20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Book now, you won't regret it
This was my second safari with Shaun and Moriti Private Safaris, and I will definitely be back. Seeing these animals in their own environment is magical. I can't say enough great things about Shaun, he is so knowledgeable, personable, and makes sure you have the best experience possible. If you are thinking about booking, just do it. I promise you won't regret it!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience
I had a fantastic time on my safari. My tour guide, Maxwell, was very professional and knowledgable, and the entire trip was organized very well. My only complaint is that two people were added to our safari on the second day, meaning there were 8 people in our vehicle which was cramped and resulted in not everyone having a window seat. Otherwise I would highly recommend Karibu Safaris!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very responsive to the type of camps we wanted and exposure to game.
We did a "five camp" safari over 12 days in Zambia and Zimbabwe. This was our fifth trip to Africa, and we had not spent an appreciable amount of time in either country. The terrain was dry, as expected. We are willing to trade off the beauty of green flora for the absence of mosquitoes,
so always travel to Africa in September.
Our camps ranged from older bush camps to newer contemporary camps. The bush camps are due for a "refresh", but the food and staff were both excellent as were the game sightings. This was our first trip that included walking safaris. They lasted about an hour each, and were excellent, giving the guides an opportunity to share their extensive knowledge of tracking with us. We learned a great deal, and highly recommend them when offered.
We also did a canoe trip at Chiawa. Majestic scenery and interesting wildlife. I am older, and the guide did the paddling...I never touched one, so it was an easy, peaceful journey.
At the first three camps in Zambia we had pleasant surprises with meals, ranging from lunch being served at tables in the river (only about 6 inches of water in September), a lunch on a boat and a BBQ dinner in the bush. While these are surprises, we have come to expect them over the years, and were somewhat disappointed that our two stops in Zimbabwe did not provide that experience.
We had hoped to do a bit of fishing, but mother nature delivered some rather strong winds, so we were not able to experience that.
I won't go into any detail about game sightings but suffice to say they were plentiful and exciting (especially the cheetah chase down and the hyenas running around with a zebra leg).
The logistics on this trip were a bit complicated, and I would pay closer attention to them on future trips. It was my error that we did not spend a night in a hotel when we arrived in Africa, and ended up going on two in country flights and a long drive to the first camp, making the journey about 48 hours. Also, moving from Zambia to Zimbabwe was cumbersome and time consuming. I will definitely take a closer look at that aspect next time.
All in all, another wonderful trip to Africa!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful
We had an amazing adventure. Lots of animals, birds, fish and even wonderful people
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
The weather was fantastic and our accommodation Altezza Lodge, Moshe was fantastic. The one day Kilimanjaro hike was a great day out and I would like to go back and do the full 5 day. There are plenty of big animals to see around the national park areas. The food is all of a good quality.
UA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stay away from this travel agency
I had a terrible experience of a 6-days safari, booked through the Open Africa Safaris.
All that it's representative John Williams said about the tour, was a lie.
In particular, I asked the following questions before paying:
1) Will all six-day safari be the car of your company and run by your employees?
Yes, all six days will be operated by our company's vehicle and employees.
Will there be a safari in mixed with other companies car?
No, all customers will go under our company but from different places ..
But in fact I was attached to a mixed group of tourists from different companies with different programs. The trip took place on the cars of various guides-freelancers. For six days I was transplanted into 4 different cars. None of these machines had the mark of Open Africa Safaris. Two of them did not have a promised chargers, no working fridge and no promised Coffee boxes, Wildlife books and Maps.
2) Do you provide a sleeping bag and a tent?
Yes indeed, we provide all camping equipment including, tents, sleeping bags, mattresses and pollows for each client.
But in fact nobody from our group took sleeping bags for two nights in a row. Only the mattresses and the dirty torn sheet with a dirty blanket. The next night was given only to the mattress itself.
3) Does the safari program have a visit to any river?
