20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfectly organized tour with a fantastic team
We had a wonderful 10-day trip with Kingdom Ethiopia Tours. From the moment we arrived at the airport, the team welcomed us warmly with a beautiful handmade cotton scarf and a refreshing drink at the hotel, which made us feel very special.
Our journey started with an Addis Ababa city tour, including the famous Lucy at the National Museum, and then continued with an incredible tour across the country. Our guide Yilikal and driver Fresibat were extremely professional, knowledgeable, and friendly throughout the trip.
A special thank you to Biniam for organizing everything perfectly. The whole experience was beyond our expectations. We highly recommend Kingdom Ethiopia Tours to anyone who wants to discover the beauty, culture, and history of Ethiopia.
IT
Experience level: first safari
Highly recommended
Our safari with Wildebeest Footsteps Adventures was truly an unforgettable experience. Everything was perfectly organized from start to finish. Spending the night in the tented camp was absolutely magical, being surrounded by nature and the sounds of the African night is something we will never forget. A special thank you goes to Erick for his constant attention and kindness, and to our driver John, who was not only an excellent guide but also incredibly caring and attentive to every need throughout the trip. We also deeply appreciated their support when we encountered an unexpected small flooding on the road that could have caused us to miss our flight. They handled the situation calmly and efficiently and made sure we arrived safely and on time. We highly recommend Wildebeest Footsteps Adventures to anyone looking for an authentic and well-organized safari experience.
Thank you again for such beautiful memories.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Sweet arrangement from Splendid but mixed experience with the guide
We had an 11 day safari in Kenya, it’s such a wonderful adventure. Splendid did great in helping us with the arrangement and making sure everything connected smoothly. Our tour consultant James from the office was patient, reliable, and a pleasure to communicate with. I was a little nervous in the beginning paying the deposit when I’m not in the country yet, but the moment we landed in Kenya and were met by the James and the driver, we instantly felt relieved. The vehicle was in excellent condition—clean and tidy inside, spacious and comfortable, and fully equipped with charging ports and a fridge. Splendid even prepared special honeymoon decorations on the back of the car, which was a wonderful surprise for us. It attracted many smiles, friendly conversations, and congratulations along the way. It was clear that they had put a lot of thought and care into making the trip special for us. They had been quietly working behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly.
Although we had a very good experience with our tour consultant James, who was professional, reliable, and patient, our experience with our driver and guide James was mixed.
On the positive side, James is an experienced guide and very good at spotting animals. We weren’t focused on ticking off specific animals from a list—just encountering wildlife naturally was already a joy for us. But thanks to James’s excellent spotting skills, along with some good luck, we ended up seeing an amazing variety of animals and birds. James was also a good driver who always managed to get us arrive in time and drive smoothly even in the most bumpy conditions.
However, there are things we did not feel comfortable and behaviors that are unprofessional:
- About driving off-road: this is the dealbreaker experience that made us very unhappy. During our time in Masai Mara reserve, James asked for 200KSH to pay the rangers, I didn’t think too much and thought probably just rangers trying to make a living. But when it happened the second time in Mara Triangle it concerned me, and I did some serious research afterwards on driving off-road. When we were at the gate of Mara Triangle, James read the rules to us (not sure if its park requirement) and one of them was: cars are not allowed to drive off-road and not allowed to drive too close to the animals. In later conversations with different people, I learned that as a private conservancy Mara Triangle had strict rules and enforcements, bribing the rangers is unlikely to work here. We were seeing a cheetah along with a group of other cars and then saw the rangers coming to get the cars to move. James asked us for 1000KSH cash, saying everyone will have to pay. Instead of driving away like other cars, he drive towards the rangers and spoke Swahili that I don’t understand but the rangers seem serious and James also did not look happy. After the conversation James also drove us away. We did not see any official fine issued, receipt provided, or payment made directly to park authorities. Later, when we asked for the money back, James said that he dropped the money on grass through the window (when there’s a cheetah in close distance?) and other cars paid through m-pesa (how possible they know which ranger to pay?), if we don’t pay they will charge a huge fine, and said this is good for us… I just don’t feel he is being honest. If he is honest, then these people playing with the rules in the grey area is ridiculous. Neither is acceptable. It’s not about the money, but about honesty and integrity. If you’re a good guide we’re happy to pay you good tips, but trying to make money in a sneaky way is just not acceptable. Looking back, I felt guilting getting on the grass and getting close to the animals, if I was given the choice, I will for sure not do that. To us, integrity and honesty is more important than getting close to the animals. We hope guides could follow the rules, transparency and clarity could be ensured in such situations in the future.
- Being late: this is a huge red flag for a safari guide. James was on time for the first day when he came to meet and pick us up. But later, he was late most of the time and we rarely met at the supposed time. When he says we leave 7:30am , that probably mean 8am. There’re many times when we’re wrapping up with our breakfast close to our leaving time, we see James just coming for breakfast. I have to admit sometimes we’re behind a little bit, but we’re usually late within a 10min range. We pay for our guide’s time so the guide shouldn’t be the one to be late…
- My husband is a kind and gentle guy who is easygoing and always treats people nicely, but I feel our guide is taking advantage of it. James did not remember my husband’s name even till the last day (11 days and private car with just the two of us) and called the wrong name after multiple times of correction, it’s not a name in a different language but an easy English name, so he just did not want to pay attention.
