US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The 14-day Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania tour was a once in a lifetime incredible experience
My fiance and I did the 14-day Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania tour. Our guide through Uganda and Rwanda was Alfred, and we thoroughly enjoyed him. He was an excellent driver, we felt safe and comfortable the entire trip, which is important as we shared several, lengthy drives together. He shared a lot of information and answered any questions we had regarding culture, wildlife, etc.
Uganda
We enjoyed the view in our first accommodation, Cassia Lodge, and if we had to rate it on a scale from 1 (below average) to 5 (above average) we would rate the overall experience there a 3. The food was good, but the service and interior room accommodations (bed, bathroom) left a lot to be desired. From there our lodges appeared to increase in beauty and comfort. Getting to travel through Kampala with a guide who actually lives in the area is an experience that is unmatched. We were in awe throughout our entire trip through Uganda’s breathtaking countryside.
Kibale Forest Camp was our next stop, in which we were surprised and delighted to be instantly greeted by black and white colobus monkeys. We would rate our overall experience here a 4, our tent was comfortable and clean and the service was good. We especially enjoyed the restaurant area on the upper level of the main lobby and we also liked the fact that we could explore the grounds with a self-guided tour. We awoke bright and early for the chimpanzee habituation tracking, which was a great overall experience and then Alfred picked up a ranger and took us on a quick game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we were able to see a good deal of wildlife including lions and elephants and were even lucky enough to spot a python killing a baby kob.
The Marafiki Safari Lodge was great. We would rate the bungalow itself a 4, but the staff and food definitely deserve a 5. Everyone was extremely friendly and the meals were outstanding. We enjoyed getting to spend extra time with Alfred during our stay here. We were quite pleased with the balance of alone time meals and meals we had with Alfred. Our second chimpanzee tracking experience at the gorge was one of our favorite moments of the trip. We had an incredibly enthusiastic guide named Robert who lead us to a small family of chimps within the gorge. This was followed by the boat safari, which was also fun and filled with wildlife.
The next morning was hot air balloon day and that entire experience was fantastic from start to finish. The breakfast in the bush was so special and charming and we especially enjoyed the water jug and soap provided to wash our hands before eating. The drive to Lake Mutanda was breathtaking, which led us to our favorite lodge in Uganda, the Mutanda Lake Resort. We would rate our experience overall a 5 from our room to staff to food. The view from this lodge was incredible and it was clean, comfortable, and intimate. Gorilla Tracking was a once in a lifetime experience and it was nice to have downtime at the Mutanda Lake Resort, where there is so much to see and explore. It was a great finale to our overall Uganda experience.
Rwanda
This day we had a lot of downtime, almost too much. We were driven right to Le Bambou Gorllia Lodge, which was our least favorite lodge of our entire trip. While there were some available activities at the lodge, it wasn’t enough to fill our time and we also weren’t thrilled with the room and bathroom in terms of cleanliness and comfort. We would rate this a 2, though the food and staff were great.
We did the golden monkey tracking while we were here, which was another fantastic experience and then drove to Kigali. Alfred took us to the Rwandan genocide museum, which was sobering and informative. Alfred then drove us to our final Rwandan stay at the super luxurious Flame Tree Village. While this was more of a hotel and less of a “lodge” it gets a 5 as well for cleanliness and comfort.
Our overall Uganda/Rwanda experience was unmatched. We were overall thrilled with the entire experience; our only complaint is that we were unclear about what meals were included and which ones weren’t. Often times it didn’t match what the itinerary stated and we found that more meals were included than we originally expected, which was a good thing—we just were left questioning things a lot of the time.
Another thing we wanted to mention is that we also didn’t realize how often US currency is preferred over the local currency, and had we known this ahead of time we would have brought more US currency. And although it is stated on the website that US dollars have to be produced from 2006 on, it might be helpful to reiterate that to US travelers prior to their journey.
Tanzania
Our first driver was Lawrence. He indicated right away that he was just driving us to our first lodge and we would have someone different for the remainder of our trip. Lawrence was also great! He was pleasant and informative and had a great sense of humor. We stayed at Ilboru Safari Lodge, which gets a 5+. The food was delicious, the staff was friendly, the grounds were beautiful, and our bungalow was perfect and clean. The next day we met our guide for the remainder of the trip, Rama. Rama was also great, he went out of his way to help us spot a Leopard and also taught us a lot of Swahili. He also helped us track down some nice souvenirs before we left for the United States.
