35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
What a way to start your year!
Chose Fig Tree based on the type of safari we wanted to do, the reviews and, of course, the budget friendly price... so happy we found them! We did the 7 night safari with our 2 boys, ages 14 and 13. Pick up was on time at Kilimanjaro Airport and we were driven to our first night's stay at Vijiji Centre in Arusha. Spent a happy afternoon at this lovely place and got all the info for the next few days from John. He was very accommodating and went out of his way to find budget-friendly options when we asked for something more lodge-like to stay at before the tour, seeing that we would have a whole afternoon free beforehand. The park visits were changed around due to others joining our tour for shorter tour options. This didn't change where we went and actually seems to have worked out better. We first had a Romanian couple and then 2 young Austrian guys join...had such a nice time chatting to and sharing the tour with them all. Frank, our guide, is definitely the stronghold of this tour. He is so knowledgeable, a skilled driver, great with people, speaks good English and is really well-liked among his peers. Masewa (spelling?), our chef, produced beautiful meals, enough to satisfy all our different tastes, as if from nowhere! His facilities were so limited and yet we never went hungry or dissatisfied. We felt very lucky to have had these 2 on our tour. The tour included Serengeti (2 days), Ngorogoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara. All the parks are amazing in their own way. As far as accommodations go do keep in mind that this is very much still Africa... but saying that, we loved every minute of our 'budget' Safari! Really glad we opted for the slightly longer tour as we got to see and experience so much more. We happily recommend Fig Tree tours! I do have to add though, unfortunately, that we missed our flight to Dar Es Salaam due to John being involved in a car accident on his way to fetching us. This did leave us in a bit of panic, since his phone had no battery and he could not let us know what had happened. The very helpful manager at our accommodation, Mzunguu Lodge, sourced a taxi for us and even though we managed to arrive with an hour to spare, the plane was overbooked! Thankfully there was another flight a few hours later, no connecting flight to panic about (we were staying in Dar for a couple more days) and a lovely restaurant under the trees to wait at but it did taint the experience a bit. He did apologize profusely and also insisted he'd pay for the taxi (we had since gotten back in email communication...we had local simcards to make our lives easier) Such a pity that this had happened but overall we couldn't fault our experience and as such still happy to give 5 stars.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Timely and efficient responses to e-mail requests which was followed by a superbly organised safari.
We visited 4 national parks. The lodges were all of a good or excellent quality. Staff were unfailingly helpful and efficient. The wildlife was exceptional and surpassed our expectations. Our Toyota van was comfortable if a bit retro. Our guide was very efficient and had excellent knowledge of Uganda's wildlife.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My family and I booked a 10 day budget safari (Kenya and Tanzania) with Claudious Tours.
Absolutely fantastic experience. Best value for money. Excellent customer service and we had the best tour guides both on the Kenyan and Tanzanian side! Our trip was well executed; they delivered everything that was promised in the itinerary. We were able to communicate with the office and ask questions before we even left South Africa to get to Nairobi. A special thank you to Claude who was very professional and helpful, he advised me from the start and assured me that the trip would be great and memorable. We were picked up and dropped at the airport at the beginning and end of our tour. We all enjoyed every bit of the safari and will surely book with them again. Would definitely recommend this service provider! They are excellent!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional and knowledgeable
This a professional company and handled the trip expeditiously.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lots to see and we’ll taken care of.
Communication was quick with multiple options to contact them. Our needs were well attended to. We saw the big 5 which was awesome! Public campsites (specifically Simba campsite at Ngorongoro) were not good, I’d recommend upgrading to tented camps in the nice tents.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent!
I was satisfied with the quality of services provided by the Claudious Tours and Safaris. The company was easy to deal with. To complete the 15 day-safari planning, my friend and I contacted and discussed with the Claudious several times and we always got the response immediately within a day or two. Would definitely use him again for my future holidays.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A once in a lifetime experience with a company who knows and loves Uganda and puts customers first
We began out planning a year ahead. We got the itinerary we wanted as we were doing a few things off the beaten track . We made a few changes and nothing was a problem for Inno who smoothly did everything we asked for. The 3 week trip was faultless. Every day was a new experience. Abdul our driver was knowledgeable and experienced. His driving was fantastic and he was friendly and welcoming without being intrusive. He tweaked our timings to make sure we had the best experience and made us feel safe and special at all times. The trip surpassed our expectations- the safaris, the tracking of lions, chimps and gorillas left us blown away. The whole team behind Pearl Afric was at our service . We felt very special
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Uganda Gorillas with Francis
Had a wonderful days trekking Gorillas in Uganda. The trip was well
organized and I was able to customize it to suit my budget and travel
dates myself. The overall experience was great, the trek was super.Thanks to New Horizons and driver Francis, had with Gorillas at
Mgahinga Park
RU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic 3 day tour!
My sister and I had a fantastic experience, we had 1 day hiking of kilimanjaro and 2 days safari. Everything was amazing. Accomodations, food, and good conditional of car. Godson is very friendly and fun. He gave us the maximum safari experience. We saw lions just walk through our car and we took so many photos with lions.
Thank you very much!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
19 day pearl of Africa safari
Very prompt, helpful responses to emails. Great help in fitting in everything we wanted to do. Good advice and good record keeping. The accommodation was all first class and yet varied in style which made it more interesting. Our guide, Karim, was amazingly knowledgeable and he looked after us very carefully making sure we were always safe. He had a good sense of humour and was lovely to spend time with. The safari game parks were all slightly different in landscape, animals and birds and Karim explained all this to us. We met many people in the local communities and saw various community projects which helped us understand more about life in Uganda. We had a wonderful time that we will always treasure, and thank you for making it possible for us.