IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Safari very close to perfection
We were very satisfied of the 7 day safari tour we did with Savannah Explorers organization. First of all the communication has always been very simple and fast via e-mail. It was very easy to follow all the required steps and having a very nice tour organized months before with a direct communication between me and Savannah Explorer. In Tanzania we have experienced a very good organization starting from our arrival at the Kilimanjaro airport until the departure 9 days after from the same airport. The safari tour was really wonderful with the visit of 5 different national parks each different from the others. In this context we have seen many different type of landscapes and an impressive number of wild animal species in their habitat. The lodge in which we accomodated were very confortable with a satisfying quality and variety of the food. The guide accompanied us was very kind and helpful while the driver was really very professional driving in a perfect way in very difficult roads. To summarize a very reccomendable experience.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Safari-Best driver-be careful with pricing
We were supposed to be a group of 4 Italian friends; we ended up being only 3 as one of us could not travel at last minute because he got sick. We had a 10 days tour touching Tarangire, Manyara, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Natron. We were extremely happy about the places, animals and tribes we have visited. All very authentic except for the Masai tribe in Ngorngoro that was quite touristic (paid 20 dollars each for 15 minutes very touristic tour); they were asking for money every now and then. Lake Eyasi and Lake Natron are out of the touristic places and so worth visiting. Other tour operators refused to offer Lake Natron as the road to get there was adventurous, and it was indeed. The best part of our trip was Chediel, our fantastic driver! He has never been tired of showing us things, telling us stories about animals (African tales and scientific things as well); he was able to spot the farthest ceetah and taking us close enough to count all the spots on the fur! He was joyful and nice all the time. He also very quickly solved the only problem we got while driving. The jeep sank into the sands and he worked hard to take it out. If you ever choose this tour operator please ask to have Chediel as your guide!!
Unfortunately we could not say exactly the same about Joseph, the tour operator leader, as he was paying more attention on money than on services. He did not provide us with a detailed program and he did not provide us with useful information for what is surely a difficult trip. For example, he did not send us general information on what to wear, what to bring, how a day/meal/dinner was supposed to be (I had contacted 25 tour operators for a quotation and most of them sent these on quotation without even waiting for us to book the tour). For example we were not told to wear a bathing suit when visiting the waterfalls in Natron; we were said we would have had wifi in every lodges while this was not the case for two out of seven lodges (and in other two the wifi was not really working although apparently available). At the end of our trip he helped us to arrange our connection from Dar es Salaam Airport to the ferry harbor (tricky! please allow you lots of time in advance as the traffic is horrible). We thanked him for this, but listen to my consideration: he charged us 50 dollars for the ride (which was absolutely fine) plus 7 dollars each on top of the price for the ferry ticket (that we had booked in advance) because apparently he had to change shelling in dollars to buy the tickets and the commission was to be payed by us (which I absolutely agree), BUT I disagree on EACH of us. Do you really think he paid three commissions and not one? do you ever change money in three different rounds for three friends or would you change money all together to avoid three commissions? Also, as said, one of us could not travel last minute. He gave us back less than 1/10 of the money paid by him saying it was just because of my kindness otherwise he would have not given the money back because apparently he had already used that amount to book the places and even payed the ticket to the parks (which were not). I understand this was last minute and high season, but let's try to be reasonable and honest. I do not believe he could not save money from all the amount my friend had paid and I explain you why: we had paid in advance only 1/3 of the whole trip, but we had not signed any type of contract. What if the all of us had not shown up at all? would he have risked to loose all of those money?? i don't believe so. And by the way when asked to provide a receipt he only issued one for the money we paid there and not for the ones we had send by bank transfer... One last thing... (and ok maybe this was a genuine mistake but when you have more things to complain about it's better to say)...he took me to the counter to change money I needed to give him... he gave me back 8 dollars less than due...
