Amazing!
I was lucky enough to do safaris as three different places during my trip - one by bicycle and two in 4x4. My favourite was the Mkhaya Game Reserve. We did both sunset and sunrise safari drives and the wildlife, scenery and overall experience were incredible. The staff at the lodge are incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, welcoming and go our of their way to make your visit special. Mkhaya has a much more relaxed feel than some of the other reserves that we traveled to - everything is quite laid back, the 4x4 are a bit older and more battered and it doesn't feel quite as corporate as the other reserves - this is all a good thing in my view! It feels as though the staff genuinely want to give you the best possible time, not just make money from your visit.
The accommodation and the food were incredible - open-sided, thatch roofed lodges and eating outside under the stars - perfect. We were incredibly lucky with the wildlife spotting and saw both black and white rhino, hippo, giraffe, warthog, zebra etc etc. We saw a lot of rhino are were able to get pretty close to them, which was amazing!
PE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The pleasure of travelling to Africa ...
We (Guglielmo–Italy & María Cecilia–Peru) are return clients that, after our third travel organized and provided by Compass Odyssey, are very proud to entrust once more Compass Odyssey. Our first travel (2016: wine-tours around Cape Town and Safari at Sabi Sand Reserve in South Africa) was good, our second travel (2017: wine-tours around Cape Town and Safari at Kruger Park in South Africa) was great and finally our third travel (2018-2019: Victoria Falls – Zimbabwe, Safari at Chobe National Park – Botswana and Safari at Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park - Zambia) has been superb.
Our three experiences have always gone beyond our personal expectations and we can sincerely state that Compass Odyssey makes you feel like home because Darren and Kate are professional, positive, competent and very reliable. We are just thinking about our next travel to Namibia in 2020 with Compass Odyssey: the pleasure of travelling to Africa …
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Get to the top of Africa
We were three friends from North Carolina, USA who decided to climb this highest free-standing mountain in the world and we managed to reach to the top. Thanks to the Manager (extremely friendly and informative), and the guides. It was a really good experience, its view was incredible!
Our experience of climbing the Kilimanjaro was organized by this Company Bujo tours, I highly recommend this.
DE
I can highly recommend - was great from beginning until end.
Everything went well, the staff is super friendly and helpful, the price is great, the accommodation and programme were amazing. I have done a lot of safaris in the past and this was one of my best. from experience, i know it is not a given that everything works out so well. Thanks a lot, Cate, Emma & Rest !!!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unreal gorilla experience!!
What a magical trip which was only made better by the guide Paul. He went over and above to support us and we felt like we were leaving a friend.
Magical experience in Bwindi to see the gorillas, a breath taking stay at Gorilla Mist camp and plenty of excitement as we opted for certain bespoke travel arrangements. Paul and Edrisa supported our unique itinerary and made sure we were as comfortable as possible. We will definitely be back for more of Uganda.
Look no further for a tour operator!
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect communication and experience
We spent 5 days in Arusha, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro (which was amazing) with Ben from Shemeji and it could not have been better. Not only did Ben make sure we saw everything we wanted to see, he was patient, funny, organized, friendly, and made the trip enjoyable. On the other hand, communication with Emma when planning the trip was also perfect. She was helpful, nice, organized, and responded to emails quickly. We tailored many parts of the trip and nothing was a problem for her to adjust, even with last minute changes due to problems with our flights. I will definitely contact Emma and Shemeji next time we’re back in Tanzania.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Easy, very professional and service minded. Replied quickly which was much appreciated.
We had a great experience with UNIGLOBE as travel partner. The service was straightforward and staff (Simon) very helpful and service minded. We got help with our questions and felt well taken care of during our trip. I would definitely recommend UNIGLOBE to others.
IN
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great experience.......awesome trip
Our family (me, my wife, my son and his wife) have just returned from Tanzania after a great experience of a 7 days trip with Happy World Safari and I must admit that we will cherish the memories for the rest of our lives.
We had picked Happy World Safari for the trip based on internet reviews and as it turned out we were extremely lucky about our choice. Our trip was planned well in advance for December 2018. After a long trail of email exchanges with Mr. Joseph, the owner of Happy World Safaris, we decided to include Tarangire, Ndutu area, Ngorongoro crater and of course Serengeti in our itinerary.
As regards the services, during the planning and booking stage itself we found Mr. Joseph to be very professional and patient and we started to feel positive about our upcoming trip. His responses were quick and his inputs and suggestions later turned out to be spot on. Above all Mr. Joseph is a gem of a person and very helpful by nature.
