US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Choose KWESA for your Kilimanjaro Summit trip
Edward “Teacher” Lazaro, owner and leader of Kwesa Tours and his fine team led our family and friends to the summit of Kilimanjaro! Our group of 20 from the U.S. (IL, CO and TX) selected the Marangu route because it is the only route where you use huts for the ascent and descent and we generally had a crew with no climbing experience.
Teacher is a fascinating, principled, man who truly cares about his clients (we now call him our friend) and those values translate to his whole team.
Bottom line: Teacher and his KWESA team took care of us from start to finish, focused on our self care and achieving our goal - get to the top!… safely.
They provided support, preparation, briefings, nutrition (compliments to the cooks), hydration, and friendly encouragement throughout the trip.
The trek was culturally and environmentally interesting, safe, fun, yet challenging … with no technical climbing.
I highly recommend Kilimanjaro Wonders Expeditions.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Out of this world safari
From initial contact I found Jeremiah from Serengeti Smile extremely professional and helpful. He organised an amazing itinerary for my whole family if 7 which catered for all our requirements and what we wanted to see on our safari. Jeremiah kept in touch with me everyday misfit out of his working hours because I was in work myself. Nothing was too much trouble for Jeremiah even when we arrived in Zanzibar and had left our safari walking boots at home Jeremiah went out in his lunch hour and sources me a pair of boots that he gave to our tour guide for us. Jeremiah was amazing and went that extra Mike to ensure we would be happy. Tge safari itself was unbelievable we went to Serengeti and everything was very organised from us getting picked up at our hotel right through to getting dropped back off on day 3. We had an amazing tour guide called Peter who we really enjoyed spending 3 days with him. He was very helpful, friendly, polite and fun! We were lucky enough to see all the big 5 on our trip as Peter knew exactly where to go to find them. Our first night was at safari view luxury campsite where we stayed in luxury clamping style tents. The site took us to a rock fit sunset which was breathtaking! Unbelievable views of the sunset over the Serengeti - a view I will never forget! Second day we did another tour and headed to Ngorongoro. We asked if we could visit a Maasai village and our brilliant tour guide didn’t disappoint and took ua. This was mind blowing seeing how these tribes live! Again another d orris fe I will never forget. Our 2nd night was spent in rhino lodge which is night up near Ngorongoro crater. In tge 3rd day before setting off back to our hotel we spent the day at the crater seeing all the wildlife and how Greg live and we’re migration takes place. An unforgettable safari Nx organised expertly by Jeremiah. Highly recommend him and this company if you want a safari you won’t be disappointed with
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent communication before and during safari
We are grateful to lion king adventures for putting together a great safari for us! Their communication was above and beyond. Incredibly responsive both before and during safari. They send clear expectations to help prepare you and work with you to create a safari that works for your budget and wishes. The accommodations and experience were above and beyond. Jackson was a great driver and guide. Incredibly knowledgeable! We were only disappointed that we were unable to see the great migration. We were led to believe in booking communications that if we discuss this wish with our guide while in the Serengeti that it would be able to happen. This was not the case as we were too far from it in the Serengeti. As vegetarians, we were also told that vegetarian options would be available at all accommodations. We were incredibly impressed by the options we had to eat except for our packed lunches. Had we known our driver or we needed to remind the accommodations to pack vegetarian lunches, this would have been easily remedied. We only realized our packed lunches came from our accommodations on the last day. Overall, a wonderful experience, tour operator, and guide. We would recommend them to all of our friends and family.
HU
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great program, excellent safari driving.
We chose Tanke Tours from several offers. Caroline always answered our questions quickly and accurately, so we already developed a sympathy when we placed the order. It was also no coincidence that they offered the best price-value ratio with the luxury category accommodations.
Fais was our tour guide, a very prepared and kind person. He always presented the animals in detail, he tried to see as many animals as possible.
Thank you to Tanke Tours for the essential help to fulfill the family's old wish. We think of them fondly.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It 's amazing
Vers Nice camp ,everything was perfect. Very queit. The staff was very attentive. I recommand .
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best in Tanzania?
Honestly where do I start, superb from start to finish and I couldn’t have had a better experience with Suricata. 11/10.
My tour started with a pick up from Arusha airport which was included in the package. I was picked up on time and dropped off at a nice hotel, to stay in a private room with double bed and aircon the night before the safari stared. I was greeted by Chuke for a briefing for the Safari including the morning pick up time. He also offered me a city tour of Arusha including food market tour which was amazing, thanks so much Daniel, I would recommend this city tour as I gained a lot of knowledge about Arusha and the history of Tanzania.
The safari was out of this world and we managed to see every animal across the 5 days, including the big 5 which I would put down to there expertise of the safari guide, Mandela who was brilliant and professional, and his experience of the national parks showed.
I opted for the 5 day camping tour and the campsites were great, and the staff set up all of the tents for you. The food was varied and the majority of the time we couldn’t even finish the amount that was cooked for us, thanks to the fantastic chefs! Some people opted for lodges which looked amazing and not much more, I just wanted more of an adventure, and we even had Zebras turn up outside our tents one night!
