AT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great animal experience in Tsavo East and Amboselli.
Daniel was an excellent driver and additionally spotted lots of animals for us. Moureen had really listend to our questioned and everything was organized perfectly. It was so amazing. We'll definitively look forward to join them for another Safari.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had heard so many great things about Makasa, even then our safari experience was Beyond expectati
We really felt that we were in "uncharted territory" while researching and organizing our trip, not knowing anyone that had done anything similar. Makasa advised us every step of the way and their recommendations were "spot on". The tented safari was definitely the right choice for us. The camps were the perfect combination---we felt safe and comfortable (food was excellent !!) at all times and yet "in the wild" added to the experience. Our guide Kaleby was THE BEST !! He was Professional, Knowledgeable and so much fun !!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid at all costs this safari company if you do not want to be hassled by the owner Richard Papa
We booked a 5 days and 4 nights safari Tarangire/Serengeti/Ngorongoro camping safari with World Tours & Safaris from Arusha to Mwanza. We needed to be picked up in Arusha and dropped off in Mwanza as we had plans to visit Lake Victoria. We contacted Richard Papa who was responsive but a bit short in his anwers. We didn’t think of it as it’s so easy to misinterpret the tone of someone by email so we decided to go with the company.
We were quoted for this private safari (as apparently no one wants to be dropped in Mwanza so it had to be a private one) my friend and I respectively $1000 and $920 (my husband was not traveling with us). I am a resident in Dar es Salaam and Tanzanian national parks charge residents slighty less than tourists this is why I was offered a $80 discount on the whole amount providing I could prove my residency in the country. If I failed to do so, Richard told me I would have to pay the difference at the gate which was fine with me since I had all documents in order.
We paid for the full safari by bank transfers, twice, the first time for the 40% deposit and the second time the remaining 60%. Richard told us we could only pay the remaining of the sum in cash with US dollars if paid on the first day of the safari. Since I live in Dar with my husband, we do not have US dollars so we did the second bank transfer to avoid any hassle.
The safari went well, we left the day after a night in Arusha Precious Inn, a very basic hotel but conveniently located a block behind the company’s office. Stanley, our guide and Gadi our chef, were good and professional. They made the best with what they had, which wasn’t so easy considering that the car was quite old and used (515 0000 km at the counter) and that their equipments were quite basic (for e.g after reading reviews on this website we decided to take our own sleeping bags). We enjoyed the 4 days trip even if the last day didn’t go as planned. We were indeed meant to go through the Serengenti again but we did not and drove straight back to Mwanza after reaching the last Serengeti gate. Still, we were quite happy with the trip and gave each of them (Stanley and Gadi) a nice tip once at our hotel in Mwanza. As previously explained, before entering each park I had to give Stanley my passport and visa exemption certificate (residency permit) so he could go and pay the entrance fees. I always asked him whether he needed them and except for Ngorongoro crater where he told me he didn’t have to show the documents.
Once the safari finished, this is when the problems started with Richard. We were eating our lunch in Mwanza when Gadi the chef came back to us saying that we needed to pay more. When I asked him to explain why, he told me that I needed to speak to Richard. I took the phone and then Richard literally started yelling at me telling me that this was the deal : I needed to pay $45 more for the Ngorongoro crater since I did not present my documents. He then told me that $45 was missing from his account (Stanley was apparently given pre-paid credit cards to pay the entrance fees) and that I should know where the money went. I told him that I was not one of his employees, that I did not know what happened with his credit cards and that so far only guides enter the park’s office to pay entrance fees. I do not even know what’s the entrance fee for each park since we always pick organised safaris. As a passenger you either stay in the car or go to the bathroom until the guide comes back and tells you to go back into the car. Richard said I did not present my documents so Stanley paid the fee for a tourist. I told him that when I asked Stanley before and he replied to me that for Ngorongoro there was no need for such document. As soon as I told this to Richard he started shouting : ‘Then Stanley lied to me, pass me Stanley now I will take the money off his wages….’ and hung up on me. Now I have been living long enough in Tanzania to know that $45 is a lot of money for a local. Stanley also explained to me that the mistake was coming from Richard for another reason that I did not get. I felt bad and Richard kept texting me saying I needed to pay or Stanley would have to (which felt like emotional blackmail to be honest) – I had done nothing wrong however unless I paid up then Stanley, who had been very professional the whole trip, would be forced to pay $45 - a lot of money for him. Stanley literally told me that if he had to pay the money the next safari he drove would essentially be done for free. Therefore I paid $45 on top of the $920 already paid not knowing whose mistake it was, Richard or Stanley. I thought that I could retrieve the money after speaking calmly to Richard since he was just shouting on the phone but I couldnt get a calm conversation out of him.
When I spoke again to Richard and told him that it seemed quite unfair I had to pay an extra $45 for the Ngorongoro crater since I could prove my residency in the country (which I did for Tarengire and Serengeti) and that this would affect my review of this trip (I was quite annoyed by this point, I did not like him shouting at me or at his staff on the phone) he wrote me back an sms (I quote) : ‘ I will reply to your review as you wish to write and give all breakdown to the World since you said you have permit. GOD will judge. Thanks’.
Our following exchanges were quite a roller coaster of emotions from Richard since it seems my possible review of the company was really annoying him. He successively threatened me to expose that we were staying illegally in the country (we have been living in Dar for 7 months, my husband works for an European NGO), then told me (I quote) : ‘I know you are a very good girl. You will not put us in trouble’ (I’m 30 by the way), then wrote ‘I am not sure why you want even my family and other staff to miss daily bread…’ (it’s not like we do safaris in order to write bad reviews) and then also accused us not have done the right bank transfers (which was very silly since we have evidence of our bank transfers and knew they had gone through correctly) and that we had cheated him.
