65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Selous and Ruaha
My friend and I had a very good experience with Savannah Explorers.The organisation of our Safari was excellent. We chose the camps that we wanted to visit based on information obtained on the internet. Some of the animals that we read that were abundant chose not to come to our party.Their absence was disappointing ,however other animals put on a good show and at the end of seven days the consensus was that we had a successful safari again. This was my fifth and I will be back for more in the future.Tanzania and its people treated us well.
US
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Huge potential in Uganda if tourism experience can be improved and conservation is better emphasized
I have mixed emotions about my experience in Uganda. On one hand, I had a number of great wildlife encounters with lions, leopards, gorillas and many other species in three of the country's national parks over a period of nine days. However on the other, I kept thinking about the huge potential that exists and the many challenges that remain with safari tourism in this country.
Wildlife conservation can be greatly improved in Uganda, and I think it is something that the country's government doesn't especially value. The communities around the parks have a very challenging existence with wildlife, and the use of snares and indiscriminate killings of animals is common. I read this in the newspapers and heard about it from the tour operators. In Queen Elizabeth National Park, I was so surprised how low the animal density was (with the exception of some species such as Ugandan Kob). In Lake Mburo National Park, I was concerned to see local ranchers chasing zebras into the bush so that their cattle could feed on the low grass outside of our lodge. Ranching and subsistence farming has really encroached into traditional spaces for wildlife. Parks are not fenced and perhaps this is something that contributes to territorial issues with residents and wildlife.
Tourism infrastructure could benefit from a number of small improvements. Park fees are not posted transparently online, and there is an archaic process of receipt-keeping for entering the parks. Visitor Centers could do more to help improve education and awareness of conservation and local species. Amenities such as toilets and other conveniences were not well maintained. The exception to this was in Bwindi National Park, home to many of the country's mountain gorillas. This is a main tourist draw and its focus on hospitality and learning should be considered a model for the other parks.
Early September is the beginning of the rainy season, and on many occasions I had the parks open to myself. There were very few tourists, and this was a nice improvement from other experiences I've had.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely accommodating
Extremely accommodating. Great guide and cook, clean tent, and not crowded like some other tour groups I met at the campgrounds. Very responsive by email, which I appreciated. There was an issue with my arrival time, as we'd agreed on an airport pickup and they didn't seem to have made note of the time, which caused me some headaches. Make sure they include your pickup time in the written agreement, as that is what they are using as reference. Overall I recommend this company as friendly and accommodating and a great value.
Our trip was great and we thought it was fantastic seeing the animals up close.
We did enjoy our stay, the accommodation was lovely and the food amazing. We would have liked to have been able to spend more time with our guide finding out about the local area.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Samburu National Reserve by sebastian brandner
We stayed at the Saruni Samburu Lodge, which is more upmarket that the Offbeat Meru. It is located on a rock, overlooking the plains. Guests come from all continents. The rooms are spacious, with electricity and a weak wifi, which is good enough to download the occasional email, and browse the web. The accommodation and the main dining and entertainment areas are separated by 200m concrete paved trail making is easy and safe to walk between the two places. Shower was not sufficiently warm, making it a bit unpleasant to shower in the morning or evening. However it was a special experience to shower outside at night overlooking the vast valley and watching the starry sky. We have however not complained about the cold shower so the management may not be aware.
The overall service was more upmarket and the food was higher quality and more refined than on Offbeat Meru, and comparable with Ol Seki in the Mara Naboisho. We were really fantastically entertained by Tom, a young British Camp Manager, and he looked after all guests very well. We had relatively junior drivers, who were familiar with the wildlife, but explained less and we had the impression we saw less wildlife than in Meru. The vegetation is hilly shrub land an there is one large river, where lions wait for a catch. The red terrain makes it a great photography area for landscapes. The drivers had less experience dealing with photographer, but still we were able to make a few excellent photo-shots
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by sebastian brandner
Ol Seki in Mara Naboisho
This was the last part of our Safari. The accommodation is very upmarket, in robust tents, embedded in the middle of the wilderness. It is a 10 min drive from the airstrip, and it is located in the heart of the Naboisho conservancy.
Run by a British Manager, this place is spotless, clean, very well looked after and the Manager (Melinda) looks after all guest very well. There are 6 tents, and all guests meet for breakfast, lunch and Dinner, depending on the safari arrangements, but if preferred the meals can be brought to the individual tents. Whilst we were here, all other guests were British and all were on honeymoon. This may alienate guests from other countries. There is electricity all day and decent Wifi to upload images. There is excellent hot shower (with extra boost in the evening).
Wildlife is excellent, we sighted a cheetah with a fresh kill, crocodiles, of course lions, giraffes and elephants and all the wildebeests, impalas, and gazelles. We had a one-day excursion to Masai Mara, which was to watch the large migrations, mainly zebras and wildebeest. David our driver was very experienced, and had lots of stories to tell. He knew the spots for photography and made stops when requested.
Overall this place was best for luxury, great food and service, great for wildlife, but less impressive for scenery than Meru.
Note, the masai mara has much less of a bush vibe than the Naboisho conservancy, where our lodge was. We made a day trip to the actual masai mara, which was full of minibuses, loaded with tourists and there was no feeling of solitude. The three stars for the bush vibe relate to that park, The Naboisho conservancy instead gets four stars for bush vibe!
HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A joyful trip
Overall, a good trip.
Noah, the owner, did responded quickly throughout the very initial planning stage and during the trip and very helpful in arranging my special requests although I have no idea what it turn out to be as we have missed.
