CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding—lots of variety!
My partner and I did an 11-day tour through Uganda and Rwanda this July, and we had an amazing time. Nicholas did an impeccable job coming up with a customized itinerary for us—he sent us 2 initial ideas, and in the end we pulled pieces from both to create our ideal trip.
Our driver, Richard, was friendly and fun to be around. And the accommodations (even though we choose the most budget-friendly option) exceeded our expectations. Altogether an amazing experience. I would recommend Africa Tours Adventure to anyone planning a trip to either of these 2 countries.
SA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari
We been on a few trips around the world before but this beats them all. We had a five day/four nights safari with Armand as our private guide and John as our private chief in Kruger park. Everything was arranged perfectly and we did not need to think about anything practical for the entire trip. We started the trip with arriving early at Johannesburg airport. We were there picked up and had a private driver that helped out with picking up the prebooked Nikon 600mm/4 before arriving to Kruger.
Armand then picked us up and we got a first safari before sunset the same day with good shots of Rhinos. John cooked food just of us in the evening. Very nice South African special food. An early start day two with a bush walk in the sunrise. Perhaps not the highlight of the trip but still nice to walk around where lions could be. Two armed guides made them stay away though. After special breakfast with John it was time to head out with Armand on the full day safari. We could see a lot of animals but second day was even better, we got all big five in one day then.
But the big five is not the main thing. When sitting in the open vehicle you get so much of the open scenery and you soon start becoming your own animal scout. Seeing a family of elephants passing the road just in front of you is truly something special. And waiting for them there is all of a sudden an exotic bird sitting on the tree branch just beside the car. When looking at the hippos in a pond, there is a family of baboons next to the car stealing all your interest.
I got more and better pictures taken during the 4/5 days in Kruger than in most other places. If you head for a private reserve instead of booking within Kruger by itself the car can drive close to any animal. Even if that will give you much better closeup pictures, it will also mean more stress for the animals. I do prefer the Kruger way which brings out the need of a good tele-lens but leaves the animals more private.
Could anything been done better? Well, the park ranger tours with bush walk one morning and sunset safari an evening were less interesting, they would fall into the category of nice to have done but no need to repeat. It was truly Armands guided safaris that made the trip, and Johns food for sure.
I already recommended the trip to a number of fiends, not something I always do. And this is one trip I would like to repeat.
Reviewed yesterday
Excellent safari!
We been on a few trips around the world before but this beats them all. We had a five day/four nights safari with Armand as our private guide and John as our private chief in Kruger park. Everything was arranged perfectly and we did not need to think about anything practical for the entire trip. We started the trip with arriving early at Johannesburg airport. We were there picked up and had a private driver that helped out with picking up the prebooked Nikon 600mm/4 before arriving to Kruger.
Armand then picked us up and we got a first safari before sunset the same day with good shots of Rhinos. John cooked food just of us in the evening. Very nice South African special food. An early start day two with a bush walk in the sunrise. Perhaps not the highlight of the trip but still nice to walk around where lions could be. Two armed guides made them stay away though. After special breakfast with John it was time to head out with Armand on the full day safari. We could see a lot of animals but second day was even better, we got all big five in one day then.
But the big five is not the main thing. When sitting in the open vehicle you get so much of the open scenery and you soon start becoming your own animal scout. Seeing a family of elephants passing the road just in front of you is truly something special. And waiting for them there is all of a sudden an exotic bird sitting on the tree branch just beside the car. When looking at the hippos in a pond, there is a family of baboons next to the car stealing all your interest.
I got more and better pictures taken during the 4/5 days in Kruger than in most other places. If you head for a private reserve instead of booking within Kruger by itself the car can drive close to any animal. Even if that will give you much better closeup pictures, it will also mean more stress for the animals. I do prefer the Kruger way which brings out the need of a good tele-lens but leaves the animals more private.
Could anything been done better? Well, the park ranger tours with bush walk one morning and sunset safari an evening were less interesting, they would fall into the category of nice to have done but no need to repeat. It was truly Armands guided safaris that made the trip, and Johns food for sure.
I already recommended the trip to a number of fiends, not something I always do. And this is one trip I would like to repeat.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amboseli was a dream tour
This was my second trip to Amboseli National Park, and my first time with Africa Celebrity Tours. The owner Muli was also my driver. I had a private tour so I had the large pop-top van to myself. On the tour he was extremely helpful and made all the arrangements - even a late check-out so that I could have more time on safari.
