US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trekking with gorillas is amazing and Nicholas is phenomenal communicating trip details!
The tour was really good considering how quick of a trip it was. We enjoyed the shopping at the equator and the lunch stops. We absolutely loved the views at Bakiga Lodge and Birdnest Resort; they truly were worth the price and were outstanding both from a service perspective and a comfort perspective. Our guide, Roger, was pretty good; he was a bit quieter than we expected but he always asked us what we wanted and helped meet our needs. The vehicle was okay, it tended to get a little warm and Roger typically did not turn on the air conditioning. We were amazed by our experience with the gorillas and truly loved getting the permits and doing the trekking. You prepared us very well for what we needed to bring and how rigorous it would be. Following the gorillas and seeing them in the wild was what we wanted to come to Uganda for and it did not disappoint!
To improve, we thought it would be helpful to tell us in your itinerary how long each day would be in the car. This would have helped us with the planning of our flights as well as prepared us for the very long car rides. We also would have loved to have some time to do something in Kampala, but simply ran out of it (which was our fault because we shopped for too long).
Thank you very much to Nicholas for outstanding communication and help with our trip. We would recommend Africa Tours Adventure to any and all interested in going gorilla trekking.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10-day safari across Kenya & Tanzania
My friends and I did the 10-day Masaai Explorer Safari through Kenya and Tanzania. We researched dozens of Safari companies and found KWSS to be the best value. Mr OT was super friendly and easy to deal with, answering every one of my very many questions. Mr OT also changed the itinerary slightly for us, to fit within our budget. After seeing all the other tour groups around the parks, we felt we’d definitely made the right choice and chose the best one. All the accommodation and food across the trip was very good. We most enjoyed Mara Camp, Carnelleys Camp, Kibo Camp, & Savannah Camp.
Kenya:
We had the most incredible experience through all the national parks in Kenya. We saw a huge number of animals in our first 2 days at Masaai Mara, including Lions, leopard, cheetah, elephants, heaps of giraffe & zebra, loads of different antelope varieties.
Our guide- Rueben was the best guide and friend we could have ever hoped for. Highly recommend asking for him if you are booking! He went above and beyond to take us to the big animals and teach us everything he knows. He even helped us change the schedule mid-way through the safari so that we could see the flamingos at Lake Bogoria (which we had not originally chosen).
Tanzania:
The guides must changeover at the border, so after crossing we were picked up by our new guide. The process feels a bit different on the Tanzania side and utilises the Tanzania office, rather than the Kenya office with Mr OT. We found we had many mistakes and miscommunications during the Tanzanian side of the Safari, and we’re glad we spent 7days in Kenya and only 3days in Tanzania. We felt our guide didn’t know the schedule and therefore we werent entirely sure what was happening most days. The parks in Tanzania were not as abundant with animals or scenery, in fact Serengeti is very baron and has barely even a tree to look at, let alone animals. Personally I’d skip the Serengeti and spend more time at the Kenyan parks in future.
Overall, we had an amazing time and our Safari was something we’ll never forget. Highly recommend choosing Kenya Walking Survivors. Also remember you can pay much more for a ‘luxury’ safari and think you’re getting more but at the end of the day, all the Safari cars are in the same park seeing the same animals together.
IN
Was an awesome experience.
My husband and i signed up with wild trek safari and were assigned Fred who was our driver and guide for 8 days. Right from our pick up at Nairobi Airport to our hotel he was prompt and further on to our adventure to see the wild life Fred was a library of information and humour . He took excellent care to our needs Fred thanks a ton for making this memorable . We are looking forward to come again. .
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly affordable one
Enjoyed it. Experienced a variety of wildlife for a cheap price. After safari, relaxed in a good hotel owned by the company. Thank you
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I planned my own 2 weeks, Antony was my Safari guide
The experience was unforgettable. Antony never stopped finding the best for me. As a solo traveller I could not have asked for more in service, communication always the gentleman he took time. It was an adventure to remember, the animals I saw ...it was remarkable thanks to the best guide.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent driver and guide and accommodation very good value for
Have just had an excellent 10 days safariing organised through Jocky. Evans (driver/guide) was fantastic - he drives safely and always managed to get us into wonderful positions for good photos. He managed to find all the animals and he has a great deal of knowledge about the animals (and birds). I will be booking again.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional Safari Company in Tanzania
I cannot say enough about Rupia Adventure's.
