IT
Tanzania safari good, but...
I booked a 4 days safari in Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro with Right Choice.
On the day of the departure, I discovered:
1 The tour was to Tarangire and not Lake Manyara.
2 I had to travel with "Meru Slopes" and not with Right Choice.
3 The other travellers of my safari booked directly with Meru Slopes and had free pick up at the airport, hotel included...
So, if you travel in Tanzania, book with Meru Slopes directly!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good budget value
We booked a safari througt 3crest tours&safaris and i think this is far out the best budget option. We slept in small tents (little iglo's). this was okay. The only complaint i have is about the sleeping bag. They were not cleaned after using. I idid not like to sleep in a sleepingbag in which another persoon slept. We discussed this problem with Gabriel. And we are sure he will solve this problem.
Gabriel will do everything to make you feel comfortabel.
The Tour includes à pick up from the airport and also the first and last night in the hotel.
we did the safari in a good car. A Cook went with us. Hè stayed in the camp while we are doping the gamedrives. We can convince everyone that hè makes wonderfull and delicious maels.
we can recommand 3crest and the personal attention from Gabriel will give you warm feelings.
Beste lezer,
We hebben deze safari geboekt. Gabriel heeft een beginnend bedrijf maar hij weet wat mensen uit Europa graag willen. Hij beheerst de kunst van luisteren. hij zal alles in het werk stellen om het de klanten naar de zin maken. Natuurlijk kost de safari een heleboel geld, maar bedenk dat dit inclusief de pick up van het vliegveld is en ook de eerste en laatste nacht in het Arusha Toerist Inn zijn inclusief.
De kok die met ons mee reed, maakte de meest formidabele maaltijden klaar.
Het enige minpunt waren de slaapzakken. Maar Gabriel heeft ons beloofd om hier verandering in te brengen.
De zorgen voor zijn klanten houdt niet op na het beëindigen van de safari. Gabriel bemiddelde ook voor ons bij het kopen van bustickets.
Kortom, we hebben een fantastische herinnering aan 3crest tours&safaris.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Let down by easily fixable problems
We did a five-day, four-night budget (camping) safari with World Tours and Safari in December 2014, visiting Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara national parks.
Let’s start with the good:
1) this really is a budget safari – from our conversations with other travellers, you’re likely to pay $700-1000 more for a very similar itinerary with many other operators out of Arusha.
2) we saw a great many animals, and had some very exciting sightings – more lions than we could count, a leopard (!), a lion-buffalo showdown (the buffaloes won), lots and lots and lots of hippos, hyenas, jackals, owls, vultures, even rhinos in the far distance in the Ngorongoro crater (etc etc). The places we saw are jawdroppingly beautiful, and all in all, just being there is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
3) a couple of the (freshly cooked) meals were very tasty.
4) (though this is by chance) we had great company, getting on very well with the couple who were in the Land Rover with us – which made the trip so much better than it could have been.
HOWEVER:
1) While Richard’s communication had been fast and informative when we were booking our trip, he firstly made us change our initial leaving date, with a story of us joining what we suspect to be a fictional couple (since our eventual companions had been told exactly the same story) and secondly, he then changed our itinerary the day before the start of our safari. Make sure to check that you’re still spending the same amount of time in each park as initially agreed upon, and be firm about getting exact details. Also, when planning, stick to what you want, and when you want to leave.
2) Our guide and cook were both very nice and friendly men, who both appeared to be trying their best. However, their English was quite poor, which made communication and planning for the day difficult. Our driver did know a lot about the bush, and clearly loved (spotting) animals, but it took time and patience to draw it out of him, that you don’t always have, and he didn’t volunteer information very often. In other words, he was much more of a driver, than a guide. This led to frustration from both sides, and made some meal-times (when it is the custom that the guides always join the clients) quite awkward.
3) Our Land Rover was old, and stalled and overheated a number of times – the worst of which was for about 45 minutes, as it was getting dark, on the way to our third night’s camp.
4) The tents are very old. The worst however was the camping equipment, all of which was very old and dirty. The mattresses are okay, but the sleeping bags and pillows are downright disgusting. Bring your own!! We also really didn’t like that the guides had a much worse tent than us (!), and lower stools (which broke) rather than proper chairs. More (easily avoidable!) awkwardness.
5) As above, a few of the dinners and the one lunch that was freshly cooked was tasty enough. However, the packed lunches were all the same, and not very palatable (dry fried chicken for the third day in a row, anyone?). Take the menu on the website/in your itinerary with a very generous pinch of salt, and be prepared to bring your own snacks along to supplement meals, particularly fresh fruit, nuts etc.
To reiterate, we were on a budget safari, and the result was – the incredible scenery and wildlife aside! – a budget experience. What is disappointing though is that many of these things could be fixed quite easily, and at minimum cost (or perhaps by increasing rates only slightly). The cook needs a bit of training and some new ideas (make a chicken mayo sandwich on the third day! Add fresh tomatoes to your lunch menus!). And fresh safari uniforms for both men would also go a long way to make the operation look more professional. Give your customers and your guides a detailed itinerary for each day, and impress upon your guides that they need to stick to it as far as possible or communicate any changes to your customers. Fix your vehicles!
