US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Seamless service from start to finish....!
We dealt with Susan from Pembury Tours. From our first contact, we received nothing but the very highest level of service and professional advice. Her insight and knowledge of Africa assisted us greatly in making the right choices and all arrangements during our vacation ran like clockwork - perfect! We started out getting quotes from 2 other tour operators but pretty soon stopped and just dealt with Susan at Pembury.
HR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ngozi crater, Bridge of God, Lake Nyasa, Kalambo falls 5 days tour tour
I spent 5 days with Sharif and Fraiko.
The accommodation in the camp near Mbeya is excellent. The camp is on the banks of a small river, and you eat near small streams in the nature. The rooms are good, with a bed and hot water on request and you will get a solar lamp for the evenings. The food at the camp is excellent, and all drinks were included in the price.
The evening is reserved for talking around the campfire.
The tour around lake Nyasa(Matema beach) and Kalambo falls was great, and it was really good to see all those places. Lakengozi tours made a good itinerary for the trip and stuck to it as much as possible.
The only problem that happened to us was that the police wanted to check our car 3 times in one day so we were late to arrive in one town, but everything went great despite that.
Also, the road conditions on one part was very bad due to rainy season so our car got stuck in the mud, but Sharif and Fraiko gave their best and we managed to pull it out after some time.
All in all, a great experience with lake ngozi tours.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely Fantastic
Everything from the initial contact with Rob at Wild Africa to the end of our trip was fantastic. The Accommodation, was of a great standard, and tours and Safaris were everything that we had hoped. The connections and transfers through Zambia and Botswana were a breeze. Rob did a great job at organising and tailoring the trip to our specific wishes (group of 9 - 2 families with teenagers) and I would highly recommend him to anyone considering a trip to Africa
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A lovely,locally based company, that offered value and expertise on all aspects of a safari
Remsi ensured that we booked a safari that suited our needs and budget perfectly, offering alternatives to consider. The accommodation we got was amazing and varied. 1 night in a remote tented camp with massi dancing and the next in a beautiful and luxurious Eco lodge near the crater. The safari was for our group of three and Remsi and the driver, Six, were very knowledgable about where to find all the animals, patient with us at all times and offered lots of conversations about cultural themes on the journey. Very good value and highly recommended.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service and driving, have seen many animals with a guide having a lot of experience
The service was very good. Our guide was always in time, he prepared almost every meal for us. We were a small group and our guide drived us to the best places. We saw elephants, zebras, girafs, hyenas, baboons, eagles, voltures, crocodiles, hippos, rhinos and lots of impalas. Far away we could discover some cheetas having their meal. One lepard was crossing the road marking his area. Besides we loved the outdoor breakfast in Krüger with a great sight over the park. And the barbecue in the evening was also excellent. Our guide telled us a lot about the animals and life in South Africa. So it was very interesting for us Eurpeans.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This is my second time with Kuger Flexi Tours
Just like last time the tour was amazing, we were thoroughly looked after and the whole experience was fantastically organised, it could not have been better in our wildest dreams, thanks Dave, Hesley and Gavin!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kakasii is the best - you will be glad he was your guide!
I absolutely loved my Tanzania Choice Safari. Everything from the number and variety of animals we saw to the delicious food we ate exceeded my expectations. Kakasii was born to lead safaris. His sense of humor, knowledge of where to find animals and when, and the fact that he seems to know EVERYONE in Tanzania means that no matter what, he is going to make sure your experience is the best it can be. When I visited, the highlight was seeing literally hundreds of elephants as they migrated, including a momma and her baby RIGHT on the road.
His wife, Brenda, is American, and does an excellent job of managing the itinerary and booking. She is conscious of the little things that non-Tanzanians value in travel planning, like prompt and clear communications, attention to detail, and options. She anticipates your needs and works hard to make sure you get the experience you want to have.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour Operator Suitable for Wheelchair Passengers
My parents came in July 2014 to visit me in Tanzania. I was quite worried about organising a safari for them as my mother has limited mobility and uses a wheelchair. I tried a number of tour operators before approaching Safari Big 5, but they either seemed worried or disinterested in our special situation. I would say Esmail and his team really stood out in their professionalism and hospitality. I was really impressed that they reached out to all hotels and venues to check availabilities of disabled facilities and were quick to change hotels and providers where necessary.
From the minute we arrived at Kilimanjaro airport, to when we left 5 days later we were in the safe hands of Nourdin, driver cum game warden cum philosopher. Despite often terrible road conditions, Nourdin's calm and steady driving style made the journey smooth and relaxing. He was very adaptive to our needs and our pace ensuring we did not miss out on any of the major attractions yet not tiring us out too much. I have to say this was particularly impressive as it was Ramadan and Nourdin was fasting throughout the trip. I found communication between Nourdin and his team back in Arusha and Dar seemless. The team from Dar rang us several times during the trip to check up everything was ok, which I thought was a really nice touch.
