US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Turn Key Operator made our vacation stress free
Mwaje was timely with responding to our relatively complicated accommodation. We had a complex trip which involved part private bookings and part bookings with him as we visited friends in Kenya. I was surprised how efficiently his drivers would show up to pick us up, drop off our luggage, transfer us from one accommodation to the next. It was relieving to know that we were always taken care of. One of our flights had to be changed at the last minute and Mwaje personally called and paid the driver the difference of our cab fare. It was very professional.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional, skilled, and respectful of the animals.
The tour exceeded my expectations. Our guide provided time to enjoy the animals when they came close. We had the privilege of seeing many animals including a herd of elephants. I was so pleased at the respect our guide took with the animals when they were close.
NO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent staff, too service and a super guide
Very good from the beginning to the end. Good Communication with the representative during the planning and organizeing, and also during the safari. Skilled people on site, and a super guide took very good care of us. All our expectations were fullfilled.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
2-day safari + 7-day Kilimanjaro Machame Route
Great experience booking with Barafu Tours during my trip to Tanzania. I am a solo, female traveler in my late 20s and felt safe and well-cared for the entire time. I will state a disclaimer that I tend to rough it, am very "go-with-the-flow," and have low expectations when traveling, so I was blown away by the conditions and hospitality on this trip. But if you have a different travel style or expectations, you may have a different experience. September was a great time of year for this trip, in my opinion, because it was dry season. However, there are pros and cons to consider. During safari, it was low season so there were few cars in the parks, but the downside being the conditions were dry and yellow. During Kilimanjaro, there was no rain and ideal hiking conditions, but the mountain was also quite busy with other hikers.
Prior to my visit, booking and scheduling was easy and Barafu was very responsive via email while we were finalizing the schedule. I also liked that the company is run by a Tanzanian owner who has great English and is very accommodating (even drove me to the airport in his personal car because all of the safari cars were in use). They truly want you to have a good experience.
On the website, note that the dates listed are tours that others have booked and you can join, but if the dates don't work for your schedule, you can contact Barafu to try to work something out.
Two-day safari (Sept 14-16): Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. Didn't have enough time for Serengeti. I felt 2 days in 2 very different parks was perfect for me and I was able to see a lot! Itinerary: Day 1 - Departed Moshi around 8am, afternoon drive in Tarangire. Day 2 - Full day in Ngorongoro. Day 3 - Return to Moshi and visited Masai village on the way. Guide was extremely knowledgable, personable and accommodating. Stayed at the "mid-range" lodging option in Karatu and was blown away - definitely felt like it could have been the "luxury" option with pool, spa, fireplace in my room, amazing hospitality from staff.
Kilimanjaro 7-day Machame Route (Sept 17-23, off the mountain by 12pm on the 23rd): What a life changing experience and well worth the price. At the last minute the other hiker dropped and therefore I was going to be a solo hiker with the crew of porters, guides and cooks. I preferred to hike with a group of other first time hikers and Barafu was extremely accommodating - they used their connections with other tour companies to allow me to join a group of 3 other hikers from a different company. I am young and athletic and am very glad I did the 7-day hike. The acclimatization profile of the 6-day hike would have been challenging for me. The guides are very well trained, knowledgable, and I fully trusted them. They took our oxygen and pulse each night and briefed us on the plan for the following day. Food was amazing and the porters work extremely hard. Note: Please take note of guidance on tipping. These folks work so hard to help you succeed and I felt it was important to tip well - I spent about $300USD in tipping which is not included in the price of the hike. Make sure to bring tip money with you on the hike because the final day on the mountain you are given the opportunity to tip. Another note: I was able to buy Diamox (for altitude) at a Pharmacy in Moshi for $3USD the day before the hike.
Overall, great experience with Barafu - would recommend to my own family and friends. It was nice to book safari and Kilimanjaro with the same company for ease of logistics and payment.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
BEST EXPERIENCE! It was an amazing trip that was coordinated by the best Safari Travel Agency.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND. The communication was superb, Sylvester and the rest of his team was prompt with answering my queries and always had suggestions on improving our safari. The expectation was exceeded, the hotels we stayed at was more than we could ask for. We did a 4 day stay in Zanzibar after our safari and that was a great decision, the hotel we stayed at was more than what we expected. Hassan, our tour guide/driver was astounding, he made sure to that we saw all the animals we wanted to see and always positioned our land cruiser in the perfect place to get the best pictures. If you can upgrade to a Land Cruiser, it will be worth it. I can't thank Hassan, Sylvester and the rest of the team with how our first time to Kenya went so amazingly! We're already looking forward to our next adventure in Africa. Overall the best experience and will definitely use Seven By Far Tours in the future!
