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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Customer Service and Customization
We were impressed with Pembury Tours from our first interaction with them, and our positive impression remained throughout the whole process of putting together our vacation up through the trip itself. At an early stage of planning to travel to southern Africa, we had a vague idea of what we wanted to see, do, and where to stay, and we thought we could plan this trip on our own. However, we were struggling on putting key pieces of our trip (especially the safari part) together. Thus, we decided to reach out to multiple tour companies for quotes.
Anya with Pembury Tours helped us put our small ideas into a grand plan, which ended up being a roughly 2 1/2 week trip through South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. At the outset, Anya put together a highly customized itinerary for us, and she worked with us to make small changes to it to make it our own. Through multiple emails, she asked us various questions and we provided her with an idea of what we wanted. Anya was always responsive and patient with us throughout the process, and ultimately planned a phenomenal vacation for us that started in Victoria Falls, continued on to Kruger National Park, Cape Town, Vilankulo in Mozambique, and finished in Johannesburg. Anya and Pembury Tours were also cognizant of our trip budget, and were willing to work with us to maximize our experience based on what we were looking to spend. For example, given that we had a lot of hotel points, we decided to use those for our hotel stays in the Cape Town region. Given this, we were not expecting Anya to help us out with the Cape Town leg at all. However, Anya was receptive to this, understood that we wanted to save some money, and recommended various tour options for us in that area and helped us book them. She also provided us with additional, helpful information for Cape Town, the wine lands, and Hermanus. A really nice thing that Anya and Pembury Tours did was to put together a book for us which included our itinerary, recommendations on what to see and where to go for each leg of the trip and for each day, animals we might see while on safari and on our whale watch in Hermanus, driving directions and maps, and a little bit of history on each place visited. This book, which was hand-delivered to us by one of our tour guides, was a very nice gesture from Pembury Tours that made us feel confident that we were going to have a great trip, very early on.
Our trip was memorable, relaxing, and exciting, all at the same time. We have Anya at Pembury Tours to thank for that. Should we decide to return to Africa in the future, we will not hesitate to reach out to Anya and Pembury Tours to help book our next trip there! We also plan to recommend Anya and Pembury Tours to our family and friends that are contemplating visiting Africa.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent, custom made, 7 days private safari in Kenya (Nakuru-Naivasha-Hells Gate-Longonot- Mara)
Patricia organised a fantastic, (very) custom made, 7 day safari for two for us at the end of July.
The camps were the ones I requested and of overall very good quality, the itinerary was followed as agreed, and Francis, our driver and guide, was wonderful - knowledgeable, keen to ensure we saw everything (and we did, even leopards!), and a pleasure to spend time with and talk to about Kenya. He was flexible when needed, and always in a good mood and ready to answer our many questions.
I found the communication with Patricia ahead of the trip great (so prompt and helpful compared to other operators with whom I was discussing in parallel). She was patient in agreeing an itinerary we liked and responded timely. Having researched many safari companies, I thought the offer (accommodation and activities included) was great value.
On choice of camps, I'm sure Patricia could recommend and arrange everything with little effort for clients, but I had very specific requests, which she met brilliantly. Our favourite experience was Wilderness (as it was very small and remote/wild), followed by Basecamp. We enjoyed that by staying at Wilderness we got to experience a Land Cruiser safari and a walking safari in a beautiful conservancy next to Masai Mara included in the package. Crater Lake tented camp (close to Naivasha) was also in a very beautiful setting.
Our itinerary also included a Hell's gate walk and cycle, and a hike up Mount Longonot. They were both organised very smoothly and we felt very safe and taken care of by the local guide the company arranged.
It was a fantastic week and I'd highly recommend Patricia and Francis!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari with Africa Flash McTours
We did the 6 days and 5 nights Luxury safari of Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. Right from the start Peter provided us with excellent communication and guidance about the details of the safari and how to go about booking it. He's very professional yet personable, and did his absolute best to accommodate our requests. As we booked the safari quite late, there weren't enough rooms available at one particular campsite, but Peter and his company covered the additional costs to book us elsewhere in a more luxurious one! All the accommodations, meals and services were fantastic. Our guide Leonard was terrific, very knowledgable about the wildlife and parks, and excellent at driving us for hours on end during the game drives. We got to see all of the Big Five. This was our first time in Africa and my family and I couldn't have had a better time! I highly recommend Africa Flash McTours and thank you Peter for everything!
