US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari, and great deal!
We just returned from a 5 day safari with Meru Slopes and Tours. The price was very affordable for a fantastic quality of a tour! We saw the big 5, and had a very similar experience to those who paid much more for a safari. The food was fantastic, we slept in both a permanent tent (with a real bed) and a pop up tent, and we loved having both the quality of a mattress in the permanent tent, and the excitement of sleeping in a tent surrounded by wildlife (especially on the rim of Ngorogoro, simply amazing). I'm not positive that the campsites are the same for all of their tours, so you need to be a bit flexible in where you stay, but our experience was really great. I don't believe we stayed in all campgrounds as initially quoted, but it also seemed to be a better quality than was quoted, so it was a pleasant surprise.
Our guide was fantastic (we had 2: Estome and Mosa), and worked very hard to help us see the big 5 (it is very difficult to see the Rhino, but he got us there in time to see it). Both guides were fun to be with, knowledgeable, so it seems the company has a great supply of guides. Our group we were traveling with was also so much fun. That is definitely the luck of the draw, but we were pleased. The food was great, their system in place is very unique in that you have your own cook, and it's very pleasant to have a warm meal at the end of the day. The food was fantastic, and again, the budget element of this tour was not felt.
Geoffrey was also great to work with, which is why we ultimately chose Meru Slopes. He was the MOST responsive out of all the tour companies. It can be a little strange organizing the tour from a different continent, and his quick responses were very assuring. It was also a pleasant stay at Arusha Tourist Inn, a very simple but chill place before and after the safari. The inn itself is filled with backpackers going on safari or climbing Kili. Beginning with picking us up from the airport, and then the return connection, it was easy and hassle free, and a fantastic deal. We also paid them a bit more for them to organize a trip to the waterfall in Arusha on the way back to the airport, which was above and beyond. We explored Arusha a bit, and Geoffrey even offered to take us to a party on New Years Eve, but unfortunately we got in too late to go, and instead walked around and watched all the fireworks. Sidenote: we didn't have any problems in our wanderings around Arusha, even though some say to be wary at night, just don't carry bags that can be snatched. The longer we were in Tanzania, the more we felt very safe and felt the friendliness of the people. The safari definitely is safe, so no need to be worried about that.
Things to be prepared for: Be a little flexible, it is a budget tour, it is in Africa, and you will be camping. We were a little worried when we arrived when we were told we were doing 4 days with one group, then the 5th day with another, but it was very seamless and was not a problem. They worked hard to make sure we got the dates we wanted, so I would count that as a positive. Their priority was to ensure we had a nice safari, and they were always concerned how we were doing. Also, the foam mattress under the sleeping bag was very comfortable, but a little musty smelling. We aired them out before putting in them in the tent, which helped. Bring toilet paper, as the campgrounds do not stock it. The roads are very bumpy to the Serengeti, and dusty. Of course, not the tour's fault, and everyone takes the same road (including the luxury tours), just be prepared.
Overall, our experience was simply incredible, and I would highly recommend this company for a fantastic and surprisingly affordable tour.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Safari Company Like No Other
When you travel, it’s the personal relationships that provide the memories you will cherish. Allen Mnyenye is not just a safari guide/tour operator. He is a person who cares deeply about the animals and the environment and also about making each trip a lifetime experience for every visitor. After two weeks on safari I believe I could also call him a friend.
We recently returned from our first trip to Africa, a 13-day wildlife and cultural tourism safari with Allen Tanzania Safaris. We were a group of 10 Americans with varied backgrounds and levels of travel experience.
Here’s what made our trip special:
- Allen has been a safari guide for over 25 years - he knows the animals, their habits and habitats, the way they interact. He has an extensive knowledge of birds, snakes, butterflies, geology, geography, and Tanzanian and African history and culture. No question from our curious group phased him, whether it was about animal behavior, house construction, bone fossils or water reclamation methods.
-Because we were in two cars, we had a separate guide for each car. No-one felt they got "second best" - each group was quite passionately attached to their guide after a couple of days and refused to switch vehicles!
-Both Allen and Amani seemed to have an almost telepathic sense about the animal behavior: where they were to be found, why they were there, and even what they were about to do. They also really know the parks and the surrounding areas, and found lesser traveled paths that let us get closer to animals we spied from afar.
-Allen knows and loves the wildlife and the people of East Africa, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Every animal sighting is a delight to him, from the most mundane Superb Starling to a rare White Headed Vulture or a leopard. We always felt that we were participating together in an adventure of discovery.
