US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
WOW! Amazing from start to finish! HIGHLY recommend!!
We were very happy we booked our safari with Ute at Roho Ya Chiu! This site, safaribookings, gave us great info, and the reviews were accurate.
Our family was a mom, grandmother, and 11-year old son. We chose a private safari (really the only way to go!), and got an incredible and experienced driver/guide, and fabulous safari vehicle. We spent 7 nights/8 days in late June 2018 in 3 camps/lodging facilities, and we visited 4 parks while in Tanzania.
Our safari was customized for us and where we wanted to be (Ute was very flexible when I kept tweaking our plans!). We were coming from a church mission trip in Uganda, so our flight arrived at 1pm (versus coming from the states & arriving at night). I changed from 2 doubles to one triple as my husband decided to not go, and we changed locations, dates, and number of days on safari more than once. So, Ute had to change things around for us more than once, and was always doing it quickly and with a pleasant tone in the email communications (I'm sure it was painful on her end).
We were picked up at the airport with our names on a sign, so our driver was easy to find. He stayed with us until HE put us AND our bags on our plane in Senora (Southern Serengeti). We were given choices on our lodging, so I looked up each option in TripAdvisor before agreeing to them. This helped me feel more comfortable and in control of our safari, which is kind of scary when booking (you never know if you are going to get what you paid for -- we did!!).
We paid by wire transfer (again, kind of scary for paranoid Americans), a deposit when booking and then payment in full before leaving the USA. Ute was always answering my many questions and ensuring our requests were taken care of. She emailed us right before and then followed up again right after our trip. She made sure everything went smoothly from start to finish! We did not need to contact her during our trip as we had no issues, but she was available in case we did.
Hassan, our guide & driver, was incredible!!! He was always very professional, attentive to all our needs, patient, extremely knowledgeable, and could find animals we could barely see with the binoculars! He could find animals even hidden in the tall grass and up in the trees! We were constantly amazed by his knowledge (every bird, animal, plant, & tree) and his sighting abilities. We looked up animals & plants in our guidebook we took with us, and found him to be accurate about everything. He taught us some Swahili words to use during our stay as well (asante!). He was truly a blessing to have for our first safari experience!!!
Our vehicle was a newer, pale yellow Landcruiser with popup roof that was very well maintained. No heat or A/C, but plenty of windows we could open plus the roof, and we were never uncomfortable (we took blankets for cool mornings and a pillow my son used for a nap one day). There were 6 seats in the back area plus a driver and side passenger (some groups required a translator in addition to their guide, which all speak English and Swahili). We had plenty of room to all be on one side of the car comfortably when the animal sightings called for it. Our seats had cushions on them, so they were very comfortable on the bumpy roads (sometimes long drives). We also had a small fridge stocked with plenty of water and could put our Cokes and snacks in it as well.
NOTE: We saw several cars with all the seats filled, which looked extremely uncomfortable! Either they did not get a private safari, or they had too many people in their group. Be sure you have enough room to spread out -- you spend a LOT of time in the vehicle! I think 4 people in one car would be the max for comfort, even though there are seats for 6-8.
We did request extra binoculars for our car, so we got 2 pair and brought 1 pair so we could all enjoy the sightings (you definitely want them!). We also brought lots of snacks with us as the lunches made by the lodges/camps were not as filling as we needed while out all day.