Bad thing (go away) first, we lost half a day and stuck in Kenya/Tanzania border due to mechanical problem of car and could not enter Serengeti as it was too late and we have to change our lodge. Given the size of the company, it maybe more difficult to eliminate this chance, but Noah managed to rectify the lost AFTER we ask for it. This show the good will and is important for tour operator.
We was taken care of by 3 driver/guide throughout the trip,
Hamsa in Tanzania was wonderful, without him, we would have missed the most beautiful view of leopard for the entire trip and so many other things.
Dennis in Kenya was also good and took us to see lion, cheetah and black rhino within 30 mins in our first day in Masai Mara and river crossing the other day!!!
I believe the third one, who took us to Amboseli, is relatively new, as we have to ask him to stop the engine a couple of times while we were taking photos.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
If you don't want to worry about anything - rely on Mega Adventures :-)
M for Mohamed Atik, the founder and owner of Mega Adventures.
We have never met a person who's more caring than he is. Any question, any wish, any sorrow, any problem- he listens, he answers, he solves, he makes it come true.
E for Enjoyable. Enjoyable was everything about our 4-day budget safari. Hussen our driver and guide was 100% concentrated and exactly knowing what he's doing. He is a safe, calm and patient driver, who is very eager to find the animals in all the hidden places.
When we could not see many animals in Tarangire he was somehow disappointed, because he's so ambitious and wants to show as much as possible.
The one and only cook Mudi prepared all the famous meals that made me feel like I'm home. He cooks as good as my mother (what is the highest compliment I could give ;-)) Everything was perfectly organized although it was somehow a spontaneous trip- but it felt like it was planned for ages.
G for Game drives: One game drive in Tarangire, two in Serengeti and one in Ngorongoro Crater. It was exciting, never became boring.
All in All: MEGA Adventures is a small and also new company but it's giving its best to satisfy the clients and everyone who is working there does it with lots of passion, power and excitement. Plus: They make you feel like a part of the team, a piece of a chocolate cake and not a drop in the ocean.
For sure, like all the other companies, they can't change the weather or the actions of the animals - but they don't give you any reason to be sad about anything.
I'm looking forward to my next safari with them when I come back to Tanzania.
Thank you Mega Adventures for all the unforgettable moments
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience
This was the first safari we ever did and it really was special.
Our guide was immensely experienced and was able to really create a good environment in the car.
Everyone that we dealt with from the Northern Circuit Safari team was really nice and helpful.
The only negative point from the whole trip was during the camping setup, in which we weren't obliged to help but if we didn't, we all felt that everything else would be delayed.
Without any reservations, I recommend Northern Circuit Safari to anyone wanting to do a safari.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Getting first class treatment for 2 while on guided safari to 4 parks in Kenya and Tanzania.
First off, I would give a rating closer to 4.5 Stars but that was not an option. Please read all of this.
Excellent communication and responsiveness via pre-travel emails. Elected to pre-pay for most of the trip but had to cover the PayPal charges as credit cards were not accepted. Costs were generally as expected except for short notice on upcharge due to stated increase in park fees. Tour operator must have included a small service charge on the balloon ride as other passengers stated their rate was a bit lower than ours. Despite the high cost, the Masai Mara balloon ride was one of the highlights of our trip. It might have been even better in the Serengheti with all the herds below. My emails led me to believe that our contact person, Allan, would be our guide. While we only met Allan briefly in Nairobi, the tour guides he set up for us were each very knowlegible of the wildlife and helped us log down the various species we observed. Each took time to find the animals we wanted to see the most and were patient while our cameras clicked away. After having the private group trip for me and my wife, I am not sure I would ever be happy with a larger group might be OK with 4 people if all are family. Our guides were required to change as we crossed the border and our desire to do Masai Mara as well as the Tanzania parks resulted in a long transit day over some fairly rough roads. Tanzania park roads and highways were smoother but there were more restrictions on venturing off road. We had a Toyota Land Cruiser for the Kenya safari and an older Land Rover for Tanzania. The drivers knew the limitations of each 4-wheel drive vehicle which for the Land Rover meant knowing how to restart it - including a push start from another vehicle at one point. While boldly driving us to key photo ops, they were careful not to get us stuck. Lodgings were top notch and dinner options plentiful. Lunches packed for day-long safaris included plenty of food. Right after corssing into Tanzania, we stopped at a hotel restaurant for lunch. Because of the length of travel that day, I would suggest a box lunch for that trip to save an hour or so of travel time. In general, the people of both countries were friendly, overly so in the case of the Masai women reaching their crafted wares into the vehicle window as we waiting to pass through the gate into the lodge, and smiled as the foreigner passed by. There were a few that seemed less than thrilled woth our presence but we never felt threatened. Security and protection for dangerous animals was given high priority for all our lodging. Mandatory escorts were required when returning to our room from dinner after dark as African buffalo are known to approach to drink from the swimming pools. As the title of this review reads, it was first class, especially the level of accomodations. The wildlife viewing was fantastic and we were blessed to see the Big Five before we got out of our first park. Despite my deet insect repellent, I still received a couple of Tse Tse fly bites through my socks at my ankles. Overall, we didn't have an issue with mosquitos and had protective netting around our beds. Hearing the animal noises (monkeys mostly) as we nodded off the sleep was quite an experience.
This was definitely the trip of a lifetime and I hope many others get to experience it. While I am sure there are many other trustworthy tour operators out there, I can highly recommend Back of Africa to assure you a great safari experience.