20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful time
I stayed here for 3 days in August, and did a safari into Ruaha and a visit of the nearby Maasai village, all organised through Chogela camp. The safari was great, and the cultural tour, a wonderful way to learn about the livelihoods of this particular tribe. The camp is staffed by students of cultural tourism who are undergoing their course at Chogela camp. Get to know them, because they are fantastic!
The food and accommodation are excellent ( I borrowed a tent, which was large enough for 4 with two beds!), and you can even get a hot shower. I highly recommend Chogela camp to solo travellers like myself, as I was well looked after, and sitting around the bonfire at night is a great way to meet other guests, guides, camp staff and students, and swap stories. I had a great time and would love to come back if I visit Tanzania again.
If you like, you can also donate to Chogela Foundation-a fund for improving the livelihoods of the local Maasai who have been displaced. It's a great way to support the local community. I made this my 'tip' :)
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome Safari Trip to Masai Mara Kenya
Aardvark was a great group to book a safari with! Our trip to Kenya was fantastic and exciting. We saw tons of big cats (cheetahs jumping on our truck)! There were elephants and giraffe galore! If you are planning an African safari I highly recommend Aardvark Safaris.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely fantastic, Ingrid our Agent, what an amazing job she did putting our itinerary together.
This trip lived up to and beyond our expectations, it so perfectly organised, and the Safari were amazing, could not speak more highly of our dealings with this company.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
High quality budget safari!
This safari starts with the contact to the owner of the company, Michael. Michael is a very nice guy who will do anything to make sure his customers will get the best possible experience. Everything from answering your mails the same day, making sure your arrival and stay in Arusha is as good as it can be and even to make sure you will get safely back to the airport by helping arrange transportation. When he found out some customers were annoyed with the early prayers at a mosque close to the accommodation he used, he moved it to another location without any question.
The actual safari was beautiful! The guide (Deco) was great at spotting the animals and we saw them all! He was never in a hurry, he let us have all the time we needed and he also seemed to enjoy finding the animals. He was there because he liked the wildlife as well, not because of us. The cook made great food as well and there was plenty of it!
The car we drove was an old worrier, who luckily survived yet another adventure. We saw many cars broken down at the side of the road, especially at the end of our 5 day journey, but we didn't have any major problems.
The campsites have what you need and some of them more, so you can rest and get ready for the next day.
I was positively surprised by the quality Northen Circuit Adventure could provide in any way, since this is a budget safari.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Maturaf and his team are great guys , and they were very efficient and motivated
Excellent safari in Manyara, Ngorongoro & Serengeti and the the stay in Zanzibar too. Will definitely recommend Regional to others. I wish them all the best in the business
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well arranged holiday to Zanzibar and safari in Tanzania.
We had a wonderful holiday which was organized by Afroriginal. All arranged accommodations were just perfect.
The service and communications were good. If there was any change, and there were some changes in flight schedules of the not so precise PrecisionAir, we were kept informed by Afroriginal.
We had a driver/guide who was not so talkative, however he knew very much about wildlife. So if we asked questions we got a lot of information from him.
The parcs, Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro, were absolutely stunning and very diverse.
All was absolutely living up to expectations.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amboseli 2 days, 1 night at Kimana Tented camp
Let me start by saying that the communication with Peter went good.
He replies very quickly on his e-mails.
(Which, in my opinion, gives you confidence that it's not a scam)
When I had to pay half upfront, I started wondering if it would be a scam or not.
After paying I received a receipt. 2 days later, the driver was at my door to start the Safari as aggreed.
Conclusion: No scam
In our original itinerary it said we would be staying at Kibo.
I decided to stay in my own tent. Peter forgot to mention that it was not posible at Kibo. Therefore he booked us at a less luxurious camp. With, lets be honest, basic facilities. That was a dissapointment since I was expecting Kibo. Which, according to the website, looks very nice.
The driver was friendly.
I also liked the fact that he didn't take many crazy risks on the busy road towards the park.
In the end, I had a good safari.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing experience with phenomenal local experience and knowledge
My partner Anni and I took a 9 day private safari with Kgato Safaris in June 2014 into the Okavango Delta.
We were slightly tentative at the beginning in booking with Kgato since there had not been any reviews by previous customers to date. However, as soon as we arrived at the airport we were greeted with a very large smile from a guide by the name of Kenny and the smiles continued through from the admin office to the depths of the delta. Kgato had arranged the administrative side of things brilliantly in that we wanted boat transport into the Delta and also wanted to break up the safari slightly with 2 nights' stay in Oddballs' camp. This turned out to be unnecessary since we were so well looked after by Kgato that the lodge could offer very little that they could not.
Our guides were from a local village in the Okavango and knew the area and wildlife exceptionally well. They did a phenomenal job in incorporating the things that we wanted to see and when we wanted to see them. Not once were we left waiting on the guides when we wanted to do something or go somewhere. The quality of the food prepared by the cook Simon was astounding considering that everything was cooked on an open fire. We ate a delicious variety of food from pizza through to the local pap with slow cooked beef!
All in all, our safari with Kgato was the highlight of our trip to Botswana and we hope to come back and take another trip together some time. I would very highly recommend this tour operator and their staff.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fraud
DO NOT BOOK Via this agent. They are currently under investigation by Kenya Tourism Board for fraud. We have almost lost all funds paid to them for a recent safari trip. They took the deposit and only paid deposit to parts of lodges. They never booked airline and failed to pay the lodges the remainder of the balance due.
Just a few days before the departure, we were informed by Serena Hotel when they knew that the another group who would stay in Serena Hotel were stranded by e Safaris.
We would believe that e Safaris had planned the fraud intentionally.
See also another warning at Tripadvisor here,
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294207-d5984096-Reviews-E_Safaris_Day_Tours-Nairobi.html
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The experience had was very good and I wouldn't hesitate going with Vacay again for future holidays.
The service provided was of a very high standard with constant communication and feedback. Have recommended Vacay Holiday Deals highly to my friends and I am hoping to get access to more deals in future from them.