US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great company to work with!
We had a wonderful time at the Mara, Serengeti, and Ngrongoro Crater. James M was an amazing guide! Raj was very good, too. Monica and Joyce in the office were great to work with. Our flights got messed up, and they were very helpful in rebooking our tour for us. Very good price, too. I checked with several other companies and this one was the best. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tarangire Trip
I just got back from a private safari with the East African Safari & Touring Company (EASTCO) based out of Arusha, Tanzania. As a seasoned backpacker who has traveled to well over twenty-something countries, I must say that I have found this trip to be one of my most extraordinary.
Before my trip, I spent a great amount of time researching safari/tour companies and exploring many travel options. First and foremost, I was looking for a company that was respectful of the environment as well as the Tanzanian communities & people who work for them. It was also important for me to have opportunities to meet and interact with the locals. And as a woman traveling alone, I wanted to feel safe and comfortable with my driver and cook.
I decided to go with EASTCO for many reasons. I really liked that they are a local company invested in preserving the cultural integrity and well being of surrounding communities. I was also impressed with owner Simon King, who has worked with neighboring Maasai villages to create opportunities for collaborative partnerships, dramatically decreasing poaching practices within a conservation area just outside of Tarangire National Park.
After making my decision, however, it was nothing less than a true leap of faith when I wired off my hefty triple-zero deposit to a bank in Australia. I worried that I might be in for a scam or that I should have chosen a company who has an office in the US. My concerns, however, ended as soon as I traveled to Arusha, met Simon, and planned out the final details of my safari. At the end of my six-day stay that encompassed the Nogorongoro Crater, the Serengeti, and Tarangire National Park, I was so happy that I had chosen to go with EASTCO.
This was my first safari. Therefore, I cannot compare EASTCO with other companies except to share with you the things that I appreciated the most about my experience. First of all, Charles, my driver and guide, taught me the art of observing animals. He also helped me to refine my eyesight and learn how to observe the amazing, yet obscure eco-systems of East Africa. Charles could spot the tiniest of things and share a depth of knowledge about everything we saw. He also somehow knew where we might find animals, and most of the time we were the sole spectators, as we did not travel in caravans with other tourists. Charles also knew where to position the truck when we did have a crowd of people. One day we saw a family of thirteen elephants. He anticipated their crossing, maneuvering our vehicle to the perfect place where the animals, one by one walked right in front of our truck. After crossing, Charles predicted their path and drove to a point where we could see them walking a perfect line into the horizon. It was a magnificent moment! My cook, Michael was a wonderful travel mate as well. He always kept me laughing and cooked up amazing meals. I thoroughly enjoyed traveling with both of these gentlemen and felt as if I was saying goodbye to two dear friends when my safari ended.
Lastly, I really enjoyed most of the places that I stayed at. The first campsite, Simba was my least favorite. It was a beautiful location but was quite crowded, thus creating a disgusting bathroom scene thanks to the many tourists who did not know how to use squat toilets. Also due to the crowds, people became very territorial of their eating spaces. I was so grateful that Michael had staked out a good spot for me early, so I did not have to participate in all of the drama. My Serengeti experience, however was remote and peaceful. The campsite was full of wildlife. Teams of Mongoose would run wildly about in packs. A family of baboons would make their daily rituals, playing around my tent during the day and climbing a nearby tree at night. Cape Bull grazed within sight of my tent, and one day an enormous elephant wandered onto the grounds to eat the garbage out of the community trashcan. My last night on safari was spent at Boundary Hill Lodge, an upscale yet rustic lodge that enables views of wildlife from every angle of your suite and boasts a private bathtub on the balcony that overlooks Tarangire National Park.
As with any trip, I am sure that if I thought hard enough I could pick apart my safari and find some things that could have been better. However, I know that nothing is perfect, and these minor flaws are insignificant and would be dwarfed by the incredible things that I experienced each and every day on my safari. It was a trip of a lifetime, I was living the dream, and I feel so fortunate to have traveled to this part of the world and to have met so many amazing people, both through EASTCO and the other places that I visited.
From Mwanza to Tamborani Lagoon with East African Safari and Touring Company
We have just finished a 2 week safari with East African Safari and Touring Company . We have traveled with East African Safari and Touring Company in the past and this time wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before to see more of the country. Simon from East African Safari and Touring Company suggested we go to Mwanza.
We arrived in Tanzania and sat around Dar Es Salaam airport for the evening flight to Mwanza. Not much at the airport here, sat outside on the benches with the sun in our eyes before checking in on the Fastjet flight.
Arrived in Mwanza in the dark, small airport with a very rustic arrivals lounge! It was warm and humid. We were staying at Ryans Bay Hotel which was only about 20 minutes away. The hotel was great and we had a second story room with balcony and view over Lake Victoria.
The next day we met our guide from East African Safari and Touring Company, Bernard, and did the very short drive to the National Parks dock. It was great meeting up with Bernard as in the past he had been our guide and we shared an interest in birds! We were heading out to Saanane Island National Park to spend the afternoon with a ranger and guide exploring the park. The park launch was covered with a canopy and since it was just us and the guide we headed off straight away.
The thing that struck us most was the massive granite rocks everywhere. We were told the locals call Mwanza Rock City. It was good to get out of the water and stretch our legs on the island. Saw quite a few zebras and antelope, also a monitor lizard sun baking on the rocks.
The next day we headed off for the drive along the lake shore towards the Serengeti. This was one of my wishes, to drive through the Serengeti from near the shores of Lake Victoria to Ngorongoro.
