US
Affordable safari, comfortable accommodations and we saw a lion up close!
Our tour guide, Tony, was very kind. He answered our questions as we drove to the national park and throughout the safari. His English was fine; we did need to repeat questions and did not always understand him. We would have liked him to share a little more information with us on his own (without us asking). We always felt safe with Tony driving.
The hotel accommodations were very comfortable - better than I expected for the low price we paid for the safari. It was clean, the staff was friendly and helpful and we had all the amenities we needed.
We saw wildebeest, elephants, giraffes, baboons, hippos, impalas, zebras and several other animals on the safari. Our highlight was seeing a lion from 10 meters away. Tony always made sure we were ready to move on before driving away from an animal.
Kanuth was timely in responding to our emails and questions. We were very happy with the low price for the 2-day safari.
US
We could not have been happier with our safari experience and guide, Paul! Awesome.
We had an absolutely phenomenal experience with Jungle Safari. Our safari guide, Paul, is one of the most caring and most knowledgeable individuals I have ever met! We saw a plethora of wild animals, including exotic birds, elephants and even a real-life hippopotamus fight. (Perhaps one of the coolest things we had ever seen). Paul is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to African geography and nature.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I had an absolutely Amazing time!!
Ive used some High End Safari Companies in the past and in all honesty I've learned and seen more with Siku Jema. Very Professional yet we all shared laughs, conversations almost like a private tour. I also just returned from a second Safari this past June with Sikujema. I changed my itinerary slightly and they were very understanding and accommodating. I flew from U.S. solo... First time without my husband so of course I vas nervous... But I was greeted at the Airport with open arms. So anyone reading this rest assure you will have a memorable and amazing time!!!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari in Noth Tanzania over a week
Karibu Safari came highly recommended by a friend, and their travel agent was very responsive to my e-mail correspondence in regards to planning my trip to Tanzania. I provided him my list of destinations I wished to see and they created a private safari itinerary to fit my interest at mid-level safari prices that I could afford. They literally provided door to door service from the airport to our hotel and even to our friends residence at the end of our safari. All their drivers were friendly, safe, and came in clean vehicles. Our safari guide was very experienced and knowledgeable about all the animals, plants, and local habitats. He was able to take us to see 4 out of the 5 big five animals (lions, leopards, elephants, hippos) along with pointing out many birds and other shy small animals like the dik dik. The company even provided high quality binoculars and he had good animal identification books to provide even more details about what we were seeing out our car vehicle. The first tented lodge we stayed at (Sagaiwe) was amazing, the food was excellent, and the lodgings were luxurious, they even had a pool. Unfortunately, none of the other places we stayed at could meet their high standard, but the staff at the Kenzan kirura camp were the friendliest and most helpful, and all of them were clean and safe. I was a bit disappointed to only be served Western styled food during our trip, it would have been nice to have tried some of the local cuisine for a more complete experience. When planning a safari trip, it is important to ask about road conditions and duration of travel between destinations, as I found that short distances on a map can take much longer then expected to traverse when its on unpaved dirt/gravel roads, which can waste precious vacation time. I would recommend visiting Tarangire, Lake Maynara, Ngorogoro, & Serengeti, to anyone wanting to experience everything in North Tanzania. If you are prone to motion sickness, I would recommend Lake Victoria over Lake Natron, unless you want to climb a volcanic mountain in the dark. The day guide that Karibu Safari provided for our hike of Kilamanjaro was very friendly and had a good eye for spotting wildlife, a good companion to have on a 6 hour hike. In general, Karibu Safari did a great job communicating with me, except during Ramadan, when our main contact was unavailable. They provided experienced friendly guides and good drivers, decent food and clean lodgings, and they helped us coordinate all our travels by taking care of booking plane tickets, rides to and from airport, booking hotels, and all the paperwork at every national park, and road fees; so that we could just sit back, relax and enjoy the trip.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reset your soul.
Top company.
Everyone went the extra mile...
Tremendous host, calm and collected. Very knowledgeable.
Excellent cook - everyone wanted to take Vincent home.
Never met such happy, helpful, fun, hard working, courteous staff.
Wonderful itinerary. Adventure, but comfortable wild!
Willing, sensible, amazing horses.
Beautiful, varied landscape. Fantastic open space.
