US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Helpful, Flexible, Honest Tour Operator. Great Safari!
I just returned from a 14 day budget/camping Safari through Kenya and Tanzania. It was most amazing. We used Terminal Tours Kenya, and I would highly recommend them. Our itinerary included Nairobi=> Masai Mara=> Nakuru NP=> Amboseli NP=> Arusha=>Manyara NP=> Serengeti NP=> Ngorongoro Crater=> Tarangire=> Arusha=> Nairobi.
In short, I recommend Debbie and Nelson of Terminal Tours, and would definitely book with them again. If you want a more detailed description of the safari, why I liked it, and the minor issues, I had, read below.
Nelson and Debbie of Terminal Tours were very professional, sweet, and kind. They were extremely prompt with email responses and when I lost email connection for 2 days, they contacted me with updates on my planned trip. I initially emailed them and about 15 other recommended budget safari companies. Only a few of the companies were willing to include Tanzania. I ended up choosing terminal tours based on several good recommendations, a low price compared to others, and the fact that they were able to arrange the itinerary that I wanted, even though I would not be on a private tour, but would be going with groups. They had originally emailed back a suggested itinerary. I wanted a couple changes (i.e. an extra day in Mara as opposed to visiting Naivasha), and they were able to accommodate this by putting me with another company for the extra day at the Mara and then meeting back up with my group after they had visited Naivasha). Additionally, as I am a student, holder of a research permit for Kenya, and in the middle of applying for my alien registration, they were the only group that was willing to go through the hassle of dealing with KWS and the NP service in order to get me the reduced rate. But they made it very clear that the NP service is finicky, and it is impossible to predict whether they will accept the research permit and student card. Thus, they quoted me both prices in my itinerary.
As I am student and researcher working in Nanyuki, Kenya. They realized that doing such a trip was a huge stretch on my budget, so they hosted me for free at their apartment in Nairobi free of charge and Debbie made us wonderful meals and kept the Chai coming. When we arrived via Matatu transport into Nairobi, they picked us up with a group of employees to carry our bags and ferry us off to their apartment to relax until the next day. In the morning, the driver, Sammy, picked us up and drove us to the city centre so that we could pay and then start the safari. As we had to do some minor errands in the city (pick up a few supplies and draw money from ATMS), they sent employees with us to ensure we were safe and comfortable as Nairobi can be a bit intimidating for some people.
Our driver, Sammy, was great. You could tell he was very much on a purpose to show us everything, and we saw everything, including the Big 5 and cheetahs. During our game-drives, he worked hard on his cell-phone calling other drivers to see where people had seen the wildlife that we wanted to see, and his work paid off b/c we saw it all. I don’t know if the whole fleet for Terminal Tours is like this, but his van was great. Instead of running on diesel, it ran on super unleaded, which meant that the car was quiet, which always makes your time in nature better, and unlike a diesel, it didn’t shake, which makes things much better for shooting non-blurry pictures (most diesel drivers do understand to turn off the car for long-distance shooting, however). I felt very safe under Sammy’s driving. Also, Kenya has a 80kph limit for passenger vehicles. At 80kph a governor comes on, however, somewhere about 70kph, a really annoying beep comes on to warn the driver that they are approaching the 80kph. On our 4 hour drive between Nairobi and Nanyuki, this beep can drive you nuts b/c the driver keeps it in the beeping range the whole time in order to make the best time. Luckily, Sammy had a mechanic greatly reduce the noise of the beeper, so that only he could hear it in the front seat. On long drives between parks, this definitely helps you keep your sanity in the van.
On our way to the Mara, we stopped at Narok in order to get signatures for our student research permits. Unfortunately, the government offices were hosting some party, so it took forever to get the signatures. We wasted nearly 2 hours there. But Sammy was persistent and we got the paperwork. Then on the rough road between Narok and the Mara, Sammy made up the time by some good and fast driving, so that we were able to make it to the Mara in time for an evening game drive (we heard stories of drivers purposely going slow in order to not make it in time for the game drives, presumably so they could keep the money that would have instead gone to the entrance fees?)
Sometime during the drive the vehicle got a gas leak. We noticed the leak after lunch at the Mara River when we were at the farthest distance from our camp. This is easy to believe as Kenyan roads, especially off the main roads are super rough (My advisor at our research centre has 2 Toyotas and 1 land rover who are often in the shop). The leak was a pretty good one, and it would not have been a surprise to me if Sammy had said, safari for the day is over, we just need to make it back to the gate, so we don’t run out of gas before we get there. But this was not the case. Instead, as we headed towards a luxury lodge in the middle of the Mara which had a supply of fuel, he kept on his phone trying to see if anyone had spotted a leopard. Someone had indeed, so we made a real quick stop at the fancy lodge, where he made an impressive repair of the leak using soap and filled the van up before proceeding to see the leopard. He then spent a good portion of the night, is my guess, working on the van, so we could make it to Nakuru next.