Lastly, they company are very helpful and flexible. When returning to Arusha, they even paid for my beer that I ordered whilst watching the football without me knowing, and then checked me into a hotel so that I could shower before heading to the airport. I was then picked up by a professional driver to head to Kilimanjaro airport for my night flight to Zanzibar!
Overall a brilliant experience and as far as safaris go, it was amazing how much was included, excellent value for money! I would definitely recommend Suricata Safaris to anyone thinking about going on a Safari in Tanzania, which has been a dream trip for a while!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shanjoy delivered a superbly memorable family trip, exceeded expectation and value in every way
We just had one of the most memorable safari trip to Africa covering Kenya and Tanzania over 11 days with my family, from end Aug till mid Sept.
My Mom just turned 70 recently, she always wanted to visit during great migration in Africa. And I wondered whether I could make that happen this year, a family trip with my Mom & Dad, along with my Wife and I. And do it without breaking my bank.
It was kind of overwhelming initially, when there are so many tour companies and national parks to visit. Then reached out to Shanjoy tours amongst and few more. I was impressed by the effort put in by Patrick the owner, on detailed itinerary which clarified a lot for me given my first time planning a safari. Patrick was very open to customizing whenever I enquired, was very prompt on his responses, and gave good suggestions/recommendations on places to stay, to make it easy/comfortable for my parents, this gave me peace of mind given both my parents are in their 70s.
All the recommended places turned out excellent during the trip. Through out the trip punctuality, professionalism and along with coordination between Tanzanian Partner Mama Safari’s, could not be faulted. Everything just happened smoothly like a well oiled machine.
Patrick received us in the airport along with our guide Patrick (both happen to share the same names) and gave us a complete briefing, we liked and appreciated this gesture a lot. We were little disappointed to know that migration was unexpectedly short this year which nobody could have predicted, however what we saw in the coming days, just made us not regret at all.
Kenya part of the trip
- Nothing prepared us enough for Kenya, the abundant wild life everywhere, the ability to get very close sighting, and frequent big cat action. It just felt surreal.
- Patrick our guide just made it so much better, very knowledgeable, good sense of humor and temperament, kept all our family engaged. He ensured that all my Mom’s wishes were taken care of. My family just loved him throughout the trip, and I must say it won’t have been as enjoyable without him. He was the best part of the trip, and all of us kind of miss him. (My Mom has even followed up with me checking if I have mentioned him well in the review, it has never happened before :-)). Also we appreciated his professionalism in his job, he respected nature and wildlife, in Masai Mara sometime seeing aggressive guides getting too close to the animals can be quite a put off. He turned out to be adept with repairs as well, we ran into engine issue in Amboseli with our safari vehicle, and he was able to resolve the problem quickly and got us safely back to our lodge in time.
- We started the trip with lake Nakuru staying in Nakuru lodge, beautiful location specially during sunset and sunrise. We got to see some of the big cats and rhinos up close on the very first day.
- Masai Mara is truly a safari paradise, the open fields and low grass makes it an ideal location for sighting big cat action in addition to all the other wildlife. We got to see multiple cheetah encounters along with hunts, lion prides with cubs and leopard sighting up close. Our stay in Pride Inn mara lodge was equally memorable, Patrick (owner) ensured that we got cottage rooms, which was luxurious and very comfortable for my parents. The service, food, location was all remarkable. All the staff ensured my family were comfortable and taken care of, and enquired often. Masai Mara and Pride Inn lodge remains the highlight of our trip.
- Amboseli is very different landscape to the other parks in Kenya, it means dusty place in local language, and you kind of get it once you are there. It’s a place to see large elephants and it doesn’t disappoint. It kind of has its own ecosystem. We were lucky on our second day weather cleared up and we could see Mt Kilimanjaro in all its glory. The diminished snowcap reminds us all of the climate change we are causing. Our stay was both in camp in Tulia and lodge in Kibo, both places were very good. My family liked Kibo for the wide buffet options. Just to mention the road from border to Amboseli is quite bad, and gives you the max African massage experience.
- The only feedback that we have given Patrick (owner) is to upgrade the vehicles, the very bad road conditions makes it necessary. Which he mentioned he will be changing to new soon.
Tanzania part of the trip
- We did not see much wildebeest in Mara, however while on the way to Sarengeti post crossing the border, we came across thousands of them grazing. They were on their way back. My Mom was super happy to see the migration on its way back.
- What surprised me about Tanzania is how landscape changes within half a days drive, each area has its own ecosystem. Within Sarengeti there is section with denser bushes & shrubs, then there is a section with endless open grassland, then in Ngorongoro is different ecosystem and similarly lake Manyara is completely different with dense tropical like forest. Quite amazing. However due to the density of vegetation, big cat sighting is not as frequent as Kenyan side, and unlike Masai mara it is not flat land where vehicles can go off-track hence the sightings are from a distance.
