CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything went like clockwork
We were met by at the Kilimanjaro airport by Godfrey - who was our excellent guide for the next 6 days in Tanzania. He was very well educated in all the relevant sciences - botany, zoology and geology - and so could provide in-depth information on everything that we saw during our time in Tanzania.
The transfer to Kenya, while complex (flight from airstrip to airstrip, driver to border, another driver to airstrip, another flight), went very smoothly - always a driver waiting for us.
And our time in Encounter Mara was phenomenal - including seeing the rescuing of an elephant that had been shot with a poison dart.
In all - great guides, great accommodation - well organized - and it was clear that those dealing with us in Africa appreciated Chris and the work he does behind the scenes from Vancouver.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Planning, lodging, game parks/reserves and guide knowledge/friendliness all exceeded our expectation
E-Trip worked with us to plan the trip we wanted, often going the extra mile. With their experience, they offered suggestions to enhance.
Upon arrival, everything ran like clockwork. The knowledge of each country's guide was much appreciated. Each worked to find animals and situations where we would see all of the natural splendors of East Africa.
Lodging per our preferences was also very good. Each site staff was pleasant and accommodating. Food was ample and tasty.
We are so glad to have selected E-Trip as our coordinating company. Not being fond of tours, we hoped instead for a personal experience - one not burdened with boilerplate activities and unenthusiastic guides. E-Trip delivered a trip of a lifetime with great memories of people we met, lodging to remember and experiences that were just awesome!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
they delivered what they promised
I went to Kenya in September 2015 and booked a day tour of Nairobi with Big time. The driver and services were excellent and thus I booked a 4day Masai Mara plus Lake Nakuru tour with BigTime and I am glad that I made that choice. Martha in particular is very helpful lady . She attended to all my queries very patiently and gave me the best advice to choose among the various tour options. I was not having any local SIM card till we started the journey and I was looking to buy one. Manager John , ever energetic, instructed driver to help me get a local SIM card enroute and with the help of one local guy I could get that within the luch break itself. You can always make a call from the environs of Masai Mara as its a open grassland and signal coverage is pretty good (I wonder whether anybody has studied the negative fallouts of this heavy signal coverage on the wildlife of the park) .... I had chosen camp stay so the services in the camp were basic.. You just get one bulb in bathroom and one more in another partition of the camp used as space for two beds... Electricity was available for just three hours in evening ...from 7to 10pm. then lights would be switched off as the generator would be shut down. One can recharge his camera /mobile at a common dining space .. no TV (except at a place near common dining place) no radio, free Wifi which would work intermittently. Definitely that is not for luxury... but then I had not gone there for luxury. The chef tried his best to accomodate my vegeterain eating preferences. The place was very quiet in early evening...and when the lights were out it was really very interesting to feel like 1950s, something our generation missed completely. Safari itself was very good. We saw all the big 5 plus my darling-Cheetah (twice). We were lucky to see pride of lions crackling the bones of a fresh buffalo kill in early morning safari and then in evening we saw two male lions stalking a baby giraffe, their plans foiled by the head of giraffe family who came very close to two lions threatening them with dire consequences in case of any misadventure. There was only one nuisance... driver chatting ceaselessly on microphone with his fellow drivers. Sometimes it was for good as they gave each other directions of wildlife spotting, but certainly the chatting could have been bit lesser for same effect otherwise he was a braveheart ,taking his vehicle very near to the animal . Dont expect perfect peaceful watching of wildlife as shown on Discovery /NGC as drivers' microphones make noises continuously. Though it was a budget Safari , Stay in Nakuru was very comfortable, a pleasant surprise for all of us travelling together. Overall it was a nice experience with BigTime Safari. Special thanks to Martha and John.
US
Highly Recommend for Safari
A group of 7 of us from the United States participated in the 5 day/4 night camping safari in July 2015. The highlight of the trip was seeing the big 5! The guides and cook were also excellent and very knowledgeable. Aardvark did an amazing job coordinating everything beforehand and actively communicating and answering our numerous questions before arriving. I would highly recommend Aardvark Expeditions for any of your Tanzania travel needs!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Four times with Bubezi is not enough, we want more!
We have been with Bubezi four times now and I think that already says how we feel about Andy and Quintin, operators, chefs and guides all in one. With their knowledge, experience and respect for wildlife and nature they gave us always the best time on the safaris someone can get. Every question about the big animals but also the very small ones and the birds, they have a qualified answer. If somebody spotted something, like lions with a catch, they will go for it -if the people agree- doesn´t matter how far it is, so your afternoondrive might end up as a nightdrive with the best, goose-skin experience you could imagine.
They are 100 % reliable, emails are answered the same day, call them at any time if you have a question or your plans have changed, they will try to make things possible.
