Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trip to Mt. kenya
It was 9 of us on that trip and we chose Bushtroop safaris as time and time again they have proven themselves to be one of the best. It was a 5 day trip and everything went smoothly, our guides and porters were very friendly and helped us in every way. Because of this we had a 100% success rate to Pt. Lenana. Would definitely recommend.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari trip in safe hands
Dear all
Firstly I would like to say thank you for a well organised and valuable trip. To improve the experience, I would recommend clearer communications about the tour. I booked through Kruger.com, but did not ever receive notice that I would stay an d travel at Tydon safaris.
The other suggestion I have is regarding food. It was very heavy and rich. Also because we went for long wonderful drives in the early morning, we often returned to cold breakfast. The coffee was awful.
Other than that, the hosts were lovely, the guides amazing, and the unseen domestic staff did a wonderful jog.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great First-Time in Africa
My husband and I wanted a safari trip with a visit to Victoria Falls as an add-on. Kobus at Jewel of Africa helped us planned a ten day trip that included staying 4 different lodges in South Africa and Zimbabwe. This offered us a diverse range of experience. The accommodations and game drives were all very good. We had an amazing time in Africa and saw all of the Big 5 thanks to Jewel of Africa.
I am giving them a 4-star because I think communication could have been handled better.
1) Email communication at times was delayed and many follow up emails were required.
2) Our package included a lion walk and a hippo feeding, when we got to both places, both tried to collect money from us because they claimed they hadn't received prepayment for our visits. Even though the payment issue was resolved eventually, it was still very awkward for us to be a part of.
3) Our return flight was supposed to depart from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. When the final airline ticket was issued, it had changed to depart from Livingstone in Zambia. We were not advised of this change beforehand. This was not only inconvenient, it also made it so that we had to pay extra Visa fee to enter Zambia.
All in all, Jewel of Africa delivered on the itinerary they planned for us. The lodges they chose and the activities they included were really good. I obtained quotes from 8-10 different companies before deciding on Jewel of Africa. This is a legitimate business that offers good value for your budget.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great nature's experience
Great company with a great guide, Jones.
He was really amazing, always trying to take us to the best places, to see all the animals, even the most difficult ones, and never giving up to find them, even when we almost did it. With his eagle eyes, was abble to find the most hidden animal.
We truely recommend him!
And all the journey was just as we have planed.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Experience with Zozo Safari
We had a four day safari trip to Gorillas tracking(Rwanda). We were so excited to travel with them because they were replying to our emails fast. We all think that companies want our money but for them it s the opposite they want to satisfy our needs and wants before anything else. They have an excellent communication skills. Zozo safaris is the best to travel with if you want to have fun and safe trip! Let's meet next time we come back to visit volcanoe Nyiragongo in DRCongo. I would definitely recommend it to a friend who is interested in traveling. Thanks for everything especially the services and your generosity
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari with Sale and Richard
We travel for 3 days safari - manyara, serengeti and ngorongoro with Salehe and Richard.
We contacted Daniel through whatsup and he was kind and answer all our questions with patience. We compare many companies and Daniel gave us the best price and service.
We had a great and amazing safari experience with Salehe and Richard.
Salehe was the tour guide. he was nice, giggle all the time, and have a lot of knowledge about the wildlife and the nature.
Richard was the cooker. We can't eat everything because we eat only Kosher food but we didn't feel it because Richard helped us with all our needs and and made great meals.
Both of them have eagle eyes and can recognize all the animals hiding in the way!
Thanks a lot, Daniel, Salehe and Richard!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable, unforgettable and economical personalized African adventure
Our trip was absolutely amazing, an experience of a lifetime! Our guides Charles and Isaac were a key part of this, sharing their incredible knowledge, good humor and outstanding driving skills to facilitate this two week journey. Accommodations were lovely, food delicious and varied, and the staff at locations were very welcoming and hospitable. We really enjoyed the diversity in the different lodging too and continued to be in awe of both setting and ingenuity!
Of course the stars were truly the wildlife, which brought me to tears of joy and wonder day after day. I'm so glad we took all the 100's of photos and video recordings as a great reminder that we were really in Africa and saw these incredible sights with our own eyes, not on a National Geographic show!
The two week travel itinerary was just about perfect. We had one potential challenge at Haven Nature with our booking that ended up working out better in the end- although we were scheduled to stay two nights, they had us listed only for one due to an incoming group that had booked the entire site. In addition, our lodging became a room, not a tent, which we would have preferred. Fortunately, we were able to secure an additional night at Tarangire Safari Lodge, which was outstanding. However, I feel like this all came together only with our persistence (and on hand cash!) otherwise I'm not sure where we would have spent the night. This situation was a little disappointing given extensive pre trip planning to prevent these sorts of surprises, but again, it all ultimately worked out well, and actually made for better use of our time by arriving at Tarangire earlier.
The birthday celebration was all tied to the above so that also added a little craziness, but again, it all came together with a wonderful surprise celebration by the staff at Tarangire. They were able to pull it off, thanks to Isaac, ISIA staff inTanzania and my husband. Very memorable and still surprising!
