DE
Tracking and obeserving nature at its best - a breathtaking experience
Klaserie, Okavango Delta, Kalahari Desert - three completly different Landscapes in one Safari
For my 60th birthday, we decided not to party but to do a Safari with a few close friends. Due to our phantastic previous experiences with Shaun Taylor in more than one Safari before we laid this project into his hands - with an unforgettable result.
Klaserie remains a dream place, from trip to trip even more. Less than half an hour driving from Hoedspruit Airport the wilderness adventure begun, and our warm-hearted hosts at Kitara lodge made this wonderful place on the Klaserie river our second home. Beeing alone within 30 or 40 km² requires some tracking (in which Shaun and Patrick have again proved mastership) but the outcoming spectacular sightings were more than rewarding. And we never had to share them with other vehicles. Highlight this time was a massive Rhino bull, which we could approach on foot, and a pack of wild dogs, which we have watched hunting two days in a row.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible, No Show No apologies
I have been communicating steadily with Safari Gates since March 2018 (after seeing an ad on safaribookings.com) regarding a one day safari to Nairobi National Park on July 18th 2018. Jose was supposed to pick us up at our Hotel on July 18th 2018 but never did. He even sent an e-mail saying he would be there 15 minutes late but he never showed up. No apologies and no reasons given. No more communication after that very cheap shot.
We are so deceived by Safari Gates that we will let many people on the internet know beginning with SafariBookings.com (service with them was always good, no blame here), a major source of clients for Safari companies and also on social medias.
To Jose @ Safari Gates, You cannot just not show up and not say a word afterwards. That is not a business option. Very poor service. Very bad move ! Stay away from them, they will never show up !
IN
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
7 day safari to ambroseli ,lake Naivasha,Masai Mara
We commend Lucy and her team for meticulous arrangements from start to finish .
The logistics was impeccable.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
''''ENDLESS WILD CHEERFULNESS WITH HOME RWANDA SAFARIS'''
It was amazing to be hosted by Home Rwanda Safaris discovering Rwanda, at our arrival we welcomed by Aimable who is the best tour guide we ever met in Rwanda and he gave us a briefing about the country, tour and what we expected in the hole tour day to day. The second day of our visit in the volcanoes national park we were tracking the amazing Gorillas and we were happy to see them, a bit scared haha but the trek was unbelievable. The guide took us to the community cooperative (local people and ex-poachers) in Musanze which was not in the package we thank him for that. We cannot wait to recommend this company for their great services, helpful and professional guides. We will be back, promised.
NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Some issues during the stay - The experience got worse after contacting Outlook
I visited Outlook in Pretoriuskop camp in April 2018, together with three other travelers.
Although unfortunate for us, I understand unforeseen things and misunderstandings can happen. So I contacted Outlook to discuss these things, instead of going directly online to post a negative review. I also asked Outlookfor a compensation.
I received quite an aggressive, insulting an unprofessional reply from their general manager, Steven. This leads me to give them a lot lower rating than I initially would have based on the issues during our trip only. Instead of being credited by the fact that I reached out to them, I was told that "it is in poor taste to hold us to ransom with a threat of a review online. Please note that your decision to do so was the convincing reason in our decision as to how to conclude this matter."!
With the conclusion being that Outlook takes no responsibility of any of our issues and that we get no apology or compensation at all.
I would say that all in all, Outlook safari offers an ok safari package: Guides are good(we enjoyed our game drives with Jojo and especially Jeremiah). We saw quite a lot of game despite some bad weather. Tents are good, (really appreciated the night stand with power supply in each tent). Food and wine was ok to good. If you are looking for a group trip to meet new people, the setting is good for that. Beds were uncomfortable though (a standard canvas field bed would have been better than the option we got).
Our issues though:
We were not informed before arrival that we were joining a group trip(only for the very first game drive was it mentioned that we would be together with other guests from the camp). That, despite the fact that I was from the beginning requesting a camping safari in a private camp. Once I realized that a private camp is not possible in the Kruger, I booked with Outlook still, since their daily itinerary looked quite exclusive. We were therefore surprised to arrive and see that the set-up was in a group with shared meals and safari vehicles.