Four times is not enough and so we´ll go again with Bubezi for more adventurous drives.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic!
I wanted to do something special for my partner’s birthday who was flying in from France to spend a couple of weeks in Kampala. Murchison seemed like a relaxing option to spend away from the hot dusty city. Having organised a stressful trip to Kidepo National Park in 2012 by myself, I wanted someone else to do the planning this time. We had a budget in mind and some rough ideas of how we wanted to spend the two days. Once we communicated this to Kombi Nation Tours, we sat back and relaxed as they took care of everything.
From start to finish, everything went like clockwise. Steve our tour operator kept in constant contact with us prior to the trip. He gave us several price options within our budget and managed to include all the activities and game drives we wanted to do. The driver provided by Kombi Tours was professional, friendly and knowledgeable. Murchison River Lodge, where we stayed, was an absolute dream. The food, accommodation and vista were excellent. I wanted a relaxing trip where I did not have to plan or worry about anything. Kombi Nation Tours delivered this and much more. Thank you Rachel and Steve for organising such a wonderful trip!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Northern Tanzania Circuit with additional Zanzibar stay
My partner and I had been saving for our once in a lifetime safari experience for a year and when we contacted the mainstream holiday companies in the UK, found that their holidays were inflexible and too expensive. We wanted a more personalised experience at a price that we could afford. I found out about Afroriginal when I emailed about 10-15 tour operators from the Tanzania Association of Tour Opearators. Desiree responded to me via email explaining how she could fit my budget and give me a great private safari. After about 3 weeks of emails back and forth where we finetuned the itinary, we finalised our trip with Desiree.
The trip itself was something I will never ever forget. Desiree herself met us at our first hotel and had a drink with us while we were beside the pool, a nice touch. Stuart was our driver for the 1st week, where we visited Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and then 5 days in the Serengeti. He was very knowledgable about the different animals and habitats and he delivered in making that first week exciting.
The lodges we stayed in were top notch and it was particularly fun sitting out at the campfire and listening to the lions in the distance.
Zanzibar is a great add on if you have the time. I wasnt expecting Stone Town to be so much fun and my one regret is that we did not spend as much time there as we could have. That said our beach lodge was the perfect quiet escape after a long (but very enjoyable) week on safari.
We couldnt be happier with our experience and if we are ever to go back, we would definately book again with Desiree.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Pearl of Tour Operators - a fantastic roundtrip in a wonderful country
Last September two friends and myself went to Uganda for 15 days with Kombi Nation Tours. It's been one of the most exciting trips of my life, also thanks to this wonderful organisation.
Pre-departure: setting op the itinerary. I completely read through two travel guides on Uganda so I more or less knew what we wanted to do. I gave them the info on how many days I would want to spend in which National Park / ... Rachel and Benjamin returned very swiftly with a very detailed itinerary and advise on which extra options we would like to take. We negotiated a bit about the itinerary, as they were very flexible, understanding about our budget and always extremely friendly in their mails. 5/5
Our driver Frank was a very skilled driver (which is required on the difficult terrains) and a very friendly and funny guy, who really wanted to get the most out of the trip for us. We also didn't have any problems with the car (except for one flat tire, which Frank repaired), and it was very comfortable and spacey (and pop-up roof, requirement for safaris!) During our trip Rachel & Benjamin also called us to see if everything was going OK, if we liked the activities, etc. 5/5
The housing they provided was above expectations, and the food even more. The activities we did were all very unique and enriching. We started off by going to Queen Elisabeth NP, where we did some game drive, crater drive, boat trip, Kyambura Gorge walk. After that we went to the Rwenzori Mountains for five days (with the organization Rwenzori Trekking Services, which I really recommend as well), to take a stop near Kibale afterwards. The last we did was Murchison Falls, again with some boat trips, game drives and walks. 5/5
All this we got for a very acceptable price (especially when compared to other tour operators). So if you're looking for an affordable, flexible and fulfilling journey through Uganda, I can fully recommend Kombi Nation Tours.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We had our wishes, told these to AT, they organised it quick and perfect for us. 100% satisfied.
We travelled to the North-Serengeti and Zanzibar with Amazing Tanzania. They organised us two great safaris. It was like they told us. Awesome, stunning etc. The accomodations and food were exactly like we wanted it.
We were very happy with every thing they have done for us.
We will recommend Amazing Tanzania to our friends.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything was perfect
We went on a Safari in September 2015 with Twaha.
He picked us up in Kampala an brought us with his car to the national park murchison falls.
There we saw a lot of wild animals and stayed in a nice camping space "red chili".
Also there in the Camp we saw some animals at day and night, because some hippos come up from the water.
It was a really nice trip and our guide was friendly.