CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unfortunately NOT satisfying!
We booked and paid our trip 6 months ago already and our trip started mid July. Unfortunately it all started with a misunderstanding already when we had our meeting/introduction in the beginning. Because we had organised a city walking tour ourselves after the intro (which we told OT about beforehand) but he he other plans for us which were at the same time he tried to move things and told us our tour would start a day later, which we actually didn’t really want. He said not to worry, we should relax and the guide in Ugands will be informed about the day that was supposed to be scratched from our trip (which we also didn’t want). We had to then start our trip a day later than expected, which was a pity but ok, because at the end of our trip we had an extra day before our flights went. We had also booked a hotel ourselves for that last evening.
When the trip finally started we had a fantastic first guide named Frederick who was very knowledgable and told us a lot about the animals, the country and it’s culture. After that we had friendly drivers but not really someone I would call a guide. They weren’t very talkative and didn’t inform us.
We started getting worried in Uganda when our guide wasn’t informed by the office of the change in itenerary and it was even possible to change it. We then sent OT an email, complaining about how he handled the situation in the first place and that he shouldn’t scratch one day of our safari because we actually paid for it. Furthermore we just wanted to know how the rest of our safari would go because now it was all a bit confusing how it would continue. And if we would stay for the whole trip then we would have to cancel our hotel for the last evening. He hadn’t replied ( which was odd because before our tour started the office replied VERY quickly) for more than a week. We asked our guides/drivers to ask the office to contact us because they must be in contact with the office all the time. The drivers just answered that they couldn’t reach the office, which was also very odd because they had to get info from the office to change drivers. After the 3rd driver told us that story we knew it was bullshit. We phoned and got through immediately twice!! Unfortunately OT was NEVER available to talk, he never phoned back and after a those two phone calls we weren’t able to get through either. They blocked us.
Then we told our driver to take us to the office on our way from Naivasha to Kenyan boarder, because the LACK OF COMMUNICATION AND THE NON-EXISTING CUSTOMER SERVICE really frustrated us. At the office we couldn’t get answers to why they had never replied and we found out that our itenerary had been changed by OT (via phone) which was a big surprise to us. If we hadn’t demanded to go to the office we would have never found out because the drivers didn’t know about the change.
Then we went to the boarder to Tansania. We waited for 2 hours for our next driver, who had more than enough time to get there on time, just to find out that he wasn’t coming anymore and we should stay st a nearby hotel. No one from the office called us to inform and update us, not even to say sorry for the inconvenience. The next morning we waited for an update until 10:30 (we actually tried to phone and find out what’s going on-that didn’t help because they didn’t know themselves and they didn’t have a plan B) that our next driver would be there at 11. We waited at the boarder again just to wait for 2 hours AGAIN!! He finally got there but we basically missed a whole day and we missed a game drive.
The next guide named Francis in Tansania was great as well. At last we could enjoy our trip again. We had two great days in Ngorongoro and Serengeti. Our last day, because our trip started a day late, we had to speed from Serengeti to Nairobi airport to catch our flight in the evening. Why OT planned the last day like that we will never know. He said there was enough time to even do a game drive in the morning and get to Nairobi Airport on time in the evening. That was bullshit. We even asked him to change it but he said it would be fine. We missed our last game drive and the guide had to drive 140km/h on a 80km/h road to get us there on time.
Summary:
The things we saw during our trip were amazing!! We had two great guides.
BUT the people working in the office and especially OT have been incompetent and very unprofessional. There is a total lack of communication at a time when it should be the best ever because it was DURING our trip, and there is definitely no customer service whatsoever!!! It was really disappointing because before our trip they seemed very professional and they responded very quickly to emails.
I just hope we, and other groups we met that also had a lot of problems which were even worse than ours, had some bad luck and that other groups won’t be stuck with this kind of mess!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
excellent service, fantastic holidays
Our experience with Shemeji has been outstanding the whole way through. It was our first visit to Tanzania and we did a 5 day trip to see Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorogoro. The animal life in the parks were fantastic, up close and exciting. Hippos and even lions wandered through the camps at times, this was so exciting but we felt very save and taking care off all the times. Though very basic, all accommonidations were very good, especially the dinner was amazing.
Every day it was a surprise to see other animals and beautiful landscape. Our guide, Julian, was amazing, very professional and experienced and so patient while we took tousands of pictures :)
After the Safari trip we spent a few days exploring Stone Town (very crowded, one day is enough time to visit all attractions!) in Sansibar and relaxing at the beach. It was a perfect holiday!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic adventure
Can't think of a single thing that went wrong! Great experience. Employees were knowledgeable, friendly and competent. Our tour guide had an amazing knowledge of the animals and able to answer every question. He should work for Google! Communication with the tour operator was quick and effortless. And we saw every imaginable animal and even the wildebeast migration across the river between Tanzania and Kenya. So glad I made the long trip for an adventure of a lifetime.
