20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experienced a 5-day Southern-Tanzania safari with Grassroots Safaris in July 2014.
Grassroots Safaris really delivers for the price they sell! I travelled with three friends in the 5-day Southern safari tour.
We started off at Dar early morning with requested stops at ATM and groceries. Lunch was arranged at a eatery close by Morogoro (if I recall right). We were puzzled at this because we had a chef with us. The food at the eatery was great, but I had severe stomach problems later that evening. By the late afternoon we had a stop-over safari in Mikumi with great close-by views on elephants and zebras among others. We spend the night at wonderful Tan Swiss Lodge. The place exceeded our expectations, but we would have wished for better explanation on what was included on the stay by Grassroot Safari staff.
Day 2 we started off towards Ruaha national park. We enjoyed the views and the quick stop at Iringa town where we had another lunch in a restaurant. I cannot remember the name of the place, but the service was not good. I wouldn't recommend Grassroot Safaris to continue taking guests there. However, a small guided tour in Iringa would be amazing add to the safari program!
We arrived to Ruaha National parks' new Camp by the sunset. It was not that excotic as a tent camp, but the cottages with indoor showers and toilets and a common restaurant house once again exceeded our expectations. We had wonderful two nights with bright star skies and beautiful river views there.
Day 3 we started off with a great omelet and pancake breakfast (with Nutella!) and had a whole day game drive in Ruaha with packed lunch in a designated lunch area. We were lucky to see a lot of elephants and zebras, a great big heard of buffaloes, several type of antilopes, giraffes and a male lion. We had great fun photographing and chatting with my travel mates, and we enjoyed the explinations of our driver and guide from Grassroot Safaris. Anyhow, we could have listened more of stories about the place and animals during our safari days.
Day 4 We started with a morning game drive where we could marvel the sunrise from a viewpoint, several elephants and birds among others. We had a quick look on a leopard, too, before it disapered to the bush! After the breakfast we headed off towards Udzungwa national park where we arrived after a two hour sightseeing (on our own) stop at Iringa and a lunch stop at a road side... we thought these could have been better arranged. Anyhow, it was fun to observe the goats as we ate our box lunch.
After a day on the road that seemed to last forever we finally arrived to our camp in Udzungwa. It was really a loooong day on the road and we already started to think it would have been better to pay extra for flying back to Dar from Ruaha, but Udzungwa Forest tended camp Hondo Hondo really was amazing! We were flubbergasted by the luxury tents and private dinner table set in the garden. It was magical!
Day 5 - Great private breakfast set in the garden before setting off to the mountain trail for a few hours. We had amazing guide, Maria, she really was so helpfull and darling we could have stayed another day or two hiking those mountains! The waterfall and the views to the sugarcane plantations after reaching the top were great! Our enthusiasm on the hike lead to late start off towards Dar. This together with a terrible traffic jam at Dar outskirts made us reach our hotel at midnight instead of 8pm as planned!! We were dead tired, but happy to reach our destination.
Grassroot Safaris is a great option for anyone looking for a budget safari. They are really flexible to find the best solution to your wishes and price range. We really enjoyed our 5 days on safari!
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wat we wanted : professional and customer oriented
We were a group of 6 in the jeep : two parents (in lodges) and our son, together with 3 friends of him (in tents). We experienced Sunny Safaris as a 100% professional and customer oriented agency : in spite of the two different formula's in one jeep, everything went smoothly and as planned (prepayment, paper work, logistics, payments on site etc). Also the agency contacted us during the safari to know how things were going (highly appreciated) : we confirmed that our driver (Peter) and cook (Charly) were arranging a fantastic safari in Lake Manyara,Seregenti,Ngorongoro and Tarangire. Suggestion : replace the Tarangire (last) day by an extra day in Serengeti. When going back we will chose Sunny Safaris again.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Country
We have been in Tanzania and we love this country.... Spectacular landscapes, amazing creatures (animals) and friendly people!!!!
We recommend this country to everyone!!!
Africa Adventure Safaris was the perfect choice for the visiting the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda
I contacted Africa Adventure Safaris (DBA Rwanda Gorilla Tour) and two other more familiar tour companies to see what type of tours were available to see the gorillas in Rwanda and what the cost would be. Africa Adventure was the most flexible and was also less expensive than the other 2 companies. I eventually booked a 4 day 3 night tour with them and requested that they purchase a 2 day pass for me to go on gorilla trek. Because i was traveling alone i was somewhat concerned about whether a guide would actually show up at the Kigali, Rwanda airport to meet me and what it would be like depending on a complete stranger for 4 days. There was no need for concern. Enos was waiting for me when i arrived and made me immediately comfortable. By the end of the trip i was relying totally on him. He kept track of my camera, my backpack and sometimes even my passport. It was like traveling with a friend. He was always prompt to pick me up for the gorilla treks and where ever else we were going.It was nice not being with a group. The staff at my hotel was very friendly and were always quick to help out if something was needed. There were a wide variety of menu choices and i enjoyed everything i tried. After talking to other people that i met on the trek i think i would have preferred staying at a Lodge rather than a hotel but i spent very little actually hanging around at the hotel so it really didn't make a big difference - plus i know that the Lodges cost more.
The entire trip was smooth and relaxed. Other than the scheduled treks it was up to me to decide how i wanted to spend my free time and Enos was always there to accompany me. I recommend them and in fact have already given their information to two people who are interested in seeing the gorillas.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everyday was Absolutely Awesome!
Ute Sonnenberg from Roho Ya Chui is amazing! Each and every day of our trip was awesome.
The airport pickups/transfers were on time, courteous, and professional.
The accommodations were in prime locations, and were absolutely gorgeous with great staff.
