DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
"Nightmare"
Terrible experience. Totally disorganized. They don't even give you a receipt when you give them money, they didn't book the rooms they told you or the flights. Unreliable! They don't give you back a single euro of what they promised you. Rely on an agency that rather charges you more but doesn't screw you over because it ruins a beautiful experience.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
stunningly efficient
We booked our safari just one day in advance and everything worked out well. All things that you expect to belong to a safari were supplied.
Exzellent viewpoints for watching the animals, great informations about the Migration and the best spots to watch in quietness and with great patience.
Our guide, Julius Mhina, was friendly, patient, insisting on the nearest spots and always in touch with other guides to check, where the best sights for watching werde going to occure.
So the main dream, to watch animals so near, so quiet and so naturally came true.
Lots of more compliments to make, but the most important ones are given.
Thanks one more for all your guidance and help.
Absolutely magic, like many other things.
Asante sana
Wolfgang & Kirsten
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He was so fun and lively!
such an amazing experience! our tour guide was so fun and made the whole experience fun! would definitely recommend!
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience!
Great experience with a grear guide who was really nice and funny and would teach us Swahili. We saw a lot of animals and birds. The variety of snacks available onboard was great. Would highly recommend!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an experience completely beyond my expectations
I cannot recommend our safari guide Charles highly enough. To sum him up in one sentence: he consistently went far above and beyond both his official job scope and scheduled working hours for us.
Our itinerary stated full-day game drives ran from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., while half-day safaris were split into two sessions: 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Every single time, Charles gathered us 15 minutes to a full hour ahead of schedule and arrived at the viewing grounds well in advance. Wildlife is most active at dawn and dusk, so those extra early morning hours drastically boosted our chances of spotting animals in lively action.
Charles also knows all the perfect camera angles. On our second dawn outing, we captured a once-in-a-lifetime shot of giraffes framed against Mount Kilimanjaro. Sadly, the weather turned cloudy after that morning, and we never caught another glimpse of the mountain again. It was Charles who spotted the ideal vantage point and told us to get our cameras ready for that iconic composition.
He was incredibly proactive when tracking wildlife. At Lake Nakuru, we hoped to see the resident lion pride, so Charles scanned every direction nonstop, checking all 360 degrees of the bush. We came up empty-handed in the morning, yet he circled back to search twice more that afternoon. On our evening safari session, we spotted two male lions from the pride, and on our drive back to the lodge after dark, we stumbled across the entire family—tiny cubs mewling adorably beside the adults.
When we caught sight of an extremely rare black rhinoceros on a narrow track with no room to turn around, Charles reversed the vehicle hundreds of metres in one smooth go just so we could get an unobstructed look at the rhino.
He answered every single question we had with endless patience, explaining animal behaviour until everything clicked for us, and shared countless fascinating wildlife facts. Once he pointed out two bird eggs camouflaged perfectly against the dirt; we were stunned he could spot them instantly. He explained the mother bird had acted extremely territorial and aggressive, which tipped him off that she must be nesting nearby. By the end of the trip, we could read the savannah cues thanks to his lessons: if vultures are feeding, a lion pride has recently finished their kill nearby; if hyenas are feasting, lions and vultures have already picked over the carcass first.
Charles took immense responsibility for our entire safari experience. During our time in the Maasai Mara, he was determined to get us front-row views of the Great Migration. We waited for hours with no sign of the herds, and he hesitated for a long time—no one could predict exactly when the crossing would happen, and lingering indefinitely would mean missing out on other wildlife sightings. He compromised by driving us to the Kenya-Tanzania border for photos first.
As soon as he heard radio chatter that the migration herds were on the move, we could see his urgency. He kept checking if we’d finished our photos, and the second we climbed back into the vehicle, he sped straight to the Mara River. Even with dozens of safari trucks crowding the banks, he navigated us to an unbeatable viewing spot, and we watched the famous Heavenly Crossing (Mara River wildebeest crossing) in full glory. Right after that, we spotted two cheetahs as well.
