Big 5 many times, but had the opportunity to see a Leopard relaxing after having finished her meal for the day, several Pride of Lion, 2 young male Giraffe toughing it out with each other, but Zebra, Hippo, Giraffe, Crocodile, Kudu, and too many others to mention. Animals I didn't even know existed!
If you have longed for a lifetime to see even a small part of Africa as I had, or even if you're simply contemplating someplace new to visit, I highly recommend KrugerPark.com and Andy Saidy with the utmost of confidence that your Safari will be a stunning success and will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Family Safari
I was a bit worried about booking with a group that did not have an office in the US and while there were some inconveniences, they were minor and were offset by the great service. The schedule of pick-ups, events, drop-offs were on time and as described in the plan. All of the drivers, tour guides, cooks, and service staff were wonderful. Rochelle at Kruger Tours worked hard to arrange a safari that worked for my family.
We went on the Tydon Camp Safari which is a true tented encampment. There are two Tydon camps, one right outside the gates of Sabi Sand and it has about 10 or so tents, a nice pool and lounge area, a large campfire area and a large eating area and library. The second camp, referred to as the "bush" camp, is inside Sabi Sands. It is smaller, more intimate version of the bigger camp but feels more rugged. There is not a pool in the bush camp and the fire area, lounge area, and food/library boma is much smaller, but the tents are identical (more on that in a second). There is access to a pool that is part of a small estate belonging to the owner of the land that the bush camp leases. The pool is right next door and is an easy walk.
The bush camp has four tents that support 8 guests, 1 guide and 3 cooks/service ladies who also reside at the camp. There were four of us in our family, my husband and our two adult kids, and we really clicked with the other four guest so that made it really special. That is a good thing because a lot of time is spent together. The tents are fabulous. Comfortable beds, carpeted, AC and heat, with a very nice bathroom. They are well appointed similar to a hotel room but still have the spirit of being in the bush. The routine is pretty much the same as with most safaris - get up way early and grab a cup of coffee, load up in the land rover, drive around looking for animals, come back and eat breakfast, relax, eat lunch, head out again in the land rover, come back, have drinks around the fire, eat dinner (in this case outside around the fire - way cool), have some more drinks around the fire and head off to bed. Dinner is a traditional African meal served on trays set up around the campfire accompanied by pudding for dessert. In addition to traditional vehicle safaris, Tydon offers a safari walk - not really for game viewing - more hands on type learning about animals, conservation, poop, tracks, that sort of thing. One of my favorite events and I really recommend it if that is your sort of thing.
Why the bush camp - well, its actually in the bush. It feels really exciting and at the same time it feels relatively safe. (There is an electrified wire around the camp and no wandering outside is allowed.) A few gazelle type grazers are often in the camp along with a few monkeys, but the wire kept out the elephants and buffalo and the cats didn't seem interested. There is no drive to get to the safari area - you wake up and you are in it. After lunch, you look out over the water hole and watch elephants come for their afternoon drink. One of the other guest hollers for you to grab your camera, that there is a Journey of Giraffe grazing right outside the tents area.
So now for the downside - Tydon has a relatively small area in Sabi that they are allowed to safari on and I became very familiar with the area. And while that made it feel special, it also felt limiting. We saw lots of animals but I wish they had more space. I believe that leopard is typically encountered at least once on a 5 day safari but we did not see any cats at Sabi. I am not a "check off the big 5" safari person but I think no cats would disappoint some folks. Even with the limited space, on the morning that we headed back to Joburg, I was wanting to be with the group that headed out on safari.
All in all, we absolutely loved South Africa, the adventure, the facilities and especially the staff and other guests. I recommend both Tydon and Kruger Park Tours. They are a great!