The activities that she helped us plan were incredible. Each of our activities was booked with a top-notch operator. Our expectations were blown away.
If you're thinking of going on a safari to Africa, want to explore Cape Town, or have always wanted to visit Victoria Falls - do yourself a favor and book it through Ute Sonnenberg at Roho Ya Chui.
This trip couldn't have gone smoother.
We couldn't be happier.
Seriously... stop reading this, and book your trip!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our African adventure
We absolutely loved our trip to Kenya and Tanzania with World Tours and Safaris. We were treated like royalty and saw all of the big 5 and had a holiday that we will never forget! It was scary booking with a company from abroad on the internet (given the stories you hear on the media) but we had no issues at all and found the employees of this company sincere and trustworthy. We would recommend them.
Life-time memories
Climbing Kilimanjaro was so far the trip that took a lot of time from me for research. I was so overwhelmed with the amount of information that I could find on the TripAdvisor. At times I felt so lost and didnt really know which route to take, which operator to choose etc... I was tempted to go with a foreign operator, thinking that I would not have to worry too much and my trip with them could mean stress free. However, as I kept reading and being a person working in the development field all my life, I finally made a conscious decision to go with a local company. There are good local companies and I contacted a number of them and had pleasant experiences with them. However, the final decision to go with Kilimajaro Brothers is simply that the owner George used to be a porter. I contacted George on 30 Aug and luckily they had a climb that fit my scheduled leave. George and his team are always very quick in responding to my inquiries. I also planned to go for safari after the climb but only made the final decision once I was in Moshi after meeting with George and had the first real/actual feeling about them. All in all, both the 7 day Lemosho climb and 6 day safari were so memorable and I truly enjoyed my time there. My guide Andrew and guide assistance Jackson are so great, without them I would not be able to make to the top on the Summit night. They were always by our side, encouraged us to go, extremely patient as I was so tired that my pace was even slower than pole pole! I was not prepared mentally that the Summit night could be that hard and I wondered if all I read on TripAdvisor was somewhat downplayed! Anyway, I was very happy that I did my climb with Kili Bros. My safari was equally interesting. I had a very experienced and knowledgeable guide who was my companion in Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire and Serengeti. I know that Kili Bros is a new company and needs a lot of support from us the tourists and I have no hesitation to recommend them to you.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very high standard of service, friendly, attention to detail and very good advice.
My husband found Pembury Tours while planning a three centre holiday to Cape Town, Kruger and Zambia to see Victoria Falls. We approached other companies also but were impressed by the efforts that Susan went to in order to get us a great package within our budget. It was all quite last minute in the end but she was very patient and we had a wonderful time. It was most certainly a holiday to remember and the standard throughout with transport, etc. was high quality and we were treated so well. The hotels Susan recommended were just right for us as well. Highly recommended and definitely would use this company again. Thanks so much. Times as a family when young people are about to leave home are precious and this one will be hard to beat.
Tanzania: Great coming back
Thanks kiliholidays Tours it was a great experience we had from you guys.
An experience of a lifetime. Felt thoroughly looked after and catered to.
We saw the most amazing wildlife and were privileged with the vast bush knowledge of our guide Godson, and the love of the Tanzania for their landscape.
We made the vacation to climb Kilimanjaro and then the 7days camping in the wild.
When I was searching for the tour operator, I really wanted to stick with one company for both the climb and the safari. I also didn't want the hassle of figuring out how to get to the lodge, where to get food, do the research on which places to stay away from... the trip with Kiliholidays solved all that.
When we landed at the airport, Godson was there, waited for us for several hours when our layover flight was delayed, and drove us to our first-Arusha crown hotel. This set the pace for the entire trip: we never had to worry about our transportation and our itinerary was pretty much handled for the entire 16-days safari.
This was budget camping safari, as many of the other tours were much more expensive. But we had excellent service and great accommodations throughout. When we were climbing Kili, I noticed that some tours had portable bathrooms that would be set up at most of the stops. We did not have these and had to use the common latrines with everyone else. They weren't always pleasant.
But overall, it was an amazing experience. Our mountain guide Gabriel (Angel) was great and did everything in his power to make sure all of us safely and successfully reached the summit. Our safari guide Godson was very knowledgeable and flexible in terms of where to go and all the wildlife.
Everyone, everywhere, was so genuinely radiant and generous, and we are in love with the Tanzania people!
Thanks to Kiliholidays for good guidance and organizing a wonderful safari to us.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simple, easy, and authentic
We head towards Kenya after the exchange of a number of emails with Mr. Otieno. It was a family thing: Me (61) my husband (70) and our daughters (25 and 29). My oldre daughter had to cancel in the last moment because of her pregnancy. Mr. Otieno discounted the advanced payment that was already done and charged no extra for this despite the short notice. We were then the three of us on the car with the driver-guide and the cook. The Kenya experience was great. I want to mention especifically Mr Otieno (who was there waiting for us at the Kenya airport) and, very important, Kenn, the driver: Careful, patient, silent when it was to be silent and talkative when explanations were due. Always friendly and repectful. We had some diarrea issues: He helped us into a pharmacy (kind of) where miraculous pills were delivered. He noticed that we enjoyed watching the animals in silence and we had plenty of occasions for this. Mr. Otieno changed the original itinerary without charge to visit places where more animals could be seen, and upgraded one of the nights to a very nice resort near Amboseli (a wonderful place to visit). The Tanzania part was also worth (Gorongoro crater) but with we had an almost unpleasant driver: Mike and worse lodging conditions. Sure turist in Keny receive a better accueil than on Tanzania. Overall this was a memorable safari prefectly managed by Mr. Otieno (we are still waiting for the very nice T-shirts that were to be sent to us but time in Africa runs slowly).