- Mustafa was our guide in Tanzania, which we were also very happy with. He was very knowledgeable as well and of calm temperament. He always gave us a good explanation on each of the parks and what to expect. Must mention that in the first day of game drives in Serengeti we were not able to have as many interesting sightings in spite of him covering a lot of distance, he ensured the next day we got superb sighting of leopard with a kill on the tree and the biggest male lion duo we came across the entire trip. And thanks to him we got to see black rhino in Ngorongoro, which is kind of difficult in a short visit. We just got to spend less time with Mustafa compared to Patrick.
- In Serengeti we stayed in Osinon camps which was comfortable and right within the park, though my family found the food options limited for asians, however we all found the staff to be super friendly and always helpful. Our stay in Manyara was in Jungle pearl, in traditional style houses, and my parents loved it, also the food was superb and the chef really took care of my family. Lake Manyara is different in terms of density of trees, its an easy half day game drive, with more birds and primate population, it was a welcome break from the long and bumpy game drives, and gave a required back-rest day to my parents.
- Also must mention that the quality of vehicles provided was really very good during this part of the trip, understood that Mama Savanna and Patrick(owner) tried to ensure that my parents were comfortable, given more distance to be covered on road along with dry/dusty climate. This made the journey really comfortable for my family and we appreciate both for this.
As we look back, we cant help admire the natural beauty of both these countries, their landscapes and wildlife, and how they have been able to conserve them. And above all the people, cant say enough, their humility and sincerity just won us over. They have many things to be really proud of.
For me and my family, we do look forward to a visit again, and it has to include guide Patrick + Masai Mara + Pride Inn.
This trip exceeded all our expectations. And as guide Patrick always said ‘when Mama happy, then everyone happy’, he couldn’t be more right :-). Thank you to both Patrick the owner, Shanjoy team and Mama Savanna teams for making this a reality.
SI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
10/10. Very professional company with great guides, vehicles and local knowledge.
With Ngoni Safaris we had a 10/10 experience.
We booked directly with them about 6 months before the trip. They were helpful with tailoring the trip to match our wishes and budget exactly and provided honest information, which was harder to find among other companies.
We did a 8-days trip, covering Ziwa rhinos, Murchison, Queen Elizabeth, Kibale, Bwindi and Lake Bunyoni.
So they only do private tours and only use their own Land Cruisers, which are in good shape (I think they have a fleet of around 10 vehicles).
Our guide was Reagan and he was wonderful the whole time, trying to make us feel as comfortable as possible. He had amazing local knowledge of all the parks (having spent lot's of time there in guiding courses), so he would always know local guards and staff - which provided to be crucial in getting info about best spots for seeing animals. We saw everything possible, even the very elusive leopard in some of the most remote areas of the park with very hard roads to tackle. In Murchison we saw like 8 lions, in Queen Elizabeth 4 of them (they were mating, hunting and also climbing trees), not to mention all in all many giraffes, antelopes, elephants, hippos, crocodiles and other stuff. Reagan really knew evwry single place of where you could be expecting them and usually we were even the first one to spot them among other vehicles. So really, local knowledge came as a victory.
Other activities were amazing - we saw chimps and gorillas, which were both absolutely crazy and unforgettable experiences. There's practically a 100% chance you will see them when you go for tracking - they always make you find them as they have trackers following them from early morning, so they always know where they are.
Lodges - I have to pause here - they were superb. Everywhere we were in luxury lodges - also after talking with different guides from different companies, it seemed that they were the very best options in the areas for a variety of reasons. Simply amazing, next level.
What's interesting here - Ngoni offered this trip (being a luxury private experience with luxury lodges) for the virtually same price as some other companies would for a group budget tour, with a safari van and camping. So I was even a bit suspicious about it, but everything was just perfect.
It's fair to mention that we did have some minor issues with the car, but Reagan sorted them out with local mechanics in a time that didn't really affect our activities, so it was pretty impressive overall, the support network they seem to have all around the country.
Another thing necessary to mention that wasn't great was communication from mr. Sedrick - sometimes I wasn't really sure where we were standing. But as I've read in previous reviews that he was like that, it somehow eased me a bit and in the end everything was fine.
So all in all - Ngoni is a great company with great guides and reputation great value for money and I absolutely recommend them for your African experience.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing safari - highly recommended
We had a fantastic time on safari. Huge thanks to the whole team for excellent planning from Nuhu to brilliant safe driving from Robert. Wonderful of Migretta to also drive us to the coffee experience.
We managed to see so many amazing things across Serengeti, Manyara lake and Tarangire parks. We also visited the Ngorangora crater which is a must see.
Accommodations were all well chosen and we felt this was a great first trip to Tanzania. We would highly recommend KLA for anyone booking as you will be in safe and experienced hands. They do truly go above and beyond to help and advise. Thank you all so very much.
SI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good value for money, we had a luxury experience for the price of a budget tour.
We did an 8-day Uganda safari with them and were very satisfied.
Guide Reagan was great, we saw so many animals at secret spots around the parks. Lodges were superb and the Land Cruiser was comfy.
Their local knowledge was very helpful in making the most out of our time.
I'd recommend this agency to anyone who want someone they can trust.
