An amazing place to experience safari
With the Ngorogoro crater being the star attraction, it would be easy to overlook Lake Manyara for a safari. However, thankfully, we didn't and had an amazing time there.
We saw a wide range of wildlife such as Elephants, Babboons, Sea Eagles, Kingfishers as well as Flamingo's which the park is famous for.
The scenery in the park varies. When you enter, you travel through forest but once you reach the viewpoints over the lake, the land stretches on for miles over open plains.
We were there in August and the temperature was moderate (mid 20's) so pleasant enough without being unbearable.
The park is less crowded than Ngorogoro which means that it feels a little more personal.
If you only had one day to do a safari, would I pick Lake Manyara?.....well probably not because Ngorogoro is deservedly one of the most incredible places I've visited. However, don't overlook Manyara; you'll have a different but amazing time there too.
RU
Experience level: first safari
Good choice for your first safari
We had our private safari trip for two persons in Kenya with Right Choice tour agency in January 2015. Overall experience was good and we can recommend this agency as a decent company for low/mid budget safari touring.
Plus for Russian speaking tourists is the option to communicate with company's agent Elena who makes all the communications before and during a trip smooth and easy.
George who is the main guy in the agency proved to be a customer care driven person. As we arrived to Kenya we were surprised to know that the lodge at our first stop in Amboseli park was luckily changed for a much more better 5 star Ol Tukai lodge with no extra payment needed. Thank you, George , for that :)
We were offered a Toyota minivan as our safari car, it is a popular budget option in Kenya. It wasn't technically that good during the trip, so I would recommend to pay attention to car's condition from the very beginning. The car wasn't so convenient on some Kenyan offroads, so you should think of other options if interested in more comfort.
Our driver Jacob was a nice guide, we were very pleased with him. Actualy that is very important to have a reliable guide in your trip in Africa. Jacob was the right guy, he showed us the Big Five :)
To sum up, Right Choice tour agency can provide you a nice trip if you are limited in budget and don't stress heavily when some not planned issues occur on their way. It's Afrika, so Hakuna Matata!
Very affordable good standard, tented bush lodge with some of the best elephants in Africa
Very pleasant Park and tented lodges.
Varied scenery and terrain.
Good range of animals including Lions, Wild Dog, Leopard, Nyala and some of the best Tusker Elephants in Africa.
Plenty of food of good standards.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good overall experience in Amboseli National Park
My visit to Amboseli National Park aimed to accomplish two objectives: see large herds of elephants in the open and view Mt. Kilimanjaro. Anything extra was considered a bonus for me because I was going to visit Serengeti National Park for other wildlife opportunities. I can confidently say that these objectives were met and I did end up getting what I would call "bonus material".
First, the elephant herds were very large and easy to spot. There were herds of more than 20 elephants. Since these elephants have been well protected from poachers, there are many mature elephants with very large tusks. If you are into elephants, this is the place to go.
Second, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I enjoy mountain scenery and always have high hopes of good mountain viewing. Unfortunately, I was only able to view Kili in the very early morning hours. The remainder of the day it was shrouded in clouds. While that was mildly disappointing, I was grateful to have seen it. When the mountain was visible, it did not disappoint. What makes this a unique viewing opportunity is that Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. There are no other dominant mountains or foothills around it.
Other wildlife was easily visible in the park because of the vast open plains. There were few predator sightings; although, I did manage to see a few hyenas and jackals. There are lions in the park, but are seldom seen. The wildlife in Amboseli National Park does not teem with animals on the scale of Masai Mara or Serengeti. Again, as previously stated, this park specializes in elephants and you would be hard pressed to find other destinations that offer the abundance of opportunities to get clear views of elephants.
The weather in the park was what one should expect from African plains. It was very warm with abundant sunshine most of the day. There were brief periods of higher humidity followed by a short rain. That did not negatively impact the safari experience.
The transportation in the park is quite easy. The park is much smaller than Serengeti or Masai Mara, making it easy to see the entire park in a couple of days. The roads were in good condition while I was there in November.
