35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware. Possibly scamming your money
I contacted this company through this site. I am not sure even now if the company is real or a fake "brief case" operator that steals your money. When i contacted them through here their email address was different to what is now listed. It was ***@gmail.com, now i see the change im thinking they change it once they get bad reviews.
I contacted them a few months apart and was given a different price for the same tour each time, when i asked why the price difference for the same tour, was told prices had gone up but they would give me a discount to match the original quote. Originally my emails were answered by a Debby, who then put a formal name stamp on emails of Deborah Kanini. Eventually when i asked more questions the emails were simply signed, Regards. I asked at one stage who i was speaking to and the person replied Debrah, spelling her own name wrong !
I was given a bank account to make a deposit into and i said i was making a payment that week. Luckily i got held up and never got to bank to make payment because the day after i was meant to pay i received an email from them saying they had to close that account, please cancel deposit and make another payment into another account, they supplied a new account number. This sent alarm bells going, so i never made payment. When they worked out that i hadnt actually paid and didnt need to reverse any payment i was inundated with emails with many different reasons as to why they had to shut the account. Even got an email saying the money had gone through, please go ahead with planned tour, the rest of the money can be paid once you arrive in Kenya. Seem like a total scam company, their facebook page looks legit, but comments left are normally by "tourists" based in Africa. I have no idea why this happened, every now and again some of the reviews seem real, and they mention a Nancy, not the Deborah i seemed to strike. I did tours throughout Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa and never once saw a vehicle with either a Segein or a Serengeti adventure safari logo.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Quality Safari Experience with Fantastic Value, and Great Customer Service
Right from the start I had high hopes for this operator be due to the reviews and I can say but that I was most definitely not disappointed.
The communication was excellent throughout. They were very quick to set my mind at ease at every stage. Definitely lived up to my expectations. Abdallah and Ubezi were very helpful, patient and very professional in all their dealings. We even popped in to see them at their office in Stone Town.
Payment was made via international bank transfer and went very smoothly.
The itenineary was adapted and changed every time we added something or changed something to the trip. And we made loads of changes. Thankfully, the team were at hand with their expert local knowledge and expertise to make things work. We even booked all of our transfers and flights through the agency too, all went without any issues.
The team also selected ideal accommodation for us, and ensured that it met our specification.
The Safari itself was great, our guide Abraham was very knowledgeable and ensured that we got to see and experience all we had hoped to. Our vehicle had an issue but he was able to get it up and running without any hiccups in 15 mins. All the meals provided on the trips were nice and added to the experience. We most definitely enjoyed our Safari, which consisted of the Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. All parks/reserves were amazing.
All in all. I would most definitely reccomend Uhuru Travels for anyone thinking of Safari.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Transparant, honest, knowledgeable and flexible operator. Well recommend.
Maturaf was a big help in putting together our customised itinerary. We took the six day individual pack (Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti) and changed it to fit in Lobo (migration) and put Serengeti last, as it is the most spectacular park. Maturaf was very involved and flexible in setting up our tour, fast communicating through email and Skype.
When you spend a lot of money on a safari, trust is a big thing. We have found Regional to be very transparant and honest, booking the best available lodges and camps. Some operators (apperently) may promise a upmarket accomodation, but tell you it is under construction when you get there, to put you in a lower priced facility, no such thing happened with Regional.
Solid car (LandCruiser), with a pop-up roof and cooler. No cutting back on gamedrive hours or distance we could notice. If anything, there are two minor recommendations to Regional to be made: at the price of a safari, one might expect binoculars to be on board. Second, we might have wanted to fly from Seronera airstrip to Zanzibar, instead of driving to Arusha. This would have been a good suggestion, outside of the safari arrangements. All things considered, we had an unforgettable safari and we would highly recommend Regional and Maturaf.
Our driver, Emanuel is an expert driver, a very knowledgeable guide, fluent English (and Spanish) speaker, a very decent spotter and above all a friendly and helpful guy. He is an experienced driver, which is a big asset: he knows the Serengeti by heart and knows a lot of people, which helped us several times to smoothly pass checkpoints and reach destinations quickly. No racecar driver, but easy pace driver, who really knows his car well. Expect full safari days. With early rise and long gamedrives. We would very much recommend him.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
4 day gorilla and golden monkey treks
The gorilla and golden monkey treks are well planned by the park rangers. They segregate the tourists by age and physical fitness, so that everyone benefits from the experience. the slow don't hold up the fast and the aged/slow get to see the wildlife. The gorillas are spectacular, a must see. The golden monkeys were a total surprise, their beauty and the intensity of their eyes. The treks are difficult to the high altitude, but well worth the physicality.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Selous and Tanzania
I spent my first 35 years in Tanzania and have visited just about every park in Tanzania, but one of my Favourites is the Selous Game Reserve.
