US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Vacation by Kruger Park for reasonable price
Pros:
Very reasonable prices for location and accommodations.
On time pick up at JNB hotel.
Lodge Rooms was clean and comfortable but a bit small for our family of 3.
Program/tours - variety of tours and places to go, really enjoyed the conservation visit!
Breakfast was very good, as well as other meals.
Lodge staff friendly.
Most of the guides, despite of young, looked passioned about their job and were very friendly.
Cons:
Location - day to go to Kruger was cold and had to ride 30-40 mins on open vehicle (with tarp on one side).
Lodge bar only accepts cash - this was an issue for us, since we did not take much cash on our trip, so we could not drink as much we wanted on our vacation!
Liability Waiver - this created a big commotion on the van to the Lodge. None of us know about that when we booked the trip. The explanations were confusing. Some told us was for the van ride only and others that it was for the Safari tours. I have done Safaris before and don't recall signing nothing like that. This was an unpleasant and unnecessary stress during our Vacation.
Internet - only works on the lobby area.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing and unforgotable safari ever.
I went for a tour with one Orange Tours and i can recall how joyful i was together with my fiance. It was a three day tour from Diani beach to Masai Mara. The experience is unforgettable. We wanna come back though we are now 3. Thanks to Harry, a very humble and cooperative man.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fish Eagle Safari......Fantastic!
Very hard to fault these guys.
They were extremely helpful right from the beginning and communication was very good despite the time differences.
From the start of the safari we were met at our accommodation by our senior guide Norman who explained how everything was going to work for the next 5 days in detail.
Once we got on the water the crew (Norman, KK & Kenneth) were all absolutely first class; very friendly and knowledgeable.
A special mention though for Norman who knew the river like the back of his hand and was extremely good at navigating us past the many hippo pods along the way...at no time did we feel in danger; fantastic!
The crew looked after us extremely well.
There was a bit of a mix up at the end with the connection to our accommodation for the final night but they worked through it calmly and got us on our way even though it meant they were going to be late back into town.
Would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone thinking about this trip.....fantastic; only regret was not doing the 10 day trip....next time!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
VERY Knowledgeable & Determined to find the BIG 5
From the first email, working with Bright African Safaris (BAS) was GREAT. I sent out 3 emails to local Tanzania Safari groups with a few questions + info about my husband & me & asked for suggestions. Of the 3 companies, one replied a week later & one replied in 2 days which said "let me get you some info". It didn't matter if the other 2 responded in a timely manner or not because SALIM @ BAS had already WON us over w/his Professionalism & Quick Response. I received a very detailed email from Salim in less than 24 hrs complete w/a suggested Itinerary, info about BAS's community service, email addresses of previous clients that agreed to give a BAS review & Salim's confidant promise that I wouldn't be disappointed in BAS. I told Salim we were celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary by visiting "7 Continents in 7 Months" & that Africa would be our last Continent. Salim said "You saved the best for last". Their reviews on TripAdvisor, Google & Face Book were Great. Within a few weeks, Salim had sent almost daily emails with suggestions of lodges & tented camps to make sure we were pleased with our accommodations & our African Safari was now all planned.
We arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport & had no problem in getting our Visa as Salim had told me exactly what we'd need, we got our luggage & waiting for us was our BAS Guide, RAJABU. It was 9:30pm but Rajabu was so friendly & helpful so we instantly felt at ease that we were in great hands. After taking us to our 1st stop, Lake Duliti Lodge which was wonderful, Rajabu went over the upcoming first day of our safari w/us so we were ready to start our amazing 9 day Safari & 2 day rest.
Our safari included Arusha N. Park, Tarangire N. Park, the endless Serengeti Plains, Central & Western Corridor of Serengeti N. Park, Ngorongoro Crater Rim & Crater Floor. RAJABU was so Awesome at finding the Wildlife. We saw Lions (even 1 pride of 24 lions), Cheetahs, Leopards, Elephants, Giraffes, DikDiks, various eagles & other birds, huge Crocodiles, Caracal, Honey Badgers in Daytime, Banded & Dwarf Mongoose, Wart Hogs, Hyenas, Black Backed & Golden Jackal, Hippos, Zebras, Wildebeest, 9 varieties of other Antelopes, Buffalo & Yes, the elusive RHINO. We saw ALL of the BIG 5.
