US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Guide, Poor Administrative Services & Communication
I booked a five-day safari tour of Northern Tanzania through Zara Tours in early August. The tour itself was an incredible experience. Our guide, Regan, was knowledgeable, and we learned a lot of about the animals living in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Unfortunately, there was some poor communication with the administrative staff of Zara Tours. We booked our trip before June 30, 2017 and at the time there was a promotional deal going on which stated that if were booked before 6/30/2017, our airport transfers would be included our package. The salesperson we were communicating with, Kitondo, also confirmed this via email. I also doubled checked when we arrived to the Springlands Hotel with a female staffer that our airport transfers were included. She said yes. After we completed our safari tour, we came back to the Springlands Hotel and I once again confirmed the night before our departure with another female staffer that our airport transfer the next day was included in the package we purchased. She said yes. The morning of our departure, there was a male staffer at the front desk who helped us check out of the hotel. He told us that we owed $60 USD for the previous airport transfer (from airport to hotel) and we would have to pay an additional $60 USD if we wanted to be driven to the airport. We tried to explain to him that the package with bought included airport transfers. He said Kitondo had told him it wasn't included. He allegedly called Kitondo and spoke in Swahili with her on the phone while we watched. At the end of the phone call he said that she said our package did not include transfers. Instead of arguing with this man, we decided to pay the money for the prior transfer were had taken and take a taxi to the airport (which was much cheaper).
I later looked up our package online and looked up emails with Kitondo and I called this male staffer. I was very upset and told him that I had proof that airport transfers were included. I told him I could come back to the hotel (our flight didn't leave until late at night) so he could return our money. He said that he had to "check with someone first" and that he would call me back. I gave him my phone number. He never called me back. I am convinced this was a scam on this man's part because he was upset that we had not bought anything at the hotel. My sister had been living in Moshi for 3 months prior to this safari trip so she knew taxi drivers and was familiar with the area. So instead of purchasing dinner or drinks at the hotel, we venture outside. Therefore, we had no hotel bill to settle.
If I were to do this over again, I would get everything in detailed writing and print out copies of the terms of the agreement. I would also write down names of the staffers. Ultimately, it was not the money that was an issue but rather the unprofessional nature of this exchange.
Other issues
We had travelers with dietary restrictions on our trip. For the most part, these were accommodated well but there were a few times when we could only eat rice and pasta. I recommend bringing your own snacks just in case. Breakfast and dinner options are decent but the "lunch boxes" are not great. You may want to pack your own snacks for lunch.
The five day safari felt a little long. I would recommend something a little shorter, maybe 4 days. It's gets very tiring to be in a bumpy car for 8-10 hours each day.
I highly recommend staying in one of the wild camps. It was an amazing experience to be in a tent in the middle of the Serengeti and wake up to gazelles outside.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not the best experience
I was on a tour with Wild Trek in August 2017.
Our mini van was in bad shape. Each time the driver stopped in the middle of the mara triangle, I had to say a small prayer that the van would start again, so that we would not be stuck in the middle of the jungle. Finally, the van broke down on the way to the airport, luckily the driver arranged for a replacement van in good time. The vehicle send to take us to the airport was surprisingly better than the one given to us.
Secondly, I felt a lot cheated on the hotels arranged for us. They gave us an itinerary and prices based on certain hotels, once we confirmed the itinerary, they gave us lower rates hotels (as the ones originally listed was not available), but did not adjust the cost of the tour accordingly. So I felt quite cheated on the cost.
They did not specify in the original itinerary whether included a minivan or four wheeler, we ended up with a horrible old minivan. Only the final voucher stated that we would be given a minivan, so in a way I felt cheated in that respect too.
Our driver / guide was not the best either. He would rather we not bother him with questions, or speak to him. At times, he ignored are questions about wildlife. Although, we gave him a good tip at the end of the trip, he asked for more. I thought tips were voluntary contributions, he demanded more, which irritated me. Firstly, I did not find him to be up to the mark, but still tipped me a good amount as it is customary, then when he demanded more, it left a bad taste about the tour and the driver.
