Review about Kenya by Suryanarayan Ganesh
If you want to do one big safari in your lifetime, it has to be Kenya. All other Safaris pale in comparison. You just get so much variety, expertise & experience in one trip - all your previous or subsequent safaris will be compared to this trip. Maybe only one to Serengeti from Tanzania side can match.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our Extraordinary Journey in Africa: a well-named company for a truly unforgettable experience!
EJAfrica made the planning a breeze and the trip a dream. Once we had decided to go, we contacted them and they were very attentive, patient and asked key questions that we never would have thought of asking. Then once we arrived, we realized day after day how much they had paid the highest attention to every single one of our requests. Not only that, they also surprised us: we had what we wanted but their creative approach made it even better. If I had to sum it up in just 3 words, I'd say: authenticity meets luxury. Unique, truly inspiring and absolutely recommended!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Locally owned tour company that works hard to create a customer's ideal trip.
We did a 3 day gorilla trek with them. Locally owned tour company that seems to work hard to fulfill the customer's needs and wishes. Their communication prior to the trip was good but not excellent. I had to follow up once or twice myself to confirm some details and while they provided a good amount of information prior to the trip I still had to ask additional questions to make sure I knew 100% what was going to happen. The I equipment was in good condition and very comfortable. The driver was very experienced 15+ years driving and went out of his way at times to fulfill requests that weren't necessarily part of his job (ex: buying a local newspaper for us, stopping many times in an attempt to find a seasonal food, etc). I would use them again!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely recommendable
When planning our trip to Tanzania, we had the following things in mind: we wanted to do a 5 day tour in Tanzania; we wanted a nice mixture of tented camps and lodges for a reasonable price and see a variety of different landscapes and wildlife settings. We were overwhelmed by the amount of tour operators, and in the end contacted 12 different operators – Tanzania Joy Tours convinced us with the most flexible offer in terms of accommodations, giving us the opportunity to choose what we liked best, and their honest recommendation of what made the most sense during our 5 day trip. Together with Emmanuel we designed our very own itinerary which perfectly fit our wishes - we stayed 1 night in Tarangire National Park, 2 nights in Serengeti and 1 night in the Ngorongoro Crater. Our accommodations were all very different and all lovely. We cannot stress enough the fact of having a knowledgeable and sympathetic guide for the trip - Fred our guide did a perfect job, answering all our questions, explaining everything we wanted to know and teaching us some Swahili on the way! He has 6 years of experience in guiding safaris in the Northern Circuit, which he demonstrated in always coming up with new ideas of where to look for animals and not getting lost in the road maze in Serengeti. We learned a lot about Tanzanian culture, the national parks and the wildlife. Thanks for this great trip, Fred!
Finally here are our highlights of the 5 days:
- Tarangire National Park: Great drive along the river bank with a lot of wildlife, especially the Elephant families were so much fun to watch!
- Serengeti: you will find the plains truly breathtaking, with herds of zebras and wildebeests. We were especially impressed by the lion families with their cubs or their prey.
- Ngorongoro Crater: Driving down into the crater is an exceptional experience viewing the wonderful landscape - here Fred guided us to see a rhino, making our big 5 sighting complete.
All in all, from the flexible planning with Emmanuel, to the pick-up at the airport and especially the tour with Fred it was a fantastic experience! Tanzania Joy Tours not only professionally planned our trip but moreover helped us put all the ideas that we had into practice, making this an unforgettable 5 days! Thank you so much to the whole team! Absolutely recommendable!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just what have been looking for
Karibu Safaris had Outstanding service and excellent customer support. They
made the payment process easy and secured and ensured I had the absolute
best in accommodations in nairobi and fully catered to my needs both in
nairobi and throughout the safari at Tsavo East National Park. While they
can't personally ensure that I will see every animal, their guide Tom was
natural at picking the best routes and best tour times to ensure maximum
viewing and absolute enjoyment throughout my adventure. Well worth the
money and a definite way to go for any wishing to see Africa and go on
Safari.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing 3-week trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar!
We had three weeks to discover the beauty auf Tanzanian national parks and Zanzibar! From the beginning, we had a good feeling about Makasa which was confirmed in each step from the planning of the trip to the actual journey! The organisation of logistics was spotless. And we saw soooo many beautiful scenes, that it is difficult to say what we liked most! From a herd of elephants that we found ourselves surrounded by on day 1 of the safari, over cute little lions, cheetas, elephants and even a leopard baby, to observing a rhino mother with its - not so small - baby. We loved it! Our guide humphrey had a great feeling for what we wanted to see! And we were rewarded several times due to his skill of spotting animals without the help of walkie talkies that the big companies all use! We were so proud of him and it was great fun! :-)
Zanzibar was a relaxing last week and we truly loved the blue safari which allowed for relaxed swimming and dining far away from tourists. But the highlight of the trip was clearly the safari.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic team with a great mission...Created a trip and experience of a lifetime...Outstanding
My wife and I booked our trip to Uganda with Instinct Safari with the primary purpose of seeing the Mountain Gorillas. We contacted several tour operators, and after much hand wringing, we decided to go with the Instinct Safari largely based on the superb communications and just the overall sense of purpose and mission exuded by the Instinct Safari team. I would highly recommend Instinct Safaris as a safari operator.
