US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
Get Adam as your guide! He is amazing and brought us to the Materuni village for a cultural tour where we saw waterfalls, drank local beer and made coffee. We went on a tour set up through Adam with Omar and it was AMAZING through tangegire and Ngorongoro. Elephants were pretty much on our Jeep and we saw a cheetah! TOTALLY recommend. Adam was with us every step of the way and bringing us to awesome local places when we had some down time.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
Had an amazing 2 day safari in Tarangire and Ngorongoro and 1 day Materuni cultural tour in Moshi. Adam was an amazing tour guide who organized our entire trip. He arranged airport pick up and drop off that was extremely helpful. We really enjoyed our Materuni tour that Adam suggested that we do. The 2 day safari we did was amazing and was well worth it. We’re excited to one day return to Tanzania!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a wonderful time on the 5-day Serengeti trip that Wildebeest Safaris organized for us.
In planning the trip, Noah from Wildebeest was very responsive to my requests for information about safari options, providing helpful responses within a day or two. Once booked, all of the logistics for our 5-day safari were well taken care of, including meeting and dropping off my wife and me at different airports (Kilimanjaro and Arusha). Noah offered several options for accommodations and we finally selected the Serena option, staying at Serena lodges at Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. All of these were great, with excellent accommodations, good meals and service, and spectacular views, so we were very pleased to have made this choice. Perhaps most important of all, we had a wonderful guide, Julius. He was very experienced, pleasant to be with, knew where to go to see the animals, and accommodating to our wishes. Since you spend a lot of time with your guide, we felt lucky to be with such a good guy. I would highly recommend Julius and Wildebeest Safaris to other Tanzania-bound travelers. We had a great time and came home with some remarkable memories and photographs.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Seven Day Safari in the Serengeti
We selected Rupia Adventure based on their long history of excellent SafariBookings (the pop-up jeeps!), prompt response to email queries, and proactive effort to provide us a hand-crafted experience tailored to our interests. Rupia Adventure was not the cheapest of the tour operators I queried, but I feel we got great value for our money. We were traveling as a couple, with a single adult (our nephew), who needed his own room; we thought the “single supplement” was reasonable.
Angel Davidt tweaked our itinerary several times as we refined our travel plans…we were very pleased that she stayed on our account after we paid our deposit and did not hand us off to “back office” staff (I saw a couple of other reviewers note this as an issue, but we did not experience it). Angel responded promptly to all my questions and was transparent about prices and options so I could make informed choices. The Rupia Adventure team obtained discounts for our nephew, who is living and working in Tanzania, and handled all the other paperwork, including “Flying Doctors” insurance, without a hitch.
We paid in advance via wire transfer in two installments, and promptly received acknowledgement and a receipt from Rupia Adventure. The pre-safari orientation was brief and pleasant (who wants to hang around in an office on a Sunday when you could be out on safari)? and the Kilimanjaro airport drop-off at the end of our trip went smoothly. I got there in plenty of time to deal with the multiple layers of security, check my duffle, and have before my 9:00 pm departure (this after a full day of game driving in Ngorongoro Crater).
The Rupia Adventure team was pleasant, professional, proficient in English, and knowledgeable. Information seemed to flow well through the team: Angel, the billing team, the manager who gave us our orientation and our guide were all on the same page, and all knew what we wanted. I never felt that we were lost in the shuffle.
Back to the jeeps. As other reviewers have mentioned, we saw several other safari groups stranded in broken-down jeeps (Land Rovers). We had no mechanical issues at all. Rupia Adventure provided us with a large Toyota Land Cruiser equipped with a pop-top, a cooler, seat cushions (we were very grateful for this amenity, given the condition of the roads), and a hamper with a thermos (we had two serious coffee-drinkers in our party). They also provided several pairs of binoculars, and an inverter for charging electronics. The Land Cruiser had air conditioning, as I had requested, but the weather during our mid-June safari was so pleasant we never used it.
Aside from your transportation, the other factor that will make or break your safari is your guide. Our guide, Mathiasy, was exceptional. He clearly loves his job, and is passionate about the animals. His cheerful enthusiasm, tireless zeal, and entertaining stories and animal facts made even the longest drives between viewing opportunities enjoyable.