My husband and I traveled to Africa for 5 weeks, and booked the 8 day Tanzania portion of our trip with them.
We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, The Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti and Arusha national park with them.
Mathias, who planned the trip with us did an excellent job listening to our requests and our budget constraints. They were very flexible with tour options, managing to fit in everything we wanted to see, included a quick stop over at the Olduvai gorge, a walking safari, and a canoe trip in Arusha.
The price was reasonable. They listened to our request about caring more about the game viewing then the accommodations, and found great lodging options in the medium price range for us. We decided to book with them.
When we arrived in Arusha, we were met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. The next morning, we met the man who truly made our experience unforgettable, our tour guide Miraji. He was outstanding. He listened to our interests for what we wanted to see (which was everything, not just the big 5), he listened to our concerns about my husband's back problems and roads and he made sure that my husband's special dietary needs were taken care of. He had an incredible body of knowledge, and went out of his way over the days we were with him to ensure we saw everything we were interested in, no matter how big or small the animal was. He was extremely patient as we took literally 1000s of pictures in all the parks we visited with him, and only prodded us to move when he knew there was something important we wanted to see ahead. He really worked hard with the staff at the different camps to ensure that my husband's lunch box was gluten and egg free, which wasn't always easy. Whenever he had to get the paperwork done at the park entrances, he ensured we found something interesting to do while we waited for him (walking the nature trails, taking pictures of the baboons at the Ngorongoro gate, etc).
He helped us identify everything we saw, whether plant, bird, four legged creature etc. He had a great sense of humor. But what impressed us most was when our flight form the Serengeti was cancelled (NOTE this was booked directly by me, not Rupia Adventure so this was in no way their fault), he and Janniken at the office ensured we got out on another airline, and made sure we weren't left stranded.
The lodges and camps were excellent value, our favorite was the Serengeti Bush Camp.
The animals...., I don't know where to start. I think our favorite viewing was the lions in the trees at Lake Manyara, but there were just so many highlights. We joked with Miraji that we didn't see just the big 5 ,we saw the big 500.
A quick note on the flight, I booked it through Chase Ultimate Rewards with Precision Air. Apparently they stopped flying to the Serengeti in November of last year, but I never received any notification or refund, and neither did Chase. In fact the day of my flight my reservation still showed as confirmed online. Luckily for us, when we met at the Rupia office the day we started our trip, Janniken asker for the information on this flight and told me he would check with Precision Air to ensure the flight was not delayed. When he found it was cancelled, he presented us with a couple of different options. This extra effort turned what could have been a major problem into only a minor nuisance. Thanks to Janniken and Miraji so much for their help.
We spent 4 more weeks travelling in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and while we met some other great guides, none were able to meet the benchmark that Miraji set for us.
Thanks so much for such a great experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an amazing trip to Maasai Mara
It was an awesomely organized trip with efficient communications and updates on activities . I enjoyed my stay and had all my expectations met. It was extremely fun!
IN
Simply Excellent !
From the time we were picked up at the airport till we were dropped, it was an example "par excellence".
The tour was well organized. We saw the "BIG 5" animals and many more. The driver Woka was a kind man who went out of the way to make the tour more memorable. The hotel selection was good where we could rest well each day. All in all, we had a great wild life safari tour.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our two week tour in South Africa, Vic Falls and Botswana was Absolutely Fabulous!
Dealing with Darren from Compass Odyssey was so easy. He replies to queries and immediately. He advises on travel ideas. He isn't phased if you need to change plans. The guides he uses on the ground are very friendly and informative. Dot and Tim Cummins in Cape Town were exceptional. Their love and enthusiasm for informing travelers of SA is great, they really love their job.
The animals were amazing, we saw all of the big 5 and more. Chobe was abundant with hippos and elephants. In fact everything but rhinos, but we saw them in Kruger. There are no rhinos in Chobe because of the poachers.
The chance to do river safaris as well as land safaris was a real bonus. We got real up close and personal on a few occasions.
The accommodation was great and so was the food.
I highly recommend Compass Odyssey for your African adventure.
