DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fourth time with Africa Tours Adventure - hopefully, there will be a fifth time in the future
I've been to Eastern Africa three times in the past years - always with Nicholas and his team. That's why I naturally reached out to him again in order to organize a four country trip (Burundi/Congo/Rwanda/Uganda). Nicholas again did a marvellous job and created a spot-on itinerary. He was always very responsive and patiently endured my whims.
The team and my guide Patrick expertedly navigated the customs/covid-19 bureaucracy and allowed for another memorable trip. Patrick was not only great in organizing the border crossings, he also was a very knowledgeable guide with eagle eyes in Akagera. I'm already hoping that there will be peace in Eastern Congo - not only for the local community, but also egoistically so that I can reach out again to Nicholas for a journey to the Virunga NP. There is a reason he only has 5 star reviews here.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Made our safari dreams come true
Thank you to Megan for helping us organise the ultimate family holiday. She was happy to help with all the details, allowing me to adjust accommodation to better meet our needs and also answering the silliest of questions one of us might have had with professionalism and never making me feel as if I was wasting her time. We were able to have the holiday we dreamed of within a budget many other operators just didn't even respond to. The local tour operator in Tanzania was Experience Tanzania and our guide was Silayo. He was brilliant. He was quick to realise what we liked to see, how long to stop at different animals and was also an expert at getting into the perfect spots on the road to view the animals. It was also very clear that he knew most guides and had their respect which gave us the confirmation that he was an excellent and respected guide. By the end of the holiday my mom was almost teary saying goodbye to him as we loved the time with him so much. I have already recommended Megan and Discover Africa to family and will definitely continue doing so.
PT
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
LongWay Expeditions thrive to share with us their knowledge/love of Tanzanian wondrous wildlife
I got acquainted with Ann+Abu (the knowledgeable organizers) via Responsible Travel in 2022. Communications with both are very easy since they are both very professional and have a great command of English, both spoken and written. Via many e-mails, I did organize with Ann my first trip with my son and in-law which we thoroughly enjoyed during 8 days in early September 2022; Abu was the attentive and caring Driver/Guide. During our many conversations Abu mentioned the Migration calving in Ndutu area as something very special. A few months after my return I started friendly communications with Ann in order to organize my solo safari, this time 10 days which just happened in February. I have enjoyed safaris before, but the inner quality, professionalism and care of Abu raise these safaris to another level of friendly interaction where we learn to appreciate animal behavior details, that enhance the whole experience. This time I always stayed inside the Parks: 1 day Tarangire, 4 days Ndutu, 2 days central Serengeti, it was awesome. I must say that I never read anything about Tanzania tourism, hence these wondrous experiences rely on their profound knowledge and love of Tanzania. I cannot wait to go again with my new friends ANN and ABU to those mesmerizing Tanzanian Parks. I know how extremely reliable they are in every sense, organize safaris with great care both in the perspective of enjoying the diversity of scenery and animals whilst paying attention to the client budget and choice of Parks and Lodge .
LT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Real adventures!
We chose Morning Star Tours for safari, because they offered most suitable custom safari for me, my husband and our 4 year old son, moreover, their prices were 30% lower for the same intinerary compared to the other big tour operators.
We were really happy about our guide and driver Alex. We thought he was a newbie (looking very young ;) ), but we found out that he was an experienced guide working in the business for 7 years!
Alex is a really good driver (we felt very safe) and he is an adventure seeker, due to his effort and persistence, we managed to encounter a male lion in one meter distance protecting his resting lioness. What a memory!! And I am not talking about his effort during all the trip to meet all big 5!
He was also very patient with our toddler, who used to get bored during long trips.
Thanks for great experience!
Much recommended!
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most remarkable safari experience
Rama our contact and host in Tanzania and Super-guide Musa were a pleasure to work with. I took my family on a four day safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Musa was highly knowledgeable about the wildlife, birds, history and generally everything about Tanzania. A really charming person who is passionate about conservation and guiding visitors.
We were able to see so many animals upclose, including all the big 5, birds and beautiful landscapes. We also visited the Maasai local tribe who entertained us with dances, food and cultural curios.
I would not change anything about our trip and highly recommend Gecko Adventure Tanzania
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect Tour Company
When my wife and I decided to go on safari we had no idea which company to go with. After a great deal of research and selecting 12 companies I gradually crossed each one off before I arrived with Mufasa and I believe I made the right decision. From my initial contact with them to being dropped off at the airport for our flight home Mufasa were magnificent.
Polly was my point of contact at Mufasa and she was one of the main reasons why we went with them. She responded instantly to my first email and her enthusiasm was clear for us to see. I gave her a rough idea of the itinerary I was looking for and she fine tuned this to perfection. She filled us with confidence, something that was welcomed for a couple going on their first proper safari, and anytime I contacted her with any questions she replied super fast.
A day before we were due to fly to Nairobi we had a problem with our flights (booked independently) which meant we would be arriving 5 hours earlier than planned. I contacted Polly who assured me that everything would still be okay at the Nairobi end and she would make sure that the hotel would be fully aware of our new arrival time.
