CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience for a budget safari
Bearing in mind the cost of this safari, everything went quite smoothly. Accommodations are basic, but clean. Food was decent, although not a lot of variety. Be warned that you will spend a lot of time in the vehicle, so it is advisable to stock up on snacks and drinks! Our driver, James, was fantastic and very knowledgeable about the animals and birds we saw. He also knew all the best places to find them and went out of his way to make sure we saw plenty of wildlife. In addition, he is friendly and courteous. We saw the Big 5 and much more on our 1 week safari. Overall, a great experience, thank you Karibu Safaris!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience!
We (3 young women 27-30) booked a 4 day/3 nights campingsafari withGreg and totally loved it! The trip included 2 nights in Villa Poa and 3 nights camping (simple tent as well as mattresses and sleeping bags are provided). Meals during our whole stay were also included. By the way THANKS to our chef Tuma!
Airport shuttle was totally trouble free (Arusha as well as Kilimanjaro airport). By the way the service in advance (mail traffic, flow of information, payment etc.) was great!
Safari itself included nationalparks Tarangire, Serengeti andNgorngoro. Our great guide Allan made everything possible, so we did'nt only get to see the big 5 but nearly every animal (apart from some birds), often from really close!
You spend the nights in Serengeti and Ngorongoro on a wild camping set in the middle of the parks so you might meet some zebras and elephants or get awake by the sund of a lion during the night. Such a great and special experience!
We can totally recommend a stay at Villa Poa! Thanks for all, guys :)
US
Perfect Experience
Vincent expertly planned our trip, fully taking into consideration our requests, and was helpful and communicative throughout the planning process. Our guide, Boniface, was an expert driver and a fountain of knowledge, often anticipating what the animals might do next and where to go for the best chances of seeing something special. As a result, we got to see everything we hoped to see and then some. The vehicle was always clean and the extra fabric cushions and seat backs made it comfortable even on warm days and bumpy roads. We booked high-end accommodations and the service and food there were outstanding. One thing to keep in mind is that most Safaris begin early in the morning and you might need to find a hotel for the night before.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unprofessional
Dissapointed
Unprofessionalism and disappointment guaranteed.
My family and I experienced a nightmare with Watu Safaris managed by this man called Mr. Majenda. What was supposed to be a relaxing and memorable getaway with my two year old son and husband turned into a horrible cascade of unpredictable and disappointing events.
Before the trip:
Mr. Majenda and I were in good communication and he seemed quite courteous and civil. We arranged the trip for July 19th and 20th. We were to be picked up from Dar-es-salaam at 5:30 am and be driven to Mikumi to spend the day, sleep in the premises and continue our safari the next morning. Two days before the safari, I emailed Mr. Majenda to make sure if all plans were in order and he assured me like the professional I thought he was that all is well. He told me that my driver would contact me to make arrangements. I didn't hear from the driver so I contacted him the night before the trip. The driver had no idea about the trip. He told that he thought it was for the 29th and not the 19th. Mind you, Mr. Majenda had prepared my invoice with the correct dates and all emails had the dates of the safari as subject. So the driver then asked me to wait so he can clarify with his boss Mr. Majenda. They somehow managed to hire another driver from a different company right around midnight. I was notified by text about this new driver situation.
Day of the trip:
We woke up early to prepare and were ready by 5am. Time of pick up arrives and no show. So I call the new driver. He picks up the phone, surprise! I had just woken him up. He told me he was not briefed about the pick up time and that he was on his way. I honestly think this guy was innocent in all this.
So we get around 6:15am and head out. We arrive at Morogoro and meet Mr. Majenda at Watu Safaris offices to complete our payment. He says sorry without any explanation and proceeds to deduct the payment. We head to Mikumi. At this point, I am already very dissatisfied and honestly feeling let down. What else could go wrong?
At Mikumi park:
We arrive at the gate, present our IDs and ask for our booking for lodging that night. Guess what? None of that exists! After almost an hour of calls, no success as to where we were going to spend the night. Our entrance fees were supposed to be covered in our safari package but we ended up paying out of pocket to get into the park. At this point, I was expecting at least a call from Mr. Majenda but nothing. Two hours later, I decide to call him. I was very furious. He gave me a half type of apology and blamed it on his driver for mixing up the dates. I told him to own up for God's sake! He said that they had booked us at a hotel nearby to spend the night and that "it was more expensive than the lodges" that we were originally supposed to stay in. I was so disgusted. If I wasn't pregnant and also with a 2 year old, we would have driven back home the same day. We ended up staying at that hotel and completed the trip next morning.
