35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kubwa Five Safaris gave us an amazing, worry-free safari experience we’ll remember forever.
We had an incredible experience with Kubwa Five Safaris from start to finish. Our multi-country itinerary through Kenya and Uganda was complex, yet everything ran smoothly thanks to their excellent planning, attention to detail, and responsive communication throughout the trip.
The accommodations were eco-friendly but comfortable, the food consistently delicious, and our guides knowledgeable and personable. We especially appreciated how easily we could reach the Kubwa Five team on WhatsApp and their quick responses made the entire experience feel safe and well-supported.
There were a few small bumps along the way, as can happen on a long safari, but nothing that took away from the overall experience. The only real suggestion we’d make to future travelers would be to skip the Maasai “cultural event” stop, which felt more like a tourist cash grab than an authentic experience. In contrast, the Ugandan cultural visits, were absolutely wonderful, heartfelt, and meaningful.
Overall, Kubwa Five Safaris offered fantastic value, excellent organization, and warm personal service. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone planning a safari in East Africa.
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely amazing — professional, thoughtful, and made our safari an unforgettable experience!
Going on a safari with Meru Slopes was truly one of the best decisions we made. While planning our trip, Almachius from Meru Slopes was incredibly helpful — he immediately understood what we wanted and handled everything with such care and attention to detail.
We were on our honeymoon, and Almachius surprised us with the sweetest honeymoon celebration! It was such a thoughtful touch. Even at the lodges, the staff knew we were honeymooners and made sure we were treated with extra care. Every place we stayed was wonderful.
Our guide, Bariki, made the whole experience unforgettable. During our 4-day safari, we witnessed the breathtaking beauty of Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and those days went by way too fast thanks to him. He’s truly one of the best guides out there, and we felt so lucky to have met him through Meru Slopes.
Through Bariki, we got to see, learn, and feel the wild in such a special way — understanding how animals move, behave, and survive in their natural world. He’s not just a great guide but also a genuinely warm, inspiring person who taught us so much beyond the safari itself.
This trip was an experience of a lifetime — one we’ll always treasure. We realized that the most beautiful journeys become even more special because of the amazing people you meet along the way.
I highly recommend Meru Slopes. Thank you all for making our honeymoon truly unforgettable!
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great adventure!!
Communications were very easy and Olly replied fast to all my emails/contacts.
They make sure to do the perfect itinerary that fits your ideas!! We were a family from 9-80years old so they tried to do their best to fit our needs.
The rides are long and hard for older ones so I’d advise to maybe stick with fewer parks if that’s your case.
They cook us most of the time international food!!
All the team was amazing ! Our guide Liberty, was AMAZING!! He had a true knowledge about all animals, and would always find the animals before anyone else :))
The camping is comfortable, although keep in mind it’s a campsite!
Overall amazing experience, would definitely repeat again with the same company!!!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful Experience traveling thru Kenya & Tanzania with Kitawa
We enjoyed our safari with Kitawa.
Our guides were wonderful, especially Gordan Opany & Said Licky.
Both spoke excellant English, took our party of 6 under their wings to make us feel welcome and comfortable. We felt very safe. Our accommodations were outstanding
For the most part. We especially enjoyed Lake Navaisha Lodge, Speke Bay Lodge, even Eka Hotel to begin and end our safari journey. We definately would recomend Kitawa Safari Company to our neighbors & friends. We saw every animal imaginable (Including the Big 5)! Our guides were informative about the animals, history of Africa, crossing the boarder, in general all qluestions were answered. Nixon (The big boss) was easy to communicate with as we had lots of questions before our trip! Thank you for making our adventure dream come true.
JM
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
magical
From start to finish, my experience with Gems of Africa was outstanding. My first contact, Mpho, was simply amazing — kind, patient, and incredibly responsive. I was booking from Jamaica and faced a number of payment issues, but Mpho never once showed frustration. He exchanged nearly fifty emails with me, calmly finding creative solutions every time my bank raised new concerns. He was reassuring, professional, and made me feel like I had a trusted friend on the other side of the world. He promised the trip would be memorable — and it truly exceeded all expectations.
When Mpho transitioned to new opportunities, Janien seamlessly took over and maintained the same exceptional level of service. Everything about Gems of Africa’s communication, reliability, and attention to detail made the entire process smooth and stress-free.
And then came Mdluli Safari Lodge — worth every single cent and more. The accommodation was breathtaking, blending comfort and nature beautifully. The staff were warm, attentive, and genuinely kind. They went above and beyond to make my birthday unforgettable, surprising me with small gestures, songs, and heartfelt celebrations that made me feel incredibly special.