We spent two nights in a bush camp in the Grumeti area. Lots of mud and long grass, but saw so many buffalos and elephants here. Also saw in the distance a basking crocodile. Then headed to the plains around Ndutu and Olduvai for two nights in a bush camp. These were two totally different experiences, from the valleys and rivers near Grumeti, to the long sweeping plains around Ndutu .
We especially wanted to spend some time at Olduvai gorge, visiting the museum and taking a guide into the gorge, so we asked Simon to choose a campsite nearby, and we were lucky enough to be under a small kopje about 20 minutes drive away so we could spend as much time here as possible. I had visited Olduvai on an earlier trip quite a few years ago and wanted to visit again.
We skipped Ngorongoro this time and went straight to Naitolia Camp in Tarangire. The change since our last visit was amazing, everywhere was green and so bushy with trees and shrubs where in the past was open area overgrazed. We had three nights here for some walking and game viewing. The birds there were fantastic.....I don't think you could find a better place for watching birds.
After this we went to Mkomazi National Park. We hadn't been here before. We stayed in a bush camp in the park. It was very wet which made getting around hard, but the surrounding mountains, the isolation and having the entire park to ourselves was something special. Game viewing was scarce, we did see some eland and other antelope, but the walks were fantastic.
We then drove over the Pare mountains and down to the main road. We did get lost a few times on the twisting roads and the low clouds made for interesting driving! We headed for Tamborani Lagoon south of Pangani. This is part of Tanzania’s latest Marina Park, the Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park.
This is not a beach resort place! We stayed in very basic tents on the beach, surrounded by palms. We loved exploring the beach and mangrove swamps. We also did a trip out to a small sand island in a outrigger dhow and visited the Tongoni Ruins. It was a very special four nights. We had the place to ourselves, and enjoyed watching the locals go about their daily life. It was interesting watching them catch squid at night with a torch right in the shallows near the camp!
All my communication with East African Safari and Touring Company was prompt and the service we had for our whole trip was great!
NL
Secured 18 gorilla permits for my group
With Katona's help I managed to book 18 gorilla passes for my team. The permits were for Ruhija and Buhoma in Bwindi forest.
Copies of scanned receipts for the permits were sent to me 3 days after receiving the funds.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wonderful adventure !
My wife and me have just returned from our amazing trip to Mashatu reserve and we just wanted to send our warmest thanks to Boitumelo and his fantastic staff of Cheno travel and safari tour. Thanks David, our guide, for the most impressive experience with wild animals. With your knowledge we learned not only about the wildlife but also about the diversity of flora and the rich tradition of your country. It was so much fun to share this experience with you. Thanks also to all the rest of the team, so thoughtful. Every single arrangement you made during this 10 days went perfectly and each moment was unique and wonderful thanks to you. The accommodation and cars were also very comfortable and the food amazing !
We highly recommend this safari, Mashatu and Tuli camps are superb, the wildlife is everywhere, at each corner in the bush… all aspects exceeded our expectations. It was a life-changing journey !
Keep up the good work, we will see you again soon !
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing 7 Day Trip with Foot Slopes Tours
This Safari went over and above our expectations, Perfect organization, very nice and qualified guiding crew. Foot Slopes Team did a great job sorting the trip out, from start to finish and was very prompt at returning my emails on the same day. Kindu our driver and guide was excellent! Very professional, friendly and super accommodating. With more than 15 years’ experience and still a great passion for nature and wildlife, you couldn't have to ask for any superior. The campsite we stayed in along the way were great, the service and food was very tasted
We are already trying to decide when we can come back and do more, and we will defiantly be using Foot Slopes Tours again.
From the first steps of planning up to the last transport to the hotel at the end to drop off at the airport, everything was perfectly organized by Foot Slopes Tours. With Kindu we had a very qualified and friendly guide and driver and Seif who cooked a very delicious food for us. Thank you, Foot Slopes Tours and Team for all this wonderful experience we will never forget
We thank you again for such great tour
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
My exciting African experience with Mogalakwena Safari Tours
I recently visited Botswana and went on a safari tour to the Tuli Block reserve in eastern Botswana with Magalakwena Safari tours. Their service was very satisfying, they were very professional in communications prior to the trip and in all activities during the trip. I loved the amazing landscape of the Tuli area and the wildlife was amazing too.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disappointing service
I was dealing with Mary a Bonfire Agent who from the start barely provided me with information and later hiked prices & made excuses to cover herself. Bonfire has lost its quality service and I will never use them again
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Uganda experience with Shoebill Safaris - thank you so much
We had a fantastic trip with Shoebill Safaris - Allen and Richard were professional and very helpful from the start putting together a bespoke trip for our group. They understood our needs well and were also flexible throughout the trip to make changes if we requested them. One of the highlights was a homestay, where we did all sorts of activities including preparing food, basket weaving and making mats. We met so many friendly people and even had a football match against a local team. We also did wildlife safaris, walks and cultural tours and rafting on the Nile.
Richard is incredibly knowledgable about birds and wildlife and also about Uganda in general. He has an open top safari bus which was really comfortable to travel in and we got great views when we were in the parks. We also had an excellent chef (Robert) and other guides (Laetitia and Joram) who helped to make it an unforgetable experience. Thanks to all of you and I thoroughly recommend Shoebill Safaris
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Amazing Experience
We had a fantastic driver guide who did everything right. He was a tracker and found so much amazing for us to experience. We had a dream of getting to Samburu for a long time. Now we have been there, it was actually better than our high expectation! We enjoyed everything about it. The tents were very big and comfortable as well as private. The staff was very kind to us, we were always greeted with a smile. It will really be a memory for life!