RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good choice for a safari
Everything was excellent! Especially I would recommend to have Peter as your guide.
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A+++ Tour and Tour Operator - you won't do better!!!
This was an extraordinary trip and my husband and I are seasoned world travellers from NZ - our retirement lifestyle while we can! Selma and Ngomi, who own and operate Makasa Tanzanian Safaris, were instrumental in making this such an amazing trip - they provide excellent drivers/tour guides - ask for Kalibi, he was exceptional, nothing was too much trouble and a wealth of knowledge with excellent English language skills (tho talking to other Makasa-ites we ran into at various lodges, they were equally delighted with their guides).
We certainly made the right decision spending that little extra to have our own car and guide all to ourselves - we were able to rearrange some of our time schedules to suit our needs, eg, late starts and also an early sunrise start out of the Serengeti which provided us with much active wildlife observation - during the heat of the day, some animals such as lions, like to nap for lengthy sessions
The lodges and tented camps we stayed in on the mainland advised by Makasa were perfect for us - we would have loved an extra night at the Rhotia Valley Lodge and Orphanage - an amazing setting high up in the hills overlooking spectacular valleys - 1 night here not enough as the perfect place to enjoy a day off, maybe go on a village walking activity, visit the nearby Orphanage the Lodge supports or simply wile away the day with a good book, swimming in their beautifully landscaped pool or just looking at the scenery - great food, luxury large tents and excellent Dutch hosts.
We also spent a night at the Maasai Village, Olpopongi, recommended by Makasa - this is definitely NOT a tourist trap as some of the villages are surrounding the Ngorongoro conservation area - here, not far from Mt Kilimanjaro, you get to experience actual Maasai village life in a real hut, made by the women, with a cowhide bed (no worries, they do provide proper toilets and showers)- the actual Maasai people tend to your needs, cook for you, dance/sing and demonstrate their traditional ways, also take you out on a bushwalk to show you how and where they gather their herbs for medicines, tea making and hut-building materials...the incredible 96-year-old 'grandma' will prepare their special herbal tea for you - delicious! At night sit round a central fire eating BBQ food and sharing stories.
Also we stayed our 1st night at the beautiful rustic, but simple, Kilimanjaro Lodge - Kilimanjaro Lodge is part of Mama Clementina Foundation: A secondary school for young girls in Tanzania. It is a nice friendly hotel with good service and a nice environment. The hotel is located a bit out of the centre of Moshi and therefore very quiet and peaceful. With your stay you will help the school - we had the pleasure of meeting Maria, the Chairperson of the school board, who won Tanzania's Woman of the year, 2013...a special genuine lady who has done much to enhance the empowerment of women in her country.
Have to say tho, with the accommodation, the Kenzan tented lodge located at the Ikoma (North-Western) gate (the Ikoma tribe the smallest of all 150 Tanzanian tribes) was the highlight, even tho, ironically, the most basic - but no better way to experience the Serengeti with wild animal sounds to send you to sleep or as alarm clocks to wake you early - rest assured, they have ensuites so no need to visit outside loos during night-time hours...and local guards to ward off any 'wild' night-time guest who may visit the campsite unexpectedly - the 5 guys looking after us and cooking for us, were delightful, what they cooked in the make-shift kitchen was jolly good fare! You're amongst it all here in the Serengeti - a Ikoma village walk is a treat as well, but if you want to go inside an actual village and take photos of the people and their huts, including interiors, which we did, it is appropriate to give a few US dollars or Tanzanian shillings to the oldest female member to buy some food for her village or treats for the children. While on the Serengeti, this Savannah is amazing, we saw a couple of migrations, wildebeest and zebras, which was beyond our imagination fantastic!! Just the whole area and the animals we saw was quite an overwhelming experience - ask any of the guides and they will tell you, the Serengeti is their favourite Safari to visit in Tanzania.
