HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
friendly, professional and welcoming. Really a nice experience
Though this company is a fresh one, our trip turned out to be an incredible one. The guide was professional with superb eyesight. He could spot animals which were extremely faraway and hard to see. We were lucky enough to have seen leopard for four times, lions for many times including their cubs. The well planned morning game drive allows us to see hippo on ground. The chef cooked really well and we felt so warm to eat such nice meal in an environment with so many constraints. The guide provided us with binoculars and a reference book which facilitate a lot in our enjoyment of the safari. His price is reasonable and most importantly, he is a friendly person! He knows when to stop and when start again at moments when we were taking photos, without much communication needed. There are many safari company around but I believe some fresh, young and small scale ones may have more potential to provide the service one anticipates.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
For adventurer and wildlife explorers.
We had a great time with Joe and Asili Explorer. Safari was way beyond expectations. We've been able to discover the wildlife of Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro-Crater and Lake Manyara Nt. Park from "first row". Thanks a lot!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid at all costs this safari company if you do not want to be hassled by the owner Richard Papa
We booked a 5 days and 4 nights safari Tarangire/Serengeti/Ngorongoro camping safari with World Tours & Safaris from Arusha to Mwanza. We needed to be picked up in Arusha and dropped off in Mwanza as we had plans to visit Lake Victoria. We contacted Richard Papa who was responsive but a bit short in his anwers. We didn’t think of it as it’s so easy to misinterpret the tone of someone by email so we decided to go with the company.
We were quoted for this private safari (as apparently no one wants to be dropped in Mwanza so it had to be a private one) my friend and I respectively $1000 and $920 (my husband was not traveling with us). I am a resident in Dar es Salaam and Tanzanian national parks charge residents slighty less than tourists this is why I was offered a $80 discount on the whole amount providing I could prove my residency in the country. If I failed to do so, Richard told me I would have to pay the difference at the gate which was fine with me since I had all documents in order.
We paid for the full safari by bank transfers, twice, the first time for the 40% deposit and the second time the remaining 60%. Richard told us we could only pay the remaining of the sum in cash with US dollars if paid on the first day of the safari. Since I live in Dar with my husband, we do not have US dollars so we did the second bank transfer to avoid any hassle.
The safari went well, we left the day after a night in Arusha Precious Inn, a very basic hotel but conveniently located a block behind the company’s office. Stanley, our guide and Gadi our chef, were good and professional. They made the best with what they had, which wasn’t so easy considering that the car was quite old and used (515 0000 km at the counter) and that their equipments were quite basic (for e.g after reading reviews on this website we decided to take our own sleeping bags). We enjoyed the 4 days trip even if the last day didn’t go as planned. We were indeed meant to go through the Serengenti again but we did not and drove straight back to Mwanza after reaching the last Serengeti gate. Still, we were quite happy with the trip and gave each of them (Stanley and Gadi) a nice tip once at our hotel in Mwanza. As previously explained, before entering each park I had to give Stanley my passport and visa exemption certificate (residency permit) so he could go and pay the entrance fees. I always asked him whether he needed them and except for Ngorongoro crater where he told me he didn’t have to show the documents.
Once the safari finished, this is when the problems started with Richard. We were eating our lunch in Mwanza when Gadi the chef came back to us saying that we needed to pay more. When I asked him to explain why, he told me that I needed to speak to Richard. I took the phone and then Richard literally started yelling at me telling me that this was the deal : I needed to pay $45 more for the Ngorongoro crater since I did not present my documents. He then told me that $45 was missing from his account (Stanley was apparently given pre-paid credit cards to pay the entrance fees) and that I should know where the money went. I told him that I was not one of his employees, that I did not know what happened with his credit cards and that so far only guides enter the park’s office to pay entrance fees. I do not even know what’s the entrance fee for each park since we always pick organised safaris. As a passenger you either stay in the car or go to the bathroom until the guide comes back and tells you to go back into the car. Richard said I did not present my documents so Stanley paid the fee for a tourist. I told him that when I asked Stanley before and he replied to me that for Ngorongoro there was no need for such document. As soon as I told this to Richard he started shouting : ‘Then Stanley lied to me, pass me Stanley now I will take the money off his wages….’ and hung up on me. Now I have been living long enough in Tanzania to know that $45 is a lot of money for a local. Stanley also explained to me that the mistake was coming from Richard for another reason that I did not get. I felt bad and Richard kept texting me saying I needed to pay or Stanley would have to (which felt like emotional blackmail to be honest) – I had done nothing wrong however unless I paid up then Stanley, who had been very professional the whole trip, would be forced to pay $45 - a lot of money for him. Stanley literally told me that if he had to pay the money the next safari he drove would essentially be done for free. Therefore I paid $45 on top of the $920 already paid not knowing whose mistake it was, Richard or Stanley. I thought that I could retrieve the money after speaking calmly to Richard since he was just shouting on the phone but I couldnt get a calm conversation out of him.