The guide just kept driving aimlessly in masai mara, was hardly interested in showing us any wildlife. He discouraged us from opting for an early morning gaming.
Another incident, the driver refused to do anything outside the itinerary, however on the second day, he asked us to visit the amboseli village and asked us to donate $100 to the village. We didn't check to see if it was in the itinerary and went along with the guide, but that was the only thing he did outside the itinerary, he refused to do anything else outside the itinerary. The visit to the village was a rip off.
Our tour was booked at wild trek through a local travel agent in India, I partly blame the local travel agent for not ensuring that the price difference of the savings was not given back to us. The local agent should have been transparent to us with regard to pricing.
Regardless, the issues with minivan and guide were the services of wild trek safaris.
Overall I wouldn't really recommend wild trek tours, and if you do opt for it, ensure that they are transparent on costs and services availed.
I feel as though my whole experience in Masai Mara would have been different if a) we had a good guide b) better vehicle, and c) the hotels as per our original itinerary.
CA
Experience level: first safari
Rock, Rattle and Roll
I have to say that Wildebeest was a disappointment for sure. Communication before our trip was excellent. I checked references and all was great. However, following our trip, and before writing this review, I gave Noah, the owner, a chance to respond privately to my concerns and he said he would look into it, but I have not heard anything.
1. Itinerary
My instructions about what we wanted was the Big 5 and the Migration. We did not see the Big 5--missed the rhino. We understood that seeing the actual crossing of the wildebeest is not guaranteed. However, I think that too many days were scheduled to try and see the crossing both in the Mara and the Northern Serengeti. We would have been better off remaining in the Mara for another day, rather than spending a day travelling to the Northern Serengeti--essentially wasted time. We saw thousands of wildebeests, but they did not cross when we were there. It was a very expensive part of the trip and I think, having had the experience, we would have been happy with just the Mara and skipped the northern Serengeti. As i said, it took a lot of travel time, and waiting around for hours on end, for the second time, became a bit boring. The other animals were not plentiful, the accommodations were not good. It also have been better spending more time in the central Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We had less than one day of viewing in each of them and in Ngorongoro we paid extra to extend our viewing in the crater as we were only scheduled for 3 hours. It was very badly planned in this respect. Also, I would recommend staying a second night in Ngorongoro, despite some extra costs. Again, we felt that we had too much wasted time travelling to a second lodge.
2. Vehicles
We had a number of concerns about the vehicles used. The first one, in the Mara, was okay, but the seats were permanently reclined--so not wonderful, but it was only a couple of days. The second vehicle which we had for 6 or 7 days was not up to par. We rocked, rattled and rolled---and though we did survive without a breakdown, the vehicle was below standards. It was old and literally rattled all the time so it was impossible to hear the guide unless you were sitting beside him. There were no seat belts in rear seats--which we believe was not legal. The windows did not operate well and were old and blurry--not good for viewing. The walkie talkie was not fully operational--and we think this had a significant impact on communications resulting in less viewings. We will never know! There was no cooler and water supplied was in huge bottles that got warm and were covered in dust. I had inquired from Noah about an air conditioned vehicle and was told it was not necessary because it was not the hot season. This was not correct. There were parts of the journey that we would have definitely closed the windows to avoid the dirt and dust, and this was not possible without the air conditioning, which was not working in the vehicle.
3. Accommodation
Our accommodation were all very nice except the Northern Serengeti where we were lodged in the Angata Migration Camp. The facilities were a bit too basic--not even an hand towel in the public bathroom and only tissue with no waste basket--kind of ridiculous in a place that was billed as "luxury". Also no hand towels in the room, rough floors, and extremely poor lighting. But most significant was that the bed netting was poor, it had holes and was dirty. This is in an area of the Tse Tse, so I spent 15 minutes every night re-arranging the netting. Food was okay at most places, but lunch boxes were not the greatest.
