NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We would definitely recommend Makasa Tanzanian Safaris!
We booked a very nice trip with Makasa to Tanzania. One week culture, one week safari and one week relaxing on Zanzibar. Makasa is a very personal touroperator that really listens to your wishes. They put a wonderful journey together that was even better than expected. During the safari you are with a professional guide who spottes a lot of animals and you drive in a nice landrover with a panorama roof (nice for photos). Defenitely visit the Masai in Olpopongi and stay in Kilima Kidigo on Zanzibar after safari! We would definitely reommend tht tour operator!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a very knowledgable guide, saw plenty of animals, delicious meals and a fantastic time.
What we saw with Savannah Explorers was truly amazing. David our guide was just brilliant. He was always punctual, a lot of fun, knew all about the animals and where to find them and just made it a great trip. Our accommodation and meals were fantastic and even the tented sites were really comfortable. We did Arusha NP, Tarangire NP, Manyara NP, Serengeti NP and the Ngorongoro Crater. We were very lucky to see Lion, Lepoard, Cheetah and so many elephants, wilderbeast, zebra, hyena, gazelle just so many animals. The weather was just perfect and we were lucky to be a bit early in the season so had sites generally to our selves. The vehicle we had was very comfortable and we would have no hesitation in recommending Savannah Explorers.
Ssesee Island Safari
Though I was only briefly in the country of Uganda, I had to privilege to visit the Ssesee Islands while I was there. We had to take a short ferry ride to get over there, but once we arrived, the landscape was lush and fertile. We spent some time with local guides wading through the forest and wetlands in search of Sitatunga, so that we could get some rare footage of them. It was a beautiful island, and had some lovely lodges that we stayed in during our time. It was really fascinating to be able to see the hard to find Sitatunga in their natural habitat, as there are few who get to do that. It was worth a short side trip to see the islands over there, and I would highly recommend looking into that next time you are in Uganda.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a great time!
We booked the trip before arriving in Tanzania, as a friend recommended it to us! From the arrival at the airport to departure our trip was well organized and a great experience. Our first days were spent on the paradise island of Zanzibar, where Selma booked Kilima Kidogo for us, a lovely hotel on the east coast. From there we went to Kilimanjaro airport where we were picked up by our driver, a very nice and skilled man with great knowledge about not only the animals but also the culture and the tribes inhabiting the areas that we covered while driving to Ngoro Ngoro and Serengeti. The lodges picked for us by Makasa were great and the food was delicious and just right to end a busy safari day. Our thanks go to Selma, for organizing this trip for us, we never encountered any problems and everything went very smooth. We would like to recommend Makasa to everybody planning on going on a safari, you surely will not be disappointed.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Five Stars Are Not Enough!
Country visited: Tanzania
Parks visited: Tarangire, Manyara (planned, but ended up skipping), Serengeti, Ngorongoro
Date: end May to mid-June (8 days safari, 4 days in Zanzibar)
Traveller: two women, no prior safari/African trip experience
Camps/lodges used: Bay Leaf (Arusha, start of safari), Oliver's Camp, Endoro Lodge, Katikati Tented Camp, Mbalageti tented Camp, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, Bay Leaf (Arusha, end of safari)
Transport
Flew KLM all the way* (departure Ottawa - Amsterdam - Kilimanjaro - Zanzibar, return Zanzibar - Dar es Salaam - Amsterdam - Ottawa). KLM rocks. What can we say!
*Precision Air was used for the Kili-Zan-Dar legs. Not as impressed with them. 5 hours late, no explanation, no meal or even a bottle of water provided (a bunch of us waited almost 6 hours at Zanzibar terminal, which is tiny with limited wifi and no charging capabilities that I could see). Had 10 minutes to spare for our KLM connection.
Food
At camps, the food was mix of buffet style, which meant we could get whatever we chose, and sit-down dinners with courses, desserts, and drinks. Food was plentiful, warm when it needed to be, and delicious. Bottled water in every room, every night (except Katikati, but it's so cheap at the "bars", about 2 USD, that it didn't matter). The boxed lunches camps provide for the road was always, always too much food. Usually, the meal consisted of a hard-boiled egg still in the shell, chicken piece wrapped in foil, veggie strips, a sandwich, some type of roll or muffin, peanuts, yogurt, a juice box, a bottle of water. Plenty of food! Oh, and a toothpick. I laughed at first, but ended up using it every time!
Money
We changed our USD to Tanzanian Shillings in Arusha. It was around 1600TZS to 1USD. Got plenty of larger and smaller bills. Used that for everything except our guide's tip, which we used USD. Things are mostly inexpensive, and we had lots left for Zanzibar (excellent shopping there!).
Tipping
We left 10,000TZS at every accommodation we stayed at. Some of them had a tip box in the “lobby” so that tip is shared equally, plus tip at the bars, or in restaurant. Usually 10-15% like in Canada. It’s hard to judge what is considered decent tip.
Tour operator
Safari Infinity, a company set up in Arusha. We found them on the internet, after having contacted a good dozen other companies. With them, we booked a private semi-luxury safari that was entirely
tailor-made to us, which we paid via wire transfers. We can't say enough good things about them! Everything went like clockwork, from airport transfers to accommodations, thanks to our organizer, Augustine. The organization is amazing, considering everything is done remotely. I know everyone says they had the best guide; but we have to dispel those rumours and say that *we* had the best ever :-) Kelly was patient, experienced, and had a great sense of humour. He comes from a family of safari guides, and it showed. You could ask him anything about any of the animals, birds, or plants, or tribal cultures, and he would explain it all to us. What a gracious host and guide! Plus he's an amazing driver who navigated the bumpy roads like a boss.
