US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
This was one of the greatest experiences of my life. My husband and I have traveled all over the world, this by far was the most organized and humble company to work with. The attention to detail surprised me everyday and left my husband and I often bragging about what a wonderful company we booked with to other travelers we met along the way.
We did the 10 day elephant coast with the Victoria Falls add-on. Definitely recommended
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent!
Fantastic service from Faith and our great drive Hussein! Thank you for your patience and for making our trip so enjoyable. We really loved the visits and everything was perfect despite our last minute changes. Thank you Hussein for being always in great mood, smiling and patient with us. What a lovely trip! We will for sure come back again!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service for honeymoon Tanzania safari
Lucy, Rishidi, and James were great! We highly recommend to anyone interested in doing looking to do private game drives in the Tanzanian national parks for the first time
BR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My husbandy and I had an incredible and unforgettable experience one year ago. It was fantastic!
Travel for Life was perfect and made it overcome my expectations about the trip. Alexandra was available all time and the drivers and guides were very attentive. But I have to say that to stay at Xanatseni Lodge was great. My husbandy and I can never forget this trip. We really appreciate the opportunity to have this experience.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A must for any bucket list and towards the top at least
I am into wildlife photography and after advice decided to go to Tanzania for the wilder beast migration in the Serengeti. Decided to include the Ngorongoro Crater. Spent a day there and it was out of this world. Stayed in the park the night before and could not believe the size of the Crater when viewed from the top. So large you could not see the herds of elephants down below. Had an early start in the morning and had a wonderful day. Came across 3 different lion prides, first one of 5 females and a mail on a fresh kill with hyena and jackal waiting there turn to get in on the act. I believe there are 5 prides which demonstrates the size of the crater. Also many large Tuskers (Male Elephants with massive tusks) Never thought I would see such long tusks nowadays. Came across a black rhino, right next to the road. There where many other animals including buffalo and giraffe. You can get very close to many of the animals. Had lunch by a small lake which also had toilets. There is also a large lake with pelican and flamingo but you cannot get close to it to see the birds as protected land around it. Male Elephant, place to go. I found a day was long enough but you need to stay the night before and after to make the most of it. Went from hear to the Serengeti with animals to see all the way. I went on my own and had my own driver/guide and 4x4. He made my trip so special I could not have asked for more.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by Andy Silver
Went for the migration, out of this world, saw all the 3 big cats including cubs with them all. In Serengeti many large herds of elephants as well. Came away and had great photos of all the main animals and more, even a leopard tortoise. You can see my photos of the trip at www.flickr.com/photos/andy999
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 day safari, everything was amazing!
Where to start? Working with Anne the months leading up to our trip gave me confidence, knowing that we would be well taken care of upon arrival. Anne answered every question, e-mail, promptly and kindly. Anne was able to create an individualized safari trip for my husband and I, within our budget, meeting all of our needs. She was flexible and sweet, and gave us different options.
Upon arriving In Nairobi, we were warmly greeted by Anne and our driver, Joseph who would accompany us for the 5 day safari. They were right outside waiting for us with a sign. No need to worry about taxis or shuttles. They took us right to our first hotel to rest.
The first night we got a great night sleep, and the next morning we woke up and met Joseph waiting for us in the lobby. We had breakfast and began our drive to Tsavo West. We were happy to have the van to ourselves,( we opted for a private safari) as we mostly slept during the drive.
The following 4 days we made some of the best memories of my life. I have traveled all over the world, and my husband and I both agree this trip has been our favorite so far.
The views, the animals, the fresh air blowing through as you drive through the parks, it will be hard to beat.
Our driver was amazing. I was a tiny worried, seeing as how we knew whoever we had we would have with us for the whole time. We got so lucky! Joseph was amazing! He was so knowledgable and seemed so passionate, he knew all the best spots to go, was willing to get up and go before everyone else. (We were up and out every morning at 6:30, which I reccomend doing, it is great to see the sunrise.) He greeted us every morning with a smile, despite all the driving he had done the day before. He made our trip even more wonderful. We stayed at Voi Safari Lodge, the watering hole there was amazing to watch elephants and zebras in the evening, we stayed at Kilaguini Serena Safari Lodge, which was by far the nicest resort, the watering hole there was also super active, with a beautiful view, the landscape in Tsavo East is stunning, we saw many giraffes and zebras, but no big cats. It is a bit difficult to spot animals in this park due to all the bushes and shrubs. But it offers amazing views and sunsets!!! The last two nights we stayed in Amboseli Serena Lodge, which was also beautiful. Lots of monkies everywhere! Amboseli was where we probably saw the widest range of animals. But some were more at a distance. Amazing diversity, and we saw many herds. We also saw cheetahs and lions up close. Many elephants, hippos, cape buffalo, hyennas, impala, etc. Beautiful park.