Sleeping out under the stars was ace. Want one of those beds for my garden at home now!
Lovely, long, long canters.
Well organized, smooth operation. You've nailed it.
Highly recommended.
Thank you all so much.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We made last minute reservations to take the Rongai Route up to Mt. Kilimanjaro
The guides(Florent and Julius) were exceptional. I came down with a gout flareup the day we were to start and they arranged for a hospital visit which cured the event and allowed me to climb. Overall, the guides and porters were very positive and helpful. Their attutude was great and always looked to support the hike and climb with whatever needed to be done..
CA
my deposit has gone missing and no reply from Tracks Berg office
I booked a safari for Feb. 2016 through Erick and paid my deposit of $USD2000 on August 8 2015.Since then all communication has ceased and my deposit has gone missing.I can only suspect that Erick has stolen my money.I would caution everyone to not travel with this company.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A company that puts you in first place
The whole experience with this company was always defined by how they made us feel special. Since the first email conversation with Paula, to the first phone call with Joao, to the first personal contact with Mr. Baraja and Sylvia, it looked like everyone was focused on making our journey feel special and exclusive. In 30 years of travel I never witness such dedication to customer care. The safari itself was a wonderful and magical experience. Great guide, great adventure, lots of wildlife. Everything was beyong my wildest expectations.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic solo safari in Kenya and Tanzania
It was such a great fun travelling in Kenya and Tanzania for nearly two weeks. But without Kenya Walking, I could not do it on my own. Of course I saw all the big five and many other animals. The name of my driver for Kenya side is Livingstone, he's very good at tracking down footprints of different walking animals and he never missed one during my trip. The accommodation was great and comfortable in Kenya side. Tanzania side was comparatively much more expensive I guess so for budget reason mostly I stayed in tented camp. Really enjoyed my whole trip!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
When I first decided to go on an East African safari, it was a a huge task to take the numerous decisions and make the plans. I started an year ago and went through tons of online content to put up a rough draft of what I wanted to do. We were a group of 7 people and we contacted several tour operators. Based on the the online reviews and personal interactions, we decided on Bright African Safaris.
Main points in their favour were: 1. Small local company based in Arusha, 2. Top reviews and 3. Agreeing to an itinerary which several companies rejected (will elaborate later). Our main target was the Northern Tanzania circuit. We started from Arusha, then traveled through Tarangire, Manyara, Natron, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and back to Arusha over 10 days. We traveled from 24th May to 2nd June, while the rainy season had just ended. And here was where Bright was a stand-out. We definitely wanted to go to Natron due to it's weird and unconventional nature. Several other companies tried to exclude this even after our repeated requests stating possibility of bad roads. We are glad that Msangi and Bright did not follow suit. For people looking for something other than the standard experience, please visit Lake Natron. It is truly a unique place on Earth. Msangi was very efficient during the email exchanges and also while making the travel arrangements. We opted for budget accommodations and we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the lodges (maybe the off-season helped). A special mention must be made for Mbalageti Luxury camp. Bright had made all the arrangements so that we did not have to worry about anything. One of our team members decided late to join in and Msangi took care of it in a couple of days, even after all the bookings had been made. So extra points for flexibility.
Now a few words about our guide Osman, although few words would not be enough. From the moment we met him at the airport to the time when he dropped us off, it was a pleasure to have this man in our company during the safari. Extremely amicable, knowledgeable and accommodating, he was ever smiling and helpful. He is a confident and safe driver and is in control even on the worst of roads. As for animal sightings he was very good at spotting them. In the later stages of the trip, we got interested in bird spotting and it was amazing how he knew at least the type of any bird we saw. We saw more than 100 birds and animals in total during the entire trip. Also Osman was very rational in his decisions. He did not promise us the moon and always gave a thoughtful explanation for any question. Even when we were not on safari, we had the license to pester him regarding names of birds or animals.
All the lodges we stayed at were nice and well equipped, some were better than others. Both breakfast and dinner were quite good quality. The lunch boxes were not that fancy and you could customize it to a certain extent at the lodge itself. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable safari with a very nice company and I would recommend it without a doubt to anyone going on a Northern Tanzania safari. Asante sana Osman, Msangi and Bright African Safaris. Hope to see you again.