35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime, made perfect by Journeys Discovering Africa
My mum, sister-in-law and I visited Uganda and Kenya in January 2014 - a two-week trip focussing on gorilla treks in Bwindi and a safari on the Masai Mara. Patrick at JDA started planning the trip with my mum many months in advance, providing helpful, insightful, friendly and knowledgeable advice right from the start. It was the first African trip for any of us, so we were starting from zero and Patrick helped to shape our trip into the most magical adventure. He asked the right questions, made sure he understood what was important to us (and what wasn't), worked with our budget and our available time, and basically got every single part of the trip absolutely spot on. The hotels/lodges were perfect - location, comfort, friendliness, wow-factor in every case. The treks (gorillas and chimps) and the safari drives were unforgettable. Our driver/guide in Uganda (James) couldn't possibly have been nicer or more helpful - he felt like an old friend by the end of the first day. All the other JDA staff were equally kind and professional - it was clearly important to them that we had a brilliant time.
I can't say enough about how wonderful our trip was. We will truly remember it forever - I'm very thankful that my mum found JDA and would certainly recommend them to anyone else planning an African adventure.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
Hi there,
we booked a 7-day-safari (Amboseli National Park, Nakuru National Park and Masai Mara) and a 4-day-Mount Kenya Trip with Bushtroop Tours & Safaris and we can highly recommend the company.
The sales manager, Jaqueline, was very professional and efficient in providing responses to every query we had.
Our driver (Anthony) did a really great job. He has a huge knowledge and tried everything to make our trip unforgettable (and he succeed :)).
We were also happy with our Mount Kenya guide (David) even if he wasn't as well organised as Anthony.
To sum up, we would book our next trip with Bushtroop again.
Exceeds expectations.
We had a 8 day safari. It was excellent, everything went very smoothly and the food was very nice.
Robert was an excellent host, he even accompanied us on our transfer to Nairobi to ensure everything went well.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Amazing Trip....A Safari Company
Hi, we are an Australian family (mum, dad, boys aged 15,13 & 11 and 2 grand parents) that have just completed a 10 day safari with Safari Infinity. We visited Tarangire, Lake Maynara, central and western Serengeti and Ngorongoro national parks. First, I would like to say that the Safari was everything we expected and more. The Tanzanian people proved to be most hospitable. We saw the Big 5 and much more. The geography amazed us on how different it was between all the national parks.
We are so grateful we chose Safari Infinity. Lucia promptly responded to my many emails over the organisational stage, far better than any of the other companies I contacted. This was one of the main reasons we went with them.
Once the safari started we were in a 8 seater jeep. Our driver was Eric who basically became part of the family. He had great temperament in dealing with people, always smiling. His ability to position the jeep for prime location happened time and time again. His ability to find the animals and read their direction was incredible. We witnessed one live kill by a leopard, 2 failed attempts by lions, and found 3 other all ready completed kills. He was patient with our 1million photo shoots.
We stayed at the following accommodations (mix lodges and camps) and were very happy with them all, Lake Duluti, Oliver's Camp (Tarangire), Escarpment Lodge, Lemala Explorer Western Serengeti, Mbalageti Safari Lodge, Lemala Ewanjan, Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, and Mount Meru Arusha.
Thanks again Safari Infinity for the trip of a life time!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting
Very committed and organize. I would change only the packed food.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
OMG, I had one of the most unforgettable experience of my life.
First time travelling on my own, I had some apprehensions but after speaking to Mark Cahill, prior to the trip, put me at ease. From the moment I exited the airport and saw someone holding a sign with my name on it and then greeted with a big smile, I knew I was in good hands. Erusta, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable. The resorts were fabulous. Being with your first Safari of the season, I didn't think I would see much via animals, but OMG, there were animals everywhere. This trip was something I will talk about for a long time to come. I will tell those that I know to put it on their bucket list and that they must book with Odyssey Safaris.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Seen a lot and complained a lot with Meru Mountain Treks
Mating lions in Serengeti, the continuous migration of wildebeest and zebras and the aftermath of a nightly hunting party of thirteen lions in the Ngorongoro crater. Yes, our experiences with Meru Mountain Treks were beyond our expectations. Thanks to our driver/guide Richard. He knows the parks, anticipates the behavior of the animals and turned out te be a nice guy. The cook had had simple tools but presented good meals.