We also had a couple of weeks visiting Zanzibar, which we organised thru Makasa as well - 2 or 3 nights in Stone Town is a must (we loved Kisiwa House, but a few others are worth staying at as well) and 12 nights at beach resorts - Next Paradise, stunning, ask for a beach cottage - the waters in Zanzibar are turquoise blue and the white sand powdery soft - great for snorkelling, diving and kiting
There were a couple of small issues, one with a car to the Maasai Village and the other with accommodation on Zanzibar that didn't suit us, but both of these issues were rectified immediately - Selma was on to these without hesitation and sorted it all out for us on the spot, so really not issues!
A couple of changes we would make if we were to repeat our trip - 1: forget the Manyara Lake tour, waste of time and boring, for one, the climbing tree lions have not been seen for years and 2, the salt lake with pink flamingoes too far away to see properly even with binoculars - you will see this much more up close and personal at Ngorongoro Crater, plus loads more that you won't at Lake Manyara - request to visit Tarangire National Park instead - the comments we heard from others, a must visit as within the same area location as Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
2 - as mentioned above, definitely 2 nights, not 1, at Rhotia Valley Lodge and Orphanage
We can't recommend Makasa highly enough - and to top it all off, extremely competitive prices for the quality of service, accommodation and touring we received compared to others we researched - also, Selma and Ngomi as a husband/wife team, with the extra personal touch come FREE! We would not hesitate to use Makasa again should we venture to this part of the world.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic trip and memorable experience
My husband and I climbed Kilimanjaro followed by safari (camping) in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. Excellent organisation by Imran who made sure out itinerary was well organised and met all of our needs. He was quick to respond to our queries before the trip and ensured we were well taken care of every step of the way. The guides were very experienced and knowledgable and made us feel very warm and welcome.
We have no complaints and would highly suggest this company to everyone planning a trip out there.
Thank you Safari Big 5 for the amazing and unforgettable experience!!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Meeting all expectations & achieving all goals ! A month of excellent varied Safaris & Treks
See the great Migration, visit the mighty Ngorogoro Crater & Serengeti again Climb Kilimanjaro , walk the Ngorogoro Highlands, Climb the Masai Mountain of God " Eldoinyo lengai" Climb kilimanjaro all these and much more. Its a few months since my trip of a lifetime with World Tours & Safaris and now the whole experience has time to set in. What are my first thought ? Wow ! When can we come again. I have travelled 9 countries in Africa and close to 70 worldwide & there are only a handful of places I would bother return to, Tanzania and the Galapagos islands top the list. Why did I return to Tanzania of all African countries and use W T & Safaris.
1. Achieving your goals. I believe it has the greatest number of the top attractions and best natural animal photographing opportunities in Africa.The greatest chance of seeing the greatest biodiversity of mammals in any one spot in the world ! Just Ngorogoro Crater for all the big 5 is just amazing. landscapes a huge selection of other parks including favourites like Serengeti. The worlds highest freestanding mountain(on my bucket list) . As a serious photographer I needed to know I was in the best place for the best opportunities in the least amount of time.
2. Safety and reliability. Taking all things into account Tanzania is a place I would feel happy taking my family to when supervised by a great reliable team like Richards. Richard is a wealth of knowledge and an expert on where to go what to do ,when and how to do it safely.
3 Money and Value . I found Richard had an excellent range of options from budget and camping through to the top end magnificent lodges and luxury camps. I will never forget the the views lodges overlooking Lake Manyara the crater and throughout the Serengeti and many other parks. Knowing your money is going where you send it is utmost importance. Its a catch 22 , big overseas agencies out of Africa may offer security but at a huge extra price for the same product and the unknown lower end of the market agencies could be fly by nighters. I found Richard great to deal with and competitive in all aspects of my tours and he was always contactable.
4. Food was always good and plentiful. I never once had any problems and had some great culinary experiences.
There is so much more but now what remains beside are those vivid memories the landscapes & animals is the team the family I felt a part of there with Richards Crew. I would like to thank them all for making my dream a reality. Yes I am giving him a big plus because he was able to make it happen safely efficiently and economically and i know he will look after me again should I decide to return to Tanzania which is highly likely.
