ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gorilla trail
I have been in a big safari from all ruanda, with a incredible gide, twuaha, he was worrie about our confortable stage, we'll repeat for sure and we'll do with him!! Thanks for this travel!!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari, excellent value for money
We did a 5-day safari to Mikumi and Selous. From the moment I sent the first inquiry about the safari, everything went smooth. Norbert replied really fast to my emails and messages on whatsapp and was always willing to answer questions about our trip and also helped us with booking domestic flights tickets for our trip to Zanzibar afterwards.
The first day of the safari, our guide was there on time to pick us up. Throughout the trip he has been very helpful and arranged everything according plan. He was very familiar with the area and shared his knowledge and experience about Tanzania, the areas we visited in particular and all the animals we saw.
The hotel and camp we stayed were relatively basic, but clean and all things we needed were there (and for us part of our safari experience as well). The food that was served was overall of good quality.
Definitely recommend people to use Selous Explorer for their safari in Tanzania!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and great value 5 day safari in Kenya
We have just returned to Nairobi after an excellent 5 day safari in the Masai mara, lake Nakuru and lake naivasha with Karibu. Our itinerary gave a really nice variety and the right amount of time at each destination. I booked the safari via email with Robert and I found him extremely helpful and quick to respond to my questions. Our highlight of the trip was the Masai mara and we felt that our driver Raymond was very thorough and made a great effort to show us as much of the park as possible. It would have helped to have more commentary and information on the animals but Raymond was always very knowledgable when we asked questions. It also felt like a very hassle free trip in that everything had been arranged and thought about including all meals which exceeded our expectations. Raymond was also always on time and made the trip feel very relaxed. At the start of our trip we had a full safari van but it didn't feel too crowded and it was nice to meet the other guests. For our last 2 days we had the van to ourselves which was also nice. We also really enjoyed the extra activities (Masai village trip, lake naivasha boat trip, hells gate gorge walk) and found the guides here excellent and very friendly. It was a great adventure and I'd recommend to family and friends!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good day out to Ngorongoro
We had a one day layover in Arusha and I organised a day trip to Ngorongoro through Ernest. He answered emails promptly and understood that I couldn’t provide numbers until the last minute. When we arrived at the hotel, he turned up promptly with the vehicle and Leuca, our driver. Both were easy to deal with. The day went without a hitch, except that the hotel failed to provide breakfast boxes on time, but Ernest and Leuca sorted it out. Ngorongoro was fantastic as usual (second time for me) - zebra, elephants. antelope, warthogs, rhino, wildebeest, water buffalo and even a couple of giraffes during the drive to the crater. Leuca was a great guide and good driver - speedy when required but safe at all times. He has good knowledge and explained everything well. Recommended.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Ikats is a nice and good tour company that I can recommend to anyone willing to visit east african,Francis was a good helper in planning our safari also he has good communication skills toward the client.i would definitely be coming back again
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari and trip!
My wife and I went on the 5-day tour safari with Axis. We had a great experience and our guide (John) was quite knowledgeable. He knew a lot about the animals, and he was able to answer almost all of my questions regarding geography, geology, and other subjects when curiosity struck me during our trip.
The tour operator responded promptly to all inquiries we had before deciding to go on the trip. The speed with which they replied showed us the quality of Axis' service and respect of the client. This influenced our choice when we were deciding which tour operator to pick.
I have listed below the amount of time we spent in each park:
- Masai Mara: 1 evening, 1 full-day, 1 morning
- Lake Nakura: 1 morning
- Hell's Gate: 1 morning
Our only complaint is that the tour operator (Axis) did not give us advance notice that many of the optional aspects of the tour were not included in the cost, nor were we told the prices of the optional activities (there was an optional visit to a Masai village/dance at Masai Mara, an optional boat safari at Lake Naivasha, and a trek at Hell's Gate). We brought a limited amount of money so we were often debating whether or not we should do an activity based solely on the fact that we didn't want to run out of money. I would request that future tour information include the optional activities for each park, as well as associated cost, so that clients are better prepared financially and understand exactly what they can expect from the tour.
All in all, we would like to thank Axis (tour operator) and John (our guide) for the great experience. Other than the complaint noted above, we had a great time and we felt that we received a lot of value for our money.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Personalized & Unforgettable Visit to Uganda!
Rainforest and Community Tours is a Pearl of a Tour Company in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa. My wife and I went on two separate tours, a shoebill excursion in Mabamba Swamp, and a Kampala City Tour. The tours were private, just the two of us, and very affordable. Our driver showed up on time, was flexible with our schedule, and had lots of great information to share about the fascinating country of Uganda. All of his transport was like a bonus tour within the tour.
Despite being off prime-viewing hours, the local guides from the Mabamba area were able to find two shoebills for us to see up close (and one flying high above), which is incredible considering there are only around a dozen shoebill in the entire swamp! We also saw a plethora of other birds of which our guide knew every name. They gave us a lot of time to take the perfect pictures.
Our tour through the bustling city of Kampala was a definite highlight of our trip to Africa. So many basic tours skip over the cities, but there is a lot of merit in seeing this side of Africa. Our guide was able to take a few suggestions of sights that we were interested in and couple them with his own recommendations for an excellent whirlwind tour of the city. Seas of taxis, maze-like marketplaces, a mosque with a 360* view of the cityscape from it's 15-floor tower, and so much more! With our guide's help we took local public transport everywhere (per our request) and it was all a real taste of the everyday citylife of Africa. The tour concluded with an essential visit to the Ndere Center (amazing feats of dance and drumming!) and a long personal transport back to our hotel in Entebbe.
I cannot praise this company highly enough for their personalized and memorable tour experiences! Best of all, this is a company run by locals and all their profits go back into the community! Don't hesitate to book your next tour with them!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Half a day and a meal short
Went to Maasai Mara from/to Nairobi with Wildebeest Safaris. Reviewing the itinerary later, I see that I wasn't provided what was promised for the last day: instead of morning game drives and then an afternoon return to Nairobi by 5 PM, I got an early drive back that was passed off as a "game drive" and was returned to the city before lunch. I guess I wasn't paying adequate attention as this was my first time out. Oh well. I think the fault was with the safari organization rather than the guide, so I'll spare naming him in a negative review. In fact I think he did alright, and it was a pleasure to chat with him as we went.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Recommended
Went from Mombasa to Nairobi through Tsavo East, Tsavo West, and Amboseli with Africa Flash McTours. I'd already been on a few safaris and seen a lot, so my guide Simon was at a disadvantage, but he came through and delivered a great safari experience, and talking with him about life in Kenya as we were transiting between parks was just as much fun. He's the kind of guide who always looks for ways of exceeding expectations, like buying my favorite beverage to stock the ice cold powered cooler before I'd thought to request it. Got to chat with Peter at the end too and he's just as friendly. I sampled a few safari operators on my visit to Kenya, and in retrospect wish I'd done more with this company. They were the most organized outfit, from booking to hotel dropoff. Recommended.
US
Blend of urban, country and wild.
We enjoyed the panorama of the life, culture and natural beauty of South Africa. We enjoyed Cape Town's urban charm, Johannesburg's history and diversity and Kruger's wild life.
We needed more time in Kruger Park to see the full array of wild life. We were there for only 3 days and only in one private reserve, so we were not able to see the big five. The lions have moved out of Sabi Sabi and Buffaloes were not native to this reserve.