In addition I would like to put in a word about our driver and guide Mr.Tony who was also a nice person, an expert driver and had a very sharp eye to notice the game while driving. There were plenty of times when he stopped the vehicle, reversed a bit, picked his binoculars and showed us animals barely noticeable by naked eye. On one instance as we drove by a pond, he asked all of us to look hard towards what we thought was a rock and we realized it was a huge croc. As it was rainy weather, at times our 4 x 4 land cruiser got stuck in the sloshy mud and both Joseph and Tony displayed their expertise to resolve the situation. On one occasion, after getting out of the sloshy mud with the help of another vehicle, Tony had to drive fast so as not to get stuck again and vehicle skidded left and right in the mud avoiding the thorny bushes which required a high level of driving expertise. It was as though we were on a speedboat rolling and pitching on water. We all admired this awesome team of Joseph and Tony and those moments will remain forever etched in our memories. We were visiting Tanzania for the first time and to put it briefly the best compliment we can pay to Mr. Joseph and Tony is that we feel that this will not be our last trip as we all wish to go back again with them in future. To put it mildly the service was excellent.
As regards the arrangements, everything was handled in a professional manner right from welcome at Kilimanjaro airport, checking in at various lodges during the entire trip and final dropping at the airport. All the lodges were great experiences and we will remember all with fond memories. We stayed at Maramboi Tented Camp, Ngorongoro Farm House, Ndutu Safari Lodge and Serengeti Sopa Lodge. Accommodation was clean and food was delicious including the packed lunch boxes for our daily trips.
Our vehicle was a Toyota 4x4 Land Cruiser with plenty of space for four of us to move around and handle our cameras. There was no problems for charging our camera batteries etc. while on the move. Vehicle was robust and well maintained which gave us confidence on difficult terrain and a feeling of safety.
Although it may vary from trip to trip, but we were very lucky to spot a wide variety of game including the big five. We were fortunate to see some animals at hand shaking distance including a Lion eating a Wilderbeest, a pair of Cheetas next to our vehicle, an elephant having a mud bath, a leopard on a tree and a pride of lions just relaxing.
Overall it was a dream vacation and we had a great value for money trip and I would recommend all who are planning a trip to Tanzania to go with Happy World Safaris for a memorable experience.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic experience - perfect organization
Fantastic experience during our 8 days Uganda Gorilla and Chimps Safari - we saw a lot of animals.
We travelled with Journeys Discovering Africa which we can recommend in every aspects (Communication, Drivers, Guide etc.)
Thank you very much for this fantastic trip and organization.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best safari in our life thanks to Ben Shegesh, Festo Bedard Mgassa and Shemeji!
This is a review of a private five-day safari organized by Shemeji for two people from 8 to 12 September 2018.
Ben Shegesha - it was an honor for us that Beni was our guide and driver. We will remember until the end of our lives:
• his smile for every moment and every day
• he could point out animals difficult to find even through binoculars
• beautiful pictures that he did to us
• his extensive knowledge of wild animals, national parks
• excellent parking ability to give the best perspective for taking photos
• he knew how to talk to the local police, so that he would not delay the safari
• he is very wise and intelligent man with a great potential for every professional opportunity
• perfect time management
• strong engagement from morning to evening
• there was a camp on the side of the mountain and only one flatter place, and there Beni set up a tent
• very good driver who cares about safety
• we felt all the time that he cares about us
• he helps other guides so he could count on their help
• he can repair the car
• very good english
Festo Bedard Mgassa
• he prepared a lot of tasty and with great variety food at camp conditions
• friendly
• he organized big bags to protect our luggage from dust on safari
Shemeji
• we were two of us, and we had a car for seven people, it did not break even though the roads destroy cars on safari
• they agreed to take us to the Kilimanjaro airport without additional payment
• we had clean sleeping bags and a nice tent
• we were sorry that we did not have the opportunity to meet Emma personally (the owner of Shemeji)
Safari depends on:
• the guide is the most important
• be lucky to meet animals and a guide to see them
• the car should be spacious and well cared for because the failure is a big waste of time
• to have a good cook if you like a good food
• the tour operator must have the best recommendations in the Trip Advisor and Safaribookings, because they are looking for clients through this portals, and are doing their best to get a best opinion there
• tour operator must have a long feedback history on the Trip Advisor and Safaribookings, because if you pay them for safari in advance and they do not organize it, you will lose your money
