DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unique experience!
Simon answered quickly on my emails and was very polite and courteous. He helped us a lot.
The safari itsself was fabulous. We have seen so many beautyful animals. Our tour guide Rashid has made a great effort to find the hidden animals . He informed us about the different landscapes and knew many things about the animals. He answered all questions thoroughly!
Thank you for this unique experience! We had a wonderful trip with you!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A genuine fraud. He stole our money. Danger!!!
We booked a 16 day safari from Kenya and Tanzania with an end in Zanzibar with this tour operator whose manager is called Aidan Lucas. We paid for the safari more than 4000$ pp. The most incredible thing is that just a week from starting my safari in Nairobi, the manager (Aidan Lucas) tells us a story that his bank blocked the money and could not pay the hotels or anything even though we sent him the money 30 days before the start of the safari to close all the reservations and he replied at the time that everything was ok and even sent us vouchers from each lodge with all bookings (We have the vouchers of reservations). All was false!! He didn´t pay anything. We have the vouchers of reservations. He asked us for $2,500 more to pay Kenya’s expenses and once in Tanzania he would pay us back without fail. Bullshit. It was all a lie. When we arrived at the Tanzanian border in Namanga he did not have the money and we had to report him to the Arusha police and the police proceeded to arrest him. We have proof of the complaint and the name of the arresting officer. The next day we started our safari in Tanzania by visiting Serengeti and Ngorongoro and guaranteed us at the police station that everything would be ok. It’s a new lie! When we got on the road the guide told me that we had to pay for the gasoline since the manager (Aidan Lucas) did not give him a dollar to pay for it nor to pay for the entrance to the parks. We had to pay from our pocket all this and, to top it all off, we had not paid for the lodges either. Nothing. I don’t pay anything even though I sent him the money by wire a month before starting the safari. We had to pay all cost ourselves. Neither I pay the flight to Zanzibar nor the accommodation there. A scam in full rule. We knew that Tanzania is one of the most corrupt countries in Africa since it is not the first time there. You get that there and you are left helpless. We exposed our case to UNIPOL and the TATO (Tanzania Association of touroperators) in order to expose a complaint against this tour operator and this person so that he does not deceive more people.
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
My trip with my sister to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Uganda Wildlife Education Center was great
All services on the travel plan were fully met by the company right from booking to debriefing, alot of animal life and nature was seen, i recall "obama" the rhino in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary......Alot to see with Arlanda Tours
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best trip ever planned and executed for my husband and me
We were picked up right on time from our Hotel also dropped back on time at the Airport - Punctuality ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Smooth drive, where ever applicable by our very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide Mr.Antony - Drive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As mentioned, well knowledgeable, calm, genuine tour guide Mr.Antony - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Accommodation was out of the world - things over there were unbelievable. Great hotel staff, great compound to walk around, hippo pool, candle light dinner, etc - Great choice Petrichor - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The best for the last - The Safari was well planned and the coordination among other vehicles and spotting and everything about the game and fun was Sooooperrrrbbb ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
TRIP OF A LIFETIME
In short, it couldn't have been better! And I owe this to the 3 stars of the trip - the animals, Meru Slopes (Geoffrey in particular) and our driver - Simon Juma. I went for this safari on my honeymoon, and I came back with memories and experiences that are still giving me goosebumps as I write this!
1. The animals - Well there are plenty of them, and yet you can never get bored of seeing them! We spent our 5 day safari in Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and multiple game drives in the Serengeti. We saw the Big Five of course - but more importantly - we observed the animals! We saw how an elephant chased away four lionesses, we saw how ostriches put on a nice show to attract the females and we watched in awe while a leopard tore apart a warthog and rested with its kill atop a tree. Every sighting brought in a new experience, and each experience was unique and mind-numbing.
2. Meru Slopes - As someone who had no knowledge of Africa, I was indeed lucky (thanks to my friend Sharath Chandra for that - who himself had a great safari through Meru the last year) that I got in touch with Geoffrey. He is a guy you can really trust - He was always available on whatsapp when we were booking the trip, he advised us efficiently when we reached there, and he had the people and processes required to have a flawless safari. There are many safari providers, but I will give a few examples as to how Meru stood apart:
- Geoffrey arranged for my pickup from the Arusha airport, but when I changed my flight and informed him that I will be reaching at the Kilimanjaro airport, he sent a guy to pick us up. Kilimanjaro is at least an hour away from the Arusha airport
- Our stay in Arusha (before and after the safari) was arranged by Geoffrey, and he ensured that we had a good experience at the hotel (Arusha Tourist Inn)
Finally, I would thank Meru that they organized our trip with Simon Juma - our guide, driver and by the end of the trip, a friend!