The Selous is the Largest Game reserve in all of Africa, named after the great explorer Frederik Courtney Selous, who is incidentally, buried in the park at a grave site that can be visited by guests in the reserve.
The Photographic area of the Selous is in the northern part of the park, spanning about 3000sq km. The area is mostly flat and steady at about 50-60m above sea level. This means that the Rufiji River which runs through the park is slow and wide, producing a constant water source, which is great for wildlife! The park is located in the southern Safari circuit of Tanzania which is much less visited by tourists, which means no crowds and a much more authentic and pleasant experience.
Game is plentiful in the Selous. The climate and miombo style woodland isn't suited to some, but all the main players are here in abundance. Most noteworthy however is that the Selous is home to the largest population of wild dogs, by a long way, in the world. Sightings are recorded every single season of these beautiful animals, and the best times to see them are just after the rains in november/december. Dens get flooded with water which makes the animals move.
The Selous is also the best place to experience boat Safaris and see the wildlife that lives in and around the River. For keen birders this is an experience not to be missed.
I stayed at Selous Impala Camp, www.selousimpalacamp.com . The camp is rated the best in selous by trip advisor, and is said to have the best guiding of anywhere in the Selous. If you have a more conservative budget then you could stay at Lake Manze camp which is also excellent. In truth it doesn't really matter where you stay as long as you stay inside the reserve, but every time I go to the park I stay in one of these two properties. If I'm feeling adventurous then I will stay with Authentic Tanzania Safaris www.authentictanzaniasafaris.com where I can tailor make my own Safaris, staying in a mobile camp.
Be wary of any camps outside of the reserve. They may appear cheaper but a large portion of the cost will become apparent upon entering the park in the way of park fees, and they are no where near the same experience. They are located close to a village which scares away a lot of the animals, and destroys a bit of the ambiance of being in the bush. The game drives follow the same route every day for the first hour which is frustrating as you need to drive quite a long way before you get to the best areas.
Aside from all the animals and the incredible Natural beauty, the Selous is wonderful because it offers such a large variety of Safari activities. You can game drive for a full or half day, Walk, Boat or fly camp in the Selous. This means you are always doing something new and exciting and get the most out of your time in the Selous.
Tanzania is king of Safari destinations, and the Selous is a magnificent jewel in its crown, I cant recommend it enough to anyone who is interested in going on Safari. Here is a link to some of the pictures from my trip to Selous and Ruaha on flickr https://flic.kr/s/aHskHCg42o
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tarangire National Park by arif
less animals then serengetti .. so if you are doing northern circuit serengetti is a better option .. but here huge herds of elephants ( we spotted a group of about 40) are spotted which i doubt is spotted anywhere else.. giraffes leopards can also be seen .. it can be a prelude to serengetti and ngorongoro but ceratinly not worth after it
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Selous Game Reserve by arif
great destination .. different from northern circuit .. very diverse type of landscape .. lakes.. bushes .. grasslands .. crocodiles, hippos and some other animals not that abundant elsewhere are in abundance here .. lions are also sighted .. over all a nice place for a safari close to dar es salaam
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by arif
its a relatively small area but in little time about 3 to 4 hours you can see all the animals and have a greatest game drive
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brings you closer to the Almightys creations and leaves you mesmerised in the beauty of nature
serengetti is an unforgettable experience
we visited it with our kids and were mesmerised by parks beauty its abundance of wildlife and its diverse ecosystem..
some of the highlights of our trip
saw a pride of 15 lions.. lioness and cubs roaming in their natural habitat like kings .. they walked towards our vehicle, we were holding our breaths tight, and then crossee the road in front of us absolutely unfazed by our presence as if we hardly matter to them.
we saw a cheetah pounce on a dear and then as we went near him we saw him feast on his catch
we saw millions of wild beasts and zebras and gazelles .. the landscape dotted with them .. from the small hill (near the entrance gate) we can see the whole landscape dotted with these amazing animals.. we even saw herds of zebras roaming around a group of lions as lions were resting after they had devoured on a wildbeast.
saw leopards resting on tree branches and giraffes roaming aroung carefree .. we got so near to giraffes that we could literally touch them.
over all .. if someone wants to go on a safari and see animals from close by in their natural habitat living their normal lives serengetti should be their first choice
its absolutely magical and no one will ever forget the experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by david
It depends if you are in the park or not. IN the park is 100% the real thing, but outside... not so much.