US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tarangire National Park by Lee Ann Parden
This is a much smaller park, we enjoyed it, but I would probably skip this park next time. I think it's worth seeing at least once.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Omar was the best guide you can have. Energetic, funny, and very educated
Omar was a great guide and the driver Ramazan was also very good. Both of them together helped us find the main animals before the rest of the group. The game drive is long so it helps that Omar has good energy and he understands what the guests are looking for the most.
As far as communication goes, the organization was very good. The taxi ride, plane ticket, and the accommodations were well communicated. They respond quickly and answered the phone.
We paid about $650 per person for a 2 days safari and I think it was well worth it. Other companies are around $1000 per person. The breakfast was not so great, but lunch and dinner were very good on the safari. We all enjoyed the food more than some restaurants in the city.
I’d rate the reliability very high, mainly because on the game drive there are a lot of things that can go wrong quickly. Since Omar and Ramazan are very experienced they often help other drivers out with issues as they arise. I will say that the car we drove in definitely needed to be serviced as it broke down on the way to the lodge 4-5 times consecutively. Our guides fixed the vehicle, but I think that car is definitely in need of proper repair.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
All promises were delivered
We enjoyed every single minute of our safari. The lodge recommended was absolute perfection, we were treated like royalty. South Luangwa National Park has amazing wildlife and everything scheduled ran as planned. Absolute satisfaction, except for the fact that our guide spent a lot of time texting on his cell rather than advising us on wildlife. He may have missed some elusive cats because he was more concerned with his personal cell.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our trip was wonderful
We traveled to Tanzania for the first part of our trip, staying in Moshi to do a day hike to the waterfalls, a village visit, and a day hike to Mount Kilimanjaro. The hike was hard, but such a great experience. Highly recommend this in your itinerary.
We then traveled to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, and the Northern Serengeti for the safari portion if our trip. Tarangire was beautiful and had so many amazing animals. Our guide was very thorough. The camp was a bit far from the park, but that is just something to keep in mind when deciding when you will leave to get back for meals, relaxing, etc. We then traveled to Lake Manyara. I do wish we had skipped this park as we did not see many animals besides monkeys and a few hippos in the water. Many of the roads were flooded and it was very crowded with cars, many of which caused traffic backups in the park.
Our guide in the Serengeti was also amazing. He was truly so knowledgeable. One of our favorite activities was the hot air balloon ride. It was breath-taking and such a surreal experience. We highly recommend booking this when in Africa.
For the last part of our trip, we visited Zanzibar. Stone Town was a lot of fun, especially in the evening, but we felt the walking tour was too long. Ours exceed 5 hours when it was supposed to be a little over 1.5. We were exhausted. The beach was perfect and relaxing and a nice end to our adventure.
The booking experience was good and pretty seamless. There were a few times when communication could have been better. I do think this is very important, especially once travelers have landed on the ground. The value for the money was good. We knew we wanted to make this trip amazing and we thank you all for your help in doing so. Wayfairer was reliable, had reliable guides, reliable accommodations, and was truly a pleasure to work with.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Value for the Price
Did a 7 Day Safari and was very nice. The accommodation were comfortable, plenty of food and friendly people. Saw all of the big 5 except Leopards The Safari guide was very knowledgeable of the animals and gave us excellent insight not only about the animals but also about the landscape and trees. Next time however I would do a shorter safari, after a while we were seeing the same animals. Still a nice adventure’
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great wildlife experts who provide all services for safaris
We toured Kenya - Amboseli, Naivasha, Nakuru and Mara with Dens of Africa, as Africa and its wildlife were on our wishlist for a long time. Charles, Sam and John were great guides and really good at spotting animals, predicting how they would behave and tireless in looking for different experiences in the bush. The resorts were top class, the experience totally amazing.
