US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Perfect Safari for the Whole Family
I tell everyone- if you’re going on safari- you should go to Tanzania and you must go with Ecological Wilderness Adventures! When my mother offered to take the entire family on safari, she put me in charge of arranging it. I first wanted to find a Tanzanian operator so that we could support Tanzania directly and have local guides. I also wanted to find a good price and an itinerary that visited a wide variety of sites. I found Ecological Wilderness Adventures on the internet and started a conversation with Brian Mengoriki and his staff. I was a bit nervous about booking such a big trip with an operator on the other side of the world without knowing much about them, but my fears were quickly abated. Brian and his staff were attentive and flexible and allowed us to modify the tour schedule to suit our needs, which were varied since our group was comprised of five kids ranging in age from 6 to 14 and ten adults including young parents and grandparents. Brian arranged for us our own personal tour with three safari vehicles and three guides!
Our experience with Ecological Wilderness Adventures was absolutely amazing and was a once in a lifetime experience for all of us! A year later, we are still talking about all the animals we were able to observe closely including 9 cheetahs! Countless wildebeest! 635 elephants in one afternoon! And a pack of Wild Dogs on the hunt! We loved the beautiful scenery, the wonderful lodgings at all the sites, and all the fun that we had with our friendly guides. The itinerary developed by Brian was perfect- we visited five national parks, each with their unique habitats and animals, which made the tour interesting every day. The safari was well paced for all of us, with a range of activities each day including game drives, visiting local villages, tasty lunches, and opportunities to walk around.
The kids never got bored and were actively engaged by our guides at all times. They especially loved sticking their heads out of the roof of the vehicles and trying to count all the animals we saw. Our visit to a Masai village was especially fascinating to all. The safari was also well suited to our “older” travellers who enjoyed the scenic views and delicious food at our distinctive and comfortable lodges selected by Brian. Since our tour was during Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we were delighted by special celebrations such as waiters dressed like Santa serving champagne!
As a biologist and natural history tour guide myself, I was especially impressed by the expert level of knowledge held by Brian and our other two tour guides. They knew the common and scientific name of every animal and plant we saw and had detailed stories of their natural history. They also had fun facts and stories to entertain the kids! Besides being knowledgeable, they were funny and helpful and quickly became good friends with our entire group. We all still keep in touch.
The entire tour was absolutely perfect and we would highly recommend Ecological Wilderness Adventures to everyone interested in an African safari. You can’t get a better value or more amazing experience than traveling with Brian and his friends.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant Company and camping trip
I joined Wild Dog Safaris in October for a tour around Namibia. It was unforgettable and had a wonderful time. The guides were excellent, and the areas visited was amazing. My favorites includes Etosha Park, Swakopmund and of course the desert. I would highly recommend Wild Dog Safaris to take care of all your travel needs when in Namibia.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari with Asili Explorer!
We had a fantastic holiday with Asili Explorer! Joe organized a 11-day tour for us, covering Lake Natron, Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara NP, and the Serengeti, including the Ngorongoro crater. We booked a jeep with a driver/guide (good-humoured guy with the eyes of a hawk) and a cook (very nice person as well, delicious and clean food every day) and were camping (equipment was good). We managed to see all the big animals, including black rhino (in the crater), leopard and cheetah and took a ton of amazing photos. Being a small safari agency, Asili Explorer really cares for its clients and tries everything possible to make sure you are having a good time (otherwise it's hard to compete with the big agencies, I guess). It worked well for us, and we had a great time indeed! Thank you, Asili Explorer, for this amazing experience!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A varied and interessting journey with many encounters with animals and people
In search of a different adventure in Africa , we came across the "Expedition Shoebill ". The description caught our interest and because we knew the organizer and guide Daniel Schreiner already from previous trips here, we took the opportunity to visit some of the not so well-known national parks and attractions in Zambia and Tanzania with him.
The route proved to be a very interesting and varied. We experienced small and large towns, vast plains, endless Miomboforests and high mountains, did nice walks, saw geological features and visited colorful markets. On extensive game drives we saw countless animals.
All the visited the lodges were comfortable, clean and quiet. The camps were mostly at very nice location, clean and with one exception also very quiet. The equipment of the camps varied from comfortable to very simple, and the nights we spent in the middle of Ruaha National Park completely alone in a very simple camp, are among our best memories.
Our tent was well maintained, clean and big enough , and - more important - very easy to set up and to take down. We did not feel anything through the thick comfortable foam mattresses which gave us a good night sleep.
The food was tasty and varied. We got to know unfamiliar vegetables and cooking styles and marveled again and again about Daniel how he managed to cook our dinner on a tiny charcoal stove in 3 pots.
The kitchen was like the rest of the equipment very well thought through and it really lacked nothing .
The vehicle was comfortable and reliable. We experienced our first trip to Africa without any car breakdown, which is certainly also due to Daniel's prudent driving. We were missing some shelves or bags to store things such as cameras, binoculars, guide books, glasses, etc. , especially during the game drives to store them handy but safe.
The trip was very well thought out and organized. Despite some very bad roads and long travel times we reached all stages within the targeted time period. The experience of the always very time consuming border crossing in Africa went smoothly thanks to Daniel's organization.
Our guide brought us closer to country and people with his tales and stories. He never got tired to look for interessting animals on our long game drives and fascinated us with his good eyes and his broad knowledge of the fauna, especially the birds and their calls.
Daniel patiently answered all questions and made, if nessecary, adjustments to the daily routine.
Overall, it was an exhausting but beautiful and interesting journey with a good price - performance ratio.
Thank you, Daniel ! We hope that we will do another safari together soon.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari tour company that really listens to your requests
I found YZS through an internet search and am glad i did.
I sent a brief email explaining what my wife and I were planning (we wanted to safari in Tanzania and see the migration on a restricted budget!) and within 45 mins Julian - director of YZS, had called me back to discuss further.
He was very pleasant and massively informed on Tanzania. He gave me a run down on his personal history and I knew then that I could leave the planning of our holiday to him and be confident that all our requirements would be met.
He offered 2 suggestions - one South Tanzania and one North and it wasn't hard to decide when he explained what both would involve and the costs involved.
To describe the holiday briefly does it an injustice however it does demonstrate how personally Julian takes planning your holiday.
We had had a few days in Kenya attending a friends wedding and then headed to Tanzania where we spent 7 days - 5 of which were on Safari with YZS.
We were picked up in Arusha by our tour company - WAYO africa. Danford was our guide and he was brilliant. WAYO's ethos is that your safari is your private holiday and therefore my wife and I were on the jeep on our own.
We set off and our first port of call was Lake Manyara. - Amazing. Baboons, Girraffes, Zebras, Hippos, Elephants and buffalo ( amongst others all on the first day)
We then headed on to and stayed the night in a tented lodge called Rhotia Valley. Our only regret is we didn't spend longer than one night here.
Our next day was spent in the Ngorogoro Crater. - Stunning. Here we saw the animals as above but also Rhinos. Danford again sharing his vast knowledge with us.
That evening was spent in Rhino lodge on the ourskirts of the crater.
We then moved onto the Serengetti. We spent 4 days 3 nights travelling round the Serengetti and saw the 'Big 5'.
The camp provided by WAYO was outstanding.
As i say, a very brief summary of our holiday organised by Yellow Zebra Safaris but they certainly made our holiday that of a lifetime by using their local knowledge, contacts and by listening to their clients needs and wants.
I can not recommend Yellow Zebra Safaris highly enough and will absolutely book with them should we or any family members be heading back to Tanzania at any point.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Uganda - Trekking Experience
The tour in Uganda was exceptional. Every detail was covered. The service from the onset of the planning to the actual trip was outstanding. The people at Journey's Discovering Africa made the experience as they customized the trip to meet our needs. If you are traveling to this area of Africa, I would chosse Journey's Discovering Africa.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
OUTSTANDING
We traveled to Tanzania with our three teenagers in August 2013. Amazing Tanzania arranged the entire holiday. The trip was fantastic - a truly life changing experience. This was due in large part to the professional, knowledgeable team at Amazing Tanzania. Each leg of the trip was meticulously planned and thoughtfully executed. Our guide was outstanding with extensive knowledge about the region and very respectful of the wildlife and the environment. The high-light was staying at the mobile tent camp in the Serengeti - owned and operated by Amazing Tanzania. Beautifully blending into the natural surroundings, the camp was luxurious, the staff where so welcoming and the food was excellent. The game drives were incredible - we were able to watch animals up close for hours rarely encountering any other tourists. When we return we will spend our entire time at the camp!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
it was an exciting tour, with excellent planing an guidance
very competent travel planing and implementation, excellent guidance, the guides have an enormous
knowlegde about flora and fauna of countries in southern africa, the carpark is very good
very good value for money
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
From the Southern Circuit to the top of Kilimanjaro
Looking out at Kilimajaro from my hotel window this morning is like an otherworldly experience. Ben Jennings, the owner, was grilling me (as is his habit) last night about the service, food, if I was being pressured to summit. He's constantly improving, pushing to get better, and in all ways trying to take E-Trip Africa to another rung higher. My experience of them began back about June through a Trip Advisor referral and it's been top flight ever since. To keep this relatively short and sweet, the first thing that Ben does is spend a fair bit of time understanding- how much experience (this is my fifth trip to Africa) what do you want to do (adventure, out of the way, totally cool stuff, already saw the animals), and basically getting a sense of who you and what you want to spend. The parameters set, he gets to work. In no time I had some options that I grabbed: a camel trek, a Kili climb, and he was able to negotiate a trip to the Southern Circuit which fit my preference for fewer tourists and more bushcamp experience. Ben fought hard for me in terms of cutting costs, and I accommodated where I needed so it was a two way deal. On Kili, since I was going up solo, Ben sent me with his wife, who was excellent company.
The Kili trip deserves extra mention because this is his team. He has top flight guides, and a crew of porters and cooks together for six years. They earn a living wage so that they don't have to maneuver for tips, and that means they are happy, friends, and work well together. This makes for an excellent experience on the mountain for all involved. August, his top guide, and Ignas, the assistant guide, were fun and funny, but also highly attentive to medical issues, very focused on safety, extremely well informed, and when I had a knee go wonkers on the way down from the summit, they helped me down safely.
Contrary to popular lore, we got no hardboiled eggs on our plates. The food was flat out delicious. Ranik the cook spoiled us with his changeups every day and once he learned I loved his soups, I was treated every day with zucchini, leek, I can't recall them all, but I got every last drop out of the bowl, and begged for seconds and thirds.
I am already planning a month with E-Trip Africa in January 2015. From now on I will use them many times over.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a most amazing Namibia 4x4 adventure thanks to ATI's experience, help and support.
ATI's knowledge of Namibia & help in formulating our itinerary plus their attention to detail and support while we were on our holiday enabled us to have a most memorable adventure. The 4x4 vehicles and equipment supplied was good. We have no hesitation in recommending ATI.