As we wanted an extra day in the Mara, Sammy and the 2 others in our group continued onto Naivasha while we stayed in the Mara and were arranged to go with another group driven by George. I don’t know if George worked for Terminal Tours or they were just a friend company of Terminal Tours. Our experience with George was also quite good. He was very jovial and a wealth of knowledge. He loved to tell long stories and natural histories of the species we were looking at. My only disappointment with this leg of the trip was that after we left the Mara river to head back, we seemed to go quite quickly with the purpose of just getting back as opposed to game driving as much. We did some game driving, but it didn’t seem like as much as the evening before. We also took a different route out of the reserve that didn’t go through the main gate and was over some small hilly pass. It was a change of scenery, but not a good place for viewing wildlife. But perhaps b/c the group we were with had been there the day before as well, George wanted to show a different part of the park. And maybe if we hadn’t seen the cats already, he would have continued to try to find them.
The rest of our trip in Kenya was very nice. My only slight complaint was that at Nakuru we stayed in a hotel instead of camping (and this was made clear on our itinerary, so it wasn’t a surprise, but for me personally I like the idea of camping on safari). But many would find this better as it had wifi and more “luxury” than camping.
As Amboseli is quite out of the way and the risk of running out of petrol would be bad, Debbie and Nelson had our group switch to a different driver (Ambrose) and van so that Sammy could get his van properly fixed in Nairobi.
We had an issue at the border crossing b/c one of the group members had mistakenly been given only a 1 month visa instead of the 3 month visa that she had asked for. This mean she was actually illegal in Kenya b/c she had already been in the country for 2 months. The immigration official gave her a hard time and said she could be thrown in jail. But Ambrose smoothed things out and helped her and me through immigration with no problems. He then transferred us to the shuttle taking us to Arusha.
As Kenyan tour operators are not allowed in Tanzania, we had been set up with a friend of Nelson’s in Arusha (Abraham). Everything was all set-up and all we needed to do was relax until the next day. The one surprise was that the tour operator in Tanzania had changed our itinerary. He had removed Tarangire NP and instead added an extra day in the Serengeti. At first I was a little miffed by this, but he assured me this was b/c at the moment they had been having better reviews in the Serengeti. After the fact, this was quite true. The Serengeti was truly amazing, and I am glad we had the extra day there. However, I did want to also see Tarangire b/c who knows if I’ll ever be back to Tanzania, and Abraham was able to easily add another day to our safari at a price that was significantly cheaper than the couple of tour operators we had enquired with in Arusha.
To me, I would have cut out Manyara instead of Tarangire b/c I am not too into bird-life. So in my opinion, if you are visiting Tanzania and aren’t too interested in bird-life, I’d skip Manyara (though it was our favorite campsite) and add an extra day at one of the other parks. However, there are thousands of flamingos, which Nakuru in Kenya appears not to have anymore as the lake level has increased dramatically, and I think it might be too deep now for flamingos liking. We only saw a couple of flamingos in Nakuru.
Our driver in Tanzania, Ziggy, was awesome, and he did a great job of trying so hard to find the animals that we requested to see. I really enjoyed my time in Tanzania with this company as well
Upon our return to Nairobi, Debbie picked us up where the Arusha-Nairobi shuttle dropped us off and had one of her colleagues escort us to her apartment where we stayed another night and had another great meal. She also let us use her computer to write some emails to arrange our pickup the next day in Nanyuki. The next morning, they escorted us and helped carry our bags back to the matatu stand to Nanyuki.
Overall, it was an amazing tour, and I have basically no complaints. I didn’t feel like the company cut any corners in order to make the budget. I felt like I got what I wanted, and we had great luck in seeing the wildlife. I will definitely be recommending Terminal Tours, including to the people working with me at the research centre in Nanyuki. I feel like Debbie and Nelson were extremely professional and definitely went out of their way to make our experience great. I also had the feeling that they were very honest and trustworthy and care about their clients.
ID
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Guide, Great Trip!
My friend and I had an excellent trip with Ecological Wilderness Adventures! Our guide, Gerald, was easy-going, hilarious and very knowledgeable. All the details of the trip were well planned: Brian and his team worked to ensure that all our needs were met. All of the rooms at the lodges had excellent views and the mobile camp was fantastic.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and highly recommend other people use this safari company. There are many tour company choices, and we are glad we chose Ecological Wilderness Adventures.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour around Kenya - Big 5
Seven by far is a professional service provider and they have a facility of arranging travels in a very short span of time. Timely and speedy responses from them are guaranteed and the service levels are up to the mark. I would like to really recommend our guide - Nicholas, who is so well learnt and so passionate about his work. He knows Kenya inside out and is a friendly and approachable person. We really enjoyed our 6 days around Masai Mara, Amboseli and Lake Naivasha.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extraordinary, exciting experience.
What an amazing week we spent on safari with Shaun from Moriti Safaris.He was extremely patient and helpful from the time we first emailed him regarding the safari until we finally made all the changes and included other activities we wanted.
