CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good organization, very good and attentive guide, very good chef= very satisfying experience
Cominication is good. Everybody of the personal speak a very good english and is extremely kind.
The Agency helped us very much with the organization of the transport until the starting point Arusha,
booking the flight for us from our location in Zanzibar..quiet outstanding!
The Safari was just great. The guide had a very sharp instinct for finding animal and was giving us a lot of interesting informations about them. He could also drive very good in all the given conditions.
The chef was cooking good and abundant, all the time with fresh stuff.
The chosen camping were amazing locations and always offered us an incredible experience of the place.
The made out of our Safari a great and complex experience.
PL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible standard for much too high price
My review is based on comparison - we experienced services of 2 agencies in Kenya, for 2 different Safaris.
We (the couple from Poland) went to Maasai Mara national park, in tour organised by Jocky Tours (Bison safari in internet). We had already experience with safari, since we went few days before to Tsavo East and Amboseli, so we have had some expectations, which have not been met in ANY aspect.
Lodging and food - terrible, much closer to the army camp than tourist lodging. We have been accomodated in Rhino Camp (claiming to be the best camp in Maasai Mara, really!!!), but it is very far from what you expect. I have to mention that at booking time we were offered Lenchada Camp, what has been changed without any prior information to us. Just dropped in other camp, no explanation.
Food on the road and in the camp - dirty(!) dishes, no choice of food, dirty place: disgusting in every aspect. In the camp - do not take a look into the kitchen (what is difficult, kitchen is open all the time)), otherwise you will stay hungry...
The driver/guide - not interactive with passengers at all. All the time on CB, listening and responding to other CB users, not providing any information to people on board and not reacting on your requests to stop, see something, etc. Last day he was 45 min late to pick us up from the camp, without even a word of apology!
To sum up - price (310 $/pp) does not meet the offered standard. For mentioned above another tour (which was private one - only 2 of us on board), we paid 275 $/pp, receiving great accomodation (hotel Voi Wildlife Lodge and high standard camp: Senirim Amboseli), great food (on the road and in the hotel) of good choice and service, fantastic guide - informing about what we see, responding to our needs, good tracer of game, always on our request.
I did try to claim to agency received service, but they don't care at all...
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Monitoring at 100%, Excellent organization.
Namibia itself is very beautiful, however traveling through an unknown country was only possible thanks to Dunas Safari. From the material provided (mobile, gps, glacier) to accompaniment, we had an exemplary organization. The chosen places have left us extremely happy to visit them, there was the feeling of being a short time and we can not take advantage of this wonderful country.
A special thanks to Sylvia for all attention and in general to the Dunas Safaris team. We hope to contact you again. Nuno and Nicole
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari, Wonderful Driver
I can't say enough nice things about our driver, Onesmus. He was an excellent driver both in heavy city traffic and rough roads in the bush. He was an excellent wildlife spotter and was very knowledgeable about the wildlife that we saw. He was the first driver in Samburu to find the Leopard the day we were there. I am an avid birder and was pleasantly surprised by his knowledge of birds considering the focus on mammals for the safaris that we chose. We did the 7-Day Vintage Kenya Safari with an Amboseli Extension before that. I always felt that he had our safety and best interests as his number one priority. The only reason that I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 was that the itinerary that we were given prior to the trip was off a couple of times. An early morning game drive in Samburu was scheduled one morning that we had to skip due to the extremely long drive to Lake Naivasha. I really didn't mind but it seems that the drive time was underestimated on the itinerary for a couple days of the safari. It wasn't the drivers fault. It just takes longer to get to where we were going than the itinerary stated. The itinerary for the morning at The Ark Lodge also had the times mixed up. For example, it had us going on an early morning game drive, then having breakfast and then checking out. In actuality we had breakfast, checked out then went on the game drive. Very minor things that didn't effect how much we enjoyed the trip but necessary to get 5 stars. I would also like to commend the tour director for managing the lodging situation due to the election and overbooking by one of the lodges. We were bumped out of a couple of lodges prior to our staying there and he was able to book us into a different lodge and a luxury tented camp that were equal if not greater than the original plan.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised and excellent service with very goog guide and cook
We were in safe hands with Geoffrey and his staff. Our guide Hillary knew his stuff and gave us an excellent safari experience.
We had a lot of very valuable tips from other users and would like to emphasise the following:
. The guides can be very busy juggling things so it is worthwhile always clarifying with them things like what time and where exactly everyone is meeting up that day, whether you need to pack up your things first thing in the morning, etc
. If you can, take a good set of binoculars- while the guide had one it is not enough when it matters.
