20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Experience
Joe was a kind and knowledgable guide who we felt would always go the extra mile in order to make our trip as enjoyable as possible.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We did 5 days safari tour (hell's gate, lake nakuru, masai mara) We had a super great experience with this compagny. Hotels and camps were very good and clean. The food is ok. We were disappointed because there are no flamingos at lake Nakuru. But it's not the fault of the compagny. We would not go if we had known before. We recommend this compagny. Patrick is a good driver and a good guide.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and amazing staff!
My friend and I booked a 5 day safari with Baboon Budget Safaris. It was really easy to communicate with the staff regarding payement or money transfers or any other questions about the safari. The owner Dennis was professional and thrustworthy. He picked us up himself at the hotel the day of the safari and was very kind througouht the whole safari even after we paid, he was always available and fixed any problems within one minute. The driver Patrick was fantastic, he knew so much about the wildlife and would gladly share everything he knew with the whole group. We started our journey in Lake Navaisha where we embarked in a safari boat for 100usd for 2 people ( I think it's a set price of 100$ and the more you are the better it is). If you take the tour for Lake Naivasha you pretty much have to do that safari boat, there is nothing else to do there. After we went to the hell's gate (still in Lake Naivasha area) where you will see wonderful panoramic views of the mountains (old volcanos) and wild animals. Beware: if you take the bike ride of 14km witch we did you need to be somewhat in a good shape. Masai Mara was fantastic, we stayed at mini mingi eco camp witch is very decent but make sure you ask for the new tents!!! Big difference between the two. The masai village was interesting (1000ksh) and in my view worth it. Obviously after the tour, they beg you to buy souvenirs. If you visit the school next door, be prepared to make a donation (not mandatory but...). Lake nakuru was ok, after seeing all the animals at the masai I wasn't impressed specially since we saw no flamingos as they were all in tanzania. But still lake nakuru is a beautiful national park worth seeing.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant Guides and excellent support
I am a 66 year old solo traveller, happy to "rough it" for a while if the experience justifies. Having spent 4 days on safari in Kenya booked through another company, I then found myself passed onto the very capable hands of Richard Kilonzo and his team in Tanzania. After a night's rest in Arusha, I travelled to Lake Manyara with the charming Mateas Chuwa, where we got up close and almost too personal with an old bull elephant. Exhilarating. The next day Richard's brother Steven arrived to drive & guide for the onward journey to Serengeti, the Ngorongoro crater and Tarangire National Park. Steven's eyesight is uncanny, his knowledge of game and birds extensive, and his sense of humour delightful. After a brilliant 3 days it was back to Arusha, where once again Richard ironed out a last minute breakdown in communication with minimal fuss. If you are looking to see a lot of African fauna, on a limited budget and happy to accept the occasional limitations in comfort which that - and travel in Africa - entails, then this is definitely for you.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful and amazing experience
Me and my friend booked a safari and Kilimanjaro trekking with Sayari Tano Tours & Safaris, they was extremely fast in responding our quote request. This tour company was the only one we found that had so much already included in the price ( 2nights accommodation in the hotel-first and last night hotel stay), airport pick up and drop off, sleeping bag, drinking water while your in safari,. If we had booked through another safari company that would have easily asked as to add a couple of dollars to our safari. The taxi was awaiting our arrival, even though we had huge delays,
This company have well established team. Special thanks to staffs, our driver Oswald and our cook Mikel
The service was very great and hotel was so amazing, i can say all services and everything was supper, The company put as at the hotel where we access WIFI, TV Channels and best restaurant with nice inside bar even you can overview the city at the top of hotel.
The guide was extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the wildlife, fauna, history and our surroundings, he was friendly and fun alongside it which made the whole group feel comfortable.
We real enjoy and we are heart felt to recommend this tour company to anyone who are planning their holidays to Tanzania
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent customer service by Erick
As students with very limited budget, safari trips in Kenya and Tanzania are very difficult to be arranged with the high costs in accommodation, game drives and park entries, especially during the migration period. I rarely write a review for my trips but I am writing this review to express my utmost gratitude to Erick of Ewamanns Safaris, who has tried his best over the past three months to make our safari trip work.
From the start, Erick has always been very responsive, caring and professional. He always tried his best to offer extra and more intimate services and tailor to all our requests. In particular, he answered all of our questions understanding that we have limited knowledge about Kenya and Tanzania. He demonstrated passion and enthusiasm to show the best of his country to us, and treated us as good friends rather than merely clients. His English may not be the best, so do we, but he always provided us with clarifications in case we did not understand anything. We are totally confident with the outstanding arrangements of Erick, from the very simple and safe booking procedures to promising us nice, passionate and knowledgeable drivers. We would also like to thank Erick for contacting and negotiating with KWS for us in order to obtain the student rates for the national reserves. While it has failed in the end, the tremendous effort which Erick has put in is highly appreciable.
