20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
These guys were great and happy to organise a trip last minute. The food they provided was EXCELLENT! Only thing I'd say is, if you spot an animal you are interested in, make sure you let them know.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good budget safari tour for three days/2 nigths at the Maasai Mara
We had a great time at the Lenchada tented camp managed by Jocky Tours and located close to one of the gates of the Game reserve. The driver (Peter) was nice and made an effort to come up close to the animals (i.e lions and cheetah). It was a very wet Easter weekend (rainy season) so there were many safari vans around and a good number of them got stuck in the mud a couple of times.
Despite all this, we managed to see most of the "big five" and some other herds of animals. Overall, the camp was good. We paid for budget accomodation so we didn't expect more than the basic necessities. The food was good throughout our stay, no complaints.
The only downside was that it rained for two days straight which made it impossible to do a full game drive as the vans would get stuck in the mud if we tried to come closer to the animals... I would recommend Jocky Tours as they have been in the business for a long time and offer great budget safaris.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Organized, friendly and done a good job for the trip.
The overall trip is very exciting and awesome mountainous view on the way to Mikumi. Henry are safari guide was a kind and genuine person. He kept sharing many points on way like tribe names, culture, weather, place names etc. The lodge was a peaceful and clean place with good food. My family enjoyed a lot; though missed seeing the lion :) We do plan on some more trips in the future.
The amazing feeling you get by standing in the midst of a herd of wild Elephants...
Amboseli is a pretty nice park for game-drives. It is not the park you want to visit if you have to see the "big five", because you won't find any rhinos or leopards here. But if you want to experience the incredible feeling you get when 20-30 huge african elephants silently passes by your car, this park is for you. If you are lucky you may get the oppurtunity to get a glympse of the largest free-standing mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro. The mountain is oft visible in the morning or evening hours. Though Amboseli is several miles away from the top, it still amazes hugely.
As for accomodation I can highly recommend Kibo Safari Camp. This is a luxury tented lodge, minutes from Kimana Gate. The staff, food, location etc. were excellent.
Per March 2015 the park were not overcrowded by cars, but only a few. This is much because of the reduction in tourism Kenya is experiencing. I personally prefer not to be part of a swarm of buzzing Toyotas when on game-drives, but rather have the oppurtunity to feel like in the only man-made creation in sight. This enables one to connect with the wildlife and nature in a special way. Nothing beats the sense of peace you get when the driver switches of the engine, and all you hear is Amboseli herself.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Jinja by KVaughn49
Jinja is more of a 'rest' area and viewing the Nile River than a wildlife destination, although we saw more monkeys and smaller wildlife there.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent itinerary, but could have used better communication prior to travel
Our itinerary was just right. Suggestions made by Giltedge Africa (formerly Southern Africa Travel) were generally very good.
All travel connections worked and all guides appeared as planned. Our guides were all quite knowledgeable, well-spoken and very pleasant. I think some of the extras that we incurred should have been included in the package price or more clearly stated, but this was a minor issue. My only real complaint is that pre-travel communication should have been better. The information provided was more for appearances than substance. And the wallet provided at landing was embarrassingly short on any substantive materials.
Our hotels were all excellent, except for &Beyond Xudum which suffers from the necessity of a 75 minute drive each way over bumpy roads between the air strip and the lodge. They also had our poorest guide. Otherwise, the staff and food were very good.
We especially enjoyed Singita Boulders and the Views Hotel, although the food at the Views could be improved. The Harbor House restaurant on the Cape was outstanding.
I'm not sure a guide was needed at Victoria Falls, although he did get us to the falls at a good time of day for viewing which we might otherwise have missed. The river cruise was only interesting because of the wildlife on the banks.
I also want to recommend the Fat Fish restaurant in Plettenberg. It's a little more casual, but the food was excellent.
Our guides at both Singita lodges were terrific, as were our guides in Cape Town and Joberg.
Overall, we enjoyed a wonderful trip.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience!
Me and a friend were looking for a budget Safari starting from Arusha. The alternatives were a lot, and is really imposible to do a good choice with all the guys taking you to diferent offices to tell you the same speach, but we ended up picking the one we felt more faithfull.
We were really lucky, the couple Driver/Cook was supreme (Godfrey and Alifa). They were young, funny, helpfull and really profesional guys, and I think that there lies most of the quality of a Safari. If I could do it again I'd maybe avoid some of the smallest parks to spend 1 or 2 days more at Serengetti.
I'll surely recomend the company to my friends.
NP
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing, best out put
iIt was the excellent experience in my life to visit MASAI MARA. Management of BIGTIME SAFAI was well. Thank you all who were attending for making our travel much more adventurous. Specially DAVID, TR GD STLIN, N NJERI.
Review about Victoria Falls by Bill Snypes
We were in Victoria Falls at the end of the dry season, and the falls were low, but still very impressive. Victoria Falls in a town, so there is not that much wildlife walking around. However, one evening returning from the Zambezi River, near the town, we encountered a group of elephants eating vegetation by the road. The wildlife is not very far away anywhere in Zambia.
A rugged place with beautiful rivers.
My wife and I went in November at the beginning of the rainy season. The weather was generally good, and not too hot. We saw a good number of animals, but with the coming rains they were often staying in the forest more. However, we did see cheetahs, lions, giraffes, hippos and a variety of birds. They come down to the river more during the dry season.
The river camp we were in was in a beautiful spot, with permanent tents and an open covered common area. The staff was very accommodating and the food was good. The guides tried very hard to find the animals for us to see, but they were scarce at times. We also cruised on the Kafue River and some people went fishing. The river was pristine and quite beautiful.