NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Noor
Not very exciting after visiting other parks, there are not many animals to spot. The water was very high so many roads were not accessible.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Good but not amazing
We went to Bwindi in May ans the experience was good , seeing these animals is a unique experience.
I think we were not lucky enough to see a big silver back as the one we saw was small. I think the price is pretty high for what you get to be honest
Our guide was not as attentive as I expected and we had a elderly person in out group who hired a a porter who was not that helpful
Nice experience in general
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Masai Maara Safari - Shanjoy Tours
Pros:
- People within the Tours are reachable
- Excellent stay provided
- Safe driving
Cons:
- No Game Drive provided on the last day (while it was promised on the quotation). Basically, your last day of Safari is only transfer to Nairobi without any Game drive (even if promised)
- Full day Game drive ends super early. During our Day 2 of game drive, it started at 7am but ended by 4pm (while the park is open till 6pm and the sun would still be up till 6.30pm). Was disappointed to miss out the last 2 hours of Game Drive
- Was able to see only 3 out of 5 (Big5) while other Tour operators promises to shown all Big5
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Drove safely from each stopping point; quiet.
Pros (+) We made it to each location safely and in a relatively timely manner. The hotel in Swakopmond and Desert Lodge were both great stays. The food at the Lodge was excellent. The tour to Dune 45 and Big Daddy were great. The day trip in Swakopmund was outstanding.
Cons(-) The trip would be better if we were able to choose the restaurants. We ate in Hungry Lion on the drive and Pubs in Swakopmund. It would have been better if the meals were not included in the cost and we were in our own to find a restaurant of our choice. Also the tour started a few hours late and the communication regarding the late start and the plan to fill the time was poor.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Roads are the worse I've ever seen
I would like to know when last / if any maintenance was done to Etosha roads in the last couple of years.
Worse roads of all the game parks in Namibia.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari was mega nice, the tour operator I would not recommend
We agreed at the time of booking that we would receive a German-speaking guide. As I thought something might go wrong in advance, I reminded them the day before the safari that we wanted a German-speaking guide (as agreed). Unfortunately, an English-speaking guide arrived the next day. When I said that a German-speaking guide had been agreed and I wrote a message again the day before, they tried to organize a German-speaking guide at short notice. However, we waited in the car for 45 minutes. Then we drove towards the parks and picked up the German-speaking guide on the way. We also waited there for almost another hour. We also had a real jalopy. The driver drove the whole time at around 30-40km/h (in and out of town) and we were overtaken by all the cars, even trucks, which of course meant we lost a lot of time on the long drive to the parks and on the intermediate journeys. Then the car also went out several times and we had to wait about 30-45 minutes twice until it started again. The guides (both the English-speaking and the German-speaking ones) didn't really try to tell us anything about the parks, but talked to each other in Suaeli the whole time, which was quite annoying.
When we asked something, we got an answer, but we would have liked to have been told something from time to time. Even at dinner in the evening, while other guides were talking to their guests, our guides preferred to be on their cell phones.
The cars are equipped with walkie-talkies so that all the guides (including those from other providers) can inform each other if an animal is spotted. Our guide's walkie-talkie was broken, so we didn't hear anything. Other guides also all had binoculars with them, but our guide's were broken, he said. Then at the end they weren't happy with the tip as it was split between two people (it's not our fault that we ended up with two guides), then she wanted more, then we got some more (although we weren't happy) and then they didn't even thank us for the tip.
The safari and the parks (Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire) are definitely worth seeing and an experience and we also saw a lot (but so did others from other tour operator too). However, there are a lot of providers, which is why I would recommend another provider (Leo, Tanzanica Specialist, etc.).
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do NOT recommend
I have been struggling with doing business with this company since my early talks with them. I have requested phone calls to understand better the offerings and choose better what would be the best options for me and my wife, and think that's not asking too much right?
The hotels we stayed that were recommend from them were expect melia and the cliff that were really our exceptions.
