CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommend Patrick Shah, Journeys Discovering Africa for a trip of a lifetime
Totally exceeded our expectations - every aspect of our trip from the initial contact with Patrick in the spring of 2018 to the final day of our safari. Patrick planned, customized & booked our entire trip, our first time in Africa and on safari.
Communications & Service: Patrick communicated regularly with us before and after our trip. He provided a lot of details and information about the safari, our stay in Victoria Falls & Kasane, as well guidelines for packing, tipping etc. He promptly replied back to my several emails and because of this I eventually lost my initial apprehension about my husband booking a trip from looking up safari brothers tv show on line, instead of going to our usual travel agent in Toronto! His referral travel agency in Uganda booked our flights within Africa flawlessly and I would have booked our air canada/South African airlines flights there and back via Patrick but I had to use my Air Canada discount voucher for the 6 of us before it expired. The service and care we received from Patrick was superb - first class in every aspect. Good idea to carry on our duffels instead of checking in as cargo luggage.
All transfers from airport to lodges, Kasane, and airports were hassle free, on time, clean and newer vehicles, polite drivers!
First 3 days in Victoria Falls and Kasane: Good that we took these days to get acclimatized and get rid of jet lag. A gentler introduction for first timers to Africa. The accommodations (the Bayete Guest Lodge, Vic.Falls, Zimbabwe and The Old House &/Chobe Bush Lodge in Kasane, Botswana) were clean and comfortable, actually way nicer than we expected. Food was fresh and delicious. The staff were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for all of us. Really enjoyed our brief stay. Patrick arranged a sundowner Zambezi river cruise, a private tour of victoria falls (our guide was excellent), a delicious lunch at the posh Ilala Lodge, helicopter ride over the falls (Brian, Paul, Rachael & Lauren loved it). Really worth the extra 3 days stay.
Safari 10 days 9 nights in mobile tented camps 3 nights each in Savuti, Khwai & Moremi. All 3 camps were in unbelievable spots each one different. Savuti was semi arid desert sand, with north pride lions patrolling around us and elephants all around us, Khwai we were right in front of a hippo pond with resident bachelor male hippo and lots of visiting elephants bathing and mud bathing, water bucks resting, Moremi we were in front of grasslands that zebras, baboons, elephants, warthogs visited daily and nightly. These animals came so close to us that we could hear them crunching and chewing! Still can’t believe all that we saw and experienced. Every safari game drive was awe inspiring and jaw dropping at times we didn’t even want to take photos as we wanted to savour the moments. We saw so many elephants, impala, and other antelopes, zebras, hippos, giraffes, baboons, Cape buffalo, Wildebeest, beautiful birds like the violet breasted roller my favourite! I lost count ..... every turn on the roads provided an “Ah ha”,”omg” “is this for real” moment for us.... we also saw quite a few different lion prides, a couple of jackals, 3 ostrich, a few leopards, 2 male cheetahs, a bat Earred fox, hyena, wild dog packs, honey badgers, mongoose, wart hogs, a wild African cat, vervet monkeys, scrub hare, ground squirrels, and 1 black Rhino.
Here are a a few of our “National Geographic moments:
A leopard eating impala kill up in a tree, then his dad growled and basically told him he has to wait for his turn to eat so the smaller leopard was pushed off the branch and went to lie beside his mother.
A mother lioness nursing her 2 small cubs.
4 lion cubs left on their own - apparently their mother is a negligent lioness and her previous cubs died last year.
Elephants, zebras and giraffes all peacefully drinking from a waterhole where the entire marsh pride lions were chased and trumpeted away by bull elephants.
2 male cheetahs digesting their food, just lying in the grass soaking up the sun.
two different lion couples that were mating didn’t see the mating but saw them lying down together. One lioness was ready to mate again and preformed her dance around the male’s head but he was too exhausted to mate again!
A female leopard eating her small red lechwe kill away from her 2 small cubs which we saw - they were so tiny our guide estimated they were a month old she hid then under a tree root.
