CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Damaraland by Heather Johnston
Namibia is more than a safari. I think I would still recommend east Africa for first timers. But Namibia was varied and amazing.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
You can't describe it in one sentence. It was amazing
We booked an adventure tour. First week, we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. A great tour, but you need a good constitution. We saw some people we bet, they will never reach the summit. The second week we've been on safari in Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyari. Different Landscapes with different species. You need to do all of it. At least we spent one week on zanzibar. One day in Stone town for history and the last days in Nungwi beach for diving.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We have been on safaris but a good guide makes all the difference!
Amazing. Namibia is more than a safari. Our guide Previous with Namibia Nature Travel has a degree in wildlife management and has spent 15 years guiding in Namibia. The scenery varied from sand dunes in the south to seals and ocean to scrub bush in Etosha.
The lodges booked for us were fantastic. Beautiful locations, design and comfort.
We were met by our guide at our hotel in Windhoek. We had an air conditioned 4x4 to ourselves. We took the 8 day classic tour but the company was open to adapting as we were alone. We knew nothing about Namibia so it was a great intro.
Previous is a birder so we now know more about birds than ever before.
My highlight was climbing the dunes in Soussevlei at dawn. My husbands was the massive seal colony at Cape Cross.
February is low season because the animals don't have to come to the waterholes in Etosha because of the rains. We did not have rain, and there were no crowds, which was great. We saw all kinds of wildlife, and Previous knew so much. He was also fun!
Other highlights were the Little Six tour in Swamkupmund, and prehistoric rock etchings in Twyfelfontein. These were side strips with other guides. We recommend dinner at The Jetty in Swamkupmund. Make reservations.
All of this was arranged seamlessly by the tour company. They were very responsive and I would highly recommend them. Nick, one of the owners, was born in Namibia and is also a vet.
IL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a wonderful trip to Uganda, a beautiful country
We had a 12 day trip to Uganda with Gorilla Link Tours. Uganda has beautiful green scenery, quite different from other African countries we visited. The wildlife is unique as well, due to the presence of gorillas and chimpanzees, although other wildlife was also abundant and beautiful. The roads are quite bad, maintenance missing to make them even decent dirt roads. We recommend to take a jeep if possible since the safary vans are not so comfortable. The accomodations were all fine. Our guide, Mike, was very good and narrated Uganda to us, making also the long drives on bad roads part of the experience. The highlight of the trip was gorrila tracking in Bwindi impenetrable forest. We got very close to 4 gorrilas (silverback, female, a 2 year old and a 2 month old) and spent 1 hour with them, an outstanding experience. The hike to the gorillas is difficult, up hill off trail in a dense, damp forest. In our case the 1.5 hours to reach the gorillas were a good part of the experience, but glad it was not much longer. We recommend very highly hiring a porter. They are really helpful in the difficult parts of the hike, which people tend to underestimate before going. It also provides economic incentive for supporting conservation by the local, very poor, communities.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 6 day safari
All was fantastic. The driver /guide (primarily a driver) was great. Accommodation ranged from fair (permanent tents) to very good for hotel nights. "Head office" were sometimes slow to provide information, booked documents, and there were a few items that people were not sent all all - which the driver was able to sort out after phoning head office several times. I suppose the clue is in the name, "Budget safaris", I WOULD book this trip again!
CN
Fantastic budget 6 day Safari
The six day safari was just fantastic. The accommodation ranged from "fair" (permanent tents) to "very good" for a few hotel nights.
Wildlife, scenery was perfect! Transportation was also of an acceptable/good standard - driver/guide also very helpful and informative (but primarily a driver). Highlights was seeing all the "big 5' in one day!! The "central booking" office had to be constantly chased up for some of the information - but when called "budget safaris" you get what you expect I suppose. All in all, i would do the trip again!!
CL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing day hike to Kilimanjaro!
We had an amazing experience with Daily Expeditions Limited, we got in contact with Frank, and he quickly answered all our questions and gave us all the information we needed. On the day of the hike, he pick us up, and we went with a guide, Nuru, who was really nice, gave us information and was open to answer any question during the hike. We asked for a vegetarian lunch, and it was really good, if you need it, you only have to let them know, so they can get you one. And the hike was really nice, it is a really good experience, to get to know the beginning of the Kilimanjaro. We went to the Mandara hut and then to Maundi crater.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
She was responsive to our requests and flexible as we decided on dates and location for our safaris
We felt the communication with our 4 travelers was very good. We asked her for advise about what to do during the 1 afternoon we had in Johannesburg and she arranged a convenient hotel and tour for us. It was extremely helpful to have someone meet us at the airport and help us with finding an ATM to obtain money. All our drivers were informative and answered our many questions. The drivers were prompt and also patient as we completed our check -in /check-out process.
The tour operator arranged for 2 different Safari Lodges, one in Sabi Sands and the other in a concession area within Kruger National Park. Even though they were only about 2 hours apart, we had different experiences and saw some different animals on each safari. Both lodges were very welcoming and had excellent rangers and guides.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic and above expectations.
Paul did a great job tailoring our experience to exactly what we wanted. Our tour guide James really made the whole thing exceptional! Ask for James!!!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mt Kenya, Amboseli, Tsavo & Kenya Coast
Text -Our 8 day safari started in Mt Kenya then on to Nairobi. Amboseli and Tsavo. It ended at Diani beach on the Kenya Coast. The entire trip we amazing and perfect. We worked with Charles on the arrangements and logistics. Our safari was well organized and truly fun. Our guide Michael was great and particularly knowledgeable about animals. He showed us 4 of the big 5 as well as many other wonderful animals. The country side was stunning. Michael had binoculars in the vehicle which allowed to see so much. We stayed at Amboseli Serena, Elementaita Serena and Mara Serena. They were all very comfortable and at beautiful place. The food was very good also. Our vehicle was upgraded to 4x4 which made us feel very special. We took the SGR train from Voi to Mombasa. It was lots of fun. In Mombasa we were met up by George who drove us to our beach resort. They were all very professional and kind. Thank you very much ToKenya Safari. We look forward to coming back soon.