The general manager addressed this issue by saying that Outlook has no control over how customers interpret the info they were given.....
...and by saying that he had looked through the information we were given, and that he could not see that it under normal circumstances could be misinterpreted by any normal people...
....he also said that it had been clear for their booking staff, that since we were asking for a camping option, clearly we were not willing to pay the price that a private safari costs. I think that should be up to the customer itself to decide.
Three of us got very sick during our stay. We all ate the same food, but the three that got sick all drank the dispenser water offered in the dinner-tent. And the fourth person that stayed healthy did not. After getting sick we saw the water being filled from a garden hose in the park. Outlook states the water is thoroughly filtered and therefore it is completely safe to drink. Even though water is filtered, that doesn't mean all bacteria have been removed and that everyone from around the world can safely drink it. Also, there is some question about the routine of refilling this dispenser bottle(hygiene of the bottle and the hose that they refil it from). We would have appreciated to have been informed that this was actually not prepared bottled water. Had we known, we would not have drunk it.
Because we got sick, we missed out on meals and game drives almost equivalent to an entire 4-day safari for one of us. Reports from us that we were sick were met with comments like: "That sucks!" No one checked in with us to figure out what made us sick or if any of us needed help. According to Outlook though, this is our own fault. As we were in a setting that was different from what we expected(we weren't looking to be in a group) and as we found some behavior of the guides weird, we were being a bit reserved and tried to make the best of it and enjoy the trip together with our chosen travel mates. We didn't ask anyone to "Leave us alone", but we weren't being personable with the guides. By doing that, they were apparently not supposed to follow up on us when we had a problem.
As mentioned, we reacted to some of the behavior of a couple of the guides, resulting in us taking some distance to them for the rest of our stay:
a) If you at dinner said "No thank you!" to another glass of wine, the guide try to convince you to drink more. Which could be innocent enough. but it's just unnecessary.
b) One of the guides came to our group one evening and loudly commented that we were not chatting or drinking enough. Then filled one of my travel companions glass even though she had turned it down. They could also say that this is only the guide trying to be friendly, but it's again unnecessary and unprofessional behavior.
c) One guide got intoxicated one evening in the dinner-tent. We only heard it as we were busy being sick, but other guests had been present.
Outlook stated further in their reply to me that their goal is to give customers their best holiday experience of their life. That experience we had last year while doing a private mobile safari with our own crew of three in Botswana. That experience cost us about the same as we payed for our stay with Outlook and not 10 times more as stated by Outlook that a private option would have cost us.
We also stayed at a lodge in Sabie after our stay with Outlook. It was better and at the same price that Outlook offers(stayed in tents there as well).
I realize and accept as stated by Outlook themselves, that most of their guests probably are happy after their stay. I guess I will also have to accept, as also stated by Outlook, that we are unfortunately part of the 1% of unhappy guests that they choose not to care about because they can "live with it".
All in all I would rate their safari package(not including our issues) as an ok to good budget option. Their way of handling customers on the other hand....Unprofessional and disrespectful!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience that exceeded my expectations
Our group of 7 friends (all middle-aged) anticipated an experience of a lifetime and our time in Tanzania exceeded our expectations - Lilian at Zohar tours planned every detail based on our requests and recruited an amazing, professional team who made sure our adventures were a success. Our first part was the 8-day Lemoshe route to summit Kilimanjaro- to the top for all of us! Our guide, Isaa, along with his hand-picked team really wanted us to stand to complete our dream (one team/one dream was our mantra) - the encouragement and support especially the singing was a big help every day but especially on summit day. The celebration at the bottom with Lilian and everyone was very emotional- a day we will never forget. From there we went on safari with two vehicles/two guides (given that we were 7 the additional room was appreciated). Adam and Nixon proved to be very knowledgeable and I can’t believe how much we saw- all of our accommodations were unique and had their own charm. The food on the mountain and safari was wonderful; lots of options and definitely plentiful. I’d be happy to answer any specific questions you may have. Tanzania is a beautiful country with amazingly friendly people who welcome you warmly.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stunned by SED Adventures!