A small giraffe trying to mate with a taller female giraffe - unsuccessful he wasn’t tall enough!
A family of over 24 wild dogs with 3 puppies who were getting ready for the chase and hunt we saw them begin the chase then they stopped and waited for impala herd - we couldn’t stay as it was after 6 pm and we had to get back to camp before curfew.
Morkoro pole driver boat ride - peaceful beautiful, saw many hippos, elephants and birds
There are more moments....every day something unique happened.
Safari Guide, cook and camp aides: our safari guide Matambo was absolutely the BEST So knowledgeable told us a lot about the animals, their tracks, bird, the habitat, trees, grasses - I was thrilled to see a sausage tree, umbrella acacia, toothbrush bush, papyrus grass, fungus growing termite mounds, mamba hotels.and so on. Loved the blacksmith bird’s sound, beauty of the violet breasted roller, green African pigeon, parrots, finches, Fish eagles, owls and so on. He would stop,and show us the tracks of the animals he was following. He could really drive that Jeep - we got to truly experience off roading!
We called Mueller our Master Chef along wth camp aides Kabelo & Dave. They made us gourmet meals in bush ovens and bush grilles! The meals and picnic lunches were really over the top and beats our boring canadian campground burgers and steaks. We all looked forward to every meal. They also kept our camp clean, did our laundry, made us hot water for showers and washing up, greeted us after game drives with cold ice teas and warm hand towels, put a hot water bottle in our beds each night (very nice touch) and told us a little about themselves. Dave even wrote down a few Botswana phrases for me and gave us the recipe of red lentil soup. My husband doesn’t get these gourmet meals at home. Matambo also arranged for a bottle of Jameson’s scotch to be delivered to Brian in Khwai via air from Maun, the driven from Savuti we couldn’t believe this! And Brian was so happy for scotch lol it was like he won a lottery.
All of us just can’t stop talking about our wonderful African vacation.......should I start packing for the next one.....of course booking for sure through Patrick at Journeys Discovering Africa
Thanks a million for a truly wonderful, memory filled family trip.
RU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safaris in three parks (Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Tarangiri)
I went on a Safari from the company Suricata. I found them on the website: www.safaribookings.com I really liked the service provided. The price was average market. But the price included meeting from the airport and transfer to the airport after the safari. The price also included hotel accommodation before the safari and after the safari. The hotel is very decent. The company is run by three very active and friendly men. All with good English (one of them is American). The service was provided at a very good level, so I recommend choosing them.
If we talk about the Suricata company itself, I liked the guide, the cook (as it turned out later, in comparison with all the others he cooked very tasty). Every evening, as a gift, well, dinner was given a bottle of wine. Food was always prepared in excess. The guide drove fast, but very carefully. Car: six-seater Land Cruiser.
Now about the trip itself: the safari lasted 4 days (3 nights). Parks: Ngorogoro, Serengeti and Tarangiri. Tarangiri is separate from the other two parks. All parks are different and differ from each other in nature and animals. Therefore, it is interesting to see all three, but you need to correctly evaluate your strength and desire. Drive 300 km from Arusha to Serengeti Park, the road is bad, so be patient or choose other parks. But the Serengeti is the largest park.
I went in August 2019. When they tell you, take warm clothes, this really means that you will need them. Be sure to take pants, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, possibly another sweater. Also bring along a headlamp, pillowcase, soap, small shampoo, wet wipes, mosquito repellent. Personally, I did not take a windbreaker with me and regretted it. In the evenings there is a very cool and strong wind.
Bargaining in shops, taxis and markets should be 3-4 times. Everyone wants to make money on white tourists.
Yellow fever vaccine is best done just in case. Whether to be vaccinated against malaria, everyone decides for himself. Locals get malaria like a cold. Many tourists even having vaccinated have a high chance of getting sick. Just fly to Tanzania, before you go on a safari, buy a malaria test. If your temperature rises, you can immediately use the test.
