20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dream holiday
Have just returned from Safari to spend a couple of relaxing days in lake Duluti lodge in Arusha. After a few relaxing days at the beginning of the holiday also at lake Duluti lodge, we were booked into the big five safari round the Taranguire, Serengeti and Ngorogoro crater. Our guide Richard was absolutely brilliant and made a big effort to ensure we had the best experience, and found us lots of exciting close up experiences. Natasa was wonderful and dealt with everything very efficiently. She came to greet us on our first full day to brief us for the upcoming safari and answer and questions. She was always very efficient in answering emails and ensuring the trip was smoothly run and getting the best for us. Unfortunately there was one slight issue with thd accommodation for a night in Arusha (recent change of management at the lodge), but as soon as we informed Natasa, she came straight over to see us and resolve the issue by moving us to new accommodation within an hour of her being informed so we could really enjoy our last day in Tanzania. Overall an excellent trip and one that will be remembered for many years, I would thoroughly recommend shadows of Africa.
This company really takes care you from start to finish.
I did a 5 day trip to Kilimanjaro with Tuma and Yuda. They were amazing. So warm and caring. Always making sure that everything was comfortable and really pushing you to the top. The trip is hard. It's stressful and exhausting but I can't imagine going with anyone else but Tuma and Yuda. If you book with il Maasai make sure you request them. Enjoy!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not Value for Money
I honestly can't recommend this tour agency, or any of the other budget travel companies that do similar trips. A good budget operator is meant to cut the frills and provide cheap food and accommodation, but these guys (and all the others) are cutting the quality of the animal viewing experience in order to try and offer the cheapest trip. THIS ISN'T VALUE FOR MONEY
Firstly, the itinerary. All their budget itineraries only spend one or two nights at Seronera (Serengeti). This isn't enough time if you want to see the Wildebeest migration. The first full day in Seronera is always spent looking for cats, so you need a second day to drive out to visit the wildebeest herds, wherever they might be. They could be as far as the Grumeti River, which you can do as a long day. Don't bother asking the office about whether you will see the migration. I asked specifically if we would go to the grumeti river and Godfrey answered "You go to where the animals are". Well when I was on the trip, the animals were at the Grumeti River and it was never a part of the itinerary. I was lied to.
Also, Lake Manyara is entirely skippable. The itinerary only includes it because it's a super cheap day for the company. Save your money and skip this day, and pay for an extra day in Serengeti. Much better value.
Secondly, starting time. We left Arusha on our first day at 9am, arriving at Tarangire after 12pm. We started our second day to lake manyara at 8am and our thirday day to serengeti at 10am. On the fourth day there was a customer mutiny when our driver, Adam, suggested we start again at 8am. We demanded we start earlier and thankfully he agreed. This is the time we saw a large pride of lions. Many of the drivers are lazy and will try to start as late as they can get away with. The best viewing times are just after dawn, early in the morning.
Thirdly, communication. I noticed that many of the other drivers were constantly on their radios, getting tips from other drivers about the location of animals. I asked Adam why he never used the radio, he said it wasn't used much (a lie) and that he had a mobile phone for that purpose. Adam certainly made lots of phone calls but i doubt many (if any) of them were for finding game. He seemed to be on the phone a lot planning his next client trips.
Lastly, and most importantly, the agents and drivers will tell you all sorts of lies to try to convince you that you're getting the best possible experience even while they're doing the bare minimum. I asked Adam if we could spend our single full day in Serengeti driving out to the Grumeti River to see the Wildebeest. Adam could have told me the truth that this was a budget trip and that we didn't have the money for fuel, but instead he told me all sorts of lies. First that it was too far away, that you needed to go out there and spend the night, that you needed a plane to fly there, and lastly that there was no animals out there this time of year. These were all blatant lies. I spoke to other groups in the camp who had spent a day trip driving to Grumeti from Seronera and had seen the Wildebeest and river crossings. To rub salt in the wound, Adam tried to convince me that the resident herd of Wildebeest that we saw Ngorongoro Crater was "part of the migration". He clearly thinks his clients are stupid.
