IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice experience, but critical points (management of time, communication, food)
Nice experience, although with some critical points. Communication before departure (we booked the safari online, before arriving to Tanzania) was very good: Masha promptly replied to all our (several) questions, although during the safari we discovered that some points were not so accurate (e.g. I asked information about electricity in the camps, and I was told that it was available in all them; but in 2 places there was no way to charge batteries and mobile phones.. I think this information is important and should be mentioned before). We enjoyed our gamedrives, although we were quite disappointed by their duration.. by reading the program you cannot really perceive how much time you will spend in the camps, especially for breakfast/dinner breaks.. many times, we noticed that we were the last to leave in the morning and the firsts to come back to the camp (also, one morning we asked our guide to leave 30min before - NB. everyone else left at 6.30-7.. we were told that we had to be ready for breakfast at 7.30, so we could leave only more than an hour later, when the cook had finished recollecting all his things - in order to have more time to try to see the most difficult seen animals of the big 5 - in the end, we could see only 3 of them -, but we were told that the cook needed more time to prepare breakfast and our lunch boxes, so it was not possible.. another time, because of an error in the office, we had to wait for a person coming to the gate of the Ngorongoro crater and pay for the entrance fees, which caused a 30-60min delay (we didn't see the rhino, and I know you have to be lucky to see animals, but by loosing time in this way certainly doesn't help). On the other hand, both the guide and the cook were very kind. Finally, one very important thing should be mentioned: after the last dinner we had we got both sick, probably because of the meat or some other foods which had not been properly preserved during the 5 days of the safari. I know we opted for the budget option, but we still spent more than $1000 per person, so, honestly, we expected more.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I would not use this company again
I did not enjoy my safari with this company. The schedule they give you is not the actual schedule you will do. Once they have your money and you are actually on safari, your driver will tell you that the schedule the company gives you doesn’t actually matter. Most days, I would spend about 2 hours actually doing safari stuff (though some days would be more). The rest of the day would typically be spent in a cramped van driving to pick up new passengers. The drivers don’t actually work for the company, they are more like free-lance drivers that take people from different companies. The drivers want to get the most people so they can get more money. So you will drive to place 1, then to place 2, and then back to place 1 to pick up more people. Thus, you spend a lot of time driving the same highways (not on safari) to get more people. When I emailed and complained about this, they replied by stating, “Kindly have the spirit of adventure.” Driving back and forth on the same road in a cramped van is not the “spirit of adventure” I envisioned for my safari. I would use another company, or I would consider just heading to Nairobi and negotiating a much better price there. If I would have done that, I would have saved a ton of money and probably had a better experience.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A promise not fulfilled
Victoria falls are breathtaking and definitely worth the trip. The way to reach them needs carefull attention though. Being stuck in an airport for a full day, we have been initially supported by Falcon in a correct way. However, we got the promise in the bus, in front of other witnesses, that the safari day to Bostwana (which was cancelled due to shortage of time) would be refunded. Guess what, back home this was no longer the case. While Falcon Safaris seems to have been very responsive, this no longer existed when money was at stake, and we got no refund for hotel and not for the safari, while the later had been promised, otherwise we might have chosen to sacrifize the cruise on the river. I had paid in advance the park entrance. I can only recommend, pay the minimum in advance. It's when you have troubles that the average and the great can make a difference. The refusal for any further discussions was also disappointed.
Last point, not entirely disconnected to the experience on this trip and not the fault of Falcon Safaris: don't be foolish and pay more thinking you get safer with South African Airways. Worst experience ever: lost the luggage, delayed and missed the connexion without any apology, 4 hours, yes 4 hours of fight to get a boarding pass for the flight on the next day.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A good safari (but with disappointments!)
Prior to our safari we spent much time studying the northern wildlife parks to make our perfect safari itinerary. Michael Ndallo from Northern Circuit Adventure could offer us the perfect safari trip according to our plans, 5 days and 4 nights camping. However, on departure day when on our way to begin the safari, Michael Ndallo informs us that he has changed the agreed itinerary without noticing us - to fit more people into the group. By doing this he left us no choice but to go on a safari which was not what we had planed.
Our driver and guide, Masha, did an excellent job through the entire trip, he is a bomb of information regarding wildlife and nature in Tanzania. We always felt very safe and comfortable in his company. He delivered game drives of highest quality. Our chef, Rodriguez, shared with us his good cooking skills, varying between traditional and European food.
Camping on the second night our equipment was wet from rain. The mattresses and sleeping bags were so dripping wet we were able to squeeze water out of them. Waking up the 3rd day with freezing cold bodies and wet underwear, this was not how we imagined camping. The day was spent sleeping and feeling ill in the safari car - a ruined safari day. All other days camping facilities were fine, except the matresses kept being squeezingly wet and the sleepingbags humid.
Before reaching the first park on the 1st day the brakes of our safari vehicle broke down, why we had to spent time in the mechanics. During the five day trip we had a flat tire four times and in addition to this we had to spent time in a police check point, because the tires were in so bad condition the police would not allow us to continue. Finally when ascending the Ngorongo Crater the battery of the vehicle caused problems and we had to make another stop. Michael Ndallo is a great guy, we enjoyed his always happy attitude and eagerness to help us with flight tickets to Zanzibar after our safari. He came to pick us up upon arrival to Arusha and was awaiting us when returning from the safari.
