ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience!
Last week I came back from one of the best trips I have lived so far and which I will always remember. Two friends and I travelled to Kenya and Tanzania for 15 days and we had the chance to live the essence of Africa, its beautiful and different landscapes, its animals and its people. We did a long safari of 10 days (Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire), spent one day in Arusha, did a short trekking in Materuni and flow to Zanzibar, where we stayed the rest of our trip.
My friends and I agree with the fact that doing a safari of 10 days can be too much. I love animals and I enjoyed a lot watching them. However, it is true that once you have seen so many giraffes, impalas, zebras and wildebeest, it is no longer exciting to see more of these animals. That’s why we consider that maybe with 4-5 days in a safari would be enough. The best parks to me are Maasai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Having explained a little bit our experience of this trip I would also like to give me opinion regarding the agencies with whom we travelled: Spirit of Kenya and Soul of Tanzania.
On January we bought the flights from Barcelona to Nairobi and once we got them I started getting in touch with lots of agencies, Spanish and foreigner ones. I rejected most of them due to its expensive prices. We were aware that travelling to Africa was expensive but we wanted to find a more “affordable” agency but without having to renounce to the things we wanted. At the end I finished discussing our trip with only a few agencies and among them there was Spirit of Kenya and Soul of Tanzania, the agencies with whom we shared our amazing experience in Africa. From that moment, the only aspect that we took into consideration in order to choose one agency or the other one was the treatment received from the beginning.
Vanessa was the person with whom I discussed everything from the first instance and her help, kindness, predisposal and willingness to offer us the perfect trip were crucial factors to make our decision. She always answered my e-mails and questions very quickly (many of them in less than 24 hours) no matter the time it was. Her e-mails were clear and very detailed. She was very patient with all my requests and my constant changes of opinion. She offered us different combinations of routes and activities attending our preferences and she gave us too different accommodation options taking into account its level (high, medium, normal).
The treatment received from her as well as from the agency never changed and remained the same during the whole trip. Before our trip I read many opinions of different people and some of them explained that their agency adopted a carefree attitude once they made the first payment of the price. This was not our case and the agency was always willing to help and to make our trip possible. In addition, we were in touch quite often since they had to confirm us the booking of the different accommodations chosen.
Even when difficulties ahead they acted honestly and quickly. There was a misunderstanding with the total price of our trip since in the final version of the contract it was stipulated one amount and after having paid the 50% of the same they notified us that the sum of the total amounts was wrong and that the final price was higher ($ 1,500 more). From that moment I discussed all this issue with the general director. She apologized for the misunderstanding and offered us different solutions to avoid the extra cost. Besides, she offered us to the possibility to cancel the reservation and to refund our money as well as to maintain all the reservations made in the event we decided to continue with a different agency. Finally, taking into consideration all the options we had, we decided to continue with them and we only had to modify a little bit our itinerary in order to reduce the final price. Moreover, they also offered us an upgrade on the Tanzania side to their premium line: better jeep (we could charge our phones and cameras), better food (including wine), unlimited water bottles during safari of 1 liter and a fabulous guide. Also, I have to mention that, while in Arusha, where we were spending two nights in the same accommodation, we asked them to change the second night since we were not comfortable in the place we booked (it was dirty, the insect screen was broken, etc.). The agency answer very quickly and they changed our accommodation for the next night free of additional charges.
Having set the aforementioned, I would sincerely recommend both agencies (Spirit of Kenya and Soul of Tanzania) and if I had to repeat our trip I would clearly do it with them again.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
knowledgeable, very informative on the history of the country, tenacious in finding game
We would definitely book again. Tim was patient, accommodating and very informative overall. It was a long but very good day; fascinating country and wonderful people.
AE
Excellent tour. Tour guide was very informative.
Excellent experience. The tour guide Peter was excellent.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari!
Great safari, well planed, fun and professional staff, lots of animals. Great job guys, see you soon on another safari!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari with Suricata Safaris!
We had a great 6 day safari with Suricata Safaris. The company was clearly dedicated to making sure we had a great experience and many times prioritized our satisfaction over saving money. For instance, Suricata divided up its clients leaving on the same day into groups of four instead of six to make it a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Our guide, Hilary, was very friendly and fun, knowledgable about the animals, and responsive to what we wanted to do. He drove to areas of the park less traveled by other companies and in those areas found us lions and cheetahs within a couple meters of the car. We saw the Big 5 all in one day of our trip (including a rhino which is very difficult to see at this time of year) and over 60 lions. Also the food was delicious (our chef was great) and we were given a bottle of wine every night (which we didn't see any other companies doing). Overall, highly recommended!!!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome safari!
Tammy Harding from Pembury Tours took care of everything and exceeded all of our expectations. Fabulous itinerary and prompt communications leading up to our trip were expected, but Tammy followed up every question with a full, timely, and direct explanation to eliminate all our worries. Fantastic lodging, all the critters we wanted to see, and the nicest people catering to our needs. I'm so glad we chose Pembury!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
We went with East Africa Wild because they have experience and were highly responsive. Both qualities were shown throughout our planning and trip to Tanzania. We had a blast and got to see everything we wanted by a guide with over 20 years experience on safari. On the advice of East Africa, we went to the north Serengeti in order to see the migration/river crossing at that time of year. This was a great decision as it was also far less crowded than the centre, which we were also able to see coming into and out of the north. Everything happened smoothly with no hassle. Highly recommended!
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect safari the best one in Kenya
Our driver haRon is a very kind person he agreed every request from us and took us to find different animals!we got individual and best service from him though he is the most tired person during our trip!we really do appreciate to him!we all like him!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous
We planned the safari with Noah 10 months ago and they knew to propose the best possible option with the best possible price. The accommodations are all of the highest category and planning the safari exemplary. We had a Spanish speaking guide, Godwin who was along with Ezekiel the driver a wonderful couple who accompanied us on a trip we will never forget.
ES
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari