US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Tropical Africa
Mbail Mbali camp was an African camp different from all my past experiences in Africa. The setting was tropical and warm. Too bad the beautiful lake is not available due to crocks. It is so inviting. The availability to see the chimps was fantastic and a rare opportunity. The food was delicious and the accommodations were wonderful........one could not want for anything more.
MT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service - would go again!
From the very moment we contacted Wild Root Safaris we could tell that they were extremely serious, trustworthy, friendly and understanding and that they were really good at understanding our needs and requests and helping us with even more things that we could have imagined.
When we arrived in Arusha they were on hand to pick us up and help us. They took us around Arusha to pick up some small items, helped us check in to our hotel and drove us to a lovely place where we could get some lunch after the long bus drive coming to Arusha. And this was before the Safari had even started!
On the morning of the Safari our guide helped us with everything, was very good at showing us local things and explaining many things about the city of Arusha. This was when we were driving and there was still a good way to the Tarangire National Park.
It was very comforting driving with a local (Raymond/Maje) who lived in Arusha and knew everything really well. Both me and my travel companion never really liked staying in the bigger cities in Tanzania but with Wild Root we were never worried about anything.
We went on a 4d/3n safari starting in the Tarangire National Park, then Serengeti for 2 days and finished off in the Ngorogoro crater.
The only negative aspect of our Safari experience was the first hotel (Finaka Lodge) - the food was nice and the staff very friendly but the room was way below what you would expect (if you come with a European mindset). We explained this to our safari guide the next day and they were sad to hear about this.
After the safari they invited us out for dinner and said they were sorry about this and that they had already contacted the hotel to check what had happened.
The next two hotels/lodges (Ikoma Tented Camp/Rhino Lodge) were much nicer and we had no issues whatsoever at those places. Where Finaka Lodge was in a small village you completely lost the feel of being on a Safari. At Ikoma Tented Camp and Rhino Lodge we saw wild animals (giraffe, gazelle, water buffalo and some other type of gazelle) come right in to our camp/walked very close to the houses. We could hear Hyena in the night (which scared my travel companion) but I think this was amazing and exactly the experience you want!
The first day in Tarangire was amazing, we saw monkeys, giraffe, warthog (Pumba's), birds and of course elephants which the park is famous for. Our guide was extremely clever in the way he found the animals which we benefitted from on many occasions. In Tarangire we got within 2-3 meters of around 10 elephants, where some of the elephants were very young. This was a truly amazing experience and I am grateful for being able to observe these majestic animals.
Serengeti was another chapter in its own - from the endless plains to the migrating herds of animals, there was plenty to see and our guide Maje was always quick to look around and spot the animals long before we could see them. We saw a whole range of animals in Serengeti including a Cheetah with four cubs, a Leopard, a leopard baby, plenty of lions, wildebeest, zebra, hyena, warthog and all sorts of Antilope.
When we arrived in the Ngorogoro crated we saw animals right away: Lions, Elephants, water buffalo right next to the car and huge male elephants next to the road. We spotted a Rhino with its baby and even more flamingos than you could possibly count. The crater was an amazing experience and we will definitely go on a safari another time!
After the Safari Wild Root had assisted us in buying tickets for our bus the next day, they helped us check in to our hotel again and the next morning the picked us up and drove us to the bus station. They asked me to let them know once we arrived at our destination, which only proves how much they care and how helpful they are.
All in all I have nothing negative to say about Wild Root Safaris - they catered for our every need and went above and beyond for our every request. It is a relatively small company which only means that they are better at customizing your Safari and making it a truly wonderful experience.
When I am going on my next Safari, there is no question that I will go with Wild Root Safaris.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Family Adventure: highly recommend this very reputable and trustworthy company
My family of four spent 8 days in Rwanda over Christmas last year (2014) as part of a 5 week trip to East Africa. I booked the whole Rwandan section of the trip through Umubano Tours (including our Gorilla Trekking Permits) and can't recommend them highly enough. From my first email contact with Herbert he was professional, friendly, informative and always replied promptly to my emails.
I had a very definite idea of what I wanted to include in the itinerary right down to the accommodation I wanted to use. Whilst Herbert was happy to make suggestions on what was attainable to fit into the trip he was always respectful of my wishes and with his help we had the most amazing adventure. I was a little hesitant about wiring the money for the trip (a 40% deposit initially followed by a final payment prior to departing from home) but Herbert was very quick to send through receipts and copies of the Gorilla permits when they arrived.
Our guide Didier was just wonderful, he was friendly, happy and informative, and nothing was too much trouble for him. He was waiting for us at the airport and we set off straight away for the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge. The following day Didier helped secure our position to hike to the Susa group. During our trip Didier made sure that we always had plenty of water and we made impromptu stops for snacks and photos as we travelled, we even stopped to visit a beach side festival in Gisenyi! Our family enjoyed talking with Didier and learning about his country and culture from him. We shared many funny moments and he helped to make our trip a unique experience. It was a pleasure to have Didier as our guide.