The safaris were great. He had an eagle-eye and spotted everything. He tailored the tour to the types of animals that I was keen to see, and the birds - all animals great and small. He had a knack for stopping at the perfect position to get a great view of the animals. Our patience was rewarded many times - such as viewing the most magnificent bull elephant passing right in front of the van; three separate family groups of elephants moving to the waterhole; a front view of four lions; sightings of many hyenas; a superb sighting of a jackal; a close-up snap shot of a baby eagle just a few feet away, and on and on. Hippos, elephants, ostriches, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, buffalo, zebra, impala, vultures, and so on. I had many 'firsts' such as my first Kori bustard, saddle-billed stork, yellow-necked francolin, crowned plover, and the closest to the hamerkop than I've ever been, and the best shot I've ever had of the African Fish Eagle.
All in all it was too great for words.
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari dealer
I would recommend this tour company for absolutely anyone who wants a great East African experience. Myself and a small group of friends did a safari through Uganda and Rwanda few months ago. The tour itself was amazing visiting parts of the world you never dreamed you would go and experiencing things you could only imagine like trekking the mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable forest or whitewater rafting in the Nile! Our tour guide Dickson was excellent and could spot animals from anywhere!!! I saw more wildlife in those 12 days then I have seen in my life!! We went way beyond the big five and were even lucky enough hang out with Mountain Gorillas, chimps, hunting dogs, rhinos as well as everything else! Dickson was great company a pleasure to be around.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great experience , wonderful customer service
Customer first culture and experienced staff giving a memorable touch of experience.
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely awesome experience – better than i imagined!
This company makes you feel very pampered and special. They quickly responded quickly and made everything easy for us.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well Organised Elephant Hill Day Trek
Dickson, Efraim and Alex provided a well organised and fun day-trip trekking up Elephant Hill in the Aberdares. We were picked up at 6.30am in Nairobi and were back by 6.30pm. The day ran very smoothly and Efraim was a fun and experienced guide. Thanks!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A tour guide and Land Cruiser swap the first day impacted Safari in more ways than one.
We choose Regional Tours due to stellar reviews and the fact they are based in Tanzania, Our first tour guide was a very nice and a respectful soul. He went above and beyond to make sure to point out various animals and providing the species names. He spotted a large snake neither of us would of seen. He was very concerned about the Land Cruiser's performance and requested a different one. After getting a different safari vehicle we also changed tour guides (not our choice) . Our new guide spent a lot of time during the game drives talking on his cell phone and texting. Most of my video audio is of him talking instead of the sounds of nature. A couple of times in the Serengeti he stopped along the road to conduct business at locations where he got sell service while we waited. We realize he was not scheduled to be on this trip and was not prepared for the tour. He did not have the change of clothes needed for the 6 days so I gave him some clothing to help him out. Although the experience with natural part of the Safari was good and the hotel accommodations way above average our second guide was more of just a driver than a real guide.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A feel good Tanzanian Safari Trip
It was a feel good safari trip, straight from heart !!! The tour manager of the company proved that, the social network site is enough to confirm everything on time.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A few hiccups, but great overall.
Our Regional Tours organised safari was really good. Communication beforehand was not the greatest, with questions asked by email not being answered, and options not being offered, and we were very disappointed when a visit to the Olduvai Gorge that we had specifically asked to be included in the itinerary did not eventuate. Our driver and guide, Immanuel (of Mama Savannah), was not the most communicative, but he knew his stuff, and got us to where we needed to be to see some great stuff (except the aforementioned Olduvai Gorge). He definitely lied to us on a couple of occasions, which was very disappointing. There was a mix up at our second stop where some supposedly included activities were not included, so we had to pay an extra US$80, but this was reimbursed to us later. Our luggage was delayed, and Regional tours was very good about getting our bags for us. Overall the organisation of the trip was excellent, and the execution really good, with only the few small quibbles mentioned above stopping it from being superb. For an 8-day Safari and 11 day trip overall, in a 3rd-world country, it's almost surprising that everything else came together so well. Payment by Bank Transfer from our New Zealand Bank's online website was very straightforward for us.