We did not get a personal apology from Mr. Majenda, nor did he call us to make sure we were okay. He didn't care about us after getting his money. The only thing he did was pay for the hotel bill including all meals and offered to reimburse us our entrance fee. I understand that some things can go wrong when planning a trip but in our case, all things went wrong and for this reason and the way he handled things, I do not consider Mr. Majenda a professional.
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing, Wonderful, Mesmerizing and Awe-inspiring Experiences
My wife and I had the most Amazing, Wonderful, Mesmerizing and Awe-inspiring Experiences with Wild Secrets Safaris. We did the Classic Tanzania Tour with guide Mussa. He was wonderful, very knowledgeable and fun to be with. We were able to see so many different animal and bird species. We saw all the big 5!
The vehicle was fitted with comfortable safari seats, charging points for cameras and phones, fridge and radio call that Mussa used to communicate with other guides for updates on the location of wild game.
We stayed in nice comfy hotels that provide great service. Mussa was very punctual and kept the vehicle clean everyday.
We surely enjoyed ourselves during the safari and thanks to Mussa!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon trip
We booked a one week trip with Encounter Africa Safaris as the first part of our honeymoon and all was perfect from start to finish. Chris was prompt at replying and easy to liaise with ahead of the trip. We had done a lot of research and had an itinerary in mind and Chris helped us to put everything together to make this happen for a very reasonable price.
On the trip we had a private vehicle for the entirety which was exactly what we wanted. Cyrus was our driver and an amazing guide - really friendly and knowledgable, working hard to find the things that we wanted to see and quickly understanding what was of interest to us/how much information to give.
Would highly recommend a trip to Uganda and booking with Encounter Africa Safaris!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A dream come true
We always wanted to live a safari in Tanzania, and Kiliholidays made the dream a reality. The accomodations were interesting and amazing, and the experience overall was incredible. Our Guide, Justin, was so nice, so funny and so attentive, the trip was perfect. Everything was planned very easily and clearly, and all went perfect, sticking to the plan.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He was very flexible with us and on conclusion of our scheduled activities
He had a superb knowledge of both flora and fauna, analyzing animal tracks and scat to help locate animals. On top of this, he was very good at reading the body language of animals - this helped in locating a lion pride. Once back in Nairobi, we did the full day Nairobi tour, again with our driver. He was very flexible with us and on conclusion of our scheduled activities, made suggestions of other things that we could do seen as we still had time remaining. Highly recommend!
MY
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience with skilled/experienced driver/guide
We wen't on a 5N/6D safari across the parks/areas of Tarangiri, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Manyara in early June and were quite happy with Wildebeest Safaris.
While Noah Kuti, the owner, was as communicative and clear as we'd expect, the biggest factor in our satisfaction was no doubt our skilled and experienced driver/guide Hamza, who managed to give us great viewing experiences of not only the Big Five (Black Rhino at a great distance, though), but also a Great Migration event consisting of a frenzied herd of thousands of Wildebeest + Zebras crossing a river in central Serengeti. The latter felt like I imagine it would feel like to see a crossing of Grumeti River with crocs and all, just that there were no crocs in the particular river location we observed 'our' crossing.
The lodges and tent camps chosen by Wildebeest Safaris for our safari were also quite alright, with just one negative thing (not major) to note about one of them (in separate review).
All in all we were quite happy and satisfied with our safari trip.
I'd say, however, that it depends very much on which driver/guide you get, so our advise is to try to ensure that you do get a truly experienced guide. Our driver/guide Hamza's 15 years experience of doing safaris in the area, as well as his good understanding and positive attitude, certainly played a role.
NZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Time
We had the most amazing time on our safaris. We had the privilege of having Leonard as our guide and driver. He was informative, polite, friendly, knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor! On top of all of that he was an excellent driver. The roads are crazy bumpy and rough, but he always did his best to choose the best route.
Maggie was very accommodating with our few requests. She asked if we wanted to upgrade our car to a jeep for a minimal amount - well worth the money as this car was far more open and easy to see out of.
We got to see the 5 ugliest and the Big 5 - just incredible!