US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Fun
I enjoyed the Safari and all the wildlife. The folks at Kenya Walking Tours were very professional and met all our needs.
Our guide was excellent as was the food and the entire "camp life experience"
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience and a fun adventure!
The Safari was outstanding and well coordinated. All expectations were equal to or exceeded the expectations outlined in all the literature and e-mail correspondence. We saw every imaginable type animal and the beautiful sub-sahara landscape and countryside.
I highly recommend the Hot Air Balloon ride as part of your adventure.
US
Taga Safaris worked hard to find my family fantastic camps to visit in peak season in Kruger area
We had an amazing time - certainly covered seeing the big five, but got to see and learn so much more beyond that.
Motswari in particular was great find - affordable but upscale camp and the staff was extremely knowledgeable and friendly.
Will use Taga Safaris for our next trip to Africa - Botswana, perhaps?
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not the best experience
I was on a tour with Wild Trek in August 2017.
Our mini van was in bad shape. Each time the driver stopped in the middle of the mara triangle, I had to say a small prayer that the van would start again, so that we would not be stuck in the middle of the jungle. Finally, the van broke down on the way to the airport, luckily the driver arranged for a replacement van in good time. The vehicle send to take us to the airport was surprisingly better than the one given to us.
Secondly, I felt a lot cheated on the hotels arranged for us. They gave us an itinerary and prices based on certain hotels, once we confirmed the itinerary, they gave us lower rates hotels (as the ones originally listed was not available), but did not adjust the cost of the tour accordingly. So I felt quite cheated on the cost.
They did not specify in the original itinerary whether included a minivan or four wheeler, we ended up with a horrible old minivan. Only the final voucher stated that we would be given a minivan, so in a way I felt cheated in that respect too.
Our driver / guide was not the best either. He would rather we not bother him with questions, or speak to him. At times, he ignored are questions about wildlife. Although, we gave him a good tip at the end of the trip, he asked for more. I thought tips were voluntary contributions, he demanded more, which irritated me. Firstly, I did not find him to be up to the mark, but still tipped me a good amount as it is customary, then when he demanded more, it left a bad taste about the tour and the driver.
The guide just kept driving aimlessly in masai mara, was hardly interested in showing us any wildlife. He discouraged us from opting for an early morning gaming.
Another incident, the driver refused to do anything outside the itinerary, however on the second day, he asked us to visit the amboseli village and asked us to donate $100 to the village. We didn't check to see if it was in the itinerary and went along with the guide, but that was the only thing he did outside the itinerary, he refused to do anything else outside the itinerary. The visit to the village was a rip off.
Our tour was booked at wild trek through a local travel agent in India, I partly blame the local travel agent for not ensuring that the price difference of the savings was not given back to us. The local agent should have been transparent to us with regard to pricing.
Regardless, the issues with minivan and guide were the services of wild trek safaris.
Overall I wouldn't really recommend wild trek tours, and if you do opt for it, ensure that they are transparent on costs and services availed.
I feel as though my whole experience in Masai Mara would have been different if a) we had a good guide b) better vehicle, and c) the hotels as per our original itinerary.
AR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
Finally I found some time to write about my experience.
My boyfriend and I booked a 7 days safari, Masai Mara - Nakuru - Samburu, our guide : David
We stayed 3 days in Masai Mara and they were perfect!!!we got to see all the animals we wanted, Lions giraffes elephants foxes rhinos crocodiles hippos.
The tents were ok, I mean it is not luxury but you could sleep there
After that we went to Nakuru, which is not better that Masai Mara but it was a mandatory stopped between MM and Samburu since its a very long journey.
In Nakuru we saw diifferent types of giraffes elephants and rhinos and falso Flamingos.
Samburu was a whole differente adventure. Just being on the village was an experience, in the park we could see cheetahs leopards and ostriches, besides the giraffes lions and elephants
During the week we algo get to learn some swahili culture and Kenyan history.
We want to highlight the work of David who cared of us and our well-being during the whole trip.
Thanks for a wonderfull experience
Ayelen y Pablo - Argentina
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Memories for life with Soul of Tanzania AAA+
We booked our tour with Soul of Tanzania in February 2017 with tour dates of July 30 - August 7 2017. In hindsight booking with Soul was the best decision we made to make this trip a luxury safari experience and memories that we will cherish for life.
Pre-Tour: Responses to all emails from Joao, Luis and Iris were prompt and specific. No fluff – straight to the point responses that shows clear understanding of request. So in the end – you get what you are promised. We booked an eight days tour airport to airport.
