20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Trip of a Lifetime!
Absolutely amazing safari from Entebbe, Uganda through to Arusha in Tanzania. In 20 days we visited 9 National Parks, with the absolute highlights being the Chimpanzees in Kibale, the tree climbing lions in Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth II N.P), the famous gorillas in Bwindi, 5 days in the Serengeti (lions, leopards, cheetahs!), the wildebeest migration, the beauty of Ngorongoro Crater and the elephants in Tarangire N.P. 18 of these nights were camping in tents with the last 2 being lodge accommodation. With such a big safari to organise and cater for I was amazed at how smooth and easy everything was for us all. Absolutely everything was taken care from setting-up/taking-down camps, cooked meals, transport, park entries, safety and of course once in a lifetime experiences.
Personally, this was something I've been wanting to do for many years now and I couldn't be happier with how everything went. Cannot recommend the East African Safari & Touring Company highly enough for anyone looking to do a proper safari anywhere in East Africa. They are your best contact, hands down. Anything you want they can sort it for you. Thanks again guys :)
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flawless
We first contacted Rose about 4 weeks before we left for our trip (just before Christmas). We thought this might be a bit last minute but it proved no issue. We had a simple brief in that we wanted the best possible experience but knew nothing about Kenya or safaris. From the moment we landed all was taken care of. We had no need to contact Rose at any point and felt comfortable and looked after throughout the trip (we have travelled a lot but never to Africa). If there was a way to improve upon the service offered by Rose and the experience we had on holiday I cannot imagine it.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely friendly, helpful and open-minded
I was traveling with my wife and we were so surprised that Richard and his company helped us in such a friendly way. He supported and advised us on each of steps of our travel. He helped us to get all the needed equipment and before we left Arusha to explore Tanzania, we were 100% sure that we get the best offer from hundreds available on the market. On the way we were able to contact our friend in every single questions. And after finishing the travel, we were also very suprised because of the way of friendly meeteing and nice chating on the evening. We are still in touch and i can really recommend this company as the best choise to safty and comfortable traveling and exploring the amazing Tanzania.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Crucial tours has been a very reliable source of our safari experience.
Non of us ever complained of the quality and the reception offered by CRUCIAL TOURS stuffs. They have an amazing team work, from the management to the guides who had enough knowledge of wilderness. We toured Selous Game Reserve, Ruaha Park and the Mikumi Park... we will definitely use this operator in our next trip to the Northern part of Tanzania.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great! Totally recommended!
Nadzua is great! she is super helpful and always available; I booked 4 days safari, but I was sick and I had to reschedule the departure. She helped me out and gave me information I needed.
During the Safari she also wrote me to be sure I was having a good time.
We were supposed to stay in tent, but we were able to have a lodge. That was very good because unfortunately in the evening it was a little cold and with real walls it was more confortable.
The lodge had private bathroom with hot shower. The food was ok (exceeded my expectations) and we had bottled water.
Thanks to Patrick (our driver) we got perfect pictures of the animals. He's expert and I always felt safe with him driving.
Moreover, I find the prices from buyMore Adventures better than other that are proposing the same services. I reserved my safari from Europe and I paid on the departure day (i could choose to pay in $ or KES), when they pick me up to go to Masai Mara.
Totally recommended!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Short but intensive 5-day trip to the primates of Uganda
We have done a 5-days tour starting in Entebbe and ending in Musanze/Rwanda.
We had a wonderful holiday and we enjoyed the tour a lot. We especially liked the following aspects of the tour:
- Accomodation: the accomocations were all fine but we especially enjoyed staying at Isunga Lodge which we consider the most beautiful accomocation we stayed at during our whole holiday.
- Our tour included all important components we agreed on and we're very happy that everything worked out so well and that there were no misunderstandings.
- The driver was a very affable and friendly tour guide and we enjoyed travelling with him a lot. He was happy to respond to our special wishes (stops for photos etc.) and we felt very safe driving with him.
- We especially appreciated driving in a big van so we had enough room for the luggage.
- We enjoyed the village walk at Bigodi swamp very much as the guide told us a lot about daily life and about the swamp and the animals and plants living there.
