CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing experience in Kenya
After contacting more than 10 safari companies we decided to choose Khanga Safaris as they were by far the most competitive and responsive company. They offered by far the best price,accommodation and they were the most responsive. They also offered a whatsapp service number meaning that they are reachable with immediate response. Lawrence made himself available 24/7 by replying to our queries which was very important to us as we booked a 7days safari. (30th June to 6th July)
Our guide was Chris and we could not have hoped for a better guide than him; knowledgeable, experienced and a very cautious driver, he knew when and where to find the animals. We saw the big 5 including a Lion hunting.
I would dfinately recommend Khanga Safaris!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Don't book!
The experience with this tour company was bad since the beginning. The communication by email didn't flow, and I always had to chase up Charles to get more information.
They offered me a good price for a 4 days camping safari, I accepted and rejected another tour operator (7wonderssafaris) that gave me a cheaper quote, because Charles seemed to have better reviews.
Charles asked me for a deposit a week earlier and the whole payment in cash the day before the safari, which I didn't feel comfortable to give because even the day before I had to chase up after him to communicate and he still didn't know who the guide will be or what time they would pick us up the next day.
Apparently Charles had another bigger group he would be guiding. This is understandable, but the guide we went with wasn't good. The other tourists complained that he didn't communicate anything with them. I was always talking to the guide and then passing the information to the rest of the tourists.
Even worst, to my surprise, it turned out that this guide was actually from 7WondersSafari !!!
So at the end I paid more to go with the company I rejected because they didn't have good reviews.
The safari itself was good, but the communication and service was deplorable. You can check what we saw here: https://ubuntutravelblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/07/safari-in-tanzania/
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Really good
It was good service. The guides had good knowledge about the animals and the naturen. They listened to our requests. The safari was fantastic!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy, organized, affordable - a great experience!
My wife and I had a fabulous experience with Open Africa Safaris! It was nerve wracking to arrange a trip like this without the help of an experienced travel agency. With seemingly hundreds of safari organizers to choose from, it was quite time consuming to narrow down the companies based on our desired itinerary, trip cost, and of course a company that appeared organized and trustworthy. Let me save you time – look no further, go with Open Africa Safaris!
Open Africa Safaris was willing to customize our trip in most any way, from budget to mid-range to luxury, from a few days to many days, from safari only to inclusion of a side trip to the beaches of Zanzibar. We were not up for a “budget” trip – sleeping in tents and sleeping bags was ok when we were younger, but we want nice, clean beds now. Luxury trips seem horribly overpriced to me – you can spend thousands of extra dollars for what I think would be marginally better lodging, and maybe pampered hot lunches with beer and wine – not at all worth it in my opinion. The mid-range trip suggested to us seemed just right, with my exact desired itinerary, and the price was great, compared to many others I had checked.
I exchanged about 20 emails with our contact at Open Africa Safaris (John). I asked MANY questions, asked for references, questioned just about everything I could think of. He responded timely (not immediately, but always in a very reasonable amount of time), politely and patiently. But in the end, I still had to trust a fairly small company to deliver on their promises. A deposit was needed, and full payment was required about 30 days before our adventure. Would they deliver? Could this be a scam? I continued to be nervous literally until I was met at the airport after getting off the plane in Tanzania. But they were there just as promised, and everything went great for the next 7 days, all the way through taking us to the airport to leave!
The lodging choices they selected for us were wonderful! The hotel in Arusha City was older and not in perfect repair, but it was still clean, with good and very tasty dinner options, a nice pool, pretty grounds – and this was the “worst” of our lodging. The other places we stayed were wonderful, including the luxury “tented camp” in the middle of the Serengeti, which was a marvelous experience! All the facilities were clean, available showers ranged from good to great, there was wifi available in all places (ok, not high speed but who cares?), and we were always able to charge our electronics. The dinners were definitely better than I expected, and wine and beer were available for purchase if desired. We had available hot breakfast options each day. The lodging staffs were always very attentive. We felt safe everywhere. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for more.
Our tour guide, Simon, was excellent! His heavily accented English was still quite good, and he did a great job navigating the parks to give us the best possible animal viewing. Animals were very plentiful to see, and we had close up encounters with many – lions, elephants, giraffes, cape buffalo, and more. The only Big 5 animal we didn’t see up close (and I mean very close) was a rhino, of which we only saw one, and that was at a distance…oh well. Simon had binoculars available to use, which was quite nice. The box lunches while on game drives were plenty adequate (generally chicken, fruit, bread, a cookie or two, juice, water) though not fantastic.