When I spoke again to Richard and told him that it seemed quite unfair I had to pay an extra $45 for the Ngorongoro crater since I could prove my residency in the country (which I did for Tarengire and Serengeti) and that this would affect my review of this trip (I was quite annoyed by this point, I did not like him shouting at me or at his staff on the phone) he wrote me back an sms (I quote) : ‘ I will reply to your review as you wish to write and give all breakdown to the World since you said you have permit. GOD will judge. Thanks’.
Our following exchanges were quite a roller coaster of emotions from Richard since it seems my possible review of the company was really annoying him. He successively threatened me to expose that we were staying illegally in the country (we have been living in Dar for 7 months, my husband works for an European NGO), then told me (I quote) : ‘I know you are a very good girl. You will not put us in trouble’ (I’m 30 by the way), then wrote ‘I am not sure why you want even my family and other staff to miss daily bread…’ (it’s not like we do safaris in order to write bad reviews) and then also accused us not have done the right bank transfers (which was very silly since we have evidence of our bank transfers and knew they had gone through correctly) and that we had cheated him.
Additionally, Richard constantly blamed his employee Stanley when he realized I was having none of this and wrote (I quote) : ‘Stanley is putting me and you in trouble…’ One of Richard’s email’s object is literally called ‘Stanley’ and is just a succession of accusations against poor Stanley.
When I last told Richard I could not accept the refund coming from Stanley’s salary (because to me it wasn’t clear whether he or Stanley did the mistake and also because it will result on an unfair burden on Stanley) he told me I should have reminded Stanley of the residency (which I did but also I do not work for the safari company so that should not have been my responsibility). And then the last email coming from Richard states (I’m just copying and pasting it because it is too good to be true) : ‘I will attache the same letter and the permit and my lawyer will write a letter to your Embassy, with copy to Ministry of Natural Resource, and another copy to Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority to show them the way you want to mistreat us.They will judge who has problem between me and you. We made a deal and nothing went wrong to my agreement between me and you. All arrangements was in order’.
I told Richard he was a dishonest person who’s been seemingly treated harshly his hardworking staff. Also, an important point, I did not understand his calculation : as a resident I had to pay $920 and my friend (a tourist) $1000.Since according to Richard I did not show my documents in Ngorongoro I had to pay another $45 on top of the $920 which makes it $965. Stanley told me that if I did not have the paper as well in Serengeti I would have had to pay another $45. Which amounts to $1010. Which makes it $10 more than the fee for a tourist and this not even taking into account if I had to pay an extra for Tarengire. When I asked Richard to explain how I would have had to pay more than my friend despite getting a residency discount (which does exist for national parks) if I had to pay the difference at each gate, he did not bother answering.
In a nutshell : I’m just baffled by the whole experience with Richard and his company World Tours & Safaris. Richard Papa strikes me as a very dishonest man and not a very professional one, not treating his staff nicely or even his customers. I would strongly recommend any potential customer to stay away from this company and to go with another safari company because you do not want to experience what we experienced. Besides, there are a lot of other safari companies out there that do provide the same service and the same trip without the hassle we went through.
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Big thanks to Richard, Edgar and the World Tours Team!
My friends and I went on an unforgettable 3 day trekking trip up Mount Meru followed by a 6 day safari trip with World Tours & Safaris.
