NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing wild sightings on spectacular game drives in amazing environment
Relaxed and safe atmosohere starting in Hoedspruit. Great private game reserves for intense game drives even following the animals off road. Greater Kruger is the place to be. Book some nights in safari tents for the best bush experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and Easy to Coordinate
Gems of Africa was quick to respond to a request for a quote for my trip to Pilanesberg for a 2 day safari. They gave me a couple of options at different lounges and the booking process was smooth. My only critique was that I would have liked more information on the transportation side. I arranged for a transfer from my hotel in Johannesburg to the park and I wasn't even sure what kind of car to expect. The driver was courteous and the ride was OK.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic experience, excellent service
David and Elizabeth worked very closely with us, helping tailor our itinerary months in advance, being extremely accommodating of our large group with its diverse interests and crafting the most unforgettable experience within a very reasonable budget. They are very communicative, extremely thoughtful and considerate and highly competent. We visited Masai Mara, Naivasha, Amboseli, Mombasa and Nairobi and they saw to every little detail along the way. I would very highly recommend Elida Tours for all your travel needs! Asante sana David and Elizabeth!! I cannot wait to return for more adventures!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip of our lives!!
Doing a safari had been #1 on my bucket list since I was a child so we decided a safari would be the perfect adventure for our honeymoon. After many, many hours of online research and contacting various different safari operators Amazing Memories came out on top. They had great packages with great prices and so many genuinely wonderful reviews, Communication with Anne was always friendly and quick, even with the 9 hour time difference from western Canada to Kenya,
Absolutely every detail of our safari went perfectly! From airport pickup to airport drop off we were taken care of. We chose a 14 day package which included a 10 day safari in Kenya with a few days of relaxation in Zanzibar at the end. Our guide Joseph was great! He was very friendly and he genuinely cared about our experience and all the animals he helped us find! I am still blown away by how many animals we were able to see! We even got to see the spotted zebra foal at Masai Mara!
Our lodges were all very nice. We especially enjoyed the Samburu Simba Lodge and Sweetwaters Serena Camp. Our hotel, The Sands in Zanzibar was also wonderful! Beautiful location, friendliest staff and very delicious food and drinks. We would 100% recommend anyone to visit Kenya and to use Amazing Memories Safaris for their trip! We hope that we will be able to come back again one day!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect Week in Uganda w/Joan and John
Jordan and I worked with Mukisa to create a bespoke, private tour in Uganda for 9 days this October. Based on one of their itineraries, we elected to visit Jinja for rafting, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Richard emailed us back and forth when setting up the details of the trip. In the booking process, his recommendations for accommodations were excellent; the safari lodges were stayed at, particularly the one at Bwindi were stunning. We decided to book with Mukisa because they had received such excellent reviews and because of Richard's prompt, detailed and attentive communication. The trip lived up to all of our expectations. Joan, our guide, and John, our driver, made us so comfortable, informed and cared for, they felt like old friends by the end of the trip. They were knowledgable and caring, and we always thoughtful to stop on long drives so we could have a coffee and snack! I also want to note very few tour operators in Uganda that we spotted used female guides. Mukisa does and Joan was OUTSTANDING. I was thrilled to be able to support a LOCAL (i.e. Ugandan, not British) company that empowers WOMEN as our tour company. Yes, we saw the Big Five and the falls and the gorillas, but I also got a real sense of Ugandan people and culture (and food!) through my chats with Joan and John. For a safe, trustworthy company dedicated to exceptional safaris, book with Mukisa!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A rekindling of the soul
I contacted Skywide directly from the UK to organise a very last minute trip to Kenya, after previous travel plans to visit had taken a downwards turn.
Skywide were both prompt and responsive with their communications and adapted the tour to suit my travelling itinerary as a solo traveller, and also with what I wanted to experience and photograph on the safari itself. They organised a choice of accommodation, lunches, tour van and an excellent guide.