BE
An unforgettable safari in a beautiful nature
We are a family of 5 persons and we made a 7 day safari tour with Mega Adventures from 15 July to 21 July.
We were really delighted with the quality of the services of Mega Adventures,the expertise and friendliness of our guide Ally and with the wonderful nature in Tarangire,Manyara,Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
The lodges were very comfortable and the wildlife was amazing.
A mega adventure and a mega pleasure!
Thank you Ally,we were really like "poa kichizi kaman dizi nani fridgi"
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Choose Lion King Adventures! They made our family safari a dream come true!
My family recently returned in August from a 6-day safari with Lion King Adventures, and everything about the safari completely exceeded all of our expectations... it was the most incredible trip made possible by Anna who helped us book it, and by our tour guides, Saleh Omari and Oswald Shayp, who lead us through this amazing adventure.
Initially we were worried about planning a safari thousands of miles away with little knowledge of what is reasonable to expect in choosing locations to see, places to stay, length of safari, price range. We were a bit overwhelmed by all the tour companies and possibilities. We narrowed down the possible tours to 3 based on the several facts: We were a family of 8 so needed to travel in multiple vehicles, we wanted to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara River in Northern Serengeti, and we needed a moderate price range.
Our first experience with Lion King Adventures was Anna, who helped us book a tour that met all our needs. She is knowledgeable, asks the right questions, and was able to book our lodgings, and even rebook them when our arrival schedule to Tanzania changed. She was the voice of sanity and calm for us as we planned the trip thousands of miles away.
Lion King Adventures met us at the airport when we arrived in Tanzania… not once, but twice since we all arrived on different flights at different times. They even stopped in Arusha to pick up my daughter who was finishing up a summer internship there. We all met at Ilboru Lodge in Arusha, the first lodge that Anna booked for us. This was a great place for us to all meet up to begin our adventure. We even got to speak with guests who were returning from their safaris, which certainly sparked our excitement. Anna met with us that first evening along with one of our guides, Saleh, to go over where we would be going and staying the next 6 days.
As we started our safari, it became evident to us that the role of the safari guide is far larger than we initially understood it to be. Our 2 guides, Salah and Oswald, were an integral part of our group for the 6 days… working 16 hour days addressing all our needs – driving on the highways from Arusha to the national parks dealing with the local police checks, checking us into and out of the parks, getting our lunch boxes and finding places to eat, making coffee and such, driving the game drives, working the radio finding where the game are, driving on the off-road conditions within the parks, answering our many questions, checking us in and out of the lodges and camps, handling the luggage, cleaning out the Land Rovers between days. It was mind-numbing everything they took care of so that we had an amazing experience. And the entire time that Saleh and Oswald were doing the above, they were also upbeat, smiling, and entirely engaged in the proceedings of the safari. We had spent so much time with Saleh and Oswald, and they had shown us so much about the Tanzanian savanna, that by the end of the safari, they were more like family to us than safari guides. Both Saleh and Oswald have a good command of English, each day many times they would ask each of the 8 of us how we were doing. They each had an extensive knowledge of the Tanzanian parks – the history, the ecology, the people, and the animals. They had the guide books and could answer most of our questions. You could also tell that both Saleh and Oswald enjoyed being safari guides (each having done it over 5 years), they both loved Tanzania and its beauty. What became obvious to us during the safari was that the safari guides are on the radio with each other all the time and work the radio to figure out where the animals are. Saleh and Oswald seemed to know a lot of the other guides and were very good at determining when to follow a lead and when not to. They were also very respective of the animals in their habitat. I think we saw about everything except for the black rhino. The highlight for us was seeing the wildebeest and zebra crossing the Mara River – we actually got to see it, mainly due to Saleh’s and Oswald’s work. The unusual sights we saw were 2 lionesses take down a hyena that got too close to their cubs, a leopard in a tree with its kill, 2 cheetahs, 3 lion brothers walking to get water, lionesses up in a tree (Lake Manyara), an ostrich doing its mating dance, 3 hippos fighting, and then all the babies… zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, elephants, wart hogs, gazelles, baboons, monkeys, and it goes on – haven’t even mentioned all the birds we saw). I would highly recommend Saleh and Oswald as safari guides to anyone.
