GR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A truly Honest Review about Galloping Safaris
Well, overall we had a very nice and memorable experience with Galloping Safaris.
We highly recommend this tour operator for any safari trip in Tanzania, especially to couples who are looking for a private luxury trip.
If you are seriously thinking of booking your trip with Galloping Safaris, we suggest you to read this long but very honest and detailed review.
It was our first time in Tanzania and our first safari trip.
Doing it as part of our Honeymoon trip, we wanted a private safari for the two of us with a private guide/driver and we wanted to stay at the most luxurious lodges of Ngorongoro Conservation area, Serengeti, Lake Ndutu, Lake Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro.
We started doing some research on the available Tanzanian Safari tour operators back in October 2018. We discussed over whatsapp chatting and video calls and dozens of emails with at least 6 operators. We needed to be sure as it is a common secret that there are many unprofessional companies that would cheat you in every possible way.
We ended up to Galloping Safaris and to Walter personally as he sounded very certain about what he was promising us. He was very responsive and he did his best to secure for us everything we asked for within the budget we had available.
There are also other operators appearing as experts in luxury private safari tours. But guess what...They are far (even 3 times) more expensive that Galloping Safaris without any extra service of what you will get from Galloping Safaris.
With Galloping Safaris we secured the best deal we could as we manage to spend the amount we had initially in mind while we stayed at the most high-end lodges of the area like. To mention some of them:
&Beyond Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
The Highlands Asilia Ngorongoro
Lake Ndutu Luxury Lodge
Kubu Kubu Luxury Lodge
Walter is a very promising professional, he is a hard-selling guy that will earn your trust. He is very well connected to all the Hotels and Lodges Managers. He will try to satisfy all your requests and needs.
Most of the times, he will succeed to do so.
Walter kept for us the best Safari driver, Joshua, a 37-year old guy with a 17 year experience on game-drive in Tanzania. Very adventurous, excellent english speaker, very knowledgeable about everything regarding the area, seasonal trends, animals, plantation, people and tribes, safari secrets. We visited the Maasai village where we had an amazing experience there. We had a very good time with Joshua as we were discussing with him throughout our trip spending with him at least 6 hours per day. He was very fun but also very careful and cautious at the same time. He was an amazing driver with an outstanding instinct about where we should be driven in order to see lions, cheetahs, hippos, wildebeest, elephants, zebras, giraffes etc.
We spent with Joshua the first 4 days of our main safari trip in Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Ndutu.
Over the last 2 days, visiting Lake Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro for hiking, we had another guide/driver named Kennedy. He was very kind and helpful and fun but he didn't have the excitement and the instinct of Joshua nor he was such a good driver.
One negative comment is that although we have asked for 2 pairs of binoculars to find inside the Safari 4x4 truck and we received a written confirmation about it, there was only one pair and in a very bad condition. So, when we came across to animals that were far away we could not enjoy them not even with binoculars.
Apart from the Safari trip, we planned to spend 5 days to Zanzibar prior to safari. We asked Walter from Galloping safaris to make a research on 5-star beachfront resorts. The truth is that by the time (beginning of November 2018) we started looking for hotel in Zanzibar, the best resorts seemed to be already fully booked for the period of New Year's eve.
Our options were extremely limited. Walter managed to reserve a room at Neptune Pwani Beach Resort and spa which was a 5-star resort. We asked for a Sea front Ocean View Room and we received a written confirmation from Galloping Safaris about it.
However, when we arrived at the hotel, the front desk personnel had no idea about the room we had booked and pre-paid the 35% amount of it via deposit.
Unfortunately, the room was terrible and it did not correspond to a 5-star accommodation. We wouldn't rate it not even as a 3-star.
No adequate light blocking when the curtains were closed as the fabric was not blackout. We could not stay in bed and sleep after 7 am. We managed to stick some black plastic bags on the windows but again the problem was still there as there were other windows high enough that we could not close.
Another aspect of the poor accommodation and room amenities was the bathroom and toilet. In fact it was open space with the remaining room and the bedroom as there wasn't any wall or door to close only some wooden grilles with open gaps in between the wooden components. As a result, it was impossible to have any privacy inside the bathroom or the toilet. Not convenient at all for newly married couples...
The breakfast and the food in general in every single restaurant of the hotel was simply terrible, extremely salty and not what you would expect from a 5-star resort. We had paid for an all-inclusive package for alcoholic. However, they charged us for the wine we had over dinner.
