NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience
We did a 7 days private camping safari at the end of October with our guide Ezekiel and chef Hilda from Suricata safaris. We went to national parks Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We had such an amazing time. We were so lucky to have Ezekiel as our driver and guide, he is a really good and experienced guide, he can tell you a lot about all the animals. Hilda, our chef during the safari, she is a really good cook and such a nice and warm person.
If you book this safari, you will get a night in a hotel before and after the safari (breakfast included). Because of the private safari, Ezekiel was really flexible regarding the timetable. He will discuss your needs per day so you can really make the safari your own. We asked Hilda to cook more local food for us because we wanted to try new things, but off course she can also cook more western like food. Hilda is a really good chef, she makes such variable dishes. Every night you will get a soup followed by fresh salads, rice or potatoes, vegetables, meat and fish. We can tell you the proportions were big. With our tour, a bottle of wine per night was included.
We spoke to a lot of other people we met during the safari and compared things. We noticed that some other guides from other companies were stubborn regarding the timetable and did not want to complete their full day. That means they will stop game driving early and go back to camp. Sometimes you have to drive from the park to another park and off course that will take some time. Ezekiel still gave us a game drive through the park, after driving from one park to another to complete the day.
The first two nights we stayed at a campsite near Lake Manyara. This is a beautiful place with a great view and even a small swimming pool. The third to fifth night we stayed in Serengeti at a really basic campsite. This was really exciting and adventurous because there is no fence around the campsite. At night you will hear and see a lot of animals ; ) The last night we stayed at a campsite in Ngorongoro. This is also a beautiful place on top of a mountain. You can also spot animals on the campsite as well, like zebra's, buffalo's and even elephants.
We had an amazing safari with Ezekiel and Hilda, an experience we will never forget!
IN
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Classic Safari in Kenya 7 days
We were referred to this safari company by our friend who is a well traveled Safari enthusiast.
Now we're just back from Kenya where we booked a 7 day tour with Shoor and I can only give them the highest praise for a job well done.
Organisation, communication and tour execution were all commendable and not once did we feel anything was lacking. Yes we had an issue with one of the hotels where we had to change a room but that was a minor hiccup.
All else was well handled by the Shoor team.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience with Benson Safaris in Tanzania
We had an amazing experience with Benson Safaris in Tanzania. I was very pleased with our guide Richard and his excellent knowledge. He made sure we got the most out of our game drives. We visited Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park.
The highlights of our safari where the river crossing and waking up with elephants next to our tent in Mbugani Migration Camp.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour cancelled half way through; disgraceful communication throughout
We booked two tours with Mushra: 6 days in Uganda (2 people) and 7 days in Tanzania (3 people) in September / October. Big mistake.
There were so many issues and disappointments it’s difficult to wrap up into a review. To try and keep it simple, I’ve tried to focus on the key areas. Tanzania was the ultimate disaster where we were left fearing for our safety as a result of Mushra’s actions.
The individuals within our group have travelled extensively across the globe for 15 years and never encountered anything like the horrible experience we had with Mushra. We do not recommend their services to anyone.
Communication - things were going well throughout the sales process and all our queries were answered very quickly. However as soon as we paid the money (~USD8000) all communication stopped. To the point where we were unsure if the company really existed and if tours would go ahead. None of our final questions were answered and there was no recognition of final logistical information like pick up locations.
Uganda - although we were told we had the top female guide in the country we struggled the entire trip from a continued lack of communication from both Mushra and the guide (Safinah). Multiple activities had been promised to us as part of the itinerary we paid for but were not included in the itinerary Safinah had been given to deliver (Batwe/pygmies cultural tour, three game drives). When we asked for these things to be corrected we were made to feel that we were being demanding and difficult - when actually all we were doing was politely asking to get what we paid for. This caused us anxiety on a daily basis. In addition, Safinah lacked charisma and energy, it felt she was in a rush to get everywhere so she could hang out with the other guides. On one occasion she dropped us off at a random table in the middle of nowhere to have our picnic lunch. After unpacking our food she said she had to get petrol - over two hours later she finally returned, surprised that we were eager to go do something with our day. These things might sound relatively petty as complaints but they are simply scratching the surface of an overall 6 day experience.