Upon- Arrival: Soul of Tanzania car received us at airport. What impressed us most was that their driver waited till 3:00 AM in the morning when flight plans for one of the couples travelling changed last moment when they missed connection and reached Kilimanjaro in wee hours.
The Safari: Four things that made our safari a memory of lifetime.
First – the guide – Benedict. He is excellent - wonderful, patient, understands animal behaviors and has sixth sense on when action may be forthcoming. He is serviceable and shares detailed history and animal traits. Now we know Soul of Tanzania has many guides who are equally qualified, but we are beyond happy with Ben. Without Ben, this experience could not have been same.
Second – Vehicle. Our Toyota Land Cruiser was well maintained, had refrigerator, charging stations and was washed every day for best clean experience. Very comfortable for six.
Three – Food – Our premium upgrade provided hot breakfast, lunches and dinners served on tablecloth in real cutlery and premium wine at lunch. Quite a feat to relish in middle of nowhere. Ben was very considerate of food restrictions and preferences.
Four – luck and patience. Once again this is where Ben helped us find right excursions and his read of animal mood to say if a kill or river crossing was imminent. In my view if you leave it to locals and stop second guessing their instincts, you have better chances of seeing the best.
As to our safari, lots of details here but in a nutshell –
Day 1 – Mount Kilimanjaro
Day 2 – Tarangire national park . Saw a baby elephant calf milking his mother. Spent evening with Flamingoes at Lake Manyara.
Day 3 – South Serengeti – close encounter with Cheetah. Spent half day with Maasai tribe
Day 4 – Central Serengeti – Started out with lions in love act and drove through seeing tens of thousands of Zebra, Wildebeests and Giraffe migrate towards great river crossing
Day 5 – North Serengeti , wildebeest migration and river crossing at Mara River – Giant croc kill
Day 6 – Day of Lions in Central Serengeti. Saw over 40 lions in a day. Saw a gazelle give birth and newborn take its first step and lioness chase and kill a gazelle… circle of life
Day 7 – At NgoroNgoro crater with microcosm of all the wildlife at Tanzania…
Day 8 – Arusha coffee plantation, shopping and flight home
Post Safari – Iris met us to take our feedback. She is professional and genuinely interested in how they can drive continuous improvements.
In summary – while there are many tour operators with good credentials, you cannot go wrong with Soul of Tanzania.
US
We had an incredible experience; amazed by the beauty of Kenya and the helpfulness of our guide!
They were perfect! We felt well taken care of and the driver / tour guide was very familiar with the safari.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic experiences!
A.G.E. arranged a most extraordinary trip through Uganda for my husband and I and dear friends. We were enormously impressed with the fantastic itinerary they organized, their excellent level of professionalism and the fabulous driver/guide, Milton, with whom we journeyed throughout our stay. Even before we went, our A.G.E. trip organizer and planner, Hebert, was in regular contact to make sure the trip would perfectly suit our needs.
Thanks to AGE, we had a seamless arrival in Entebbe and hotel transfer. Their suggested itinerary was especially impressive since we had a limited amount of time in which we could stay in glorious Uganda (our next trip will be longer!). Nonetheless, AGE arranged for us to experience the abundant wildlife on the Kazinga Channel and other parts of Queen Elizabeth Park, a full day hiking with habituated chimps and two full days trekking with habituated mountain gorillas as well as many other wonderful experiences. They used their terrific expertise to make sure we stayed at the most lovely accommodations and broke up the driving so that even "travel" days included some extraordinary experiences.
Milton provided excellent commentary on all the places through which we drove and which we visited as well as fascinating explanations of Uganda history, culture and current events. He was a delight to be with and extremely knowledgeable.
We are enormously grateful to AGE for the once in a lifetime journey they organized seamlessly for us. We look forward to returning and planning another trip with them.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best for an Off Circuit Safari
We did a 12 day Safari in Kenya with this company and I can confirm that Shoor Safaris is a solid operator and highly dependable. Almost all of our Safari was customized and infact the tour we finally booked with them was not even available on their website as we literally had our own plan of the locations we wanted to visit. Some of the places we went to included Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Kakamega Forest and Mount Elgon. Mostly all off the typical tourist circuit. Throughout the booking process , Shoor staff were helpful, sharp, gave the correct recommendations and above all were reasonable in their pricing. We booked with them taking a leap of faith and all I can say is that it paid off ! Thoroughly enjoyed our long-planned Safari ! A special thanks to our driver-guide Martin who made sure we enjoyed our experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
it was a good experience well trained and good customer services
The communication is excellent no delays with good customer care and also perfect services.
the safari tours are enjoyable