The cars were OLD, rusty, outlets wouldn't work, seats were super uncomfortable, and they were not branded soul of Tanzania or Spirit of Kenya, I think we were not important customers so they "outsourced us" to different companies.
The water offered in the game drives were room temperature.
The guides made a good effort to find some nice animals life, but I would look for a different company.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great trip,but be careful when reserving
Tough to provide a review for this one - on the one hand the actual trip went really well, and we had a fantastic experience with Paxton (our driver). Would really recommend him, he’s great company and really knowledgeable.
On the other hand the organization was a bit trickier - they were responsive, 24/7 but also sneaky. When organizing an addition to the safari, we were given quotes that included park entry fees that were double the official ones. When confronted about this they did not back down, and tried to justify them with bogus “late booking fees”. I ended up booking that part with another operator.
Similarly, on a separate safari organised by my partner, they tried to sell “driving out of the park” as a morning safari.
Would very much recommend doing your own research and asking questions when booking
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wasting time and boredom
The day before departure, I confirmed how to pick me up at the airport by email, saying that someone would be waiting outside with a sign with my name on it. But when I arrived, I didn't see the driver. I contacted the travel agency through WhatsApp before the driver was arranged to pick me up. I waited for a long time.
After coming to Kenya, all the times told by the people here will not be on time. Please be prepared to wait for 15-30 minutes each time.
Our driver Kikito was very enthusiastic on the first day, but the car broke down halfway on the first day, so it wasted a lot of time, resulting in a very short time in Masai Mara on the first day, and only saw some common animals.
The second day was the best day of the entire trip. The driver took us to find many animals and saw lions and cheetahs.
After that, the drivers of Nakuru, Naivasha Lake, and Amboseli were very perfunctory and did not look for animals seriously. Moreover, Nakuru only stayed for 2 hours, and the day's trip ended at 2 pm. It ended so early, which surprised all of us!
On the fifth day, there was suddenly a girl on the car. The driver said she was an intern from their company. But our car stopped several times for her to take pictures of animals. I felt that she was more like a guest. We arrived at Amboseli very late that day. When I got off the car, I asked the driver to turn on the lights because I wanted to get something, but the driver refused. I know that the lights can be turned on in the car because they were turned on in the past few days. I don’t know why he refused to turn them on that day. The lights were not broken. This made me very confused, and he was in a bad mood. I don’t know why he was unhappy and brought this mood into work.
On the sixth day, the driver drove very slowly and wasted time with us all day in Amboseli. The car broke down in the park, causing us to waste a lot of time waiting. We didn’t see any animals that day. They were all wildebeests, antelopes, elephants, and giraffes that we had seen before.
The last day was even more outrageous. The driver actually stopped the car and arranged for us to wait in the car while he had breakfast and coffee leisurely in the restaurant. His breakfast time can definitely be described as leisurely.
After the trip, I felt that it was a waste of time. Everything I saw could be seen in the zoo, but I spent money to come here to waste time. I didn’t receive good service either.
(automatic translation from Chinese)
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by Joost
We stayed in Central Serengeti in June while the migration was also taking place in this area. Very impressive. We stayed there for 10 days and therefore also had days when the migration had already passed through the area. Those days it was not easy to spot the wild animals. Overall I expected to see more cheetahs, elephants and leopards. There is no shortage of lions, but here too we were always there with easily 70 other cars, all moving continuously to see the lions just a little better and tourists shouting at the animals. Not the relaxing and romantic safari that I am used to from private parks in, for example, Namibia or even the national parks in Zambia. The roads are dramatic even though you pay a large fee to enter the park and the rest camps are places where you really don't stop for fun.
I have the feeling that they can also make the roads much more 'romantic'. Sometimes you have a beautiful river, but you don't see anything because the road goes in the completely opposite direction. The Masai Mara does this much better.
Overall I also thought the guides were very poor. They pushed the animals too much and often locked them in.
Overall, I would rather spend my money on a safari in Zambia, Namibia or Kenya, for example.