Tanzania - the tour started incredibly well. We were having an amazing time. Our guide was fantastic, teaching us lots about the country and wildlife, we received unexpected accommodation upgrades and were having fabulous game drives. We thought Michael must be putting in extra effort to improve things after our poor Ugandan experience. However, this all came crashing down on the fourth night when we received a visit from the local tour manager. Turns out his small company had partnered with Mushra to deliver our safari tour. Yet, despite us having paid Mushra USD5400 for this component of the trip, the partner company had not received any compensation. Everything was being paid for out of their pocket and his funds had come to an end. He could not afford to continue our tour and Mushra were not sending any money through. Putting aside the fact it was a poor business decision on the Tanzanian partners behalf to commence a service that had no deposit paid, the unwillingness of Mushra to pay the money ultimately compromised our trip and the tour was cancelled by Michael half way through. At this time things really heated up. We received a text from Michael saying the tour had been cancelled - he did not apologise at any point or help us get back to Arusha. The Tanzanian tour manager then created a very distressing situation for us, we were taken to a private location and an attempt was made to coerce us into paying him in lieu of the payment he had not received from Mushra. The way this whole scenario played out was exceptionally threatening and we feared for our safety. With the help of a third party we did manage to get out of the situation and return to Arusha on our own account. At this point we are still fighting for a refund from Mushra of the services not received - however none of this will be taken by us, we have committed to giving this to the Tanzanian company in compensation for their loss. Ultimately we will have lost out on both the experience and expense of half of our trip - all because of Michael and Mushra’s actions.
As mentioned above, we recognise this is a long story with many elements that may make us seem difficult customers. All we can do to mitigate for this is suggest you look at our other reviews and contact us for more information - nothing of this sort has ever happened to us before. Unfortunately it really tainted our overall trip.
We also suspect Michael Ahabwe (the owner of Mushra) will dispute our review. However we have proof of everything that took place and are happy to share more information directly with travellers.
We do not recommend Mushra.
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
fantastic organization!thank you Thierry!
Zambia is beautiful! People are amazing!
the camps ware very nice and quiet.
Many animals and always in safety.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly Amazing Experience, amazingly professional operator
We booked a 5 night tour with Earthlife Expeditions in August 2018.
We chose to use them based on the exceptional responses that we received from Angel, right from the outset. She was patient with our questions, understanding of our concerns, flexible, responsive, kind and we felt that she really understood why we wanted to come to Tanzania.
Once we arrived, we were in the care of Mr Moison, who was our guide, driver and friend for the duration of the trip. I cannot recommend him highly enough as a guide; his knowledge and passion for all animal life was extremely evident from the outset.
If you are thinking about doing any tours or Safaris in Tanzania, and you want a good value, reliable, local company that is going to make it a trip of a lifetime, I would strongly recommend you to give Earthlife a call!
Thanks to all of the team for making our trip to your amazing country so incredible.
Tim
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great customer service we really enjoyed the our trip to maasai mara. Will definitely book again.
The communication and service was superb, the team exceeded our expectations. Excellent service.
DE
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a good experience
After searching the web for our tour in Uganda, My husband and I found eurougandasafaris.com. We found the whole experience of booking with EURO UGANDA SAFARIS was extremely responsive, polite and explained everything very well.
We were a little anxious about paying money upfront but I am glad we took the risk!! We have found Euro Uganda Safaris to be extremely dependable and trustworthy. We have never booked the previous trips using the web, as we all know there are some scams out there and will take your money but not deliver the bookings. We found the whole experience of booking with EURO UGANDA SAFARIS extremely responsive, polite and they explained everything very well. I have to say choosing Euro Uganda Safaris was the best decision ever.
The communication before the trip was extremely reliable and quick; to any email, I wrote I would get an answer within half an hour.
Glad to have John as a driver and guide. We loved him from the very instant he picked us from the airport. He was very knowledgeable, full of excitement and information. He went above and beyond his call of duty to ensure we had the best experience possible in Uganda. John took us to Murchison Falls NP were he was very activie working with other guides on phones as a result we got to hang out with 12 lions and lion cubs for an hour plus, watching them as they ate and played. This was only one of many sightings during the day Itinerary since lions are not easy to find. Musa and John were very friendly and excellent guides throughout Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and quen Elizabeth Nationa Park respectively.
Thank you Euro Uganda Safaris for our great trip in Uganda and we will be telling our friends about your website and your honesty and help.
Everything they promised us was delivered.
Rossette and Victor
Germany
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very reliable
We had to pay for the tour in advance, which made us a little hesitant, but I decided to try it anyways and we were not dissapointed.
Amos always swiftly responded to mails and our guide and driver Thomas made our trip to mikumi and ruaha national parcs a very pleasant experience.
MX
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
All in all we experienced a professionally guided walking safari with a very knowledgeable guide!
We had a very compact 5 day´ s tour with Andy, our tour guide, and our expectations were completely fullfilled and over fullfilled. The crew was excellent, the food cooked on the floor grill very good, the tents well taken care of and always clean, so we enjoyed a fantastic walking safari and enjoyed this very, very much! Thanks to Andy and his team, it was simply awesome!