In summary: If you want to support a local Arusha company Northern Circuit Adventure is a choice. If you have spent time making an itinerary and you have a signed contract, do not expect Michael Ndallo to respect it. Bring your own sleeping bag if you want to stay warm. For lost time in the safari, e.g. the day after our wet night, Michael Ndallo refunded us 30USD, to be spent on a night in his partnership hotel, equal to less than 2% of the total amount paid. Additionally we spent very much unnecessary time with a broken car and learned how to change tires. In contrast to this our guide did the best game drive we could ever imagine, the food was above average and the atmosphere good. Safari is about seeing animals and so we did to a maximum.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Trip, But Very Unprofessional
First I'll start by saying that we had an amazing trip, saw many animals, our drivers were good, and Big Time was much cheaper than the other safari trips that I read about online.
However, I'm rating them a 2 because if you sign up with Big Time, you should understand what you may be getting into. They are slightly dishonest, and they consistently try to get more money from you.
It started by us agreeing to a 9 day safari online in advance of our trip. When we got to the Big Time office, we paid, but they made us pay an extra 5% to use credit card... And they do not accept checks. So they immediately violated the contract we agreed on, but after arguing, there was nothing we could do, because our whole trip depended on this safari, and we had no backup plan. So we paid extra.
Then, we learned that our 9 day safari was actually 2 smaller safaris with travel days in between. And despite the contract saying "all meals and hotels/campsites are included in the 9 day safari price," they made us pay extra for our hotel and meals in between the 1st and 2nd safari. They also charged us $20 if we wanted to use their sleeping bags at the campsite, when bedding was supposed to be included.
Now here comes the most ridiculous part. We were encouraged to change our safari plan by a Big Time manager instead of the one we originally decided on. We finally agreed to do the change. After we arrive from completing the safari, he says that we need to pay extra for changing the route! When this was never mentioned to us before! He even threatened to take the money that “we owed” out of the driver’s paycheck if we would not pay. It was completely unprofessional.
To sum up the experience, the actual safari was wonderful. Our drivers were very nice, and the vans were full (8 person van for safari #1 and 4 person van for safari #2), but we still had great views. However, the management uses too many sneaky tactics to get you to pay extra.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Let down
We used Land and Lake to take us on a 3 day safari to South Luangwa and while there were no problems with the lodge or the safari drives, Land and Lake let us down on both transport and also failed to communicate with the lodge. 30 minutes outside of Lilongwe we broke down and had to spend over 2 hours by the side of the road while a replacement vehicle was brought out. On the way we met up with another Land and Lake vehicle that had broken down the day before. We arrived at the lodge after almost 8 hours after leaving and missed an hour of our afternoon drive. The lodge (not a part of Land and Lake) and the manager were superb but dietary requirements of half of our party were not passed on to them. Land and Lake have proved unreliable and although I would use the lodge again I would not use or recommend Land and Lake.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poorly organized and executed two day safari
The safari started with the driver picking us up one hour late. the truck was one that appeared to be from the 60s.... parts of the car were falling off as we drove, there was no air conditioning, the engine was smoking, we had car problems, the driver spoke very poor english, and when getting to the game reserve told him we owed him extra money. It poured rain on the way home (a 6 hour drive) and because the car was so poorly functioning, it also rained inside the car and we got soaken wet. The hotel we stayed at was also very sketchy. They advertised air conditioning but the one in my room was broken, the shower barely worked with just a trickle coming out. Overall, not a good experience.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very old jeep
Jeep very slow, very old (20 years), that did not work well (the engine would not start). It 'a shame to have a ruined a trip so nice.
RO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Never again with Lilac Adventures Limited from Kenya, known also as East Africa Holidays!
We contracted them for a safari in Kenya and Tanzania in July 2014. In Tanzania our fundamental rights have been put at risk by being forced to drive in the dark, to remain without fuel in the savanna, very far from the lodge, just before the sunset, to be forced to use a broken and technically precarious and unsafe car and so on. To any of our or driver phone calls it was no answer from the company! We can easily say: we have been abandoned!
During the 4 days for which we paid luxury conditions, we experienced hours of waiting at the border for the car that was supposed to transfer us to the first location, one day without food, no visits at the Maasai village in Serengeti, no visit to the Old Uvai, although both included in the safari cost, and all in all, the game drives rendered to us could be counted as lasting only for one day instead of the four we paid. We have been spent the rest of the days waiting for payments never done in time or for repairing the car or even worse waiting for someone to tow the car without fuel in the middle of nowhere, but plenty of wild animals ready for hunting!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
not well-organized and put me into cheaper hotel than what was quoted in the itinerary
I did a two-week Kenya and Tanzania safari with Kairi Tours in late Sept 2014. (My agent tour is Java Africa Safaris Ltd, but then I found out everything was arranged through Kairi Tours & Safaris Ltd. ) There were some dramas that never happened during my other international trips. When my flight arrived in Samburu, there was no driver to pick me up. The Safari Link pilot had to stay with me for more than one hour in a hot stuffy plane in a dry and windy desert-like wilderness. He was so kind not to leave me along since there were animals all around the air strip. The driver finally turned up after the pilot had to fly away and leave me with a local gun-carrying soldier. It was such a horrible wait under the sun, sweating with dust on my face. Then when I arrived in Tanzania, their tour agent in Tanzania put me into a much cheaper and much lower quality camp site instead of the lodge I booked in my itinerary. They also tried to change my activities to suit their profit without following the itinerary. So basically, every morning before the car started, there would be an argument after I was suddenly notified that I couldn't go to the place as listed in the itinerary. This experience totally spoiled my fun for my Africa safari tour. I have been asking them to provide refund for cost difference between the quoted lodge and the cheap camp site lodge. But they have kept ignoring my request. I would say if anyone making a good comment on this tour company, it would be their pure luck.