We originally booked our tours with another company that did not work out because they were dishonest and scammed us of our money.
The manager of World Tours & Safari, Richard, was extremely helpful throughout our entire time there. He connected us with the police to help us with our unfortunate situation, brought us to the bank as well as offered to take us on our safari trip at a very reasonable price (knowing we had just been scammed by another company).
The overall safari experience was amazing as his English speaking safari guide, Edgar, was a very kind, laid back and knowledgeable man. He was great at spotting animals and we were able to see the Big 5 and cleaned the land cruiser nightly to ensure we would have a great start every morning . The accommodations chosen throughout our stay in the safari was excellent. I would highly recommend Edgar, Richard and all of World Tours & Safaris to anyone looking for a tour in Tanzania, Africa.
Excellent company providing a fantastic service, run by professional and reliable employees!
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience with excellent customer service.
Amazing experience with excellent customer service from the moment we were picked up at Kilimanjaro Airport to the moment we returned. Siafu Tanzania Safaris operated with the utmost of professionalism. Understanding that not all factors are within their control, the drivers and other associated staff conducted their tour with courtesy, humor, and a wealth of knowledge that definitely enhanced my experience. We were able to see many of the animals present within the park (big five) and our guide was responsive to our remarks and comments if we happened to see something that we wanted to stop for. I would absolutely go on safari with Siafu Tanzania Safaris again.I would definitely recommend using their service if you happen to find yourself in Tanzania and have the means and time to visit National Parks.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous experience!
My husband and I stayed at Zanzibar via Siafu for our honeymoon. After beach holiday we spent 5 nights on a safari. Neither of us had previously safari experience. We visited Serengeti National Park and stayed Kati Kati Tented Camp. This was one of the best vacations we-ve taken. A special mention and thanks has to go to our guide Emmanuel. He was amazing! He taught us a lot about the animals and always put us in the right position for the best shots. The entire staff team was great! We have enjoyd our time in Tansania very much! We recommend Siafu safari operator and Tanzania to anyone! Good people and nice country!
Stayed August 2016. Travelled as a couple.
Triin and Edward
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Accurate, friendly, skilled; definitely value for money.
Swift and accurate answers to questions during preparation-phase, friendly and skilled staff and personnel, adequate facilities, good driver/guide, nice cook, good program with adequate adaptation, first two days all by ourselves and thereafter nice companions. Guide responded patiently to our answers and wishes, never impatient or in a hurry. Succeeded in showing us the big, the small and the ugly five.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari!
Great safari, well planed, fun and professional staff, lots of animals. Great job guys, see you soon on another safari!
US
nice one
Tanzania was simply an amazing country to visit , price was a bit pricey but , was totally worth it
EE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flexible service for all your needs in Tansanya - Mt Meru, Mt Kilimanjaro, Safari etc.
We had a 4 person group and we took full package of services. Co-owner Emmanuel meet us at the airport in the middle of the night and took us to the hotel ( we came with two different flights and Emmanuel drove 2 times to aurport that night). Flight company lost our luggage and Emmanuel organized our luggage to us as soon as it came to the airport. We took i guess full package of services, first fi went mountain hiking to mt Meru for three days, our guides and other team (cooks, porters) we excelent, very fiendly and helpful, very nice guys. After couple of days resting we went to 7 day hiking to mt Kilimanjaro via Machame route. there we had one other guide, who wasn't in mt Meru, he was very experienced and knew everything we wanted to know and both giudes did everything and mre to took us to th summit. Weather in the summit day was very extreme, but we made it 100%. After mt Kilimanjaro hiking we went to 3 day safari, our group grew up to 8 people with our friends, who came later. Company owner Ene Lepp personally came to safari help us. It was wery proffessionally organized. Between hiking and safaris company's assistance organized everything what we needed and what came to our heads, they took us places, where other tourists are not going very often and showed us real life. One of our hiking guides took us even to the party and stayed with us whole night and helped us to get to the hotel. In the end company organized everybody personally to her plane, some went home, some went further to Sansibar. So if you want vero good and professional service, personal approach, flexibility, You need to contact with them.