50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experienced Tour Operator
We very much enjoyed Namibia especially the landscape and wildlife. Thinus was on another tour so he engaged Marcus as driver and guide for our tour. Marcus was a very good driver and at all times we felt safe with his driving. Over the 16 days we covered over 4300 kilometres without an issue despite many kilometres on gravel roads and I feel we would have been very tired without a driver, so I’m glad we engaged Criss Cross for an escorted tour.
Thinus, was very patient in putting the final itinerary together (after four iterations). The quality and hospitality of the lodges we chose was exceptional. We did depart from Thinus' accommodation recommendations for most nights as we were looking for luxury accommodation which is not usually the places Thinus stays in. We also like walking / hiking and had to push for these changes to the itinerary to accommodate this, but once Thinus was on board with our requirements he was very responsive. Best experiences – 2 day hike in the Fish River Canyon, walking in the Naukluft area, hiking big daddy in Sossuvlei, Swakopmund and the cheetah foundation. Least Favourite – The “staged” tribe experiences in the Kalahari & Himba. Organ pipes was also a waste of time. However, the absolute worst was the Lake Oshikoto stop – poor signage, unkept trails around what is really just a quarry. We chose not to do the Damara Living museum and ran out of time to do the Quiver tree forest & Giants Playground as well as Hardap Dam on the way down to Fish River Lodge but I’m not sure we missed much going by the trip advisor reviews. All of our least favourite activities and those we chose not to do require an entrance fee - which is fairly substantial, we would have excluded these if we knew more about them before we travelled.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely Amazing!
Classic journeys was very well organized. Our leader Mathew was attentive and made sure everything ran smoothly. Our driver was laid back and funny.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our tour operator made our Safari tour experience Spectacular and adventurous.
My Safari tour was AMAZING and magical. I experience riding through the Safari in jeeps and pop up Van's by trained drivers who spoke fluent English and they each had a passion to ensure we enjoyed our venture and received EVERYTHING we could only imagine from seeing it on TV but the service provided by Classic Journeys made our Safari Tour an unimaginable reality. Each tour guide was very friendly, kind, professional and knowledgeable about the animals, African culture and the surrounding areas we visited or drove through. The service provided by Classic Journeys was beyond impeccable and the lodges we stayed in the safari were 5 star. Our Tour and safari trip was Unbelievable and AWESOME...
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This company misappropriates client funds
The itinerary looked good, with 3-4 star hotels on a 14 day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. The reality was a disaster.
1. The itinerary offered a 4WD. In Kenya, we were given a 2WD van (for 6 of us). Had 8 seats so only room for 2 to stand at a time. Van very uncomfortable and not suited AT ALL to Kenyan conditions. Masai Mara in particular has many 4WD roads only, including the road to the border. Because of the van, we were forced to spend 9 hours going around the park to the border instead of 3 hours through the park. Cost us a day as we didn't get through the border until 6 p.m. and couldn't then drive 5 hours to our next stop in Serengeti until next day.
2. Driver/guide in Kenya was a disgrace. His driving was downright terrifying, and his guiding non-existent. He didn't communicate with us and I didn't even know he spoke english until the end of the second day when there was an accommodation problem. My requests to Solaris to replace the driver and vehicle were ignored.
3. We only stayed in the hotels shown in our itinerary for 5 of the 13 nights. All others were a downgrade, once to a place with no water in showers. Looking on TA, the prices for the quoted hotels was about $300+ pn pp, the ones we stayed in as low as $120. Once in Tanzania, our guide there (fortunately we'd left Joe and his van in Kenya) tried his best to get us accommodated each night, and spent hours on the phone cajoling and fighting with the Solaris office staff. He was terrific and his company Cross to Africa to be recommended.
4. Game park fees, included in our itinerary, were paid in Kenya but not in Tanzania. We ended up more than US$2100 out of pocket as we had to pay our own way in. There have been repeated promises to repay the amounts, but of course nothing came of them.
5. I have reported this company to the Kenyan Tourism Regulatory Authority, and trust that they will soon be out of business. The best outcome would be to see the "Boss" and the directors charged with misappropriation of funds and theft. I live in hope! Sadly, when people ask about our East Africa experience, my response is that Uganda and Tanzania are fantastic, but tread warily in Kenya.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great memory for our whole family!
