CN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgetable Tour
We enjoyed a 7 days safari in Rubondo Island , Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
All of the lodges and camps were special and amazing.
The knowledge of our guide Sule was excellent, therefore we learned
a lot about animals, culture and history from him. Although he had the
eyes of an eagle, so we saw many animals, which we did not
expect.
Thank you Sule and thank you Brian for the outstanding organisation
of the excellent safari!
I will highly recommend Friends of Africa Family Safaris to our friends and to everybody else.
Thank you Brian Matechi for organizing our trip !
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Wild Wind Safaris
We had a wonderful experience on our Etosha three day Safari. The weather cooperated, the animals were plentiful, way more than I ever anticipated, based on the reviews that I had read for this time of year, March 2015.
The pickup and return were very smooth to and from the airport and well paced. Everything is included except the purchase of water and alcoholic beverages at meal time. Even the lunches en route and on the return to your pickup point, in our case, the airport, were included as it is almost a 5 hours drive to the reserve from the airport.
The accommodation was superb and well worth spending the extra. We selected the premier waterhole bungalow (Okaukuejo rest camp), stunning accommodation and location. It was hard to decide between eating dinner and breakfast or just watching the animals as they came down to the waterhole at night and in the morning. On our last night it was fascinating to watch the rhinos come at their "slotted" time. We counted 9 that night. We had to force ourselves to go to bed. And the giraffes, 17 at the waterhole the morning of departure.
We saw a pride of 13 lions just off the road side and several elephants, a couple gigantic ones, one in particular, minutes after starting our safari upon arrival. Thoroughly enjoyed watching the springboks boing along and all of the babies at this time of year. Even saw the elusive honey badger. I kept count of our sightings, 37 different animals, very impressive.
Our guide was very accommodating. He backtracked en route, ensuring us views of our sightings, which we spotted along the way. He shared his knowledge of the animals with us and actively sought them out for us.
The food was excellent at the camp. The lunch at one of the camps though on our full day safari was very limited, but, on our return to the airport, the restaurant offerings and quality and quantity of food was fantastic.
Can't fault Martha's and Philip’s hospitality, advice and efficiency prior to our arrival. Offering payment via a credit card would certainly make it easier for travellers and insurance purposes if need be. They accommodated our 3 day safari during the week which from what I read is usually only offered on the weekend. This was an incredible bonus as we ended up having our own personal guide for our stay. I can't imagine though being in a vehicle with 4-6 other people (even saw a couple buses, egads!) and trying to take pictures along the way especially since you are not allowed to exit the vehicle at any point during the game drives. At first I was anticipating an open-jeep, but in retrospect we had an SUV/van, which I feel was better as we were so up close and personal with the animals as it was. It was common place to have an elephant walk 30 feet in front of you or come out unexpectedly from the brush or have lions within 20 feet of your car, so just as well, we were enclosed, as they are “wild”. During the high season, when the area is extremely dry and if it was windy, I would think that you would be covered in dust, in particular when passing or being passed by other vehicles. The best thing about going at this time of year was that oftentimes we were the only car on the road which allowed us to back up or turn around quickly to see the animals. I would think during high season, there would be considerable jockeying around to gain the best viewpoint at the waterholes where the vehicles and animals would congregate.
Overall it was an extremely exciting time for us, a once in a lifetime experience and almost surreal to see National Geographic come to life before your very eyes. Maybe we were just lucky to see what we did, at this time of year, but in the end, Wild Wind made this happen for us and within our budget.
Paradisiacal experience at lake Manyara
In april 2014 I went on a game view at Lake Manyara. The day before we went to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Although Ngorongoro was very beautiful, I even liked Lake Manyara more! Lake Manyara is a smaller but very nice park, where animals suddenly show up from between the trees. That was very awesome. A lot of variety in animals and beautiful birds, wide vast land as a viewpoint (with giraffes, flamingos, impalas, zebras, hippos...), a very quiet safari because of low season (which was very nice to be almost alone), flock of elephants at 1 meter from the jeep,...
The accomodation and food at the Jumbo campsite at Mto Wa Mbu, were unbelievable. It had a pool, very nicely warm tents. There we had our first warm shower in two months!! The organisation and guidance were very very good. They listened to our 'demands' to make sure we had the best safari ever for as less money as possible.
This organisation and safaris are very much recommended! I had the time of my life.
More than expected!
