IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
not what was advertised
Tanzania Safari Supremacy is a complete rip off. Simply put, what they advertise and what they set out in their itineraries are not what they will provide. I travelled with them in July 2015 and was utterly disappointed at the service they provided.
Firstly, when we were picked up from our hotel in the morning the operators demanded that we pay the balance in cash. This was never mentioned to us in any correspondence beforehand, which it clearly ought to have been given the size of our group and the amount of cash we would therefore need to have on hand. We had expected to be able to pay by card, but instead lost an hour that morning travelling to the airport to access an ATM – a terrible start to the trip, a waste of our time, and no apology from the company. Unfortunately this was only the beginning of our problems.
We had opted to use this tour operator as they claim in all their materials that the drive to the park is 4-4.5 hours from Dar es Salaam (there are other parks in the region but they are a longer drive so we chose Mikumi as we had limited time available to us and wanted to maximise our time in the park). The drive took 6 hours. This wasn’t due to traffic as there wasn’t any significant traffic and the journey time was the same on the way back to Dar from the park. This delayed not only our arrival on the first day but also meant we would not have time to make use of our final morning on safari as we had to ensure we would make it back to Dar in time to catch the ferry.
The itinerary for the first day was to arrive by midday and immediately start on a game drive. Instead, when we arrived the driver told us that the plan was not to go out on a drive until 4:30pm! This was a loss of over half a day of driving for absolutely no reason.
At this stage we were very annoyed by the situation. We asked the driver to take us out at 3pm so as not to lose so much time and, reluctantly, he agreed. We also asked at that stage for the driver to get the manager, Elvice, who we had corresponded with by email beforehand, on the phone so that we could discuss the issues that had arisen. The driver did not get him on the phone.
On the first evening the driver (allegedly) checked what time breakfast would be served at, told us it would be 6:30am and initially suggested picking us up at 7:30am to go on a drive. As anyone who has been on safari before will know, it is best to go out as early as possible as the animals move around most in the mornings before it gets too hot in the middle of the day. Thankfully, we knew this so insisted that the driver pick us up at 7am and he, again reluctantly, agreed.
Later that evening the catering staff (who are entirely separate to the safari company and did a fantastic job and were most helpful) told us that breakfast is not served until 7am (a fact I have no doubt the driver was fully aware of). They tried to contact the driver for us to tell him that we would instead go on a drive earlier and return for breakfast later in the morning but they were unable to get through to him.
The following morning the driver did not turn up until 7:25am. When we were eventually able to speak to Elvice much later that day he claimed that the driver was delayed as he had had a flat tire. The driver never mentioned this so I fully believe this was just a story concocted later on to try and cover himself. He didn’t apologise at all when he did arrive late and when we made it clear that we were very unhappy with how we were being treated he again offered no apology.
As an aside, the driver showed very little in the way of knowledge about the animals. If we had not asked him questions about the animals I don’t think he would have said a word the whole time and when he did answer questions it didn’t seem like he knew very much about the animals. When we did come across animals it seemed very much like just a matter of chance rather than any skill exercised by the driver. Even if all the other issues had not arisen, I think we would have left the tour feeling quite disappointed by the drives because of this apparent lack of knowledge.
Returning to the main issues. When the driver arrived late that morning I insisted that he call Elvice as the group was so appalled at the service. He instead got another middle man, Philbert, on the phone who refused to listen to our complaints (which were expressed in a calm fashion) and began to scream down the phone at me, called me crazy a number of times, and then hung up the phone on.
We asked the driver again to get Elvice on the phone as he was, as far as we knew, the person in charge. The driver claimed that he did not know who Elvice was, he only knew Philbert. We told him that we were not happy to speak to Philbert and insisted he get Elvice on the phone and the driver said he would.
We eventually went out on our morning drive and by the time we returned for lunch we still had not received a call from Elvice (although we are quite confident that the driver was speaking on his phone to someone from the main office, he denied it when asked about it). At that point we again insisted on him calling Elvice. Again he claimed he did not know who that was and that he only knew Philbert so he put Philbert on the phone again, who claimed that Elvice could not be contacted as he was ‘in the bush’. When I said that that wasn’t acceptable and that we must speak to someone in charge he again started to shout at me and ultimately hung up the phone.
We again explained to the driver that we had to speak to someone in charge and that we wanted that phone call to happen now. 10-20minutes later we eventually got a call from Elvice. Unfortunately, all Elvice offered us were excuses, such as the phantom flat tire. He refused to acknowledge that the itinerary he had sent us was very different to what was proposed when we arrived and ultimately could offer us no solution. I asked that he consider the situation and call me back within an hour to offer some solution to the problem but, unsurprisingly at this stage, the call never came.
That evening when the driver dropped us off, we asked him to call Elvice again. At first he tried again to claim that he didn’t know who that was or how to contact him, but, obviously, this didn’t stand up and he eventually got him back on the phone. This time Elvice was much more hostile. He tried to claim that we had caused very issues and that we had tried to not pay for the safari (absolutely baseless claims), he offered the same nonsense excuses, and ultimately, when I insisted that there was no excuse for providing a service so different to what was advertised, he became completely frustrated and (judging by the sounds) hurled his phone against the wall.