AR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent attention, comply with everything agreed. They have very good vehicles, with good guides
Very professional attention, excellent guide layout in appropriate vehicles for the experience.
They met schedules and accommodations and the experience of trecking del gorillas in Bwindii is exceptional.
Highly recommended.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best safari tours in town :)
We decided for a 6-day private camping safari and can really only say good things :) everyone has super effort and try everything possible to fulfill all wishes! Our own chef Viktor was really great and has enchanted us every day with great food ... our guide Richard was also awesome, he knew exactly where he can find the best animals for us!
In addition, Vervet Safaris has offered us the cheapest price, so it was a great stroke of luck! Since we arrived a day earlier and had some time left, they also went out to dinner with us, drove to the bank and accompanied us to a typical Masai market and all this at no extra charge! Just awesome :)!!
So if you are looking for a great safari, for a really fair price we can only recommend Vervet! We have rarely experienced such a great hospitality :)
Thank you Vervet for the great experience !!
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Memorable experiences!
Memorable experiences!
My wife and i had a memorable camping Safari of 5days everything was well organised from the start to the end our guide( George ) was so professional and friendly the chef made us delicious food it was amazing . We recommend migo African Safari & Tours
Asante sana.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unforgettable encounters
From the first moment we booked our Gorilla Tracking trip to Uganda we were very well informed about the itinerary and the status of our trip. The drive from Ruanda to Uganda with Hannington is very comfortable and scenic. We got to see a lot about both countries during the 5 hour drive. The lodge at Bwindi National Park provides all the comfort and rest we needed ahead of the Gorilla Tracking. The tracking itself exceeded all expectations. While we were hoping to see one gorilla up close, we got to spent time with an entire family of gorillas. That experience was incredibly touching and we look forward to come back to Uganda, to see more of that beautiful county with Hannington!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An unforgettable experience!
Last year we visited Namibia, this year we decided to travel on our own through Botswana and the northern part of SA. However, it was difficult to book campsites on our own in Botswana, communication with the campsites was bad or we got late responses. Therefore, we decided to contact African Travels for help. It was the best thing we did. Marijnke (owner of African Travels) knows a lot about Africa and she knows the most beautiful places. Thanks to her, it was an unforgettable experience!
Communication with African Travels was more than good. Because of the weather, we changed part of the trip. Marijnke was reachable 24/7. She came up with good ideas how to travel and which campsites/accomodations were still available and she also booked the locations for us while we were in desert.
Furthermore, African Travels arranged a very good car for us (Toyota Hillux 4x4) by a trusted partner of them. The owner of the rental company also knew a lot about Africa and told us the most beautiful stories.
I definitely would recommend to contact African Travels if you want to travel trough Africa so that your dream can come true!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best experience so far
Ever since we first contacted Crystal Safari until we met Hennington at the airport, we were very well informed about the itinerary and the status of our trip. The lodge at Bwindi National Park provides all the comfort and rest we needed ahead of the Gorilla Tracking. The tracking itself exceeded all expectations. That experience was incredibly touching and we look forward to come back to Uganda.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
PERFECT !! Thank you !!
Like many people, we did a lot of research for a long time and hesitated to organize our safari. Being in love with animals and dreamers of this experience for a long time, we have given the choice of the organizing agency an enormous importance.
Tanzania Specialist has been at the top from beginning to end and we thank them very much for helping us make a dream come true and allow us to come back with stars in our eyes.
From the first contact, professionalism and seriousness were their key words. They gave us advice on the different parks to visit, the different routes to take and offered us the most suitable to our request. Once there, as soon as we got off the plane and until we got back to the airport for our return flight we were accompanied. A briefing to provide us with all the necessary information the day before the start of the safari as well as a variety of incredible and unforgettable activities (special mention at night safari and hot air balloon safari).
Throughout the safari our guide was perfect, friendly, kind, providing a lot of information, arranging, it allowed us to fully enjoy our safari and live it at 1000%.
The car was perfect too, with sunroof but also a refrigerator and plenty of storage to have these devices (photos) available.
The accommodations chosen by the Specialists are exceptional !! combining comfort, luxury and authenticity, it decompresses the day and there is great warmth from the various extremely welcoming staff (special mention Kilimamoja Lodge Lake Manyara and Ole Serai Luxury Camp Serengeti Park).
Thanks to Tanzania Specialist it was a perfect safari and full of emotions !!
Big big up and thanks to Ramdan our guide but also to Mathilde and Zoe who were at the top !!
The best !!!!