The safari itself was a whirlwind of emotions and experiences to absorb in just three days, with each day bringing something new and exciting. After previously visiting Swaziland and South Africa and seeing the Big 5 and more there, I was hoping to experience the Great Migration and perhaps to see a Cheetah encase I was able to partake on a trip like this again, yet I experienced this and so much more in the Masaai Mara.
I went to Kenya for many things yet came away with so much more, and a rekindling of why I have been in love with Africa since I was young.
CL
It was all perfect
It was really nice experience for us. Everything was perfect, the safari, food, transport, everything. I have a travel company in Chile and for all the group was perfect. Thanks!
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Do not use! The worst experience ever!
I booked a 7 day tour with Enrico safari two months in advance, and emailed him a few days before arriving to ensure that everything was organized, which he confirmed. However, the service level and organization of this company turned out to be far from professional or satisfactory. Here is a long list of reasons:
- My tour was supposed to start with an airport pick-up from where we would go straight to Etosha NP, but there was no one to meet me at the airport. Only through the help of a random friendly taxi driver did I manage to get a hold of Enrico. After two hours someone finally arrived, but this was not the guide/driver who was originally meant to do the tour. That guide had not shown up as it turned out - my new guide informed me. We ended up leaving with a 3-hour delay out of Windhoek as the new guide had to drive around and arrange different private things before leaving.
- Whereas the other guides waiting for their clients at the airport were well dressed wearing uniforms with the company logos, my guide was shabbily dressed in dirty clothes and flip flops.
- As a result of the delay in leaving from Windhoek we arrived very late in Etosha and I did not get the afternoon game drive that I had paid for. No apology or compensation offered!
- The guide did not know the itinerary of my tour and did not have it either on his phone or on paper, so basically he did not know what I was doing, where I was staying, etc. And Enrico did nothing to ensure that he did. Even on day 3 of the tour the guide was unsure about what was happening after having been on the phone with Enrico several times.
- All trough this it was very difficult to get a hold of Enrico, who had claimed to the guide that I had not given him the flight information even though I have an email saying “thank you for providing the information”. He also repeatedly kept saying he would call to sort things out with me, but he never did.
- When arriving at the lodge in Etosha on the first night I found out that the booking was wrong as only two nights had been booked, but according to the itinerary I was staying for 3. Enrico said he would fix it Friday night, but it did not get fixed until Sunday afternoon. And I had to go to a different accommodation.
- On the second day we went on a game drive in the park, but when it came to paying the park fees the guide didn’t have any money to pay as there was no money on the company card. (Enrico later claimed that there were problems with the card, but if you read other reviews here, this is apparently not the first time that has happened). After waiting for over 2 hours at the park office, and the park was closing we paid the park fees ourselves even though they had already been paid for as part of the payment for the tour. We would not have been able to leave the park otherwise and would have had nowhere to stay. During those more than two hours we tried to call Enrico repeatedly, but he did not answer. In the evening we finally spoke to him. He was extremely rude and could not see any problem and denied the problems. He said he would call us back later but never did.
- On the third day the guide was changed to another guide without any notice. On the same day we were stopped by the police and rangers in the National park. The guide did not have the required documents to prove that he was a guide, so was not actually allowed to drive in the park with me. The police let him continue with a warning.
- The guides/drivers of other companies would use part of the lunch breaks in the park to refuel and clean the car in order to maximize the clients’ time, whereas my guide would get me in the car and then spend 15 min refueling and cleaning the car.
- All the other companies used appropriate safari vehicles, whereas Enrico used a normal car used for normal roads. During the two days I was there not once did I see any company or private visitors to the park use such a car. The car was not appropriate for safaris and at the end of the day both back tires were flat.
- A lot of the information in the itinerary was wrong. E.g. it said that the drive from Etosha to Sawkopmund was 3 hours, but it was 6 1/2 hours. The pictures and description (“perched on a hill with expansive views”) used were not from Etosha Safari Lodge, but from a more expensive lodge.