Altho our safari was over, Salim arranged our 2nd BAS guide, HASIMI, for a City Tour to Arusha Markets & Heritage Culture Center on Day 10 of our trip after a restful night & relaxing breakfast & lunch at the beautiful Mount Meru Game Lodge. Our trip was far from over as I'd asked Salim about visiting a local community & a coffee plantation. So on our last day before flying out at 9 pm, our weekend guide, Hamisi picked us up as planned @ 8.30 am, then picked up a local guide, Gifttairo "Young Rasta", to guide us as we hiked to Materuni waterfalls, then to help make our own fresh coffee at Hillborn Organic Coffee, enjoy a wonderful Lunch provided by a local Chagga tribe, taste local brew made from Ripe Bananas and learned about the local culture of the beautiful people that live in this area. We then left for the airport with Hamisi but he announced "Kilimanjaro is in view now so we'll stop for pictures". Sure enough, the clouds had cleared & Hamisi took our picture w/Kilimanjaro.
This entire 11 day Trip was so well planned. I suspect Salim told the lodges about our 50th so we had a Celebration Anniversary Party w/cake at Sergenti Tortilis Camp w/singers, a tasty fruit-cheese-chocolate tray at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge & a bottle of wine at Mount Meru Game Lodge.
If you want to enjoy a worry free safari, just tell Bright African Safari what you'd like and they'll make sure you have everything that you can imagine. ASANTE SANA SALIM, RAJABU & HAMISI. The Perfect Team that made our African Safari PERFECT.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
10 Day Namibian Explorer (Camping)
Wild Dog Safaris were a highly reliable, professional and well organized group to deal with when it came to booking a tour of Namibia. I had a holiday with my three teenage sons, who had never experienced Sub-Saharan Africa before and this tour was an excellent introduction for them to the beauty of Africa. There was great variety in what we saw, excellent support, organization and catering from our two guides Gabe and Abi and a fun and relaxed atmosphere throughout the 10 days. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who is interested in a guided introduction to a beautiful, friendly and safe country.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very Warm Welcome- Karibu
It was an amazing experience.
Despite some initial surprises, there management promptly corrected and reassured us.
We would love to travel back with Karibu.
Shoot outs to Sona , Ian and Najmaji.
Thank you Vinosh for setting our iternary.
We found Tanzanian brother in Kuzungu our Host and Tour Guide for 1 week
Bryan from Brenton Blue took us to An amazing Penguin place.
Gaston - we simply love you and your love for Capetown.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
FRAUD
FRAUD
This company has cheated us; We hired them with a safari from Spain and the day they had to pick up at the hotel, we could not contact them, we had paid them 60% of the amount (2000€~) ... this supposed us, to lose a whole day between going to the Spanish embassy, put the complaint in the police and Of course, hiring another safari, not counting the economic loss.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good company with a lot of experienced personnel.
Together with Migration Venture Africa we climbed the Kilimanjaro (Machame route) and went on a 3 day Safari (2 days Tarangire NP and 1 day Ngorongoro NP). We had a great holiday, everything was well organized and the personnel (guides, drivers, cooks, porters, ...) had a lot of experience and were very helpful.
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic safari!
Geoffrey replied promptly to all e-mails and confirmed our bank transfer as requested. He kindly arranged train tickets with the Madaraka Express free of charge. We had a four day private safari for a family of five to Lake Bogoria and Maasai Mara, including a much appreciated landcruiser. All expenses considered, I believe it was we were offered a value for money safari. According to our guide, "Naf", Lake Nakuru would have been a much better and closer option for flamingo-watching than Lake Bogoria. Naf made up for this by arranging a boat trip on beautiful Lake Naivasha. He even organised a surprise welcome dance/song from the Maasai and cake at Azure Mara Haven to celebrate our son´´s 13th birthday! Thanks to good radio communication with the other guides, we were lucky to experience a great number of animals. :-) Thanks for a great safari!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding safari in evey way
This my 4th safari but my first in Tanzania. I wanted to see the great migration, accomplished that and so much more. The safari vehicle is first class and it needs to be because of the roads. Our driver Thomas was superb, and very knowledgeable about the animals/birds native tribes etc. Easy Travel, especially Geodfrey who set everything up were excellent. Normally on a major trip there are some flaws but this trip went perfectly. My wife was anxious about the tent camps but they are 3 rooms, hot shower, nice beds, flush toilets, and good meals. The people at all the camps were super helpful. We saw the big five and a lots of other animals. The migration of millions of wildebeest and zebras is mind blowing. Don't do the canned "private game reserves" in other countries. There are no fences in the Serengeti for thousands of miles and the animals are free. The Ngorongoro crater area is simply amazing. I visited the Easy Travel office at the end of the safari and can tell you they have a world class operation!