50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
Our safari with Nature Travel Namibia exceeded all expectations from booking right through to the experience itself. We had a very personal service when booking with lots of silly questions answered quickly and fully. We did the Namibia, Botswana, Victoria Falls safari and it was excellent from start to finish.
Our guide, Jakes, knowledge, expertise and patience was unbeatable. He took care of all the arrangements and looked after us for the whole of the Namibian part of the tour. He was excellent at finding and spotting wildlife and taught us so much. The group was very small and personal, just myself and my adult daughter and 3 other ladies. As 2 women travelling alone safety was an issue of us but we felt totally safe at all times.
Our guide couldn't accompany us over the border to Botswana and while we missed him and all he did for us all the transfers were smooth and without problems.
The Namibian part of the trip was the best for us with wonderful views of animals including lions on a kill, elephants, zebra, giraffe, hippos, crocodile and lots of different antelope and beautiful birds, some of the encounters up really close. Chobe in Botswana was fantastic in terms of wildlife and landscape but was spoiled for us a bit by being so crowded, especially compared to Etosha and Caprivi. But Victoria Falls was a fantastic ending and even with low water levels was spectacular.
The accommodation was all excellent, with wonderful service, food and entertainment - and some great gift shops!
All in all a fantastic trip, and we would definitely recommend Nature Travel Namibia to anyone looking for the perfect safari - you wont be disappointed.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awe inspiring, amazing and wonderful memories to last forever
Email correspondence was fast and accurate whilst booking a tailor made safari for clients with a fairly specific criteria (and travelling and meeting up from UK / Australia) - massive thanks to Nick and his team.
We were really fortunate to have Kit as our guide - he was so knowledgable about the wildlife and knew exactly where to find them, very organised and checking us into lodges, and even took us to his local once we were all back in Windhoek! Friendship and memories made from the most amazing two weeks! Can't wait for my next trip to Namibia - a geologically rugged and stunningly varied country.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful safari in Tanzania!
Thanks to Florent Ipananga and Snow Africa Adventures, we experienced the most wonderful safari one can dream of (Arrival at Kili as three of my travel companions ascended the mountain and made it to the top, with Florent's experience, tight organization and expert team...! then Arusha for a rest at magnificent Arusha Villas in the middle of a coffee plantation, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara , Ngorongoro and to finish it off: splendid Serengeti with lions playing 10 meters away and a leopard at our feet!) 4 days in Zanzibar to finish it off. Hotels were great, food delicious, Ayoub, our driver-guide adorable...An easy and memorable trip, well-planned, perfectly-organized. I highly recommend the services of Snow Africa Adventures to discover beautiful Tanzania!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Snow Africa gives the best service because Florent and his team are experienced in Safari adventures
The safari was ten times better than expected !!!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect from start to finish
From the moment we showed interest in booking our trip to the minute we were dropped off at the airport at the end of our amazing two weeks in Uganda, Matoke Tours were superb, dealing with everything via email in a highly efficient way. We did the 12-day Nature Only tour and Edwin was a brilliant, knowledgeable and considerate guide. The whole trip was exactly as described and fully lived up to expectations. We added a couple of extras and they were probably not necessary given the breadth of the tour's itinerary. It also reduced the 'down time' that would have allowed us to the opportunity to enjoy the facilities at a couple of the lodges. You have to be prepared for some long days on the road, as while some of the distances may not be huge, some of the holes in the road are!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional safari with lots of fun!
We booked an 11 day safari (Hot springs, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Tribes, Ngorongoro and Serengeti) and we have to say Pumba gives you the best safari experience.
Edwin is an expert on East African wildlife, with an keen eye for even the smallest birds and hidden leopards. Thanks to him we have seen almost all the animals in the parks. He is very flexible, full of nice surprises and is just a reliable, professional and humorous guide.
Pumba Safaris is a growing company with an excellent focus on the demand and wellbeing of its clients. We will never forget what we have experienced and definitly want to come back some time! For now we will recommend him to all our relatives!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Paid for the budget safari and I got it
THe difference between a budget safari and a costlier one is in the accommodations, food offered. and transportation method. Low budget offers tents, same meals every day, and hard road time. On the highest end, you fly into the parks and avoid the "african massage" from the potholes in the road. HOwever where you end up going, is exactly the same spot.
I too my 73 year old mother on the budget safari. Joe was our driver and guide. He found all the beautiful creatures that made our safari amazing. My mom took to the African massage allot like everyone else in the tour van, what choice do you have? Our Route to masai mara was okay, not too long, but the second leg to Lake Nakuru was a long drive day. Flamingoes are no longer at Nakuru and migrate someplace else now. Lake Nakuru to Amboseli was a very long day. In retrospect I'd add an extrs day and spend it near Nairobi, then finish the drive to amboseli the next day.