4. Guide/Drivers
We had two different guides. Eustice, in Kenya was very personable. knowledgeable, helpful, but very strict about rules, which we cannot hold against him! In Tanzania, our guide, who was a contractor, was very knowledgeable, but we had to ask questions to get the information. He was quite serious in personality and our main concern with him was his extreme confidence in himself which we felt prevented him from getting information from others. He also, without informing us, decided not to go to see some rhinos that were reported spotted, thinking they were too far away. He did not consult us and others at our camp were able to view them. He told us after we were back in camp! In the end, we never did see the rhino, and we do have some resentment over this. We would have said to go to see them for sure.
SI
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Problems with payment and organization.
Accomodatino was very good and also the food in the campsite, the car was also good, but the last day we waitede to enter to last park for five hours. The guide told us, that there were some problems with payment. Agency did not pay so we could not enter to park Tarnagire. In the end they solved problem but we have only 2 hours to see this park. This is not good and this shouldn't happen.
MY
Unique experience
Our trip to Johannesburg on May 2017 was the first time. The trip was more to personal customized. Price was reasonable. Although Malcolm expertise is in 4x4 tours but he worked hard to make our trip become memorable. We did Safaris tour and he enjoyed entertained my son, wife and I about various animals and its habitat. Instead of Safaris, we also enjoyed and appreciated to Malcolm for his willingness to tell the brief about Johannesburg and South Africa, almost everything!...
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A tour guide and Land Cruiser swap the first day impacted Safari in more ways than one.
We choose Regional Tours due to stellar reviews and the fact they are based in Tanzania, Our first tour guide was a very nice and a respectful soul. He went above and beyond to make sure to point out various animals and providing the species names. He spotted a large snake neither of us would of seen. He was very concerned about the Land Cruiser's performance and requested a different one. After getting a different safari vehicle we also changed tour guides (not our choice) . Our new guide spent a lot of time during the game drives talking on his cell phone and texting. Most of my video audio is of him talking instead of the sounds of nature. A couple of times in the Serengeti he stopped along the road to conduct business at locations where he got sell service while we waited. We realize he was not scheduled to be on this trip and was not prepared for the tour. He did not have the change of clothes needed for the 6 days so I gave him some clothing to help him out. Although the experience with natural part of the Safari was good and the hotel accommodations way above average our second guide was more of just a driver than a real guide.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They tell a better story than they can consistently deliver.
We did two safari's with Wildebeest. Masai Mara was awesome with a great guide (Andrew), vehicle and accommodations. The second one a few days later had likely their worst vehicle (doors and windows that were hard to open and dirty inside) and a guide that really did not seem to know or was unwilling to share much about Amboseli - including getting some of the animals wrong. They had many excuses (other vehicle broke down, busy time of year, no previous complaints for that guide, etc.). At least the accommodations were good. So be careful when you book with Wildebeest - you simply don't get consistent quality.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Customer Service Improvement Required
Our initial contact with Simon Mwema was very good. However, this deteriorated after we had paid. We had received 2 different times for the flight departure for our safari. I repeatedly tried to clarify this with no answer to my emails. It was not until 2 days before our departure from Australia that I received an email but with no departure time on the form. Finally, I received the time(1/2 hour earlier than previously stated) and the fact the flight was with a different airline. We tried to confirm the flight time just prior to the safari but did not receive an answer. This was all very unsettling.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lots of animals, some problems
Our guide was knowledgeable and we saw some great wildlife. We did have mechanical issues with the vehicle along with some delays because of permit issues and mechanical problems. The food was very good
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A good trip... but I did not see many animals in the safari
The communication with the company has always been very fast and kind and they provided me with all the information I asked for.
The car trip to Mikumi from Dar, even if it was long, was very good as the driver was very helpful and he drove very safely.
I went for the safari on the first days of July to Mikumi and there were almost no animals, so the safari itself was not very productive.
The lodge where I spent the night, Camp Bastian, was really good as the chalet was big, very clean and confortable. Also the staff were very friendly and the food really good.