US
Professional and personalized service that delivers an experience "of a lifetime".
For a few years my wife and I and a couple with whom we have made several trips had talked of a Tanzania Great Migration Safari. Our overall planning concluded that we did not care for a "group" travel model, but wanted a specialized private trip for the four of us that would include classic safari vehicle travel (rather than air travel from lodge to lodge) and high-end "tent" camps with a couple of lodge stays. Research on sites such as tripadvisor led to a smaller company with excellent reviews called Bush2City Adventures.
Solomon Jackson quickly responded to our initial inquiry with extensive information about his company and services, and a range of choices to help narrow our specific desires as to appropriate locations, level and offerings of lodging services, what animals were of most interest, travel times from one area to another, and pace of our game drives. He was patient and provided experienced advice to guide our selections, down to discussion of the attributes we sought in the guide with whom we would spend the ten days out in the "bush". He also provided specific pricing on each option we considered.
We travelled with Ally, whom we came to value both as a person and a professional with keen eyesight and deep knowledge of every type of animal and its habits in the wild. He cared for us in all ways to make us comfortable and our experience rich. The "route" had been charted by Jackson to cover the two areas where animals would be found in numbers, based on the variable of where feed was growing dependent on rains, which resulted in a perfect match with our desire for Great Migration herds and the animals' "birthing" season. Babies of all types abounded and gave us photo opportunities one could only hope for. The tent camps were outstanding, with furniture and indoor plumbing providing great comfort, and beautiful permanent lounge and dining facilities to enjoy views, drinks, and dinners. The staff we encountered were invariably personable and welcoming, with an obvious focus on putting smiles on our faces and attending to all of our needs.
Ally, without prediction or pretension, delighted us with close encounters with scores of animals from the smallest birds and insects to the largest elephants and hungry Nile crocodiles. We scored multiple "checks" on encounters with "The Big Five". From watching a lioness stalk, wait still in the grass, and launch her lightening attack on a family of zebra walking by, to a huge bull elephant pushing down a tree to bring his meal to him, each day brought new wonders and excitement.
Bush2City is recommended without exception, and, having spent many years as a CEO, I predict that Jackson Solomon's career will lead to building a very successful safari tour company.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfectly organized Safari
Everything was perfectly organzied. Email exchange was easy and very fast. And last but not least everything that has been promised on pictures was fulfilled.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Simply Amazing!!!!!
Shadows exceeded all expectations. Our guide Edwin was amazing, cautious & adventurous at the same time. Very keen eye & sense of where to be & when - we saw and experienced much, much more than we expected, the Big 5, a Masai village, Tented Camp experience was incredible. All lodging, food & service were excellent. Shadows was very responsive & all the logistics worked like clockwork. Highly recommend Shadows for this hopefully more than once in a lifetime experience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellently Planned and Executed Travel with luxurious accommodations
I received a response from Matthew Grace shortly after my request for information. He consistently followed up on my questions and custom planned a vacation to my desires. I was able to book the trip within a week of my initial contact. He continued communicating with me prior to my trip, while on the tour, and then after following up on my return home. The accommodations and safari experience exceeded my expectations. I am so grateful to Matthew Grace for putting this trip of a lifetime together for me and my mother.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime
My wife and I spent a week in Tanzania with Allen as our guide and his son, Emmanuel as our driver. We saw the "Big 5" due to Allen's intimate knowledge of the Serengeti accumulated over 20+ years. Even more valuable than the pictures was his inherent interest in the plants and animals, how they interact with the surroundings, their symbiotic relationship and the people we were exposed to. Taking time out for a couple hours we visited an orphanage that Allen supports. We met with the American who administers to these children abandoned by parents who have died from HIV/AIDS or merely left them to care for themselves due to financial hardships. We have literally a couple thousand pictures we must now edit down. Many of the best ones were taken by Allen who can act as a cinematographer among his many talents. We were recommended to Allen by friends who have taken two safaris with him already. He more than exceeded our expectations.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Less than expected for a custom tour
Communications with the agency were prompt and polite and included the attractions I wanted to see but I paid for a custom tour (I was the only client), expecting a great guide to tell me all about the land, flora, fauna and people along the way of my 5 day trip. My "guide" was a driver, not a guide and on long stretches of driving (some up to 8-9 hours), he did not engage me unless I kept asking specific questions. They didn't have wildlife or bird guide books in my vehicle to help me make sense of what I was seeing. I also had issues with the rude guide they handed me off to in Bwindi to see the Batwa people, who tried to steer me to a Bachiga village instead of the Batwa one that I had specifically asked to go to.