We have a few ideas to improve the tour even more:
- Since we enjoyed the village walk at Bigodi swamp so much, we were a bit disappointed that we didn't have enough time to do the village and the swamp walk completely as we expected. After visiting the chimpanzees we had a very long break in the afternoon at the hotel which resulted in not having enough time for the swamp and the village walk. We suggest to count enough time for both walks and to shorten the break after visiting the chimpanzees.
- Drinking water: We got drinking water in 0.5 liter bottles. We suggest to buy bigger bottles since they produce a lot of garbage.
- On the fourth day of the tour there wasn't any drinking water left and the driver didn't buy any new one for us, although we asked him to. We seriously suggest to buy enough drinking water for every day since we counted on it.
- When we went to see the gorillas the driver din't ask us about our preferences (walk a short or a long way to see the gorillas). After finishing the hike he told us why he had chosen the particular group of gorillas for us. The hike was beautiful but we would have liked to be included in the decision which group we were going to visit. We both would have liked to do a longer hike and we were a bit disappointed that it was over so quickly (25 minutes one way). We're very used to hiking and it would have been good if the driver had asked us for our opinion before making the booking.
- The accomodation at Ruhija (Gorilla Mist Camp) was not as nice as we expected it to be. The room was quite nice just as the view, but there were a few things that didn't work properly. The shower turned out to be a small trickle and the water was not hot. The wifi didn't work at all. Also the light wasn't working at the first night.
- We also enjoyed the village walk at Ruhija. We would have appreciated if we would have had an idea of how much we'd have to tip. Since the walk had already been payed for we weren't sure if we still had to tip but the expectation was obviously there. We generally think that expected tipping in this context can create wrong incentives and dependencies for the participating people from the village. Instead, we are interested in an authentic meeting and exchange at eye level.
Even though, we have a few a series of suggestions to improve the tour, we were more than happy to have done this tour with you and we remember these days in Uganda as an amazing experience.
The communication with the tour company before the tour was very professional and insightful. All our questions and needs were responded to very quickly.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Tour with Soul of Tanzania
Our customized 8-days safari trip was well organized and perfectly accomplished by our guide and driver Pius.
The itinerary was well-balanced so that we encountered a great number of wildlife. We had to face adverse weather conditions with flooding but Pius managed us through any difficulties with great skills and coolness. He never lost his patience and was very firm on matters when the situation required it. His knowledge about flora and fauna is impressive, and he proved to be an excellent lion, leopard and cheetah whisperer. We were very happy with Pius and can unconditionally recommend him and Soul of Tanzania to any interested party.
There were so many highlights that it is difficult to list them. The whole package was inherently consistent with every day providing some new experiences. One of the big highlights was definitely our balloon ride over the Serengeti. This is a unique experience.
Over all it was definitely a memorable journey in Africa’s Nature and our experience with the very friendly people we met all over the country. Good hotels and good food, sometimes great food (Ndutu Lodge) completed our adventure.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This company stole $2,900 USD of my money! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!
I am one of many people who trusted ISIA last year. I wired $2,900 USD to the company a year in advance. Four months before I was to leave, I received an email that my safari was being cancelled because the company was going bankrupt. The money was never returned. A group of us set up a page on Facebook. Some of the clients lost much more than I did to these dishonest operators. You can search for our stories on Facebook under 'It Started In Africa Client Group.'
Please contact me if you have any questions about what happened to me and others. I am happy to share my story with you. Please do not book with this company.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional Tours and Service!
It was absolutely amazing from when I first step foot in Uganda until the very end. Justus and Moses took great care of me, from answering any and all questions through email prior to me getting there, to the beautiful and picturesque drive from Entebbe to Bwindi and everything in between. This is hands down my favorite trip and tour to see those magnificent gorillas in their own habitat in the incomparable Uganda. Everyone was so kind, knowledgeable and accommodating I couldn’t ask for anything more. It is a trip of a lifetime and if your on the fence about it just go.
PK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ticket booking
The booking was fast.... The representative was responsive... I trusted him wth my money jus by talking to him...wl do business with them again