US
Incredible experience which allowed us to see much of the big game we came to see.
Excellent all around. Amazing agency highly recommend. This woman owned business is magnificent all the way. The entire staff was capable and welcoming so much so I not only used them for a safari but an organized trip of Zanzibar. I’ve personally recommended them while in Tanzania and felt important enough to write a review the word could see.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It exceeded all expectations.
The wildlife, including incredible bird species, was almost unreal. Our guide expertly navigated the rough trails to help find the best viewing of so many elephants, giraffes, and zebras. We were fortunate to see all the big 5 plus so many more. 1500 photos were taken and all are amazing. Kenya Walking Survivors Tour group was flexible, professional and made our experience personal. The food at every lodging was delicious and plentiful. Service at the accommodations was over-the-top. Everyone wanted us to enjoy our stay. Our guide customized our tour by arranging for my family to donate school supplies and soccer balls in Massai Mara. We brought them from home to give as gifts, but the gift of joy was all ours.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience I could spend my whole life trying to top.
Could not imagine a better safari. Our guide, Robert, was knowledge and fun. We stayed at amazing and beautiful places I will remember the rest of my life. A+
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, beautiful, and unique experience.
The safari experience for my wife and I was truly different and amazing. We hadn’t done anything of this sort before. Going out into the domain of these amazing animals in a 4x4 truck out in the open was a unique and thrilling experience. We were at the Gomo Gomo lodge and everything was organized very well. The only thing I would request from the lodge would be that there be more vegetarian option regarding the food. Other jab that, everything was great!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tanzania by KrisNM
The open landscapes and variety of animals are incredible!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
For the neophyte or experienced traveler, Blue Sky Namibia Tours offers a suberb experience.
I have toured twice with Pieter Mostert, owner/guide. The tours are handcrafted to fit your requests. Every detail is taken care of before you arrive. All of your travel, lodging, meals, and in most cases, gratuities and fees are included in the quotation. You will receive an itinerary that includes your requests, as well as, suggestions from Pieter. Adjustments are easily made. I was able to do all of my pre-planning through email before I ever left my home, and with confidence that Pieter would be waiting for me at the airport.
Namibia is large enough that you need to plan for travel time. My longest drives were a full day; many others were a half day. Pieter plans enough time for stops along the way and for a thorough enjoyment of your destinations. He schedules activities at the destinations with your approval. I found that the mood is casual and that events are adjustable as a day progresses. Lodging requires a fair amount of lead time, so book early and give Pieter a chance to put you in the nicest places.
My first trip was seven years ago. My request was to see animals. He took me to Etosha National Park and a mountain tent camp called Etendeka in northwestern Namibia. This spring, I requested Sossusvlei and Walvis Bay/Swakopmund to see respectively, the famous giant sand dunes and flamingoes/seaside resort/seaport. Near Sossusvlei, I enjoyed a sunset drive through petrified dunes capped off with a gin and tonic at the top. At the coast, Pieter arranged a tour of the local sand dunes' flora and fauna with a biologist.
Other worthwhile tourist places abound in Namibia, and Pieter is well-qualified from a lifetime of working in a variety of locations. I was told ahead of my first trip, that "Pieter is a walking encyclopedia of Namibia." I found this to be true. If you are an experience traveler or this is your first time, you cannot go wrong booking a trip with Pieter.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Head and shoulders above the competition
We have just returned from a wonderful family safari holiday that Rose and her company organised for us to Mauritius, Tswalu and Nottens in Sabi Sands, South Africa. It was quite a complicated itinerary but every bit of it worked like clockwork. With a lot of research and some experience of safaris we had both a clear idea of some of the things we wanted and a good idea of what would constitute value for money. We had an ample budget but wanted a lot for that money. We made initial calls to five safari operators including Rose. The first one was a well known safari company which we had used before but the person we spoke to gave us a quote which was approximately 10k over the top, partly because of the ridiculous logistics - he was certainly enthusiastic about Africa but just a real novice at putting together a trip in a sensible way eg at least two redundant internal flights - multiply that by four people and it's throwing away a couple of thousand. Plus we had to point out to him the basic stuff like "aren't they doing a stay 4 nights and get free flights offer". The second one we talked to was a real expert on one region (and I have used their website a lot for research) but more enthusiastic about the region than listening to what we wanted (but well done to them on their transparent pricing policy). The third one was just a waste of time - peeling back their non-transparent pricing made it clear that they were in fact advertising a safari which they couldn't deliver at the price - a really tacky approach. The fourth one was a good company but although clearly expert in the regions their itinerary came across as indulging their fantasy trip rather than listening to what we wanted eg it may be possible to fly across Mozambique by light aircraft hops to avoid a Joburg transfer but why on earth would a family want to do that especially when it costs multi-thousands of pounds and takes 12 hours?
Which brings us to Rose. These are the reasons Rose was just so far above the others:
1) Rose is a real expert - she knows her stuff on safaris, locations, destinations etc
2) Rose is what a really good travel agent of any type should be ie she listens to you, talks to you, chats about what you want and what you like and what you are hoping for and then uses her knowledge to suggest things that are useful or appropriate or interesting. Maybe you won't take up her suggestions but you will feel they were useful suggestions or ideas for you to think about or give you a better benchmark.
3) Rose is sensible and organises your safari in a way which makes logistical sense eg canny use of internal flights so you don't spend your time and money taking 5 flights when you could have done it in 2 ( OK, I know this doesn't sound so difficult but you really should have seen what our first well-known safari operator suggested!)
4) Rose isn't afraid to persist with a suggestion if she really thinks you will like it and will come up with good ideas to show you how it can be possible in your budget. Nottens in the Sabi Sands was Rose's suggestion and she showed us how our plans and budget could accommodate it - that turned out to be one of the highlights of the holiday and a real improvement on the plan we first put to her, although I had researched our first plan so carefully.
5) Rose's pricing is transparent - you know what the prices are and you can readily see if you are getting a good deal (and yes, from our experience you are - The Luxury Safari Company was the only operator we spoke to who demonstrably was giving us a better deal than we could have organised ourselves).
6)Rose doesn't stop thinking about you when you have paid for the holiday eg sent us information about South Africa's new potential requirements for birth certificates for under 18s to make sure we weren't caught out by a sudden change of policy.
Thank you, Rose and we will be in touch again!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A perfect, fabulous once in a lifetime experience
The safari was absolutely awesome, Rochelle from Kruger Park Tours did an awesome job and has organised the whole trip to our FULL satisfaction. She answered all questions in a timely manner and organised everything just as we wanted it.
And we were not disappointed at all!
Organisation - excellent
Wildlife - excellent
Food - excellent
Accommodation - excellent
Bush Vibe, Guides and Staff - outstanding.
We enjoyed our stay so much. We had no idea which camp operator to choose, Kruger Park Tours booked us for Tydon Safari Camp. It is a familiy owned business, for people by people. Thanks to its location, you will/can enjoy both, the Kruger Park itself and the Sabi Sands Reserve - wildlife spotting was awesome and so was the rest! About Tydon Safari camp: it is not toursim mass processing, the guides take their time to explain everything, food is superb - local food - which you don't find in a restaurant. Beds in the tents as well as the tents were VERY clean and comfortable. The evenings and also day toures were full of fun and giggles - we could not ask for more.
Thanks so much Rochelle and Tydon Safaris for this awesome Safari, memories for a lifetime!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Powerful Experience
The trip was very good. We had a safe and very pleasent drive. We were lucky and could see a lot of animals in the park. The housting was ok and our guide Patrick was wonderful! I did a tour to Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru and I was very happy to see both places.
Many thanks for this great experience.