IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible Service and Attention to Customers
We booked gorilla permits through Kisoro Tours Uganda and we could not be happier with the experience. We elected to drive a rented car ourselves from Kigali to Kisoro, but were unaware that the Cyanika border closes at 8pm everyday. We reached the border at 8:45pm and were informed that we could not cross the border until the next morning at 5am, which would have put us in danger of missing our gorilla trek at the Rushaga gate of Bwindi National Park (Check in starts at 7am and Uganda's time zone is one hour ahead of Rwanda's). Dan at Kisoro tours is extremely responsive on what's app and made sure that the Uganda Wildlife Authority was not only aware of our issue, but also that our permits were changed to nearby Mgahinga National Park. We could not be happier with the switch. Mgahinga is a much quieter park than Bwindi and not as inundated with tourists. What's more the largest silverback gorilla in Uganda, Mark who weighs over 250 kgs resides in Mgahinga. We were fortunate enough to see 2 adult silverbacks, 1 juvenile silverback, 2 females and 2 baby gorillas (4 and 6 months).
Kisoro Tours and Dan in particular were extremely helpful in ensuring that we had a great trip.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible African Safari Experience!!
We were incredibly impressed with Lilian, the owner! She is very professional (and, since we had the opportunity to spend some time with her, absolutely charming!). We researched several outfits from Canada and decided to go with one based in Tanzania. All initial communication was immediate and friendly. She responded to e-mails promptly, suggested itinerary, and tailored our safari to suit our interests, and our budget!! Everything happened seamlessly starting with being met at the airport when our flight was delayed, all the paperwork for the national parks was in order, and our accommodations exceeded our expectations! Our guide, David, was simply outstanding!! He is so incredibly knowledgeable: there was not a question we asked that he could not answer, complete with entertaining anecdotes, with respect to birds, wildlife, environment, and life in Tanzania. The choice of guide is so important since every waking moment is spent together. David went out of his way to make our safari comfortable and safe, to ensure that we saw the maximum of what the areas (Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongo Crater) had to offer and, in general, to take care of us. We had fun and enjoyed the easy conversations. We were so lucky to be in a reliable vehicle (others were not so fortunate!) with an exceptionally good, experienced driver! Since we were there in the dry season, we would recommend that light scarves be at the ready to cover mouth and nose as the amount of dust is almost surreal.
A six day safari met our needs. However, if it had been longer, perhaps we would have seen a rhinoceros that was more than a dot in the distance!
We would definitely recommend booking a safari with Zohar Safaris! We greatly thank Lilian and David for a truly memorable time!!
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Couldn't have had a better service and a split of a more wonderful holiday
Mwema Africa Safaris is so organised when it comes to planning and actual service. The company did its best to make our 11 day trip with them an impeccable one. We felt we had 2 knowledgeable drivers/guides taking us around, from the very beginning to the very end. They spotted all sorts of animals and views for us. We even saw a rhino ;-) They gave us the opportunity to get to know them on a personal level too. We could share all sorts of ideas; from politics, education, cultures and so much more. Every single step of our journey was planned with all the necessary details. There wasn't any minute of our trip with Mwema that we felt at a loss. All questions we could ask even during the actual trip via Whatsapp. We had enough freedom to enjoy each others' company as 3 good friends travelling together, especially being the first time to Africa for us all. We used to be more impressed the more days passed with the way we were treated by Mwema. All accomodation booked for us was fine. Food was great. Service even more. I recommend Mwema to all those travelling to Africa and opting for any kind of safari. The drivers/guides are nice people with whom you can have a fantastic experience after all.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Honeymoon
We contacted Natasha @ Sun Safaris because a friend had used them and recommended them. We needed help booking accommodations, flights, and transfers in Cape Town, Kruger, Joburg, and Seychelles for our honeymoon. Natasha was very quick to turn around itineraries and meet our needs. All the hotels we stayed in were beautiful and catered to our dietary needs per request! We had an unbelievable time on Safari, staying in Timbavati at Kambaku River Sands. The staff there was amazing and the lodge itself was beautiful. We got to see the Big 5 and the rangers, chefs, and staff accommodated our every need during our stay. All the transfers and flights were hassle-free as the drivers showed up on schedule according to the itinerary and we did not have to worry about anything. Every part of the trip was incredible and exceeded our expectations. I would absolutely recommend Sun Safaris to others (and I already have done so).
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
Had a great experience with Katona doing a 3 day tour to Uganda to do gorilla and golden monkey trekking. Jackie was quick to respond, very responsive to my many questions, and offered a variety options based on my interests. She even offered an alternative to gorilla trekking in Rwanda to save me hundreds of dollars when the price of the permit doubled unexpectedly. Jackie provided a detailed itinerary, and checked in with me each day during the tour to make sure everything was going well. Elias is a great guide who helped make sure that the entire tour went smoothly. He made sure I got to where I needed to go safely and make sure that I had a good time.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Brilliant Trip to Masai Mara reserve Accommodation good, food excellent, guides good.(tripAdvisor
A Brilliant Trip to Masai Mara reserve Accommodation good, food excellent, guides good.(tripAdvisor 8th August 2017)
All arrangements made on line comfortably from home. Tavernsolia Prime Safaris & Tours (K) gave the best suggestions for the trip we wanted. Transport to parks went perfectly. We saw all the animals on our wish list, guides wonderful and extremely knowledgeable. Accommodation good, food excellent. Even gave us the best weather
PH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A company you can trust and rely on your safari needs!
Last December we had a global conference held in Nairobi and we got Ngurumah Tours and Travel to facilitate all our inland transportation starting from the airport to the different places in Nairobi.