Additionally, Richard constantly blamed his employee Stanley when he realized I was having none of this and wrote (I quote) : ‘Stanley is putting me and you in trouble…’ One of Richard’s email’s object is literally called ‘Stanley’ and is just a succession of accusations against poor Stanley.
When I last told Richard I could not accept the refund coming from Stanley’s salary (because to me it wasn’t clear whether he or Stanley did the mistake and also because it will result on an unfair burden on Stanley) he told me I should have reminded Stanley of the residency (which I did but also I do not work for the safari company so that should not have been my responsibility). And then the last email coming from Richard states (I’m just copying and pasting it because it is too good to be true) : ‘I will attache the same letter and the permit and my lawyer will write a letter to your Embassy, with copy to Ministry of Natural Resource, and another copy to Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority to show them the way you want to mistreat us.They will judge who has problem between me and you. We made a deal and nothing went wrong to my agreement between me and you. All arrangements was in order’.
I told Richard he was a dishonest person who’s been seemingly treated harshly his hardworking staff. Also, an important point, I did not understand his calculation : as a resident I had to pay $920 and my friend (a tourist) $1000.Since according to Richard I did not show my documents in Ngorongoro I had to pay another $45 on top of the $920 which makes it $965. Stanley told me that if I did not have the paper as well in Serengeti I would have had to pay another $45. Which amounts to $1010. Which makes it $10 more than the fee for a tourist and this not even taking into account if I had to pay an extra for Tarengire. When I asked Richard to explain how I would have had to pay more than my friend despite getting a residency discount (which does exist for national parks) if I had to pay the difference at each gate, he did not bother answering.
In a nutshell : I’m just baffled by the whole experience with Richard and his company World Tours & Safaris. Richard Papa strikes me as a very dishonest man and not a very professional one, not treating his staff nicely or even his customers. I would strongly recommend any potential customer to stay away from this company and to go with another safari company because you do not want to experience what we experienced. Besides, there are a lot of other safari companies out there that do provide the same service and the same trip without the hassle we went through.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lovely people and a great trip
Paul and his wife Hannah went above and beyond to ensure our dietary requirements were met in a country that has never heard the word vegan! We really had a great time and appreciate the amount of effort you went to to ensure we were enjoying our trip. Calling our guide to check in on us while we were on the actual safari was a very nice touch!
Thanks ;)
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly, professional, personalized safari experts
I was traveling with a group of colleagues and Tanzania Choice Safaris took us from Arusha to Ngorongoro Crater and back. They (Brenda and Kakasi) arranged for three safari vehicles and guides, and the trip was fantastic: The drivers were safe and friendly and very knowledgeable about the animals; the vehicles were comfortable and provided everything from places to recharge cameras/phones to binoculars; and the packed lunch was excellent--and they even provided hot coffee and tea. Brenda also provided us with a really good guide to restaurants, shops and sightseeing in Arusha, and Kakasi arranged for our transport to the airport--and when we got bumped from our flight, he stayed with us as we arranged for rebooking with KLM and then took us back to Arusha to make sure we were safe and well accommodated until we could fly out the next night. I highly recommend Tanzania Choice Safaris!!
Excellent service and magical weekend!
Shaheen from Wild Destinations organised the most amazing trip for my friend and I to Ol Pejeta Conservancy. We contacted the company only the day before but they still arranged our hotel and visit so quickly. Our guide Felix was wonderful; very friendly and knowledgeable. We almost booked a guide for Ol Pejeta and the staff themselves said we didn't one as Felix knows the park so well. I'm glad we listened to them! I would definitely recommend Wild Destinations and hope to use them again soon!
Giorgia
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire
My recent safari with my family to Tanzania exceeded all our expectations. Our guide was so very helpful, flexible and knowledgable. There wasn't a single question we had that he couldnt answer. He also knew some secret hideouts where some of the animals can be found away from the crowds of the regular tourist areas. The Serengeti was my personal highlight especially the experience of driving all the way to the Mara River in the north. Takims planned our trip perfectly and it wasn't too hectic for the kids. We hope to return one day to this beautiful country.
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best trip ever
I believe there is no other tour company that could do a better job
I'd recommend anyone and everyone
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice tour ... but appalling customer service
I must say, I am really disappointing by Uhuru.
The good organisation upfront promised a great adventure, but instead we got an old uncomfortable car that had to go to repairs 3 (!!) times during our tour. And it rained through the roof and I couldn't open my window. All in all not ruining a tour, as the game drives were fantastic and the hotels really nice. But as we reached out after the tour to give our feedback, the reaction was that we were accused to have made things up. Unbelievable!!!
US
Experience level: over 5 safaris
Worst experience ever
DO NOT BOOK. We just visited Masai Mara and after seeing the reviews booked it with Noah. We experienced a lot of trouble as both the tour guide and Noah were just trying to fleece money out of us. They did not pre book anything and would not accept card payments. We were not informed till the day of the tour that they could not take card payments. On top of that, they did not check if we had resident status and charged us non resident prices while paying the hotel only resident rates. When we asked them to reimburse the difference, Noah started yelling at us. The guide (Youstas) seemed experienced but very disincentivized because we found out how they were cheating people. He did not have a radio like other cars and did not tie up with other drivers. We are very dissappointed overall and would not recommend them.