3. Simon Juma (and the cook) - I was amazed at the knowledge Simon had - both about the jungles as well as his communication with tourists. Case in point - When we saw 3 lions from a long distance away, a number of other safari cars started following them in the direction they were going. Simon just went in the opposite direction, came to a specific point, stopped his engine and just waited. He had recognized the lion tracks, and indeed the lions came right where we were. He spoke fluent English, knew the scientific names of a lot of plants and animals you find there, and had interesting stories to tell about the many years he has been serving here. The food during the safari was fantastic - be it the soups or the pancakes - any there was plenty of food to choose from! Also, a big shoutout to our cook - who specially cooked chicken dishes for us when he got to know that we do not have beef.
Overall, I would love to go back again some day, but the experiences that I have come back with will definitely last me a lifetime!
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic experience with organized guides
I had a wonderful trip with Prime Safaris, biking through Rwanda and Uganda. The guides were well-organized, and very kind, patient and accomodating. The rustic lodges we stayed at exceeded my expectations in terms of comfort and atmosphere.
I thoroughly enjoyed both of the hikes we did on the trip, one to see the golden monkeys and the other to see the gorillas in the Impenetrable Park. Other highlights of the trip included cycling through Queen Elizabeth Park, where we had the opportunity to see an assortment of wildlife, including elephants and buffalos, and cycling through Lake Mburo National Park, where we saw giraffes, zebras - just to name a few . It was a lot of fun!
A well-organised, exciting and nature-filled experience
We booked a 5-night trip with Hello Tanzania, travelling in February 2019, and it was a fantastic experience that we would thoroughly recommend.
We were met on time at Dar es Salaam airport and the same guide accompanied us from there until the end of our trip. We went to Selous where we saw lions, leopard, elephants, wild dogs and a whole host of other beautiful animals amidst stunning scenery. We also had a memorable day in Udzungwa, hiking and swimming in the waterfall. We were just the two of us throughout the whole trip and the guide was flexible to our timings and requests. The days planned were intense and we are glad we stayed behind in Selous for an extra day to enjoy Jimbiza camp for an extra night, rather than move on quickly after just one day. Hello Tanzania were flexible to this request during the planning stages, which deviated from their original proposal.
The Hello Tanzania guide was extremely experienced and clearly very passionate about the wildlife. His calm nature, expertise and passion contributed heavily to the success of our trip. His incredibly keen eye even managed to spot a 20cm-long chameleon as we traveled at speeds greater than 30km/hour en-route to the accommodation. The leopard, the vulture feeding frenzy, and the fish eagles were personal highlights spotted by our guide.
In the pre-travel correspondence, Hello Tanzania were flexible to our many requests, they were incredibly helpful, friendly and easy to converse with over e-mail. Paying large sums of money to a small company in advance of travel can be nerve-wracking, especially when Hello Tanzania weren't always quick to respond (it took them 5 days to confirm they had received our money, for example). The nature of e-mails received from Hello Tanzania leading up to our trip was informal, with notably broken English and grammatical errors. Do not let this dissuade you from what was a well-organised, experienced service delivery on the ground in Tanzania. Whilst a quick online translator/ spell-checker would increase the professionalism of the e-mail correspondence in staff members’ second language, we are glad that we chose Hello Tanzania and trusted them with our deposit and upfront payment.
In short, Hello Tanzania delivered a well-organised and action-packed trip for us. The main contact was incredibly easy to work and plan with in the build up to our departure. We will remember our holiday for many years and are glad that we went with Hello Tanzania.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good organised and we felt safe and comfortable all the time. James was excellent driver/guide.
Communications through mail worked well. Got receipt on payments. Picked up at right time and Kibo safari camp Amboseli, where they arranged for us to stay, was very nice. They took care of our whole family all the time. They even arranged airporttransfer for us the day after the safari. If we will go on safari again we will use Seven By Far Travel.
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE SUCH ATTENTION!!
We spent a great time with Smile With Us Tours in África!! We did a one day tour to Kilimanjaro and we had a wonderful time. Since the beginning, the communication with Jacob, the owner, was amazing. He was so attentious and efficient. We made a bank transfer one month before and paid the rest amount in person. Everithing worked perfectly. The day before the trip, he went with the guide Chafii to the hotel to a quick briefing about it. The trip day, the driver picked us up at the hotel and we went all together to Kilimanjaro National Park. Jacob himself, did the hiking with us. He is the kindest person on this planet!! We could see how passionate about his country and about África he is. In the end, we contracted his service to transfer us to the airport, and he gave us a special discount. So, if you need to visit the area for Safaris or Hikings, you should do it with them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
100% thrilled with Discover Africa and Matthys
My mom and I travelled to SA in March 2019. Matthys suggested the ideal lodgings for us in Pretoria (131 Herbert Baker) and safari option (Sabi Sabi Little Bush Camp). We could not have been more pleased. The food and hospitality at all locations was above and beyond our expectations. All transfers were reliable and on time. The value for money was excellent. I will book through Matthys and Discover Africa again when we return.