We enjoyed our Safari with It Started in Africa. Planning from Canada a couple of months in advance the team took care of flights getting us from South Africa to Kilmanjaro and onward to our final destination. Being met at the airport and taken to our hotel was the opening level of service and care we enjoyed throughout. The expert driver always made us feel safe and took time to show us parts of the city and viewpoints that were a joy to experience. Our patient guide was very observant and as a team with the driver ensured we were given ample opportunity to take pictures and observe the vast amount of wildlife. Our guide was very knowledgeable of the customs, plants and animals of the region, making it a great time of learning. Lake Manyara and Ngorangoro crater were absolutely beautiful. The accommodations and food were exceptional and we felt like it was first class all the way.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experiences in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Have rated our experience as excellent as we were blown away by the experience of the Serengeti and Ngonrongoro Crater. Prior to arriving in Tanzania we experienced excellent communication with Abidan who was there to pick us up at Kilimanjaro airport and at the end of our safari Jesse, our driver, took us to the border for our connecting drive to Kenya.
We did have a change of itinerary which we weren't expecting but was a logical step as we wanted particularly to see the migration in the Ndutu area and because we had a long drive to the border for our connecting drive to Kenya at the end of our stay. All in all we were satisfied with this. We loved the camp we stayed in in the Serengeti - Heritage camp - which is small and run by a really cheerful crew and gives a very authentic experience. Serengeti was something I shall never forget - seeing the enormity of the mass of migrating wildebeest and zebra etc. The pride of lions - about a dozen with cubs on our first early morning game drive, lying on the rocky outcrop was just awsome as was watching the sun come up - great pics. We watched elephant antics - and waited while the leopard in the tree (with his kill) had to stay up there due to the six or seven lions lying around the bottom. For me the Serengeti stay was the highlight but the Ngorongo crater was also amazing - we watched a zebra give birth and baby take its first steps. We did go to Lake Manyara park as our first day of safari - it is very beautiful but what came after sort of overshadowed it. Our last night at the Simba Ngorongoro Forest Lodge was a lovely ending - with all the luxuries etc and a beautiful dinner.
Jesse is a very good driver and we felt very safe with him. He is clearly passionate about his country - I don't blame him as it is stunning. Although he didn't have radio communication in the vehicle we used he seemed to know where to find everything as we certainly saw some awsome things!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
To be lived again and again.
I was pleasantly surprise by the professionalism of Spot Kenya Safaris. They came to pick us up at the airport on time and even helped with some formalities, accommodation was as described, the safari itself was an amazing journey.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome last minute climb and safari!
I arrived in Tanzania from another African country without having organized anything, but Walter made it easy for me and I was able to join a group for both a safari and Kili climb at the last minute. The guides were very professional and we got lots of information about the animals. The food was awesome (I was impressed!). Kili is a one in a lifetime experience, not to be missed. I was very well taken care of on the mountain, the guides were encouraging but not overly pushy. I really enjoyed the organization and I highly recommend this company
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The staff went out of their way to ensure we had a great safari. Great experience.
The tour experience was exactly as it was packaged. Great services
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari and beach excellence
We booked our "once in a lifetime" safari experience through Safari Conslutants UK and they did not disappoint. Michele put together 2 safari locations in Kenya and a beach holiday in Zanzibar. We had asked for a "higher end" experience with permanent safari camps and a luxury beach location. Michele set us up at Lewa Wilderness and Saruni Mara and ended at The Palms. The 2 safari locales were very different and gave us (my wife and twin teenagers) an experience of a lifetime. Safari Consultants coordinated 6 internal flights, a overnight hotel in Nairobi and all the transfers and did not miss a beat. Very well done in every regard. Thank you.
Mike W
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best Safari ever!
Our safari dream started at home by the booking of our lodges & tented camps + planning our trip as we had everything in our minds. Luckily we had the help of Iris & Lilian, to assist us by giving us the best guide lines. Our ranger Cornel picked us up at our hotel & provided us with an introduction to Tanzania, which gave us a warm feeling of being welcome. After a detailed briefing in the offices of Easy Travel, we were more than ready to start our adventure. The amazing 4x4-vehicle which we had for the two of us + the enthusiasm of our ranger Cornel, resulted in a very comfortable adventurous safari trip. Cornel did his best to fulfill our expectations as we listed everything at the briefing: the big 5, very large herds of migrating animals, a killing of an impala by a cheetah, a catch of a buffalo by a troop of lions, a birth of a gazelle and so much more than we ever had expected to see. We had the feeling that we experienced these highlights together with Cornel, as he was so excited & so passionate about everything. The proposed accommodations were a perfect mix of luxurious lodges & comfortable tented camps, all in typical African style. Top of the bill: Tortilis Camp in the Serengeti! At the end of the trip we appreciated very much the debriefing with the whole team & Mr.Musaddiq: thank you very much for giving us our best safari ever! Easy travel rules ;-) Davy & Bart - Antwerp / Belgium