-Allen speaks fluent English. He could match any American in his vocabulary of animal biology or geology, for example. Some of his other guides speak other languages such as French. He has also made several extended visits to the U.S., which often helps with cultural references. (He pointed to a tiny hardware storefront and said “That’s my Home Depot!”)
-When appropriate, we had access to local guides (especially for cultural tourism) but Allen was often the go-between, knowing what questions to ask and what would interest us.
-In the central Serengeti there was a higher concentration of animals. There we also saw big concentrations of safari vehicles - one time we saw 20 vehicles crowded around the same tree. Allen would avoid this whenever possible - he knew how to find the crowd-pleasing big cats without hearing it on the radio. For most of the tour we seldom encountered another safari vehicle - we felt like we were in our own little world.
-Allen would sometimes add on little excursions, like an optional, early-morning walk to the flamingo-filled lake with a Maasai guide. When we chatted to other safari-goers we found out this is not something to take for granted.
-The safari itineraries are very carefully planned to maximize the experience. Our first couple of days offered easy-going cultural activities, giving us time to get over our jet lag. When we started on our animal-viewing safari, every day and every location was unique. The lodgings also were amazing, each one with some gem-like aspect, whether it looked out over a lake full of flamingoes, an outdoor shower with a view of the Serengeti, or just rustic beauty and clear stars.
-The cultural tourism was at least as cool as the animal viewing and I would highly recommend it. We danced with Maasai villagers, ground our own coffee, watched blacksmiths melt copper in a bush-forge, and hunted with Hadzabe bushmen. The people we met were genuinely happy to share their lives and experience with us.
-Allen understands about the needs of photographers - he would always orient the truck in such a way that we could get a good look - whether through binoculars or through the lens. He was aware of the direction of the light.
-Power, Charging, and Wifi: There were high-speed chargers in the vehicles, so our cameras and phones could stay charged. Most of the llodging has wifi and all amenities. The only exception is the mobile tented camps (which are an optional accommodation type). We loved staying in these slightly more rustic camps for a couple of nights, but they have only solar power, no wifi and the hot water is a bit more limited. For those nights our CPAP users found batteries to use, and we were that much more appreciative of the unlimited hot water in the next lodge.
-All our concerns about food and water were completely unnecessary. Bottled or sterilized water was available at all times. The food was fantastic - even in the mobile tented camps we ate delicious meals, and always had access to plenty of vegetables including salads and fruit that were cleaned with safe water. Vegans and vegetarians in our group felt completely satisfied.
-One of our group had to seek the advice of a doctor during the trip, and Allen brought her to an English-speaking, American-born physician where she was seen promptly and highly competently.
-Allen and his crew are extremely good-humored and easygoing. We asked a lot of dumb questions, I'm sure! We also never sensed that it was an obligation or a chore for to join us at dinner (which they did, nearly every night) and the feeling was mutual - we truly enjoyed their company.
-They also worked their asses off. Every evening as we lounged by the fire with a cocktail, the crew cleaned the trucks, and when possible had them checked by a mechanic, before they got to rest. On several mornings we were off at 6 and didn't get back to camp til 6 or later. They organized our boxed lunches, packed tables and chairs and even a tablecloth for our bush picnics and even made us tea and coffee after lunch.
-Speaking of lunch - nearly every day we were able to eat lunch in some secluded wild spot with no one else in sight. From what we saw, not all safari companies offer this treat.
-Before the trip we had a lot of questions, from the food to the climate to the number of animals we would see, to the availability of electricity and wifi. All our questions were answered completely and competently by Silas, the office manager.
-Because of his experience with American and European safari visitors, Allen has been consulted on the site location, construction and amenities of several of the amazing lodges that we stayed in. He also owns a moderately-priced, lovely lodge called "Eileen's Trees Inn" in Karusha. Wherever we stayed, he was greeted so enthusiastically, we felt like royalty.
Now I understand why people return to safari with Allen again and again and I recommend you start!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Unbelievably Amazing Experience!
African Heart Expeditions made my first trip to Africa unforgettable! I admired the beautiful and diverse nature an adored the very kind tanzanian people. Our guides were amazingly determined to show us the most beautiful places and animals, were helpfull and always open to a nice talk. All of this with a personal touch! The cooks did a great job too by making varied tasty food and always more than enough! I also noticed a very good and close cooperation between the organisers and the guides/cooks, always trying to improve their service!
I would like to thank ALL of the people of our team to make this an experience to never forget!
Thanks a lot!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent experience, great driver, highly recommend. They made sure our family had fun.
The entire experience with Inclusive Holidays Africa was well planned and allowed us to modify plans to fit our needs. From the point of pick-up in Nairobi, great driver and tour guide: highly recommend Inclusive Holidays Africa.
