50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip of a lifetime!
My husband and I were part of a large group who travelled together to Uganda - the 3 day safari with kombi tours was part of the trip.
We were picked up at our guest house in Kampala by mini buses and deposited back there 3 days later. From start to finish the 3 days were a real full-on adventure! All the drivers were amazing but particularly Tom and Paddy who drove us personally during the three days. They were all excellent, careful drivers and proved to be very knowledgeable about the animals we were to see during the 2 game drives. I was particularly keen to see the grey crowned crane (featured on the Ugandan flag) and Tom took me straight to it - we were delighted to see a breeding pair with their 2 babies grazing by the lakeside - a real highlight! Other highlights are too numerous to mention but I will never forget standing up in the minibus looking out of the open top at 2 bull elephants not 3 metres away munching on leaves from a tree, appearing to be oblivious to us taking photos. Tom also looked for and found a lion napping in a tree quite a distance away although one of the minibuses had apparently rounded a bend and came upon a pride of lions by the roadside!
As well as the game drives the trip to Murchison falls was such an adventure. The falls are awesome to see, even from a distance but the boat dropped some of us off someway from the base of the falls so we could walk to the top. We were accompanied by a guide although the way was clearly marked. It was a very steep incline in parts with stone steps and there was one steep downhill slope to bring you to the top of the falls. After a very hot walk it was lovely to reach the top and stand on a walkway where we were showered with spray from the falls! The buses met us at the carpark at the top to bring us down and we were welcomed by the drivers who showed a genuine delight that we had achieved our goal of reaching the top.
Our accommodation at the Murchison River lodge was excellent and everything we could have wished for. Food and facilities were very good.
The culmination of our safari adventure was a visit to the Ziwa White rhino sanctuary. This was an amazing experience and we were so lucky to see 5 rhinos grazing together. Being so close to a wild animal was a real privilege which we all appreciated.
Finally, from not really knowing what to expect from our holiday it turned into a trip of a lifetime. This was in no small part due to the marvellous safari we embarked upon - I would certainly recommend kombi tours.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Can't ask for more or better
My wife and I spent 13 days around Uganda. Ambroise from African Encounter Safari was our driver and guide. He was not only nice and friendly but he was very knowledgeable about his countrie's history and fauna. He was not only concern for our well being but also made sure anything we might need was taken care of and we had only to worry to enjoy everything else. We set up our tour and hotels before arriving to Uganda but his suggestions for activities were often better options than ours inicial Plans. Overall it was a great experience and we feel lucky we got ambroise to become part of our trip and everlasting memories. Always greatful.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable 6-week African Honeymoon - South Africa, Victoria Falls, Tanzania and Uganda
After some Internet research and getting ourselves very overwhelmed with 'where to start planning this trip to Africa?!' we came across Tailormade Africa. From our first email response from Rob it was clear this was a different service to the others. No generic email or pamphlets were sent to us. Straight away Rob really just wanted to get us on the phone to understand who we were and what we wanted out of our holiday. Our first phone call went for over an hour!
The phone calls and planning kept going for months and months but were always enjoyable. The communication was always prompt and professional, close to 12 months of changing and refining our plans. The end result was a 6-week honeymoon that had so many complex, moving parts. So many internal flights and countries and transfers but all ran so smoothly and not one hiccup. A real credit to the planning and support we received from Rob.
We had such an amazing range of experiences. Starting with a 2-week self-driving trip along the Garden Route in South Africa, through to Victoria Falls for a few days and then onto Tanzania for our 6-day safari through Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. We had a week of sun and relaxation on Zanzibar Island before heading to Uganda for the final leg. Here we went on another Safari and experienced the truly unforgettable and surreal gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
We truly had the most amazing holiday and are dreaming about planning another trip to Africa. We have already got two of our friends planning their honeymoon with Rob next year and couldn't recommend him and Tailormade Africa more!
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Etosha reserve and the Namib Desert in semi private tour!