We highly recommend this company and especially Ute!!! Thanks to her for our memorable trip!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
My parents, my family (of 6), and my sister's family (of 4), spent two incredible weeks with Paul in southern Tanzania (Selous and Ruaha) in June 2018. It was all of our first safari experience and it blew away every expectation I had - it was truly a trip of a lifetime. Paul's organization of the trip his knowledge of the country, the animals, the camps, the guides, the people and his passion for all of the above made this an experience that we'll never forget. If you have the opportunity to travel to Tanzania, do it with Paul, you will not regret it.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A professional, caring and diligent tour operator
From the very first email, Darren conveyed that he is a professional, thorough and caring service provider. He goes out of his way to understand our preferences and always explain alternatives. In our case, he put together the entire trip a week before the departure date. In spite of the obvious time crunch, he never rushed us into making a decision. I like that all of his arrangements were well planned, tour guides were knowledgeable and accommodations were central and quality places. As a result of his planning and thoughtfulness, we were able to relax and enjoy the trip rather than worry about the logistical details. It was a sheer pleasure dealing with him throughout the whole trip. Overall, a great experience and I highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone who is looking for an African safari.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
had a great safari in tanzania and kilimanjaro
we sent an request to go explore safaris and brian responded back to us as we wanted to visit tanzania so he gave us a 7 days proposal with 1 day kilimanajaro trek to mandara hut which was about 2780 metres high we visited tarangire national park, the lodges were so nice slept in sopa lodge and simba safari camp we had a very good holiday and we definatley shall come back to visit the gorillas next year.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The tour was awesome
We had a great time with the safari tours/game drive provided by east africa safari. Peter communicated with us smoothly in regards to our booking. Lawrence our guide was an amazing one. He really tried to get close to the animals and looked for them eagerly. East Africa Safari did a great job! Highly recommended!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great
The communication with extremely fast, and they were extremely accommodating. I did this Safari as a solo traveler, and it was great. However, they make a lot of pit stops which are sometimes unnecessary. It is the same touristy shopping stops which sells stuff for 5x the price. The tour guide himself was okay. He wasn't particularly that informative, and kept hitting on every solo traveling he could find.
I would recommend the company, but definitely not the guide.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very enjoyable Safari Holiday with very nice and prepared people
Wonderful Places to overnight, very nice people who make you feel really comfortable. The driver guide was very prepared about geography, culture and history.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trust ! The most important thing in booking any holiday .
Timeline safaris have assisted me on numerous occasions to fulfill my desire for the perfect safari holiday.
I have attended with my partner and more recently my children .
To me the biggest element of any holiday is trust !!!
I need to be able to trust that I will be safe !
Trust that my guides will do everything within their power to give me the most wonderful safari experience & trust that my accomodation , meals, entertainment , vehicles , etc are the best that is available to match my budget . I have had the privilege to travel extensively throughout Africa and I have used several safari organisations . Without a doubt Timeline Safaris have met my needs each and every time I have had the pleasure of using their services . Right from booking until the final hug goodbye I have always felt in safe hands , received good value for money and actually listened to as a customer . Integrity , professionalism and true value are words that many organisations use to sell their product . Timeline Safari actually delivers ! I can highly recommend this organisation to anyone . I can’t guarantee that you will see all of the big five , a kill or a crocodile hunting on the Masai River but I CAN guarantee that Timeline Safaris will do everything they possibly can to make your safari a memorable life changing experience. I will be back as soon as I can to use their services and hopefully see the elusive leopard up close & personal . Thank you Timeline Safaris !!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very positive experience!
We have recently returned from a 2 day 1 night safari (Ngorongoro and Tarangire) with Safari Trekkers – one day with Hans as the guide and one day with Charles (the owner) as guide.
Safari Trekkers is locally owned and run, and - while many Tanzanian companies do not enjoy the best of reputations – we found Safari Trekkers extremely professional and had a wholly positive experience with them (bar getting stuck in the mud slightly for a time!).
Charles and Hans were unfailingly punctual and communicative in terms of planning (mainly via Whatsapp, which worked for us), and had everything in hand (lunches, itineraries, entrance fees, overnight stays etc.) for the whole trip. Both Hans and Charles were very knowledgeable about the animals, but also we had some very interesting conversations about local culture, politics, way of life, etc. over the course of our drives.
The cost was also very competitive compared to other providers.
We would not hesitate to use Safari Trekkers again and to recommend them to any other safari seekers in future.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Only perfect all my expectations were fulfilled in that wonderful country
the communications: always pending of the walks and trekkings
Service: cottages and accommodations, friendly, complete breakfasts, super nice, close to all departures, comfortable transport
all lived up to expectations
the safari tour: Kruger Park National, I saw all the BIG FIVE on several occasions, sunrises and spectacular sunsets
I could not ask for more. I want to repeat it in other countries of Africa next year