The attractions themselves did not disappoint: Kibale for Chimpanzee tracking was great--I was dropped off at the park and a ranger took over from there. The Kazinga Channel boat tour was superb, the experience in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for gorilla trekking with their rangers was an incredible.
In all fairness I contacted Jackie at the main office and let her know my concerns and she was very apologetic, so I assume she has fixed the problem(s). Perhaps if it had been a group, I wouldn't have these issues, but as a solo traveller, I felt I had paid a lot for a lesser level of service.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari :)
Max arranged us a two day safari and trips to Mombasa and Wasini.
I am very happy, a trip was organized professionally and with great commitment and attention that we were satisfied.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lifetime Experience | Not to be missed!
David and his team were honest, and overly delivered, time and time again. We (my girlfriend and I) booked a three day tour with Kili on a moments notice, to go to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. David was a fabulous communicator, and laid out the whole trip for us, with proper expectations. However, the experience was so much better than we could have imagined.
The tour ended up having six people in total. We camped at each spot, and our cook prepared fabulous meals at each location. We began each day before sunrise with a shockingly delicious breakfast, and then we were off to see the animals. Our guide was chill, knowledgable, funny, and experienced. He took us to all the great spots, and we saw a silly amount of wildlife. There is absolutely nothing I'd have changed about our three day experience with Kili Slope Tours. I hope to come back for another tour in the near future. Thanks again David, you're a legend.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional handling, felt safe and secure, took well care of us during our stay in Tanzania.
We had a wonderful Safari experience which was handled by Easy Travel. Everything was well organized and we saw all the Big 5. Each day was well timed and the drive felt safe and secure, no incidents even though the weather at times was difficult. Our guide and driver; Elias was a joy to have with us, very experienced and he drove smoothly and with high level of caution. We never got stuck even though it rained a lot. The lodges and the tents were very good and the food was more than we asked for. Thanks to Amina who took care of the bookings and other practicalities.
Overall, we had a fantastic safari and we can strongly recommend Easy Travel and Tours as
they handled everything extremely professional, and helped us with arranging accommodation before and after the safari as well as transporting us to and from the airport in Arusha, even though we did not ask for it!!
MX
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing Safari experience - they go the extra mile!
Our experience with Mama Savana was excellent! Alex was very responsive and paid so much attention to all our requests (he was very patient :) and offered us exactly what we needed. He even managed to get us on short-notice a camera lens for rent since I forgot my tele objective at home - which was a tragedy for a photographer doing a Safari! He organised us a last minute transfer as well between Moshi and Arusha. Very well organised, punctual and reliable.
Our guide Godson is outstanding - objectively comparing him with other guides we saw and after talking to other travellers. He was really friendly and built a great connection with us - it was a great intercultural exchange - we had very good talks with him! (He was our patient Swahili & Maasai language teacher). He managed to get us to see the Big 5 (which I understood is not a walk in the park) and witness an impressive hunt of a wildebeest from a lion just in front of our car. He was extremely flexible, caring and accommodating to our requests. He is very knowledgeable in wild-life and spoke besides Swahili, Maasai & English very good Spanish (and French!).
We would definitely recommend Mama Savana - if you want something reliable, profesional & personal at the same time.
Good luck! AMO