50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing place, amazing animals, amazing people!
We travelled as a party of three, myself with my daughter and mum. We booked our safari through Savannah Explorers whom I can 100% recommend. They created an itinerary based on our interests and even added an extra day to our itinerary when our flight was changed.
We loved everything about Tanzania that we experienced - whilst our initial impression was of a bustling city, but we found that once out of Arusha, Tanzania became so much more. Before I talk about our trip, a couple of things we are glad we had taken with us, because shops are very few and far between and not your usual High Street shops at that! We took plenty of Imodium Instants which we did have to make use of, and also incontinence pants, just for peace of mind as toilet stops were as and when they were available which tended to be 2-3 hour intervals. We were also pleased to have taken travel sickness tablets as the roads, once you get into the National parks, are very bumpy, noisy dirt/gravel tracks and whilst our vehicle was very comfortable, you definitely get shaken about!
Our trip was for 9 days and we stayed in a combination of hotels, lodges and tented camps. We definitely recommend the tented camps in the Serengeti as you are immersed in the wildlife and sounds of the Serengeti. We also visited Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro crater and Lake Manyara National park, where we did a night game drive, which I would not recommend as we saw only a few small animals. I have since heard it is better to do night game drives at Tarangire. Each of the National parks has very different scenery and provides different experiences.
We saw lots and lots of different animals and had seen the Big 5 after our first two days! The lions, leopards and cheetahs were not as prolific as I was expecting, they were quite hard to spot! We only saw one rhino and that was only it's horn!
It was fascinating following the wildebeest migration and we were lucky enough to see herds crossing the Mara river along with some zebra and antelopes.
Another highlight of our time in the Serengeti was our early morning balloon ride - we were above the herds of wildebeest and spotted hippos, antelopes, zebras, hyenas, warthogs and giraffes - the whole flight was magical and we ended with a breakfast together. One thing I would like to mention was the balloon sections were groups of four and we were a three so managed to be together, but there was a larger group who had to be split up and fill in the empty spaces - I would have been very disappointed if this had happened to us, so it may be worth checking this first.
We visited a Maasi village which was really interesting and gave us an insight into how they live, they sell jewellery and wooden items which we ended up buying quite a lot of! US Dollars or Tanzanian schilling are accepted. Another highlight was our visit to Mto Wa Mbu which was a village where 120 tribes live side by side. We visited a market, an artists studio, tried banana beer and enjoyed a local lunch, it was definitely worth visiting. Every person we met during our trip were friendly and welcoming and we really enjoyed learning about the culture.
Our tour was full board, made up of buffet breakfast and evening meals and a packed lunch. We particularly enjoyed the food at the tented camps and tried lots of things we have never come across before!
We felt safe at all times and our driver/guide was very knowledgeable and drove really well, despite the poor road surfaces.
The weather was mainly cloudy/sunny around 27°C but we did have the occasional bit of drizzly weather.
We managed to catch a glimpse of the top of Mount Kilimanjaro on the plane on our way home!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely superb
I have no words to describe NTN and Pepe other than superb in all aspects. Pepe showed complete attention to detail as well as listening to what we asked for. She was able to put together an amazing itinerary with two days notice and find us a superb driver, Martin. My daughter and I were traveling together and not worried about safety once and could just relax and enjoy the trip. Pepe was able to find us places to stay at a spectrum of price points so we could decide what we would like to do. She answered messages incredibly quickly. Martin also went above and beyond at trying to ensure each day was great. Namibia has always been on my bucket list and I am so glad to have been able to do it in such a spectacular way - seeing a leopard eat its prey up a tree whilst its cub playfully stalked our jeep was truly amazing. A heartfelt thank you for making myself and my daughter have such an amazing time.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
a safari experience that deviated from the expected itinerary
I had booked a seven-day safari with Super Eagles, upgrading my accommodation for added comfort. Unfortunately, the journey didn't unfold as expected. Sharing a minibus with five strangers from different agencies was unexpected, and accommodation issues even led to a missed booking. The lodging arrangements didn't match the initial plan. Despite the prime wildlife viewing times being sunrise and sunset, our schedule rarely accommodated this. Additionally, the addition of two new travelers resulted in a shortened visit to Nakuru Park, allowing them to catch another minibus. Two new travelers joined later, forcing us to cut short our Nakuru Park visit so they could catch another minibus.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome
We were assisted by Paul to plan and help make all the arrangements including hotels. Our safari guide Idris was very professional and amazing as well. We saw the big five and a lot more. My kids really enjoyed the holiday.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari and African culture at its best
The Safari organized by Suricata was just perfect! I did the 5 days lodge Safari.
My guide Braison was super charming, funny and he has an excellent knowledge about the wildlife and nature. He was so motivated to create the best experience for his clients, and he is so good in spotting the animals. Also after the Safari we spent some fun time together and I consider him as a new friend!
Safari was full board and the lunch was freshly prepared by chef Salim. It was such a delicious and traditional cuisine. Amazing!
Moreover I was lucky to stay two nights in the recently opened Suricata Boma Lodge. This Lodge is just a dream with super friendly staff, great pool with a view and nice bungalows.
Lastly, whole Safari was organized by Hilary himself, the owner of the company. He was super reactive and flexible according to my needs.
Stop searching and spending hours to identify the best Safari provider in Tanzania and go with Suricata! It will be your best choice.
Alex
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 6 days in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro-Area in the best of company!
In July 2023 I spent 6 days with Akida, Bakari and two other travelers on safari. It was such an amazing experience. We saw so many wild animals, that it is hard to name them all. Bakari also gave us lots of informations about them and answered all our questions. One of my highlights: We observed a cheetah during the hunt. And he catched the gazelle in the end. We were also so lucky to see the "Big 5" and the "Big Migration". Akida and Bakari cared about us and always made sure that we're fine. Akida and Bakari: Thank you so much for everything! It couldn't have been better! All the best to both of you!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We had booked a day trip to Tarangire.
The trip was well organised and we were able to see plenty of animals in one day.
The guide, Damian, was super nice and professional. He made sure that everyone in the car had the best experience and spotted the animal they wanted to see the most.
We grandly recommend this tour operator and this guide
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A trip to match our dreams
We were looked after by Obama during our first trip to Tanzania.
The trip was exceptional and nothing would have been as perfect without Obama's professionalism and passion.
We visited Tarangire, Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in complete safety and in the comfort of his vehicle.
We can only recommend Obama's services for organising your future safaris.
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari ever with Full Package adventures and our guide Zakaria.
Best safari ever with Full Package adventures and our guide Zakaria.
Our tour with Full y and guide Zakaria was absolutely wonderful. It was the best Safari trip we have ever been on. Faraja from Full Package Adventures arranged everything beautifully and all the places we stayed at were excellent. Our guide Zakaria was terrific and fantastic one. He was very knowledgeable, caring, thoughtful and a fantastic spotter with an uncanny ability to get us in the right place at the right time. We saw and experience river crossings with the Wildebeest in full frenzy as they poured across the Mara; we also saw over 80 lions, 6 leopards, 4 cheetahs, a cerval (a new cat for us) and over 100 species of birds. We would thoroughly recommend Full Package Adventures. The trip was amazing and experienced one.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Simply marvelous
Our vacation in Dar Es Salaam was so seamless thanks to them. Their customer care is top tier, special thanks to Linah who handled our stay and logistics which were so smooth from the pick up. I highly recommend Engatuny luxury safaris