Thank you so so much to Anne and Joseph and everyone at Amazing Memories Safaris for doing everything to make our dream safari come true! It was beautiful. I can't say enough good things about this company.
***The following is something we looked into on our own.. but it is available. Please know that this was something We chose to do*** But I think it's good for others to consider.**
We did tour a Maasai village. (I wanted to try it, it wasn't pushed on us or anything, I asked about it) mixed feelings on this. It was cool to see, but they will try to milk you for any amount of money they can. We had to pay $30 pp to enter, and then throughout the "tour" they kept asking for donations, for the school and for water. The dances were cool, but you could tell it was more just a show. We went inside one of the houses, it was pitch black so you couldn't see much but it was cool to see how it was built. Then they took us to see the children. It was a bit uncomfortable from there. The kids put on a song and dance for you, then do some basic English songs and stuff, it felt a bit theatrical and uncomfortable. After is when he started asking for donations for the children for school. None of it felt very authentic. The last hoo-rah was when they paraded us around in a semi-circle where all of the women and families had their things to sell. Jewlery and such. Each and every family begged you to buy stuff from them. Then the man who was showing us around made us feel especially compelled to buy from his family. This was by far my least favorite part. I felt so uncomfortable. I was interested in buying necklaces, but being guilted into it and having everyone watching was not cool. Also they don't tell prices until the end. I said I had enough, but he said I should visit each family to be respectful. So I went through, saying no to all the other families. At the end it was a lot of negotiating on prices. Overall, I think I would say skip this. If you want to donate, it certainly would be put to good use, and by all means they are in need, but if you are looking for an authentic experience and interaction, this probably isn't it, they are very accoustumed to tourists. If you do go, don't bring a lot of cash. Once they see it, they will keep asking for "donations". Also beware of alarming number of flies.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience
Me and my girlfriend signed up for an 11-day trip with the best of Kenya and Tanzania. It was supposed to be small group safari but since our arrival to Kenya went 34 late due to flight troubles, we ended up with a private safari except for the first 4 days when we had company by one person. We had to pay some extra because of the private tour but we were glad that Peter could postpone the trip one day.
Our first guide, Edward were truly services-minded and patient. He always made his best to give us good spots where we could take the best pictures! After 6 fantastic days in Kenya where we spent the nights at mid- to luxury hotels, we switched to survival mode and started camping in Tanzania. We think the trip were perfectly planned where we had to test a bit of each. During the Tanzania-part of the safari, we always had company of our private chef Tom who cooked us delicious food! And our guide Ephraim was always glad and positive.
I'am pretty sure we paid less for our trip than many other people out there on the savanna, but we still looked at the same animals, got great guides and slept at nice places. I Never thought I would sit on tripadvisor and write a review but Africa Flash Mc Tours (and Edward ofc.) are worth the best of recommendations!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Southern Africa Tours provided an amazing private tour, making our visit a trip of a lifetime!
I have traveled extensively both with and without using a tour company. I wanted to experience as much as possible for my first trip to South Africa and my friend found the 15-day private tour offered by Southern Africa Tours that also included Swaziland and Lesotho. I had never heard of SAT and have had several friends use a private guide for double the price for a similar itinerary so I was a bit skeptical---it sounded too good to be true. We did quite a bit of research before booking and this tour itinerary was packed with all the highlights our group of four wanted to experience, nothing comparable was offered by any other company---and certainly not at the value price we paid. I am so thankful that we decided to book with them! This was a trip of a lifetime and every day felt like the best day ever, it really did surpass out expectations. Andrea was very helpful in answering all our questions before the tour and making sure there were no issues, and you could tell that Craig had a great deal of experience in making sure his clients were well-taken care. They both contacted us during the tour to make sure things were going well. Some of the items we really appreciated included the ability to have a private guide without the huge cost you would typically expect, excellent accommodations that allowed us to further get a taste of the people and culture in each area, and having a tour guide that was South African and enthusiastic to share the knowledge and passion he had for his country. In addition to our regular tour guide, SAT provided several amazing local guides and they really allowed us to experience in depth the diversity of the people, landscapes, and animals on our journey. I would highly recommend Southern African Tours for both first-time visitors and those that are returning to further explore Africa---I can’t wait to go back and would use them again!
US
simply amazing
We had a marvellous experience on our 3 day-safari trip in Tarangire, Lake Manyuru and Ngorongoro. Our guide and driver Godfrey was very skillful in Tanzanias wild life as well as history and politics. We learned so much. He was also a very good driver and extremey nice person of course ! Thanks for everything !