SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome Kilimanjaro experience!
Luis was one of our guides when we climbed Kilimanjaro. It was an exhilarating experience. One that I will never forget. The trek is safe and the food is good. The safari that followed after we completed our climb was awesome too!
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
bad beginning, very good ending!
We went on a safari trip in northern Tanzania with 4 people (2 couples). The first days were disappointing, during booking we asked for an experienced guide, our expectations were high... We had a guide who got lost in Tarangire NP, he didn’t know the lodge where to take us, he had no binoculars with him, did not use radiocommunications with other guides... He was not an experienced guide. We waited for a while and gave him the benefit of the doubt, but it soon became clear that this guide could not give us the holiday we had in mind. The fourth day at noon I called the Matoke emergency number (easy travel) and told about our problem, then everything went very quickly. A new guide was arranged and within 2 hours Benedict was waiting for us at the gate of the Serengeti. We brought our baggage to another jeep, formalities were taken care of, this was of course a difficult time for our previous guide.
We ventured further with Benedict to Serengeti, to Mara river, Ngorogorocrater ... The safaris were great, Benedict really has eagle eyes, knows the area inside out and knows how to avoid the crowds, he’s very attentive and knows the tricks of the trade. Picnic lunch with wine ticks on the savanna, an excellent guide who showed us the real Africa and gave us dream moments. We are sorry that our trip had a bad start, but despite that we still had a great vacation. The manager of easy travel was sincerely concerned and we met him in the last lodge. We had a quiet and friendly conversation with him, providing clarity about the poor start of our vacation.
We continued our trip to Zanzibar for the next 3 days, upon arrival in Stone Town there was no one to pick us up, Matoke had apparently forgotten to inform the hotel that our flight was early, according to the hotel manager. We were not overwhelmed by Stone Town, the Indian ocean was very nice, we hired bikes, went snorkeling, but there was not much more to do in Zanzibar for us. After the great safaris, this part of our vacation was anticlimactic for us. Our heart is in the real Africa, the savannah and wildlife.
We are already planning our next trip, perhaps with easy travel. They have solved our problem quickly and efficiently and we now know where we can find the best guide: Benedict!
Thanks for everything! and hopefully see you soon!
Brigitte and Serge De Wolf
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
experience was great , communication was good , guides were very helpful and experience was great
safari did live up to expectations , communication was good and guides were timely , no issues.
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
we got exactly what was agreed
We experienced 11 days travelling with Katona Tours and Travel. Our guide was Richard. We can recommend their services. Our first plan was for 7 days and we were so satisfied, that we extended our trip by another 3 days. Richard was great guide, very helpful and kind. Jackie planned everything as we had required. Having a guided tour is reasonable solution in places like Uganda and Katona is definitely trustworthy choice. Ask for Richard as your guide:-)
Jiri Sana, CZE
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
courteous staff with extensive knowledge of the parks. They were really helpful and transparent.
Safari tour at lake nakuru and Masai Mara were as per our expectations, which were set and communicated to us in advance. The driver cum guide has ~20 yrs of cumulative experience in this field and it aptly reflects during the game drive and off that as well.
We booked our safari pretty late, just 4 days before travel but I think the travel operator did a good job in making best out of it. I would highly recommend them to anyone planning to travel kenya.
DK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent primitive 5 days safari Kenya - 3 different parks
7 people (age 18 to 58) - 5 days
Masai Mara Game Reserve, Lake Nakuru National park and Amboseli National Park
Sammy - our safari guide and driver was excellent.
The tents and tentcamps were primitive, in the nature, but OK - nice staff.
Some of the beds in www.enchorowildlifecamp.com at Masai Mara Game Reserve was not comfortable.
Food prepared by "our " chef in the tentcamps could be better.
We can recommend Deep Forest Safaris :-)
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Affordable Option
As a student working in Tanzania, I had very little money to work with, but wanted to have a decent break that was memorable and fun. I'm situated in the south, so I did the Southern Circuit (excluding Ruaha, because I already work there).
