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Review about South Africa by Joshua
Easy to get around; Cheap, mostly nice accomodation; Great parks.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Martie
South Africa is really diverse from waterfalls and mountains to the national parks, wineries and warm oceans. I don't think you can experience such a variety in scenery in any other country. Weather is great and the temperature is normally quite warm (above 20'C). Food is lovely and water is drinkable.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really appreciate Leah making my travel experience a lifetime memories. my guides were knowledgeable
It would be courteous to send reminder 3/4 weeks remind tourist about needed vaccines and inform tourist they can purchase Visa at airport in Nairobi
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible Experience - Thank you again, Bright African Safaris!
Wow. Where to begin? The first comment I have to make is that Bright African Safaris was the best choice we could have made for our Tanzanian safari. I wholeheartedly recommend this company, and I will certainly use this company again in the future.
From the moment I first contacted the company, I was impressed. Rukia responded promptly and thoroughly, answering my numerous questions with ease and making excellent recommendations for our safari. I felt no qualms at all about wiring money overseas to this company, having done so before for past excursions. I appreciated that Rukia contacted me as soon as the money was received, and she ensured that our driver and guide, Mrindoko, was at the airport well before our arrival.
In terms of the safari itself, Mrindoko was an exceptional guide. He was friendly, flexible, and extremely knowledgeable, engaging us from the moment we met him. He drove carefully and efficiently, and he truly made our first experience in Tanzania incredible. We went to four different national parks with him: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Every park was an exceptional experience, and we were very fortunate to see lions every single day of our trip. During the last part of our trip, in Ngorongoro, we were extremely lucky to see the rhinos, which are very rare in the wild. Aside from lions, we also saw countless elephants, zebras, hippos, birds, and numerous other animals; thanks to Mrindoko’s trained eyes and patience, our high expectations were consistently exceeded. In addition, at the end of each day, Mrindoko reviewed the day’s activities with us to ensure that we were satisfied and that he fully adhered to the schedule, which Rukia provided several months before the safari.
Aside from the spectacular wildlife, we were also extremely happy with the meals, lodging, and other excursions. The meals were excellent, often featuring fresh vegetables and other healthy cuisine, as well as a wide variety of meats and desserts. The lodging was outstanding; we stayed in the Maramboi Tented Lodge, Acacia Farm Lodge, Serengeti Serena Lodge, and Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. Truthfully, I’ve travelled through several countries, and Tanzania has some of the best, if not the best, hospitality in the world, and every lodge exceeded my expectations. In terms of other excursions, we also did a village tour, which I really enjoyed, as it gave us the opportunity to learn about the Masai Mara and obtain some nice handmade gifts for people back home. At our request, Mrindoko also took us to The Tanzanite Experience, which gave us the opportunity to purchase additional, unique gifts, as tanzanite is only mined in Tanzania.
At the end of our tour, we personally met Rukia and Msangi, who owns the company. They were extremely friendly and asked for feedback regarding the safari. In addition, Msangi also provided excellent insight into additional opportunities offered by Bright African Safari, including Zanzibar add-ons, the Selous Preserve, and even excursions in other countries, which really interested us. This was the first time we had personally met the owner of a safari company, which demonstrates the level of commitment that Bright African Safaris has to its customers.
Overall, I was extremely satisfied with Bright African Safaris, and we were very fortunate to have Mrindoko as our guide. Whenever we use Bright African Safaris in the future, we will certainly request him.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Affordable Option
As a student working in Tanzania, I had very little money to work with, but wanted to have a decent break that was memorable and fun. I'm situated in the south, so I did the Southern Circuit (excluding Ruaha, because I already work there).
This was a fantastic service. The safari was excellent and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone looking for a good value, professional and exciting experience. I am really glad that I chose this company and would happily choose to go on safari with them again in the future, pending a few minor adjustments. Nothing serious, but I would advise anyone going on a safari anywhere, with anyone to make sure that they explicitly tell the company what they do and do not expect of their guide. It is important to remember that you are in another country with different cultural values and norms, so be patient and understanding - realise that your standards and expectations may be different to those of others, and politely discuss them with your organiser/guide to ensure that there are no misunderstandings and everything goes smoothly.
The positives:
1. Food and accommodation was excellent! The guide made every effort to make a long and bumpy journey by road enjoyable. Having a few snacks for the road really made a huge positive difference.
2. Hippo Camp in Selous was beautiful. The staff were really friendly and did all they could to make guests comfortable despite having a few unexpected technical difficulties while I was there. I would highly recommend this camp to anyone.