After arriving at Nairobi airport we were met by John and Jim, two staff members from Mufasa, who took us to the Tamarind Tree Hotel for our overnight stay. During our drive to the hotel Polly rang to check that we had arrived safely and everything was fine, this was at 10pm on a Sunday evening!
The following morning we were met by Mary another member of staff who expertly took us through our itinerary just to make sure we knew exactly what the holiday entailed and also gave us the opportunity to ask any last minute questions. Mary then introduced us to Odhis who was going to be our driver/guide for the next 5 days. Odhis is the kind of person you dream about, a stranger one minute, your friend the next minute. A kind and warm hearted man who immediately puts you at ease.
Our holiday consisted of 3 nights in the Masai Mara, 1 night at Lake Naivasha, a visit to a tea plantation before making our way back to Nairobi for our flight home. The safari was when Odhis came into his own for his knowledge and his instinct, he excelled in knowing to be in the right place at the right time. He asked us if we had any special animals we would like to see, we told him Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs and Hyenas, for the first couple of safaris this is what he concentrated on and he gave us a magical time. All together we saw 44 Lions, 8 Lion Cubs, 2 Leopards, 7 Cheetahs and over a dozen Hyenas. On our first dusk drive we also got to see close up a Black Rhino. There was never any rush when viewing all the animals, Odhis gave us as much time as we wanted and it was clear to see that he took much enjoyment in seeing us being thrilled at all the different animals.
During our holiday we stayed at the Tamarind Tree Hotel (Nairobi), Keekorok Lodge (Masai Mara) and Sopa Lodge (Lake Naivasha). We were more than happy with all accommodation especially the Sopa Lodge which was very impressive.
I would recommend Mufasa Tours and Travels to anyone wanting a thoroughly professional company who look after you, put you at ease, have staff who are kind, caring and knowledgeable. My wife and I plan to return to Kenya in early 2024 and there is no doubt whatsoever that I will be contacting Polly and we will be using Mufasa once again.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
I recently worked with Kathi to plan a trip to South Africa around plans to attend a wedding there. Kathi was very helpful and easy to coordinate with. We had the most amazing trip and everything went smoothly. Kathi set us up with private tours around Cape Town, and Graham (the tour guide) and Pierre (the driver) were a big hit with our group. They were both very friendly and super knowledgable of the area. I would highly recommend booking your travel with them!
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shoes is fantastic
What an amazing expérience. Shoes was fantastic during our 2 days stay. He knows his stuff, he knows where to go, he is very considérate and understanding. Spécial mention to his cooking skills :)
It was overall à brillant expérience, bar the insects in the camp but thats outside of everyones power.
I plan to come back again soon.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect trip to Kilimanjaro.
Hey, my name is David and I booked a Kilimanjaro tour from Adventure Makers. The tour was the Lemosho rod and it was perfect. I have never seen Tanzania from this view! The team that was on our side was nice, helpful and really kind. The food was always freshly cooked and delicious. The tour guides were really polite and nice to us. Without them, we would not secede on the Kilimanjaro. All in all was this adverser wonderful for myself and my friends. If i every clime the Kilimanjaro again, I will choose Adventure Makers!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing
Short story, animals were good everything else was not, I would NOT recommend Azas Safari.
Long story.
I had high (honestly too high) expectations, and this trip left me lacking in all areas.
I did a lot of research and narrowed it down to a few options. Prisca was very friendly and quick to respond via WhatsApp, she sent us a very professional quote and was willing to customize (better hotels, different activates, charge more money) our 10-day Ugandan safari. However, communication decrease as we got closer to our trip and we only stayed in 1 of 6 of the original agreed upon hotels, the other 5 hotels changed 2 or 3 times each from our agreement till on our trip. The hotel pictures in the agreement looked very nice and I googled every hotel we were supposed to stay at and was excited, but most of what we got was disappointing. The hotels are important because in general the nicer the hotel more options and better food. Almost all of your meals will be at your hotels.
Our guide Christopher had a good eye for spotting wildlife and had substantial animal knowledge, he lacked customer service skills and communication skills. He set the bar for the trip by arriving 1.5 hours late to pick us up on day one, with no fuel or drinking water in the vehicle. The vehicle was an older Toyota land cruiser. Nicer than a lot of the other vehicles we saw but not great and not the one in picture from Prisca. We got to experience 3 minor break downs and 2 very minor fender benders. We had problem with one of the front hubs, going up a hill overheated? and problems with the ignition, so we got to push start the vehicle twice. My shoulder seatbelt on the back passenger side did not work correctly, none of the gauges worked and the vehicle had no air-conditioning.
Half the time it felt like Christopher was on a trip and we were just riding in the back seat. Should have been him taking us on our dream trip. He never asked us what we wanted to do. We had to pry the daily plan out of him. He would stop and get a snack for himself but not offer us or information is that lunch is still 2 plus hours away and we might want to buy our own snack. Our agreement said meal plan “Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner drinking water, non-alcoholic drinks”. We ended up buying one of our lunches and only water in the safari vehicle was included, we had to always pay for water and soda at meals. (Honestly drinks were cheap but not what was agreed to).
My wife and I agree we would NOT go on another trip is Azas. I don’t know if the other companies are better or if this is the standard of service in Uganda???