Our family of four went on a 10-day safari late June - early July and it was a wonderful experience. Our guide is Benson and we could not have asked for a better guide. Benson is very knowledgeable about wildlife, added so much to our experience with stories and anecdotes to help us to understand what we saw, always informative and often hilarious. During the trip, my husband was unwell (for reasons unrelated to the trip) for a few days. Benson, supported by Mr. Otieno, helped us every possible way. Despite the unexpected difficulties, we still had a wonderful trip. Our sons rated this trip the best of all their trips so far!!! Thank you Benson and thank you Mr. Otieno!!!
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had an excellent 5day safari experience with Karibu Safaris.
We had a really terrific tour guide, Arony. He was very friendly, helpful and an expert in the safari world. He made us feel safe and had an abundance of local and animal knowledge to share. We would highly recommend him as a tour guide. The company were very efficient in answering all our questions and were very responsive and accommodating. The safari exceeded our expectations and was great value.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tailormade Africa perfectly crafted every single amazing detail of our return trip to Botswana!
We trust, respect and adore our friend Clyde Beatty, co-founder of Tailormade Africa! We first worked with Clyde several years ago when he was part of another safari business. When we discovered by accident that Clyde now has his own company, we immediately contacted him and asked if he would help us plan our long-awaited return to Botswana. Through email and pre-planned early morning Seattle-to-UK phone chats, Clyde both patiently asked us a lot of questions about where we wanted to go and what we were looking for in our trip AND (because he had spent the time to get to know us well) suggested visiting a different part of Botswana. It turned out to be the perfect combination of familiar and exciting! We revisited the Okavango Delta and Linyanti regions AND experienced the picturesque Tuli Block for the first time! In fact, the Tuli Block lodge Clyde recommended was our favorite! Except for our international flights, Clyde arranged every single detail of our trip, and every single detail was perfection. How often can one say that these days, especially about something as complex as international travel? As middle-aged travelers, we were very happy that there was no drama and no glitches - we were absolutely free to enjoy being in Africa without having to worry about day-to-day travel plans.
The tour that Tailormade Africa planned for us included thoughtful details and had a great rhythm to it - exhilarating, but not overwhelming. For example:
- Clyde suggested a one-night stay in J'burg between arriving in Africa and starting the safari that was extremely helpful in shaking off jet lag.
- We couldn't stay at Kwara in the delta (where we'd stayed in 2010) because it was closed for remodeling, but got to visit Little Kwara instead.
- We were astonished at the beauty of Lagoon camp.
- We had a comfortable one-night stopover in Maun at peaceful Thamalakane Lodge north of town where my husband could go online and check in with his work.
- And, as he has done in the past, Clyde arranged for our most comfortable lodge to be the last one in the safari: Mashatu Game Reserve.
Traveling as a couple, we were able to meet other like-minded people on our game drives and at meals. We were treated like family by all camp and lodge staff; I really miss them, particularly our exceptional guides and trackers, who put up with all our questions! The food included vegetarian options and was delicious. Compared to 2010, we experienced more African cuisine choices at the buffets and we loved seeing that! And we always had the time frame of about noon to three each day to relax, regroup, write, nap, and/or shower between morning and afternoon/evening game drives.
As two biologists, the game drives were the highlights of our trip. We loved every sighting: the tiniest flowers to baobabs and mashatu trees; dung beetle balls to a coalition of two male cheetahs making a kill! We were most surprised by the number of baby animals we got to see! For instance: African wild dogs and their pups; leopards and their cubs; elephants and their calves; spotted hyenas and their cubs; and lions and their cubs. ANY of those ALONE would have been wonderful, but to experience all of them was unimaginably rewarding.
We've been home for 48 hours now, but all we can think about is... when can we go to Africa AGAIN? God willing, our health will hold out so that we can return, and when we do, it will be with Tailormade Africa!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Phenomenal
Excellent overall. The only complaint was the box lunches.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip seeing over 100 species of animals and birds.
Charles booked our trip and was very helpful in every step from timely communications to helping us get our Visas. The lodging and safari camps were equal to or better than our expectations. The 12 day itinerary: Amboseli, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Masai Mara and Lake Naivasha was perfect for our group of six. The guides were informative and helpful.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Was everything I was expecting and more. Had a great time with the crew and staff. Will recommend to my friends and family.