US
More than just a safari
My brother and I decided to take our four suburb teens for a safari before a medical mission. It’s my brother’s second trip to Africa, and our first. To be honest, the reason I picked Cul Tours and Safari: among the top-ranked TripAdvisor companies, it charged the least. After reading all the reviews, I trusted them enough to wire the entire fee to him months before. It made his life easier (prepay for hotels/park admissions), and I didn’t have to carry wads of cash (to exchange at a fair rate, you need new bills after 2009, no wrinkle, marking, or tear).
Stephen is both the owner and driver of our 4-day safari. He is a 36-years-old father of four (7 months to 13 years), an exceptionally safe and experienced driver, an entrepreneur and a part-time passion fruit farmer. He started as a driver in Kampala, worked for security and then as a tour guide for a Dutch company for six years. His Dutch friends helped starting his own tour company two years ago.
He is punctual, detail-oriented, and well-connected. His handpicked guides for our Murchison Falls safari and Nile river cruise were both former teachers, equally professional, knowledgeable, patient, flexible, and Uganda-friendly.
We extended our tour from four to five days at the last minute, but you can do it in three to four days. The animals were in such great abundance, spilling over to nearby villages. Except big predators, you can see most animals in the first few hours.
The first day he picked us up from Entebbe and drove to Murchison Falls with one stop at the rhino sanctuary. During our three-week stay in Uganda, the only time I was “scared” was the drive through Kampala: ocean of bodies, chaotic, gridlock intersections without traffic lights or traffic rules. For several hours, he calmly maneuvered inches from bicycles, motorcycles, bodies, cars and buses. How we got out there without a scratch, dent-- I don’t know, but I believe in miracle again.
The second day we left before sunrise for the actual safari and Nile river cruise and an invigorating hike up the Murchison Fall. It was truly one of the most enchanted and exotic day of our lives. Stephen’s van had a lift top which provided a panoramic view, fresh air without excessive exposure to sun. The seats were comfortable with plenty head and leg room and, during the safari, switched direction so all of us could face each other, perfect for our family of six. Trust me, I saw a lot of crowded touring vans with dusty windows, passengers either sat on top of the van or had to see through dusty windows on one side of the vans.
The third day, we went back to the park, saw more animals. Our safari guide made an earnest effort chased down sighting of hyena and wasn’t successful. We visited the adjacent town.
The fourth day, he dropped us off at Ngora where our medical mission was without a hitch.
I can’t begin to list the animals we saw: elephants, giraffes, lions, warthogs, crested cranes, dung beetles... For the hours we spent together in the car, we discussed everything. His facts were accurate (HIV rate in Uganda is 7.2% per WHO), his recounting of Uganda’s history and his own childhood were poignant and prideful. The last night, to prepare us for our medical stint at a remote area, he sat us down after dinner for a talk on Uganda customs, religion, history, tradition, culture, etiquette, tribal languages. It saved us time, money, and, yes, embarrassment.
Even in a nicely run national park, what we saw weren’t all smooth and unicorns. We came across a gravely injured elephant whose trunk was snared by trap. We crossed path with a pair of poachers on motorcycle in the dark. My teenage daughter was deeply affected. Stephen called the ranger to report the sick elephant and explained to her the social reason of poaching. At a rest stop, he negotiated 5 plump mangoes for 30 cents. We purchased 20 mangoes; he asked us to give the lady more money. “She traveled from village, for her hard work.” As much as I love a killer bargain, I understood where he came from. But feel free to pay what you like.
As I looked back, I relished many quiet mornings Stephen joined my morning coffee and blog-writing. We were both early-riser. We rehashed the previous days’ events; he corrected my spelling.
When he dropped us at Ngora, we thanked him for a wonderful trip. It was genuine.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great experience of wildlife and nature, with a perfect organization
We really had a great time, and everything was perfectly organized with Viva Safaris! Nothing was wrong, we did everything as planned and scheduled: a real “Swiss clock” organization, from picking up at the hotel to game drives and walking tours, from accomodation to food!!!
SuperPatti helped us to organize our 5 days tour exactly as we wished, with a perfect sequence of activities perfectly scheduled: we really had the best for each minute we spent on the tour!
The staff was simply wonderful: everybody, drivers, guides, cookers (excellent food also for vegetarians!), men and women at the lodges, did their best to assist us with professionality, kindness and friendship, to make us feel at home, to solve every little problem or request (at Marc’s Tree House they even found an electricity adaptor for us, which we had lost!), to let us appreciate Southafrican nature and culture. They all had a smile and a helpful hand for us! We really would like to thank them all: Pretty, Victor and all the staff at Tremisana and Marc’s Tree House, Meynarth (we do not know if the name is correctly written!) who made our tour to Kruger really unforgettable, Rex with his peculiar way of teaching, and the rest of the staffs and guides whose names we do not remember or know... but we remember all they friendly smiling faces!
