US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magnificent wildlife and easy traveling
I can’t say enough good things about this country. Okonjima and Africats, Etosha, Palmwag, and the Namib desert were all beautiful. Our self drive tour felt safe and flexible. I will say that our trip might have been better done over three weeks than two due to the distances. Vegetarians well accommodated, vegans advised to bring protein snacks and shop for beans in the town supermarkets, as even the higher end camps and lodges were baffled (but they sure tried to help!).
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic wildlifre experience
The wildlife was absolutely fantastic. You can enjoy and discover how is real wildlife. The guide and the transportation was very good, very kind and did everything on their hands to get our best. The accommodations were not good, basic, but enough to stay in route.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Stunning wildlife, landscpae, people and food. Kenya is the place to go.
We did Nairobi - Aberdare NP - Nakuru NP - Naivasha - Masai Mara for 6 Days / 5 Nights private tour.. Was lucky enough to Spot the Big 5.
The tour was arranged by nativeafricatrails.com. Mwangai was very cooperative and informative. He arranged a flawless tour for us. The vehicle and driver guide - Michal was very knowledgable and cooperative too. Highly recommend them if you panning Kenya safari.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding service and organisation for Botwsana and Malawi trips with African Ubuntu Safaris
My wife and I were part of a photographic safari to Botswana and then travelled on alone to Malawi. Throughout, Cuan McLaren from African Ubuntu Safaris provided excellent service and the travel logistics went without a hitch. We had a wonderful safari: the game sightings were superb, and we stayed in and stylish and comfortable camps. Alistair MacDougall of Photo Organic provided excellent photographic assistance to the photographers in the group. All arrangements for Malawi were excellent. Highly recommended!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fabulous experience!
We had a fabulous safari experience with Mama Savana! Alex was reliable, communicative, prompt, and professional, which made organizing the safari easy and stress-free! Our guide Joseph was really great--very polite, a careful and skilled driver, and a knowledgeable wildlife enthusiast!
Based on our initial research we found that Mama Savana offered better value for money than other operators. We highly recommend them!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Animal Photography Safari!
We had an incredible experience with Benson Safaris! After deciding on a 8 day Tanzania trip as our ideal location and length, we sent a couple of requests for quotes out to companies- and Benson was the fastest at responding. Pendo was amazing at answering all questions and changing our accommodations to suit our budget for the trip. As it was our group’s first time to Africa, we ended up going with mid-level lodging which were definitely comfortable. (It was also very nice to be able to take a nice hot shower to get off all the dust from the day.) We loved the Serengeti Tortillis camp- it’s in the center of the park and you can hear animals in the middle of the night.
Our guide Amini was extremely knowledgeable about all the animals and amazing at spotting animals- hidden or even very far away. Sometimes we would stop suddenly and he would point at a tiny speck on the horizon which was a lion or cheetah! We were very impressed.
As two of us were very into photography, Amini did his best to position us for good lighting and shots which we really appreciated. As you can see from the photos- we got some good ones. We also really appreciated that he spent time to take less traveled paths- most of the drivers use radios in the park to communicate animal spotting and I’d imagine it’s easy to just go where there have been known animal sightings. Instead Amini planned our days out remotely where we would be able to take out photos without cars and get very close encounters. We were very fortunate to see a lot of lions, cheetahs, and even many elusive leopards!! Our expectations were definitely exceeded.
Overall, we had an amazing experience and would definitely recommend booking with Benson!
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spectacular with a Side of Vexation
The main day of our safari, we were very blessed and got to see almost every major species of animal possible in Maasai Mara. That being said, the drive was quite frustrating at times. The guide was friendly and knowledgeable but also restless. Every time he decided to stop so that we could take pictures, he would suddenly shift gears and floor it or move us back and forth unnecessarily and without warning. Some people got hurt, and a few of us have really blurry pictures of the sky and apparatus of the open roof as it hit us in the face or chest from the whiplash. James was a great driver other than the twitchiness, however. He never got us stuck in the mud like we witnessed other drivers do and really did do his best to help us see the animals as clearly and closely as possible while keeping us safe. Other main annoyances like the terrible roads weren't his fault. The only other suggestion I'd have is for him to keep certain comments himself; the picnic would have been a lot more comfortable without them.
The places we stayed in were nice as were the meals. Hm, perhaps the vehicles could be better suited for safaris rather than just regular vans, though. The one were we in was cramped as far as legroom and storage space and barely up to the challenge of the Maasai Mara roads.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a personalized experience of a lifetime in beautiful southern Africa.
My son (18) and I just completed making a lifetime of memories thanks to Safpol. With a few tweaks, we were treated to a reasonably priced private tour of southern Africa. We had 3 distinct guides for the 3 regions we visited. They were awesome! They drove us everywhere, knew our schedules and preferences, knew the optimal times to arrive, kept us on schedule, and talked extensively about the local history and culture. We were always treated like VIPs. They were our advocates at every location even looking out for my son’s dairy allergy.
We were blessed to be able to have dinner with Barbara and Pieter (the owners). We ate at a "carnivore" restaurant feasting on crocodile, Kudu, pork, chicken and more. The food was good and the conversation even better.
While South Africa is cheap compared to the US dollar, Zimbabwe is expensive. Be careful up upselling once you arrive in Zimbabwe. It will seem all the more expensive compared to South Africa which (at this time) is cheap compared to the U.S.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great value, but understand what you are getting
We did a 20 day trip to Tanzania that included a Kilimanjaro Summit via the Lemosho Route (8 days), Safari to Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara and Tarangire (5 days) and finished with 5 days on Zanzibar. Add a layover day in Arusha and a travel day to get to 20 days. Overall, I would rate our RightChoice adventure as a 4.5 (4 star experience at a 3 star price). In summary, the Kili trip was 5++ stars (absolutely amazing). Safari was 3.5 stars and Zanzibar was 4 stars. The people were great and the food was excellent (I'm pescatarian/vegetarian and they did a great job of accomodating). However, to get the lower price, you do have to compromise, so read on for the details.