We both loved the cultural tour through Mto Wa Mbu—what a unique and fun experience! The food at the end was delicious. Our Lake Manyara game drive was fun. We stayed at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp, which was another beautiful location. We would rate this one a 4—it was comfortable and the staff was friendly. Our packed lunch from this place was our favorite overall, filled with lots of options, though we really did enjoy each and every packed lunch we received throughout this journey.
We then drove to the Serengeti for a game drive for yet another unique and once in a lifetime experiences. We stayed at our absolute hands down favorite location of the entire trip, the Tortilis Camp. It was luxurious and our tent was huge. The staff was beyond friendly—so accommodating and full of enthusiasm. This place gets a 5+ as well.
The next day was Ngorogoro Crater day, which again was fantastic. Rama was a great guide throughout both of these adventures, spotting tons of wildlife and getting us great views of the animals.
Our last stay was at the Country Lodge Karatu, which we would rate a 4 overall. It was comfortable and clean and the food was fine.
We cannot say enough wonderful things about Matoke Tours and our entire experience. Our expectations were far exceeded and the beauty of Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania blew us away.
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 nights 4 days Safari in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro
The Safari was great and everything worked very well. Our driver guide was professional and knew a lot about the aninals. There was much more animals than we excepted, our chef cooked every day great food, our tent was nice. We highly recommend Kanuth
OM
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing and Incredible 6 Days Safari Trip
I actually planned the trip with Bright African Safaris in Sept 2016 but had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances and since than I have been communication with Mr. Msangi, the owner. Finally me and my wife were able to do the trip in the 1st week of Sept 2017. Mr. Msangi responded to all my queries timely via email and whatsup for all queries in 2016 (eventhough we cancelled the trip) and 2017 again. He and his team organised the trip beyond my satisfaction. I am very confident Bright African Safaris will ensure the same to all their clients. I was so confident with Msangi that I infact paid 80% of the trip upfront via my bank remittance from Malaysia to their company account in Arusha, Tanzania and he confirmed receipt with 2 days.
About the Trip:
We covered Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, Central and North Serengeti (Mara river wilderbeast crossings). The trip was very well organised and catered to our needs of mixed accomodation of 2 nights camping at Public Camps and 3 nights in Lodge accomodation. We had an unforgetful lifetime experience of wildlife from day 1. I have to stress that our guide/driver was Mrindoko was excellent with very good knowledge of the wildlife and conversed in a simple manner for easy understanding. Mrindoko's knowledge, communication, patience, sharpness in sighting the wildlife was beyond our expectations. He along with Mr. Rama (cook) made sure we had a great time and saw so much of wildlife. Our cook Rama was very good and made sure we had more than satisfactory food and even cooked Tanzanian food at our request since we wanted to try. Both made us extremely comfortable for the entire journey. The journey is in the wilderness and ofcourse the roads were bumpy, dusty but Mrindoko tried his best to make it easy for us. Both were careful and safe at all times and ensured stopping at the safe places for bush toilets. Most of all we had a great and fantastic time watching all the animals guided by Mrindoko, with his sharp skills supported by Rama. We were delight to see the Mara river wildebeast crossings, Lions mating, the illusive Rhinos twice and a lot,lot of wildlife. Our only negative was the 1st night at the public camp was without water had only squating toilets making difficult for us. It's good to check this before the trip if accomodation is in public camps. Overall tops marks to Bright African Safaris and their team, Guide Mrindoko and Cook Rama. By the time we finished the trip we have become very good friends. Do expect minor issues with the 4x4 vehicle during the travel. Our 4x4 had radiator leaking during the journey and Mrindoko and Rama ensured it was fixed. On the way we stopped to help another Safari company 4x4 struggling to fix a flat tyre , yes they asked our permission before helping we gladly said yes. They are an excellent team and will ensure customer is more than satisfied. A little patience by clients is required for see, enjoy and make the trip a lifetime experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip ever
excellent and unique experience I had ever. Everyone was so nice. Our driver was so responsible and professional. Definitely will come back sometime.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best part of the trip to South Africa
Andy was great. He managed to book us accommodations and transfer to the lodge on a very short notice. We did the booking and traveled to Kruger the following day. The lodge, Lukimi, was excellent and the staff and rangers were very nice, professional, and attentive to every detail. Overall, a fantastic experience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Top Notch Customer Service!
