20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Let down by easily fixable problems
We did a five-day, four-night budget (camping) safari with World Tours and Safari in December 2014, visiting Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara national parks.
Let’s start with the good:
1) this really is a budget safari – from our conversations with other travellers, you’re likely to pay $700-1000 more for a very similar itinerary with many other operators out of Arusha.
2) we saw a great many animals, and had some very exciting sightings – more lions than we could count, a leopard (!), a lion-buffalo showdown (the buffaloes won), lots and lots and lots of hippos, hyenas, jackals, owls, vultures, even rhinos in the far distance in the Ngorongoro crater (etc etc). The places we saw are jawdroppingly beautiful, and all in all, just being there is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
3) a couple of the (freshly cooked) meals were very tasty.
4) (though this is by chance) we had great company, getting on very well with the couple who were in the Land Rover with us – which made the trip so much better than it could have been.
HOWEVER:
1) While Richard’s communication had been fast and informative when we were booking our trip, he firstly made us change our initial leaving date, with a story of us joining what we suspect to be a fictional couple (since our eventual companions had been told exactly the same story) and secondly, he then changed our itinerary the day before the start of our safari. Make sure to check that you’re still spending the same amount of time in each park as initially agreed upon, and be firm about getting exact details. Also, when planning, stick to what you want, and when you want to leave.
2) Our guide and cook were both very nice and friendly men, who both appeared to be trying their best. However, their English was quite poor, which made communication and planning for the day difficult. Our driver did know a lot about the bush, and clearly loved (spotting) animals, but it took time and patience to draw it out of him, that you don’t always have, and he didn’t volunteer information very often. In other words, he was much more of a driver, than a guide. This led to frustration from both sides, and made some meal-times (when it is the custom that the guides always join the clients) quite awkward.
3) Our Land Rover was old, and stalled and overheated a number of times – the worst of which was for about 45 minutes, as it was getting dark, on the way to our third night’s camp.
4) The tents are very old. The worst however was the camping equipment, all of which was very old and dirty. The mattresses are okay, but the sleeping bags and pillows are downright disgusting. Bring your own!! We also really didn’t like that the guides had a much worse tent than us (!), and lower stools (which broke) rather than proper chairs. More (easily avoidable!) awkwardness.
5) As above, a few of the dinners and the one lunch that was freshly cooked was tasty enough. However, the packed lunches were all the same, and not very palatable (dry fried chicken for the third day in a row, anyone?). Take the menu on the website/in your itinerary with a very generous pinch of salt, and be prepared to bring your own snacks along to supplement meals, particularly fresh fruit, nuts etc.
To reiterate, we were on a budget safari, and the result was – the incredible scenery and wildlife aside! – a budget experience. What is disappointing though is that many of these things could be fixed quite easily, and at minimum cost (or perhaps by increasing rates only slightly). The cook needs a bit of training and some new ideas (make a chicken mayo sandwich on the third day! Add fresh tomatoes to your lunch menus!). And fresh safari uniforms for both men would also go a long way to make the operation look more professional. Give your customers and your guides a detailed itinerary for each day, and impress upon your guides that they need to stick to it as far as possible or communicate any changes to your customers. Fix your vehicles!
Weighing it up, we probably wouldn’t recommend World Tours and Safaris. Rather go on a shorter safari with a more expensive (and professional) operator.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Completion of research about world wide Global change - Rwenzori Mountain 2014 December
Finally we came up to the conclusion of our research about global change. Buy December last year 2014, we managed to come up with our last findings having been helped by Bakamwegha Sebastian the Director owning Riverine Safaris a tour agency based in Kampala the capital of Uganda and my team of Richards, Steven and Mc Dons. We loved to use again engage Sebastian though committed with work in Kampala because we had been guided by him before during our first phase of research and having shared lots of facts a bout Uganda's climatic changes and how Rwenzori mountain used to be in the past and what it is now. We found this tour Operator more resourceful in our research due to his mountain experience and about tourism in Uganda as a whole.
Rwenzori mountain is more exciting mountain, very unique and with lots of sceneries to see such as green vegetation zones, the shape of the mountain, various river streams, nice looking three horned Chameleon. Most people call it the Rwenzori challenge because of it land scape, hikes and especially during rain season when its to too wet and slippery.
We did not find problems in communications while interacting with the local habitants along the slopes of the mountain since our guide would interpreter, services were good such as the Mountain Huts, very trusted escorts, Mountain cooks were skilled in preparing food according to order and served on time since every thing was under Sebastian's management he loved to see every thing pushing on, our expected results were attained according to our research objectives since we had some one in guide and good in advises and making various decisions hence making our trip more interesting and a success.
You should never be troubled for not making your self an inquiry to Sebastian at riverine safaris or seek any relevant information concerning tourism in Uganda, i strongly believe he can make it for you too by planing your trip in Uganda.
I highly recommend Riverine safaris for your trip to Uganda and seek whether Sebastian would be free for that period. Meet him and late me know how your tip was
Mark Anderson
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 Days in Selous Game Reserve
Amazing experience that went beyond all expectations!!
Everything went smooth and we enjoy every moments, the driver and cook (Tony and Joseph) were really friendly and professionals and did their best to make sure we had the best experience.
The Hippo camp was also great with friendly manager and staff and superb views of the river.
Kanuth was always quick to respond, friendly and was checking on us to make sure that we were happy.
