BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Verry good tour operator
Wild life is verry good.
Accomodation could be better.
Service off accomodation in Englisch is poor.
Driver is exelent.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great organization!
We didn't have to worry about nothing. We just had to enjoy our vacations in beautiful Namíbia.
Dunas Safari arranjed the car hiring, lodges ( very well chosen) and the best tips for what to do in the short period of time we had.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
familiy trip to tanzania
After crossing the country by tazara train , we needed to start our safari from mbeya. Umang made a excellent and custom-made organization for a trip to ruaha and selous responding exactly to our need. Lots of great nature and animals... We've seen everything and very close. I recommend also the breathtaking Sundown at Hilltop Lodge at Ruaha. Just silence and Africa...Experienced guides, nice lodges, adventure and each park offers it's own unique experience. And the southern curcuit is not crowded. Anyway, a great experience for me and a rally good time for us as a familiy...Thanks to Umang.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Good guide, very competitive prices
Initially we had language problems on telephone, expecting to go to Ngorogoro Crater, whilst when we arrived tour was for Mgorogoro area!
However it worked out very well visiting Mkumi and Nsungwa. seeing all the animals we wanted to, and the Colobus monkeys as a bonus! Alfonce our guide was very good, and a very good driver. The accommodation was budget but clean and food was good.
With the short time we had, James had worked out the best tour for us! Thank you!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Aberdare National Park by Russell
We were only there for one night, so did not get enough time to assess the area properly. That said, The Ark was a very special place with its own watering hole. We saw a limited number of animals, but the proximity to those animals, and photo opportunities, were excellent. Bird life was abundant first thing in the morning and towards sunset. The biggest regret of our safari was that we wish we'd have stayed at The Ark longer. One down side to The Ark as a safari destination is that you can't travel around the area in search of wildlife, so what you see is what you get. It is very much down to luck what you see.
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
We met Kilele through a friend of friends (her job is to organize upscale safari – so not for us), so it was relaxing not to be afraid of being cheated, as we had read on the internet from other travellers.
Frank successively offered several options until we find the most suitable for our desires, our budget, our planning, with good advice on the relevance of the course, the length of the steps, where to sleep, etc. ... (for example, an unforgettable walk with a Maasai guide close to the Lake Natron flamingos and through maasai villages).
We were able to talk both in French in English with Frank (but only in english with the driver and the cook).
So we visited (in 8 days) Tarangire > Natron > Serengeti > Ngorongoro parcs while camping (except one night in a lodge in Ngorongoro because of the cold), in a nice atmosphere (good vibrations with the driver and the cook, a good opportunity to learn more about Tanzania, learn some Swahili, ...).
Despite our initial reservations (for economic reasons), a safari with a qualified driver-guide really is a good bet: he knows where to find the animals while you only see a bunch of savannah, he can identify and explain the wildlife, and, most important, communicate (in Swahili) with other drivers in the park to find the best spots at a given time.
All equipments were in good condition (4x4, tents, sleeping bags, lamps, tables, chairs, ...)
Food was good and quite elaborate, given the material conditions, with a strong Tanzanian touch (we saw other tourists eat super standard stuff not appetizing).
Nous avons connu Kilele par une amie d’amis, qui organise elle-même des safaris haut de gamme (donc pas pour nous). Ça nous a mis en confiance (je pense à tous les récits d’escroquerie trouvés sur internet).
Frank nous a successivement proposé plusieurs formules, jusqu’à ce que nous trouvions la plus adaptée à nos envies, notre budget, notre planning, avec de bons conseils sur la pertinence du parcours, la longueur des étapes, l’endroit où dormir, etc… (par exemple, une journée de marche inoubliable avec un guide massaï à l’approche des flamants roses du lac Natron et à travers les villages).
Les échanges se sont faits en anglais et en français avec Frank, et en anglais avec le chauffeur et le cuisinier.
Nous avons donc visité (en 8 jours) les parcs Tarangire > Natron > Serengeti > Ngorongoro, tout en camping (sauf une nuit en lodge au Ngorongoro en raison du froid), dans une ambiance sympa (très bon contacts, en anglais, avec le chauffeur et le cuisinier, l’occasion d’en apprendre plus sur la Tanzanie, d’apprendre un peu de swahili,…).