This was a fantastic service. The safari was excellent and I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone looking for a good value, professional and exciting experience. I am really glad that I chose this company and would happily choose to go on safari with them again in the future, pending a few minor adjustments. Nothing serious, but I would advise anyone going on a safari anywhere, with anyone to make sure that they explicitly tell the company what they do and do not expect of their guide. It is important to remember that you are in another country with different cultural values and norms, so be patient and understanding - realise that your standards and expectations may be different to those of others, and politely discuss them with your organiser/guide to ensure that there are no misunderstandings and everything goes smoothly.
The positives:
1. Food and accommodation was excellent! The guide made every effort to make a long and bumpy journey by road enjoyable. Having a few snacks for the road really made a huge positive difference.
2. Hippo Camp in Selous was beautiful. The staff were really friendly and did all they could to make guests comfortable despite having a few unexpected technical difficulties while I was there. I would highly recommend this camp to anyone.
3. The guide was very knowledgeable and did his best to answer my questions about plants and animals.
4. The vehicle was very comfortable and reliable.
5. The program was excellent, lots of game viewing time and the guide was kind enough to include some short stops in transit between parks for me to be able to talk to local people and learn more culturally when I told him that this was an interest of mine in addition to wildlife. So I really appreciated that.
6. The cost of the safari was very reasonable considering all that was included. I feel that I definitely got what I paid for and would recommend your safari business to others.
Thank you once again for a really enjoyable experience! Highly recommended.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I recommend Ecospecialist Tours for a straightforward, reliable, and reasonably good value safari
Review of Ecospecialist Tours Uganda; www.ecotoursuganda.com
5 day safari from Kibale – Murchison Falls and Budungo - Entebbe, Uganda, July 15-19th 2016
Ecospecialists tours Uganda organised a 5 day, 4 night safari for my family of four (two children aged 9 & 15), with most of the safari based at Murchison Falls (at the Murchison River Lodge – highly recommended, particularly for families). The company gave excellent value for money – prices 2/3rds quoted by most other larger operators – and are a small local, enthusiastic company that try hard. Arrangements were all conducted efficiently and clearly by email and 50% deposit for safari in advance all done safely and efficiently via bank transfer. Robert Kungujje, one of the owners of the company, created a custom itinerary for us and was also our driver and guide. Robert was friendly, very helpful, very knowledgeable about sites and mammals, and moderately knowledgeable as bird guide (enough to satisfy an infrequent or new visitor to East Africa). Travel was in a standard, perfectly adequate, pop-top safari minibus, well and safely driven by Robert. The safari itself was excellent: Murchison Falls is excellent for mammals, scenery and particularly birds, and Robert put together a good program to encounter the best of it. I recommend Ecospecialist Tours for a straightforward, reliable, and reasonably good value Ugandan safari. Prof. Will Cresswell, St Andrews, Scotland.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hello Driving!
Our guide was very kind, knowledgeable and an excellent driver. The animals were terrific. All of the lodging was great especially the Mipito Tent Camp - the only exception was an aiport hotel in Dar Es Alaam. Please be warned about what the actually itinerary will look like! I failed to understand that the morning and evening game drives would be preceeded and followed by very long drives through the Serengeti. Instead of being able to relax at a lodge or campsite, we spent 12 hours a day for three days in a safari jeep over very rough roads getting from one place to another and then slowing down for the game drive portions. It was awesome to see the vastness of the Serengeti and the animals - but a morning or afternoon break would have been welcomed. We tried to do both the Serengeti and the crater in one trip and I would suggest you only do one unless you have more than 4-5 days to spend on safari.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Pilanesberg Game Reserve by Harold Brown
Pilanesberg was my first experience visiting a game reserve. That was in 1998 and it was a nice experience. Many of the larger animals I saw were at quite a distance away so it wasn't like visiting Kruger, but I did see lions trying to chase down their dinner without success which was my only experience of the chase. So each experience can bring something new.