Adam really shouldn't be working with clients at all, not only does he lie about everything (he told us everyone had to leave Ngorongoro by 12pm, he just wanted to leave early), but he also gets very aggressive and argumentative with clients who try to question him about the itinerary. Once we realised we were getting a bad deal we all started to check and double check everything. He full on yelled at us bringing one lady to tears. It's never acceptable to speak to a client like this, even worse when everything you're telling them is a complete lie.
Adam should be avoided at all Costs, and this companies itineraries should be avoided to. My advice is to spend a bit of extra money and go with the mid range companies. Or if you really need to save money, form a group yourself and then go to a budget company with your own itinerary and be very clear with them about your expectations.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A trip of a lifetime that just kept getting better and better
The trip we took went from Wow to Wow and was beyond our expectation. It was designed to highlight the variety of experiences available in South Africa taking us from city to country, whales to safari. The attention to detail in the planning ensured it ran smoothly and we enjoyed every part of the trip. Our consultant was readily available to answer our smallest query. The accomodation was fabulous, the food scrumptious, the animals larger than life but the people of South Africa were the highlight; so warm and friendly. South Africa was a land of contrast, community, history and amazing experiences. Can't wait to return.
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrific Tanzanian Safari!
Our safari experience with Awaken to Africa was truly excellent. Very good communication, itinerary, and accommodation organized by Grace. Our guide David, a most genial and likable man, took such good care of us. He is a hugely experienced naturalist, with encyclopedic knowledge of the Tanzanian fauna and flora and was selfless in going the extra mile to ensure our safari was the simply the best. Our experience with Awaken to Africa was 5 Star and I have no hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending this company to future safari travelers.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Another amazing adventure!
Rose certainly came up trumps again with another exciting itinerary in South Africa. This was our second trip organised by The Luxury Safari Company Ltd and won't be the last.
We returned to to the Sabi Sand Private Reserve and stayed at Chitwa Chitwa, where we loved being so close to the resident snorting hippos on the lake. The elephants came to have a splash around in the lake one afternoon and they put on a great show. Buffalo and water buck also frequented the banks of the lake, as well as a crocodile and a variety of birds. We had some excellent viewings, including two leopard brothers, one up a tree crunching on an impala, whilst his sibling waited patiently below for his turn. Then we explored a different part of the country, Kwa Zulu Natal. What a beautiful and diverse area! We had a stay at the Oyster Box in Durban, a charming old colonial style hotel. Then we headed to off to the Drakensberg mountains to stay in the Midlands at the very scenic Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse. The food there is excellent, but you will pile on the pounds. There are plenty of walking opportunities on your doorstep though to walk off those calories. If you are interested in the Anglo Zulu war, then Fugitive's Drift is the place to stay. We had no real interest, but took part in the organised trips to Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. You could not fail to be touched by the expertly related stories, although it was a little too detailed and lengthy for us! Then we drove to an idyllic beach retreat in a very remote area. Thonga Beach Lodge was very civilised, but so far away from civilisation. Total relaxation, a pristine beach you can walk along for miles and miles, and extremely warm and friendly staff from the local village. We were invited to church in the village and we spent an unforgettable afternoon with the Mabibi people who really touched our hearts and brought us to tears with their melodic singing harmonies. We left Thonga with a tear in our eye. Then finally, we enjoyed a second safari at Phinda Forest Lodge. As well as the big five, we saw lots of cheetahs and fluffy young cubs - such beautiful creatures. We also watched the lions and their cubs eating a variety of kills, which we have never seen before, and although a bit gory, it was strangely excellent viewing! We even saw the elusive aardvark one evening which is a real privilege!
We returned home feeling like we had really seen a slice of the real Africa. We drove through varied landscapes, met some lovely Zulu people and lots of other interesting people along the way. Thanks Rose for organising another brilliant and unforgettable trip!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ubuntu run a seamless operation from day one to last day . We would definately use them again.
