35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable Tanzanian safari (Dec 28 – Jan 10)
Our safari in Tanzania from December 28 to January 10 was truly one of the most memorable experiences of our lives, and a big reason for that was the incredible team behind it.
From the very beginning, Douglas from Safari Soles was phenomenal. While we were still in the US, he helped us plan every detail of the trip with care and precision. He provided extremely helpful guidance on immigration, vaccinations, and entry requirements, and made sure all restrictions and logistics were handled smoothly. Thanks to Douglas, everything felt seamless and stress-free even before we landed in East Africa. The planning was thoughtful, thorough, and perfectly tailored.
Eric was the first person we met on the ground. He picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel in Nairobi, and then drove us from Nairobi to Arusha, Tanzania. During the drive, he gave us our first real glimpse into East African life and culture. His warmth, stories, and local insights made the journey itself feel like part of the adventure.
And finally — and most importantly — Innocent Mushi, our guide and navigator. Innocent was simply extraordinary. Always kind, always smiling, and endlessly accommodating, he ensured we had the best safari experience we could have imagined. He handled a wide range of requests within our group effortlessly, always putting our comfort and safety first.
The vehicle was always spotless and fully stocked with everything we needed. Innocent has an astonishing knowledge of Tanzania’s wildlife — animals, birds, flora, and fauna — and could spot what felt impossible, like leopards hidden high in trees. He consistently positioned us at the best angles and viewpoints, made sure we were always well fed, and guided us with the confidence and expertise of someone who truly knows this land.
What stood out even more was his humanity. He often stopped to accommodate spontaneous requests not on our itinerary and even helped stranded passengers on the road, showing genuine kindness and care beyond his role. By the end of the trip, Innocent felt like family. I truly cannot recommend him highly enough — if you are doing a safari in Tanzania, you must work with Innocent Mushi.
After comparing notes with other travelers, we realized just how unique and exceptional our experience was.
Tanzania was recently voted the best safari destination in the world, and it’s easy to see why. We wholeheartedly recommend Safari Soles and are deeply grateful to their outstanding team — Douglas, Eric, and Innocent — for giving us an experience we will cherish forever.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari Experience – Highly Recommended
Thank you very much. You prepared the safari exactly as I requested. Everything is perfect. I highly recommend your service.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and Helpful
Our safari experience was quite wondrous. The Shamwari Reserve is a marvelous place. Other than some relatively minor issues regarding transportation, our experience was quite satisfying. We would happily and certainly use and/or recommend Safari.com again.
Very professional
Very professional team. Por driver Bosch was very pleasant. The experience was amazing. Highly recommended.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gaston was absolutely amazing!
Gaston collected us in two safari jeeps from Dar es Salaam and drove us to Mikumi national park. We stopped on the way to experience and find out more about the Masai people in a village near by the park. Afterwards we stayed at Bastian Camp and we had a two part day trip trough the national park! He always had cold drinks in the car. Looked after us, answered all questions and told us interesting facts. He was patient and always did everything we asked. He was very knowledgeable about the park and kept communicating with other guides so we can make the most of our time and see as many animals as we can. Thanks a lot for everything, I had the best time ever!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An incredibly accommodating private tour experience.
We arranged a private tour for three friends and were accompanied by our guide Lamesgn and our driver Abel. Overall both were excellent. We toured the tribes of the Omo Valley, which is pretty off the beaten path from other tourist areas of Ethiopia. With that came less infrastructure and less than comfortable accommodations, which was to be expected. We visited several tribes including the Dorze and Hamar tribes. The Dorze visit was the most engaging and interactive and fun, though having us dress up in tribal clothes was unnecessary. We spent a night camping with the Hamar tribe, which was a truly authentic experience (not so comfortable) but authentic nonetheless and the type of experience we asked for. Since it was Christmas night (Jan. 7) we experienced the sacrificing of a goat, and had dinner with the tribe before hunkering down in individual tents. We also visited the Karo and Mursi tribes which were interesting visits though more organized for tourists. One of the best experiences was a visit to the Hawasa fish market, where we learned about how the locals live off of the river and learned to make Ethiopian sushi. This experience happened because Lamesgn listened to our wanting more authentic experiences not built for tourists. We also got to watch a Hamar tribe bull jumping ceremony.
We were not thrilled with the food options for most lunches and dinners as these were at hotels. The menu was always the same, with mostly westerner options. That might be what many want but we wanted authentic Ethiopian, which we got on the last night in Arba Minch - a fun local place with a great vibe!
Most hotels we stayed in were ok - maybe a level 2/3. Electricity and water were spotty, which was to be expected in such a non-touristy area. The last night in Arba Minch we asked to change hotels to the Haile Resort, which was heaven on earth after 6 days of “roughing it”.
At all times Lamesgn did his best to make sure we were happy and comfortable and made changes to the itinerary as needed. Southern Ethiopia is dusty, bumpy, and filled with flies but as a well traveled group we could not have asked for a better guide and driver. This area of Ethiopia is very interesting and beautiful in areas. Overall a good experience but it’s not going to be for everyone.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Affable made our trip to Kenya an absolute amazing time
We had an amazing time with the Affable team while in Kenya and Tanzania. Communication before the trip was thorough, and being a group of five, we able to tailor a unique experience that fit into our interests, time frame, and just as importantly, budget! When our plans also included Tanzania, they took care of the logistics there as well, which eased our minds immensely. Our week with Steve as our driver was lovely. He is an endless font of knowledge, we learned so much more than just about the incredible animals. Hosking and Thomas were invaluable before, during, and after our time in Kenya and Tanzania, making us feel welcome and safe at all times.