TW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Attentive and satisfactory！！！
Nice service and reasonable cost for Big Time Safari Ltd. Martha is a wonderful women to arrange everything to meet our request. Care about our feeling and feedback,she helped us in every possible way. Good experience in Kenya safari，nice car and professional guide to share many information with us. We also book 5 days Mt. Kilimanjaro tour in Tanzania, both are wonderful memories for us. Believe me, You just list your request for sure will get the nice talk and the best service and arrangement from Big Time Safari. We are very enjoy it in East Africa!
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional operator and great guide, overall an excellent trip
This was the first safari for me and my husband. Before booking we consulted Daniel about basically everything (e.g., accommodation, safety, transportation, payment method...). He is very patient and gave detailed explanations to our questions, and suggested reasonable itinerary according to our need and the time we had. The price was a bit higher than we thought but still reasonable given the standard of accommodation we eventually chose. We got the impression that Transtrek was the most professional among several operators we had contacted, so we decided to travel with it. And it was a good decision. We were very happy with the arrangement from accommodation, food, to the safari experience. Richard, our guide, is kind and friendly, a fantastic driver and knowledgable guide. He is very good at spotting animals in bushes or far away. Every time we met a new kind of animal, he would introduce to us its habits, behaviours etc., and he tried to get us the best angle for photos. We learnt a lot from him and felt really lucky to have him as our guide.
Big thanks to Daniel and Richard, and Transtrek! We would definitely recommend this operator.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best safari experience
We booked a 2 day Safari (Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater) and the experience was just perfect! Already during the booking Elisante - the Manager - did a great job, offering us different options and replying to our emails very fast. Once Arrivedin Arusha they were already waiting for us. Tom - the guide is a very smart man, having a huge knowledge about the country and its nature and culture and did a great job, showing us all great spots in the mentioned national parks. Also his driving skills are very smooth and you always feel very safe. If i go back to Arusha, I would definitely book with Heri again!
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It couldn't have been better!
We have just completed a 7-day safari in Tanzania with It Started in Africa covering the Tarangire National park, Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. We were a family group of 15 from Canada, USA and Scotland. It is hard to know where to start in reviewing this experience. Everything from the first day to the last was just an incredible adventure. Travelling in 3 Land Cruisers with our excellent driver/guides, we seemed to have just one adventure after another. We danced with Masai tribespeople, survived an elephant charge, had a late night encounter with hippos, shot arrows with the Hadzabe tribe and had the best New Year's party ever in a tent in the middle of nowhere in the Serengeti. And , of course , we saw lots and lots of animals - the BIg Five plus the now quite hard to find Black Rhino. We chose to stay in a mix of fairly elegant lodges (Sopa in the Tarangire) and Serena in Ngorongoro) and tented camps. Both kinds of accommodations were excellent and provided incredibly varied and tasty meals. We particularly enjoyed our tent camp experience at Kati Kati where the accommodation was simple and the food really excellent. One interesting feature of the camp is how you take a shower. The staff bring a bucket of nice warm water to your tent and - from the outside - empty it into a cistern. You then pull a chain and enjoy a warm - though short - shower. Our family had fun with that experience. It Started in Africa were a superb safari company. From the time we first contacted them until we were all heading home, their customer service was outstanding. They were extremely responsive to all our emails and questions and we would have no hesitation recommending them. We chose to move on to a different destination each night which was good but quite tiring after 7 days. I would recommend staying in some spots for two nights. Otherwise, just go. You won't regret it.
Visited January 2017
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gatatu: gold star service
A tailor-made day trip to Lake Mburo in Nov '16 proved highly enjoyable - as always with Gatatu. Excellent planning + communication. We set off early from Kabale and reached Mbarara for breakfast at a well-chosen motel. The combination of local knowledge and intercultural skills guaranteed real insights into not just the flora + fauna of a lesser-known national park (beautiful landscape), but also into the Bugandan heritage. I just loved the Ankole cattle! This was my fifth trip with Gatatu and I took the best photographs to date. The zebras, especially, were stunning but I also got fab shots of Ugandan cranes for the first time. A 64 year old widow, I travel the world independently, but return again and again to Uganda because the experience is so authentic, moving and humbling.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This safari travel coordinator was definitely the right choice to plan our trip.
We gave CATS Africa Tours a budget, a timeline, and a list of things we wanted to do on our trip and they made it happen. It was almost effortless for us as they took over planning every detail. We knew nothing about the areas that we were travelling to so it was very nice to have people that were knowledgeable that could set us up with the appropriate accommodations for the types of things we were hoping to do and see while we were there.