We have booked a private, tailor-made 6 days/5 nights camping safari and could not have made a better decision than choosing this company. We visited Serengeti NP, Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara.
From the moment we sent the inquiry, WALTER was very responsible, patient and clear in his explanations regarding any details or changes we wanted to make in our itinerary.
He ensured that the final version of the itinerary is exactly what we wanted, especially that we were changing it multiple times (timeframe, parks)! Walter was also available 24/7 for us during the safari in case there would have been any questions or complications (but there weren’t any, of course). He also picked us up the day after our safari to take us to the airport and collect feedback.
As for the safari experience itself, our driver and guide, MR. SHARIFU, was a knowledgeable and patient expert. He knew numerous interesting and surprising facts about each animal we enquired. What is more, he has eyes everywhere – behind his head, on the sides!!! He spotted rare animals from very far away without binoculars, which made it possible for us to see all species we wished to see. Here are a couple of examples:
- Big 5 (rhino being rare in Tanzania!)
- newborns (cheetah, elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, lions, warthogs)
- lions hunting
- Great Migration of zebras and wildebeest
- seval cat
- dik dik, eland, waterbuck
Our cook, ALEX, is the sweetest man in this country. He was always available, positive and enthusiastic about cooking for us. He quickly learned what we like and ensured each meal was special. He even made ugali and pilau for us after I told him we want to try as many African dishes as possible. When we were on a full day game drive, ALEX packed lunch for us – it was massive amount of delicious food! There were days when we finished dinner at 9 pm, and already ate breakfast at 5.30 am the next day, and everything was always on-time and tasty (bearing in mind that Alex had to clean our dishes after we had dinner, then prepare lunch to pack for the next day, and then wake up much earlier than us on the next day to prepare breakfast the best Spanish mayaj!).
Since I started to learn Swahili before we arrived in Tanzania, MR. SHARIFU and ALEX quickly picked it up and taught me new words and phrases during the entire trip. This was very entertaining and educating. Asante sana rafiki yangu.
We really had the time of our lives, our dreams came true and the worst part of this trip was that it had to come to an end too quickly. We would do it all over again, with Mr. Sharifu and Alex in a heartbeat. We will remember this for the rest of our lives, and tutaonana!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall good but Tomodachi can do better
The driver/guide is good, the accommodation is wonderful;I had an unforgettable experience at Domel Wilderness Camps. But the company can do better. First of all it took Tomodchi moe than a month to confirm receiving our deposit. And then we were told the agreed accommodation was no longer available although we had double confirmed they were available before booking the trip. The car constantly broke up on safari. Finally, I asked about going to Mara river in the email with the company but we were never taken there and was told it was too far to drive there. The company could have arranged an accommodation closer to the river.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful adventure
Have just returned from the most fantastic 8 day safari tour with my mum starting in Arusha and taking in Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and most areas of the Serengeti. From the very beginning, Lucia listened to what kind of tour we wanted to experience, was helpful, patient and prompt in answering queries etc. She put together an excellent itinerary covering the varying national parks of the northern area of Tanzania with the best located accommodation in order to maximize our time on game drives.
Our guide, Kelly was tremendous. His ability to spot animals and his expansive knowledge of the area enabled us to get to the right spots to view the wildlife up close and without the crowds that can descend at times. He was also fun company to spend a week with which made the trip even more memorable.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Safari Infinity - their professionalism, genuine passion for their job and knowledge of Tanzania all makes for a truly magical experience - thanks to you all!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The perfect taylor made holiday experience
Very efficient, friendly, great advise in organizing the tour. The tour itself was perfectly organized and we did not have a single surprise or disapppointment. We stayed at some amazing lodges with unbelievable scenery. Our tour guide was a true blessing, friendly, knowledgeable, always spotting exciting wildlife and entertaining. He became a real friend of the family. The perfect holiday !