The food was another highlight — every meal tasted like the best version of home-cooked comfort, as if dining at a family table where everyone can really cook! And our ranger, Octavia, was phenomenal — knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and determined to give us the best possible experience. She ensured we saw the Big Five and even extended our game drives so we wouldn’t miss a moment.
I can wholeheartedly say this was the best part of my entire trip to South Africa. If you are looking for a travel company that offers genuine care, top-tier service, and exceptional value for money, Gems of Africa and Mdluli Safari Lodge are the perfect combination. Highly, highly recommended.
PR
I have travelled all over the world, and Indigo Safaris tops the list of all tour operators.
Following is a thank-you letter that I wrote to Shannon who planned my trip. Please read to the end. You will thank me later.
Hi Shannon:
When I started to plan the trip to South Africa, I wanted it to be seamless, adventurous, enjoyable, educational, and delightful, and thanks to you, ALL MY WISHES WERE GRANTED! You gave Mark the most complete and wonderful 60th birthday possible, and I thank you.
Please accept my deepest gratitude for understanding my requests and for attending to them so meticulously and appropriately. You kept me informed of your planning and sent me such detailed updates. I never had an anxious moment. You and Indigo Safaris are the absolute best!
We arrived into Johannesburg one day late because of issues with the plane. We took off at the right time on the right day, but after thirty minutes of flying, we returned to JFK where we were delayed for 24 hours. But this didn’t affect your planning. You got in touch with all related parties to rearrange schedules, so that our arrival would be perfect.
A pleasant young man met us in Johannesburg and took us to the charming Safari Club with its thatched roof, and shortly after, our tour guide arrived for our trip to the Apartheid Museum and then to Soweto. I had no idea that Soweto was so huge.
Dinner and breakfast were great at the Safari Club.
The following morning, it was off to the Tremisana Game Lodge, some seven hours away from Johannesburg, but the drive was comfortable and we were able to stop along the way when necessary.
Our first adventure - the 3 Hr. Landcruiser Sunset Drive in the Balule section of Kruger Park was spectacular. I’ll include some of the pictures I took of several animals. Gosh, I wish that I had written the names of all of them, because now I can’t remember.
The Bush braai was new to me but enjoyable. At the end of dinner three hyenas appeared apparently looking for leftovers.
On the ride back in the night, we saw elephants and giraffes.
The following morning at 5:30, we went by Landcruiser to a remote part of the Balule Game Reserve to begin our 4Hr bush walk. I was petrified at first, imagining animals racing to attack me, but my fear dissipated once I understood the expertise of our guide and noticed the rifle over his shoulder, and once I began seeing all sorts of animals - rhinoceros, gigantic elephants, towering giraffes, lazy crocodiles, and scheming hippopotamus. Lord, what a walk. It was a wonderful lifetime experience, but next time, I’ll go to a near-by zoo. 😂😂😂
Then we were off to Marc’s Treehouse Lodge - extremely rustic! The food was outstanding. (Steps into some of the cabins are dangerous. A member of my party fell as she stepped down from one step to the other. Instead of there being a flat board where her foot should have landed, there was an open space and one leg went under the step as the other flew into the air.)
We spent a whole day at Kruger Park, in an elevated, windowless, open game viewing vehicle which allowed us to have the best view of the animals - zebras, a giraffe which died while giving birth, ostriches, herds of elephants, kudus, waterbucks, impalas, gemsbok, and so many others, including a white lion!
Next day - Cape Town
On arrival in Cape Town, the representatives from both the car rental company and the taxi were present to greet us, and the journey to the inclusive Blackheath Lodge was smooth and uneventful.
What an outstanding hotel. It was as if Riano and the entire team at Blackheath were waiting just for us. Of course, there were other guests who were given the same attention we received. When Riano escorted into the villa, we encountered pure luxury, flowers, a welcome package, and then the bottle of champagne you sent, arrived. Thank you so much. We were so thrilled with the service at Blackheath, that on our departure morning, we called the entire staff together and toasted them using the champagne you sent. I wish that you could have been with us at that moment. We highly and excitingly recommend the Blackheath Lodge.
On September 19, Mark’s birthday, which you planned so carefully, our perfect tour guide picked us up whisked us off for our three-vineyard, wine and cheese tasting experience. You forgot nothing. Mark thoroughly enjoyed the day and even after all that wine, was able to WALK BY HIMSELF, and take pictures in front of the Victor Verster Prison, the last place where Nelson Mandela stayed before his release in 1990.
The last day that you planned for us went off without a hitch. Again, like clockwork, the van to take our friends arrived on time, and we returned the rented car, dent-free.
THANK YOU SHANNON. You created the perfect 60th birthday for my husband.