Shaun treated us to a fantastic safari. His knowledge of everything from the big 5 to the small 5 and everything in between including birds and plants is outstanding. He truly cares for the bush and animals, has a deep understanding of animal behaviour and how everything in the bush fits together into the ecosystem. He passes on his knowledge in a fun but informative way.
We had exciting morning and evening safaris every day seeing lots of animals each time. Mother nature and Shaun really looked after us.
The pride of lions eating the buffalo had to be a highlight. We sat extremely close to watch them eating. It was because of Shauns knowledge that he followed the lone lion from the water hole to the kill.
We were treated to sundowners watching a herd of elephant cross the river and babies playing in the mud at the edge of the river.
Seeing Wild dog didn’t mean a lot to us until Shaun told us how few there are in the park and how incredibly lucky we were to actually sit with them.
Even sitting in camp we were able to watch an abundance of animals at the waterhole and enjoyed the wort-hog family who made themselves at home around camp.
Our accommodation on the way to Camp George was stunning. Flycatcher castle will never be forgotten and the source of many laughs forever. Marnies hospitality was second to none.Laughing Waters also treated us well with a bonus night safari and delicious meals. Finally Camp George is a wonderful place to stay with lots of space both indoor and out.
Lindsay ensured that we didn’t go hungry by cooking fabulous meals three times a day with snacks for on safari. Her meals were so delicious we all had to loosen our belts by the end of our stay.
Shaun looked after our every need from the time he picked us up until he dropped us back at our accommodation. We felt like we left a long time friend when we said goodbye.
We highly recommend Shaun and Moriti Safaris for an experience that couldn’t be surpassed.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrific Vacation with Hello Tanzania ! :)
I visited Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for work last summer (June 2013) and was looking to do some tourism over the weekends. As a young woman travelling alone, safety and reasonable prices were my two main concerns. I ended up contacting "Hello Tanzania" and did not regret it at all!
The trips were a two-day safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara and a a one-day tour to Zanzibar (StoneTown, Nungwi Beach, Spice Tour). The two trips went incredibly well. Even though I contacted them on a very short notice (a couple of days before), they still managed to organize everything in only a few days and I was able to do even more than what I was expecting.
The travel agent/owner was particularly kind (had a great sense of humor) and was extremely professional! Their driver, and the tour guides were also very kind and helpful.
All that to say that I strongly recommend "Hello Tanzania" and that I would do another trip with them in a heartbeat.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Safari
We had a great safari with Northern Circuit Adventure with 9 people & 2 cars. First we had a organisation who was cheating us, i'm glad we found this company and we can trust this company. We stayed at Sakina Campsite. Robbert, a very nice guy of Sakina Campsite, introduced this company.
In one hour we booked our safari, the director of Norther Circuit Adventure just asked his wife to make 9 lunchboxes as fast as possible. So sweet.
Our trip (5 days, 4 nights, based camp) was great!!! We saw the big 5. Unfortunately we were very lucky to see the Rhino. Very far away, but we saw him!!! We saw so many lions, buffalo's, cheetah, elephants and pumba's. And so close to the car. :)
The only thing that could be better.... We had not enough of water at our trip. They said: 1,5 Liter pp a day. We didn't have that much bottles... In fact we should bring our own water bottles because we ran out of water....
Thanks Director, Guides and Chefs!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great time, great souvenirs, great services
We spent a great time in Tanzania thanks to an extremely committed staff. From the first exchanges by email, which Mike answered without delay including the personalisation of the tour, to the safari itself with a friendly and accurate guide together with tasty-food maker chef.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Matoke Tours.. All just EXCELLENT
We made a private tour to Uganda with Matoke Tours. Two weeks in different lodges..
We found Matoke Tours on Internet and also from family who traveled with them last year..
The information in the website is very good and also by email. Good service, quick answers and always there if we had another question.. All the lodges were so special. We will never forget this..
And.. the day before we went to Uganda, Matoke called us if we were " ready for take-off" and to wish us a good trip.. Were do you find this personal service in " internet-times?".
If we go to Africa again, we call or email Matoke!!...
Thanks Matoke for making this trip so special for us.. Uganda has a special place in our harts (thanks to you too).
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Perfect Trip
I recently returned from Tanzania where I successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro with Java Safaris and I was completely impressed with this company. After looking at so many other companies, a referral from a colleague led me to contact Java and I was not disappointed. From start to finish their professionalism, attention to detail, and personal touches were exceptional and they guided us in choosing the right route as well as giving us as luxurious accommodation/food as possible while climbing the mountain. This made all the difference in having a memorable experience as we only realized how well we were being looked after when we saw other climbers on the mountain, which we could say we had the five star treatment all the way. I would highly recommend Java Safari and my only regret is that we did not stay on for a few days to do a safari with them. Next time….
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It could not be better!
We were looking for a safari experience in Tanzania and some relax time in Zanzibar. Considering our budget, we asked for confort and tented camps at the same time, being in touch with nature and far from crowd. Our expectations were fully satisfied, we had excellent accomodations, tasty meals, expert guides and efficient 4x4. Looking forward to going back with them.