IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best experience in Africa
Baraka is first of all my true friend.
Second of all, he was so kind, lovely and proffesional during my Congo experience.
He took care of everything so that I would not have to worry about a thing.
This experience was way beyond my expectations.
Thanks for unforgettable events in my life.
Joe
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari company and driver/guide
Transtrek safari were recommended to us and they didn’t disappoint. Daniel was very helpful planning our first ever safari and numerous questions being promptly answered. I have type 1 diabetes and was unsure about taking my medication on a dusty hot safari but I needn’t have worried as Daniel reassured me this would not be an issue and they would put a cool box/fridge in the vehicle for my medication. We stayed in 7 different lodges, tented camps, chalets and a boutique hotel and Daniel arranged fridges in the rooms for me. Our driver Tony was excellent, friendly, very knowledgeable, ensuring we were in the best position to take photos of all the animals and really made our safari fun. Every morning Tony got ice for the cool box to keep my medication in during our 10 day safari trip/game drives.
Everything went to plan including our flight to the Malindi coast. Highly recommend Transtrek Safari and driver/guide Tony and they would be our first choice for our next Safari.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip of a lifetime, wedding of our dreams, and memories that will last forever!
What can we say - Charlotte and Rob pulled off the impossible - an unforgettable intimate wedding for 5 people in the beautiful Botswana bush and an 11-day safari that went off without a hitch. Charlotte was with us every step of the way through a legal ceremony in Maun and a ceremonial wedding in gorgeous Khwai surrounded by wildlife - we even had a few unexpected (but very welcome) animal visitors. Charlotte organized decor, cake, a wonderful photographer, an entrance to remember, music, and many thoughtful surprises for us along the way. We couldn't be happier with the experience or more grateful for Charlotte's efforts!
On top of the wedding, Charlotte organized the most incredible 11-day safari for our group through a great mix of lodges and mobile camps. Rob was a highly-skilled, knowledgeable, and entertaining guide - the best in the business. We were thrilled to see a huge variety of wildlife and some rare and exciting sightings including 2-week old leopard cubs, feasting lion cubs, and a huge pack of wild dogs hunting. Charlotte and Rob's mobile safari gear is unbelievable, their team are lovely, and the food was incredible. We felt so well taken care of from the moment we landed to the moment we (regretfully) had to leave.
We couldn't recommend Golden Africa more highly! We can't wait to join them again for our next trip.
CZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The operator didn't return app. 1000 USD to refund not received service
Arranged itinerary was not followed at all. The company didn't refund money for different accommodation and mainly for prepaid balloon safari. It means that the tour operator has stolen approximately 1000 USD what I had to pay in advance.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible service and attentiveness
We found our ideal tour operator for our once-in-a-lifetime tour.
We researched many tour operators for our Tanzanian safari, some provided by friends and others through internet searches. Many were vague about services, only highlighted the "properties" where we could stay, or wanted money upfront before any hint was given of their capabilities.
Alym Bhanji at East Africa Wild catered to our unique itinerary without skipping a beat. And not only did he set up the itinerary, with all the highlights of each day, he posted it onto an interactive app that was even downloadable for times when we had no wifi service. And last minute changes because of airline or accommodation company hiccups? No problem. He handled them seamlessly while we were on safari and sent the updates to both us and our driver.
And our driver/guide, Carlos, was the best. All the other drivers sought him out for his encyclopedic advice, based on more than 25 years of guiding. We knew we were spoiled having him guide us through Tanzania.
I don't usually have a lot of praise for tour operators and travel agents. With my travel experience, I can often navigate my own way through needed itineraries. In this case, I knew I needed a real pro and we found him in Alym Bhanji with East Africa Wild.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect Week in Uganda w/Joan and John
Jordan and I worked with Mukisa to create a bespoke, private tour in Uganda for 9 days this October. Based on one of their itineraries, we elected to visit Jinja for rafting, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Richard emailed us back and forth when setting up the details of the trip. In the booking process, his recommendations for accommodations were excellent; the safari lodges were stayed at, particularly the one at Bwindi were stunning. We decided to book with Mukisa because they had received such excellent reviews and because of Richard's prompt, detailed and attentive communication. The trip lived up to all of our expectations. Joan, our guide, and John, our driver, made us so comfortable, informed and cared for, they felt like old friends by the end of the trip. They were knowledgable and caring, and we always thoughtful to stop on long drives so we could have a coffee and snack! I also want to note very few tour operators in Uganda that we spotted used female guides. Mukisa does and Joan was OUTSTANDING. I was thrilled to be able to support a LOCAL (i.e. Ugandan, not British) company that empowers WOMEN as our tour company. Yes, we saw the Big Five and the falls and the gorillas, but I also got a real sense of Ugandan people and culture (and food!) through my chats with Joan and John. For a safe, trustworthy company dedicated to exceptional safaris, book with Mukisa!