Finally as This is Tanzania there were hiccups along the way.. I thought the gracious way the team at Safari Big 5 handled them in order not to ruin our holiday experience was noteworthy. I congratulate the team at Safari Big 5, this kind of customer service is rare in Tanzania, please keep up the good work. I would be happy to recommend them to anyone else, and if you have a wheelchair passenger in your party I really wouldn't look anywhere else.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome guide and cook, excellent communication and value, average mechanics
We booked our Safari at the very last minute and Michael, the owner, on-boarded us on an existing 5 days / 4 nights budget-level 6 people group tour that corresponded to what we wanted to see. We had been told that the group was to be 4-5 people but it ended up being 6 at the very last minute. I do understand why they try to book the groups as much as they can at this price level, but still I would have appreciated a better management of our expectations in terms of group size. Other than that detail, communication throughout the arrangement process was clear and efficient.
We arrived in Arusha the day before our departure and Michael was at the airport himself to welcome us, very nice touch. He took us to a - basic but OK - hotel downtown for the night, at no additional cost. The morning we left, Michael came back to brief us at the hotel and we realized we did not have much warm clothing. So Michael was kind enough to lend his sweater to my girlfriend (which, by the way, she needed! - if you go to Ngorongoro Crater, BRING SOME WARM CLOTHES, it's freezing cold at night in July at 2800m of altitude in a tent). He really does everything he can to please his clients.
Having booked a budget-level safari, we were expecting the worse in terms of accommodation and comfort. We were delighted to see that on the first and last nights of the safari, we were actually sleeping in a very nice tented camp with bed and private bathrooms. On the other 2 nights we slept in tents that were packed in the land cruiser and brought with us. If you don't have your sleeping bag they provide them, but already used by other people, so keep that in mind.
Our guide, Dennis was incredible. He had a good sight for animals and was very patient. One of our group members was quite demanding (to say the least) but Dennis always stayed professional and was extremely patient. He was always very informative and deployed a lot of efforts to make sure everyone was happy. Our cook, Gabriel, was also very nice. Although a bit shy and distant, his food was excellent and always in gargantuesque quantities.
The Toyota Land Cruiser we traveled in was not in perfect shape. The suspension was literally destroyed and this made the travel on dirt roads quite uncomfortable. During our return from Serengeti, the vehicle's engine stopped. We were stuck on the side of the road and Dennis and Gabriel were trying their best to fix it. We were lucky another driver who was going to get his clients at the airport passed by and offered to bring us at the park gate (our 24h time to be inside the park was almost done). This is when we realized how much of a bad shape the suspension on *our* car was. This new car was cruising smoothly over each bumps, whereas ours was really struggling. Anyways, it took Dennis about 30 minutes to fix the car with the help of another guide and we were back on track. During our return to Arusha on our last day, the car stopped twice, apparently because the fuel was exhausted. Don't know what to think of this one, but anyways, we got to Arusha a little late but we got there :)
Looking back at the learnings after our safari, my only advice to you the reader is *don't try to see everything*. The tour we booked allowed us to visit 4 national parks in 5 days, but looking back, we would have been a lot more satisfied seeing only 2 (probably Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater) in the same amount of time. Travel time between national parks is SIGNIFICANT. Serengeti is *far*. If you want to enjoy your time with the nature and animals as much as possible, please try to limit your urge to see every national park in the region. Select 1 or 2 that you really want to see and go for a real safari! - not highway travel... We had a very limited time to book our safari so we jumped in one of the existing packages Michael offers, but he can also arrange more custom safaris. *I highly recommend* going for more modest aspirations in terms of the number of national parks you'll be exploring during your safari. For most people this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience so do it good or don't do it :)
We are happy we found Michael and his company for our safari... we were not sure if we could trust the reviews here but now we can say you can definitely trust them. NCA comes highly recommended.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent safari, highly recommend
We traveled with Ecological Wilderness Adventures in July 2014. We had an excellent time and would highly recommend Ecological to others. Leading up to the trip, Brian was very helpful - always fully answering our questions and responding to emails very quickly. We knew we did not have to worry about organising any aspect of the trip as Brian had it all covered. He planned well for special food needs - with good vegetarian options - and organised a nice birthday cake and celebration for one member of the party - a great surprise!
On the trip, Sammy was our guide and we had a wonderful time from the very beginning. Some of our group had been on many safaris before, and we were impressed with Sammy's guide abilities relative to other trips. He was very adept at finding what we were looking for, and was very patient in seeking out the best animal sightings. He was also a lot of fun and our group enjoyed the trip quite a bit!