He also booked the ferry tickets for us to Zanzibar and one hotel night in Stone Town to help us out.
The boat safari was cool and the game drive was just amazing, we saw all animals that is possible to see in Selous and lots of them!! including hyenas and wild dogs!
Not so sure on the walking safari though.. would have preferred a half day game drive instead.
To sum it up, this company has feel of a small family run business which deal with his customers on a personal level and care about them. Now I am already thinking to visit Tanzania again for another safari adventure...
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, friendly and knowlegable tour guide. Rowly made us feel like part of the family!
Rowly went the extra mile and was flexible when we wanted to go off the beaten path. Good value for money and I would highly recommend this tour. 5 stars :)
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
best safari ever!(:
I was on a 3 day safari i selous game reserve. This was an wonderful experience where we got to se so many drifint af beautiful animals.
the trip was worth every penny and I will
recoment this company to every body. The instructions are nice people, and they are at you service during the whole trip.
I was so glad that I got to experience this.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An amazing adventure, great mix of the simple and luxurious, a wonderful celebration of Kenya.
Can very happily recommend this safari company. For those on a budget it provides a fabulous safari itinery. Our guide Joseph was highly knowledgeable and a very good driver, and always willing and able to answer our questions. In the 7 days of our safari we covered many miles of Kenya seeing its beautiful and diverse landscape, and also saw a vast range of wildlife, some which was very hidden and only discovered through Joseph's eagle eye vision. I appreciated the chance of enjoying both the simple and the more luxury end of the market through a couple of very good value upgrades.We also enjoyed several days at Diani Beach after the safari which Best Camping organised for us, again an excellent value package and at a very good hotel. This was my first visit to Kenya after a 40 year gap, having spent my childhood here. I could not have wished for a better experience. Many thanks to all the team who made this possible, Shiraz, Imraan, Joseph, Thomas.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Must choose another company
I had 4 days safary (lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro).
"Pole-pole" you'll heard all the time (means slowly). Did you thought you'll start at 8:30 just because they told it? No way, pole-pole, you'll have to wait till 10 o'clock. Do you think the way from Arusha to Lake Manyara just 1,5 hours? Pole-pole and akuna matata (means no problem) 4 hours way.
In Tanzania they calls cooker "Stomach engineer", but they got stomach user. First, it's really small size of food (1 egg for breakfast isn't enought for me), second they prepare everything with bouillon cube. Soup with bouillon cubes, rice with cubes, potato with cubes. Remember, cooker and driver will eat first, the rest for you. "I'm so hungry" told driver after I saw him eating meat (by the way, there was no meat for us).
Better pay 100$ for better company. You don't go to Tanzania every day.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I experienced both the flora&fauna of Tanzania and the real life of villagers with Access2Tanzania.
Access2Tanzania was extremely professional in keeping the participants informed of the itinerary, any necessary changes, what to expect in the various places we would stay, what clothes to bring, incidental costs not covered in the tour price, and a general background of village life in Tanzania. We experienced the best of the Northern Circuit in Lake Manyara, NgoroNgoro Conservation Area, Serengeti and the NgoroNgoro Crater. We saw so much more than just the Big Five. Our guide, Fulgence was unbelievably knowledgeable, humorous, kind and patient. Seeing the children supported by Project Zawadi in Nyamuswa was wonderful and put our ability to enjoy this safari in perspective. We stayed in very nice places with a few very special ones and experienced the hospitality of Tanzanians everywhere we went. This tour company really knows what it is doing to show off the whole world of Tanzania.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly Recommended Local Safari Company
We did a Budget Safari Camping Tour (7 days, 6 nights) with Aardvark in Dec 2014-Jan 2015. We visited 4 National Parks (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara) and were overall very pleased with the trip! We chose to have one extra day in Serengeti (total 3 nights), which we highly recommend!
We were two couples travelling together in our own safari vehicle (private tour). We stayed in tents of good quality with comfortable mattresses. The campsites chosen by Aardvark were very good (especially the one in Serengeti, which was small and quite) – always very close to the real wildlife!
The vehicle was equipped with a power inverter (for charging cameras), which came very handy with all the photographing ☺ We had some minor problems with the car, but Julius, the driver, always managed to fix it quickly.
Julius (guide and driver) and Moses (cook) made up a really great duo. They took great care of us all week and really made the trip a memorable and fun experience for us. Julius was very knowledgeable and told us a lot about the different animals as well as the culture of Tanzania, although a bit quieter so we had to ask many questions. Thanks to him we managed to see plenty of animals and all the “Big Five”! We appreciated his responsibility, both towards animals and other tourist groups, and he always drove safely. Moses cooked very tasteful food and also taught us Swahili throughout the trip. He always had a smile on his face and spread a friendly atmosphere.
We would highly recommend Aardvark as a local, trustworthy and knowledgeable safari tour operator! Philemon (the manager) was always very accommodating and patiently answered all the questions that we had prior to our trip. He also met up with us at our hotel the night before the Safari to go through the itinerary and answer any questions - a nice and professional gesture. The trip turned out to be just as stated in the itinerary we received when booking 7 months earlier. The safari trip with Aardvark exceeded our expectations!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour! Amazing people! We loved Kili and Safari!!
Fantastic English, the service was top notch. Was great value for money and we felt very safe and looked after the whole time. I would highly recommend this tour group.