50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by Andy Silver
Went for the migration, out of this world, saw all the 3 big cats including cubs with them all. In Serengeti many large herds of elephants as well. Came away and had great photos of all the main animals and more, even a leopard tortoise. You can see my photos of the trip at www.flickr.com/photos/andy999
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 day safari, everything was amazing!
Where to start? Working with Anne the months leading up to our trip gave me confidence, knowing that we would be well taken care of upon arrival. Anne answered every question, e-mail, promptly and kindly. Anne was able to create an individualized safari trip for my husband and I, within our budget, meeting all of our needs. She was flexible and sweet, and gave us different options.
Upon arriving In Nairobi, we were warmly greeted by Anne and our driver, Joseph who would accompany us for the 5 day safari. They were right outside waiting for us with a sign. No need to worry about taxis or shuttles. They took us right to our first hotel to rest.
The first night we got a great night sleep, and the next morning we woke up and met Joseph waiting for us in the lobby. We had breakfast and began our drive to Tsavo West. We were happy to have the van to ourselves,( we opted for a private safari) as we mostly slept during the drive.
The following 4 days we made some of the best memories of my life. I have traveled all over the world, and my husband and I both agree this trip has been our favorite so far.
The views, the animals, the fresh air blowing through as you drive through the parks, it will be hard to beat.
Our driver was amazing. I was a tiny worried, seeing as how we knew whoever we had we would have with us for the whole time. We got so lucky! Joseph was amazing! He was so knowledgable and seemed so passionate, he knew all the best spots to go, was willing to get up and go before everyone else. (We were up and out every morning at 6:30, which I reccomend doing, it is great to see the sunrise.) He greeted us every morning with a smile, despite all the driving he had done the day before. He made our trip even more wonderful. We stayed at Voi Safari Lodge, the watering hole there was amazing to watch elephants and zebras in the evening, we stayed at Kilaguini Serena Safari Lodge, which was by far the nicest resort, the watering hole there was also super active, with a beautiful view, the landscape in Tsavo East is stunning, we saw many giraffes and zebras, but no big cats. It is a bit difficult to spot animals in this park due to all the bushes and shrubs. But it offers amazing views and sunsets!!! The last two nights we stayed in Amboseli Serena Lodge, which was also beautiful. Lots of monkies everywhere! Amboseli was where we probably saw the widest range of animals. But some were more at a distance. Amazing diversity, and we saw many herds. We also saw cheetahs and lions up close. Many elephants, hippos, cape buffalo, hyennas, impala, etc. Beautiful park.
Thank you so so much to Anne and Joseph and everyone at Amazing Memories Safaris for doing everything to make our dream safari come true! It was beautiful. I can't say enough good things about this company.
***The following is something we looked into on our own.. but it is available. Please know that this was something We chose to do*** But I think it's good for others to consider.**
We did tour a Maasai village. (I wanted to try it, it wasn't pushed on us or anything, I asked about it) mixed feelings on this. It was cool to see, but they will try to milk you for any amount of money they can. We had to pay $30 pp to enter, and then throughout the "tour" they kept asking for donations, for the school and for water. The dances were cool, but you could tell it was more just a show. We went inside one of the houses, it was pitch black so you couldn't see much but it was cool to see how it was built. Then they took us to see the children. It was a bit uncomfortable from there. The kids put on a song and dance for you, then do some basic English songs and stuff, it felt a bit theatrical and uncomfortable. After is when he started asking for donations for the children for school. None of it felt very authentic. The last hoo-rah was when they paraded us around in a semi-circle where all of the women and families had their things to sell. Jewlery and such. Each and every family begged you to buy stuff from them. Then the man who was showing us around made us feel especially compelled to buy from his family. This was by far my least favorite part. I felt so uncomfortable. I was interested in buying necklaces, but being guilted into it and having everyone watching was not cool. Also they don't tell prices until the end. I said I had enough, but he said I should visit each family to be respectful. So I went through, saying no to all the other families. At the end it was a lot of negotiating on prices. Overall, I think I would say skip this. If you want to donate, it certainly would be put to good use, and by all means they are in need, but if you are looking for an authentic experience and interaction, this probably isn't it, they are very accoustumed to tourists. If you do go, don't bring a lot of cash. Once they see it, they will keep asking for "donations". Also beware of alarming number of flies.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience
Me and my girlfriend signed up for an 11-day trip with the best of Kenya and Tanzania. It was supposed to be small group safari but since our arrival to Kenya went 34 late due to flight troubles, we ended up with a private safari except for the first 4 days when we had company by one person. We had to pay some extra because of the private tour but we were glad that Peter could postpone the trip one day.