Do not use Tanzania Safari Supremacy. There are so many companies offering safaris in this region, try any of them other than this one. They don’t provide what they promise, their driver showed no expertise, and their customer service is despicable.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good advice up-front. All well prepared and good choice of safaris and lodges in line with budget.
We contacted Afroriginal in February of 2015 and Desiree offered us a good package which was very clear to us. It described the safaris well and what we could expect from the lodges which were well picked. During our visit we got a very open and known driver during the safaris. Desiree stayed in contact regularly and helped us if and when necessary. They were also flexible so we also could organize some of the days ourselves. We had a great time!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly phenomenal. On a trip to see animals, the people at Bubezi were the most memorable
Everything from inquiring on a booking to dropping me off at the airport thoroughly exceeded my expectations. I sent requests to 7 different safari companies to help me book a 2 night trip at the last minute based on my work schedule – Andy was the only one to respond with a complete end-to-end itinerary, and he did so immediately. Quintin and Nikki guided my trip and treated me more like a friend than a customer. Not only that, they were as genuinely excited to see the animals as I was and never made me feel like just another tourist. I was so impressed that I used Bubezi Safaris as an example of what my team aspires to be in my presentation the following week to several of my customers in Johannesburg.
I cannot wait to come back with my entire family and chart out a longer adventure with my friends at Bubezi.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice balance of cost vs benefit
Booking through Wild Africa Travel Company was pretty easy, and Robert Francis was responsive. The only confusion was around our flights into the Okavango Delta. The process was not clear and it was difficult to get a hold of anyone to help us sort it out (In Botswana). However, In WATC's defense, we had a moderately unusual self-drive itinerary and everything ended up going off without a hitch once we figured it out.
We thought that the adventure we booked with WATC was adequate and fun. We very much enjoyed our stay at the Odd Balls camp, especially because the manager 'Doc' who really was delightful and made our stay there especially enjoyable.
We are rating this with 4 stars, or 'good', because we don't necessarily know what would constitute 'excellent'. We have no real complaints. The price was right and it was well within our expectations.
Thank you, Robert Francis! Tell Doc we said hello!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kombi Nation Tours Highland Lakes Tour
From our initial enquiry, right up to the tour, and beyond, the communication and planning with Kombitours was efficient and hassle free. They gave excellent advice on what to bring and what to expect. The tour itself more than lived up to our expectations.
Our driver Isaac was friendly, reliable and knowledgeable, and went out of his way to show us interesting sights along the way to our destinations. He made sure we stopped regularly on our long journeys and always chose great places for meal stops. The vehicle was comfortable and well maintained.
We went for the budget tour option, and were pleasantly surprise by the lovely places we stayed at both Lake Bunyoni and Lake Mutanda. The community eco lodge at Lake Mutanda was really special- beautiful wooden bandas raised up above the lake, with great views from the balcony, wonderful food, and a campfire every night. The staff there were particularly friendly and we loved that 40% of the profits go back into the local community.
The activities on the tour were great, with just the right mix of things to do, and downtime to swim, relax and explore on our own. We particularly enjoyed the tour of the islands of Lake Bunyoni, and birdwatching on Lake Mutanda.
Overall we had a brilliant time, Uganda is a beautiful country with alot to offer for a holiday, and we would recommend Kombi Nation Tours unreservedly.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
What a super Memorable Safari with Nature Friendly Safaris
What a trip! My girlfriend and I had been on a number of safaris in the last few years, and this time we were looking for something a little different. We're both in our twenties, and we tend to avoid tour companies as we found they're normally aimed at older people, but we take a gamble with Nature Friendly Safaris and we're so happy we did! We went on the 'Masai Mara Honeymoon' and there was never a dull moment. Our guide went the extra mile to keep us entertained, and we were planning our return before the tour was over.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
wonderful safari
i speak a bad english,but Arch Treks and Safaris is a very good agency,remember my experience whit love, james,charles and daniel are a special and professional persons.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
amazing wildlife service food accomodation and price great value. fantastic guides
High quality and professional tour group exceeded our expectations in every way
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing sighting of animals with our fantastic guide Isaya who had so much knowledge to share
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tanzania. Isaya was an exceptional guide. Every day he taught us many facts about the animals we sighted. He was very patient with us as we strained to see animals which were so well camouflaged we sometimes had trouble seeing them with binoculars, yet he could see them with the naked eye. Nothing was too much trouble for him. He always took the time to make sure we were checked into our accommodation and would meet with us every night to check that we were happy with the outcome every day and to plan our next day. He took photos of us and for us and he was only happy when we were completely satisfied. We had a lot of fun with him as he tried to teach us Swahili. It always surprised me how he would so willingly oblige by answering our endless questions. We saw all the animals and our trip to Tanzania exceeded our expectations. Thank you.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable, on time and great service
We booked a 4 day safari through Youth Adventures. They did good from the beginning to the end. Godfrey helped us arrange everything, made us a good price and was really service minded. We were in safari with two other young couples, which was a great and we had a blast. Our driver Abdul was great and even though our car broke down they fixed it, found a solution and did their best to give us the best experience. We will definitely use Youth Adventures again. They are reliable and on time, and a company like that can be hard to find! Very good!