LV
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Mikumi National Park by Eva Narovska
Everything was brilliant - wildlife, nature! And Angalia tented camp was interesting experience!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Kenya by photoautomotive
Kenya is a great place to see wildlife of all shape and sizes, people are friendly and open. The landscape is very dieverse cooler in the hills, and arid on the Masai Mara. We have been on safari there twice, and had a fantastic time. Will be going again soon I hope.
LV
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magnificent!!!!!!!
Our trip with kids was amazing - Safari was very interesting and Tanzania itself was amazing! Hope to go back one day!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I had amazing time in Kenya. Dont' worry much. AfriShare will take care of everything!
Just like most people who visit Africa first time worry about many things. I was the one of them. When I started to plan my safari trip I have written a message to at least 10 companies. Afrishare replied to me within one hour! They not only offered me many choices, so the safari could be tailored to my needs, but also guaranteed pick up from a hotel and drop off us to a hotel.
I guess for someone like me, who was in Kenya for the first time it meant a lot. I have mostly contacted Mr. Ibrahin, he always kindly answered my questions in no time. Mr, Emanuel (our professional guide) took take care of everything we concerned about since beginning.
During our 7 days trip (Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli) we felt safe and could focus on relax, which was the main aim of this trip. Our driver was an excellent guide, during games ride in Amboseli, Nakuru, and Masai Mara he told us some good facts about animals. A professional guide is really important for your safari trip since the guide is the one who can take you to big 5. I and my wife knew Mr. Emanuel, our guide did the best. We saw everything we wished for because of his effort. If you are the first timers, just shoot an e-mail to them. They will take care of everything.
NOTE: I have seen many tourists did not bring a binoculars and a dust mask. I highly recommend you to bring both. Trust me, you will need both during Safari trip. I have only good memories and if I come back to Uganda or Tanzania next time I will ask them to organize my trip :) Thank you AfriShare!!
CA
Makasa and our guide Kaleby gave us an absolute exceptional experience
Selma at Makasa arranged our 12 day itinerary and accommodations without any hitches or glitches. Our safari and lodgings exceeded all our expectations. The staff at all our stays made us feel
most welcome and the meals were great, especially at the bush tents.
Our guide Kaleby took excellent care of us throughout our adventure and was very professional, patient and considerate. Kaleby answered all our questions about the animals and birds as well as the culture and people of his country. He had the Big 5 covered by day 7 and scored a 3-cat-hat-trick (lion, cheetah & leopard) in the same day...he is an Ace in our books. He made our trip fun !!
We will most definitely recommend Kaleby and Makasa. Well done !!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible. Book elsewhere. More focused on making money than customer experience
Booked a safari tour with acz tours in Nairobi. Joshua and the office staff replied very promptly and payment went through smooth. All questions answered fully and quickly, great customer service.
The tour itself is described as a 4 day safari. On day one I was picked up 0700 and drove around the city until 0900 picking up guests. The entire day was spent driving to the park with a 1.5 hour visit to park. (Wasted day).
Day 2 was a full 12 hours in the park where we seen lots. Unfortunately the breakfast had ran out of most foods by 0600 and no more was made so felt very hungry. When lunch came around it wasn't much better, a terrible sandwich with hardly any meat and some rotten fruit.
Day 3 again spent driving, this time from 0700 until 1730. Wasted day again. We got to hotel just as was getting late. Was promised WiFi to which never worked.
Day 4 we spent 1.5 hours in the lake and the rest of the day driving to Nairobi. Again another long day in the van wasted.
Besides all of the following, I would like to point out a few issues.
1. the drivers where late to pick us up every single morning from their designated meeting time.
2. They were forever driving whilst on their phones and 2 guests had to leave the tour early as they didn't feel safe. We almost crashed in the park trying to get to a rhino and inturn the van not only lost a wing mirror and the back bumper, but got stuck and we all had to get out and push! In a park full of lions haha.
3. The van is restricted to 80km so for 4 hours I had to sit listening to a continous beep noise.
4. Due to being a ride share I was forced to sit in the front as there was no seats in the back of the van. Due to this, I couldn't see very much whilst in the parks.
5. The van seat was infested with insects. I told the driver to which he shrugged and said "they won't bite". As there was no other seat I was forced to sit for 6 hours with insects crawling all over me and my belongings.
6. The best one of all, the van broke down 3 times and we spent over 2 hours waiting around. On 2 occasions mechanics tried to help but the bus driver Richard was too pig headed he wouldn't allow and the mechanic left. In turn we lost out of hours in the park because of the poor van maintenance .
7. Out of 7 guests on the trip, 4 left really annoyed and the other 3 were not too happy. One quit his tour 2 days early because of the electrical fire in the van and didn't feel safe. One didn't feel safe driving at night with the driver. And the others had to change their plans to accommodate us so were not happy at all.
Over all the tour was not worth the money paid. Although the park was nice and the animals seen was fantastic, I feel this tour was extremely unorganized and if I had children I'd be furious the drivers put us into such unsafe conditions. If you have the money I would book else where.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our tour with Tanzania Choice Safaris was fabulous and exceeded our expectations!