Big chences, yes and good news is that our driver will try his best to make sure that you see the wildebeest migration in Serengeti NP.
But in fact in fact neither migration nor rivers have been seen.
4) Do you already know the number of people in the safari group to which I will join?
You will join 5 more people, so total will be 6 people in the vehicle for the trip.
In fact, two days in the car there were 7 tourists, and I had to sit near the driver without a rooftop.
5) Open Africa Safaris is not ASTA member. Information on this site is false. You can check it on ASTA website.
6) But the worst was not even the above.
Day 1. At the entrance to Tarangire, we lost an hour, since the fee for entering the park was not paid.
Day 2. At the entrance to Serengeti, we lost two hours, as the entrance fee to the park was not paid again. Another hour we lost because of a car breakdown (the battery was down, not some force majeure). Accordingly, there was no game drive this day.
In the evening, we found out that there are no sleeping bags for us. Every other tourist from other companies in camp had sleeping bags.
Day 3. Sunrise game drive until 11:00. After that the guide said that entrance fee for second day in Serengeti not paid and we cannot move on game drive around the park. The half of day was held at Serengeti Airstrip near the payment office, waiting for payment, which was never done on that day. The evening was held in the ranger's office by filing applications and explanations. The half of night was at the police station.
Lost a day, no gaming drive. There are no sleeping bags again, only tent and mattress. Very cold.
In addition, it turned out that in one car three groups of people with completely different itineraries on the next day.
Day 4. Got a short game drive only at 12:00, after which there was a road to the camp near Ngorongoro. They submerged me into another car as a seventh tourist, in which I was sitting near driver without access to rooftop.
Day 5. Still in car as 7th tourist without rooftop access. Lost again 40 minutes through unpaid entrance to the Ngorongoro conservation area. They brought to the camp already at 15:00, that is, the half of day of the safari was lost.
Day 6. I began game drive only at 11:30, because there was no group to which I could join this day. As a result, they sent me a separate car, but they did not even give me water with me. Already at 14:00 I was back in the camp.
Besides, I was never in the evening, but even during breakfast I did not know which guides and cars I would go to safari that day.
When I wrote to John Williams about a refund for at least a lost 1 full day, he replied that he did not have the money and that I would contact a the subcontractor with whom he shared me and who actually carried out the safari, which I do not even have contacts with.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A family holiday of a lifetime - all the inspiration of Africa with exceptional guides.
Natureways facilitated our few days canoeing on the Zambezi and were professional in every way. The safaris lived up to and exceeded all our expectations. Our guides were extremely knowledgable about the wildlife and although we had exciting moments we never felt anything but confidence that we were in extremely safe hands.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari company and guide!
We recently (July 2018) returned from a 11-night Bright African Safaris safari in Tanzania. We enjoyed every minute of it and it was a trip of a lifetime. The way the itinerary was set up, the progression of parks was fantastic, starting with one of the small parks with a walking tour at Arusha National Park and moving onto the larger parks at Lake Maynara National Park, Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and finally Ngorogoro Crater. All of the lodging was comfortable with a unique African flare, especially the tented ones, such as Serengeti Tortilis Camp right in the middle of the Serengeti and Sangaiwe Tented Lodge just outside Tarangire. Our guide, Khamis was very knowledgeable about each animal species we came across and taught us about Tanzanian history and culture. He was also an amazing and an incredibly safe driver. Khamis made sure we saw every animal and was patient in positioning us to get the best photos. He also quickly figured out our meal favorites and had the lodges prep tasty lunches for us while out on safari. By the end of the safari, we had gotten to know Khamis so well, he became like family. From initial contact for booking to when we said our farewells, Bright African Safaris was there for us, and we loved that they were a local family business. Msangi and Salim (in the office) were always polite and responsive to our many questions and updates to itinerary from start to finish, and they even met up with us on the last day to ensure we were happy. If you are looking for a top-notched safari company to plan your safari, Bright African Safari is the one to choose.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bush Troop Safaris is fraudulent and will scam you - CAUTION
We booked through Safari Bookings, using Bushtroop Tours and Safaris (see contact below) -this company is a fraud. They said they would accept visa in Can currency and when asked repeatedly why they didn't process our deposit of 30% prior to the trip well in advance, they said that they were waiting for a more favorable exchange rate. The day prior to the safari they said our visa was a problem and insisted on cash payment via online transfer so they could steal our money and run. They were very suspicious and we asked them to jointly call visa to sort out the visa payment, but they didn't respond and insisted on cash payment. This company is scamming innocent customers. Please remove them from your operators option.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
We got just what we wanted & so much more!!!