- On day 4 I spoke to Enrico on the phone as the guide was trying to get money to pay for activities, petrol and accommodation, but Enrico kept not transferring enough money even though the guide pushed for it. Enrico practices a system where the guide has a company card, onto which he transfers money for the next thing - next meal, next accommodation, next activity. But sometimes the card doesn’t work and often there isn’t enough money on the card to e.g. fill up the petrol. Enrico was extremely rude to me over the phone, yelled, lied, talked over me, refused to listen to anything I said and was very arrogant. I have never by any of the tour companies I have used in any of the 60 countries I have visited been spoken to so rudely and been treated so unprofessionally.
- On day 5 when my activities had been moved to (according to the itinerary they were supposed to have been on day 4) I arranged with the guide to be picked up at 9, so that I could be at the activity center for 10. At 9.40 when he still hadn’t arrived, I called him, and he said that he was at the garage to have the tires fixed, which got broken in Etosha 2 days prior. He showed up at 10.15!
- On day 5 the car had to be changed as it was not appropriate for driving in the desert in Sesriem, and an appropriate car was to be driven from Windhoek. The day before Enrico had said on the phone that the car would be ready at 11.00. At 13.45 when I had finished my activity there was still no car, and Enrico now informs the guide over the phone that the car was in service. Again no apology or compensation.
- We set off for Sesriem in the car that was not appropriate for the desert and after driving for 10 min the car would not run. As I found out 15 min later, the guide had not put any petrol on the car. So we simply ran out of petrol in the middle of the road in swakopmund. At this point I decided to terminate the tour, as I did not feel safe in the car or with the guide or the company.
In sum, the tour was a complete mess organisationwise from beginning to the point when I’d had enough. This caused a lot of stress, hassle and a feeling of not feeling safe. Constantly having to worry about whether the guide could pay for petrol the next time, or whether the next thing on the itinerary had been booked or not, is not exactly something that makes a holiday enjoyable or relaxing. Throughout the duration of the tour Enrico acted both rudely and highly unprofessionally. E.g. shouting on the phone, not listening, not acknowledging that anything was wrong (judge yourself by the points listed above), not answering or returning calls, despite making many promises to do so. In spite of all the disorganization, no apologies or compensation were offered. On the contrary Enrico accused me of looking for things to criticize (judge for yourself by the points above - and reviews listing the exact same problems). I completely recognize the descriptions in the bad reviews that many other travelers on here have written and there is definitely a pattern of the same things happening repeatedly. So if you value your holiday, time and money, do not use Enrico! I met many professional companies along the way in Namibia - use them instead!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible service and attentiveness
We found our ideal tour operator for our once-in-a-lifetime tour.
We researched many tour operators for our Tanzanian safari, some provided by friends and others through internet searches. Many were vague about services, only highlighted the "properties" where we could stay, or wanted money upfront before any hint was given of their capabilities.
Alym Bhanji at East Africa Wild catered to our unique itinerary without skipping a beat. And not only did he set up the itinerary, with all the highlights of each day, he posted it onto an interactive app that was even downloadable for times when we had no wifi service. And last minute changes because of airline or accommodation company hiccups? No problem. He handled them seamlessly while we were on safari and sent the updates to both us and our driver.
And our driver/guide, Carlos, was the best. All the other drivers sought him out for his encyclopedic advice, based on more than 25 years of guiding. We knew we were spoiled having him guide us through Tanzania.
I don't usually have a lot of praise for tour operators and travel agents. With my travel experience, I can often navigate my own way through needed itineraries. In this case, I knew I needed a real pro and we found him in Alym Bhanji with East Africa Wild.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best experience of our lives
Luis from Soul of Tanzania organized our Honeymoon at Zanzibar for some relaxing in the beach and Safari in Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Serengeti. We couldn't be happier! He was amazing throughout all the booking and preparation of our travelling, always presenting options that would be less or more towards our budget. Everything was arranged and we had no worries at all during our trip. In the end we had the most amazing days, in the most amazing hotels and with the best Safari guide, Emanuel. We are very grateful for making our Honeymoon perfect and we will definitely return and book again with Soul of Tanzania.