Weighing it up, we probably wouldn’t recommend World Tours and Safaris. Rather go on a shorter safari with a more expensive (and professional) operator.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Safari but with problems
I was on safari with Marta. I confirm that we are very badly treated by the owner of this company As a result of our complain about not good service. This would be also confirm by American lady who attended also our safari from the second day. We were as a group of three people. Mr Richard knew the name of the hotel because he gave us the transfer the day before. I tiiped 100 USD for both of them, even we were cheated about the cost of visit Masai village which for us was 100 usd per car, whereas for others 40 usd - we got this information from other tourists on a camp in Serengeti. My suggestion: Think, read a long comment and then decide.
I expected so much more
I had been on a Safari in Kenya about 10 years ago. It was fantastic. This time my friends had decided to travel with Safari Legacy. I had been thinking about a safari with my wife as she had not been to Africa before, so we decided to join them. The sales team was very good and provided us with all of the perfect answers. We were quite confident and felt good until we got to Tanzania.
On the ground the only thing that was above average was the vehicle. It was a very new Land Cruiser. Much better than the safari bus I had used years ago. Our driver was not very motivated and seemed to be in a rush all the time. The camps, particularly Kikoti Camp at Tarangire was just average. This camp was very far from the park and there was no sign of wildlife. Due to the high price tag I was expecting a whole lot more. I understand that prices are much lower in the off season, thus we expected to get a little more for our money. Just to be fair, my wife was quite satisfied with the trip, but I think that it is because it was her first time and she did not have anything to base the experience on. She did feel that the guide was not nearly as friendly as the Tanzanians we met in the camps. He was rather push and often talked about how low his salary is. We have no idea what he is paid, but based on what our trip costs, he should be paid well. And if not he should take it up with his boss and not with us.
NL
50-65 years of age
lost in africa's wilderness
No accommodations what so ever (must be self sufficient (water!)). Only/mostly (very) deep/heavy sand tracks which are difficult to navigated. Recommended to drive in a party of at least 2 vehicles.
Grumpy elephants, which are not accustomed to people. Not much wildlife, but we saw honey badgers!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disorganized
Ok I’m going to be completely honest and be the review that I wish I would’ve seen, because this would’ve led me to book differently. Let me start by saying KENYA IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! There were moments where I wanted to cry tears of joy from what I was experiencing and pinch myself because the beauty there is unmatched. Now for Tall Masai as a company, they were completely disorganized. To begin my pickup time was severely miscommunicated by Benson. He messaged me saying my pickup time was 6pm and actually ended up being 6am! MAJORRR difference as I almost booked an extra hotel night to accommodate for the late pick up. So I had to rush and pack all my items last min due to this major error. Then I get in the van and I’m requested to pay the remainder (being that you only pay half prior to booking) in USD. I travel with the country’s currency (Kenyan Shilling) never with usd because it’s not smart. My driver tells me Ben should’ve told you to have usd but he didn’t! So we call and I ended up going back and forth until I was allowed to pay online in which Ben asked me to pay MORE to accommodate for the exchange rate. That was completely unfair and disrespectful. These two errors happened within 40mins of being picked up so I was already super annoyed. All I received was a weak apology from Ben and nothing else. Once the safaris started because we were super delayed things got a little better.. until it was lunch time. The lunch was absolutely horrible and not safe. The meat was not properly refrigerated and the fruit was not fresh. Honestly the food at all the accommodations was pretty bad except Nyati, which was decent. Citymax hotel was disgusting and I would’ve rather slept outside. Please bring a bunch of snacks because the food offered is the worse I’ve experienced in my life. The game drivers were shady and didn’t speak much which was weird. For some of us this is a once in a lifetime experience so engage and explain to us what we’re seeing…. Some did but a lot didn’t and drove with no purpose. However the people I’ve met and the locals, Masai tribe, the wild life was absolutely perfect. If it wasn’t for me making the best out of it and being in nature I would’ve easily gave this company a 1 or 2 star. Yes I understand this is marketed as a budget tour,however no one should be fed old bread and cucumber and sleep in vermin infested hotels for $600 + dollars. NO ONE! this is greedy and not humane. To wrap this up look into higher priced options with a different company if you want to have a full great experience. I would not recommend Tall Masai at all sadly. Hopefully they can take this review as constructive criticism as this was my true raw experience.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and helpful, Tanzanian side not very good!
We had a 11 days private Kenya and Tanzania safari. Silas is very professional and helpful. He was in his car in the carpark when we arrived. The flight arrival was delayed by one hour but after contacting him on the phone he promptly arrived to get us to our hotel.