So, super thanks to all the ISIA staff for this unforgettable adventure, especially Joao for the extensive itinerary and pre trip planning, and Charles and Isaac for their on the ground knowledge, expert guiding and driving skills, and humor.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The highlights of Namibia in 15 days
The itinerary was very thoughtful. We travelled to, in this order, Damaraland, Etosha, Okonjima, Swakopmund, Wolwedans, with a return to Windhoek in the middle for Christmas with friends.
We self-drove for part but also took 4 internal flights with Scenic Air. Logistics were faultless. ATI were excellent, which is very reassuring when you have 3 children with you (12, 10 and 8).
Etosha was quiet but we still managed (on the trip) to see elephant, lion, rhino (black and white), giraffe, leopard, cheetah etc. Not to mention kayaking with seals which was very special.
I particularly recommend Mowani Mountain Camp and Wolwedans. These are landscapes you will never forget with beautiful accommodation and a sense of peace, far away from the digital blizzard in which we all now live.
For Europeans, Namibia is still mostly an undiscovered gem. For a family with sense of adventure, I recommend it unreservedly.
EG
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wecam: Highly responsive, okay service, some missed key details
Wecam was mostly good but got quite a few significant details wrong, so I give them 3 stars to make a point that the operator in a situation like a Kenya/Tanzania safari trip should come with strong experience, clear recommendations, and quality equipment to soothe over the difficulties of a trip like this. Wecam overall provided okay service, were honest and responsive, but fell short on the details. I emphasize the details missed below.
Starting with the positive, Wecam was the most responsive of the operators contacted, which counts for something. They also were honest enough to pay for an error in a flight booking that I showed via old emails was there fault. While that represents missing a detail, on the flip side, they were honest enough to pay for the flight even having already paid for the safari in full at that point. So the positives of their service along with one strong lifts them from below average.
We chose a safari and beach vacation. The first vehicle assigned for our safari was the oldest we saw around and a bus rather than jeep-style, better suited to the terrain. More importantly, the windows did not shut well to keep out the cold morning draft (which the limited heat could not offset sufficiently) or dust, with one periodically even falling out when I opened it to take photos. Nor did it have air conditioning as an option to keep drafty windows closed and prevent my girlfriend from coughing from a mild allergy to the dusty road. The second vehicle assigned in Tanzania was significantly better, though it may have been a governmental requirement. It also lacked air conditioning, plus the trunk stopped working, which would have been a big problem if we were more than two people. The first vehicle advertised that it had wifi, but they didn’t send the driver with the wifi unit so that it could work. The second vehicle didn’t advertise wifi onboard though the driver had the unit, and didn’t clarify it was available until we were out of range of towns anyway and then ran out of airtime promptly and couldn’t get it back working. The first driver wasn’t that great with English or explanations, although the second one was outstanding, raising Wecam from two stars.
Another significant detail missed was that I specifically made it a much more expensive two-country safari to see the Great Migration in action, which was heading from Masai Mara to the Northern Serengeti. However, they had the itinerary skip right past the Northern Serengeti. Good thing we were lucky enough to see a decent number of wildebeest including a river crossing in Kenya and so many lions in Central Serengeti, or we’d feel really miffed.
There also were problems with estimating time. Drivers generally under-estimated amount of time to arrive, while the central office person initially estimated our timing to arrive at the airport four hours early for merely a domestic flight. The second driver was better at estimating time. Wecam booked internal flights without engaging us as requested with respect to flight time, they ignored one message with a specifically-requested time that was available, and they communicated a slightly incorrect flight time. They also put us at a hotel a 90-minute drive away from the airport after a long day of driving and flying when much closer options were available, even if without quite as nice a beach, turning a long, tiring day into a late, exhausting one unnecessarily. Wecam did not provide clear recommendations from among mid-range hotel options, forcing me to try to review choices and advise though without sufficient time while working a busy job to check accurately, leading to staying in a couple second-best stays among the second-rate places.
Overall, there were a number of positive elements in their service and strong responsiveness. For the price paid though, I expect stronger assistance with providing recommendations and smoothing out the details.
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you for wonderful experience in Tanzania !!
We reserved 8days(30th Dec - 7th Jan) mid-range class tour by e-mailing to Mr.Richard.
Frankly speaking, at first we felt a little nervous,as it was first time to send such a big money through web.(of course it was fully securited web site tough)
We sent 50% first on booking and the rest of 50% was sent a few weeks before departure but anyway total 100% advance payment was required before departure.
Richard answered very quickly all of our questions, he updated all the situation right on time and the process was very smooth!
As many people say on this site, Richard works very quickly and that makes us relieved surely.
(Thanks for it Richard !! :D)
About tours itself,
Our driver(Mr.Horace) was very nice and professional guide and drive safety always.(That's why sometimes we feel asleep in the car...sorry! :D)
He accompanies us for 8 days always including a Happy new year !!
He was punctual always and knew a lot of things about animals,trees,birds etc.... and shared all the knowledge with us.
What is more he tought us what it is about Tanzania(culture,people,language,life,problem etc...) and that made our trips even special as it is always nice to know about the country itself.(in additional to main purpose which is Safari)
During the trip we faced flat tyre 2 times unfortunately(as expected !?) but no wonder as the road is very rough.
But Mr.Horace fixed it very smooth and quickly and it was no problem at all.(it was even good experience as a part of our journey)
We strongly recommend this company and the driver Mr.Horace especially.
Please enjoy it and von voyage !!!