US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
extraordinary safari experience
Had a wonderful safari experience arranged by seven by far tours. Right from the start the communication from sylvester was prompt, helpful and accurate. I had a complicated itinerary and he helped put it all together with ease. All of the arrangements worked perfectly including the safari in Tanzania with their partner world tours. Great guides Hassan and Cosmos really helped make the trip come alive. Would recommend using this tour company without hesitation! Thank you for a wonderful trip!!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very, very good but wanted a bit more educational
The registration staff was helpful and considerate of our needs and always responded promptly to our email inquiries. They were accommodating and customized a tour to our specific needs. Extremely reasonable in price. Accommodations were very comfortable and above expectations for camping and price. All staff friendly and helpful and we were very pleased that it was Eco tourism and local people were employed. Also pleased our guide respected environment and rules...saw several other tours that damaged the grasslands all the time and crowded the wildlife, not ours. Food was made fresh and with attention to our preferences and was tasty and excellent. Accommodations were clean even though rustic. Locations of campgrounds less than 5 minutes from entrance to parks so no time wasted each day. Tour guide kept us safe, and was excellent at predicting where animals would be, go or do and we saw 23 lions including two cubs and a mating adult pair, 7cheetahs including two kittens, lots of herd animals, giraffes, hippos, hyenas, jackals, birds, tons of elephants (:-) and more and generally VERY close! A wonderful, beautiful week. The rainy afternoon weather was the only obstacle to seeing more. Especially impressed with night guards at campground in Masi Mara who watched over us all night. Van was clean and very comfortable for all day travel. Loved pop up roof for 360 degree viewing. Only wished for more educational information from guide about the animals, plants, country and people. It was not lacking but we would have been happy to learn more about this exquisite country. Small problem with radio not working on last day and 4wheel drive needing maintenance so only two for part of tour. Driver was skilled so not a problem, he navigated all terrain expertly but should be 100%. Food at restaurants was only average, food in campgrounds wonderful. Our guide protected us from hawkers when we did not want to shop and brought us to excellent places to do so when we did want souvenirs. Tour of Masai village very interesting and really glad for that part but watch out for selling at the end....set up to get you to buy a lot, which we were happy to do because tour was free and extensive, but be prepared to haggle down inflated prices at end there and in all locations...haggling is expected. Tour office kindly stored our unneeded luggage for the week. Driver willingly modified the days to maximize out tour time versus eating time, which was our preference. Wish there was a "very good" before excellent for rating. Website needs a LOT of improvement. Our driver's son will graduate with that skill and we feel strongly that he should be hired right away so the website can be improved. It was not easy to navigate and was not engaging or appealing. If we had not had a recommendation from a friend, we would've gone with another company with similar pricing but much better and informative website. Very grateful that driver shared his binoculars and recommend taking a pair or having camera with strong zoom...rhinos we saw were pretty far away. Happy the crocodiles were also far away! Other side of the river suited us fine as well as the soldier with the rifle escorting us! After watching video postings of "lion opens car door" would NOT recommend the other companies with open sides/no doors as well as locking your door (although ours only opened on one side and was a slider which they didn't seem to open) as the lions came right next to us! Our driver was so good at placing us in their path! Was an amazing experience we didn't think we could afford but thanks to this company we had an awesome, unforgettable, memories for a lifetime safari. Thank you!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Top notch company
On our 3rd safari to Kenya & Tanzania we used the services of Leopard Tours on the Tanzania side (drivers cannot drive in both countries-you switch at 300 yard border transfer station). Our Kenya driver, Joseph, who we have used for over 17 years, dropped us at the border crossing near Arusha and we met with Livingston from Leopard Tours. He was ontime and ready to go. In and out of the border "red tape" in an hour. Next a stop at Arusha hotel to meet company director and sign docs and finish payment. Excellent lunch and we were on our way. Spent 8 days with Livingston and he was outstanding (and we have had a lot of guides over the years). I hope he is still with Leopard Tours because I have a friend booking a trip right now and want to see if he can get both Joseph in Kenya and Livingston in Tanzania. Leopard also booked us into a great tent camp called Lake Masek (run by the Masai) but it has become very popular so hard to get a booking now. Leopard is an excellent company. Their vans are modern & great shape and they handled everything perfectly.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Most enjoyable safari with a very experienced tour guide
The booking process was efficiently handled by EA Exotic Safaris. the tour guide was Joseph who turned out to be incredibly good at spotting animals in the bush. Each of the hotels booked as part of the safari was excellent providing clean and spacious rooms and good food.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Spectacular Trip
We feel that this is the ideal African trip. Started with a visit to Nairobi then progressed through Tanzania with each day progressing to the Great Migration. We have been to Africa several times but nothing can top seeing the Great Migration. Second to seeing the migration was climbing to see the Silverback Gorillas in Rwanda. Great Safaris did an outstanding job picking our guides and the lodges. Everything was first class. Amazing, how good the dinners were in the middle of the Serengeti. We highly recommend Great Safaris.
Excellent service and great value
The 4 of us went on the 7-day safari by Wecam stretching from Nairobi to Lake Manyara to the Masai Mara, crossing into Tanzania and exploring the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. From our research online, we were hard pressed to find a tour that covered this much in Tanzania and Kenya with the relative comfort in accommodation (i.e. not pitching our own tents!) that we were looking for. Wecam's tour provided great value for money and they certainly delivered on their promise.