LK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Breathtaking safari
From the pick up at the Nairobi airport until the return there, it was a well planned tour. Our driver guide Geoff was a fantastic man who was exceptional in his jungle driving and reaching the wild animals. I had a little fear when the first lion group surrounded the land cruiser but for Geoff it was only a routine, safe moment. The lodging was also a more comfortable and safe place with protection of massai warriors. The hotel staff was also very friendly and keen on their work. I can happily say that I got the best wild safari experience.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just perfect!
Since Patrick picked us up in the airport until he left us in Nairobi every thing has been perfect. We asked for hotels inside de parks (wich is quite important) and the stardart ones were excellence! Unforgettable experience!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you for coming to our rescue and making our Botswana experience one we will always remember.
Thank you Maria and Kalahari Breeze Safaris for coming to our rescue, after our original trip with another operator was cancelled the day before departure.
What incredible memories you created for our trip through Botswana with the great choices of mobile camping spots, incredible game viewing: 3 leopards on one day, lions with cubs and painted dogs with pups on another, not to mention our memory cards full with elephants, giraffe, hippo, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, warthogs and oh too many more to mention.
Our amazing driver and guide, Cliff, ensured our safe arrivals and even helped out those not so lucky in the deep sand. Our hats go off to Cliff and Maria for their knowledge, not to mention how they managed to find the crew and our camps in the bush...
Our camp crew was superb. They had everything ready on our arrivals, wet cloths upon return from our game drives, hot water for showers and washing and our cook Ogie provided wonderful and delicious meals each and every day off the campfire.
Our only regret is that our trip was not longer and that we had to say good bye too soon.
Thanks to everyone at Kalahari Breeze Safaris. Your attention to detail and true desire to ensure the best experience for your guests will make you our choice for our next trip to Botswana.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
6 days group join Safari
AMAZING TRIP TO NORTHERN CIRCUIT
I am so glad we used TaraLight Safari Tours. It was really nice to deal with this tour company. I loved that we could send a check in for our deposit without any worry - much better than wiring the money to Africa as most of the other agents required. The entire trip came off without a hitch. Lightness did a fabulous job of planning every detail of the trip. We felt really lucky to have Lucas as our guide. He was professional in every way and wow! he was a great tracker. We were often the first vehicle on the scene so we would get our fill of photos before anyone else would arrive. He speaks impeccable English and was just a super nice guy to hang out with for a week. The whole trip was an incredible experience that our friends will remember for a lifetime.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic Company & Fantastic Country
Firstly, apologies for the long review, but this is quite an expensive adventure and I want people to understand what value for money it actually is and what an amazing experience you will have!
Truth be told, my partner and I knew very little of Uganda, it all started due to the fact we wanted to see the Gorilla’s and there are only three places on earth this is possible;
Uganda - Permit $750
Rwanda - Permit $1500
DRC - Permit $1500 (possibly unsafe)
We initially chose Uganda due to cost, it wasn’t until we spoke to Chris at Encounter Africa that he showed us how much more Uganda has to offer and we were very pleasantly surprised.
Once we decided on Uganda, I emailed a few companies that had very good reviews on this site, but it was Chris that shone immediately with his knowledge, flexibility and the swiftness of his reply to any of my requests. This led to us changing from a couple of days in Uganda to a 7 day 6 night trip with Encounter Africa. Once we decided, Chris gave us a price and we paid for our permits, with Chris issuing us a copy of the permits with the final monies due two weeks before the trip.
