CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best of the best!
Anyone can bring you to a magical place with beautiful animals. Not everyone can deliver the high quality service that travels along with you on your adventure! Open Africa Safaris have really mastered their craft. They are knowledgeable, well organized, and client focused.
Above all else, I have to say they are some of the warmest, funniest people I've had the pleasure of knowing and traveling with. Their enthusiastic energy is contagious and makes for a truly wonderful experience. I made some of my favourite lifelong memories on that trip!
Thank you Open Africa Safaris!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience on a Budget
Tantanca Safari & Tours gave us a very satisfying 24-hour safari experience at Ruaha National Park. Our safari driver, Isa (spelling?), was incredibly knowledgeable and was certainly responsible for our ability to see as much wildlife as we did in a very short time period. We saw seven lions, including lions mating and a a lion kill of a crocodile, beautiful herds of elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, the Greater Kudu, antelope, baboons, silver-backed fox, and even a leopard. The list goes on and on. I know I am missing many animals. There were too many birds to list. Isa not only knew where to find the animals, but he had a wealth of knowledge about each species.
Isa also helped us find a very nice place for lunch after our safari. As a guide he is outstanding.
This is a great budget safari company. One drawback is the safari car. It's a long trek into Ruaha and not all of the seats had cushions. If the car was a bit more comfortable Tantaca would have gotten 5 stars. In the meantime, throw some cushions in your backpack and enjoy the ride.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventure Honeymoon 2 years in the making!
Having never used and agency to book a vacation, I was unsure of what to expect; but not having any experience traveling in Africa, we decided it would be good to find some experts. Kerry at Pembury Tours is just that! She helped us choose the perfect locations throughout Africa that both allowed us to stay on budget and to see and do exactly what we wanted! After 2 years planning (and many, many changes in itinerary due to our indecisiveness) we had to most perfect honeymoon! Kerry walked us through the seemingly endless options and helped us choose what turned out to be places and adventures seemingly designed for us. The trip was made exceptionally easy and went off without a hitch! We couldn’t be happier with Kerry and Pembury Tours; we couldn't have had this trip of a lifetime without them!
A 6 days tour on Northern Uganda
The experience lived up to our expectation, and Joseph the guide was informed and flexible to our needs. The accommodations were first class, food good, and we saw all the animals we had hoped to. The customized trip to a fresh Waters on Nile river went according to plan, and was a lot of fun.
The only criticism was that the original vehicle we were given had seat belts which didn't work.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 11-days Kruger safari tour!
Very well organized Kruger safari tour! We've had loads of game drives in different areas of the park, seeing a lot of different animals including the big 5. The very nice guide showed and explained to us all the things to be seen in Kruger national park, and at night we sat by the fire enjoying barbecue while listening to stories about the land and the park. The camping equipment is very nice and generous, and bungalow accomodation can be arranged individually.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional and friendly, quick to reply to questions.
Maturaf at Regional Tours & Safaris is very professional and pleasant to deal with. He swiftly responded to any queries, was honest and suggested good solutions. Regional Tours & Safaris tailormade a very good programme for us (4 adults and 2 children) according to our requests. It included overnight in Arusha, a five day safari at Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, in Ndutu and Serengeti in lodges/tented camps followed by five days in Zanzibar. It was very clear what was included in the price and what was not. Everything went extremely smoothly, there was always a car with driver/guide waiting to pick us up. We made several internal flights with three different companies and they all worked perfectly, they were even often ahead of schedule!
A special thanks to William, our excellent guide, who made our safari a memory for life!
In Zanzibar we stayed at Villa Kiva, which is an ideal hotel for people who like a green, quiet and relaxing place, and cats!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
We did the 4 day camping safari with Pilanesberg Safaris. Our guide was Niel, and from the moment we were picked up from our guest house in Jo'burg, we had a blast. Niel was a fantastic guide. His knowledge of the wildlife, the plants, the history of Pilanesberg was second to none. And his eyesight.... Well, his eyes are as sharp as a bird of prey! He spotted so many animals that we would never have seen. You take it for granted how well camouflaged these animals are, but when you see these majestic and magnificent creatures in the natural habitat, you realise how they were made for this environment.
We saw 3 of the big 5, but we also saw so much other stuff that was just amazing. If I'm honest, I had reservations about going to South Africa and not going to Kruger. But, now having been, I can honestly say that I was not disappointed. In fact, it exceeded my expectations by far.
Pilanesberg Safaris and Tours provide value for money, for sure. The Manyane campsite was a little shabby, but that's more about the SA government than anything else. PS&T gave a really wonderful experience, mostly due to Niel and the wildlife, but the equipment they provided for camping was excellent and the meals were absolutely great. If you're a carnivore, try Kudu steak. Yum!
If you're in Johannesburg, I would highly recommend a trip with Pilanesberg Safaris and Tours, even if it's just a day. But go for more if you can. It has totally whetted our appetites for more safari action. Botswana here we come??!!!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
For Photographers and Ornithologists this is the best Choice!
Origins Safaris was founded by Donald Turner and is run today by his son, Steve. Formerly known as East African Ornithological Safaris it was Founded in 1963. This family has been one of the pioneers of the Eco-Tourism and Photo Safari industry in East Africa and, at one time one of the premier Camps in the Masai Mara (the Mara River Camp) belonged to them. Steve works with many of the larger "names" in the safari and photo-safari business as the "on the ground" provider and organizer of many companies.
I've been to East Africa four times and each time I have used Origins; everything ran smoothly and ALL of the staff/contractors and accomodations selected ran so smoothly an seamlessly that they were un-noticed in their efficiency. This is most assuredly NOT the norm in most 3rd world nations and is far more difficult to pull off than the uninitiated migh suspect.
All of the Guides used by Origins in Kenya are KATO certified, many are Silver and some are even Gold level certified. Most other safari "guides" employed by lesser companies are not even certified at all. Generally after each Safari I've come back with new friends and my family has expanded. I have extremely high expectations when it comes to finding and setting up a photo on an animal/bird or landscape and on each tour I was able to count on the Guides to be helpful and suggest new/different/interesting angles/themes and or perspectives.
I have many friends who use this operator exclusively; many are big names in the business. Steve Turner's name is not as well known nor is his company but they are giants behind the scenes where it counts.
Give them a try; they are not cheap but the experience that they offer is well worth it!
Extremely Enthusiastically Recommended!!!
Grover Larkins
We were very happy and extremely content seeing so many different animals with our patient driver!
Our driver was very experienced and found a lot of animals, so our expectations were more than fulfilled. Also the communication with Ancient Wild Safari was more than reliable, very prompt and agreeable. All our demands and wishes were taken seriously and again fulfilled. We highly recommend Ancient Wild Safaris and surely we'll book a new safari with them!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the most memorable trips we ever made and a must trip
One of the most memorable trips we ever made
We booked "Gorilla safari (3 days) with Alpha Adventures.
We would book it again. This package is perfect for everyone who is looking for a memorable safari experience.Everything was nicely arranged and the guides provided very interesting information and made our game drives to unforgettable adventures.
The Accommodation(gorilla safari lodge) is a nice place to stay. The rooms are good and very quiet. the guide from Alpha Adventures really cares about the guests