Our first guide, Edward were truly services-minded and patient. He always made his best to give us good spots where we could take the best pictures! After 6 fantastic days in Kenya where we spent the nights at mid- to luxury hotels, we switched to survival mode and started camping in Tanzania. We think the trip were perfectly planned where we had to test a bit of each. During the Tanzania-part of the safari, we always had company of our private chef Tom who cooked us delicious food! And our guide Ephraim was always glad and positive.
I'am pretty sure we paid less for our trip than many other people out there on the savanna, but we still looked at the same animals, got great guides and slept at nice places. I Never thought I would sit on tripadvisor and write a review but Africa Flash Mc Tours (and Edward ofc.) are worth the best of recommendations!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Southern Africa Tours provided an amazing private tour, making our visit a trip of a lifetime!
I have traveled extensively both with and without using a tour company. I wanted to experience as much as possible for my first trip to South Africa and my friend found the 15-day private tour offered by Southern Africa Tours that also included Swaziland and Lesotho. I had never heard of SAT and have had several friends use a private guide for double the price for a similar itinerary so I was a bit skeptical---it sounded too good to be true. We did quite a bit of research before booking and this tour itinerary was packed with all the highlights our group of four wanted to experience, nothing comparable was offered by any other company---and certainly not at the value price we paid. I am so thankful that we decided to book with them! This was a trip of a lifetime and every day felt like the best day ever, it really did surpass out expectations. Andrea was very helpful in answering all our questions before the tour and making sure there were no issues, and you could tell that Craig had a great deal of experience in making sure his clients were well-taken care. They both contacted us during the tour to make sure things were going well. Some of the items we really appreciated included the ability to have a private guide without the huge cost you would typically expect, excellent accommodations that allowed us to further get a taste of the people and culture in each area, and having a tour guide that was South African and enthusiastic to share the knowledge and passion he had for his country. In addition to our regular tour guide, SAT provided several amazing local guides and they really allowed us to experience in depth the diversity of the people, landscapes, and animals on our journey. I would highly recommend Southern African Tours for both first-time visitors and those that are returning to further explore Africa---I can’t wait to go back and would use them again!
US
simply amazing
We had a marvellous experience on our 3 day-safari trip in Tarangire, Lake Manyuru and Ngorongoro. Our guide and driver Godfrey was very skillful in Tanzanias wild life as well as history and politics. We learned so much. He was also a very good driver and extremey nice person of course ! Thanks for everything !
HU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great trip to Rwanda and to the Bwindi NP
We had a great tour including a half day loop to Rwanda. We spent one night at Lake Bunyonyi and two nights at the National Park. The trekking and meeting the gorillas were incredible, the hotels were comfortable and our guide, Justus made a great job. The team of Gorilla Bookings were communicative, flexible and reliable. We can only recommend them.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
wonderful trip, simply perfect
my experience with destination Jungle it has been simply perfect.
the staff took care of us and ours guide/driver was really good and competent,
all lodges where we staied was really nice and confortable and the safaris was beautifull and well organized!
I mean, nothing bad to say and absolutly I recommend Destination Jungle Safaris!
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great experience!
As a solo female traveller, I was very nervous coming to Kenya on my own, but I had a great experience with Karibu safari. I booked a 4 day tour of Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru, but they organised a hotel (after40 hotel which was very nice.) and guide for the day before and after the tour. They also collected and dropped me to the airport. In the lead up to the tour Robert was great at answering all my questions.
The tour itself was great. Our guide John was very knowledgeable and I was very pleased with all the accomodation etc. During the tour I moved to another van, as the rest of my group was not going to the lake, but this all ran very smoothly and all the driver/guides were great. On the last day of my tour I started to feel sick, but the guide James was very understanding and made sure I saw a doctor.
Overall it was a great experience, and great value for money compared to other tour organisations. I would use Karibu safaris if I was back in Kenya and would recommend them to my friends.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flawless and Transparent Planning & Execution by Kerry Ririe
We booked our custom trip with Kerry Ririe and it was the absolute best decision we could have made! She was an amazing resource for both education and customization throughout the planning process and even while we were on our trip. We were given many options in both price and activity level to choose from. She was very flexible throughout the process, constantly updating the itinerary as our choices evolved. Pricing was also very clear throughout, so no surprises at any point! Aside from the very responsive, helpful and efficient planning process, our 10 trip was unbelievable! We spent 10 days across Capetown, Kruger National Park (Sabi Sabi) and Livingstone (Victoria Falls). It was everything we could have hoped for and more. It was a completely flawless trip thanks to the hard work and dedication of Kerry.
Our Knowledgeable guide Rodgers, unique safari vehicles windows seats for everyone, Real African exp
I will highly recommend it, Excellent Communication skills, Unique African experience, Value for Money, Phenomenal and Memorable experience!