From the first communication with Pamoja Tours and Travel, I knew we would have a fantastic experience. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. They were always quick to respond when I had questions. They helped us get to our hotel from the airport, stopping along the way to exchange some money. Our safari was so, so fun! Our guides and driver seemed to enjoy the trip as much as we did! I cannot recommend this company high enough!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional Service For an Unforgettable Trip!
This was a bucket-list trip. When we decided to take the plunge, we talked to friends who had done such a trip. Roar Africa got rave reviews, and we liked the fact that they would be making all arrangement themselves, rather than subcontracting that.
They worked well with us to find a trip that met our budget. And they did an absolutely fabulous job of setting it up, choosing which camps for us to go to, having people help us with all airport transfers (and there were a LOT of them on this trip, and generally answering questions along the way.
It's an expensive trip, but you get what you pay for. If you can afford to go with them do it!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
7 excellent days of individual safari!
I had the pleasure of spending 7 days on an individual safari with Paul, the head of Terrain Safaris.
We covered Queen Elizabeth Park, chimp & gorilla tracking and Lake Bunyonyi.
Paul was extremely kind and patient and always did his best to give me a perfect experience in Uganda. I would recommend him to anyone.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disappointing safari company
This was a very disappointing safari due to Noah and our guide. Noah added fees once we arrived in Kenya and charged us multiple times for pick up from the airport. He also did not give the guide information about the length of the safari drives we had paid for or the entire last day of our safari. While the guide was friendly, he did not point out many animals and was not able to show us where we were on maps of the Mara or point out any landmarks that are easily found on a google search. He said he had been a guide for 5 years and worked at a lodge in the Mara for over 10 years prior to becoming a guide. He would not take us to the Mara triangle or southen part of the Mara due to mud and the length of the drive but guides for other guests at our lodge were safely driving throughout the Mara. This safari did not live up to expectations Noah had promised. The guide put in very little effort. We paid admission to Enter Thompson Falls at the bottom and walk up a path to the falls. The guide took us to another location which appeared to be free. We have had wonderful safaris with other companies.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fove Reasons Why you should experience Botswana with Wild Ridge Bush Safaris
Five reasons why you should use Wild Ridge Bush Safaris for your Botswana trip
I recently returned from a two week trip to Botswana that was organised in Botswana by Patricia Ridge. It was my second visit and the whole thing was wonderful. Here’s why.
1. Guides
Patricia used two guides for our group of 12 teachers and students. Both Gibson and Jameson were brilliant. So experienced and extremely friendly ; very willing to share their knowledge of animals, birds, plants and people.
We camped in Moremi, Savuti and Chobe and the roads can be very challenging. We always felt totally safe and were in awe of their driving and mechanical skills.
The guides were expert in finding animals often in intimate circumstances free from crowds. These included Lion, Leopard and African Wild Dogs. Just brilliant.
2. Campsite Team
Along with the two guides we had a team of three who set up our camp each day. “Policeman” ran the camp. What a lovely bloke! We had our tents serviced each day and he spelt out “welcome” in petals on our beds. All the guys were superbly approachable and built up a great rapport with our group. We were able to recharge our cameras each day which was brilliant for quite a large group.
3. Food
Patricia provided us with a genius cook called Rasta. Every night as we gathered at the table, under our canopy he would proudly announce the meal of the day. We had great steak, chicken and pasta. Every meal had incredible flavour. When we were out on game drives there was always a great lunch and memorable tea and coffee stops.
4. Jump St. Chalets
Wild Ridge safaris are based in Maun, a short ten minute drive from Maun International Airport. Both of my Botswana experiences have started from this lovely unassuming location. Patricia has a number of individual chalets that have their own character and bird name. I stayed in Flamingo. There is a small pool. I loved the birds around Jump St. My friend and I had a list of over 20 species before we had even got into a safari vehicle. There were Hornbills, Boubou, not to mention beautiful starlings everywhere.
The staff were so helpful and typically charming as is everyone in Botswana. I was sorry to leave but I knew what lay in store on safari and we saw wildlife almost as soon as we left Maun with our guides. It was great to meet up with Patricia again and indeed she met up with us in both Savuti and Chobe to see how we were getting on.
5. Variety of programmes
We are already in discussion with Patricia about a possible future itinerary that would include the central Kalahari and overnight camping in the Okavango delta. I would go back in a heartbeat.
Murray Robbins (U.K. teacher)