3. The guide was very knowledgeable and did his best to answer my questions about plants and animals.
4. The vehicle was very comfortable and reliable.
5. The program was excellent, lots of game viewing time and the guide was kind enough to include some short stops in transit between parks for me to be able to talk to local people and learn more culturally when I told him that this was an interest of mine in addition to wildlife. So I really appreciated that.
6. The cost of the safari was very reasonable considering all that was included. I feel that I definitely got what I paid for and would recommend your safari business to others.
Thank you once again for a really enjoyable experience! Highly recommended.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organized, punctual, honest, attentive, and surprisingly cheap.
I was looking for a safari tour to the best national parks in Kenya on SafariBookings, and the 6 days safari MaasaiMara-Naivasha-Nakuru-Amboseli seemed to be the most interesting and availiable. The tour offered by the AbsoluteHolidaySafaris could start any day, it was possible for a single traveller to join the group, and it was the cheapest on the SafariBookings. Besides, the agent made me a discount! I did not even write to other operators. The guides met me on my arrival, gave me prescious advices about my stay in the country, arranged the transfer to Malindi after the safary & back to the airport. All the guides were extremely attentive, polite and honest. They spoke English excellently & were perfect drivers. Due to them the very safari was realy great - we could see almost all the animals we wanted. The groups are quite small - up to 6 persons in a car, but the last 3 days I was alone with the driver and the chef, who were doing everything I wanted. They dropped my extra luggage to Nairobi and were waiting with me 3 hours for my bus to Malindi etc. I travel a lot (Europe, South America, Asia), but I have never met such a honest and attentive tourist agency, which does not just want to earn money on you, but really wants to get you pleasure and save your money!
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35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Camping in Botswana = Adventure!
Recently we had the pleasure of having a participation camping safari with Naga in July. During out planning months in advance, we had a very hard time finding the safari that would cater to what we wanted to do and experience. Short of doing a self driven tour, we knew we wanted to be camping in the bush without all the luxury of a catered service or a lodge, and with a knowledgeable guide. We finally came across Naga which had exactly what we were looking for.
Communication up to the actual safari was great and punctual. We had a lot of questions in regards to logistics and they were answered. They were even able to customize the route we needed from Maun to Kasane. They even helped with a transfer we needed from Kasane to Victoria Falls.
Our guide was KG who quite literally was the best. Easy to talk to, very knowledgeable of everything we asked, and his timing and sense of where to find wild life were precise. Every other group we ran across seemed to know KG and respect his experience. Mpho was a helper with the supplies, and KB was a guide in training along for the safari as well. The type of safari we did had us camping and preparing our own meals. No cook, no waiter...just sitting on a chair, under the light of the moon, near the heat of the fire...camping.
Our 7 day trip was mapped out after we had told Naga the sites we wanted to see and the places we wanted to go. We went through the Okavango delta for the mokoro ride, Moremi game reserve, Khwai concession, Savuti in Chobe, Ihaha in Chobe, then dropped off in Kasane. There were some non-scheduled encounters along the way, but that is part of the experience of camping in the bush and I do not for one second regret the decision. Our truck along with others was stuck in a deep sandy area and needed to be towed out by another truck. Our last camp site was occupied by another safari who "mistakenly" took our better site for their own. KG handled every situation masterfully and we felt completely assured under his tutelage.
From beginning to end, the safari was an experience of a lifetime and I thank Naga for being able to share this experience with me. I would definitely use again and recommend friends.
DK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent primitive 5 days safari Kenya - 3 different parks
7 people (age 18 to 58) - 5 days
Masai Mara Game Reserve, Lake Nakuru National park and Amboseli National Park
Sammy - our safari guide and driver was excellent.
The tents and tentcamps were primitive, in the nature, but OK - nice staff.
Some of the beds in www.enchorowildlifecamp.com at Masai Mara Game Reserve was not comfortable.
Food prepared by "our " chef in the tentcamps could be better.
We can recommend Deep Forest Safaris :-)
Magnificent!!
Breathtaking experience I had in Masai Mara, July 2016. Will definitely do it again, bigger and better. I have just referred someone to you, they will be contacting you.
MX
Very good places and extraordinary guide
* Communication, very good
* Service; very good and sensitive to our needs
* Expectations: very good
The only suggestion will be that the last day of the tour (28Th) there was anything interesting on the agenda, and the sense was as loosing one complete day.