I was looking for an 8 day Uganda package that would give us the opportunity to see the chimps, mountain gorillas and the wild animals of QE2 National Park. We also wanted to visit Rwanda for several days after the completion of our safari. The tour director of Achieve, Jolie listened attentively to what my daughter & I wanted out of the trip and advised us as to what we could expect from each activity. She answered our questions promptly, directly and completely. The list of items she recommended we bring for our gorilla/chimp & lion experience was short and more than adequate. I felt like we were totally prepared. Our lodging at Kyazinga Lodge, Mweya Lodge & Chameleon Hill Lodge was amazing & the food was perfect for our dietary lifestyles. All 3 lodges were able to accommodate gluten free, vegan & vegetarian with no problems and delicious as well! We were met by Jolie, at our Kampala lodging, on the morning the tour commenced. We were then taken out to the Land Cruiser to meet our driver, Tom. Tom is exceptional in every way. He is kind, responsible, protective, well-educated, articulate & most of all a formidable driver. He is also well respected by the rangers, trackers and guides of the safaris. Tom made our drives from one point to another interesting, fun & comfortable...although we did experience several "African Massages" courtesy of the mountain roads of Uganda. My daughter & I treasure the experiences that Tom helped to provide since he was familiar with the rangers at the check in points @ QE2. We had 2 lion experiences that put us literally within feet of 2 lionesses & their cubs not to mention tracking 2 twin lions the following morning that had been off the radar for several months. The gorilla experience was magical and challenging. It is mountainous, slippery terrain & there are streams to cross but Jolie had advised us to bring boots, walking sticks ( which are provided if you don't bring them), rain gear (which we did not need) & advised us to get porters ( we shared 1) to help us with the trek into the gorilla nests. The gorilla experiences that we had at Nkuringo & Rushaga were 2 entirely different experiences but both held fantastic results in our observations of our 2 separate families of gorillas. In hindsight, I wish that we had visited the lowland gorilla as their habitat is completely different but I do not regret either one of our experiences. The chimp experience, at Kabale, is very manageable if you have anyone that is physically challenged. There is actually a boardwalk in some parts of the park. We had chimps swinging over us as well as walking so close to us that we could have reached out & touched them. They are very verbal & quite vocal when claiming their territory. The rangers are very informative and gave us plenty of opportunities to see many chimps & 4 varieties of monkeys. Whilst staying at Mweya, we did the Kazinga channel tour and it is so very worthwhile...wart hogs, baboons, elephants, water buffalo, Nile crocodile, hippopotamus & so many birds. The eagles are absolutely mesmerizing! Tom recommended we sit on the left side of the boat & he was so right as that is the side of the river where most of the activity takes place on. No worries though as our fellow passengers were more than agreeable to have you "in their space". This was the trip of a lifetime, for my daughter & I, and Jolie & Tom made it an 11 out of 10. Tom drove us from Chameleon Hill and took us to Kigali in Rwanda. He made sure we were at our reserved lodging, that our all our bags were in the lobby, introduced us to reception & we gave him grateful hugs of goodbye.... his parting words to the concierge were "take care of these ladies for me". Thank you Jolie & Tom, we will never forget your making us feel so special in every way and taking good care of us!!!