We spent 1 day at Lake Manyara National Park and 1 day at Ngorongoro Crater, and for these days we were booked in Eileen’s Trees Inn in Karatu. Eileen’s Trees is a fabulous inn… beautiful, comfortable rooms with private baths and a wonderful dining room and food. They easily accommodated our large group and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Then we spent 1 day in Central Serengeti and 2 days in Northern Serengeti. For the Serengeti National Park, we stayed at 2 different Serengeti Heritage Camps within the Serengeti National Park. The staff that ran these camps were very attentive, provided wonderful meals, and the tent facilities were top notch.
We had no idea when planning this safari that these Serengeti Heritage Camps would be one of the highlights of our safari. Everything so far with our tours of Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the game drives in the Serengeti were largely visual. Sleeping in the Serengeti Heritage Camps was the audio part of our safari… just listening to the animals within the camp at night as they grazed and moved was a completely awesome and unexpected bonus!
The most difficult aspect of the safari was driving back from northern Serengeti to Arusha. We made that trip in 1 day… 265 miles in 12 hours as most of it is off road. This is a decision we made based on what we wanted to do on our safari and how many were in our group – we wanted to go to the Northern Serengeti to see the wildebeest cross the Mara River. Saleh and Oswald made this trip back to Arusha as pleasant as possible… not sure how they do it!
In conclusion… we finished our safari with a greater understanding and awe of Lion King Adventures! We were so happy and felt so fortunate that they were our safari tour company!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Robert made the whole booking process so easy. His advice on accomodation was brilliant
I have just returned from a 15 day East African Migration Safari with Jenman and I can' stop raving about it.
The experience exceeded all of my expectations. Absolutely fantastic.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Kenya and Tanzania Experience
We had a fantastic time with Wildebeest Safaris. We worked with Noah for months planning our 8 day Kenya and Tanzania safari and everything turned out excellent.
Both of our guides, Simon in Kenya, and Hamza in Tanzania, were excellent and very knowledgeable. Each day was filled with something new and exciting. We saw lions and cheetahs hunting, did a boat cruise with the hippos, and spent a lot of time in the Serengeti and Masai Mara getting up close to the animals.
The places we stayed were also excellent. Every place was very close to the animals, but they were all very safe.
We would highly recommend Wildebeest Safaris to anyone looking to go on a safari, especially the Kenya + Tanzania tour, just so you can experience both cultures and wildlife parks.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Off the Grid
On the recommendation of our Safari With Us contact (Andre), we opted for the ten-day Garden Tour. What can I say - Andre was right on the mark. It was absolutely fabulous! We have been all over the world, and our very first trip to South Africa was way up there. The tour itself was outstanding, as was our guide. The hotels were all excellent, and all of the stops along the way were perfect. For us at least, the Addo Elephant Park and the Woodhall Country House were the best. Over the course of ten days, we saw 29 species of animals in the wild (not including birds), walked with lions, and could have reached out and touched elephants. But perhaps the best of all was the penguins...what a thrill! And that was only the beginning. We toured canyons and mountains, rode the waves off the coast of Knysna, and dined in fabulous restaurants, wineries and inns. South Africa and Safari With Us are definitely on our bucket list for another adventure in the near future! If you are looking for a small-group (4 people plus guide) luxury tour, this is it.
QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unique Uganda
Being the first trip to Africa, we didn't know what to expect.
Kevin from Experience Uganda was however very helpful and quick to not only respond but also accommodate our groups requirement and every changing plans. He ensured that we were well taken care off in Entebbe where he is based but also in Kisoro. All and all a very pleasant experience dealing with Experience Uganda......definitely recommended.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An awesome program with abundant highlights organized by a highly professional expert
We spent 9 days in Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti national parks and experienced a superbly organized and well conducted Safari followed by a four day Mt. Meru climb and a four day Zanzibar Beach relaxation.
Walter and his team provided excellent recomendations, planning and Arrangements and werealways at our disposal if we needed them. Thanks a lot, we will come back.