IE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing, unforgettable journey
The trip overall was a great experience. The bungalows were nice and clean, the food was amazing and our guide, Sue was very helpful and kind. She made sure we had everything we needed. With her extended knowledge of the nature and the wildlife she had answers to all our questions. The whole trip was very well organized and we felt safe and looked after.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent in Planning
i had a plan climbing mount Kenya during my summer holiday. I came cross many companies on the internet but i settled on this company. I commend them for the great planning especially their guide Vincent who help in in planning my Safaris and making sure that I enjoy the mountain safaris. I'm planning to take another safaris with them mostly Masai Mara that they suggested and I really love the package. The team are friendly and able to allow correction which to me I think is positive.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was worth my money. The whole expirience is so good
They have a range of services that cater to everyone's pocket. The guides are well informative so much knowledge about the people and the animals which was a highlight for me.Hotels were lovely delicious foods. I will definitely go back .I highly recommend anyone planing to travel.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting and well organized day tour climbing Kilimanjaro
We were so glad to pick Taste of Afrika for this day-tour around Kilimanjaro. Seka picked us up on time from our hotel in Arusha and drove us to Moshi, where we improvised to stop for a very necessary taste of local coffee, before starting our way to the mountain. There we met Benjamin, our guide, who was as kind and fun as Seka and made the experience very entertaining. We got to see some monkeys on the way up!! We were also given a deserved meal box after the (moderate) effort to reach Mandara Hut. Finally, we were returned to our hotel in Arusha to wrap up an exciting day.
CZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari
The communication was excellent, fast and clear. Service had no fault: the drivers DO care about their clients, their cars and last but not least about the environment and animals. I had a great experience! Hope to go back!
LT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Classic Tour with Bobby Camping
Six of us, friends, decided for classic route camping safari in Tanzania. We asked 4 different companies for the quotes, and then decided for Bobby Camping. Also inquired for shuttle from Nairobi to Arusha which Murtaza was happy to arrange for us. All in all, communication before the trip was in good quality, although we don't feel being complicated customers either :).
6 days itinerary included Manyara, Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and it was fully completed with Bobby Camping.
Our guide and driver Jolis is a great and knowledgeable guy, always in time, easy to communicate, and also good learner - managed to pick up some foreign words and even sing with us!
Understandably, while camping and on the tight budget, we were not looking for gourmet experience, more like simple and filling food to keep us going. Miraji took care of that, and we never left the tables hungry.
All in all, I will recommend Bobby Camping to my friends in case they decide for the vacations in Tanzania.
All the best, keep going.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable trip
The trip was super gorgeous, services were perfect , I enjoyed every bit of it. It was my pleasure and would love to travel again with Africa outland....
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great 22 day trip of Kenya & Tanzania
My wife & I took a 22 day tour starting Sept 29th to Kenya & Tanzania. We did a circle tour from Nairobi, Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyana, Tarangire and back into Kenya via Tsavo & finally back to Nairobi.
We dealt with Elvis planning from May. We dealt with a few companies but as soon as we started communicating with Elvis, I knew we were going with Classic Journeys. He was always prompt & responding and gave all the right responses. Some of the things we liked was: all land cruisers & no vans. He even sent us a photo of the vehicle. He worked seamlessly connecting Kenya & Tanzania. They accepted credit cards at a lower surcharge rate than other companies. And Elvis was a very accommodating as I am very picky & made numerous changes. I put the whole thing together as to where & how many nights at each park & lodge. If you want they can put the trip together for you but for us we have been to Africa a few times so I enjoy putting the trip together myself. We were picked up at the airport, with a land cruiser waiting, and ready to go touring. The company is very professional, with good drivers, good vehicles & great service before & after the tour as well as during the tour. No major complaints with this company or tour so that's why the 5 stars. We were disappointed with Loyk Lodge where the swimming pool was closed the 3 days we stayed there. I don't know who to blame but nobody told us, it happens.
Now on to the drivers. We had Dixon (this is the correct spelling) for Kenya. No major problems, on-time, car clean, water in vehicle and basically all drives went well & he is an excellent driver, a little on the quiet side. One issue we had though was that he did not like to wake up too early. I assumed 6-9am morning drives. Never happened. He preferred 8 or 9 and we "negotiated" 7:30 for most days. I was not demanding & tried to be conciliatory but I got the impression he did not see the point of early drives. I felt awkward always wanting to start earlier. The itinerary said typical days would be up before dawn for a game drive. Never happened, we never got up before dawn. On the other hand he gave us very long game drives going into the 1 or 2PM range so even too long as my wife was getting tired after a few hours. Now being a 3 week tour, this became tiring with long game drives & no time to recover. We would arrive at the lodge at 1 or 2 and go for lunch & an hour later back for 4pm drive. No pool time, no recharging batteries time, and tough for a vacation. I would have preferred to be done by 11am & have 5 hours to rest. We skipped many nice swimming pools for lack of time at the lodge. So if you like long game drives, we got a lot of that & many people would love this. On a 5 day trip great, but on a 22 day trip, we didn't need the extra driving.
Another small issue is that the drivers seem to keep wanting to find that leopard even when we didn't and just wanted to see elephants & rhinos. Hours can be spent seeking the leopard for a tiny photo of the animals sitting or sleeping. I prefer the herds of active elephants. But it seems to be a badge of honor to get that leopard & drivers won't pay attention if you say no leopard.
By the way, Tsavo was the worst park. One game drive I took no photos at all. It was at a Tsavo conservancy. I asked Elvis for a few conservancy drives assuming that we would have off road driving. Loyk had a nice conservancy write-up in the Mara. This somehow fell through as we were not allowed in their conservancy (Orok) nor the other one in the Serengeti. Something about changes in rules or that Loyk is not inside the conservancy. I don't quite understand as other Loyk reviews talk about the great drives in the conservancy.
Other issues in the car was the refrigerator is actually just a box, not cold so keep that in mind. There was wifi in the car which worked for about 3 days, better than nothing. But we had a very good vehicle with no problems on some terrible roads.
For the Tanzania part we spent 8 days with Mirage. He was good humored and we enjoyed his game drives. However once again there were a few issues. He would get us to the lodge not at 10 or 11 nor at 1 or 2pm but at 4 or 5 pm! No pool time, no sit down lunch (packed lunches) and no time to rest. These were very long game drives & very tiring. I finally got us to start with lunches at the new lodges & end with breakfast, instead of start with dinners which meant packed lunches since we never arrived by lunch time. It is true we were moving from park to park & had a long schedule at times but still, the drives were too long & arrival at some really nice camps too late to enjoy them. I was also upset that we didn't get to see the migration crossing while others at our camp said they did. I initially did state: top priority is the migration viewing. We did see leopard & lots of cats. I really wanted to see a lot of elephants especially at Tarangire national park & we saw very little. Once again I think the leopard chase is more important to drivers even if you keep saying elephants please. So to summarize, too many packed lunches & always late arrivals to the lodges. Starting earlier would have helped.
I recommend this company with no hesitation. The price was a lot lower than others offered. We were very happy with the trip but would next time be more insistent on timing of the game drives. since each driver has his own pattern.
Bottom line: Great company, trustworthy no hesitation in using them again, but with a few recommendations for improvement.
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ist's OK.
Guides James ist a great Guide. Bis German is perfect. He hat many ideas. He is great.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
Perfect Safari and good guide.
Very respectuous of animals.and safe.