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50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Custom Tour Beyond All Reasonable Expectations
This is a first rate outfit. Everything went smoothly, easily, and there were no surprises. It is not an easy thing to spend the better part of two weeks in a small car with a stranger, but our guide, Kit Kirchner, was a blessing. Not only was he courteous, humorous, and easy-going, he had a near-encyclopedic knowledge of the fauna and terrain, having spent his whole life in Namibia. As if that wasn't enough, he had an uncanny knack for finding hard-to-see wildlife, including lions and leopards and even scarce raptors. Not only did we leave feeling we'd had a taste of this marvelous country, we left having made a new friend. All in all my family and I cannot too highly recommend Nature Travel Namibia.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Awesome !!!
Your partnership with Shayne's photographic tour is working out very well and I'm looking forward to next years' itinerary and venue. The safari experience was great. Seeing the migration in real life is incomparable.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Six day safari (luxury option). Pros and cons
Victor replied to my request for a quote very promptly. He arranged a pick up from Arusha airport for the following day. We discussed the details of our upcoming safari in his office in Arusha, and one day later we were on the road for our 6-day safari. After making contact with Victor, we researched a bit better and came across a few reviews about him which put us a bit off. In particular, what didn't convince us was the fact that he suggested to pay half the safari via card and the rest via cash - without giving us valid explanations as to why he preferred this option. We insisted and eventually we paid the total via card. There was a minor change in the original itinerary, which he told us about the day before departure, and which did not really change the quality of the trip. As mentioned, we were a bit concerned given the previous negative reviews (not of Care Kilimanjaro, but of other companies he managed in the past). I have to say, in the end we were actually very positively surprised. He threw in the price an extra night of accommodation (the first one in Arusha), the pick up from the airport, and upgraded us to a better hotel for two nights of the trip. He was also very kind to send one of his guys early in the morning to our hotel, two days after the safari ended, because we had realised we had forgotten our Tanzania travel guide in the car. This was really kind of him.
Our guide duirng the safari was Peter. A knowledgeable guide, but we had a few instances in which he wanted to impose his agenda over ours. In particular the first day, when he was pushing for us to go to a curio shop to buy souvenirs at the end of the first tour of Tarangire National Park. We politely declined and said we preferred to stay longer in the park, to which he told us that we wanted to teach him his job, and even accused us of manipulating the other couple that was in the car with us to agree with us on not going to the shop! We were all quite shocked by such an angry reaction. Also, at times during the trip, he was rude with my wife - to the point of telling her "I don't talk to you", more than once. Very unpleasant.
Besided these episodes and the lack of manners, he did his job and drove us safely to the Serengeti and back. Also, he was good in spotting animals during our game drives.
Overall, our experience with Care Kilimanjaro was good - in spite of all the concerns we had before the departure and despite the difficulty we all had in dealing in a relaxed way with our driver. The car was solid, and Peter solved quickly a couple of mechanic problems. The hotel choice was really excellent. The animal spotting was impressive: we saw 25 lions during the whole trip (some of them hunting), two leopards, three cheetas, a black rhino, and countless elephants. Well done Peter in spotting the cheetas and well done to me (Mr Lucky, as he called me) in spotting the second leopard in Lake Manyara Park ;-)
Victor means well but he needs to be more organised. He told us initially we would have been six people in the car. It turned out we were four (two couples). This meant more space, of course. But then why did he tell us six? On the second day a fifth person joined us. This person, and the other couple with us, also complained about the conflicting info we all received about the group. This is not a major problem, but makes people a bit suspicious and shows that the tour operator is trying to squeeze in different travellers with diferent packages into a single car. So in brief he should be more transparent and more organised. Also, the whole cash Vs credit card payment was confusing. One of our fellow travelers, who joined us for one day only, had to handle cash given to her by Victor to our driver, and then to another driver later in the day. She seemed (and rightly so!) quite stressed having to carry around about 900$ in her purse. This was, obviously, unprofessional of Victor.
Again, more tansparency is needed, so that people who have spent quite a lot of money on a safari trip can relax and just enjoy the scenery, istead of having to deal with all these issues.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Masi Mara Safari
I choose to go with the Wildebeest two night three day accommodation from
Pride of Africa Adventures. The tour guide they provided was the best one I
have ever had, and I have done quite a bit of travelling. The staff was
courteous and extremely helpful, going out of their way when they can. The
camps were better than expected, good meals, very tasty, very warm staff.
The safari can speak for itself, once in a lifetime opportunity. Five stars
for these guys. Will definitely be using them again for future travels to
Africa.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
We cannot fault the holiday we had in Kruger. Everything about it was fantastic. All the stress was taken out of it as everything was organised for us, we just had to turn up! It was excellent value for money! Accommodation was comfortable and clean, the safari guides were passionate and knowledgeable and happy to accommodate anything we needed. They knew where to take us to get the most out of our safaris and what we saw in Kruger Park far exceeded anyone's expectations. It was really the trip of a lifetime and we will never forget it. Thank you to everyone involved in making it so memorable, we can't name everyone but thank you to Andy Saidy all your help organising and dealing with all our queries.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An excellent tour from Kampala to see the Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable forest.
We had a great tour.
To any potential visitors, it felt uncomfortable sending a large advance payment to purchase Gorilla permits but it all worked and we view AAB as a first class safari operator who we would recommend again to friends and family.
I am happy to contacted directly by potential clients who are thinking about taking a tour.
Good job
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great service and locations with Roho Ya Chui!
The tour booking on the internet was very smooth and Ute answered all queries very rapidly. The information, tour prospectus etc sent was very informative and the tour experience certainly lived up to expectations. You can't do better than close sightings of the 'Big Five' on each of three game drives!! The drivers (Mishouk, Trevor, Danie and Quentin) were all first-rate, knowledgeable and delivered the goods! It was very interesting to compare the different modus operandi in Kruger national park compared to the private reserve (Sabie Sands). The only disappointment is that it is impossible to reach Bourkes Luck potholes, Blyde River Canyon and Three Rondavels during a half day Panorama excursion, as indicated by the RYC blurb. These are just too far away from Hazyview! It should be made clear in the itinerary that this is only possible with the full day option, to avoid disappointment, and offered on Day 3 when customers have satisfactorily 'bagged' the Big 5 on previous days. Otherwise, brilliant, and will certainly book through you again!
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Murchison Falls Safari
Our safari to Murchison Falls with East African Jungle Safari was a lifetime experience and they really showed us the Pearl of Africa. Our guide Apollo was very knowledgeable about the park and wildlife. In addition he changed the program after our wishes through out the 4 day safari which also gave us a great side experience to the Rhino Sancturary. Manager Fred also followed up from the planning till we departed from Kampala. We highly recommend this company to anyone who want to see the best of Uganda.
Life time experience at Maasai Mara
Really had an awesome experience at Maasai Mara, great briefings, knlwledgeable driver who ensured that we missed no detail . Was lucky to spot the Big Five amongst other wildlife . Just witnessed the Eigth wonder of the World at destination Mara, had value for our monies.
Thank you Bienvenido Kenya Tours & Safaris.
Highly recommend them without any reservation.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Trip
Ute was very good about responding to my questions during the trip planning process. I've traveled quite a bit and this was not my first safari, but first time to this area and it had been a while since I was last in Africa. Our accommodations were good and the staff at the lodges/camp were helpful and responsive. Kadizora Camp was especially nice. All the logistics worked very well - people were there to pick us up, make transfers, etc exactly as promised. I took my 20 yr old niece and we both said it more than met our expectations. I would recommend Roho Ya Chui to others.