One of my favorite trips ever.
My friend and I booked a custom, 4-day safari with Afrishare that turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Our driver/chef and guide were consummate pros, and on top of it, a blast to spend time with. They helped us find spots to get really close to amazing animals. They set up camp for us at each site... it could not have been easier. Even the food was excellent. Ibrah made everything as easy as can be with booking, and made sure every detail was taken care of. On top of his great service, he is friendly, genuine, and easy to talk with. Do not hesitate to book with Afrishare!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic!!
Thank you for a wonderful holiday. You gave us an incredible experience, brilliant service and really good value for money. I would highly recommend Matoke to anyone for safaris and primate tracking in Uganda.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
November Cape Town and Safari Vacation
First, we want to thank Go2Africa for their outstanding service and commitment to ensure that their clients receive unforgettable vacations. The four of us were especially impressed with Go2Africa’s stress-free service that occurred throughout the initial enquiry, recommendations, payment process, and prompt communication. We couldn’t have asked for a better organization to assist with our travels.
Secondly, we want to thank Ramona for her patience and extraordinary effort in ensuring that the four of us would have a vacation that we will always cherish. After enquiring about Go2Africa’s services, we received a quick response from Ramona explaining that she would be our travel expert to assist in planning our vacation. It is clear that Ramona cares about her clients and invests the time to ensure that their wishes are fulfilled. Ramona took into account all of our considerations and worked with the budget that the four of us were willing to commit to. We are confident in saying that Ramona planned an amazing Cape Town and Safari vacation. We are still amazed at the amount of things we were able to do in just 8 full days of vacation to include Table Mountain, Cape Point Tour, Stellenbosch Wine Tour, and 6 guided safari’s in the Sabi Sands. Ramona’s recommended accommodations in Cape Town and Sabi Sands were outstanding and more luxurious than we originally imagined. Ramona’s guidance in preparing us for the trip (to include vaccinations, what to pack, and many other things to consider while traveling) was extremely helpful. In addition, Ramona’s detailed itinerary made this vacation as stress-free as possible allowing us to enjoy what Cape Town and the Sabi Sands has to offer. Thank you again Ramona for an amazing journey!
There are a few recommendations that we would ask Ramona or Go2Africa to consider. First, the four of us were really disappointed that we were not able to participate in our scheduled cage shark diving excursion during our last day in Cape Town due to inclement weather. Had we known that cancellations often occur for this reason, we would have booked the cage shark diving on the first day of our trip so that we could reschedule in time before we left. Also, we were told we would get refunded for not being able to attend, and it’s taken 3 months to receive reimbursement. Secondly, although the list of recommendations for restaurants in Cape Town was sufficient, we found the list to be a little outdated. We recommend updating the list to include new and popular restaurants in addition to recommendations on when to request reservations. The four of us attempted to dine at the highly acclaimed “Test Kitchen” (not on the list) but when making reservations 3 weeks before, found out that we had to make reservations six months in advance. Lastly, although we were very happy with our guided tours, all the tours were booked through a company called “Ilios”. When our cage shark diving excursion was canceled we decided to go on another wine tour but this time through a different company than Ilios. We would have to say that we enjoyed the alternate company’s wine tour better as we were able to tour more vineyards, and in our opinion, more reputable wineries. We recommend that Go2Africa provide a recommended list of other companies they work with for clients to choose regarding their excursions on vacation.
Even though there were some setbacks along the way, Ramona and Go2Africa were very reliable and helpful in assisting us throughout the whole process from beginning to end. I cannot emphasize enough that this trip was one of the best trips the four of us have ever had the privilege to take. We hope to go back to Africa in the future, and we will most definitely be contacting Ramona and Go2Africa again for their exceptional service.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting Honeymoon
An unforgettable experience and am so glad we decided on the Safari option as we were very sceptical at first. We did an 8 day Safari and spent 6 night in Zanzibar and were wined and dined like royalty. The combination of Safari and a beach holiday complimented itself and recommended to people wanting to go to Tanzania, what a blessed country.