TH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experiences with breathtaking views
Dennis is very nice and flexible in arranging the trip suiting to my requests. It started smoothly since the driver, Bonface, picked me up from the hotel, then the ranger, Simon, brought me to Naivasha, Maasai mara, and Amboseli. During the 6 days safari tour, it was amazing gaining wonderful experiences in Kenya. Thank you so much once again.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
QENP with 31 students
Shoebill were amazing! We were taking 31 students from the UK to Uganda. After spending time in Kibale first, Shoebill took us on a 3 day trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park. An advance catering team had delicious food ready for us when we arrived at Mweya. Drivers were excellent, patient and had good wildlife spotting skills. Would definitely recommend!
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Worst Tour Operator Ever
NEVER PICK THIS TOUR OPERATOR.
We had ordered 11 days round-trip to Uganda. We met with the owner Richard who brought an itinerary and a contract stating that everything we payed for in the trip was based on the itinerary. However, during the trip, half of the nights the accommodation was changed last minute. The worst thing was that the accommodation change was often for the worse, and some nights we stayed in so filthy and bad accommodation we rather wanted to leave and pay for accommodation elsewhere by ourselves. In the trip we had also booked Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale as the big highlight. We arrived in a town near Kibale at around 3 pm the day before the trekking, where the tour operator (Richard) calls us to let us know that we are not able to make the Kibale chimpanzee trekking because he failed to get the permits, THE DAY BEFORE WE HAD TO GO. Additionally, the itinerary stated that lunch and drinking water would be included all days which we rarely got.
Besides these problems, there were a lot of other issues about Richard miscommunication with the driver/guide and confusing us and our guide several times. Richard does not care about his customers, he just wants their money and will thereafter ensure that you have a completely disorganized trip. We managed to get the money back from the chimpanzee trekking permits, but honestly, with all the change in accommodation and all the last minute changes he put us through, he should have compensated us a lot more money for a failed trip in many regards.
If I could, I would NEVER book this tour again and would AT ANY TIME pick another tour operator. Its one of the most stressful trips and dysfunctional tours I have ever been on even though we payed to have all inclusive in order to relax and not mind anything. Even though I go on vacation 4 times a year and have been pretty much everywhere in the world, I have never tried anything like this.
Luckily, the driver and guide Paddy was an extremely polite and nice young man. We had a very nice time with him, and we felt bad for him that he had to endure the constant miscommunication and our anger about the trip due to Richards incompetence.
LASTLY, there we some parts of the itinerary which was completely wrong and falsely stated. One of the days it was stated that you get to the park, go inside (which cost 40 dollars per day per person) and go for safari. This was not the case, and Richard would not pay to let us stay inside the park and go for safari even though he acknowledged that it was wrongly stated on the itinerary, so we ended up paying ourselves.
Lastly but not least, it got so bad at one time we went to the police in order to charge Richard and make him pay some of our money back for the failed experiences. We found out it was a very long process and did not want to spend vacation time on it, but I would wish now that we would have filed a complaint and charged him so he would hopefully learn that you cannot take tourists money and then piss on them afterwards.
I HOPE THAT NO ONE PICKS THIS COMPANY IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A GOOD NICE TIME AND RELAXING SAFARI.
Otherwise, Uganda is a lovely country and the nature and the parks a breathtaking.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I went To Diani Beach with this Tour Company. It was awesome beyond Words. It was just Heaven
The Safari Tour has every Equipment to make the Tour an Amazing Thing. They have Clean Means Of Transport, Down to Earth Drivers, their packages are just Pocket Friendly, they offer Photography as part of their Package. Cake and Many other Services which misses in other Tour companies i have traveled with