Clothing
We each had a small backpack, about 30-40L, and it was more than enough. It wasn't about the clothes, anyway. We had a mix of long sleeves, pants and t-shirts. For me, I wish I wouldn't have paid so much attention to the "got to be neutral colours, etc, etc" trends. Just wear something comfortable, weather-appropriate, and not too expensive because dust gets everywhere and is hard to hand-wash off. Aside from that, just be comfortable! We spent a good 10-12 hours in the truck every day, getting bounced around and fighting off the tsetse flies. So, comfort is key. It got cool in the mornings (maybe 15-18 Celsius, cooler in the Ngorongoro crater), even for us Canucks. We were glad we had hoodies and long-sleeved shirts. As for shoes, anything comfortable will work. I had hiking shoes and felt a bit warm sometimes. My friend changed into flip flops after a few days and was fine with that, too.
Bugs
The tsetse loved us, and I got bitten quite a bit. But I get bitten at home and react to mosquitoes, so nothing new there. It burns and itches for a few days, but it's ok. No amount of chemicals or layers of clothing seem to stop them. They got me through the socks and mesh part of my hiking shoes! For after-bite care, I found tea tree oil worked well to take care of the sting/burn/itch. Too bad I broke the glass bottle on the ceramic floor of the Sopa lodge!
Tech
If I would have checked things more carefully, I would have known that with an adapter, I would be able to charge my North American Blackberry Playbook in the wall sockets (240v, no problem). So I bought one at one of the lodges (5 USD). But our guide had the mother of all adapters for the 12v outlet in the truck (plus, Safari Infinity vehicles have actual wall outlets/adapters in the back of the truck).
Time of Year
We felt it was perfect. Not too cold, not to warm, not heavy rains and not yet the insane red dust (although there was a fair bit of it, we were told it was nothing compared to July and August). Depending on the time of year, one should pay attention to the animals’ whereabouts. The tour operator suggested certain parts of the parks versus others, and we were glad we listened because we got to see portions of the great migration (Wildebeasts and zebras as far as the eye could see!).
Animals
We had a tally of animals we saw, which was great fun to update (my “bush writing” improved every day!). 33 lions, 2 cheetahs, 3 leopards, 3 black rhinos, etc. Exciting!
Zanzibar Portion:
Accommodation
Dhow Palace. Just a lovely, lovely place. Friendly and attentive staff. Great location in Stone Town, and with a glorious pool that was kept meticulously clean. Would definitely stay there again.
Food
Found two very nice places: Hot Spot Bistro (free wifi, yay!) and Lazuli. Great food, cool places, affordable.
Stone Town in general
Shopping was great, but the constant harassment of the so-called papasis was just too much. They are *not* easy to ignore, despite what I had read. We were hot and tired and only wanted to walk around town and look at shops, maybe have a bite to eat and buy a few souvenirs. But these men, some of them very pushy, would just suck the fun out of every endeavour. We'd get swarmed if we so much as stopped to look at our map. So we'd go out in the mornings, endure the aggravations, then retreat to our hotel and relax all afternoon, swim in the pool, etc. If we were to do this again, we would skip Zanzibar entirely and stay for a longer safari instead.
Review about North Luangwa National Park by T Sharp
Luangwa was a great area. We saw lots of elephant and buffalo, and a river bed view that hosted lots of game at night. It was much warmer than the Kafue at the time we were there, but was still very pleasant. Great area for photo safaris, bird watching, or wildlife painting.
Review about Kafue National Park by T Sharp
Kafue is definitely my favorite park in Zambia, as I have been able to visit about 3 times now. It is full of animals, natural beauty, and a variety of conditions. The area is so big you, and you probably couldn't see all of it after months of exploring. We were lucky to have a few bird enthusiasts amongst us, so we got to learn about the plethora of bird life there. With the Kafue river nearby, there are some great fishing opportunities, as well as opportunities for fish eagles to steal those fish! There are some great lodges in the area, and I hope to return soon.
Review about Serengeti National Park by T Sharp
The Serengeti is one of the most famous areas in Africa, and has the crowds to prove it. Though the front areas of the park were a little crowded for my taste, once we got further north and away, we saw unrivaled amounts of game. We were blessed with some late afternoon rainstorms, which brought even more animals out, and made everything seem so much more lush. Being in the Serengeti is like living in a photograph or painting, as we have all seen the famous landscapes at some point or another. There is more game there than most of us could ever see. Definitely worth a visit, but you might want to consider going at a time other than the high season.
Review about Ruaha National Park by T Sharp
This is one of my favorite game reserves in Tanzania, as it is a little more remote, and harder to get to. This means there are less people, and the wildlife is a little more plenty. I had an amazing time there, as I was fortunate to get to stay for a good 3 months, and really get to know the area. It is a HUGE park, and ranges from tropical/riverine conditions, to highland and even mountain like terrain where Roan can be found. Lots of buffalo, and elephant as well. I highly recommend this area.
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by T Sharp
It is hard to go to Tanzania, and not see the Ngorongoro Crater. Though it can sometimes be crowded during high season, it is such a famous destination, and is a must see at some point or another. It has breathtaking vistas, and the terrain is unmatched. It is also a treat to see the native Maasai in their element, going about their business as you traverse through the area. Wonderful place.