US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond Excellent!!
I contacted several safari operators before deciding on Earthlife and I am SO glad that I did! Communicating with Deo, the owner was easy and prompt. He was a true professional, and very honest. He used to be a guide, so knows first hand about the pros and cons of the various safari destinations. He did not steer us wrong.
We are a very well traveled family and this was by far our most favorite trip! The accommodations were absolutely fantastic and the food was amazing! Deo gave us exactly what we would have wished for. The safari vehicle was well maintained. Our guide Jeff was MORE than amazing! He could find even the most illusive animal and we were always the first ones on the scene! He was also quicker than a google search in telling us about each bird, animal or flower AND he had eagle eyes! He spotted the endangered black rhino from about a kilometer away and then sure enough when we drove closer - he was right!! He also cleaned out the vehicle every day and was just such a nice human being of great character. After eight days, we felt like family! On our way home, we broke journey in Doha and the hotel concierge recommended a desert safari. Our adult boys without hesitation, told us "no Jeff no safari!!" That says it all!
I would highly recommend EarthLife Expeditions, Deo and Jeff without a moment's hesitation! Asante Sana Deo and Jeff!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 6-days safari - higly recommended
We're a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 adolescents) and have just come back from our safari ... what to say ... everything was simply perfect.
- planning was easy - Enchanting Safari very reactive to e-mails and requests, flexible in adapting the program, expert in proposing the accommodations and the activities
- the program war rich, varied - 4 parks (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngoro Ngoro, Manyara), a bike tour, a visit to Masai village, ... and many many animals spotted!
- on-site there was not a single wrong or thing below expectations
- the guide, John, was the ideal one: extremely warm and nice, very knowledgeable and professional, sincerely keen to make our safari as unforgettable as possible. After a week together, he was really part of the family.
Really, recommended.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good price-quality
In general, i-m very happy about the safari. The communication by mail and whatsapp was easy and they were very responsive. They were extremely flexible, maybe even too much. I will explain better this. I had some suggestions to the itinerary and maybe they should have advise me more on the dates, number of days in each park... at the end was great but we could have done the same in less days. they were super kind mixing the type of lodging and for sure it was the best offer I had with relation to the price. Indeed we have realized most of the safari depends on the driver and cooker, beyond that there are not many differences between tour operators. Our driver Edward and the cooker Sento were excellent, very well organised and kind. The car and binoculars were a little bit old, but all the rest was perfectly fine.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
EPIC!
Friendly and knowledgeable staff,who prompt and efficient to assist,guide and maintaining comfort while at it.
The high standards of cleanliness in their tour vans is impeccable.
Driver was punctual and very keen on the roads.
At our hotel,every detail of our stay was planned meticulously.
Keep it up Marhaba!
Shukran
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Use Mama Savana! very knowledgeable and responsive local tour operator with top notch guide.
We are a family of four, kids aged 16 and 22, and we spent 7 nights on the northern circuit in Tanzania. From our first communication to our farewell lunch with Alex, the tour operator, we received topnotch service. He was responsive to my many questions, sent us to excellent lodging choices, fixed things when they might have gone wrong, took care of reservations beyond the safari (e.g. in Zanzibar), and provided us with the best guide ever (Elias). In Tanzania, your guide is very important. We have been on safari in Kenya and South Africa, and in both places, the lodges at which we stayed provided the guide. In Tanzania, the guide meets you at the start of the safari and takes you from park to park and on the game drives in the parks. This means that you rely on them for knowledge of the flora and fauna, knowledge of the places themselves, and their ability to find wildlife and get you into a good position to see it. Elias was so knowledgeable about everything we saw and about the best ways to find wildlife in the parks, but also knew when we were tired from our long days. He adapted to what we needed at all times. And, we somehow always managed to be the truck closest to the animals. At one point, I actually feared that a leopard descending from a tree was going to drop right into the truck.
There is a big difference amongst the tented camps and lodges on the northern circuit. It’s important to do your research so that you can guide the tour operator as to your preferences. Alex offered us excellent choices and was responsive when we suggested alternatives. We particularly liked Kitela, near Ngorongoro Crater and Kubu Kubu in the Serengeti. The first was a lodge on a coffee plantation and the second, a tented camp/lodge with spectacular views.