I have just come back from a 10 days tour that included some of the major spots in Namibia (Etosha Park, Damaraland, Swakupmund and the coast, the Namib Desert). I have to say that I have organized this trip only 7 days before departure and I found and very good assistance with great professionality by Traudy. I had no worries with the airport transfer and the nights at arrival and departure in Windhoek , and received all suggestions and and advices needed before departure. At arrival everything was perfectly organized and the good surprise was that the tour took place with 3 travellers only (me and 2 nice american), with a brand new Toyota 4x4, which is a "plus" regarding comfort and security in a 3000 Km trip mainly on dust roads! The guide, Elton, was an excellent driver and behaved with capability and prudence in all circumstances. It was enjoyable to spend hours also in the car, with the feeling of being alone sometimes, in the immense landscapes of Namibia. Camp equipments and campsites were all perfect and we had sufficient time to enjoy the beauties of the places that we visited. Meals were all excellent! I have to say that the main feeling is that I found was I was looking for: the chance of visiting the places I wanted to see, living the days with the perception away from the tourism masses, in a safe way. I would recommend to travel across Namibia with Blue Crane, and for sure whatever is your type of expectation I have seen that it can be discussed in advance with the staff in order to program what best fits to the traveller intention.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
trip of a lifetime, amazing team from organisation to the guide and adventure
I did a lot of looking around into which safari company to chose in Tanzania as there are so many options. Lion King Adventures stood out from the crowd and provided my husband and I a truly unforgettable experience. The team before the trip was very efficient with emails and organization to make sure we got the exact experience that we wanted. Everything ran smoothly from the airport pick up in Arusha to the airport drop of in Kilimanjaro. Our guide Ozzie was easy going and friendly, he was also very knowledgeable and made sure we had an amazing experience. Ozzie even took us on the long mission up to nearly the boarder of Kenya to chase the migration - it was indeed a loooong day but so happy we got to see it. Yousif our cook was awesome too, he made beautiful food and was always happy and smiling. When we stopped in the town at the end of the trip, on the way to the airport, Anne the owner greeted us to introduce herself and ask how our trip was - she was really lovely. All in all we had an such an awesome trip, thanks Lion King Adventures for making unforgettable memories for my husband and I :)
SA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional From Start to Finish
Our meet and greet at the airport was so friendly and helpful and put us immediately at our ease. The Tour Guide Jimmy who we spent the week with could not have been more approachable, friendly and just went out of his way to make our holiday the best he could. His knowledge of the areas we visited, certainly the Massai Mara was incredible as well as the information he imparted about all the different species we saw. The communication between the guides allowed us to see all the big game and more than we ever expected.
Thank you for giving us some exceptional and profound memories guys and we will no doubt be back to see you again. In the meantime, we will highly recommend you to anyone looking to go on safari in Kenya.
Thank You So Much.....
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
After an excellent trip to Namibia in 2004 this year we tried Botswana, which was wonderful.
The holiday exceeded all expectations. It was incredible.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything I could have hoped and wished for! Superb!!
When initially searching for a tour I contacted a large number of companies, Lenchada were quick to reply, friendly and a very good price.
Accommodation:
The guesthouse we stayed in the first night was wonderful and the staff could not have done more for us. The food was also incredible and they even cooked us some food when we arrived as we had missed lunch. We then went on to the Lenchada camp where we stayed in tents with real beds and a full size bathroom, it was way more than we were expecting. When they said camping we literally thought it would be a tent in the middle of nowhere! So we were very pleasantly surprised. Again this camp bent over backwards for us and nothing was too much of an ask for them.
Safari:
We first went to Naivasha Lake where we took a boat ride and saw many hippos, birds and other wildlife. The guy Joseph who took us out was great, very informative and also even let us get off the boat and go over to the Giraffes (this was an incredible experience looking up a giraffe from 3 feet away). We then went on to Nakuru where we went on a game drive around the national park. We saw white Rhinos and many other animals and it was a great way to dip your toe into it before Masai Mara.
Next up was Masai Mara and 'oh my goodness' what an incredible couple of days did we have! We saw everything we set out to see, Lions, Zebras, Hippos, Elephants, Giraffes, the migration, Cheetahs and the list goes on and on and on......
Guide:
Finally....our wonderful guide James! He literally made our trip incredible, I have never met a guide who is so knowledgeable and cares so much about you getting as much out of the experience as possible. Jimmy was in constant contact with his friends on the safari and when he got a call that there were animals nearby he would literally get us there as quick as possible so we wouldn't miss out. I cannot stress how great this guy is and how incredible he made our trip........If I were you I would ask for Jimmy ;)
A word of advice.....if you are thinking about doing a tour definitely book with these guys as you will not be disappointed!
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A little complicated
There was a misalignment on my expectations (wanted to see the Great Migration) versus what the safari package finally delivered (normal safari not focused on the Great Migration), I had chosen the package I did because it was supposed to focus on the Great Migration.
I have to admit that despite the misalignment of expectations I saw a lot and I have done a couple of safaris before in other countries.
Meru Slopes is a very good safari provider, just make sure you discuss the details before deciding on a package.
P.D. They offered a quick and good service recovery (discount on a future tour) once they realized that I was not entirely happy with the service they delivered.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
our experience Tanzania Specialist was amazing we never expect to see so much wildlife, fantastic
Last year we booked a safari with Tanzania Specialist and it was amazing,the first day we ended up in a group of 24 lions and they even noticed that we were there. the guide really knows what he was talking about, we was very friendly and help full. We stayed for five night in de most beautiful lodges hidden in the beautiful landscape of Tanzania. so tank you Tanzania specialist for our amazing Safari