US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent, professional, knowledgeable, responsive, flexible, and courteous!! Tour of a lifetime!
Sylvester (operator) and Hassan (guise) met and exceeded our every need. From planning to execution, handled our trip with professionalism and courtesy. I was comparing multiple companies and Seven By Far was the clear choice. Prompt to respond to every question, provided ample flexibility (including letting us stay at a tented lodge not listed in their options); provided extra comforts including requests for water, stops during the road trip, and upgrades to a nicer vehicle and it was all in our price range. I booked this trip for my parents, aunt and uncle (all in their 60s and first time travelers to Kenya). The guide engaged in excellent conversation about Kenya and knew an incredible amount of information about the animals and their behavior. He was also very courteous and made sure that my family was quite comfortable throughout the trip! I will use Seven by Far for future safaris and trips and certainly will whole heartedly to all my friends and colleagues! It’s a complete no-brainer to pick this operator! Thank you guys for an experience of a lifetime!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
The whole experience with Roadside Expeditions was unforgettable. Starting from the very initial interactions with Paul, when he suggested few options for our safari and gave us a choice depending on our budget, till the very last moment of our trip. Definitely go with James (our guide) - he was the best. He has a great eye for spotting animals and we were lucky to see all Big Five, including a rhino (with a rhino-baby) and James was the first one to spot them in the crater that day, just few minutes before we had to leave. The car was equipped with the radio, which is very helpful for guides to share information and not to miss important things.
Since it was also our honeymoon & my husband’s birthday - James and Paul arranged some nice surprises for us and my husband on his birthday! Truly amazing experience - amazing lodges, great roadside adventures!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do NOT Book with This Company!
Do not book with this company! The principal, "John William" runs a scam operation - possibly in connection with others. He'll take your money and then tell you shortly before your scheduled arrival that his company is in financial trouble BUT there is another safari operator who can help - IF you pay again for the trip. Also, "John William" will tell you that he made mistakes in the day-by-day activities list that he sent you so, sorry, but you have to pay your own way, for example, to Zanzibar from Tanzania. And, oops, there is an extra safari day listed by mistake so you’ll need to find something else to do on that date at your expense. "John William" (I don't believe it's his real name!) is a liar and a scammer. Also, by the way, when he says he's "booked" a reservation, it does not mean he's paid for it. I've been told that he runs his bogus operation from the United States. After cheating so many people out of money, his website is still active as he's trying to swindle as much money out of folks that he can before he's carried off in handcuffs.
If you already have been victimized, contact your charge card company, the police, and Elly Maturo (+255 713 230 134), [email protected], from the Tanzania Cultural Tourism Program.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!
I traveled (solo) to Zimbabwe and Botswana this past spring - my first safari and defnitely not my last. While I used another outfitter to set up my trip, I stayed at a series of African Bush Camps (Somalisa Acacia, Thorntree River Lodge and Linyanti Main Camp). Each and every camp exceeded my expectations on all levels. From the time that Ian met me at the airstrip at Somalisa and drove me to camp to my final goodbyes at the airstrip at Linyanti I was blown away by the genuine warmth and hospitality of each member of the staff. My "tents" were far more luxurious with far more ambience than photos suggest. Watching elephants walk by (Somalisa) as I unpacked was magical. Sitting around the water hole at Somalisa with elephants and baboons drinking within mere feet was magical. The food was outstanding and the portions far beyond what I could eat! Breakfast around the campfire was my favorite meal of the day however! There's nothing like a cup of hot coffee and "campfire toast" to start the day. The hosts at each camp made sure that I was never left out or alone because I traveled solo. I loved getting to know the staff and learning more about their country and their lives. Yes, I know they are in the "hospitality business" and it's their job to make sure I have a wonderful time. However, I never felt that they were just doing their job. I believe they truly want to ensure we all fall in love with their little part of Africa and its wildlife. I also learned (at Thorntree River Lodge where I ate with female members of the management team every night) that "girls are girls the world over"- we care about how we dress and look as well as "boys" the world over! The guides taught me to "look up" and I learned to appreciate birds more than I ever thought I would. I'm an elephant lover and they made sure that I had every opportunity to experience these amazing creatures in the wild as well as learn as much about them as possible. I also wanted to learn more about Zimbabwe and Botswana and loved hearing the bush stories as much as stories about their own personal lives. I am also fascinated by bones and skeletons and Lionel (Somalisa) always stopped so I could take a look and explain to me what I was looking at. Des (Linyanti) had me laughing the entire day! Philip (Thorntree) shared his love of the Zambezi and wildlife at every turn! The guides I met also couldn't say enough about their experience with African Bush Camps too. They all had worked elsewhere but felt that African Bush Camps provides them with the best resources and opportunities to share their own experiences and learnings among themselves in order to better provide the guest the best experience. For employees to be proud of the company they work for and rave about their experiences says a lot to me as well. There was a small glitch in my itinerary that arose several months before my departure. African Bush Camps and Explore (my outfitter) took care of everything for me and ensured that I not be inconvenienced in the slightest. There are many bush camp companies to choose from but if you are traveling to Zimbabwe, Zambia or Botswana do yourself a favor and choose African Bush Camps!!! I can tell you that I will be returning to Southern African and I will choose African Bush Camps when and where I can! I can't wait to see my "friends" again!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
BEWARE!! Poor safety practices, will con you out of money throughout tour.
