ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lost 50% of our game drive time at Serengeti. When called Planet Africa for help, they could do noth
Planet Africa Safari organized our trip. They proposed us to go in north Serengeti to the "Luxury" Mara
Mara Lodge of TANGANYKA WILDERNESS CAMPS.
Planet Africa Safari never informed us that the Lodge was 1 hour away from the river where all the action
and animals are, and even less informed us that the lodge chain is on a complete much much much
lower level than the others Asilia Lodges we were. Lower in everything: lodges, food, cars, drivers and
managers.
They completely ruined our holiday, see below the details.
When called Planet Africa for help at the lodge, they could do nothing.
We are claiming to Planet Africa a partial refund for all the mess the Lodge driver and managers did to
us.
DO NOT TRUST PLANET AFRICA SAFARI SUGGESTIONS OF LODGES AND DRIVERS!!! .If
something goes wrong, is entirely up to you to solve it.
---DETAILED NARRATION---:
We arrived at Kogatende Airstrip with our pack lunches from our previous Lodge, our Asilia driver
organized us to have them so we could profit the whole day upon our arrival in Serengeti. Alex, the driver
we got assigned, tricked us and suggested us to go back to lodge for lunch at 13:00, and stay there till
16:00 before going back to river again: he said because animals hide when is hot and we would not see
them. And we were so stupid to believe him.
We wasted half of our days there before realizing we were being tricked by an extremely lazy driver
whose only goal was to have hot lunch at 13:00 o'clock and a little “siesta” everyday.
We realized the trick when we were HUMILIATED, being the ONLY table having lunch at the Lodge the
second day of our stay, while at dinner there were like 30 persons. I have never felt so stupid in my life.
When we asked the driver to leave immediately after lunch, he started negotiating with me, that he
needed some allowance, that were many hours and so on.
We then decided to ask for a drive change to the managers of the lodge while at lunch. Managers let the
diver came to our table. The driver insisted with us like 20 minutes to give him a second change. I could
not had lunch. No manager was there, extremely violent situation.
We insisted on the change of driver and managers punished us making us stay 2 hours at the
Kogatende airstrip waiting for a new driver to come. They sent us without telling us that would be 2 hours
wait.
2 long hours at Kogatende airstrip, with full afternoon sun, on an open car without A/C, with kids,rounded
by tse-tse flys, while paying $$$ for a luxury Lodge with swimming pool. That's crazy!. We had to make a
denounce at the police at Kogatende airstrip, see attached photo of the text.
We lost half the time of our stage at north Serengeti because of this incredible problems, and we were
humiliated in an unbelievable way: first by the lazy driver tricking us, second by the managers backing up
the lazy driver and making us stay 2 hours at the airport waiting for the new driver, and third by the lodge
employees when at dinner they put us at a table right next to where Alex the driver we just changed
was.So that we could hear his loud comments and laughs.
Unbelievable.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Arrangement was good , But can be better in some aspects
I took 04 Day Sossusvlei & Swakopmund accomodation safari . The way Chameleon have prepared the itinerary , they tried to give you best experience of highlighted places . 1 thing in Day2 they must put a plenty time if someone want to take a iconic sandwich harbour tour .
But few things which dnt give me that good experience is like , Firstly . when the Itinerary says some particular place need to go in evening that have some reason like the place looks much more stunning when the sun light is dim , but for unknown reason guide Tulimo took us to that place in mid noon when we are exhausted after dune rides , and ended up that beautiful place by staying less than half an hour. When its a group tour some rules to be maintain other than getting influenced by other tourist .
2ndly when we all are in food table no matter how much you are hungry or thirsty you are not supposed to touch the food till the "informative" speech is not get over by guide or the green signal to have food comes from guide . It was quite strange to me which I never come across such things in other African safaris .
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb Safari Tour!
What a trip of a lifetime this was! We’ve been on the 9 Day Uganda Adventure tour and I cannot praise it enough! We had the best of accommodations, the food was delicious everywhere we went and every day was a different adventure in itself. We got to see the chimpanzees and gorillas from up close in their natural habitat, of course and been on amazing safaris that made us get a true taste of Africa and Uganda in particular. Many thanks to Anthony for the great organization of the tour and for his availability and swiftness in replying to my inquiries! Not the least, special shout out to Chris (one of the best guides I’ve met so far) – excellent driver, super accommodating with our requests, knowledgeable and responsible at all times. I highly recommend this tour and Chris most of all!
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzania Specialist accompanied us throughout our trip
Long before we left, Tanzania Specialist provided us with all the information we needed for a pleasant stay in Tanzania; first for the safari and then for a few relaxing days in Zanzibar.
Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro, we were expected and dropped off at our lodge. Although the time was late (11.30 pm), we had dinner before resting.
The next morning, our guide perfectly francophone and even Francophile took care of us for 3 days of safari.
A very attentive guide to our wishes, cozy lodges and comfortable made this stay wonderful.