The Kenyan part of our safari was excellent. The driver/guide Samuel is a very knowledgeble and a nice guy. But the disaster started the moment we crossed over to the Tanzanian side. We were made to pay $50 each to get the yellow fever certificates at the border. The person just took cash in Euros and filled in the yellow booklet. No vaccination was given. Upon asking for a receipt they gave some vague reasons saying that the internet was not working and that we shall get it by email, which, of course never happened. A Tanzanian driver received us and we started our Tanzanian journey to the Serengeti park. Within about one hour the left rear wheel of the rickety Toyota Land Cruiser just came off while we were driving! Luckily no one was hurt. We were in the middle of nowhere on a village road. The driver managed to change the wheel with the help of few villagers and we resumed our journey. After every 15 minutes of driving the driver had to tighten the screws of the wheel. This happened a few time. Then suddenly that newly changed wheel had a flat tyre! The driver just could not change it. He had to arrange an alternative private transport for us from the nearby village, who was kind enought to take us till the Serengeti gate. In the process we lost many hours. Ultimately we could reach our camp site after 8PM, eight hours after the border crossing!
The new Tanzanian driver gave a very unprofessional and unfriendly impression. The game drives in Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater were excellent. On our fourth night in Tanzania we were dumped in an extremely low level hotel near Lake Manyara. A very depressive place indeed. Certainly the lowest level of acommodation we had during our entire trip. The driver did not know that we needed to make a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. There was no time for that any more. The next day we had to leave for Tangerine National park. The only solace on the Tanzanian side was that the national park game drives were really worth the trouble.
We had a sigh of relief after crossing over to Kenya without much trouble. The last two days in Kenya were very good with game drives in Amboseli, and transfer to Nairobi for our return flight home.
I requested Silas to reconsider his contract with his Tanzanian partner "Seven Wonders Safaris" in Arusha, Tanzania, which prompted him to end his contract with them. Thank God.
I hope this small review is helpful.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Mixed Experience
The company was easy to communicate with before the tour, and they met me on time. The price was competitive and that’s what I cared for most. This was my first safari and overall I loved getting close to the animals. The driver got us right up to some lions and I could hardly believe that we were just next to them! The negative is the guide watched a lot of videos on his phone when I wish he could have told me about the animals.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was really amazing
We starting researching safaris about a year before travel. Because of Covid, I'm so glad we chose Tanzania in the end.
We chose to work with Salim because he is a local Tanzanian with tons of experience. Be careful with the bigger outfitters, you won't get quite as personalized experience and it will cost more.
Salim had great communication from the beginning and answered all of my many questions patiently. We chose to do an 8 day safari, visiting Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro Crater and the Serengeti. Our guide was a true expert with years of experience and spoke perfect English (which is helpful because they are explaining so much about the animals). Having a good guide is vital to a successful safari as you spend so much time with them.
If you're looking to save a bit of money, here are my tips.
The affordable lodging is the route we went (mid level) and it exceeded expectations. Don't fret about staying at a fancy lodge, you're barely there, and when you are, you are exhausted. Save your money. I would have been disappointed if we spent extra on a nicer lodge because often we were gone from the room from 7-6pm.
Also, 5-6 days is plenty. I have no regrets about doing 8 days, but if I was on a tighter budget, we would have been just as happy with shaving a few days off the trip. We figured it was a once in a lifetime experience, so why not, but we definitely could have saved one day, which would have been about a $750 savings.
Flying from the Serengeti, or to the Serengeti, depending on how your trip is planned, is worth the money, but you could do the drive and save quite a bit. Our flights were $800 and in hindsight, I would have suffered through the bumpy drive back to save the money. BUT if you get car sick or hate traveling for long periods, spring for the flights, it does save time.
Here are some things I wish we would have known that I felt the internet was misleading about.
The clothing.
Yes, wearing lightweight clothing is important as the weather does change rapidly. That being said, you are in a vehicle most of the time. I certainly wouldn't have dropped as much money as I did on "safari" clothes if I knew we were barely going to get out of the vehicle. Bring a variety of clothes but don't fret terribly about the color.
Game drive time.
Everyone told me we needed to be up and on the road at 5:30, 6 am. This isn't true. We didn't start any game drives before 7:30 and saw plenty.
Camera gear.
Yes, having a long telephoto lens definitely helps if you're a photography junkie like me, BUT, you do get fairly close to most animals. Unless you're an pro or semi pro photographer, a 70-200mm lens will do you just fine.
The ONLY con I really have is the food, which isn't necessarily a con, just something to prep for. Most places you'll go are fairly remote and the cooks have to do their best with what resources they've got. While all the food tasted great, it is a simple menu. The packed lunches are quite simple as well, so bring snacks if you're a picky eater. For the total cost of the trip, normally food would be more "gourmet" so just be prepared. Once you see the landscape and the villages, you'll understand the depths the camps go through to provide good, fresh meals.
We had a phenomenal time and if you're on the fence, BOOK it! Using a local guide with on the ground knowledge like Salimu is the way to go.