Nothing can beat the wildlife of Kenya, however we had the WORST tour guide, John and would not recommend BigMac safaris or John as a guide. He rarely spoke to us and quite honestly barely acknowledged us. He put us in danger by driving insane speeds on the roads and with broken seat belts. He was on his phone ALL of the time, if not talking then texting and looked like we were bothering him anytime we asked a question. He was frequently late for us sometimes at the expense of us missing meals. Go with another company, ANY OTHER company has to be better. He only spoke to us at the end when he wanted to explain to us what a good guide he was and if we didn't believe him we should "check trip advisor".
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Trip but ....
First, I can't emphasize enough how beautiful and scenic landscape and wild-life watching is! Our Tourguide showed us great places. Since all tour operators do more or less the same (travel plan, camping sites, food) its maybe important to know how Trip Advisor Safaris works: Its not an operator, but it provides your booking to sub-contractors. For example, the woman who took our payment was from Seven Wonders Safari, other people in our group booked at Hekima Safari... I don't say it's not good or bad, it's just not transparent and you feel that it doesn't matter at all which organisation you choose (at least in this price range). We definitely got a good deal with Trip Advisor Safaris, since they charge less than other organisations.
What I didn't like so much was the communication. Before we paid the deposit communication was fluent, after having paid, questions weren't answers anymore. This doesn't raised my trust but in the end everything worked out well and we were picked up at the airport as promised. The second thing I didn't like that much was our tour guides attitude from time to time. On our first day Umar guided us. He was really great and told us a lot interessting things. Unfortunately, he had to leave after the first day (for personal reasons as he told us) and was replaced by Amani. For my impression, Amani seemed a bit rude and not very motivated. One day he had our binoculars in the trunk and refused to get them for us even if we pleased him several times. As you can imagine... being on a safari without binoculars is not that helpful ;-) The worst thing for me was when he got off road once to get closer to a group of cheetahs (in his defense, a member of the group coerced him to do so) but it's forbidden to leave the trail and the protection of animals should weigh higher than annoying tourists. I know, a lot of tourist want to get as close as possible to the animals but Serengeti is not a zoo and I expect guides to follow the parks rules.
Even if I complained a lot it was an unforgettable trip and I can recommend strongly to do it - no matter with which organisation. By booking Trip Advisor Safaris you get the same quality as by any other organisation as long as your willing to deal with some intransparencies.
KW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I enjoyed so much
Staff were very friendly, my next trip to Africa will be next year, I can't wait to meet them again.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was really awesome tour
A GREAT TOUR WITH GREAT PEOPLE!
From start to finish this trip was perfect. In Tanzania, our guide was a top notch professional and extremely knowledgeable, taking us off the beaten path to provide us with an unrivalled experience in the parks. Dahlia’s advices for Tanzania were also unimpeachable. Our guide provided us with a social and political perspective no travel brochure could provide. It was a privilege for us to have him share his story with us which was honest, raw, and poignant and changed us in profound ways. We surprised by the level of hospitality from the owner of Dahlia Africa, he organized for us a free BBq dinner at the end of our trip and he bother to drive us to the airport himself he made us felt we paid less for all we got. We recommend you to our friends and travelers.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good and polite operator
Fine tents with beds and own bathroom.
Good local food and polite staff.
Good safaribus with a fast driver - which resulted in the big 5.
Good budget safari
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!!!
With my 2 sisters, we have made the safari from Kenya to Tanzania, it was amazing!!!We had the chance to have great guide Jacob in Kenya and Ezekiel in Tanzania, you also have a cooker only for you…there were just great, they have made sure we get and see all what we paid for. Jacob has been sooo nice to us and gave us so many advices about what to do and when and explanation whenever we were seeing an animal. The cooker were also soo sweet, we have eaten very well our 6 nights. We have made all the National park listed. Vincent Seth has made sure as well that we were safe and kept in touch with us all along the Safari. I definitely advice!!!!
The only point, I should say is that the program given is not always geographically possible time wise, so make sure you review it before you start your safari and even better few days before just to avoid some disappointment. Make all your statement clear…We have made 7 days/6 night, instead of 8 days/7nights and I have to admit that each day was quite full, so we do not have any bad feeling about the 2 places we didn’t do as the hell gate in Kenya and Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
Thanks Africa Safari!!!