All I can say is that this company is really reliable. All their office staff, including the owner, are very kind and accommodating. They are very keen in making sure all our requests are met. The mini buses that we used are new and well maintained and the drivers are also on time and very helpful to our participants. I never encountered any problem with them. I highly recommend this company if you need inland transportation for your conferences held in and outside Nairobi, tours, and private car rentals. Their prices are very fair.
They are simply the best.
US
Awesome
We booked a day trip to Mikumi in late August with Joseph and had an amazing time. We were picked from our hotel at 4:30 am and arrived around 9 am, before stopping on the way for breakfast. Joseph was extremely friendly and responsive to all of our questions before, during and even after the game drive. We saw a lot of animals, even lions which are often hard to find and had a great lunch inside the park. The trip back to Dar was a bit exhausting, so I would recommend a two days trip if possible, but overall it everything about our safari was worth the long journey.
We thank Joseph for a great day!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice safari, good price
My girlfriend and I went on a 4 day safari, visiting 3 parks: Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. Trip was well organized and included overnight in the hotel before and after safari. During safari we slept in tents, which were complete. The guide was very good and friendly, drove very well, showed and told us a lot. The cook made us a nice meal three times a day.
In short, very cool trip, complete, well organized and for a good price.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
High Quality Service, Amazing Safari, Extremely Competitive Price. Best Value in Serengeti”
6 day Safari: Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Central Serengeti, Northern Serengeti/Mara River
8 family members spread across 2 Land Cruisers for entire trip.
I’ll start out by saying that I don’t often leave reviews and when I do, it’s usually to warn folks about trouble. It’s a pleasure to leave a glowing review. This is the best I’ve ever left.
Highlights:
First the Guides/Drivers/Animal locators: Saleh Omari and Oswald Shayp.
I cannot say enough about these two. During the 6 days, they became my friends. I miss them. Guides are extremely important. Everybody in Tanzania will see elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, and gazelles, but if you want to get really close to lions in trees, leopards, cheetahs, and other more rare sights, you must have good guides. They work their radios and networks of fellow guides to find out where the animals are, which roads are passable to get you there and they know how to get you to the choice spots for viewing. The good guides all know one another and share secrets with each other. They leave room for one another when a crowd forms If you aren't plugged into that network, you will miss stuff.
Saleh and Oswald (Ozzy) spent the majority of game drives cruising slowly (pole pole) and pointing out the sights, stopping frequently, letting us take pictures. Then all at once they would start talking on the radio (in Swahili so I was in the dark) and suddenly take off like they were driving firetrucks. Then we would get to a spot and there would be a leopard with a gazelle in a tree, or a pair of cheetahs under a tree, or a pride of lionesses with cubs. Meanwhile other land cruisers would be passing by on the main road completely oblivious.
My favorite Saleh story: It was the end of a very long day. (Every day is a long day for guides, sunrise to sunset and then off the clean the vehicles.) Saleh is driving along looking for a rhino or something… pointing out baboon babies and so forth. Then he motions toward the side of the path and says, “Look, a snake.”
Now I spend a lot of time in the woods. I’m better than anyone I know at spotting wildlife. Especially snakes. So I ask for a better signal. Saleh stops the Landcruiser and points “There”. I still don’t see it. He practically has to get out of the vehicle before I finally spot the 10 foot long cobra. Saleh had to get close enough to it with his finger that it defensively coiled up and spread out it neck before I saw it. And he saw it while driving and looking for a rhino in the distance.
Their English was very good. Oswald's was good enough that he could tell jokes and kid around. Both had extremely interesting, in depth knowledge of the animals habits and tendencies. Both would stop occasionally to swap stories with other connected guides from other companies or at least wave while passing. I cannot recommend these two guides highly enough. They know everyone, they know everything.
My advice: Find good guides and please tip your guides generously. Nobody works harder. I tipped them at the end of each day and a bonus at the end of the trip. The deserved every bit.
As for logistics, we had some (ok, several) last minute schedule changes and Anna juggled, pivoted, parried, did magic and found us spots to stay that fit our schedule. She did a great job explaining everything and working with our changing needs. Lion King made everything smooth for us despite our large party and lack of organization.
As for accommodations:
Ilboro Lodge was perfectly adequate and fun in Arusha.
Eileen's trees was super nice, Very big, clean, comfortable room. Excellent bathrooms in each room. Very pretty, rustic dining room in the lodge and excellent food for a great value.
Serengeti Heritage Tent Camps in Central Serengeti and Heritage Migration Tent Camp on the Mara River: These tent camps are amazing. They are basically hotel rooms in the middle of the Serengeti. Inside each tent was a super nice queen or twin bed with night stand and even a plush chair. Then each tent also had a separate bath compartment with regular western hotel toilet, a tent wall shower and a vanity sink. The mess tent/dining room was very nice. The one on the Central Serengeti had a full bar. That's right friends, a Full Bar!!! Generator powered charging stations for cameras/phones/etc were provided during dining hours.
The food was excellent, buffet style dinner and amazing breakfast. It's hard to describe. I don't know why but it was the best lamb stew I've had. I'll grant that this probably had a lot to do with the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles strolling around our campsite. but it's still... great food.
Sleeping with all the animal sounds and glowing eyes around the campsite was a singular experience. That's why one goes there. Impossible to describe the feeling.
The Heritage Migration camp was 5 minutes from the river. You could have walked there were it not for the lions.
In sum: Lion King Adventure Safaris had top notch staff and top notch accommodations. They exceeded all my expectations.