Nature and animals are amazing, we met them all (but hyenas and wild dogs), and some of them very, very close!! It was incredible to see all those beautiful animals ... it was like being on Discovery Channel and our guides let us know a lot about them, the way they live, the environment, wildlife problems and projects to help... it was very good for us to realize the love and attention they all had for their natural environment, and the deep knowledge they share with their guests.
Viva Safaris gave us a really great experience, which was far beyhond what we expected! We surely recommend it!
Paola & Mauro
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic experience in Masai Mara & Lake Nakuru
We enjoyed a 4 day/3 night private Safari to the Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru. Our tour guide Joseph was both very helpful and knowledgeable. The accommodation and food were all great. I would definitely recommend this tour!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptionnal and dedicated operator
Thanks to Bush Baby calls and the amazing guides and chief who take care of us, we had an unforgettable safari experience. It has been far beyond our expectations in term of experiences and comfort for an unbeatable price. It is definitely the operator to use if you want an amazing and authentic tour in Botswana.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a great expereance,we learnt so much about live,nature,people and of course animals!
We were picked up by yeep with a Guide an a Cook in Dar es Salaam ! The english of both was very good . The Guide told us so much about nature,animals and live in Tansania.The Drive to Selous Game Reserve took 7 hours with a good lunch in between and was so interesting ! We stayed at Hippo Camp,with view at the river,where you can see the Hippos!! The accommodation was nice and clean , the people friendly and helpful! We did a two hour boat safari,a one day game drive and a walking safari. Each event was georgus, unbeleavabel ,the greatest expereance we ever had!! The food was very good and plenty and tasty! Tank you very much for those 3 days we will never forget!!
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Africa
From the first approach to the end, Discover Africa, has been excellent . The hotels, the service and every think has been well above our expectation.
The perfect choice ! Thanks to all and specially to Megan.
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 days safari Maasai Mara
In advance it was easy to communicate with Karibu Safaris, Robert answered all my questions and very quickly by email. And overall their customer service was very friendly and helpful. They picked me up from bus station before safari started and storaged my stuff during the trip. When we get back they drove me to my place and brought all my stuff there!
The Safari was great and we had a lot of time to see animals. Accommodation was very nice and enjoyable. Atmosphere at the camping area was so nice and it was great to meet those maasai guys! So nice experience!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellently organised custom Safari-absolutely NO problems encountered
Organised a 16 day East African safari in consultation with Diederik. Everything was taken care of leaving me to be able to enjoy an incredible experience. Stayed in 9 different accomodations in 3 countries and was always picked up & dropped off at airports/camps on time every time. Deiderik happy to work with me to create a Safari to my liking-nothing was too hard for him. Highly recommend African Ubuntu Safaris to anyone going to Africa
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very Exciting and Perfect
Me and my dad went on a 11 night tour in Kenya with Alligator Adventures Tours & Safaris from 23rd August to 2nd September.
We had a very good experience in regards to everything. As I had cleared the purpose/objective of my trip is Photography i got a very nice support from Meshack as he provided me an excellent tour guide Daniel who was a photography enthusiast himself and also had knowledge not only of wildlife but also gave insights on Kenya as a whole. He would exactly know the frames a photographer would like to shoot and also the exact timing of what would happen when. WE spotted all the big five and also some other good stuff like raptors and other birds.
All the hotels provided were of excellent quality. Especially loved the Naivasha and bogoria resort as they were the best to chill off.
Thanks to Alligator Adventures Tours & Safaris for making my kenya tour a memorable one. Looking forward to associate with you more in the years to come.
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mesmerising experience in Kenya
We took a 4 nights 5 days Kenya Private Tour Holiday with CKC TOUR in January 1, 2016.
CKC Tour was very responsive and quick since the beginning when we were trying to book the tour online. When we arrived to Kenya, John came to greet us at the Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport and introduced us to our tour guide/driver and the vehicle that will be with us in the next 5 days. They drove us to the Serena Hotel and John assisted us to check-in and everything went smoothly.
The next day John came back to send us off of Nairobi. He explained about the tour and revised our prearranged schedule again before we left Nairobi to Lake Nakuru with our tour guide, Simon.
We had an amazing time driving through the Eastern Rift Valley, and stayed overnight at the amazing lodge in Lake Nakuru Sopa. The drive to Masai Mara is a bit of a bummer as the road is all pebble and rough. However, our tour guide/driver did a fantastic job in making it fun all the way to the game reserve. The experience in Masai Mara, the safari and the hot-air balloon is worthwhile the effort to wake up very early and be WiFiless.
We had a mesmerising experience with the tour because of, first of all, Simon, who knows what he is doing. He is full of knowledge in any area about his country; history, geography, wildlife habitat, politic and so on. He is very responsible and virtuous. He is also a great driver. Secondly, because of John, who took a very well care of us from on-line correspondence, managing problems, to the arrival and the departure, it was a smooth tour ever. John is very friendly and accountable and I have no hesitate in recommending this tour operator, John and Simon as one of the best team in Kenya.