I stayed in a campground just outside the park. The accommodations were comfortable and the food was good. However, I will say that I am quite low maintenance when it comes to food and lodging.
My safari guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He knew his wildlife species well and he would drive to specific locations when I asked him. He also asked me questions about the specific things that I wanted to see so that he could ensure that my experience was exactly what I was looking for.
Overall, I would highly recommend Amboseli National Park as a safari destination. It is a convenient place for those who are on their way from Nairobi to Arusha for additional safari tours. Furthermore, it is difficult to find better places to view Mt. Kilimanjaro and find elephant herds as large as those found in Amboseli.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beautiful Wildlife Haven
I visited Amboseli outside of the typical tourist season. The advantage of that is that I saw very few other vehicles/tourists throughout the park. The downside is that there's also fewer animals around. That being said though, I saw a wide range of wildlife and the landscape was green and beautiful. I saw many, many elephants, oftentimes very deep in the swamps. I also saw lots of hippos poking their heads above the swamps. There were also lots of varieties of antelopes, zebras, buffalos, ostriches, giraffes, hyenas, many different kinds of birds, and probably many more I'm forgetting to list right now. Amboseli is a wonderful haven for all these animals, and the landscape is very beautiful. It is smaller than some of the other parks in Kenya, but it is truly a wonderful place to see Kenya's incredible wildlife.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good safari and great food
Mike was a great host and we had absolutely no problems contacting him. He met us (my husband and I) before we left for the safari and explained us everything about our 4N/5D safari. The safari was great. Solomon, our guide, made sure we spotted all major wildlife during the safari. He also had great knowledge about the terrain. Moosa, our cook, deserves an outstanding ovation for his spectacular cooking skills. In the middle of nowhere and after a long, tiring safari he managed to put up a delicious pizza (i have no idea how!). The only department which perhaps needs a little work is the planning; the safari could have been a little more adventurous if our preferences matched those of others in the safari. My husband and i wanted to follow lions to see them hunt but the others werent so keen, so we headed to see hippos and rhinos instead. Perhaps Mike can speak to everyone about their preferences beforehand and try to accomodate everyone's common goals in the safari?
All in all, it was a great experience, much beyond our expectations. If i were to visit Tanzania again, i would definitely go with Northern Circuit Adventure for the safari. Great job, Mike!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lots of animals to see, but may take time to find.
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi is huge! There are lots of animals, but if you are driving yourself through (as we did), they may be hard to find (probably depends a bit on the season). We had a couple stretches of maybe 45 minutes where we didn't see anything. We spent about 5-6 hours there and probably only covered 60-70% of the park. The roads are fine, though there are lots of potholes on the tarred roads. The dirt roads we did drive were borderline too much for our small car, but manageable. We had a nice time, enjoyed seeing all the animals we did find and got some good pictures. There are plenty of facilities available throughout the park, so it made for an easy place to spend the day. Several picnic areas are available as well. I think that if we go back, we'd try to go at a different time of year, because all of the watering holes were dry and I suspect many animals were sticking close to certain areas with water that we didn't find.
PL
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Interesting travel experience in Africa, worth visiting once.
Our safari tour operator Full Package Adventures prepared our trip perfect. Driver was excellent.
In general Tanzania visited parks fulfilled our expectations. Most of our stay we spent on Zanzibar, we encountered no problems regarding safety.
CH
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beautiful scenery and nice people
We had a great time visiting Tarangire NP, Ngorongoro NP, where we encountered lots of animals, including lions, elefants, hippos, giraffes, buffalos, gnus, and many others. We had nice weather in november.
Arusha was very crowded, specially at rush hours, so driving was quiet difficult.
We met nice people, our tour operator Benson Safari did a very good job.
I can recommend Tansania as a beautiful destination for safari.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beautiful landscape of stunning variety.
Arusha National Park has an incredible diversity of landscape for its small size, ranging from savannah, to soda lakes, forests with craters, and the slope of Mount Meru itself.