We exceeded our expectations and have lifetime memories to cherish.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Organised reasonably well but should have given more safari time in Serengeti and ngorongoro
The tour started with Tarangire safari which is a decent experience, with some large herds of elephants and buffaloes. We did see lions and giraffes. The stay at a resort on the way to Serengeti was ok. Serengeti was wonderful and the guide made every effort to take us wherever there were interesting sightings. The camp site at Serengeti was bearable at most and we spent just one night there. We could hear hyenas and a lion roar at night, which was quite exciting. The next half day is all we got at Serengeti though we did see a lion hunting a zebra. After a quick lunch we headed back towards ngorongoro. Considering the distance we had to cover both ways, the stay at Serengeti was far too short (you require at least 3 nights and 3 days for a relaxing Serengeti safari) . We reached ngorongoro before sunset. The tents, stay and the weather were very comfortable. The next half day is all we got (again too short) at ngorongoro. The park though small still requires a full day if you wish to relax and go around at your pace. There again it was found wanting as we just completed everything hurriedly. I feel the guide stopped at too many places on the way to the parks and we spent unnecessary time at stops. The operator (Makini) who organised the tour tried to squeeze in too many things in a short span. We could easily have skipped Tarangire and added another day to Serengeti. The food was great at times and mediocre at times. The guide and chef I would say did their best but as I said we moved too often from one place to the other leaving very little time for them to do their job properly and for us to relax. In the end we did cover a lot of distance which could have been avoided giving us more time for safari.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful country with quality hospitality
We visited Tanzania in the first week of October. The weather was great. We had one day of light rain, but otherwise it was sunny and warm (not too hot). We visited Tarangire (so many elephants!), Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti (of course). We were in Northern Serengeti and witnessed a river crossing -- spectacular! In retrospect, I probably could have skipped Tarangire. I wanted to make sure I saw elephants, but there were plenty in Central Serengeti. The roads in the parks are dusty! Be prepared.
We loved our guide, but we had some issues with our tour operator, who is based in Tanzania. I wanted to use a local operator, but I think that led to some issues regarding the payment process. I might stick with a domestic (for me) operator so I don't have to deal with international transactions the next time around.
The hospitality at all of our lodgings was excellent. Service was top-notch. Tanzania, specifically the Serengeti (in my opinion), is a must-visit at least once in your lifetime.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and good service
We did two safaris in Kenya with Morning Star Tours. One was a four day experience in Tsavo East and West. The other was a seven day experience in Amboseli, Nakuru, and Masai Mara. When planning this safari, I spoke with Dennis. He was very polite, helpful, and responsive. With his help I was able to curate a safari experience that included everything that we were interested in. Huge shoutout to our first driver Julius for making our experience unforgettable. He was kind and tried to help us spot as many animals as possible. I felt like Julius went out of his way to make it an amazing time. Our second driver Alex was very knowledgable about the parks and answered all our questions about Kenya. He also knew how to navigate the parks very well. I do have to say that the drivers are more focused on driving rather than being a guide, so keep that in mind. We did a private tour with the 4x4 land cruiser, which I recommend over a van. The vans get stuck sometimes and we even had to pull one out of the mud. There was a lot of driving involved because we saw so many parks so plan accordingly. We enjoyed the food as all the places offer a buffet style meal, so there are plenty of options to find something you enjoy. One important thing to note about the airport is that we thought we could arrive early and stay until it was time for our flight to leave. However, they will only let you in the airport about 2-3 hours before your flight. There is a cafe outside the airport that you can sit at, but it is uncomfortable and the wifi did not work well. Unfortunately, we did not know this ahead of time so we could plan accordingly. Overall, our experience was great, we got to see most of the animals we wanted and for a competitive price.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A safari is a must when in South Africa
We visited Cape Town first and stayed close to the new V&A development. Lots to see and do and lots of restaurants with superb mall. Moved to Hermanus and watched the whales frolicking in the sea just off the shoreline. No boat trip required. Then off to Kruger National Park. Private reserve in north of park called TOMORROW. Fantastic experience. Only 8 individual luxury units so only 2 tour cars. They share safaris with neighbouring private reserves and they all radio each other to get everyone the best experience. Our guide Gareth was unbelievable. He was friendly knowledgeable and spotted a lioness in the dark at over 30m away. How? No idea!! We saw all of the top 5 except Rhino. We saw a pride of lions just after they had hunted down a buffalo. Leopard being chased by a lioness who just climbed to the very top of the tree until she gave up. Gin and tonic out in the bush at sundown perfect. Food was gourmet level. Staff were outstanding. Thoroughly recommend this reserve for a fantastic time. We stayed 3 days 2 nights which was enough perhaps because Gareth enabled us to see the elephants leopards buffalo lions and cubs giraffes jackals hippos impala’s masses of different bird species and most importantly we did not have to queue at any time to watch the animals in their natural environment. Gareth was also very mindful of the environment we were in and took care not to intrude on the animals
