IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had an excellent 5day safari experience with Karibu Safaris.
We had a really terrific tour guide, Arony. He was very friendly, helpful and an expert in the safari world. He made us feel safe and had an abundance of local and animal knowledge to share. We would highly recommend him as a tour guide. The company were very efficient in answering all our questions and were very responsive and accommodating. The safari exceeded our expectations and was great value.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tailormade Africa perfectly crafted every single amazing detail of our return trip to Botswana!
We trust, respect and adore our friend Clyde Beatty, co-founder of Tailormade Africa! We first worked with Clyde several years ago when he was part of another safari business. When we discovered by accident that Clyde now has his own company, we immediately contacted him and asked if he would help us plan our long-awaited return to Botswana. Through email and pre-planned early morning Seattle-to-UK phone chats, Clyde both patiently asked us a lot of questions about where we wanted to go and what we were looking for in our trip AND (because he had spent the time to get to know us well) suggested visiting a different part of Botswana. It turned out to be the perfect combination of familiar and exciting! We revisited the Okavango Delta and Linyanti regions AND experienced the picturesque Tuli Block for the first time! In fact, the Tuli Block lodge Clyde recommended was our favorite! Except for our international flights, Clyde arranged every single detail of our trip, and every single detail was perfection. How often can one say that these days, especially about something as complex as international travel? As middle-aged travelers, we were very happy that there was no drama and no glitches - we were absolutely free to enjoy being in Africa without having to worry about day-to-day travel plans.
The tour that Tailormade Africa planned for us included thoughtful details and had a great rhythm to it - exhilarating, but not overwhelming. For example:
- Clyde suggested a one-night stay in J'burg between arriving in Africa and starting the safari that was extremely helpful in shaking off jet lag.
- We couldn't stay at Kwara in the delta (where we'd stayed in 2010) because it was closed for remodeling, but got to visit Little Kwara instead.
- We were astonished at the beauty of Lagoon camp.
- We had a comfortable one-night stopover in Maun at peaceful Thamalakane Lodge north of town where my husband could go online and check in with his work.
- And, as he has done in the past, Clyde arranged for our most comfortable lodge to be the last one in the safari: Mashatu Game Reserve.
Traveling as a couple, we were able to meet other like-minded people on our game drives and at meals. We were treated like family by all camp and lodge staff; I really miss them, particularly our exceptional guides and trackers, who put up with all our questions! The food included vegetarian options and was delicious. Compared to 2010, we experienced more African cuisine choices at the buffets and we loved seeing that! And we always had the time frame of about noon to three each day to relax, regroup, write, nap, and/or shower between morning and afternoon/evening game drives.
As two biologists, the game drives were the highlights of our trip. We loved every sighting: the tiniest flowers to baobabs and mashatu trees; dung beetle balls to a coalition of two male cheetahs making a kill! We were most surprised by the number of baby animals we got to see! For instance: African wild dogs and their pups; leopards and their cubs; elephants and their calves; spotted hyenas and their cubs; and lions and their cubs. ANY of those ALONE would have been wonderful, but to experience all of them was unimaginably rewarding.
We've been home for 48 hours now, but all we can think about is... when can we go to Africa AGAIN? God willing, our health will hold out so that we can return, and when we do, it will be with Tailormade Africa!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing service
We initially contacted Rupia Adventure direct to inquire about safari options. We received a prompt reply from Janniken who worked with us to accommodate our exact requirements and put together a wonderful safari experience. Communication in the lead-up to our travel was responsive and very helpful, which gave us full confidence ahead of traveling over to Tanzania from the India. Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro, we were met by a Rupia driver and given a full briefing at the Rupia office in Arusha. For the safari, we were taken through the Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti National Park by our driver Elasto. Elasto was extremely polite and helpful, and also very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the animals and safari experience. He really made very positive difference to our trip and ensured that we not only spotted all the animals we had hoped to see, but also arrived on time and smoothly at all of our accommodation, whilst never feeling rushed to move on from a particular location. All in all an unforgettable and fantastic experience which we'll never forget. I would highly recommend contacting Rupia Adventure for a quote on your safari; we found them very cost competitive, provided the best service in planning the safari and then found the quality of the actual experience, vehicle, driver and accommodation to be exceptional. Thank you for making our honeymoon safari experience everything we hoped it would be and more!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Phenomenal
Excellent overall. The only complaint was the box lunches.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing guide and adventure!
Isa Jackson was our safari guide and he was amazing! My sister, myself, and parents undertook our trip starting at Maun and had game drives throughout Chobe as well as Moremi game reserve. It was an amazing experience and we were able to see lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, hippos, African wild dogs, crocodiles, hawks, baboons, vervet monkeys, and many different birds. With the lions, we were able to be within ten feet, which was frightening to say the least.
Although seeing the animals was a great experience, what sets any safari apart is the guide. Extremely Wild Safaris has a great guide in Isa. He is very knowledgeable of animal behavior, scientific understanding of the geological processes taking place in the Okavango Delta, and has a great ability to track and find animals. An enthusiastic guide, he made our wonderful trip truly once and a lifetime. Thank you!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly Recommended!!! Best in hospitality, management and professionalism.
So the team Elieza, Jumma, Michael, and Jackson delivered what they promised. It is tough to choose between so many tour operators and eventually, you need to trust your guts before you book one of them. Being a vegetarian they took good care of my needs when it came to food. The accommodation was simply decent. Our guide Jumma made sure we see all the big, ugly and small five. Due to his patience, we also got to see a hunt and it was once in a lifetime experience. Keep up the good work guys.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip seeing over 100 species of animals and birds.
Charles booked our trip and was very helpful in every step from timely communications to helping us get our Visas. The lodging and safari camps were equal to or better than our expectations. The 12 day itinerary: Amboseli, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Masai Mara and Lake Naivasha was perfect for our group of six. The guides were informative and helpful.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Was everything I was expecting and more. Had a great time with the crew and staff. Will recommend to my friends and family.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They were reliable.
Their communication was timely
They took initiative to make my trip worthwhile.
I absolutely got value for my money.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great choices of accommodation and guides and impressive flexibility.
The tour totally lived up to our expectations. We had already been to Zimbabwe some years ago but hadn’t been to safari lodges in Botswana, Zambia or South Africa. I especially wanted to see rhinos as we saw none the last time. So even though we were only in Zambia for 1 night we saw 8 White Rhinos!!! Darren did a terrific job of organising our 2 week trip - starting in Joberg and ending in Cape Town. The lodges were small and personal attention was terrific. The food good to excellent. We loved things like hippos munching on the grass of our safari lodge back yard. Combining both the river and land in Botswana was superb. This is the second time we have travelled with Darren - the other trip was Morocco and we loved the accommodation and experiences there too - so we didn’t hesitate to ask Darren if he organised Southern Africa trips too.