So far so good. Yes, we knew we booked a budget safari (four days, four persons, $600 each) so we couldn't expect to much luxury. The problems started with the jeep. Despite assurances that all our gear would fit in it, the jeep was way too small. Richard arranged al larger one at additional costs ($300). The tents we were supposed to sleep in were moldy, had zippers that couldn't be closed and leaked. The least one may expect on a tent safari in the rainy saison is that the tents are waterproof. The first night there was an alternative: simple concrete huts, the second night half of our company decided to sleep in the jeep and the third night we slept in a guesthouse (again at additional costs of $300).
In stead of a quiet evening after a day of encounters with giraffes, elephants, lions and hippos, we constantly had to argue about the poor accommodation. There were telephone calls with Mr. Ibrahim, the director of Meru Mountain Treks, but he persisted that his tents were fine. After our return in Arusha an employee of Meru Mountain Treks invited us to talk about our experiences and our complaints. He announced that Mr. Ibrahim would show up later to hear our story first hand. But eventually he didn't bother. We never heard from Meru Mountain Treks again. Needless to say that Meru Mountain Treks will neither from us.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I am excited for you George, because you proved to me that you can guide people professionally.
Congratulations George, on your new company. I saw great things in you when we were on your safari in 2013. You are a topnotch thinker and I am not surprised that you moved up in the world. You treated us with the respect of fellow human beings, very nice; actually, all of Africa treated us well while we were in your care, George. You guided us very professionally, George, except maybe the one afternoon when you said, "tomorrow I'll show you a million wildebeasts." The next day we drove many, many kilometers in a herd of wildebeasts, but George, you were four short of a million. You owe me four animals. I might have to come back to Tanzania and collect.
Thank you George, for a wonderful time on the Serengeti.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional Safari Experience
Working with Viewpoint Adventures was an exceptional experience. This was our third and very best trip to East Africa. Viewpoint gave us sample itineraries, but also allowed the four of us to customize our journey. Idi, (co-owner, guide/driver) was one of the best tour leaders we've ever had on our travels in Africa. He was personable and had a great sense of humor. His knowledge of the land, wildlife, and history of the region was remarkable. Idi was able to take us to less crowded and remote areas of the parks to locate animals, which is very important as the parks have become more crowded in recent years. Viewpoint's choice of lodging was fabulous with wonderful food and service throughout our trip. With Idi's guiding expertise, we saw 86 lions and their cubs in three days in the Serengeti along with hundreds of other animals and birds including elephants, antelope, giraffe, zebra, cheeta, leopard, vultures, and others. One in our group was an avid birder and she was thrilled with Idi's knowledge and ability to find them. When we go to Africa again, we will definitely use Viewpoint Adventures.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A personalised experience with a dynamic guide! Uganda is such an underrated Safari destination!
I went on two tours with Safari Wildz, the first of which I met my guide Cosmo who took myself and two others on trip to Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi. His knowledge and enthusiasm made this trip. I have a super inquisitive mind and he was able to answer most questions (even if there weren't about wildlife!). He was so insistent on us to see what we could, that we took the safari late into the day -which was worth it! The second tour (again with my mate Cosmo) was down to the Murchison. This was a larger group, with an additional guide. We were met by lovely staff and great food at the campsite only to have our little bridge washed away the next day by the rains. This didn't stop our guides, they, with the help of myself (I carried a couple of rocks) and others put together what we could and managed to drive over the creek and set off for the tour! I had a blast with these guys, I was able to see Uganda and meet some of its great people safely, comfortably and enjoyably!