DE
Awesome Tour from VIVA Safari, Bad customer Service from Booking agency
The tour ist just great. Awesome staff at the Camps, good Guides, lots of animals. 5*! You can book it from a Lot of booking agencies.
What was really bad is the fact that we were not informed about our late Pickup. The driver was there around 11 instead of 8.30/9. We could not reach anyone at the booking Agency, the south african representative told us that he did not work there anymore.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A good safari (but with disappointments!)
Prior to our safari we spent much time studying the northern wildlife parks to make our perfect safari itinerary. Michael Ndallo from Northern Circuit Adventure could offer us the perfect safari trip according to our plans, 5 days and 4 nights camping. However, on departure day when on our way to begin the safari, Michael Ndallo informs us that he has changed the agreed itinerary without noticing us - to fit more people into the group. By doing this he left us no choice but to go on a safari which was not what we had planed.
Our driver and guide, Masha, did an excellent job through the entire trip, he is a bomb of information regarding wildlife and nature in Tanzania. We always felt very safe and comfortable in his company. He delivered game drives of highest quality. Our chef, Rodriguez, shared with us his good cooking skills, varying between traditional and European food.
Camping on the second night our equipment was wet from rain. The mattresses and sleeping bags were so dripping wet we were able to squeeze water out of them. Waking up the 3rd day with freezing cold bodies and wet underwear, this was not how we imagined camping. The day was spent sleeping and feeling ill in the safari car - a ruined safari day. All other days camping facilities were fine, except the matresses kept being squeezingly wet and the sleepingbags humid.
Before reaching the first park on the 1st day the brakes of our safari vehicle broke down, why we had to spent time in the mechanics. During the five day trip we had a flat tire four times and in addition to this we had to spent time in a police check point, because the tires were in so bad condition the police would not allow us to continue. Finally when ascending the Ngorongo Crater the battery of the vehicle caused problems and we had to make another stop. Michael Ndallo is a great guy, we enjoyed his always happy attitude and eagerness to help us with flight tickets to Zanzibar after our safari. He came to pick us up upon arrival to Arusha and was awaiting us when returning from the safari.
In summary: If you want to support a local Arusha company Northern Circuit Adventure is a choice. If you have spent time making an itinerary and you have a signed contract, do not expect Michael Ndallo to respect it. Bring your own sleeping bag if you want to stay warm. For lost time in the safari, e.g. the day after our wet night, Michael Ndallo refunded us 30USD, to be spent on a night in his partnership hotel, equal to less than 2% of the total amount paid. Additionally we spent very much unnecessary time with a broken car and learned how to change tires. In contrast to this our guide did the best game drive we could ever imagine, the food was above average and the atmosphere good. Safari is about seeing animals and so we did to a maximum.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
the land of tips
The wildlife was the best we have had from this country. Italy is knew in the world for sly people but tanzanian were worst than us. I've never knew something similar. The land of tips, the land of "surprises". I am really sad because i think that this will kill the tourism there. Last but not least, you make fool prices for all about tourism. In the rest of the world we are not so riches as you think. For the most of us, the 50$ that you ask like chips are a day of work!!!!!!
P.s. the weather was good, the foid was good, the accomodation not so bad, but when i think about my trip, FOR YOUR FAULT, i think about you CRAFTINESS for first.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A promise not fulfilled
Victoria falls are breathtaking and definitely worth the trip. The way to reach them needs carefull attention though. Being stuck in an airport for a full day, we have been initially supported by Falcon in a correct way. However, we got the promise in the bus, in front of other witnesses, that the safari day to Bostwana (which was cancelled due to shortage of time) would be refunded. Guess what, back home this was no longer the case. While Falcon Safaris seems to have been very responsive, this no longer existed when money was at stake, and we got no refund for hotel and not for the safari, while the later had been promised, otherwise we might have chosen to sacrifize the cruise on the river. I had paid in advance the park entrance. I can only recommend, pay the minimum in advance. It's when you have troubles that the average and the great can make a difference. The refusal for any further discussions was also disappointed.
Last point, not entirely disconnected to the experience on this trip and not the fault of Falcon Safaris: don't be foolish and pay more thinking you get safer with South African Airways. Worst experience ever: lost the luggage, delayed and missed the connexion without any apology, 4 hours, yes 4 hours of fight to get a boarding pass for the flight on the next day.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome National Parks and Wildlife
I spent one day in Nairobi, and that was enough. The city was crowed and overrun with litter. You couldn’t step out of your hotel without being set upon by several pushy men wanting to be your “ guide”. Traveling through the villages to the various parks and lake areas you saw the trash and liter everywhere. I realize it’s a poor country but picking up your trash doesn’t cost anything.