Paying all the more profitable in shillings (you pay the safari in dollars). Therefore, change dollars at the airport or immediately after arrival in the city.
Have a good holiday and interesting adventures!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was an amazing experience! I could see the amount of work put in to make my family comfortable.
They were beyond my expectations! Everything went smoothly and according to plan.
SA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was marveloous tour keep on telling my friends
I think u will keep same spirit so that u will acquire more guests,
Expecting to hear more positive feedbacks from my friends and relatives
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We experienced tailored service from start to finish
We had no idea about what to look for in a safari holiday, so we got quotes from a number of operators we found on the web. All we told them was our planned dates. We went with Bensons because their response was full of positive suggestions and a detailed itinerary from the off. Pendo was a very responsive correspondent as we thrashed out the final itinerary and she got us hotels in all the price brackets we requested, mostly mid-range but one luxury two-night stay.
The only question mark in our minds at this stage was over payment of the deposit (and subsequently the balance of the account); if a potential client does not have a first-hand recommendation, it does feel a little risky to transfer large sums of money overseas to people we have never met! Surely there is a way to facilitate credit card payments? PS FYI sending scans of cards isn't a lot more reassuring than money transfers.
All that said, we couldn't fault the care taken of us when we got to Tanzania (a late arrival due to a missed connection was accommodated seamlessly). Throughout, we were in the care of our guide Amini, and travelling in a very comfortable Land Cruiser. We started with a long day's drive (10 hours) to the Western Serengeti. Even though this must have been a challenge for Amini, he still accommodated our desires to stop regularly to see wildlife, just because it was the first time for us, although he knew better views were available later in the trip. The Lahia Tented Lodge was a very special experience, all-inclusive with great service and excellent facilities, perched on a commanding bluff.
Amini took us for two days seeing every animal the Serengeti had to offer, we visited a Masai village then Ngorongoro, a staggering "lost world" where we enjoyed picnicking next to the hippo pool. Then we went to Lake Manyara, experiencing our only disappointment of the safari in not seeing tree-climbing lions (no fault of Benson's!). After a night at the Farm of Dreams, we rounded off our tour with a tour round the village of Mto wa Mbu. We got a great insight into a number of traditional lifestyles and crafts, followed by a nice lunch. We did rather regret having bought wooden souvenirs at the African Galleria when we visited the very craftsmen who were making and selling those products!
In summary, we had a wonderful trip with a friendly and knowledgeable guide, and from initial enquiry until our departure we were well looked after throughout by Benson's.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
From the beginning, Maryke was prompt with her communications with me. The transport staff was ++
Timely, prompt, thorough and professional. It was a pleasure working with the team.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
My parents and I took a 5 day safari through Tarangire, Ngorogoro Crater, Serengeti and Lake Manyara. Had a wonderful time that surpassed all expectations. We were very satisfied with all parts of our trip including the itinerary, lodgings, communications, etc.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was so amazing and had beautiful experience with them
Viola Tours and Travel are the most amazing people to your around with.There services are up to point and well reserved.If you want to have the most amazing services and the most enjoyable tour,try Viola Tours and Travel.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An all-around excellent experience
From our initial communications with Tukio Safaris till our guide, Josh, dropped us off at our hotel following our 6-day safari for my wife and I’s honeymoon, we had a truly incredible experience. On the planning side, Tukio was quick and thorough in answering all of our questions about our itinerary, and even made a few changes per our unique requests. In terms of the actual safari, we could not have had a better time. Our driver was personable, flexible, polite, and incredibly knowledgeable. He navigated the three parks we visited masterfully, and was just as masterful in thinking through every detail of our other travel, lodging, etc. We could not recommend Tukio Safaris more highly!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
poorly organise and managed.
very poorly oganised, and managed.hotlel resevation asked for perticular lodge not provided.park fees not paid in advance also comunication was big problem. every where we went we have to call for reservation . also resevation done at wrong lodges. driver provided excellent custmer service. i would suggest before you go and paid deposit please make sure all services provided are confirmed and paid.