BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by Mirela Erbisti
I went to central Serengeti and didn’t know that animals were migrating to the south. It should be said when I booked my trip, then I could change destination.
Average
Final review of our 9 day tour with Big Apes Africa Safaris and I'd be lying if I said there weren't issues. Basically we had a quote from Peter at Big Apes last year and after reviewing the Itinerary and accommodation, we decided to go with Big Apes, and made our final payment in December 2023 for the tour to start in 31 Jan 2024, funds were taken out of my account a couple of days after payment
.
The first issue was the accommodation stated in the Itinerary was way out of date (see below) from day 1. Peter's response to this was "it's in the clients best interest", I'd say lame response as keeping the client informed of any changes would be in our best interest. Talking to staff at the replacement accommodation and Big Apes have been staying there for some time so the list may not have been accurate from the start.
Itinerary accommodation Actual Accommodation
Entebbe - Airport Guest House Green Valley Guest House
Murchison Falls - Parkside Safari Lodge Parkside Safari Lodge
Kibale National Park - Rweteera Safari Park Kibale Forest Camp (tent)
Queen Elizabeth National Park - Engiri Game Pumba Safari Cottages
Lodge
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - Mucha Bweza Lodge - Rushaga Bwindi
Riverside Lodge
Lake Bunyonyi - Lake Bunyonyi Eco Lodge Lake Bunyonyi Eco Lodge
Kyahugye Island
Our Chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge was changed from Day 6 to the morning of Day 7 resulting in missing out looking for the tree climbing lions in the Ishasha Sector and heading straight to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park as we now didn't have the time. I think the issue here was payment of the Chimp Trekking permits had not been made by Big Apes Safari on time.
Our guide Gerald for the tour was great went out of his way to ensure we saw the "Big 5" and dealt with the issues as best as he could.
The choice to use this company is yours alone, I emailed some to the people leaving positive reviews before and during the tour, but not one person responded to my email....no idea why. Feel free to email me about our tour as I can't comment on anything other than that.
Happy Travels and walk your own path.
EE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A country with big potential.
We went on a safari while it rained. Because of the rain we did not see leopards and lions. Altough we saw hyenas who was eating a freshly catched animal. We also saw very friendly giraffes and antilopes. And a elephant family with two baby elephants. There were no mosqitoes.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Hell’s Gate National Park by Aleksandra
Hell's gate is great, but not the right thing if you are looking for a "traditional safari". You should add it in a tour while visiting other parks.
CY
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Etosha National Park by Aris
We experienced our sole disappointment at Etosha Resort. Very substandard and unfriendly in general. Bad accommodation and overpriced. We left a day earlier than booked.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Well organised trip
As i was travelling alone, Alytexx organised my airport pick up, all accommodation and to join a safari tour with a 3rd party.
The tour had between 5&8 people in the van, 8 was too many and uncomfortable edpecially for trying to take photos.
Accomodation was generally good although food was always buffets & mixed quality & i ended up with a very upset tummy.
Ali was helpful and went to the Airport to collect my bag, which had been misplaced by BA, and got it safely too me with support from our driver.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
the scenery was beautiful, but the overall experience was average
We joined a sharing tour of mid-range accommodation for 6 days safari to Masai Mara, Naruku, and Amboseli. The safari was fun, but it was below expectation.
Highlights:
1. Before the day of safari, they picked us up at Nairobi airport on time, and helped us to buy the SIM card outside the airport.
2. During the days in game drive, the guide tried his best to find more animals. We saw the big five in different parks.
3. Jambo Mara lodge for the first and second nights was pretty good and satisfying.
Lowlights:
1. At the first day of safari, they asked us to wait for the pick up form hotel at 6:30am, but we waited until 7:30am. During the waiting time, no one told us where the driver was.
2. Before we booked the tour, the agent said 5 to 6 people sharing a car each and person getting a window seat, but we were 8 people in a minivan and some of us should be seated at the middle seat.
3. During the days, we got 1L of drinking water a day for each person, but sometimes only 500ml of water. (There’s no drinking water in the camp, so we didn’t have enough water for some days)
4. About the food. At the third night in Naruku, the dinner in the hotel gave each person only 3-4 pieces of meet and little vegetables. At the fourth night in the camp, the food of the restaurant had run out in 10 minutes after they served it. In addition, we had the same lunch boxes for 4 days. (At the third day of lunch, we had the same lunch box, but who booked for budget tour had a buffet inside the rest area.)
5. The most disappointing thing is the accommodation.
*(1) At the third night in Naruku, the light bulb burned in the first room we stayed, and there were no water in the sink in the second room.
*(2) At the forth and fifth nights in Amboseli, it was a nightmare. There was more than 50 mosquitoes in the room, and even like 10 mosquitoes in the tent. We asked for the help to the staff and the travel agent, but no one was trying to solve the issue for two days. The camp shut down the electricity after 22:30pm, but no one informed us about it. There was no hot water or even warm water in the room for showers. There was almost no signal in the area, and the wifi of the camp was not working at all. We saw someone was complaining about the camp on Google Maps, but everything is still the same.
6. At the last day, the driver dropped us off at the Namanga border around 10am, but we wait until 13:00pm for the bus to Arusha. During the time we were in the border, the agent who helped us to pass the checkpoint asked us to give him more money to buy the SIM card for us, and even took our lunch box with him to ask for additional tips.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Carl Hagen
Lions in trees and beautiful landscapes
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Mikumi National Park by Carl Hagen
We were lucky and saw many animals!
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
reliable operator, even if the choice of certain accommodations leaves something to be desired
reliable operator, even if the choice of certain accommodations leaves something to be desired both in terms of comfort and food, as well as the fact of bringing together people from different lodge which leads to wasted time and stress and luggage which also accumulates inside the car.