Malgré nos réticences initiales (pour des raisons d’économie), faire un safari avec un chauffeur-guide qualifié est vraiment un bon plan : il sait trouver des animaux là où nous ne voyons que de la savane, les identifier, expliquer leur mode de vie, et communiquer par radio en swahili avec les autres chauffeurs dans le parc pour trouver les meilleurs spots à un instant donné.
Tout le matériel était en bon état (4x4, tentes, duvets, lampes, tables, chaises,...)
Les repas étaient bons, souvent assez élaborés pour des plats cuisinés sur place au camping, plutôt couleur locale (on a vu d'autres touristes manger des trucs ultra standard pas appétissants).
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime to Serengeti and Masai Mara
Our service from Carel at Discover Africa was outstanding. His recommendations on the timing of our trip, the lodges we should book, communication and overall assistance ensured that our trip went off very smoothly and that we were in the right place at the right time.
Discover Africa would certainly earn 5 stars from us, if their back office support in Cape Town was as good as Carel's service when we needed their assistance in Kenya.
I would happily recommend Carel Verhoef and his excellent service anytime. Thank you for a fantastic trip.
AE
from pick up at airport..thru the whole tour and drop off at our hotel..it was amazing.thank u guys
Way beyond expectations.totally content and happy
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The safaris was excellent, we saw the most important wild animals.
The safari was organised according to my budget. Thanks to Gichmak safaris.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Getting first class treatment for 2 while on guided safari to 4 parks in Kenya and Tanzania.
First off, I would give a rating closer to 4.5 Stars but that was not an option. Please read all of this.
Excellent communication and responsiveness via pre-travel emails. Elected to pre-pay for most of the trip but had to cover the PayPal charges as credit cards were not accepted. Costs were generally as expected except for short notice on upcharge due to stated increase in park fees. Tour operator must have included a small service charge on the balloon ride as other passengers stated their rate was a bit lower than ours. Despite the high cost, the Masai Mara balloon ride was one of the highlights of our trip. It might have been even better in the Serengheti with all the herds below. My emails led me to believe that our contact person, Allan, would be our guide. While we only met Allan briefly in Nairobi, the tour guides he set up for us were each very knowlegible of the wildlife and helped us log down the various species we observed. Each took time to find the animals we wanted to see the most and were patient while our cameras clicked away. After having the private group trip for me and my wife, I am not sure I would ever be happy with a larger group might be OK with 4 people if all are family. Our guides were required to change as we crossed the border and our desire to do Masai Mara as well as the Tanzania parks resulted in a long transit day over some fairly rough roads. Tanzania park roads and highways were smoother but there were more restrictions on venturing off road. We had a Toyota Land Cruiser for the Kenya safari and an older Land Rover for Tanzania. The drivers knew the limitations of each 4-wheel drive vehicle which for the Land Rover meant knowing how to restart it - including a push start from another vehicle at one point. While boldly driving us to key photo ops, they were careful not to get us stuck. Lodgings were top notch and dinner options plentiful. Lunches packed for day-long safaris included plenty of food. Right after corssing into Tanzania, we stopped at a hotel restaurant for lunch. Because of the length of travel that day, I would suggest a box lunch for that trip to save an hour or so of travel time. In general, the people of both countries were friendly, overly so in the case of the Masai women reaching their crafted wares into the vehicle window as we waiting to pass through the gate into the lodge, and smiled as the foreigner passed by. There were a few that seemed less than thrilled woth our presence but we never felt threatened. Security and protection for dangerous animals was given high priority for all our lodging. Mandatory escorts were required when returning to our room from dinner after dark as African buffalo are known to approach to drink from the swimming pools. As the title of this review reads, it was first class, especially the level of accomodations. The wildlife viewing was fantastic and we were blessed to see the Big Five before we got out of our first park. Despite my deet insect repellent, I still received a couple of Tse Tse fly bites through my socks at my ankles. Overall, we didn't have an issue with mosquitos and had protective netting around our beds. Hearing the animal noises (monkeys mostly) as we nodded off the sleep was quite an experience.
This was definitely the trip of a lifetime and I hope many others get to experience it. While I am sure there are many other trustworthy tour operators out there, I can highly recommend Back of Africa to assure you a great safari experience.