Howard
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Must Do While in Johannesburg!
We had the most incredible experience on the 1 day game reserve drive. Moloko was a fantastic tour guide - she was so engaging and knowledgable, I walked away having learnt so much. We were so lucky to see a herd of elephants (about 20 of them!) in the first 10 minutes of our drive, walking right across the path in front of our vehicle. Moloko also kept in frequent contact with the other guides, and rushed us to spot a lioness as quickly as she could, this was amazing!
Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Johannesburg.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Silverbird consistently exceeds expectations!
From the moment we were greeted at the airport for the hotel transfer. We knew that we were in good hands with Justin. We spent the seven days of touring with him and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him. He is articulate, knowledgeable on so many different topics, a wonderful guide and driver, and a great conversationalist.
After two nights in Kigali, during which we toured the genocide museum, the Kandy House Museum had lunch together at sundowner’s restaurant and saw various neighborhoods and points of interest.
From there, we headed to the Western province for our chimpanzee trek, a canopy walk in the national forest and ended with a private viewing of the Colobus monkeys.
Jane Goodall had died the day before it was always one of my idols, and I had such deep respect for her work, which made the chimpanzee trek even more meaningful. We had an outstanding guide and excellent porters, and we got treated to an incredible experience of watching them enjoy their breakfast of figs for well over an hour. It made me feel that Jane was looking out for us.
Within headed north along lake Kivu to the northern province where we stayed just outside volcanoes national park for our highly anticipated gorilla trekking experience.
The small boutique hotel, which was an Eco Lodge, where we stayed was our base. The staff were absolutely fantastic, the food was wonderful and we had the luxury of staying in the small family accommodation with two separate rooms and a living room area.
There aren’t enough words to say how incredible the gorilla trekking experience was for us. We were very impressed with how organized the program is, and how experienced and lovely the guides and porters were who traveled with us. We were literally 4 feet from the silverback who was devouring leaves. There were multiple babies in the group and in total approximately 15 Gorillaz. It was an extraordinary sighting and breathtaking to be so close to these magnificent animals.
The second day there we went to see the golden monkeys, which was fun and very animated, but we were in a larger group so it wasn’t as spectacular as the day before. That said the Gorillaz are a tough act to follow.
From there, we transferred by car once again to the eastern province where we spent two nights in Akagera national park. We had originally planned to stay at another Mantis property, but we moved to the bush camps, and sister properties, Ruzizi and Karenge. At first we thought they would be a little more expensive than the mantis lodge, but factoring in that all meals were included and that the lodge itself is a much more intimate and impressive option, we were glad we made the change.
We did the sunset boat cruise out to see hippos and crocodiles and lots and lots of birds. It was a beautiful setting and we were the only boat out on the lake.
We then came back for dinner and the manager at Ruzizi entertained us with guitar and songs while we enjoyed a delicious meal at the beautiful outdoor deck right on the water.
Karenge was another favorite camp. As the full moon rose we enjoyed another delicious meal while looking out across the planes. We had had a fantastic game drive through the park that day with Justin.
The next morning we set off to go back to Kigali to the airport.
I would highly recommend this tour as well as this tour operator and spend enough time in Rwanda to really enjoy the beautiful country and the beautiful people who you will meet.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Overall Fantastic experience
My wife and I chose Mellivora as our travel operator for our honeymoon, we had an amazing 5 days Safari in the Serengeti, Ngorogoro crater and Tarangire park. Our Safari guide Jordan was brilliant in locating all the animals and ensuring we were well looked after. Fransisca was very responsive and helpful in answering all of our queries prior to arrival. We would highly this tour to any prospective holiday makers.
Exceeded our expectations
We recently came back from a wonderful 9 day Kenyan Safari with Kiboko Tours. The itinerary was perfect and everthing went smoothly. We saw six different parks and sanctuaries, each with different landscapes. Dexter was an excellent driver and guide who went above and beyond to accomodate any special requests. We saw the Big Five and many more animals. The lodges were all wonderful. We enjoyed the views, the rooms and the buffet meals. Zebra River Camp at Masai Mara and Saltlick Lodge at Taita Hills were our favorites. The weather was beautiful with cool morning and evening game drives. Even the long drives between parks wasn't too bad. Although a bit hot, with the windows open, there was a nice breeze and the scenery was unique and very lovely in spots. We found the 4x4 Land Cruiser to be pretty comfortable and Dexter kept it clean and stocked with water. Despite what we had read beforehand, we really did not see any mosquitoes and did not get a single bug bite. Overall we had an amazing time! Our Kiboko safari delivered outstanding value and we highly recommend them to anyone considering a Kenyan Safari.