From the beginning, our experience with Tanzania Choice Safaris was extremely positive. Brenda Kimaro, co-owner and office manager (and originally from the US), communicated frequently with our group of eight, suggesting possible itineraries and locations. She helped us focus on possibilities that were important to our group. As a result, we had a variety of accommodations and experiences which were all unique, fun and allowed us to sample multiple Tanzanian cultures, sites and wildlife. She sent us information about our itinerary locales and lodges, and a few days before we departed, a video link, giving us tips about what to expect when we landed at the Kilimanjaro Airport. Tanzania Choice Safaris staff members met us at the airport, as arranged, and made sure we were comfortably settled in our lodge for the first night. In the morning, we had a brief introductory meeting before beginning our safari adventures. Every day we focused on wildlife viewing, traveling through the Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park. In addition to the incredible wildlife we viewed in each of these locations, we visited a Maasai village and Olduvai Gorge. Our guides, Kakasii Kimaro (co-owner of Tanzania Choice Safaris) and Ezekeil, both spoke excellent English, were highly competent, extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife, culture and terrain of all the places we visited, and gregarious companions. They were valued members of our group, with whom we closely bonded. They were true leaders, guides, gentlemen and positive representatives of Tanzania. Unlike many other tours we have been on, they did not take us to multiple places to shop - which was refreshing! Our focus was on wildlife viewing, not shopping. We did stop at a couple of locations where we could buy locally made souvenirs, with the proceeds going back to tribal members or local people. We were not pressured to buy anything, and Kakasii and Ezekeil tried to find establishments that met our requests, such as wood carvings and coffee.
The lodges they recommended based on our requests were attractive, comfortable and clean. The food was delicious, well-prepared and plentiful. Filtered water was always provided and available.
But the true highlight of our trip was the tremendous wildlife viewing. Each day brought us new experiences, each seeming to be better than the day before. Part of that was luck, but much of it was that Kakasii and Ezekeil were so knowledgeable about the the parks, the terrain, the wildlife and their habits and habitats, and how to spot animals from a distance.
Having traveled around the world and to many countries, this was one of the best tours we have ever been on. It certainly exceeded our expectations! I can highly recommend Tanzania Choice Safaris.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic trip, really special experience
We are just back from an 11 day safari in Tanzania that we booked through Galloping safaris. Essentially this was a trip through 5 national parks staring in Arusha and ending with Ndutu plains and the central Serengeti, with a personal guide. We had high hopes for the trip and it more than exceeded them. I think we saw virtually every type of animal and bird we could see. That included plentiful sightings of cheetah and leopard which were highest on our list. We have been on safari in 4 other countries but the abundance of animals in Tanzania made it our favourite. Seeing the wildebeest come together in Ndutu for calving before the migration starts was something that takes the breath away and hard to fully take in even if you have seen it on TV beforehand.
We can’t thank Laurence, our guide for the trip, enough. He not only managed to find so many different animals for us but he made a real effort to understand what we wanted from the trip and helped us enjoy the whole experience. Not an easy thing to do if you are looking after a group for 11 days. You’ll be very lucky if you are paired up with Laurence as a guide.
Galloping safaris and specifically Walter made the process of deciding what itinerary we wanted to undertake, plus the selection of accommodation, very easy. We stayed in excellent camps which more than matched our expectations. Walter was very responsive to our questions and very flexible as we aimed to personalise the trip we were organising. The trip itself was flawless, everything happened exactly as planned.
I was initially wary of going direct to a Tanzanian safari company but I am now so glad we did. Firstly the cost was at least 40% lower than using an intermediary and the direct engagement with Walter who had local experience was a real plus. I wouldn’t hesitate to do this again and likewise would absolutely recommend Galloping safaris to anyone thinking of doing a similar trip.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing. Recommended with no reservation !!!!
Recently we went on a Safari trip organized by Soul of Tanzania. An amazing experience. All well organized, care-free and made very memorable for us by the representatives of the Soul of Tanzania. From the initial communication to arrange for our journey, to the lodges, parks that they suggested to us, all were amazing and very well- exceeded expectations.
Our guide Dominik Meague was a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable of the area which made our experience so amazing.
We stayed at lodges and tented camps which were absolutely beautiful, amazing scenery of Tanzanian parks and landscape and with very friendly staff
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent reliable professional tour agency who seriously takes into account the customer's whishes
Our 12-days-tour through Uganda had been planned and organized by Atlas Safaris considering all our whishes we specified and discussed via extensive e-mail communication. The realisation of the tour fully met, even surpassed our high expectations. This was not only due to the perfect planning, but also to the high reliability and excellent improvisation talent of the driver. We highly appreciated the detailed and realistic organisation, in particular with respect to the driving times and the road conditions. Due to the broad experience of our driver we had the chance to see most of the animals expected. In addition, we appreciated the selection of accomodations - nice lodges and good food. It was a great pleasure for us that the managing director accompanied us for 2 days in order to verify the quality of his arrangements.