Everything from initial communications inquiring about safari's to Kenya and Tanzania to actually commencing and finishing the safari tour was handled with courtesy and 100% professionalism. The safari tour lived up to our expectations and more. We would definitely use Ubuntu again for Travel in Africa.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect crew for an amazing honeymoon
We can't recommend Kilimanjaro Brothers enough. We had planned to have our honeymoon in Tanzania with a safari, climbing Kilimanjaro and ending in Zanzibar. Organizing our trip with George was efficient and simple. More than that, when we arrived at the airport, George was happily waiting for us with our safari guide and even a camera person to document our arrival. Everything was exactly as described. After the safari, we started the trek to Kilimanjaro. Our guides Peter and Priscus were so professional and unbelievably supportive and helpful. They were truly top-notch. I had hiked in Nepal before and was anticipating a similar trekking experience - but hands down, Kilimanjaro Brothers had such a professional and caring air to them - truly exceptional. After the trek, which was fantastic (food, tents, staff and all) - when we were dropped at the hotel, we didn't realize that George and his crew had set up a little party for us. Even giving us embroidered sheets with our names on them - wanting our experience to be special because it was our honeymoon. It truly felt like a small African wedding.
We really appreciated the Kilimanjaro Brothers because it is a small, local company - and you can feel how much they care about making your experience worthwhile and special. We are happy to call George, Peter, Priscus and our whole crew friends. Thanks for an incredible time.
Amazing trip
This safari tour in Tanzania really exceeded my expectation. My friend an I enjoyed 6 days safari with kilislope, Nova our driver and guide is very knowledgeable with charming and calm character, safe driving but always sure on time, we got see all what we wanted and actually even more.
Serengeti is a dream place and I would come back one day.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
missold package
We have missold a Safari Package, we took the Kenya and Tanzania package as advertised on their website and we paid $1700 per person for 10 nights.
First of all Karibu Safari is not licensed to operate in Kenya, so basically they took us to the border, put us on a transfer and gave us to a different agency... very different from what we had paid for and we were expecting
Karibu Safari and Robert demonstrated their incompetence from the information stage until the organization stage of our trip.
More specifically we experienced the following issues:
1) they sold us a package with max 6 people in the van and for 4 days there were 7 people in the car
2) WIFI at lodges and hotels, Robert told us that there was WIFI at the lodges and hotel in Kenya but there was not WIFI in any of the lodges in Kenya & Tanzania, the quality of the lodges and the services offered was ridiculous, we spoke with other travelers and our lodges were the cheapest and the worst ones that you can find...
3) Waiting time, on the way from masai mara to lake nakuru, we have to wait 3 hours in the middle of the road for an other car to change passengers and due to this inconvenient we lost our night game drive to lake nakuru
4) Lake nakuru to Amboseli trip: they told us that was 4 hours driving when it took more than 10 hours due to the fact that we have to go to Nairobi to pick an other tourist and got stuck in the traffic
5)Passing from Kenya to Tanzania, we had to wait 4 hours, the transfer that Karibu arranged for us did not have valid documents to pass the border, as a result of it a group of 14 people spent 4 hours with 40 degrees waiting.... a taxy would have costed $30 and would have avoided our group of 4 people waiting 4 hours.
The result of this 4 hours waiting time was the shift of lake manyara and the cancellation of our night at ngorongoro camp, again this is not what we have paid for and with a little bit of care and attention should have been avoided, we were not paying the price for a budget safari and there are not excuses for this lack of organization, an agency who arrange a crossborder transfer with a car who has not documents should be closed straight away....
6) We were in the group with Tanya (you can read the other 1 star review) and we agree with everything that she said, Karibu staff was just rude and careless promising things that they were not willing to do just looking how to get few more dollars...
I really cannot believe that the 5 stars review are genuine, personally we had a terrible experience and the worst element was the discussion with Robert and the other Karibu staff who wanted to be right and cannot accept the evidence, after several discussion they apologized and they refused to offer a compensation for all the inconvenience that we suffered.
Robert and his staff think that the fact that they have not left us in the middle of the road is a success, they have no idea of what it means customer service and they think that tourists are just chicken to get money out of it, they cannot understand customer need and if they only wanted to, they could have offered a much better service making customers happy and giving value for the money spent