The Trip:
Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest (Gorillas):
We landed at Entebbe airport on a first day and had already booked our own hotel next to the airport with Encounter Africa picking us up the next morning. On our first morning Alex, our guide for the next 7 days, was early and ready to go. Our first stop was Bwindi Impenetrable Rainforest, this took 8hrs by car, with Alex making sure we had everything we needed, including a traditional feast for lunch. Once we entered Bwindi you truly appreciate why you have travelled this far, I have personally travelled all around the world and Bwindi is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We arrived at our accommodation (Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge) which was the most basic of the 3 lodges that EA booked for us but the views were absolutely breath-taking. In the morning Alex drove us about 30mins to the briefing area, there were about 40 people, with the gorilla guides splitting you in to groups of 8 depending on your Physical fitness. Being in our thirties, we were put into the hardest group. Once the briefing was finished we headed into the forest, the trek took about 2.5hrs of hard terrain before we found the gorillas (don’t be put off by this as other groups went to families much closer). Once we found the gorillas it was truly amazing, they say you can only be at closest 8m away, but we regularly got closer and at one stage as close as 1m, it was unbelievable! We were lucky to see a family of about 12 including babies and 3 silver backs. It was a truly amazing sight and well worth the money and the hard 2.5hrs trek each way.
Kibale (Chimpanzees):
Our next part of our trip was in Kibale, this took about 6hrs drive and we stayed in Kibale Lodge. The accommodation was very nice but a little more commercial than Gorilla Haven. The next morning Chris took us to the park, we had our briefing with about 50 other people then headed into the forest in a group of 6. It took about 10mins to find a family of about 10, one was quite low in the trees and the rest were all basically out of view, it stayed this way for about 45mins then to our amazement they all started to come down from the trees. We were lucky and our guide took us to follow a baby and two adults, and I was lucky enough to get within about half a metre from one, another amazing experience.
Murchison Falls (Waterfall and Gam Drive - the Big Five):
In the morning we headed to the Falls which was about an 8hr drive and our accommodation was Murchison Falls River Lodge on the River Nile. We arrived at about 3pm and headed straight on our evening drive. We see lots of animals - elephants, giraffe, antelope, wild boar, buffalo and loads of Hippos. This time Alex was our guide and driver. The next day we mentioned to Alex that we would love to see a Lion, and we drove around for hours, in places he had seen them in many times before; Alex would not stop until this happened,. About 3 hours into the trip, he spotted one about 100m away of the road with a fresh kill, but Alex was not satisfied with that so we went off for lunch by the river and came back when less cars were about and he and another car decided to go off road to get closer; and when I mean close I mean about 1m away! Park rules state this is not allowed but Alex went above and beyond to make sure we were happy, it was amazing and thank you to Alex for risking it to make sure we had an incredible experience. To add to a fantastic day on the way out we saw a Hyena about 10m from the road, these are very difficult to see in the day and I have been on about 10-15 safari drives and never seen a Hyena. Amazing.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary:
Last stop on the way to the airport, about 4hrs drive. This is an amazing project as White Rhinos are pretty much extinct in the wild and were extinct in Uganda until this project started. They now they have approx 30 Rhinos in a huge park who can roam the wild without threat of poachers, we were lucky enough to see an 18yr old mum (one of the originals) and her 1 yr old baby making their way to a watering hole. Another amazing experience.
Summary:
So we see Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino, a Lion, a Hyena, plus many many more, including the country’s own Uganda Cob. The only thing we didn’t see was a Leopard but these are extremely rare and I have only seen one in all my time on safari in Africa (to be honest if it Leopards you want to see, I would advise you go to Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, I saw about six in two drives, one for about 20mins round our jeep).
All I can say is that Uganda is an amazing country, very safe and one of the only countries, if not the only country, you can see all of the above. Encounter Africa was the most professional and friendly travel company I have ever come across, they have a very high standard of staff and go above and beyond to make sure you have an amazing experience. Our Guide Alex was fantastic and always gave us space but at the same time made sure we had everything we needed, I cannot recommend him enough and if you decide to go with EA and request for Alex, you will not be disappointed. The final thing I would like to say is thank you to Chris, Alex and the whole Encounter Africa team for a once in a life time experience that my partner and I will never forget. If you are reading this and are wondering whether to go, stop thinking, just talk to Chris and he will put something together for all budgets and you will have a once in a life time experience.
I will be sending photos to Chris, for him to upload if anyone is interested in seeing them.
We honestly could not have had a better experience and we wish we could do it all again, for longer!