The parks and wildlife were completely different. Clean and it seemed, well guarded, the wildlife and scenery were amazing. We have always wanted to see the animals in their natural habitat and we weren’t disappointed. They were abundant and it was amazing to see them wander freely in their natural environment. The safari experience was everything we hoped it would be.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I would not use this company again
I did not enjoy my safari with this company. The schedule they give you is not the actual schedule you will do. Once they have your money and you are actually on safari, your driver will tell you that the schedule the company gives you doesn’t actually matter. Most days, I would spend about 2 hours actually doing safari stuff (though some days would be more). The rest of the day would typically be spent in a cramped van driving to pick up new passengers. The drivers don’t actually work for the company, they are more like free-lance drivers that take people from different companies. The drivers want to get the most people so they can get more money. So you will drive to place 1, then to place 2, and then back to place 1 to pick up more people. Thus, you spend a lot of time driving the same highways (not on safari) to get more people. When I emailed and complained about this, they replied by stating, “Kindly have the spirit of adventure.” Driving back and forth on the same road in a cramped van is not the “spirit of adventure” I envisioned for my safari. I would use another company, or I would consider just heading to Nairobi and negotiating a much better price there. If I would have done that, I would have saved a ton of money and probably had a better experience.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wildlife is a great host for the human guests.
Masai Mara, the name itself holds its own identity around the globe. It's a paradise for wildlife lovers. This was the very sentences which used to ring in my head before entering beautiful Kenya. And if I was to rate Kenya after my visit, on a scale of 5 then I would have given 6, leaving besides the bitter experience with our tour operator #tourkenyasafariheights, just because of them my rating would go down to 2.
Before travelling to Kenya, I and my friend searched on internet several times about tour operators conducting safaris. From them we shortlisted a few and ultimately finalized #tourkenyasafariheights. The agreed with the price us on all the criteria demanded by us without any terms and conditions.
It was a 6N7D tour which included as promised by #tourkenyasafariheights :
Day 1: Nairobi - Maasai Mara National Reserve
At 07:30 to 08:00, you will be picked up from your hotel and depart for the Maasai Mara National Reserve via the viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley and Narok Town for refueling and lunch. Afterward, you will proceed to the game reserve, arriving at the camp at 14:00. You will then have a little siesta and proceed on the first introduction game viewing at Maasai Mara National Reserve. You will return back to Masai ole moran
Day 2: Maasai Mara National Reserve
After breakfast, you will proceed on a full day game viewing within the reserve. The landscape is scenic savannah grassland on rolling hills. Maasai Mara National Reserve is the best park for game viewing in Kenya as it has an extensive road and track network which allows for close range viewing and photography. After the game viewing, you can have a break for your picnic lunch at the hippo pool, looking out for hippos and crocodiles. The dinner will be served and you will stay overnight at the Masai ole moran
Day 3: Maasai Mara National Reserve - Nakuru
Early in the morning, you will have a pre-breakfast game drive. After breakfast, you will depart the Mara Region for Nakuru and have lunch en-route with scenic views of Mount Longonot and Lake Naivasha from afar on the main highway. The dinner and overnight stay will at Flamingo Hill Camp
Day 4: Lake Nakuru National Park - Amboseli National Park
After breakfast, you will proceed on a game drive at Lake Nakuru National Park, known for its prolific birdlife including flamingoes. The park contains a sanctuary for the conservation of white rhinos while species like Cape buffalos and waterbucks can be seen near the shoreline. Afterward, you will drive to Amboseli National Park arriving late in the evening with game viewing en route to the camp. The dinner and overnight stay will be at Kibo Safari Camp
Day 5: Amboseli National Park
You will have a full day of game drives in this park which contains swampy grounds in which elephants and hippos bathe in abundance. A variety of plains game, antelopes, and birds can also be seen. You can also see Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak if weather conditions permit. Tour Kenya Safari Heights will cater for your picnic lunch before returning to Kibo Safari Camp
Day 6: Amboseli National Park - Nairobi
In the early morning, you will have a game viewing activity and then return to the LODGE for a full breakfast. Later on, you will be transferred back to Nairobi.
But, what was delivered to us was very different. Not a single pre-breakfast game drive was given to us and all the accommodations as promised by the #tourkenyasafariheights were changed. We used to stay @ about 45-30 mins distance from the main park entrance,because of which I felt time was wasted and I could have enjoyed more. Whereas the accommodations which were promised are very near to the entrance of the parks/inside the parks.