Having said all of this, I am not "Not suggesting" to book with Tomodachi, I am only suggesting to make sure your driver is Chediel and you make clear everything with Joseph before agreeing.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First time in Kenya and first safari
To give some context to my review, I'm the type of person that usually likes to travel without anything scheduled and figure out what to do in the place. Since this was our first time in Africa, our first Safari and we were going to Kenya in the elections period, we've decided to at least book the Safari online. Finding a company was not an easy task (there are way too many agencies) and Simon was probably the person that better replied to all my questions and did it a timely manner (he was replying much faster than I was replying to his emails, sorry pal!).
When we got to Kenya, everything went smooth but we've figure out that the online companies are nothing more than agencies that deal with freelance drivers and include us in a 4x4 with people from other companies. This is not a bad thing, but for someone that travels on the cheap, you are more than ok to go to Kenya, find one driver and negotiate with him directly. For those of you who prefer to do it the "safer way", I clearly recommend Wildrace Safaris .
Kenya is without a doubt an amazing country to travel around and see a different scenario from anywhere we've been in the world. We had the opportunity to see the big 5 between Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. When in Amboseli, if you can see "Cloudymanjaro", please celebrate for me.
Our trip was lovely and Simon made sure we were always ok during the entire trip. We ad a few roadbumps along the Safari, but "This Is Africa". The important part is that we really enjoyed the country, the safari and everything we crossed paths with.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome Safari-experience, worth all the money!
We (4 girls) spent 2 1/2 days at the Ruaha Nationalpark (2 days of gamedrive and a walking safari) with Chabo Africa. The communication via Email was okay, there were some misunderstandings but in the end everything worked out perfectly. Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and a bottle of water per day & person were included and the food was really delicious. If you want coffee or Softdrinks you should take some money with you, because you have to pay for them yourself. Chabo Africa picked us up in Iringa and after a bumpy 2 hours car ride we checked into the accommodation (nice and cheap bandas inside the national park with private bathroom - totally fine). Afterwards we had lunch and started with the gamedrive. We saw a lot of different animals (lions, leopard, elefants, zebras, giraffes and so on). Our driver was very reliable, on time and friendly, he showed us all the animals but he could have given us a little more information about them. All in all the price was good and really worth it because we had a beautiful trip and were very happy and satisfied. We are totally recommending Chabo Africa to everyone who wants to have a nice and "cheap" Safari and we would totally go with them again.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Yellow Zebra Safaris listens to their clients and provides them with an experience of a lifetime!
"You can not describe Africa you need to experience it and Yellow Zebra delivers. The logistics of the trip were executed flawlessly from being met on the tarmac in Arusha to be handed off to the Coastal Air pilot in the Northern Serengeti for the trip home.The lodges and bush camps are spectacular and the food in all is fantastic. My trip to Tanzania went beyond my expectations and I need to thank Yellow Zebra for their expertise in making it so."
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An incredibly exciting and memorable trip to Kenya with ‘Magical Destinations Safari'
The Magical Destinations Safari made our African safari trip possible, at first and then unforgettable, until the next one. We started to plan our trip a bit late in time of the year, especially with the top season coming around July-Sep and we were planning ours for the last week of June-first week of July. This is the transition period when the safari price gets double in many cases. Moreover, we were looking for flight connections between the places, wanted a mixed experience of national parks and conservancies, pretty much fixed on our dates, order of destinations (like ending the trip with Maasai Mara) and of course budget . Difficult, I know and that's why I decided to go with a trip planner at the end, even after spending quite a bit of time to plan it on my own. Next, the challenge was to find the tour planner who could manage things in our budget, preferences and close the deal within a short time with all bookings confirmed. I got good response from couple of famous agencies but finally, only the Magical could meet the ends. The young lady, Angelina was super prompt on emails, phone calls, WhatsApp during the short planning period and patiently went back and forth with our changing needs. Finally, she put up a fantastic itinerary tailored to our budget and dates. She was very honest as a person. I was a bit hesitant to go with her in the beginning as I didn't find any review of her own company anywhere, except her name appearing several places in one of the reputed company’s review list. I asked her about this and was thoroughly satisfied with her honest answer. I am happy that I trusted her. Without her endeavor, I would have postponed the trip next year. Thank you Angelina and Magical Destinations Safari.
