US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Matoke Showed us the Best of Uganda and Tanzania
We booked Matoke Tours Uganda-Tanzania 13 day trip with a few minor changes and upgrades. The tour took us through a week of Uganda: Kampala, Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Bwindi National Park. Edwin was our guide, and he smoothly got us to our destinations and provided lots of information about what we were seeing along the way. Accommodations ranged from good (Kampala) to amazing (everywhere else) and the food was excellent everywhere we went. We were able to see the habituated chimps and gorillas, and everything but rhinos on the "big five" list. We then left Uganda and were handed off to another driver who took us to Kigali Rwanda to start our second week. We flew from Rwanda to Arusha Tanzania where we were met by our new guide Paul. Tanziana was equally amazing in it's own unique way and Paul was an excellent guide. Our trip included Arusha, Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Similar to Uganda, the accommodations in Arusha were good, the rest... Read more were amazing. In Tanzania we were able to see the elusive rhino (waaaay in the distance, but still we saw it!), many many big cats, and the migration of the wildebeests and zebras. We paid extra to take a sunrise balloon ride over the Serengeti and it was worth every penny. Matoke was easy to work with through the entire process, and held our hands from the moment we got off the plane in Entebbe until we flew out of Arusha. The only thing I would do differently if planning the trip again would be to skip an overnight in Arusha and drive further to Lake Manyara on the first day. Otherwise, this trip was perfect from start to finish.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Security an issue
This review was very difficult review to write. The staff, especially the camp host and cook are very pleasant people. Rickson, one of the guides went above and beyond to make our last safari truly memorable. I’ve had over 30 safaris and he is truly a fantastic guide who tries to meet his clients needs. The chef was also amazing. I did not expect to be fed so well.
Now the bad. One of the guides got very intoxicated the first evening and we did not see him again until 36 hours later.sadly it gets worse. We had are tent broken into and some of our money stolen. They left some money and my iPad so it could have been worse. Outlook claims that this was the first time that it had ever happened with guests commonly leaving everything in their tents with no issue. One the last day they even ask you to leave your tents completely open with your belongings. Strike 3 is that they told us to expect a email from our booking agent (not sure what that means) but it’s been over 36 hours later and nothing yet,
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!! Jason looked after us really well.
Really good communication with Chris, responsive emails and very helpful. The gorilla tour was an incredible, once in a life time experience that I would highly recommend. Accommodation and overall tour was put together well and we really enjoyed our stay in both lodges.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organized, quick to respond, excellent guide, great trip!
After emailing numerous tour operators with questions and requests for price quotes for a 10 day safari, we went with eTrip Africa due to their clear breakdown of costs and Ben’s and Aurelie’s speedy responses to many inquiries. We also liked the honest opinions we received of various camps/lodges and their suitability for our budget and itinerary.
Our guide David was wonderful. He had a great depth of knowledge of both the animals and the surrounding environment, and seemed to be able to answer any question we had! He was fun and shared lots of interesting stories about the people and culture of Tanzania. David went out of his way to make sure we saw the wildlife we had come for. He had eagle eyes and could spot animals that we never would have noticed otherwise. Our vehicle was clean and in excellent condition.
After our safari, Ben went the extra mile to help us out with a couple of additional things as well. Thanks to everyone at eTrip for helping to make our dreams of an African safari into reality! We were thrilled with our trip.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Does Tom kilongola work for your company
Tom Kilongola had us wire him $9200 USD in advance for 6-day Safari and then canceled the tour on the day we were flying to Tanzania.
He has asked us to be patient in the refund.
If Tom does not work for your company I don't know what we will do,
Yours
Gilbert Goodwin
Long Beach, California, USA
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable safari !
Andy is far more than a guide. He grew up in the game reserves (his father was a ranger) so that he knows Nxai Pan, Moremi and Chobe (and probably much more) as his pocket. He is incredibly good at finding lions and leopards in their most hidden sites. We all felt perfectly safe night and day with him. Russell, the cook, and him are most pleasant travel fellows. We all appreciated Russell's helpfulness and Andy's sense of humour whatever the circumstances. Camping equipment and facilities were faultless and Russell provided us good meals all the trip long.
TH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful experience in hand of professional
It was a good arrangement by a tour operator. The tour guide ( Dennis ) is remarkable both guide and drive. He took us to see all the big five so the operation accomplished.
The better price compared with the others.
Noah picked the right camps both in Naguru and Massai Mara.
Flamingo Hill Camp is wonderful.
Staff at Zebra Plain Camp at Massai Mara are helpful and friendly. Wild animal are easily seen at the site.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Walking in the Delta is simply the best way to see wildlife on the planet.
We went back to Botswana and Phillimon and his team from Walking Stick this year, this time with my 77 year old mother. Last year, we just walked the whole time on the various islands created when the water from Angola essentially breaks Chief's island in the Delta up into smaller bits and pieces.
This year we also went to the Khwai area with Phillimon driving us around year.
In Khwai we saw a lot: leopards eating impala in tree; wild dog killing Wildebeest (not recommended for the faint-hearted), lions mating; hyena but it can get a bit crowded around the animals with all the lodges' vehicles competing at the sightings. Great camp though; good food and Phillimon and his assistants making the camping as pleasant as it can be.
We planned the Delta visit better this year, going in by boat is great but it is quite long so flying out on the return works well. As last year,walking in the Delta with Phillimon and the two other guides and seeing lion on foot;... Read more lots of elephant etc is an extraordinary experience. They take great care to explain footprints and tons of other aspects about the area where most of them grew up. And the Delta itself is of course one of a kind. We shall be back.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous !
We are now relaxing in Zanzibar after spending 6 nights on safari with MW. From the moment Simon collected us from Kilimanjaro airport late at night we knew we were going to have a great time. His care and attention was amazing. He knew where to look for animals and we saw them all ! He was fabulous with our teenagers and was very knowleagable about the animals . He answered all our questions and made sure we were looked after in all our camps. The whole trip ran seamlessly. Thankyou Simon and MW.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect holiday intineary with bespoke attention and service
We were looking for a really unique experience to remember in Africa and reached out to Rose and her team after extensive research.
Since the first call, the team at The Luxury Safari Company was so very helpful and really took the time to understand what we were looking for, whether it was specifics of the safaris, landscape, food, ambience and overall what we wanted to take away from our time there.
At very short notice and in high season, they planned one of the best holidays we have ever been on - it was the perfect balance of the Samburu landscape and culture combined with the lush green backdrop for the safaris in Masai Mara followed by the perfect sunsets on an island in seychelles.
The execution of the entire trip was flawless, from the very first personalised itinerary delivered to us with everything we needed, to the pickups at the airport to the cars at the destinations as well as the friendly and welcoming people we met at every location. We cannot thank you enough... Read more Rose and The Luxury Safari Company for really for of the most memorable experiences and we will be back again very soon!