Everyday inbetween 2 parks the car driver of #tourkenyasafariheights would float new names of hotel in which they would provide accommodations for us. Which was really depressing and disturbing at the same time. Because of such uncertainties we failed to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountains and the lakes on our way.
Furthermore, I would like to mention that #tourkenyasafariheights had promised through messages on on our personal number. That #tourkenyasafariheights would provide lodging at a proper place for us at @Nairobi on the day we arrived and on the day we would depart. Which would be included in the package. It was very disappointing that on the day we arrived they provided accommodations for us @ hotel sunrise which is a pathetic hotel, location is not good. And on the day we arrived @Nairobi after completion of the tour , #tourkenyasafariheights refused to provide any accommodations which was further more disappointing in a foreign land.
Finally, I would suggest to tourists/travellers arriving 1st time. It is just because of the nature's own gift to the land that inspite of such irregularities I would suggest you to visit the place again and again. But be careful with such tour operators and ensure your bookings personally with the hotels which are promised initially by such tour operators.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice experience, but critical points (management of time, communication, food)
Nice experience, although with some critical points. Communication before departure (we booked the safari online, before arriving to Tanzania) was very good: Masha promptly replied to all our (several) questions, although during the safari we discovered that some points were not so accurate (e.g. I asked information about electricity in the camps, and I was told that it was available in all them; but in 2 places there was no way to charge batteries and mobile phones.. I think this information is important and should be mentioned before). We enjoyed our gamedrives, although we were quite disappointed by their duration.. by reading the program you cannot really perceive how much time you will spend in the camps, especially for breakfast/dinner breaks.. many times, we noticed that we were the last to leave in the morning and the firsts to come back to the camp (also, one morning we asked our guide to leave 30min before - NB. everyone else left at 6.30-7.. we were told that we had to be ready for breakfast at 7.30, so we could leave only more than an hour later, when the cook had finished recollecting all his things - in order to have more time to try to see the most difficult seen animals of the big 5 - in the end, we could see only 3 of them -, but we were told that the cook needed more time to prepare breakfast and our lunch boxes, so it was not possible.. another time, because of an error in the office, we had to wait for a person coming to the gate of the Ngorongoro crater and pay for the entrance fees, which caused a 30-60min delay (we didn't see the rhino, and I know you have to be lucky to see animals, but by loosing time in this way certainly doesn't help). On the other hand, both the guide and the cook were very kind. Finally, one very important thing should be mentioned: after the last dinner we had we got both sick, probably because of the meat or some other foods which had not been properly preserved during the 5 days of the safari. I know we opted for the budget option, but we still spent more than $1000 per person, so, honestly, we expected more.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beautyful senic and an impressiv wildlife. Kilimanjaro is a memorable experience. I am very exited.
The wildlife was really exiting. I saw many animals in the nature. I also climbed the Kilimanjaro. This was one of my best experiences I ever did so far. It is really impressive and also a real test for your body and mental skill. I really suggest to you to do this.
On the other hand I realised that you as a Tourist are just enough to pay a lot of money for a safari and not to get really the value for this. I booked with openafricasafari.com and the Price was much to much for this i got. In the same group were 6 other people who paid around 600 dollars for a 3 days safari. (I was booked on a group with maximum of 6 people and I was the 7th person!). The first 2 days was great. The second was so so. But my last day was worthless. A nature walk on the road. Walking straigt to a lake and than the same way back. How boring. Really not an experience. They sold me a nature walk!!!! They promised me to visit a School an a Hospital. We did not. I got some explanation about how bananas grow and so on. But a normal Person knows this already. The guide came to late in morning and was very surprised that I could walk for 3 hours and I did not call for a taxi, which, of course I would have to pay for it. (all the stupid Tourist are just rich and pay all the time!) Furthermore I had to tell the guide what we gonna visit. Otherwise we would have been back to the Hotel very early. I really paid around 200 dollars to much for this trip. I would not book whith this agency again.
The 3. day. The other 6 persons booked only 3 days. So the guide wanted to leave the game park at mid day. But I booked a full day in this game reserve. Even the others ha in there itinery that they would stay until 3 o'clock. Finally the guide turned around an we continued the game drive. But the day was not good anymore.
It is a shame to treat Tourist like this. Tansania is just a nice country and I met so many good guides on my 2 month journey trough south africa.
I was travelling for 8 weeks with other different tour guides (south africa, Namibia, Botswana and Tansania)and it always was a very good experience. Only the safari with openafricasafari fucked up. I asked for same money back, but,,,,,
IN
Murchision national park
Very good to see giraffe and elephants.but has a small population of loin. Still uganda needs to improve service sectors. People attitude about giving service to customers are lagging. They think only about to grab money.