The personnel was over all uneducated, not speaking english. Some of them were rude but there were also a couple of exceptions.
In general, our accommodation experience in Zanzibar was terrible and although this was not a Galloping Safaris' fault, we would expect that they would have protected us from experiencing such a terrible stay especially during our honeymoon and new year's eve period.
The positive aspect of Zanzibar was our butler/private guide there named Mussa Hassan from "Zanziplanet Tours & Travel". Mussa is a Galloping Safaris' external colleague who is taking care of the customers visiting Zanzibar. He is an amazing guy in every single aspect. He is very well respected in Zanzibar, very well connected to Hotel and high-end restaurant managers, very adaptable to customer's needs and last minute changes.
We believe that if Galloping Safaris had introduced us to Mussa Hassan and Zanziplanet Tours and Travel early enough, at the time we were searching for our accommodation in Zanzibar, we wouldn't have ended up to Neptune Pwani Resort and Spa as we are sure that Mussa, who lives and operates to Zanzibar, would have found a better solution for us.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wild Destinations made our safari experience amazingly seamless and perfect
From the planning stages, it was clear this tour operator is organized and very timely with any questions and concerns. Different packages of safari were offered, to allow for the best choice without the customer having to do the legwork of cost comparisons. There was no pressure at anytime to commit to any bookings. The transportation between airports and the safari was excellent. We did not have a single worry before , during or after the safari. The safari itself was fantastic, we had the time of our lives. I highly recommend Wild Destinations to arrange any safari.
35-50 years of age
Perfectly organized - awesome Job fom Compass Odyssey
Compass Odyssey did a great job in organizing our 8-day trip through Botswana, Zimbabwe Zambia and Johannesburg! They listened well to our wishes and expectations, chose beautiful accommodations and suggested activities that matched perfectly with our interests. Everything was well scheduled and communicated and we had wonderful moments with our friendly, passionate and knowledgeable guides. We would not hesitate to book again with CO!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
we had a great experience and trip was beyond our expectations.
All in all we had a great experience and the trip was beyond our expectations.we loved the drive he was so friendly, kind and very professional. This was our first time doing a safari and we would for sure do this again with rajatour.
If you are looking to book a safari with a Tanzanian provider company, Rajatours is a great choice for your safar.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Expectional Safari
We went to Lake Mburo National Park for a three day safari. It was an amazing experience and saw alot of wildlife.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The experience was great and I personally would love to book your service next time. Great job
I believe this is the best safari I have ever take..
MY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exclusive service with friendliness and sincerity but reasonable pricing for both mountain & safaris
I summitted Mt. kilimanjaro with serac adventure tour via lemosho without regret and in fact full of fun. I would not summit without the support and services from the experienced guides and hiking crews/fighters!!! "stomach engineer" was professionally utilizing his creativity that made us enjoyed our meal with surprises. We were impressed that how could he prepared some of the sophisticated dishes in the limited sourced mountain. We managed to catch the view of big fives during our safaris. It was a life time experience.
I would highly recommend serac adventure as the services provided were awesomely out of my expectation.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great guys and very professional service
Home to Africa arranged our safari in Uganda, organized permits for Gorilla and Chimpanzee visits. Everything was impeccably planned and executed. Before and during the trip we always felt perfectly informed and well taken care of. During planning, Elias was highly flexible and created an itinerary tailored to us. Benon was a great tour guide with knowledge about all animals and birds we encountered. He is also a very likable person and we felt very secure with him all the time. We especially valued his punctuality and high standards of professionalism. Thanks again for the wonderful time and we can highly recommend going on a safari with this agency. Not least for the cool gift they extend to you at the end!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a super team who professionaly leaded us to the top
Herman leaded our group of 8 persons very professionaly and friendly to the top. Unfortunately 2 of us had to stop because of illness. His personal accompaniment to bring them to the valley was overwhelming and comforting for them and the left over group...
I would recomment Herman to be your enthousiastic, friendly, professional and driven guide!!!!
RO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All wishes fulfilled
Wonderful trip and excellent service ! Everything was like I planned with Hekima from the beginning ..actually, it was better then the initial plann. Accommodation and food were also, wonderful! The safari was amazing! I can't recommend this company enough. Thank you, guys!