Our initial communications with Niels were excellent as he provided prompt and candid inputs as we put together our itinerary for a 9-day safari in southwestern Uganda. We were met on arrival at Entebbe by Rabani and Rogers, our guides with a Toyota Landcruiser. Both are extremely knowledgeable, and perhaps more importantly, personable as we spent the next week with both gentlemen. Our next 9 days were exciting as we saw and experienced southwestern Uganda. All of the activities were very rewarding, some of the highlights...chimpanzee habituation trek, game viewing at Queen Elizabeth Park, an early morning hot air balloon excursion with bush breakfast, a trek across the Bwindi Impenetrable forest (complete with a vigorous rain shower...that is putting it mildly), a paddle in a dugout canoe (abrato sp? in the local language wakiga) once again with a bit more rain, and of course the crowning jewel, our two gorilla treks. During our excursions we had, in addition to Rabani and Rogers, Emma and Issa as guides accompanying us to provide greater depth and background to cultural interactions within the local communities. In addition to the gorillas and chimpanzees, we saw many different animals...most striking for us was a leopard sighting, always a magical moment for this most solitary of beasts, and we saw the rather famous tree lions. We greatly enjoyed our time spent in the communities and we even had a chance to briefly visit a local school. I could go on endlessly over all the small details and adventures that encompassed this very enriching experience, but alas there is not enough space.
I wish we could return, as I consider Rabani and Rogers, and the entire Instinct team to be friends. I truly appreciate and applaud their company's mission, particularly the sustainability and community-based aspects. Keep up the good work...Jay and Meg
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unique tour, great animal viewing, led by husband & wife team, comfortable camping, good food.
Custom built passenger box on Isuzu 4X4 truck chassis provides excellent animal viewing from high position through large easily opened windows. There is plenty of room to move around and stretch ones legs or congregate to one side to see the excitement outside. It is a little noisy when traveling at highway speeds and could use a window in the front. Food was good. I am a vegetarian and they were able to accommodate my needs. They would have done better if we had given them a little notice. Service was excellent. Guides were friendly and knowledgeable. Camping was comfortable. We had 5 days of care free travel for a very good price.
Exceeded our expectations, private, comfortable, exclusive and professional.
Shaun was amazing from start to finish. He was professional and communicated well with everyone. Shaun's ability to track animals is astounding and uncanny. We spent an awesome weekend with the Honorary Rangers at Camp George. The camp is stunning - private, remote and beautiful. Comfortable and spacious accommodation.
The food was plentiful, tasty and well presented. It was a photographic weekend and we got some awesome photos. Shaun was sensitive to everyone in the vehicle and positioned the vehicle in such a way as to ensure everyone got in a good position to get the shot. We had a first experience with a mating pair of lions, a huge male lion roaring and then drinking in the river in front of us and then a breathtaking interaction with a huge male leopard marking his territory playing in front of the vehicle. Shaun has an ability to predict the animals movements which is awesome. We would definitely go on a safari with Shaun again.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A top drawer adventure! There are no negatives associated with this safari-only accolades.
We arrived a few days ahead of our group and asked Brian for some ideas on how to spend them. He offered several options and we chose an overnight hike part way up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Brian made the arrangements and we wound up with an excellent guide and crew. The hike and stay were very rewarding. Returning to Arusha, we settled into a comfortable cottage nestled with other cottages in tropical trees, brilliant flowers and darting exotic birds that tantalizingly showed themselves before furtively melting into the thick tree crowns.
This was the auspicious start to a string of accommodations that ranged from beautiful lodges to tent camps. All facilities were very comfortable, clean and well equipped from beds and hot showers to the charging stations for camera, computer and other electronic equipment batteries.
Over the three week trip, we visited a number of Rift Valley parks and ended up at the Serengeti. Along the way we saw sights ranging of age from the very young to the very ancient. The young included baby baboons clutched tightly to their mothers and others chasing around like kids at recess. Elephants, zebras, gazelles, wart hogs, jackals, wildebeests, cape buffalo, lions, cheetahs and even a fuzzy yellow grey crowned crane chick (colt?) rounded out the young set. On the other end of the time spectrum, we stopped at Oldupai Gorge where the Leakeys discovered the early hominid, Lucy. Along the way there were visits to settlements and villages and the opportunity to share in the culture of Tanzania and to pick up African mementos. Our guides were always eager to answer questions about the cultural practices, economic activities, history and other aspects of East African society. They are particularly proud of the success Tanzania has had in integrating the numerous religions, ethnicities, and tribes.
Our group included individuals whose interests tended toward ecology and plants, others in birds, and still others in mammals. EWA masterfully satisfied these divergent interests. Our guides were so experienced, and knowledgeable about all the species that they found them, anticipated their movements and positioned us to best observe and photograph them. I was very impressed by their willingness and skill in positioning us for the best photographs. They have an uncanny ability to spot birds and animals in cryptic situations.
The food, service, and staff friendliness were outstanding. Sitting in the dining tent one evening and listening to the lions roaring a moderate distance away and having a herd of elephants cross in front of the vehicles as we left the camp for a game drive constituted icing on the cake.
Riding to the airport for the long flight home, I looked back from the vehicle to see that the clouds had retreated from the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the snowy peak was bathed in rosy alpenglow, providing a perfect metaphor for what I was feeling.
Brian and crew provide an unparalleled experience and I'm giving it the most cogent recommendation that I can-we're returning for another EWA safari this summer.