Couldn't Have Asked for a Better Trip
Everything was incredible. The wildlife was extraordinary and diverse, the scenery was amazing. Definitely stay out late to see the stars and get up early to watch the sunrise. I have no complaints with the accommodations. The food was delicious and never ending, the bush babies were warm, and the outlets were a-plenty. The guides were very well informed, trained, and professional. Search "Kwando Camps Ethan Chapman" on YouTube to see a documentation of the wildlife.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The beauty of nature
It was our first safari, so we were overwhelmed, but in our jeep several participants had quite some experience. They stated they never saw such wildlife in other parks in other countries (number of animals as well as diversity). We wonder now what this park looks like during the rain season...
Curiosity : due to a flat tyre we were late at the gate to leave the park. In spite of clear evidence (pictures and the spare wheel in place) the guards rewarded him with a 300 US $ fine (taken care of by Sunny Safaris). My conclusion is that the gate keepers of Serengeti are wild animals as well...
PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 day Safari Tarangire, Ngorondoro and L.Manyara
Was a great 3 days experience of our 1st Safari ever. I recomend this agency if you want to do a Safari with best price quality. The Director, Michael was very very nice since 1st contact by Safaribookings and manage a Safari on dates and places that we wont. He picked us up on Airport, leave us on Hotel that was include on price (Very nice hotel, clean and friendly) and every time he was making sure that everthing was ok with us. Then on next day our guide and motorist (Denis) picked us up on hotel and the adventure started. We learned many things about the country and animals with Denis. We stayed on a campsite out of the parks, where the managers were very friendly also. we were on fullboard meals and the cook on campsite was very good. Taragire has many Elephants, Ngorondoro is amanzing (a place to see the Big 5) and lake Manyara is also nice but we couldnt saw the tree climbing lions on that day. We loved this Safari. Next time we will go to Serengeti.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Makasa organised an unforgettable private safari for us
After searching for safari companies at the internet, we have chosen Makasa for the following reasons : 1. After a first contact via mail, we got immediately a 'good feeling' - 2. The owner (Selma) understood what we wanted and after some iterations, we got the ideal itinerary for us - 3. We could communicate in our language (dutch) - 4. The price was ok
The contract and related info was very clear.
We arrived in Zanzibar and via a domectic flight we flew to Kilimanjaro where our safari started. We did a coffee tour in Moshi, stayed a night in a masaai village and visited folowing parks : Tarangire (2d), Lake Manyara (1d) , Ngorongoro (1d) and Serengeti (3d). When our safari started, Selma and her husband came to our lodge in Moshi and presented our guide : Francis. He knew a lot about the animals and made us see the big 5 (rinos in Ngorongoro but far away). In fact he made sure that we had an unforgettable safari. He even asked another lodge/tent with better view for us in Maramboi tented camp where we stayed 2 nights.
The jeep was ok and we were provided water during the game drives. When we used lunch boxes, Francis made sure he got coffee for us.
After the safari we had a beach holiday in Zanzibar.
All the lodges and hotels we stayed in, were ok.
To resume, Makasa arranged all in a professional way : excellent guide, lodges, hotels and domestic flights. They know the country and understand how a safari should be.
We would certainly chose Makasa again.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Karibu World did an outstanding job organizing our safari...we loved it.
Tasneem Manwar at Karibu did an outstanding job helping us organize our safari and trip to Zanzibar. All our transport details went exactly as planned which helped reduce the stress of a trip of this type. Our driver/guide for Bushbuck Safaris did an outstanding job driving our vehicle, providing us information about the countryside and animals and always being punctual. Thanks so much for helping our safari being such as success.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable. Great guides and great accommodations.
The guides - William and Jerrod - are to be singled out as amazing. Kili is not an easy hike. It is important to have someone set your pace and make the experience fun. William was awesome. Pole ! Pole! And no one can match the skills of Jerrod (Gerald?) as he with a hawk's eye and the knowledge of wildlife entertained, identified and taught about nature. Absolutely undescribable. especially as I download and view 1500 photos. The places in Zanzibar were out of his world. And Ras Nungwi and the hut I stayed in set the bar for the best hospitality and comfort I can remember. Not to mention the sashimi.
To die for. As well as snorkeling with the dolphins.