CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dream Come True Honeymoon
My husband and I had the great privilege of experiencing Tanzania for our honeymoon through Lion King Adventures. While I had minimal part of the planning process, I highly enjoyed every single day of our honeymoon. Lion King Adventures organized hotels, transportation, our guided safari, and a day visiting a community-led NGO. We started our trip in Zanzibar, and I was incredibly impressed with how seamless everything felt. We arrived at the airport and the porters guided us directly to our driver, our driver brought us to our hotel, and we booked into our hotel with no issues. Our days in our first hotel, Zanzibar Serena, was an absolute dream. Lion King Adventures coordinated for us to have a guided tour through Stone Town with a third-party and then again perfectly coordinated transportation and check into our next hotel on the northern part of the island in Nungwi, Hotel Z. We enjoyed lazy days on the beach, in the pool, and scuba diving before again being driven to the airport with plenty of time to fly to Arusha in the Tanzania mainland. While we didn't interact with Lion King Adventures staff during our stay in Zanzibar, everything felt coordinated and we had contact information for a Lion King Adventures administrative staff member if anything went wrong (which it didn't).
Once we got to Arusha on the mainland was when Lion King Adventures guide and driver, Tuma (sp?), picked us up from the airport and drove us to our hotel. Right off the bat Tuma was friendly, asking us about our holiday in Zanzibar, teaching us a little bit of Swahili, and answering any questions that we had despite not being our safari guide for the remaining days. We stayed a night in Mount Meru Hotel, and then were picked up by our safari guide, Ozzy (Oswald) in the morning.
I cannot say enough good things about Ozzy. He boasts 10 years of experience, a well-maintained and luxurious vehicle (Mbogo) that my husband and I enjoyed to ourselves, and a fantastic personality that we loved interacting with for the entirety of our safari. We saw every member of the 'Big 5' and more. Food was delicious, and I consistently found myself looking around at lunchtime and feeling more spoiled than other tour groups. Ozzy was communicative, transparent, accommodating, and honest - we always knew the plan for the day and any input we had was implemented. We requested a last minute (literally the day-of) night safari that was organized with two quick phone calls, and we were given options on how we wanted to proceed with a few of the days. Our first day was in Tarangire National Park, and we immediately realized how knowledgeable Ozzy was about the history, environment, and wildlife in the park. After learning my favourite animal was the lion Ozzy kept his ear to the radio and informed us when he heard one was spotted - we ended up witnessing a lioness hunt a warthog on the first day. I was mindblown. Ozzy stayed and let us gawk and photograph the animals for as long as we wanted, even though I'm sure he's seen millions of zebra, wildebeest, and gazelles. We stayed in Maramboi Hotel 'Luxury Tent' (which is more of a cabin) Chatu, which had good food, a comfortable room, and we were able to spot mongoose and warthogs a stones throw away from the room. Our second day was in Lake Manyara National Park, and again Ozzy smiled as he pointed out many animals we would have otherwise missed. Ozzy was also a hero that day, coming to the aid of a private vehicle stuck in a mud puddle. He stopped to help without hesitation, and towed the vehicle out to many cheers from the passengers and other safari tour groups alike. It's such a warm reassurance to know that your guide is a genuinely good person, not just for money but because he has a big heart. We stayed in Escarpment Hotel cabin #14 for the night and again enjoyed a comfortable stay with beautiful views of Lake Manyara. We spent 2.5 days in the Serengeti and despite the size of the park and multiple days of rain, we saw cats (lions, cheetahs, leopards) every single day. We stayed in Nyota Hotel in the Serengeti (my personal favourite) and enjoyed phenomenal food, a comfortable room, water buffalo, hippos, zebras, and hyenas outside our cabin at night, great views and a generous happy hour (drinks for free). From there we travelled to Ngorongoro Conservation Area where we saw our final member of the 'Big 5', the rhino. I nearly cried, realizing that it could be the first and last time I ever see a rhino in the wild. Ozzy comforted me, explaining that rhinos in the crater are heavily protected by the rangers and are often seen with babies. We stayed in Karibu Lions Paw Hotel, which was my husband's favourite due to the cooler climate on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater. The views from the balconey were breathtaking, the food was yummy, and again we had the privilege of seeing an elephant right outside the dining area.
Ozzy taught us some conversational Swahili, and other staff made positive comments and exclamations when we used it. He also was very open about how 'mzungu pricing' can happen and told us how much he would pay for clothing, food, trinkets, etc. We enjoyed dinner with Ozzy on his time off, despite having friends in the other guides that stayed at the hotels, and got to know a little bit about his family and his life in Tanzania.