We started at Nairobi and visited Amboseli National park, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasa , Maasai Mara and Naboisho conservancy through our 9 day stay in Kenya. A very first meet and greet at the Nairobi hotel with Angelina was focused on the detailed plan of execution. Our first day was planned as a day out at Nairobi, when she and Wilson (was driving us in the city) accompanied us whole day and made sure we could visit all the places on our list. Our experience at Amboseli National park, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasa, Maasai Mara National Reserve was magical in every sense, while the one at the Wilderness camp at Naboisho was mixed. Angelina was always checking if the trip was going as planned, and eager to know if everything was good as well as anything was not good. We were out of touch with her during our stay at Wilderness as the camp didn't have Wi-Fi and we didn't have a local phone. She came to see us off at the Nairobi airport, which was again a very sweet gesture on her part. However, our overall experience in all the lodges and camps which were mostly superb, is out of the context of this review.
Angelina is very efficient and hard working. I wish all good luck to her and the staffs of the newborn company- Magical Destinations Safari. My views and opinion about Angelina and the company are strictly restricted in relation to my requirements for the trip and the challenges that I faced during the planning period. My requirements were met and the challenges resolved with Magical. I would recommend this company as a happy customer.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant Safari experience
We did a brilliant 11-day safari with Base Camp in August 2017, travelling the full northern Tanzania circuit including Arusha NP, Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We travelled as a family of 4 adults, with Robert, our guide for the whole time, in a private Base Camp Land Cruiser. Robert was a great guide, he was brilliant at spotting all sorts of things which we would have missed, and he knew where and when to stop the vehicle to observe and take photos of the wildlife. We managed to see everything we wanted to see, including all the "Big 5" (and loads more as well, including the wildebeest migration across the Mara River), thanks mainly to Robert's efforts.
Booking the trip directly with Achmed in Tanzania (the English owner) was easy and friendly. Achmed answered all my email queries very quickly. He also met with us when we arrived, gave us a good briefing and various tips, and he also met with us again on our return for our feedback.
We did a (luxury) tented lodge trip, and the accommodation and food was very good all the time. Beware - this trip requires long days in the vehicle, but this is necessary to cover the distances and also to be around in the parks at the right times - we would not have seen so much otherwise. We also wanted to do a day hike part-way up Kilimanjaro, which Achmed organised for us as an extra "add-on" day with a nearby overnight stop.
It was a brilliant, well-organised trip, and I highly recommend Base Camp Tanzania for a Tanzania safari of any duration !
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 Day Gorilla Safari
I went on the 3 Day Gorilla Safari Tour that Arrive Africa Safaris offers. I coordinated over email with Jessica to setup my Safari trip; she was quick to respond to any questions I had concerning the trip. I was able to have my guide, Ronald, pick me up from Kyenjojo instead of Kampala since I was working in Kyenjojo the prior week. Ronald was my guide for the Safari and he did a phenomenal job during the length of trip. He was very informative and easy-going. The Gorilla Trek itself was fantastic. It only took our group about an hour and a half to locate the gorillas and then we spent an hour observing them and taking pictures. Overall, Arrive Africa Safaris offers a great 3 Day Gorilla Trek; I definitely recommend it. One tip: If you are coming over from the US and you are bringing cash make sure to bring only 50s or 100s that are dated after 2009 and make sure that they don't have tears or stains. The Ugandan banks have strange rules on what US bills they will and won't accept.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great team
Simon and his team ensure that you get best experience when you are with them. This was my second visit with them and I am sure my third visit will also be with them.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It was wonderful
Everything was wonderful... They are very helpful and i felt like i was talking to someone i have known for long time.it was the best experience planning to come back and book again with you.