More than that, Salvatory has an excellent eye for lighting and composition, and frequently pointed out photo opportunities, and then positioned the jeep for the perfect shot. On one occasion, he avoided a cluster of jeeps around a female lion to park us near her adolescent cubs (who, he explained, were ignoring their mother’s call, so she would be coming to check on them). Sure enough, minutes after we were in position, the mother lion got up, strolled over to check on the adolescent cubs, and was joined by the male, who crossed right in front of our jeep! On another occasion, Salvatory positioned us ahead of two groups of elephants, who converged around our jeep. We took amazing pictures and videos that we have enjoyed many times since returning home.
In addition to expertly navigating the deeply-rutted roads (and never referring to a map once during our week-long safari), Salvatory was also personally concerned about our well-being. In addition to ensuring we were adequately caffeinated, he did his best to make sure I had tasty and nutritious options that complied with my medical needs for every meal.
We visited Lake Manyara, the central and western Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. I had to fly back straight from safari for work, but my husband and nephew stayed a night at the African Tulip before going on to other adventures, and they highly recommend we stay at the Tulip next time we safari in Tanzania. I will review the lodges we visited separately.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Trip
I chosed Rupia after looking on the net for the most reliable tour operator and i was convinced by the very high reviews. What can i say....they exceeded expiation. Great communications and organization pre-tour, great English, great accommodation and great itinerary. One mention for the driver Elasto, he was the best. Knowledge of the nature, animals and culture and always with a smile. Good job everyone.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience of a lifetime!
Our safari with baboon budget safari was an incredible experience. You get so much for what you pay for. The accommodations were great including a Cabin-like tent with beds, shower, and bathroom. The excursions were amazing and we saw so many animals, no matter if you were on a budget or private or fancy safari, we all saw the same things. Going at the beginning of June was a great time too, because the crowds haven’t made it yet and we had many private moments with just our vehicle and the animals. I would recommend this to all of my friends and family.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing service
Amazing service provided by the most professional, kind and nicest people. The manager is very approchable and will help you with all the questions you may have. Very organised. Excellent communication skills. Our guide, Hamad, was very knowledgeable and friendly. Made sure we had the most amazing experiences with the animals. Shared very impressive stories he lived. Trully amazed by the service provided.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing guided tour.
This was the first guided tour I had ever traveled on. I wasn't sure what to expect on the trip to Kilimanjaro. I've never had anyone else ever carry part of my day-pack before, so I felt a bit odd at first. It didn't take long to realize that Affordable Kilimanjaro wanted to keep this trip about the experience and not about who can carry the most or hike the fastest. The pace was great for all levels.
The Machame route was amazing. At every stop at our camping sites we were well taken care of. The food was outstanding. Our guides were very knowledgeable about all the mountain and the flora and fauna.
I would use Affordable Kilimanjaro again without question.
SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
10 Adventure Safari in Uganda with Saso Uganda Safaris
Where do I start? Got Saso Uganda Safaris through I friend and everything went easy than I thought from booking to payment. More than enough information was given to us by Wilson a travel consultant.
We were warmly welcomed at the airport and transferred to a hotel in Kampala for our first night. Free transfer did humble us even more. Our guide has been great so far having been with him for 10 days, we confidently say he is the best.
Thanks Vincent. We have been to Murchison falls 2 nights, Kibale Forest camp for chimp tracking 2 nights, Queen Elizabeth NP 2 nights, Ishasha sector for a game drive to see the tree climbing lions 1 night “this was really amazing” and we are in our last night of 2 nights in Bwindi for gorilla tracking. We have had the best more than bargained. You did a great job Saso.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Moses is the best
Our Leopard Tours guide, Moses, was patient and understood the goals of our trip and made sure we had the next experience. Very kind and very thoughtful. He was also very knowledgeable. No need for Google with Moses. No one thought to bring binoculars but Moses had not one, but two, on hand and he made sure the jeep fridge stayed stocked with cold water. The lodges had incredible views and the Serena staff treated us with the utmost respect and quickly attended to and anticipated our needs. Umang kept in touch during our safari and made sure we were taken care of. Ubon Safari will be the first one I recommend in the future.