50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful Kruger safari and African adventure!
I highly recommend Benjamin Wilson and Siya Phambile. Initially I was drawn to Siya by the reviews, the itineraries and the fact that it is registered with SATSA (South African Tourism Services Association). I could not have been happier with my choice.
From the outset, Benjamin patiently and promptly answered my many questions and devised a customised safari in Kruger followed by a week self drive at the coast, split between Kosi Bay and St Lucia. This holiday more than met our high expectations and the different wishes of our family of 6 (aged 15 – 56). Benjamin was a fantastic tour planner and guide. From the moment he met us at the airport we relaxed, knowing we were in safe hands. He helped us arrange local SIM cards then it was off on our adventure. The accommodation was clean and comfortable with air con and sometimes a pool so just what we wanted. We occasionally had wifi which pleased the kids. Benjamin is extremely knowledgeable about the bush, the wildlife, the geography of South Africa and the local customs and languages of the various peoples. He is also a great spotter of wildlife and we were blown away by how much we saw, often at close range. Even my iphone was capable of capturing lots of animal encounters – I have a great video of wild dog puppies playing at the den. Of course, I would recommend taking a proper camera with a zoom too! Some of the kids were reluctant safari goers to begin with but soon relished the game drives! Benjamin rose to the challenge of cooking for 2 vegetarians and 2 vegans which we appreciated. He thought about the details which make for a comfortable trip e.g. we always had ample car snacks and binoculars to share (although we also had our own). He’s a keen card player which made for some fun evenings in camp. By the end of our safari we felt we were saying goodbye to an old friend.
My only regret is that we cannot do this trip every year! Thank you Benjamin and Siya Phambile and best wishes for all your future adventures.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
EXCELLENT SAFARI
We had an excellent safari with our tour guide Peter. Great communication. He delivered as we expected from hotel booking to the game drives. From Mara, Naivasha, Amboseli and finished in Lake Naivasha.Thank you so much Peter for you service
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Waaaoh...full of fun and adventure. Can't wait for our next tour
Crystal offered greatest experience we've ever had with my family.
The whole package was well managed with quite Versant tour guides and quite affordable.
It was just fun,fun,fun!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari experience!
We booked a 5-day, 4 night, private tour for 3 people in Kruger National Park with Endless Summer Tour. I had researched many tours and companies, reaching out to 4-5 companies for detailed quotes and information.
Rhys from Endless Summer was quick to respond, answering tons of questions, offering some customizable options, and patiently walking me through the process. Where other companies were inflexible on certain aspects, Endless Summer had no problems. (For example, our flight got into Johannesburg at 9:30. Another company's "private" tour had the transport leaving the airport at 9am. When I asked about our flight time, they said, "then that won't work for you.") Rhys' response was "No Problem!" I had a hiccup with the wire transfer, but Rhys patiently and expertly walked us through that. I was pleased with the easy and flexibility of communication.
When we arrived in Johannesburg, we were greeted quickly by our guide, Wade. Wade was amazing and super easygoing. He drove us to Kruger, and immediately started pointing out wildlife. He was excellent as both driver and spotter, always taking into account what we are most interested to see and do, getting the car into position for great photos. He prepared our meals, and we couldn't have gone hungry if we wanted to. The meals were incredible, and certainly more than we expected. You would think that spending 5 days with a stranger would be awkward, but Wade is incredibly personable, comfortable joking around, being serious, and also comfortable with silence. I can imagine him seamlessly adapting to each group he brings. (Seriously, don't hesitate to request Wade.) He clearly loves what he does, and has a great wealth of knowledge about animals, plants, tracks, etc. and is happy to share with you. We spent days driving and looking for animals, but also did a couple of game reserves at night and early morning (when you can only be outside of camp with a ranger). Those were nice experiences, but as Rhys had cautioned me, most people find one or two of those to be enough. He was absolutely correct. We found that having more people in the vehicle, it was harder to communicate with your guide, harder to get the stops you want, harder to get your photo, and also harder to deal with camera equipment in the elements. We also did a bushwalk with a ranger, which was a very educational experience, but you don't tend to get super close to the animals (obviously). Our best and closest animal experiences were with Wade. We saw the Big Five and many more animals. We learned so much about the area, not just Kruger, but South Africa in general, by chatting with Wade, which came in handy when we continued our vacation in Cape Town (knowing and understanding certain cultural norms).