Looking forward to our trip in Kenya and Tanzania in July and August, we are confident that we will have great adventures seeing the natural wonder of migration, understanding local cultures, enjoying Kenyan and Tanzanian cuisines, and more importantly, meeting Erick, a good friend who has helped us in all his capacity to bring our dreams come true.
under20 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safari
Communication was excellent and all our exoectations catered for. Would recommend Spot Safaris for your memorable trip.
CA
Review from a 3 week tour of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in Jan 2016
Review from a 3 week tour of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in Jan 2016.
Before I begin the review of atc, I wanted to make note that many of overland tours are similar in terms of itinerary, food, vehicle, etc. What really makes or breaks the trip are the people. If you have a bad group (whether crew or passengers), that's really what's going affect you the most.
I did not have a good group - a lot of negative people, complainers who really should have not booked a budget camping tour in Africa but they were too cheap to do an upgraded so instead chose to complain about everything.The point of this is, you can't really base your decision to go with a company based on reviews.
Anyways, overall everything advertised in the itinerary was delivered but I don't think itinerary was transparent about the amount of time spent on the truck. It would have good to include approximate distance and time travelled each day would be good so passengers are informed beforehand (not during) of how much time they'll actually be spending on the truck. I would estimate 3/4 of the time was the truck.
The food mediocre Less processed ingredients should be provided and definitely more variety. There should have been opportunity to try local food but there was none, that was hugely disappointing. Instead of buying crappy food from the supermarket, why not take us a local restaurant once in a while? The crew did not eat what we ate for lunch. They would get local food. In one instance we stopped right in front of a restaurant (where the crew ate, yet we were given the same old thing) and ridiculously overpriced souvenir shop (e.g. quote given for a small wooden statue - $400), absolutely ridiculous.
The overland truck was sufficient though had there been more passengers, I definitely would not be happy being cramped on that truck for the amount of time were on there. The truck itself looked/felt dirty but because it's dated and old but the driver did clean it.
Campsites were in good condition and most (if not all) had an option to upgrade, hot water and wifi (though often didn't work) and bar/restaurant. Tents and sleeping mats were durable, good quality, though stinky because you often have to pack them up when they're still wet from condensation or rain.
Aside from the driver, I didn't find the crew to be friendly or approachable. They did not interact with the group and were aloof and to be quite honest had a chip on their shoulder. I felt that we were a nuisance to them and they couldn't be bothered with us, and it often felt they were talking about us in Swahili. I certainly didn't feel at ease with them. I also didn't feel any effort was put into the trip, just the bare minimum just to say they did it. It didn't come across that the leader and cook enjoyed their jobs.Having said that, the cook did provide us with a hot breakfast everyday even if that meant waking up at 4am.
The payment method was ridiculously complicated and unnecessary. It should be the crew's responsibility to ensure they have the required local payment, not for passengers to be carrying US$ for local payment.
However, my biggest complaint is about being overcharged (and feeling ripped off). For one, the prices for the optional excursion were much higher than should have been. We paid $500 (plus tips for the guides, cooks, etc) for 2 days for the Serengetti excursion, yet others I met during my travels paid the same amount for a 4 day tour! In Zanzibar, the spice tour was $40 with ATC yet I got it for $15 on my own (lunch and transportation included) only 3 other pax. All the Zanzibar excursions were double if not triple the prices. The whole point of going with a group was cheaper prices but ATC charges the same or more.
I also don't understand what the local payment went towards. I paid equivalent of $80USD/day. Campsites cost $5 (according to tour leader), the food purchased cannot possibly be more than $15/person/day - even that is a high estimate. Fuel, I'm not sure how much that would be but certainly not $60/person/day. Most days were spent on the bus (no entrance fees or other costs). So what was that money used for?
Hope this helps others in deciding.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Expert and friendly game driver and catered to my specific locations of interest
I went on a 4-day safari to the foothills of Kilimanjaro in April 2016. This time of year is completely off season, but it was still really enjoyable. We were lucky and had a clear day in Amboselli National Park, and so got to have wonderful pictures of the Kilimanjaro. The price quoted was for top safari lodges, so if I would have known I would have asked for more modest accommodation for a lower price. Otherwise, everything was organized perfectly and catered to our needs. Highly recommend!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The ideal budget safari
I was really pleased with the experience! The tents in which we stayed were comfortable, clean and had an en-suite bathroom. The food was your typical local food and did the trick. The best part was probably the guide. He had over 9 years of experience doing safaris and was in constant radio communication with all the other guides in the park, which allowed him to effectively track the animals. I saw lions eating, leopards, cheetahs and all sorts of other wild animals that I never would have found on my own. I highly recommend this tour! The one thing that could be improved is the lunch during the second day and provision of snacks in between meals, but that really isn't a huge issue considering how much fun we had!