DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid Faustin tours
We (my boyfriend and I) booked a full 5-day Mikumi /Selous safari package tour with Faustin. We agreed on the price and paid Faustin the whole amount in advance. We never received a bill, although we asked several times for it! After paying, he told us, that he wasn't accompanying us for the trip, leaving us with an odd driver, who couldn’t speak English. Even though we had many negative incidents with the driver, the peak reached on the last day of the trip, when the driver never turned up at the hotel to bring us back to Dar!!! Even the people from the hotel and the local guides were shocked with this behavior.
Faustin’s organization was not well planned at all. For more information please read my boyfriend’s (Kosta) review below!!! We never heard from Faustin during the whole tour and are a bit shocked with his response. He uses fake facts/information to respond to honest feedback from customers. Faustin response doesn’t add up. We booked a full package tour from the beginning (pickup Dar + tour + dropoff Dar), not only a driver and a car!
Our trip was never about the money, we had the money, it was about the service. We flew to Tanzania for safari, of course we had the money!!! We are not his friends to ask for favors.
Looking at his negative reviews, his response is always the same. Faustin blames the customer by responding that the customer had no money and he -Faustin- tries to help making a tour possible. Which in our case was not true. He never offered help in any way.
We do not want such an incident to happen to anyone else, that’s why we really not recommend Faustin. If it would be possible, we would give him zero stars.
I bet he is going to respond to my review also negative.
Be very careful booking your safari by him.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical Botswana and Zimbabwe Personalised Tour
Africa Zim Travel & Tours were absolutely amazing. I found Blessing to be incredibly flexible and keen to cater for our specific travel plans and schedule. Our dream trip to Africa included a 5 day horse trek through the Okavango Delta with Okavango Horse Safaris. I emailed Blessing when planning our holiday, months before our departure, to see if he could arrange a personalised tour to extend our stay in Africa. All was arranged via email and a deposit paid. I must admit I was a bit hesitant to arrange everything by email with a Zimbabwean tour company but I now have the opportunity to add to the many positive trip advisor reviews and glowing testimonials from happy travellers. We were picked up by a smiling driver called Andy at Maun airport after our Horse Safari and our next adventure began. Our light aircraft had been delayed numerous times yet he patiently awaited our arrival. The safari tour was very organised, very safe and very professional. Our tour included Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls, multiple game drives, river cruises, excellent accommodation, great meals and so many unforgettable experiences. I really can't thank their team enough. Travelling with a local guide is amazing and certainly made the border crossings a breeze. Every attempt was made to make our safari just perfect and I cannot fault their service. I can't recommend them highly enough. We would go again in a heartbeat!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
StarMount Safaris understands the logistics and aesthetics of how to travel meaningfully.
When I think of my experience traveling with StarMount Safaris, I am reminded of the trip I took to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park. I remember getting to the park just before daybreak. I was standing on a hillside when the sun started to pierce a group of pregnant clouds. The horizon turned fire orange as rays of light streamed through and bounced off the shimmering waters of Lake George in a valley framed equally on all sides by hills touching the sky and low-lying savannah.
I snapped a picture of the scene on my phone and texted it to a friend back in America — and instantaneously felt guilty for not just standing there and living in the moment, bathing in the wonder of Uganda. In the far reaches of western Uganda, where it borders the Democratic Republic of Congo, I saw wild game, birds, beasts and reptiles. The vast game reserve was named after Queen Elizabeth II, following a visit in 1954.
But more than the animals, it was the scenery that stirred deep feelings in me — the endless rolling green fields, cloud-topped mountain ranges, dramatic cliffs, swamps and forests, seamlessly melding into rivers, crater lakes and tributaries that comprise the River Nile watershed. I could see why a young Winston Churchill, after a journey through Africa, famously dubbed Uganda “the pearl of Africa.”
As I reflect on that moment, I realize that all of that experience was especially curated by the folks at StarMount Safari. They are exceptionally knowledgeable about the not only the countryside in Uganda, but also how to travel. The staff is adept at planning trips, drawing up all the crucial details of a trip—no detail is too small to ignore— to make sure that you have an awesome experience.
The communications by StarMount Safaris was excellent. The service was exceptional and my experience with them absolutely exceeded my expectations. I would recommend StarMount Safaris to anyone interested in traveling and seeing Uganda and East Africa.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
All bookings, timings, travel and accommodation were well planned
Off 2Africa were very patient and careful in the planning stages, of our holiday with several changes of plan from us. The safari location was very good...and we were very lucky with our sitings ...Their advice and knowledge of the areas proved invaluable. We enjoyed all aspects of the holiday.
IE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience thanks to Gorilla Tours
I found Gorilla Tours after doing some online research, I contacted for information & received a very prompt detailed response so decided to book. The booking process was all via email & very easy. Virgo was my main point of contact & was happy to help with all my questions & organised every detail of the trip.
When we arrived in Uganda we met our guide/ driver James. James is excellent & made our trip so memorable, he is eagle eyed & able to spot & identify wildlife from long distances, he has great knowledge about birds also.
All accommodations were great, the staff looked after us so well.
We had the best of experiences, I can see why Uganda is known as the pearl of Africa. I would happily recommend Gorilla Tours
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect in Every Way
Planning a trip to Africa can be very daunting so I was greatly relieved when Liselle Raath of Sun Safaris returned my enquiry email. At first I was skeptical. Out of all the companies to book through, I thought, why should I book with them? I'm glad I dropped that attitude because there are no words or phrases in the English language to describe how perfect this holiday was. Transcendent? Life changing? They don't do my trip justice.