I'm vegan and found enough to be filled. The point of a budget safari is to see the animals, we achieved that, the simple food, tents, colder showers, and bumpy roads are all part of the low cost. I can endure all that, but make sure the drive time each day is acceptable when planning. I blew it in that department.
BTW: everyone says I brought back the most amazing pictures. Over time , you forget the bumpy road time and remember the highlights.
Magical with upmost professionalism
Our trip started with the upmost professionalism when we were greeted by our driver Ronald at Kigali airport. Ronald turned out to be fantastically professional, warm, insightful and very fun to spend our three days with and he kept the whole process running very smoothly.
We then drovee from here up through Rwanda and across to the Virunga mountains in Uganda - we stayed nearby at the magical Chameleon Hill hotel which overlooks the beautiful lake Mutanda.
The gorilla experience was as magical as we hoped it would be. Ronald was also very helpful in organising a mountain biking and coffee plantation experience on our last day. He enabled us to customise this experience and reduce it down from the half day activity to a few hours which enabled us to still catch our evening flight.
Once again thank you to Matoke tours, from start to finish the communication and overall execution was five star. I encourage any reader of this review to visit the Ugandan countryside as it is simply stunning and full of amazing people
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most amazing travel experience of our lives!
Our trip with Pumba Safaris has been the most amazing trip we have ever experienced - it was truly one of a kind, our honeymoon and it is absolutely the tourguide Edwin who has made it so special. As we changed the tour a bit to our individual needs, I'll be describing our tour briefly.
We started our tour without spending the night in Arusha, so Edwin picked us up at the airport to directly start the safari tour at the Tarangire National Park with us. After spending the first night in an amazing lodge (Lake Burunge Tented Camp) including a pool, amazing dinner outside with a view to the Lake and little dikdiks running in front of our accomodation, we cut the long drive into the Serengeti on the next day in half and had a great lunch at the Ngorongoro Farm House (Tanganyika Wilderness Camps), which was really special and something I can only recommend you to do, as we sat just the two of us in an amazing garden with a great lunch menu and a big marabou bird coming up to us. Overall, we spend three nights in the Serengeti and the Serengeti Tanzania Bush Camp which was the greatest and most special experience overall. Our tent was glamorous with hot water and a unique African luxurious furniture style. The people hosting us at the Bush Camp were amazing hosts, the food was fantastic and it was the best three vacation days of our lives. The people made us feel at home at all times and they really cared about our safety. Even when five fully grown lions hung out right by our tent at night! Finally, we spend a last day at the Farmhouse again and went into the Ngorongoro crater to end our tour.
Coming back to our tourguide and heart and soul of Pumba Safaris, Edwin truly cares about his clients' customer experience at all times, he anticipates perfectly to give room for some time as a couple on the one hand and is never too tired to answer questions on the wildlife on the other. As my husband and I were really amazed by the wildlife, Edwin would drive all day for us and never get tired of searching for new animal experiences for us even if we had already spent all day in the car and still wanted to explore some more. I can only recommend to book the car all for yourselves as you have more space to move around and can have the tour YOUR way without waiting on other travellers or even photography nerds.
What is truly special about Edwin is his passion about driving and the wildlife. You can tell he has studied Wildlife in university as he has deep knowledge far beyond what a standard tourguide could tell you about the Serengeti. Also, he is a really funny guy and we loved getting to know him, learn about the culture through him and spending time with him. Finally, as I left my iPhone in the Serengeti, Edwin went beyond all service levels to get my iPhone and mail it to me to Germany, which I was so thankful for. I hope many more people get to book a tour with him and have the time of their lives in the Serengeti. Finally, we can fully recommend booking Pumba Safaris and especially we recommend you to tailor the tour a bit as it is absolutely worth spending some more money to increase the number of nights in the Serengeti desert. The Tarangire National Park is a nice introduction into the wildlife at the beginning of the trip, but the special wildlife encounters happen in the Serengeti!
Edwin, Sebastian, thank you so much for giving us the most special honeymoon ever!
US
Kanyezi Delivers the Best
We were thrilled with our trip to South Africa with Kanyezi. Everyone that we worked with was knowledgeable, helpful, and kind. The accommodations were impeccable , the food amazing, and the scenery incredible. If you have ever imagined traveling to South Africa, try to make that happen. Kanyezi also provided the best rates for such a once in a lifetime adventure that I am hoping will not be just this once.