We traveled in July 2019, and the weather was great. It was warm during the day, and chilly at night and early morning (great sleeping weather), though our rooms had A/C also. We had brought anti-malarial medication, but didn't really need it. We didn't see a single mosquito the whole time. I worried about the types of colors/clothes, but that's really only an issue on bushwalks. Most of the time you are in the vehicle, so wear what's comfortable, with layers to adjust. If you have access to a telephoto lens, obviously that allows you more great photo ops, but having a couple of cameras for a range of distances also helps. I had one camera with a long range lens, one with a standard mid-range lens, and still had to use my iphone camera for when the animals were RIGHTTHERE.
Overall, we were incredibly happy with our experience with Endless Summer Tours, with our expectations surpassed at every turn. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari in Tanzania - Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire -then Zanzibar and Victoria Falls.
We have never been to Africa before, and we booked a Safari in Tarangire National Park, Central and North Serengeti, and Ngorongoro crater; followed by a few days in Zanzibar, including Stonetown and a resort on the north end of the island; and then a visit to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We left all the details up to Safari Big 5. The trip was amazing! Everything was taken care of- from pickup at the airports, to hotels, meals, transfers, Safari, park fees, lodging at the Safari camps..everything! All lodgings were excellent, and everything went perfectly. Our safari guide/ driver, Nurdin, was knowledgeable, professional and passionate, and the Safari vehicle was new and in excellent shape. We got to see the Big 5! Our guide in Stonetown, Abdi, was a friendly, knowledgeable and outgoing local guy, who seemed to be known by everyone on the street! It was comforting and enjoyable to walk around with him. Before we arrived, we were given the WhatsApp contact for Imran, one of the organizers of our trip at Safari Big 5. He responded to our questions and concerns quickly, both before and during our trip, and it was wonderful to have a responsive point-of-contact while on vacation in a foreign country. I would highly recommend Safari Big 5 to create your trip, and we will certainly use them again!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once In A Lifetime Dream Come True!
Our trip was amazing!
We told Mufasa Tours what areas we'd like to see and they put it together for us.
Our guide, Boniface (Otis), could not have been more pleasant and knowledgeable. He had us ' in the know' at all times and allowed us to call the shots if we desired. The scenery was phenomenal, the lodges were just about perfect and, again, Otis was such a delight and attentive!
Two suggestions we have, would be that, during the initial communications with Mufasa Tours, they could have suggested various options to shorten our travel times to and from our destinations. Visiting a new country and not being familiar with terrain etc, has a profound impact on needing a 'professional weigh in'. This would have curtailed less back & forth time and allowed for an additional visit to the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, etc. Also, the stops on the way through the various towns seemed more touristy and less for African memorabilia. We found the same items throughout our 4 destinations, some at lesser costs, and I would have preferred to come home with truer Native African made items.
Other than that, our trip was pretty perfect and it was one that we will always be grateful for!
Thank you Otis for all of your hard work!!!!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional service from thoroughly Professional personnel at an affordable cost
Couldn’t be more satisfied to our trip to Masai Mara with Axis Africa Safaris. To begin with, a big thanks to Lennox who was really patient and prompt enough to sorting this out - regarding costs, transportation, schedule, services included to actual tour.
Me and my spouse joined the 4-nights trip to Masai Mara, Nakuru and Naivasha. Our driver Edwin made sure we were able to see as many animals. He always took us to the best spot to see the animals very close. We were even able to to see the migration over the border between Kenya and Tanzania.
We were accommodated in at Lenchada Camp in Masai Mara which was clean and comfortable enough. But room at Lanet Matfam in Nakuru is very small with lot of mosquitoes. Taphe Resort in Naivasha on the other hand was very basic, we even had door lock issue.
Overall the trip was much more than expected! The best value for money.
Fantastic trip to Tanzania & Zanzibar
Excellent advice from Rose beforehand to help shape the trip and very responsive to all emails. Trip itself was brilliant, for the first week safari the camps were very special. In Zanzibar we stayed at Xanadu villas and would really recommend. Would definitely use LSC again.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Going out of the way to make a tourist comfortable. Thanks Vera and team for experience.
Well coordinated travel arrangements. Kudos to the effort.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I had the best experience ever
Best customer care ever,They choose the best and cheap flight.Cant thank you enough guys.Thank you so much for giving me the best travel experience