Kilimanjaro: We had the two best guides that you can imagine (Ismael and Mongo). If you book with RC and get either one of them, you will be in good hands. Ismael was our lead guide, picked us up at the airport and took care of us through our trip. NOTE: RC was pretty casual about "what to bring to Kili", so you really have to do your own research. We packed pretty well, but forgot a couple things (BYO TP...) and Mongo helped by loaning us an item or 2. The food during the Kili trip was very good. Hot coffee/tea w/ eggs for breakfast; soup, rice or noodles with veggies, etc for dinner - very good. There was a box lunch when we didn't have a hot meal. Meals were served in the mess tent and Abdul (our waiter) took great care of us. There is not a "toilet tent", so you use the public pits, which range from acceptable to disgusting. The toilet pit at the first camp was the worst, then they got progressively better. The park service is installing new toilets and starting to actually clean them, so the situation should improve. We carried our own day packs, snacks, lunch, etc, as we hiked to base camp (not a problem). On summit day, one of our porters became the "summit porter" and the guides carried our pack while the summit porter carried hot tea and snacks to ensure our success - this was critical and I would definitely elect for this. The guys that took care of us (12 in all) were great and we really bonded - lots of singing, etc. It was definitely a trip that we will very fondly remember forever. Remember that you have to bring a lot of tip money. The recommendations that we got from our guides on tipping the porters were much higher than what I read online (like double), but they deserved it. After being with a great group for 8 days, the last thing you want to do is leave them high & dry.
One other thing to be prepared for with RC is the transportation. We viewed the transportation as being part of the adventure. Our trip to the Kili gate was memorable as we were picked up by a minivan (we called it the Mystery Machine - scooby doo) that looked like it could comfortably fit about 8 people. We drove all around Arusha picking up porters, etc., and by the time we were genuinely on the road to the gate there were 11 porters, the two of us and the driver packed in. Again, its part of the adventure, but be ready for it.
We had one evening in Arusha (at Charity Hotel) prior to being picked up for Safari early the next morning. Charity is ok, but its down a crazy back alley, so if you are first arriving at night, expect this. The food at Charity was below average and there is no power (in most of Arusha) during the afternoons.
Safari: Safari in Tanzania is a little bit like going to Disneyland. There are tons of trucks, all basically the same Toyota Land Cruisers. Most seat 6 passengers in the back plus driver & passenger seat. They all have the pop-up roof. We were shuttled out from Arusha in a minivan to pickup more people at Lake Manyara, then head to Serengeti. Our agenda was changed at the last minute by RC, but it didn't really matter. RC paired us up with three other English speaking tourists (2 from Holland, 1 from Germany). It seems that RC subcontracts with other Safari providers to place you in trucks. We were with "Big 5" Safaris for the first two days in Serengeti. We had a fun group and a good driver, so it worked out. We also had a very good Safari cook who stayed with us for the entire 5 days.
The good thing about Safari was the wildlife (of course). We saw a lot more than I thought we would. The bad thing was that we were there during the "high season" - it was packed. I also thought that we might see the "great migration" in the Serengeti during July, but found that the main activity was about an 8 hour drive away. That said, we saw a ton of wildlife - no rhinos, as they mainly hide in July, but everything else. The camping situation at Serengeti and Ngorongoro is pretty bad (not an improvement from Kili) and we were in very old tents with broken poles and zippers that we put up ourselves - again, part of the adventure. However, since we aimed to get out of camp at 6am each morning, this seemed like a good compromise to staying at one of the hotels/resorts in the area. For the last two nights we stayed at Manyara View campground, which had permanent tents and cots (very nice) as well as cold beer in the fridge (very welcome). The last two days of safari we had different trucks (different companies). Again, it worked and was just part of the adventure.
Zanzibar: After safari, we changed cars about 3 times on the way to the Kili airport and checked in with George on our way to Zanzibar. RC did a good job of arranging all of the transportation, but expect to change cars a lot (are we supposed to tip every driver?). Willy picked us up in Zanzibar and we spent a few days in Stone Town prior to heading to Smiles Beach Resort. Smiles was very nice - again, friendly people, clean rooms, etc. The food was pretty average (overcooked seafood). It is located right next to the Hilton Doubletree. If you walk 100' up the beach you can pay about 4x for a meal that (probably) tastes better. We did two days of diving with Spanish Dancer divers (not through RightChoice). The diving was very good. Again, RightChoice got us from the north coast of Zanzibar via ferry to Dar as Salam for our flight to Kili and home. The transportation was definitely crazy, but we made it.
Summary: I'm really glad we chose RightChoice for our adventure in Tanzania. It wasn't the "high end" vacation, but it was the adventure that we were looking for. We may have preferred a little "upscale" at various times during our trip and I know we were both ready to be back in the US, but the trip was incredibly memorable and really had an impact on how we will view the world going forward. Thanks, RightChoice!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Can’t imagine using anyone else again!
I am a French teacher, and have been touring French-speaking Africa with my students for a decade and a half. With that said, this is the first time I used Chalo Africa, and the last time I’ll ever use another company other than them. From start to finish, the entire Chalo Africa team made me feel as though I was their only client. In addition, the tour itself (of Madagascar) was the best I’ve ever experienced! From the tour guides, the naturalists, bus drivers and all the eco-activities, everything was TOP NOTCH. As both an educator and former resident of Madagascar, I can honestly say that this tour exceeded all of my expectations. This team is fantastic!