Liselle liaised with me for quite some time and then came up with a personalized itinerary for me. That woman knows her stuff because everything was absolutely perfect. The B&Bs (Cape Cadogan and Oceans Eleven) were gorgeous and the service exceptional. Cape Cadogan smelled heavenly and I've been trying like mad to find the diffuser and scent they use. Nadine was a terrific host and the breakfast was fantastic. We walked down to a little place called Arnold's on Kloof and had steak and deep fried cheese. OMG. Delish. Oceans Eleven in Hermanus is one of the most gorgeous spots I've ever been to and the hosts, Megan and Rejoice, were warm and welcoming. The town itself is beautiful and filled with friendly faces. We ate at a couple fabulous places there, Rossis and Tapas. The huge bathtub at the B&B was exactly what I needed after a cold shark dive. The dives themselves were absolutely fabulous and I managed to get rammed in the cage by a great white!!! I have a stunning photo of the dorsal fin!!!
Umkumbe Lodge was spectacular. Our guide, Jade, was one of the nicest girls I've ever met and full of kindness, patience and knowledge.The food was delicious and plentiful. The bomas were cosy and the camp itself was beautiful. We saw plenty of animals out on game drives and it was heavenly to sit in the outdoor space working on my manuscript as herds of elephants strolled by.
Nthambo Tree Camp was an experience like no other. The tree houses were beautiful, airy and spacious. Our ranger, Rey, was hilarious and worked hard to get us ethically close to the creatures. It was every photographer's dream. Our last night there was EPIC. Ranger Rey took us to see a hippo!!! I'd mentioned really wanting to see one and it happened. The foods was outstanding particularly the cauliflower soup and oxtail . I enjoyed the communal dining experience and met some wonderful people there.
The road transfers all showed up on time with lovely air conditioned vehicles and coolers of cold water. They were driven by lovely men who answered all my questions, even the uncomfortable fiery ones about the political climate in SA. Just gracious drivers all around.
I have a new saying and it is "Everything goes perfectly in Africa". But I realized afterwards that it was only so perfect because Liselle took the time to really listen to what I wanted and put a lot of thought into planning what she decided I would enjoy. She was bang on. I am planning another trip to Africa in 2019 and I will definitely be asking Liselle and Sun Safaris to plan my vacation.
Thank you for putting together the most wonderful vacation I've ever had, Liselle. I am truly grateful.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Super safaris with a super guide
While looking for a safari in Uganda I came across the safaribookings.com website and duly followed their advice to ask for quotes from several companies.
To be fair there wasn't a great deal of difference between the quotes but we chose Wild Jungle Trails for reasons of cost and also because they seemed to pack more into the time we had available.
We were already in Uganda so asked for a suggestion of somewhere to stay before we were picked up for the safari and were recommended the Cassia Lodge which Wild Jungle Trails also booked for us when asked, this was a lovely Lodge hotel with spectacular views over Kampala, the choice of food was excellent and the rooms very comfortable.
The next morning our guide, Twaha picked us up at the time arranged for the drive to Murchison Falls park. Twaha was excellent, he ensured there was always a ready supply of water in our vehicle and the places we stopped for lunch were very nice. Our accommodation in the park was upgraded to the Pakuba Lodge, which was ideally situated and very comfortable. Twaha was able to tell us all about the animals and birds we saw while we were out. In addition to the game drive and Nile cruise in the park Wild Jungle trails had organised a visit to the Ziwa rhino sanctuary and a Chimpanzee trek in the Budongo forest, all with experienced guides.
All in all we had a wonderful time and I wouldn't hesitate to recomend Wild Jungle Trails to anyone else looking for a safari in Uganda.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Exceptional South African safari in the Kruger area.
There was a group of 14 of us on a trip to South Africa and Swaziland. Various pre and post trips were made by portions of the group. While this made the scheduling of the trip exceedingly difficult, Liz Ferriera of Zambezi Safari & Travel Co. handled all arrangements superbly. None of us had any problems throughout the trip and all enjoyed the trip immensely.
HK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari experience! Will recommend Afrishare!
Went to a 7 days safari with our daughter. She pre-booked everything with Ibrahim.
Ibrahim came to the airport to pick us up. He was very friendly and explained a lot of local cultural things to us. Everything went smoothly according to the plan. We really liked our driver Fredy! He was very knowledgeable and a very careful driver. He also helped us spotting a lot of animals! We were amazed how many animals we saw in a couple of days!
We definitely recommend Afrishare!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable safari experience
We booked a 7 days safari with Afrishare for our annual trip. Thanks to Ibrahim, we had the best traveling experience ever, and totally fell in love with Tanzania & Africa!
Ibrahim was great with communication and really personal to ensure you having the best experience in Tanzania. We needed up working out a perfect safari plan that fit all our needs.
There were no surprises during safari, everything went accordingly to the plan and everyone Ibrahim booked showed up on time. The only surprise was how many animals we were able to see in a week!! Saw the big 5 and even found a cheetah in Ngorongoro(according to our guide, it's very rare to find a cheetah there) We also loved all the accommodation choices Ibrahim recommended.
Our guide Fredy was also excellent. He's very friendly and has great eyes to spot animals from distance. He was communicating with all other guides throughout the trip to make sure we see the most from it. We felt very comfortable and safe in his car! He took the car to a car shop before entering the tough roads to make sure everything is good to go! We were lucky enough to have a smooth ride the whole week(no break downs or tire problems!)
Thank you for providing a wonderful safari experience!! Will definitely recommend Afrishare and use them again without any hesitation in the future:)