Their customer service was largely handled by a lovely lady by the name of Mercy, who was very quick to respond, able to answer our detailed questions on accommodation / itinerary, and generally a very helpful and courteous person to interact with. Thus from a management perspective, Wecam was able to meet almost all our needs - the only element that fell short of our expectations was their requirement to have the entire payment of the tour paid upfront (as opposed to an initial deposit and the remainder paid at the end). Luckily for us, we finished the tour highly satisfied with what we received.
Regarding the tour itself, we had two professional and seasoned drivers / tour guides covering each half of the trip (Kenya, then Tanzania). We particularly enjoyed our time with Peter (Kenyan half of the trip) who demonstrated a rich experience of these great national parks, animals, and local culture, but also shared a good sense of humour, kindness and friendliness. Both our tour guides were also registered with their respective country's tour operator community, providing them access to a radio and transmitter through which they could communicate any interesting sightings or call for help with breakdowns. We were lucky enough to see all the big five, but their radio communication in particular ensured we saw plenty of lions, a rare sighting of two leopards (being chased by buffalo!), four tiny cheetah cubs and more spectacular sights.
They also built in time for a few optional activities (such as a cycling / walking tour up to a picturesque gorge, time to explore souvenirs, and a visit to a local Masai village). The tour cars were the same models we saw most tour operators using and were reasonably comfortable and had a pop-up roof which offered great visibility / photo ops. Be warned that there are two days which involve particularly long periods of travelling in the car (~6hrs not including the game drive), but this is just a reality of having to cover large distances; not a reflection of Wecam. Many of the roads were very dusty and gravelly, so we actually recommend face-masks just for that reason; but again, this is advice for travelling through these parts of Kenya and Tanzania, not commentary on Wecam as an operator.
Accommodation was at the level of comfort we expected, with a decent hotel in Nakura and comfortable lodge at Ngorongoro. The tented campsites in Masai Mara and the Serengeti were a bit more basic, but contained beds, private bathrooms and electricity in the evenings and mornings which covered our essential needs at least. All meals were covered in the tour price and ranged from decent to delicious.
My entire group was very happy with our safari; it goes without saying the Masai Mara, Serengeti, and other parks we visited were spectacular and, at times, breath-taking places to visit. If these are the destinations you would like to explore, we would be happy to recommend Wecam as an operator that gives you great value for money with good people working for them, altogether delivering an excellent service.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memories to last us a lifetime.........
My Husband and I also used Global Insight Safaris and our guide was Didimus. It was the most amazing experience of our lives. The service was incredible, to be honest, when I contacted Baraka for Safari, I became bit suspicious as he used to reply usually within 1-2 hours (even in the night). Also, this safari company is quite new and therefore had to search for how genuine they are, before transferring advance payment. Recommendations from friends about the company made me to trust them. Baraka helped to arrange and make our honeymoon safari itinerary in the best convenient way. I was completely satisfied with his responses towards my all questions and queries.
Our guide, Didmus, had lots of experience and he knew all the birds and other small animals. We really liked him, and we were very lucky because we had the chance to see the big five, which, as he told us, may not be very easy. And he also provided us with binoculars, which was very useful when you can only see an animal several meters away from you. We also did an extension to northern Serengeti to watch the great migration crossing. There we could actually watch animals more closely, and we had the chance to watch a herd of lionesses hunting a zebra.
The overall experience was great, we loved the safari, loved our guide. The company matched our expectations, which were very high, since it was the trip of our dreams. Baraka was very helpfull, always helping us and answering our questions and doubts, and Nadia too. We would definitly come back with Global Insight Safaris
Sylvia & Barry
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Once in a life time experience, but want to keep repeating.
This was the TRUE safari experience. I have been to Kenya/Tanzania for safari in the past with luxury accommodations and a reasonable wild life viewing. That did not come anywhere close to what was waiting for us on this safari.
The kind of wild life, both in quality and quantity that we were presented with on the Unlimited Safari was simply awesome. Moses, with his superb knowledge of animal behaviors and great anticipation based on the same, helped us see animals in different settings, as if they were giving scripted performances just for our private pleasure. Ten days at four different camp sites, with each site offering something unique in the type of wild life, was made even more enjoyable because of the kindness/friendliness of the staff, good sense of humor and fantastic food served fresh everyday. Special mention is deserved for the ' Sundowners ' prior to dinner time, yet another speciality of Moses. All in all, you will be amazed with the richness of experiences that you will be treated with, if you decide to go with the Unlimited Safari.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The adventurous route
We took the Rongai route because we liked the idea of being on the trail less traveled. We loved having plenty of space to be on our own but still have people around to socialize with. Our Zara guides were incredibly helpful, kind, generous, and good humored. When we got to Kibo camp and saw the cabin dwellers with the proper mattresses to sleep on, we felt a little envious but I'm absolutely not sorry that we chose the adventurous route. I had a lot of trouble with altitude symptoms, but our guide was very attentive. My fiancé and I both made it to the top, but I really struggled. Our guide, assistant, guide, and our book came up with us to keep me safe and sang a jaunty song to me to motivate me all the way to the top. We had a positively memorable experience, and the Zara guides could not have been any better to us!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kenya and Zanzibar trip
I took my girlfriend in Africa for an engagement surprise. Things really went down cool as we visited both Kenya and Tanzania. Among the parks that we visited were Masai Mara, Samburu, L.Nakura and Amboseli. After the long game drives and the bumpy roads, we flew to Zanzibar to relax. Generally everything was good, cant regret.