- He was on the phone ALL THE TIME. Probably 50% of the times when we’re in the parks James is busy on the phone, we had to wait if we had questions about the animals. James is good at spotting animals but didn’t share much about animal knowledge, we had to keep asking questions. We kept asking so he started sharing more towards the end of the trip. He’s different from all the other guides we met during the safari (guides from hotels and parks during our visit), while others usually try to share as much as possible. This is probably just his style.
- Some times I feel confused if we’re the customer or our driver is the customer… most of the times we’re the ones waiting for him; he asks us to take pictures and asks us to send it to him. I feel I have these tasks assigned from him that I have to get done during my travel time. I’m happy with that, but there’s a line between being pushy and asking politely, and you know when the line is crossed, and if you ask for something from someone else, you’ll need to follow their timeline, instead of expecting them instantly.
- The binocular is by default in his hand, he not only asks for the binocular from us when watching animals (for him to take pictures from his phone) but also asks for our phone / camera for him to take pictures of the animals for us (and then asks us to send this this pics), I felt okay at first but uncomfortable with constantly doing so. It’s my experience, its only meaningful when the photos are taken from ourselves, so refused to do so later.
I hesitated for quite some time about whether to include these in the public review, but in the end I decided to do so. I believe people should be accountable for their actions, and sometimes only real consequences can lead to change. With all the aspects that we’re unsatisfied, we still left a good tip in the end—far more than the service level we were provided. We appreciate James' hard work and did not want him to feel that his efforts had gone unnoticed or unappreciated. However, the things that made us uncomfortable are something we hope the travel agency will take seriously.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable Rwanda Trip with Wonderful Service & Gorilla Trek
We had an absolutely incredible 3-day trip with Golden Safari that far exceeded our expectations! Rwanda is such a stunningly beautiful country, and every part of our arrangement was wonderful. The hotels were nicely arranged, the food was delicious, and the service was excellent throughout.
A huge thank to our driver Sufian from GS—he was an extremely safe and steady driver, and also incredibly thoughtful and responsible. Even when we made some last-minute changes to our schedule and itinerary, he and the whole team at Golden Safari tried their best to coordinate and accommodate us.
The gorilla trekking tour was truly an unforgettable memory of a lifetime. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Smoothest airport pickups and drop offs
Carson was especially timely and friendly. Got us safely to the airport with plenty of time. Along the way he was giving us fun facts and even helping us plan for our trip to Zimbabwe.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We were well informed on what to expect and were well taken care of!
We were hesitant on going to Serengeti because we didn’t know what to expect and pricing. But Upcountry Adventure made sure to communicate well and once we arrived there was zero worries. They picked us up from the airport and took care of every detail after. We stayed in Ndutu, Serengeti and Ngorongoro! We did a hot air balloon safari and the Camp we stayed at (Signature Luxury Tented Camps) made us a cake and celebrated us for staying 3 nights! Highly recommend to stay there ! All in all, Upcountry Adventure gave our family unforgettable memories that we never thought were possible!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very kind and accommodating
This was a wonderful experience! We were well taken care of and the company even accommodated for my Nana in her 70s. She had a great time! And we got to see all our favorite animals in Mikumi ! I definitely recommend Upcountry Adventure if you are considering doing Safari in Tanzania!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
She does an excellent job with the bookings
The trip to masai masa was really nice. We were able to have two game drives daily for our four day stay. The tour guide at The resort (Mara Serena) called Dedan was really good too
Safari lux also helped book connecting flights to Seychelles too and it was real value for money. The lady , sophy, was also kind and proactive in the planning processes. Most definitely will be back.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wonderful tour guide and a photographer's dream. A very special person.
This is a magnificent safari. A photographer's dream. Experience the wildlife in their natural habitat. Experience real African culture as you have never experienced before. Leave your own cultures behind. Have an open heart for this Safari. Daniel is a wonderful person who offers an experience and opportunity for almost all adventures.
He aims to give you the experience of a lifetime with your own photos as well. This is an adventure you will never forget. Hopefully you are inspired like never before this is one safari that should not be missed.
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best tour operator for wildlife lovers
It was a 6-day trip focused on wildlife, with many sightings of animals and birds, including the ellusive pangolin. Yes, on my first trip to the Kruger National park I had the privilege of spotting a wild pangolin, and we also spotted 4 leopards, which was one of my focuses since I work with jaguar sightings in the Pantanal.
The couple Ernest and Lucy are very attentive and experienced; they know what they are doing and can provide an excellent safari experience along with the driver, who is also very experienced.
Overall, I recommend wild spots safaris to everyone who loves wildlife.
Sincerely,
Igor Gaspareto
