CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Viva safaris was a trip of a lifetime!
We loved Viva Safari tour. Excellent guiding and accommodation was great if you are looking for value for medium end tour. Saw all the big 5 and more. The scenery was beautiful and people so friendly and helpful. We would recommend South Africa to all. We did Jo’berg to Capetown. Fantastic.
CN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgetable Tour
We enjoyed a 7 days safari in Rubondo Island , Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
All of the lodges and camps were special and amazing.
The knowledge of our guide Sule was excellent, therefore we learned
a lot about animals, culture and history from him. Although he had the
eyes of an eagle, so we saw many animals, which we did not
expect.
Thank you Sule and thank you Brian for the outstanding organisation
of the excellent safari!
I will highly recommend Friends of Africa Family Safaris to our friends and to everybody else.
Thank you Brian Matechi for organizing our trip !
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kenya is an amazing place!
We had a wonderful time in Kenya. Our safari guide with Wildebeest Safaris (good value) was so good at finding all of the animals to see in the three national parks (Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, and Masai Mara) we visited. Seeing these animals in their natural environments was so amazing. Our stay in the lodges (Amboseli Serena, Sarova Lion Hill, & Mara Serena) was very nice with other visitors from all over the world. I would suggest staying in each park for two nights since the travel in between is long (unless you fly). We also stayed in Nairobi (Fairview Hotel was beautiful) for a couple of days (National Museum, Karen Blixen house & downtown walking tour) which was very interesting. If you can visit Kenya I highly recommend it!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Wild Wind Safaris
We had a wonderful experience on our Etosha three day Safari. The weather cooperated, the animals were plentiful, way more than I ever anticipated, based on the reviews that I had read for this time of year, March 2015.
The pickup and return were very smooth to and from the airport and well paced. Everything is included except the purchase of water and alcoholic beverages at meal time. Even the lunches en route and on the return to your pickup point, in our case, the airport, were included as it is almost a 5 hours drive to the reserve from the airport.
The accommodation was superb and well worth spending the extra. We selected the premier waterhole bungalow (Okaukuejo rest camp), stunning accommodation and location. It was hard to decide between eating dinner and breakfast or just watching the animals as they came down to the waterhole at night and in the morning. On our last night it was fascinating to watch the rhinos come at their "slotted" time. We counted 9 that night. We had to force ourselves to go to bed. And the giraffes, 17 at the waterhole the morning of departure.
We saw a pride of 13 lions just off the road side and several elephants, a couple gigantic ones, one in particular, minutes after starting our safari upon arrival. Thoroughly enjoyed watching the springboks boing along and all of the babies at this time of year. Even saw the elusive honey badger. I kept count of our sightings, 37 different animals, very impressive.
Our guide was very accommodating. He backtracked en route, ensuring us views of our sightings, which we spotted along the way. He shared his knowledge of the animals with us and actively sought them out for us.
The food was excellent at the camp. The lunch at one of the camps though on our full day safari was very limited, but, on our return to the airport, the restaurant offerings and quality and quantity of food was fantastic.
Can't fault Martha's and Philip’s hospitality, advice and efficiency prior to our arrival. Offering payment via a credit card would certainly make it easier for travellers and insurance purposes if need be. They accommodated our 3 day safari during the week which from what I read is usually only offered on the weekend. This was an incredible bonus as we ended up having our own personal guide for our stay. I can't imagine though being in a vehicle with 4-6 other people (even saw a couple buses, egads!) and trying to take pictures along the way especially since you are not allowed to exit the vehicle at any point during the game drives. At first I was anticipating an open-jeep, but in retrospect we had an SUV/van, which I feel was better as we were so up close and personal with the animals as it was. It was common place to have an elephant walk 30 feet in front of you or come out unexpectedly from the brush or have lions within 20 feet of your car, so just as well, we were enclosed, as they are “wild”. During the high season, when the area is extremely dry and if it was windy, I would think that you would be covered in dust, in particular when passing or being passed by other vehicles. The best thing about going at this time of year was that oftentimes we were the only car on the road which allowed us to back up or turn around quickly to see the animals. I would think during high season, there would be considerable jockeying around to gain the best viewpoint at the waterholes where the vehicles and animals would congregate.
Overall it was an extremely exciting time for us, a once in a lifetime experience and almost surreal to see National Geographic come to life before your very eyes. Maybe we were just lucky to see what we did, at this time of year, but in the end, Wild Wind made this happen for us and within our budget.
LT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful
The safari was great, people were polite and friendly. Nice nature near Kilimanjaro and in he national parks. Tasty food. Cosy relax in the Zanzibar island. Advise for everyone who likes animals and nature.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experiences in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Have rated our experience as excellent as we were blown away by the experience of the Serengeti and Ngonrongoro Crater. Prior to arriving in Tanzania we experienced excellent communication with Abidan who was there to pick us up at Kilimanjaro airport and at the end of our safari Jesse, our driver, took us to the border for our connecting drive to Kenya.
We did have a change of itinerary which we weren't expecting but was a logical step as we wanted particularly to see the migration in the Ndutu area and because we had a long drive to the border for our connecting drive to Kenya at the end of our stay. All in all we were satisfied with this. We loved the camp we stayed in in the Serengeti - Heritage camp - which is small and run by a really cheerful crew and gives a very authentic experience. Serengeti was something I shall never forget - seeing the enormity of the mass of migrating wildebeest and zebra etc. The pride of lions - about a dozen with cubs on our first early morning game drive, lying on the rocky outcrop was just awsome as was watching the sun come up - great pics. We watched elephant antics - and waited while the leopard in the tree (with his kill) had to stay up there due to the six or seven lions lying around the bottom. For me the Serengeti stay was the highlight but the Ngorongo crater was also amazing - we watched a zebra give birth and baby take its first steps. We did go to Lake Manyara park as our first day of safari - it is very beautiful but what came after sort of overshadowed it. Our last night at the Simba Ngorongoro Forest Lodge was a lovely ending - with all the luxuries etc and a beautiful dinner.
Jesse is a very good driver and we felt very safe with him. He is clearly passionate about his country - I don't blame him as it is stunning. Although he didn't have radio communication in the vehicle we used he seemed to know where to find everything as we certainly saw some awsome things!
NL
Review about Kruger National Park by Melcher Groenendijk
Very nice scenery, a lot of wildlife, good guides, knowledge of the guide, nice people
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
To be lived again and again.
I was pleasantly surprise by the professionalism of Spot Kenya Safaris. They came to pick us up at the airport on time and even helped with some formalities, accommodation was as described, the safari itself was an amazing journey.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing people, gorgeous landscapes, and wonderful wildlife viewing.
I did a budget tour with Home to Africa and Benon was our guide. Just an amazing experience. I went for the gorilla trekking and came back with so much more. Once in a lifetime experience. Saw so much other wildlife! The Batywa community was so interesting. All staff at our accommodations were so welcoming. Benon our guide was amazing always looking out for our best experiences. Go to Uganda it’s an amazing experience!!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome last minute climb and safari!
I arrived in Tanzania from another African country without having organized anything, but Walter made it easy for me and I was able to join a group for both a safari and Kili climb at the last minute. The guides were very professional and we got lots of information about the animals. The food was awesome (I was impressed!). Kili is a one in a lifetime experience, not to be missed. I was very well taken care of on the mountain, the guides were encouraging but not overly pushy. I really enjoyed the organization and I highly recommend this company