. Take toilet paper and mosquito repellant
. While sleeping bags are provided the quality is a lottery - some are thin and on some the zipper doesn't work. We suggest taking a sleeping bag inner, which doesn't take up much space.
. Plenty of water is provided so you do not need to stock up beforehand.
. You can recharge phones and cameras in the vehicle, which we found particularly useful.
US
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Safari with Tony Mobile Safaris, the best Safari guide ever!
We just returned from our month long trip in Africa, and my favorite part was definitely our 8 day Safari with Tony Mobile Safaris. I was in Africa on a study abroad and our group was studying biology. Tony was the perfect guide as he knows an immense amount about the animals and their environment, and he also has a great sense of humor and made the trip a lot of fun! We learned a lot about the type of environment the animals live in, how the animals interact with each other, how the animals have adapted to their environment, and so much more. Tony is very nice and was always eager to answer any of our questions. Tony is also a lot of fun and would make sure we were having a good time. He talked with us around the campfire and was always checking on how we were doing. Tony is also very good at finding animals and we were able to see 3 female lions and watch them hunt cape buffalo, an African wildcat which is rare to see, 2 leopards, hyenas, cape buffalo, wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, and tons of elephants with some that got just feet away from our vehicle! He also took us to see a super lake and we got to watch the sunset on the lake which was beautiful, and on a river cruise on the Chobe river where we saw hippos and crocodiles! Tony is also a photographer and knows a ton about birds so we saw a lot of different bird species, my favorite being the African Fish Eagle.
Camping in the bush was an amazing experience, especially waking up to the sound of elephants trumpeting. The food that Eddie cooked for us was delicious, he even showed us how he made it! The other guides with Tony were Vincent, Gabba, Eddie, and Jakey and they were all very nice and a lot of fun! Overall, our experience was absolutely incredible and something that I will never forget. I learned so much from this trip and had so much fun all thanks to our amazing guide Tony.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
After receiving quotes from many safari companies and after reading many reviews, we chose Odyssey Safaris. Mark Cahill offered a private safari that matched everything we said we wanted to see. He got us good flights and helped to resolve a last minute flight change due to an American Airline cancellation. Lucy and Beatrice made sure we were fully prepared for the trip. Our accommodations were great at all locations. The food was great and plentiful. We saw rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, lions, hyenas, and a multitude of grazers. We saw the great migration and river crossings at the Mara River. We spent three nights in Masai Mara, two nights in the Serengeti, two nights at the Ngorongoro Crater, one night in Lake Manyara. On the last day we visited Arusha National Park before traveling to the airport. Our Kenyan guide, Erastus, and our Tanzanian guide, Tadei, were exceptional. They got to where the animals were and made sure we had perfect spots to do our viewing. They were very attentive to our needs and our desires. Many thanks to everyone involved in making this a perfect trip.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We Saw Everything!
Issack was great! He knew where to find even the rarest and hardest to spot animals. He doesn't miss a thing! Plus, he always managed to park in exactly the right place for pictures.
Our trip included the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and a visit to several tribal communities that welcome visitors to learn about their culture. Overall an amazing experience that I'll never forget!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Experience - Saw SO MANY Animals
We decided on Maasai Wanderings based on a friend's recommendation. We were amazed at the variety and number of animals that we saw. We chose a private safari. Our guide, Godwin, picked us up at the airport and explained so much about the animals eating, mating, and migration habits. We were able to get really close to many animals and saw hunting, eating and mating activity. We stayed 5 nights in lodges and 3 nights in tents. We visited Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. If I had it to do over, I might have only picked 3 parks and stayed at least 2 nights in each location - but we requested all 4 parks, and they scheduled exactly what we requested. We enjoyed the visit to a Maasai village, truly an amazing experience. The trip of a lifetime.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent tour operator - my trip became more than I could have ever imagined!
I did an 8 day Kilimanjaro-trekking (we made it to Uhuru peak), 5 day-safari and 4 day stay at Zanzibar, all arranged and overseen by Soul of Tanzania. Most of my contact was with Iris who was always very professional and made great recommendations from the beginning to the end. Zanzibar is a bit generic though (all-inclusive luxury hotels are essentially the same wherever in the world you are), but the safari and the trekking are both memories for life. The accomodation that Soul of Tanzania had picked for us (3 different camps: Pakulala in Ngorongoro, Chaka Chaka Kiota in Serengeti and Nimali in Tarangire) were mindblowing. In particular, Nimali was something not of this world. Luxury in all respects, and at night, just before sunset, large hordes of elephants and buffaloes came to the camp to drink water from the trench that Nimali Camp has made for them there. They were all standing like 5 meters from the pool, in total like 40 elephants and almost the same amount of buffaoes! Wow.