That day we’d booked only a half-day safari, which was officially supposed to wrap up at noon. But once rare wildlife sightings unfolded, Charles prioritised letting us witness every animal before heading back to the lodge—we didn’t return until 2 p.m. Even after the extended morning session, we still headed out for our scheduled 4 p.m. afternoon safari, where we finally laid eyes on the last member of Africa’s Big Five: a leopard.
Charles never once pushed us to buy souvenirs or goods of any kind. On our drive back, when we brought up wanting to stop for handicrafts, he pulled over at a roadside rest stop and gave us honest shopping advice: no matter what price the vendors quote, our first move should be to cut their asking price in half at minimum. This honestly surprised me—when I hired a private driver in Morocco previously, the guide pressured us to spend constantly to earn commission.
One small, charming detail from our lunch stop on the return journey: we invited Charles to join us for a meal, but he said he needed to stay with the vehicle to guard our luggage. We asked if we could grab him anything to eat, and he initially said he didn’t need a thing. Only after we pressed him repeatedly did he admit he’d like a bottle of Coke, and after even more gentle insistence, he finally said he’d also appreciate a hamburger.
All in all, this Kenya safari trip vastly exceeded every expectation we had. We were incredibly fortunate to tick off the full Big Five, observe a complete lion family with adorable cubs, and thanks to Charles’ quick, decisive driving, witness the awe-inspiring Great Migration and Heavenly Crossing. I cannot recommend this guide enough to anyone traveling to the Kenyan savannahs.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The worst… African Marvel Tours
I did my Safari in Tanzania exactly one year ago. It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had regarding lodging. African Marvel Tours, touted a luxury camping situation, which upon arrival, had no idea and no reservation for me. Once an inferior accommodation was made for me, I discovered that there was not a drop of running water for handwashing, toilet, shower, etc. The situation was dire, and Staff and African Marvel Tours did nothing to alter the situation. After one year, after many, many many attempts of receiving a refund, I continue to wait after a promise that I would be sent money to my account. Dealing with African Marvel Tours has been the absolute worst. There is no good communication. Calls emails, etc. are not returned. There are promises made, and no promises kept. Avoid this company as there are so so many out there which will deliver luxury camping to The highest level. Everything where I stayed was sub standard, which includes all pitiful food. The food was absolutely unappealing and disgusting. No matter what is offered to you, please do not trust your Safari. To these people they are unethical, corrupt, and criminal.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Committed & professional
Had an amazing experience visiting Masai Mara & Amboseli with them with my friends in June.....They are committed & professional & ensure your trip to be a memorable one.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Africa Experience
We booked our trip to Victoria Falls ( Zimbabwe) ,Kruger National Park and Cape Town (South Africa) with Safari .com and our trip was this past month.
We were fortunate to have agent Sara Van Coillie plan our whole trip.Sara is an amazing,knowledgeable and patient advisor.,who assisted with all bookings and even helped us make changes to our trip dates due to some unforeseen circumstances.She drafted the perfect itinerary while providing us with options.
We also had the opportunity to meet her in CapeTown
From the lodges to the day trips to airport pickup and drop offs…everything was meticulously planned .
All the staff and guides at both the lodges we stayed at were warm and the hospitality was exceptional.
We felt completely safe and well taken care of throughout our trip!
Sara even made it a point to have the lodges do something special for my husband’s 50 th birthday
We highly recommend Safari .com and especially travel agent Sara!… it was absolutely worth it…Africa now has our heart and we had the experience of a lifetime!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They were helpful, quick with responses, accommodating, and kind.
This safari company is grand! They tailored a safari vacation to fit our budget and everything ran smoothly. Our guide, Jonathon, was excellent. We saw every animal we wanted and up close, too. Can't recommend highly enough.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AWESOME SAFARI !!
The tour guides were awesome- very knowledgeable and fun! I loved the snacks and meal & drinks that were included. We saw elephants SOOO close to our car I could’ve almost touched them.
Definitely recommend!
