US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tropical Trails Safari company is fantastic!
We just returned from a Tanzanian safari, 3 weeks in September 2015. We highly recommend Tropical Trails Safari company. Their prices are very reasonable, excellent value for the money! Local company, so our money stays local. They also started a children's trust for education & a % of your money goes to them. Very responsible in the tourist industry. Schola Ungele made all our arrangements which were fabulous! She really worked with us until we had exactly what we wanted. Our guide was Ole & he was the best, took us where we wanted, when we wanted & spent as much time as we wanted. He's a fountain of information, also knows all the birds! We wanted a combo of hotel & tent camps, photography & walking safaris. Schola arranged it al,l plus flights to Zanzibar. This was our first time handing money to a stranger to make arrangements for us, so we were a little nervous, but Tropical Trails did it all & were very trustworthy! Also, just very nice people to work with! Our experience was fantastic & we would travel with them again in a second!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This feels like Africa
Many of Southern Africa's wildlife parks have become developed to the point of disneyfication but not Chobe. It still feels raw, gritty, and intimate. Perfect location for a self drive safari with outstanding human food and lodging also available just outside the park in Kasane.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Botswana by Edwin Remsberg Photographs
Botswana is a lovely, uncrowded, well run, country that feels safer and friendlier than many of its neighbors.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Three weeks exploring Namibia and Capetown!
Alexandra organised everything for us throughout our trip. Her detailed knowledge of Namibia as an emerging destination and indeed the whole African continent is first rate. She was able to offer her first hand experience on a country by country basis. Alexandra had either visited all of our accommodation personally or was able to vouch for its quality through recommendations and her network of contacts on the ground.
Highly recommend Alexandra and Extraordinary-Africa!
US
An outstanding, knowlegeable tour with Tanganyika Outdoor Safari guide Ndemfoo Rodrick
The guide is the key to your enjoyment, your safety, your wildlife sightings, and the information you may want to absorb as you experience the Serengeti or any other safari. Ndemfoo Rodrick was the priceless key to our recent trip. He knows the beasts (and, importantly for us, the birds) by their English common and Latin names. He knows their habits flawlessly and that enabled us to see what we might have missed and understand what we were seeing. (Why is that cheetah barking? "She's calling to her babies, who wandered off while she was hunting. Watch her circle around, looking for them and calling." What is that jackal up to over by the lions? "The jackal doesn't eat until the lions kill. He tries to goad them into hunting when he gets hungry.") He knew the accommodations very well and was known by everyone. This worked minor miracles in Gati-Gati, where, unbeknownst to us, they had stopped offering laundry service--except when Rodrick asked for a favor. It's hard to believe that anyone could know every road and track in the Serengeti and in the Crater, but it certainly seemed as though he did. "You want a better shot of hippos? We'll head over this way a bit."
Ndemfoo Rodrick was amazing. Don't miss a chance to book him if you can.
US
Superb Company
We used Caudence to plan a three week trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar.
We emailed back and forth over the course of a three month planning period and she always responded quickly and informatively. We are a family of Four so when you are spending this much money I needed a high confidence level that we would get our money's worth and Easy Travel did not disappoint. Emilian our guide was knowledgeable
and friendly and we were sad when we had to leave him. I bid our trip to four or five companies and Easy travel was extremely competitive and provided superb value for money. Highly recommended.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our Rwanda experience with Katona Tours & Travel was the BEST!
After researching and finding out that Rwanda was the “easier” destination to see the Mountain Gorillas, we sent out requests for quotes from five different tour companies. Jackie at Katona Tours and Travel was the quickest to respond with a full recommended itinerary and reasonable prices. We massaged the itinerary until it completely fitted our needs. The four of us did a 5 Day, 4 night trip which included two Gorilla treks and a Golden Monkey trek. Baker, our driver and guide, picked us up from Step Town Motel in Kigali (great place recommended by Jackie). We stayed at the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge (excellent!) for three nights during our treks. Baker was nice, very professional, and knew the routes like the back of his hands. He seemed to know everyone, including the people at the Kinigi Ranger Station, where the many groups were assigned to specific gorilla families. He took us on a Rwanda city tour, walked us through the Musanze Marketplace, and shopping at the local arts and craft market. This was an unforgettable trip and we would recommend it to anyone. Katona Tours and Travel made it all possible with its great service and price. At the end of our tour, Jackie spoke with us over the phone to make sure everything went well. Oh, one more thing – it seems that she never sleeps. Jackie answered all our emails almost instantly no matter what time it was.
CA
Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience with Big Time Safaris
Big Time Safari provide a wonderful service! We are always companied by someone from the company, from airport pick up till airport drop off. I am solo traveller. This makes me feel safe in Kenya. Same for other group member. A couple was taking a coach to Mombasa on the roadside when the trip finished and we were back to Nairobi. Our driver Patrick stayed with them and made sure they got to the correct bus before we left. Very happy and lucky to have Patrick as our driver. He is humorous, sharing us many animal stories and his experience, brought lots fun to the trip. He is also very caring, ensure everyone is good during the trip. Foods are fresh and tasty. At least better than what I cooked at home :). The price is really budget. the 6-day budget safari is $720, while total entrance fee paid to national parks is $400. It means remaining $320 cover everything from transportation, food, accommodation, driver's salary, cooker's salary..etc. Yet they still provide such great service! I will definitely recommend Big Time Safari and Patrick to my family and friends.
Here are suggestion based on my experience.
1. Choose a safari that include a full day in Masai Mara.
when we left Nairobi, some ppl in our group have 2-day Masai Mara safari. First day we arrived Masai Mara in the afternoon. We entered reserve at 4:15 pm and came back at 7:30 pm. The 2nd day, those 2-day trip had a morning safari for 3 hrs and head back to Nairobi. Most likely they went same far as the previous day. We spent full day in reserve, drove all the way to Mara River. I saw all Big Five except rhino, also saw Great Migration! in my view, it does deserve one full day in Masai Mara.
2. Avoid sleeping alone in a tent in Masai Mara camp site. bring a torch or put up torch function in cell phone
The camp site we stayed have power only from 7 pm to 10 pm. After 10 pm, no light. Try to find someone you are comfortable with to share the tent if travel alone.
3. bring after-bite in case got bite
Every one in our group brings repellent but no one has after-bite. Someone still got big bite under cloth. if sensitive to them, better bring after-bite as well.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional company with professional guides
I'll be honest, if the information on the internet had said that we would be canoeing on a gigantic river with thousands of hippos, we probably would not have booked this trip. And that would have been a shame. Despite the fact that the safari was not what we were expecting does not mean we did not have a great adventure! We expected quiet waterways and seeing game up close. Well we DID see tons of game but there was nothing quiet about paddling the immensely wide Zambezi, zig-zagging around hippos. It certainly got the adrenaline going! Nevertheless, our favourite moments were when we arrived at our island for the night and set up camp as the sun was going down. We would then have a sundowner, help with supper, and chat quietly for a while. At night we would listen to lions roar, hippos call to each other, and elephants walking around our camp, eating with contentment. This was all done while lying on our backs in the tent, looking at the stars. Perfect! Thanks for a great, if unexpected, adventure!
NZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highlight of the year!
My husband and I have been travelling since December last year and by far, our trip with Absolute Africa was an absolute highlight. We did the 32 day Wildlife and Spice Island tour with Vee (the host) and Patrick (our driver). They were amazing - we were always well informed and knew what to expect and prepare for each day. The truck was well equipped and the tents etc were fantastic and well looked after. Africa is an incredible continent and overlanding is the best way to see it! We would definitely like to tour with them again and would highly recommend them!