If we are fortunate enough to make it back to Kenya, or anywhere in the region, we will be sure to use Affable Tours again!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A memory they made we will treasure forever
Absolutely unforgettable safari with Kilickimb, we did the Carter and tarangire and it was breathtaking. The lodges advised were amazing. The food served at lunch was not what you would expect on a safari. Moses went above and beyond and Logan our guides exoeryise and warmth and amazing knowledge made every moment a memory we will turkey treasure forever. I would recommend Kiliclimb 1000%!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Zambezi Quest Travel and Tours provides a well-organized safari with friendly, knowledgeable guides
My friend and I traveled to Zimbabwe and Botswana for about a week with Zambezi Quest Travel and Tours, and it was my first time experiencing a safari. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and memorable trip.
The company arranged airport transfers and other logistics, so everything went smoothly from the beginning. Our tour guide, Brighton, was friendly and knowledgeable, and he helped make the safari experience even more enjoyable. The game drives were amazing, and seeing wildlife up close for the first time was truly unforgettable.
There was a small misunderstanding regarding the national park entrance fees during one of the game drives, but it was eventually resolved. Aside from that, everything went well.
The Boma dinner show was a lot of fun, and overall we were very satisfied with the safari experience and the trip as a whole. It was a great journey, and we’re glad we chose this tour for our first safari.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our Dream Tanzanian Honeymoon
My husband and I got married in September 2025 and were toying with many locations for our honeymoon. We are from the UK which is renowned for its damp weather; this was our only specification for our honeymoon at this point… somewhere sunny and hot!!! Europe in September is pleasant, but not as warm as we would like for our honeymoon. In came the wonders of Chat GPT… “where should we honeymoon in September if we want sunshine and heat?”
“TANANZIAN SAFARI”
We had never thought of a safari. The closest we have been to wild animals is at our local zoo. We were up for a huge adventure and something totally different so thought, why not?! However, we were totally overwhelmed with where to start. We had so many questions. Is it safe? Where in Tanzania should we go? Who is going to be our safari tour operator? Where are we going to stay? Imagine if we arrived and everything we booked was all a scam? What if we are 4500 miles away from home with no where to stay?! We rapidly went off the idea. The most we had ever planned was a trip to NYC!! But there was an itch we could not scratch with the idea of a safari… it was such a big trip and would be very fitting for our honeymoon. I said to my husband “I’m going to Google ‘luxury safari honeymoon’ for ideas, but we obviously won’t go with anybody as it’ll be too expensive”. That’s when we found Tailormade Africa. Their website seemed too good to be true… a UK-based company would actually plan our whole trip for us?? At no extra cost?? This must be dodgy. We looked at the reviews and my goodness, they spoke for themselves. In hindsight, they were all so accurate too! We scheduled a chat with Rob, just to ask some questions and see how feasible it could be.
Rob’s confidence on this topic was obvious from the get-go, which put us at great ease. Nothing seemed impossible and Rob was full of amazing ideas and suggestions. We ended the call feeling excited and reassured. We went away and had a think about what Rob had told us and scheduled another call to start organising our trip. The conversations we had whilst organising our trip with Rob were in-depth, never rushed and easy to understand. We didn’t feel overwhelmed at any point of the process. Rob’s confidence started to seep into us and with the help of Rob’s suggestions and own experiences, we organised things that were way out of our comfort zones and would never have booked for ourselves if it wasn’t off the back of Rob’s recommendation. Thank god we listened to him because we now have the experiences of a lifetime under our belt.
A few highlights of our trip that pushed us out of our comfort zones included:
- staying in tented camps as our accommodation, as opposed to lodges
- hot air balloon over the Serengeti
- staying on a remote island (Pemba)
- entertaining the idea of going somewhere with no wifi!!!
We totally relied on Rob’s recommendation for everything and very much went with the flow. Rob put together a document of all our different options and with that, we tailored our trip around cost and level of luxury. Rob has some amazing contacts and the places that we stayed were just incredible. The views were amazing. The food was very, very good. The people were sensational. The rooms/tents were perfect. We ranged our accommodation from tented camps, to bungalows, to luxury rooms at Four Seasons, to seafront Villas in Pemba.
Our itinerary included:
- 10 nights on Safari (staying in Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Highlands, Central Serengeti)
- 1 night in Stone Town, Zanzibar
- 7 nights in Pemba
Whilst we were in Tanzania, Rob was contactable at all times should we need him. 9 times out of 10, we only made contact to show Rob what we were up to and that he was right all along… that we were going to have the best time!!!
We had so many questions in the run up and all the team at Tailormade Africa were patient, more than helpful, and very understanding.
I could go on and on about our experience with Rob and Tailormade Africa. All I can say is that Rob and his team designed the perfect trip for us and made our honeymoon exactly what we dreamed of and more. We put all of our faith and trust into them and they did not disappoint. Our photos speak for themselves and show just a smidgen of the amazing experiences we now have. What a way to start married life!
Thank you Tailormade Africa. We always said “we will go big with this trip as we will never do it again”… and now, we are thinking, shall we visit Zambia or Botswana next?!