KG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was really good
I gave very short notice to them, that is why I had to go to safari alone(not with a group). Service was really good and it was very comfortable with guide and driver. I enjoyed my traveling.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
the parks of the North: great experience!
We had a 6 nights safari with Savannah Explorers and we had a great time. We visited Tarangire Park, Lake Manyara Park (we made a really nice night safari!), Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
All the parks worth a visit: Tarangire for its spectacular landscapes, Lake Manyara for the forest, Serengeti for predators and its amazing and different landscapes, Ngorongoro because its unique and fascinating.
Savannah explorers was professional from our arrival until our departure. The choice of Lodges and Camping was perfect: we recommend in particular Tarangire Safari Lodge and Kati Kati camps (Tanganyka Wildeness camps).
The guide (that spoke also a good italian) was friendly and helpful.
We say all the big 5, a family of Cheetah, lots of other animals. It was great!
Hope to come back one day!! Jambo!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Lots of Birds - and Animals, too
We had a great trip with Nature Travel Namibia over New Year 2015, seeing a huge number of birds as well as lots of antelope, cats, and other animals in only one week.
Three years ago, we took a group tour with a different company to the other, more famous leg of Namibia - the Namib Desert, the coast at Swakopmund, Damaraland and one day at Okakuejo in Etosha - and had such a good time we wanted to do the other leg which, as we hoped, is quite different.
We had only seven and a half days, and we wanted to fit a lot in. After discussion with Nick and Janeke, we worked out a stripped-down backwards version of the '10-Day Etosha, Caprivi, Chobe And Victoria Falls' trip which they offer. We flew in to Victoria Falls at noon and did a three-hour tour. This short visit was great as the falls are more spectacular than any photo can show, and it completely revived us after thirty hours of travel from our home. Then we went straight to Chobe in Botswana (2 nights), after which we crossed into Namibia and went along the Zambesi/Caprivi Strip via Camp Kwando (1 night), Mahangu (2). We stayed at Mushara (1) on the east of Etosha followed by a full day crossing Etosha to Okakuejo (1), then a final couple of hours in the park before driving down to Windhoek for the last night before flying out. This worked very well. Of course, the extra days of the full trip would have been even better, especially for some birds that we heard or saw briefly but didn't have the time to follow up on.
The accomodation was well-chosen and of high quality, and all the places had all the facilities you could want, and good food (and wine).
We arranged a private trip for just the two of us because we had been to East Africa four times, as well as our previous Namibia visit, and we had seen a lot of the basic birds and animals already - not that we didn't want to see them again, but we also wanted to spend time looking for some things, birds especially, that Africa beginners in a group might not be so interested in. It wasn't cheap, but in our opinion it was great value for money, everything went smoothly, and we were completely satisfied. (And, obviously, the price per person comes down if there are more of you.)
The trip had a great balance between land and river, birds and animals. We did three boat trips on the rivers (and all three were quite different). And we also saw lots of the spectacular Namibian skyscapes and sunsets. It was the rainy season in theory, but actually there was some cloud but little rain (nice for us, not so good for the local farmers).
Nick wasn't available, but we had another specialist bird guide who was very knowledgeable, and also great company. We saw over 220 species of bird in the week, of which 60 were new for us, and about 50 more were 'first decent photos'. Given our time constraint, we were very happy with this. Highlights for us on the river were great close-up views of Slaty Egret, Black Egret, Purple Heron amd Pygmy Duck. Our guide knew a spot where we got good sightings of Souza's Shrike and Tinkling Cisticola. He also had a spot for Little Jacana, which was a bird we especially wanted to see, and Sharp-tailed Starling. We saw Blue Crane in Etosha. On the trip we also got 23 accipiters and falcons, mostly with decent views.
We also wanted to find the local antelopes, and we got beautiful views of Sable, as well as Puku, Red Lechwe, Southern Reedbuck and Greater Kudu, as well as Common Duiker, which were all new for us. We saw seventeen antelope species in total, and I think we would have got Roan if we had an extra day at Mahangu.
We had seen Hippos before, of course, and Elephants, but we were surprised by how moved and impressed we were by the large groups of both that we saw. And the other regulars were there of course - Giraffe, Zebra, and so on. We also saw Lion and Cheetah, and our eagle-eyed guide found a well-hidden Leopard.