Rwanda is a truly beautiful country and the people are very friendly. We have been blessed to travel a little over the last few years and every trip we say ‘oh this is our favourite place’ but Rwanda will always be special to us. My advice would be if you get the chance to visit Rwanda take that chance, you won’t regret it. I would also suggest that Herbert and Didier are the perfect people to help make your trip an enjoyable and unique, once in a lifetime experience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect safari – I wouldn’t change a thing!
Our family of 5 (2 parents and 3 sons ages 19, 12 and 10) spent Christmas on safari in Tanzania with Restoration Safaris. The owner and our guide, Mr. Bariki, met us at Kilimanjaro airport and took us on an amazing 10 day trip.
For our itinerary, Mr. Bariki came up with a great balance of animal watching (which was unbelievable), more active events including a safari walk, kayaking and a hike, and some cultural activities including visiting local villages and joining a hunter-gatherer tribe for a hunt. I was worried that some of these might be cheesy – but they all felt completely genuine and we discovered that Tanzanians are truly wonderful people.
The bottom line: I would not change one thing from this trip. Everything was perfectly arranged and Mr. Bariki felt like a member of our family after just a few days. He is incredibly easy-going, friendly and knowledgeable about all the wildlife. He is clearly very experienced and seemed to be held in extremely high regard by the other safari guides.
One final thought: Safaris cost a lot of money. So we were happy that the money we spent will mainly stay in Tanzania - Mr. Bariki is Tanzanian and most of the amazing lodges and campsites we stayed at are also run by local people.
IL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I even tasted Rwandan food on gorilla adventure
We traveled with gorilla tour booking Safaris in April 2014, It was a 6 days safari to Rwanda for a gorilla trekking in national parks of Rwanda, Ronald and Henry did a superb job in fixing this tour because we used to change our safari planning several times these guys are professionals and flexible they replied our queries with helpful information to our safari.
Our guide Robert was ever on, smiling and friendly.
Accommodation nine out of ten, I even tasted Rwandan food so delicious.
2016 gorilla tour booking safaris this time Uganda you are on my travel list.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari
It was a fantastic safari! We visited the Hadzabe bushman tribe and other national safari destinations; our travel guides and destination-specific guides were knowledgeable and friendly. I would recommend Ilmaasai and Loth to my friends, no problem.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
We are very happy that we chose this company for our Safari experience. The communication was excellent. Before our arrival we kept in touch with David via email. He was very professional and answered all our questions. Upon arrival we were met at the airport and taken to office where we discussed the details of our itinerary then taken to hotel. Our guide in Kenya portion of the trip was "Animal" he was very knowledgeable, professional and accommodating. For Amboseli our guide was Joseph who also was an amazing guide. He aided us with transfer through border to Tanzania and everything went smoothly. In Tanzania our guide was "Ozzy" and he was also amazing! All our guides made sure we saw lots of animals and we were lucky to see Big 5. The service we got with this company exceeded our expectations. I would recommend to my family and friends this company. The staff in the office and in the field made sure we had unforgettable experience! I want to say THANK YOU! For making our safari a truly amazing and unforgettable experience!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a very nice time with the Roliqueen Tours team.
We booked under six weeks before we were due to travel.We were pleased that Roliqueen Tours got everything organised and gave us discount for our early booking. I have to say Maureen and her team did a wonderful job of arranging a private safari around the dates we had already decided upon. Their driver and guide Lewis was excellent. The van was very comfortable with an open roof. Lewis was very friendly and had good knowledge of the animals and birds seen along the safari, also of trees and other vegetation. While driving to Lake Nakuru, Lewis decided we take a boat trip on Lake Naivasha. We saw Hippo families. He asked us about the animals we may want to see. The Hotels we choose, were very good. We stayed in Sarova Lion Hill and Mara Serena Lodge. Both the Hotels have the amazing view to the Lake Nakuru or Masaai Mara, Roliqueen Tours did a brilliant job of arranging everything for us, the driver, van and all accommodation while on safari. With their help we had a wonderful and enjoyable time. I would happily recommend any one looking for safari to them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent Safari Trip
It was a very informative and enlightened trip. Our guide was Kind, professional yet friendly, knowledgeable, and funny. WELL organized, and just amazing!! We had a brilliant time all the way and the trip was tailor to meet all our particular interests and needs. Most importantly, by the end of the trip, we thought of as our guide as a new found friend. We certainly would (and have) recommended Red Africa Safaris.
Great staff
They assisted us with all our bookings in Swakopmund. Great company