All in all, the trip was everything I could have hoped for, and Open Africa Safaris was just great! Many thanks to them for making this “bucket list” trip a major success!
LU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
rip off
To be clear: the rating is for the tour operator only. Botswana is a fantastic country for Safaris, just don't go with this gangster. He made me pay for 7 days but the tour turned out only to last for 5 and a half. The time spent on all our game drives combined during this time was less than that of serious companies on a single day.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
1 day gorilla trek in Rwanda
We did a 1 day gorilla trek with a city tour of Kigali and the Genocide Memorial the day before the trek. Everything was very well organised and our driver showed a lot of knowledge about the area, which he shared with us during the trip. All communication with the office before travelling was fast and to the point and everything went smoothly when we arrived in Rwanda.
The gorilla trek was an absolutely amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone. We got so close to them that we could have reached out and touched them if allowed. The big silverback passed us by at a distance of 2 meters, it was such a fantastic experience!
Rwanda is a very nice country to visit, very lush and beautiful with hills everywhere. The visit to the genocide memorial was a humbling and special experience and you can’t tell that this country went through hell only 20 years ago. I will recommend a visit to the country and especially seeing the gorillas to everyone.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kilimanjaro Machame Route - Perfect!
As there are so many tour operators offering a kilimanjaro trek, only the people that organize and accompany your trip and the team that will lead you to uhuru peak make the difference. We had a totally stunning experience with Migration Expedition as we made it to the top via machame route. I had a really long e-mail-correpondence with amos to organize our whole trip to tanzania and he answered all my questions fast & comprehensive. Amos picked us up at the airport and we felt in really good hands from the first moment. He made us feel real welcome. In the evening we got to know our guide Nicholas. On the next day we started our trek with our guides Nicholas und Rasheed. They took so much care of us. Always in with some motivating stories, singing some tanzanian songs and playing the newest songs from tanzanian nightlife by phone. It was awesome. No question that these guys took is to uhuru peak! We can highly recommend the migration expedition team including Amos (CEO), Nicholas (Guide), Rasheed (Assistent Guide), Ramazan (Cook) and Armani (Waitor). After kilimanjaro we had a trip to a coffee plantation and a waterfall with Amos and Nicholas. That was also a real nice day. Talked a lot about the different tribes and cultures in Tanzania, thats a big plus of local tour operators, because they know so much about their country and they like to talk about it. And then we made a safari (4 days, 3 nights) with our guide Innocent and Ramazan (Cook). We had so much fun these 4 days and the guys were knowledgeable, experienced and tried everything to show us as many animals as possible. All in all, perfect trip that we will never forget!
- organisation: 5 stars
- equipment: 5 stars (depends on the price you want to pay)
- price/value. 5 stars
- people: 5 stars +++
Thank you!
RO
two weeks with them
My and my family went for your holly days in Tanzania, to a safari that lasted two weeks , We arrived there with a nice plane , we went to our plane and we meet our driver Papu , who was such a nice guy , that knew everything about the surrounding area , we were three persons , me my son and my husband , and we had such a great time , we even saw some leopards !
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding guide, fantastic tour, Amazing number of wild animals &birds, use this company!
From the very first contact the company was quick in responding to everything. A fourteen day trip F a lifetime. Our driver/guide, Japheth was friendly, and knowledgeable. He knew where to find the animals...rhinoceros, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, hyena, elephants, water buffalo, lions, lionesses, lion cubs, zebras, giraffes, ostrich, wildebeest to name only a few. And, not only once did we see there great mammals, but from one game reserve to another Japheth found these mammals. Mixing some walks along with game drives provided a nice break from long days in our safari vehicle. A boat ride in lake Naivasha drew us close to hippos and birds in the wild. A stay at Elsamere Lodge (think of the movie Born Free and the cub lion Elsa was raised by Joy Adamson) where they served high tea on the lake and colobus monkeys squawked in the trees above us and on the roamed the grounds. Zebras and giraffes wandering though the grounds. Hippos out of the lake in the night to graze on the grass. And, a chance to visit the Sambura tribe, a Maasi tribe, Amboseli, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Nakuru and other game reserves. The owner contacted us frequently to ensure we were happy. He made suggestions for change to itinerary to improve our safari because animals may have migrated and he did not want us to miss anything. We were delighted with the changes. I cannot say e ought good things about this excursion. I highly recommend Kenya Walking Survival Safaris.
US
A memorable adventure
As a whole we had a fantastic trip full of memorable experiences.
The people were friendly and welcoming and the accommodation was generally good.One of the lodges was a little disappointing but did not ruin the overall experience.
The service we received from Safarihub has been excellent, and I would recommend them.