One special highlight was the huge Black Mamba that we saw clearly (and photographed) moving through the trees, and which our guide found because of the alarm calls of birds which had spotted it.
All in all, this was a great trip, organised and run by professionals, and which we happily recommend. And if you want to shorten or lengthen it, or do more in one place and less in another, or add a side-trip to somewhere not on the main plan, just ask!
And if you can time it to fit in with the great riverside New Year party with live music at Mahangu Safari Lodge, as we did, then go for it. Just avoid the Jägermeister!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing service and great lodges!!!!
Our experience with Expedition Safari was perfect from the first email to get a quote until we were dropped off at the airport. Patrick got back to me quickly from my initial inquiry and was helpful in constructing an itinerary specifically for us. Emails were prompt, thorough, and clearly written including many options for us and links to the specific lodges. I was able to handpick where we stayed with some guidance from Patrick. Prices seemed very fair especially for higher end service and accommodations.
Upon arrival in Kenya, Patrick, Meshack, and Joseph (our driver/guide) met us at the airport. We arrived at 8pm so went immediately to hotel where they helped us check in and get settled. After a nice buffet breakfast at hotel Joseph picked us up and we departed for Amboselli. We had a private tour - just my wife and I escorted by Joseph in a Land Cruiser for the week. We visited Amboselli, Lake Nakuru, and Maasi Mara. Despite not being during the migration we were able to see tons of animals. We saw 4 of the Big 5 during our safari only missing the leopard. Saw many lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo along with cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, and antelope. We really had a wonderful experience. Joseph was an unbelievable guide with 18 years of experience. Booking was a seamless process and fully customizable. The lodges and food provided were high end. As a seasoned traveler I have rarely had such a good experience and was very pleased with Expedition Safari. Our final day was my wife's birthday and they arranged a special dinner along with a cake for my wife before dropping is at the airport for our red eye flight. Truly door to door service. Have already recommended Expedition Safari to some of our friends interested in doing their first safari.
If it could go wrong it did
I booked a 3 day safari to Masaii Mara with Sun Splash at the last minute since I would be in Kenya for work. When I arrived there had been 3 days of protest in Narok a town on the way to Masaii Mara. In the morning after a prompt pick up we were on our way, though I had been told it would be a full van there were only 3 of us. The driver was on the phone constantly. As we got closer to Narok there were many cars and lorries pulled off to the side of the road,. when the driver was questioned he was rather evasive. We went to the very "front" of the line to find the road blocked. Kenya Police eventually arrived and as they cleared the road of rocks and burning tires we moved forward. Unfortunately the road would then close behind us with more rocks and burning tires. We ended up in the middle with tear gas and police beating people with batons. It was dangerous and totally uncalled for. Since I had been in transit I had no idea what was going on. There were only 2 other safari vans in sight, the rest must have been much smarter than this company. We did not make our evening safari drive in the Park. Next morning we found out the walkie talkie that every safari van relies on to find the animals was broken and had been broken for 3 days. We spent the entire day driving aimlessly while the driver stopped every van he could find to question where were the animals. Last day the driver borrowed shillings from me to buy an herbal remedy from the Masaii prior to leaving the park. On the way out he stopped at a small store to get himself a soda and surprise! someone jumped in the van for a ride to the next town. Great way to make a few shillings for the driver but not OK. I have been on safari in Kenya in the past and this was the most unprofessional disappointing company I have ever used. When I got back to Nairobi I sent an email to the company. Their response was not their problem about the protest and while I certainly agree they were not responsible for the protest they certainly had hours of warnings prior to our arrival in Narok. No response about the broken radio, This company contracted with kairi tours so they are most likely responsible for the radio and driver. No response to the email I sent to them
MX
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organized and exciting.
I went both to an safari island in Kariba lake and a walking safari in a reserve. Everything was organized perfectly, pickups, departures etc. Everyone one was helpful, friendly and professional. The experiences were both relaxing and exciting, and walking in the bush is a much more vivid than perhaps that in a vehicle.