For the record, I forgot my phone in the taxi that took us to Arusha airport. I noticed one hour before takeoff for Zanzibar. The Tanzania Specialist organization went out of their way to get it back a few minutes before boarding.
Upon arriving in Zanzibar, we were picked up and taken to our hotel. Ditto for the return to Stone Town.
Thanks to Tanzania Specialist for whom the customer is king.
GA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exhilarating experience!
After some online research, got in touch with Albert who planned our whole trip (Nairobi- Masai Mara- Diani beach) without any sweat. Right from arrival at Nairobi airport to our last drop at the hotel, Albert and his team made sure we never faced any difficulties. The stay at the Camp near Masai Mara and the beach resort at Diani were equally amazing.
Very professional!
Special mention to our Safari guide George Otieno for taking care of us during the ‘bumpy’ safari drives mornings and afternoon. The best experience was of course watching the Big 5 up-close and the wildebeest migration. George knows his way around the park and made sure we didn’t miss any sightings.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service by Alex.
Communications with Alex from African Welcome Safaris has been smooth to the day i depart for Singapore for Johannesburg. Alex has been patient and extremely helpful and with the budget provided to him, he manage to secure 2 nights Kruger, Rhino Post and 2 nights at thornybush accommodation. Both are different in terms of the safari game experience. Service etc. shuttle service / transport / accommodation from the day i arrived at Tambo airport to the last day spend at the safari has been first class. It has truly been a memorable and excellent experience. Good Job Alex!
SA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I am not join with them they after my advance he changed our package
Very very bad service please don’t sent advance money
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari. Fantastic company
Its very rare to find a company with only good reviews but S.O.T lives up to its 5* rating. From day one finding out about S.O.T to the end of our holiday, everything was perfect. I had never heard of S.O.T before I booked with them. I read reviews about them on the internet and decided to contact them. I sent an email asking about Safari packages and was contacted by Sandy (Journey Designer) in a couple hours. We sent several emails back and forth trying to plan the perfect Safari. My wife and I made several changes to our dates which wasn’t an issue with Sandy as she was always very happy to help and find use the best package. We finally decided on the dates and Sandy tailor made a 5 day Safari for us.
I have to admit I was a little nervous when i had to make a wire transfer for a large amount of money to a company I have never dealt with before or spoken to on the phone only via email, especially it being in Africa (no offence). But YOLO. Sent the payment and within a couple days Sandy emailed me to let me know my payment was received and our holiday was booked and everything was in place for our arrival.
And so our holiday began. What can I say. The Safari was perfect. From the second we landed to the last day getting dropped off back to the airport. Everything ran like clockwork. We needed not worry about a thing. Edward our safari guide picked us up from our hotel in Arusha the next morning and the Safari started. Edward is a fantastic guy, he was always happy to explain things to us while on game drives, made sure we had the perfect views of all the animal and explained things to us on the move. Always went out of his way to make sure we got the best Safari experience. It was a pleasure spending 5 days with Edward we enjoyed ourselves very much. We saw pretty much every animal we could see apart from the Rhino’s and Edward did try his best to find them but as it was the dry season and windy and dusty he explained they might be hiding due to the dusty mornings. Best thing we did see was a Cheetah eating its kill. Up close and personal was great (we could hear the bones of the Thompson cracking with every bite).
The lodges and camp we stayed in during our Safari was incredible. If you’re doing the Serengeti make sure you stay at the Chaka Camps!!! What an experience.
Thank you all at S.O.T especially Sandy and Edward. We will never forget our trip to Tanzania!!!!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bush feeling in Sadaani park
We did a 3- Day Safari to Saadani Park with Selous Ngalawa Camp starting from Daressalaam.
The booking was really easy, Donatus was quick to respond to our questions, but the organization of the tour was a little bit chaotic. In the end we didn't mind because everything was very good.
In Saadani Park there are not as many animals as in other parks. For antilopes it was very good though, we even saw a duicker. And we enjoyed the beautiful nature. The beach is really wonderful!
Our driver Msese was very nice, he is a good and experienced driver and knows the Saadani Park and its animals very well.
On the last day we asked to make a stop over in Bagamoyo. This was no problem for him, so we had the chance to visit the very interesting historic german fort.
The highlight of our tour was the camp where we stayed. It was newly opened, just outside the park and the owner Alan and his friend Richard made everything to make us feel welcome there. The food was delicious and we especially appreciated the toilet in the tent. Alan took us on a boat trip on a river with los of hippos and he even made a spontaneous walking safari with us. The Camp is situated nicely in bushland, so we felt close to nature there.
All in all, we recommend the safari to anyone who wants to enjoy some real
bush feeling not too far from Dar es salaam (around 3 hours drive).
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly and professional
I chose Gametrackers to organize a 10-day safari in the parks: Masai Mara, Naivasha lake, Serengetti and Ngorongoro.
Communication with Gametrackers was excellent. They answered all my questions usually very quickly. Thank you Stacey.
All the team were friendly and professional. Peter's dishes were delicious.
Everything was just as I imagined. If I could change something, I wouldn't change anything.