When Ozzy dropped us off at the airport, he helped us with our luggage and hugged us goodbye. I felt sad that we had to leave such a wonderful person and experience behind, but I feel so grateful for the memories Lion King Adventures and Ozzy gave us. I highly recommend this company and Ozzy (Mbogo vehicle) specifically. Our honeymoon was literally a dream come true, and it wouldn't have been possible without Lion King Adventures or Ozzy.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Isaac, is charismatic, flexible and willing! He was knowledgeable of the area. We saw the Big 5!
The safari itself has breathtaking views! Experiencing it with Ramja Safaris made the experience even more worthwhile. Isaac our guide was very experienced and timely. He arrived for each game drive on time and gave us facts about the animals we saw along the way. Our vehicle was fully stocked with water each time.
Steve coordinated the trip for us which gave us a sense of ease. He organized transportation to and from, and lunch on our return as well.
I highly recommend booking with Ramja Safaris! They are welcoming to everyone. Our group felt extremely comfortable because we knew we were in great hands.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience with Ligertravel, highly recommended
Our family booked a private 4 days tour to Maasai Mara with Ligertravel. From the beginning of consulting till the end of our safari, the communication was excellent. The response was quick and very helpful. They made everything so easy for us in Kenya. The tour guide and the driver James is awesome. He is so experienced that he will predict the where animals walk towards and we always get the best view of the animals. We saw so many groups of lions, two cheetahs and a leopard in one day. James is also a great driver. The tour is also very great value for money. Highly recommend.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tarangire National Park by Paul Grimaldi
The scenery is very varied, undulating, dramatic, barren, verdant. Plenty of wildlife. The Maasai are fascinating and their herds of cattle, goats or donkeys become a familiar part of the landscape.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Paul Grimaldi
From the rim of the crater it is hard to understand just how vast this are is. One may spot a few dots that may be animals but it can look pretty empty. Then, once down into the crater one sees that it is teeming with life. Wildebeest and Zebras roaming everywhere, hyenas, warthogs, hippos and dozens of species of birds. A fabulous environment.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Paul Grimaldi
We passed through this park briefly and did an evening drive so can say far less about this park than others. The scenery was lovely and there was wildlife stretching into the distance. The evening drive was less eventful.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by James Heald
I got to see everything I wanted to see and was very well looked after
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fascinating and friendly country with all you could want from a safari holiday.
We chose Tanzania because ‘everyone’ it seems goes to South Africa or Kenya yet there was reputed to be excellent chances of seeing the 'big five’ in this less visited country. I also consider where I go politically [where I spend my money] and whilst no government pleases everyone, Tanzania appears to be heading in a good direction. Our first visit to ‘Africa Proper’ did not disappoint in any way. We met so many friendly people - even those clearly relying on selling their goods to tourists were friendly whether or not we bought anything. Staff at lodges and resorts were wonderful. Food everywhere was excellent. For the reasons listed above we also wanted to book with a company based in the country so all our money goes there. Through Safari Bookings we found a tour by Safari Soles which was adjusted to suit our requirements - with a few days to visit Zanzibar. I could not praise Safari Soles more highly. Communication beforehand, nice mid-range accommodation a friendly guide with an encyclopaedic knowledge of all the fauna and flora and a proximity to most of the animals that was well beyond our expectations with perfect logistics throughout. We particularly enjoyed our ‘luxury’ picnic lunches with hot food, wine and proper plates etc. while many other groups were unpacking their cardboard packed lunches. And all for less money than half the time with a tour group based in the West - and ours was a ‘private’ tour. For ‘mid-range’ accommodation we were very happy; huge beds, plenty of space, nice en-suite facilities and a balcony in all the lodges and camps. More money spent on this would have been unnecessary since they were just overnight stays after long days. I’d advise if you have more money to spend - stay longer! I would also add that Tanzania is clearly a country of talent and enterprise. Souvenir items were more expensive than anticipated - although bargaining is the name of the game. But there is considerable artistry and with dollars to spend, one can purchase some beautiful things. We are recommending Tanzania to all our friends that express an interest in a safari and recommending Safari Soles as their tour company.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The wildlife is spectacular
I did a safari across the Serengetti. The accommodations and food was first rate and I saw some amazing animals including 2 black Rhinos. This is a tour that everyone should take in their lifetime
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I went on 3 safaris in Kenya - Ways of Africa was the best experience
Ways of africa felt the most prepared of any safari i went on. My guide spoke completely fluent English (not always the case in other safaris) and he made my experience INCREDIBLE. Would highly recommend Ways of Africa over any other tour company. They were very flexible to my needs and came with a well equipped, cooler van than the rest of the safaris I went on in Kenya.