I would highly recommend the local company Mama Savana. You save money by not paying a super-expensive UK or US operated company which, in any case, uses local operators to make their arrangements. I found no drawbacks whatsoever to using a local operator. Go with Mama Savana and ask for Elias as your guide—you will have a fabulous experience.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful and surreal experience!!
The holiday was fantastic. We were very well looked after by our experienced guides who were attentive to our needs and also informative and helpful in all aspects of the safari. With no wifi and no mobile phone coverage, this trip was the perfect get away and one I would thoroughly recommend to anyone wishing to do a 'proper' safari!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This was exceptional experience full of fun and great moments for entire family!
The trip to Selous Game Reserve was well organised, the team led by Mr Joseph demonstrated great experience, dedication and desired attention; as we were a family comprising of three adults and three kids.
Mr Joseph demontrated right safari & tour expertise - short turnaround time for getting unique family package organised at reasonable cost; including travel, accomodation, meals, game drive and boat ride at Rufiji River - all with right touch just the way we wanted! Well done and keep it up...
Travel was smooth, Mr Thomas is a keen tour guide with right experience; driving was cool and used well his expertise. Game drive was great as we saw many animals - lions, elephants, giraffes, buffalo and many others!
We had fun and wonderful experience..accomodation with river-facing view was facinating; it was worthy trip..we are all happy, relaxed and memorable moments with kids.
I recommend Tomodachi Tours & Safari, led by Mr Joseph, to others, no doubt!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The whole experience was spectacular!
The whole trip was planned beautifully by Axis Safari. Lennox was incredibly responsive and took care of everything including the pick up and drop off. Everything was organized to perfection. Our tour guide Richard at the safari was incredibly knowledgeable and patient. He made sure we saw practically everything. He was very familiar with the Masai Mara Reserve and ensured our safety and comfort. The tents and lodging was also great. The food was great too. I would highly recommend going with Axis Safari without hesitation!! Thank you Lennox for organizing such an amazing experience for us.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A first class tour operator who is very efficient and really cares about his clients.
We decided to choose a local company to go on a safari in Tanzania and selected BensonSafaris. From the start, Benson replied almost immediately to our questions, and was extremely helpful at every stage which gave us confidence in him and his company. Benson helped us to choose lodges and a tented camp for our accommodation and each place we stayed at worked well.
We arranged our own flights from UK to Kilimanjaro International and everything else was organized superbly by BensonSafaris. We were met at the airport by Zablon, and taken to our first lodge in Arusha. Benson came to meet us on our first day which was a really nice gesture and he introduced us to Peter who was our driver/guide.
The safari was superb! We had game drives in Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti (staying in a tented camp), Nogorongoro Conservation area and the Crater, and Lake Manyara National Park. Our guide, Peter, was excellent and he has the most incredible eyesight – he could spot animals that we could only see with binoculars! We saw the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant. rhinoceros (including a black rhino with a baby), cape buffalo, plus lots of other animals – cheetah, zebra, wildebeest, hippo, giraffe, jackal, hyena etc, and the birds were really colourful.
On the last day we went on a city tour of Arusha with Zablon, and the local market was fascinating. We had lunch in a local hotel and Benson called in to say farewell before we were taken back to the airport for our flight home.
We have no hesitation at all in recommending BensonSafaris – it is a small company that really cares. We went as clients and came away as friends.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience
We travelled as a couple and chose the 5-day Salous and Mikumi Safari
Since we were already near Mikumi we wanted to meet and start in Mikumi, which was no problem at all. The communication was very uncomplicated. We met Mwajabu at Camp Bastian as appointed and payment was more or less uncomplicated, despite the fact that some of our dollar-notes were too old, which was totally our bad. They then drove us to a nearby bank and we could pay the rest in Tanzanian Shilling.
The accommodations, Camp Bastian and Hippo Camp, were simple but good, the food was delicious (vegetarian food was no problem)! We really liked staying there.
On our safaris through Mikumi and Selous, we saw many animals and nature diversity was incredible. The Parks were not as crowded as other parks, we barely saw other safari touristsOur guides were very friendly and explained a lot.
We really had a great time in Mikumi and Selous and can totally recommend travelling with Hello Tanzania. If you don´t want to spend your money on an overly prized safari and if you don´t need to stay in 5-star-hotels, I´m sure you will enjoy your safari as much as we did.
Please keep in mind, this is Tanzania, usually not everything works perfectly, but eventually everything will work out.