IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A flawlessly organised trip for our group of 9
We used Etrip for our 6 day trip (9 adults total - extended family and significant others). We looked at a number of companies but ultimately chose Etrip due to their useful advice on tailoring our trip and the detailed price breakdown they provided which gave us a lot of comfort on the price we were paying.
We were coming from Zanzibar and wanted to squeeze as much as possible out of our time in Tanzania so on Aurelie's suggestion we flew to Seronora airstrip. While not cheap this proved an inspired decision as it avoided the need to retrace our steps and meant we saw something new every single day.
We were met at the airport by our guides David and Aladdin who were with us for the full six days from the Serengeti through ngorongoro, lake manyara and Tarangire. I'm not sure I could appropriately describe the quality of these two gentlemen. David was our guide (we had two jeeps) and was a wonderful companion on our trip. David had endless knowledge of the areas we visited and the behaviour of the animals. Time and again he found interesting experiences for us to enjoy and we never felt rushed. He is a very gentle soul who clearly is very popular with the other guides as he was met with smiles everywhere he went. Your guide is in my view the most important part of your trip (you'll ultimately spend almost every waking hour with them!) and Etrip have two very special ones here.
Vehicles were excellent. Given the hard life they live in the Tanzanian "roads" having new well maintained vehicles is essential and etrips stacked up extremely well (we saw the vehicles of almost every company and these were right at the top end).
Accommodation was solid throughout and we had no complaints. Although for anyone planning a safari I would say that in hindsight, I would rank accommodation as a lower priority. The high end camps are lovely but when you're out all the day you only get a very limited chance to enjoy them. Therefore if you want to manage your budget, I'd still recommend putting the money into a quality tour guide / operator like Etrip and maybe downgrade the accommodation.
We were flying out from Kilimanjaro airport at 2 o'clock on our final day. Helpfully Etrip offered us access to their hotel guesthouse in Arusha to shower, rest and eat before our flight. Our group found this to be a lifesaver (it's no fun getting on a 12 hour flight sweaty and hungry after a day's safari!). For anyone flying out of JRO airport, I'd rank this as a huge advantage.
One last thing I should comment on is the company's lack of presence on TripAdvisor. This originally caused us a lot of concern. Sending a large deposit is nerve wracking when the recipient isn't on the worlds standard (for better or worse) review site. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with their approach from a business point of view, their rationale is explained on the company's website. All I can say is that our experience with them was uniformly excellent. Guides, transport, logistics and accommodation were top notch and I would strongly recommend and will be travelling with them again.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very responsive and responsible tour operator
I had an excellent experience working with Alfred from Let's Go Travel to plan our trip to Uganda. I had already done quite a bit of research and had a good idea where I wanted to go, and Alfred's agency was recommended to me by one of the lodges I wanted to stay at during the trip. Alfred was very responsive to my email inquiries and put together a detailed itinerary for us, beginning in Entebbe and ending in Kigali, Rwanda. We were met at the airport for our very early morning arrival in Entebbe by both a representative of Let's Go Travel and our driver/guide for the next 13 days, Emmy. Our guide was excellent not only as a guide but also as a driver. The roads in Uganda are not in the best shape, and we always felt very safe with Emmy's driving on difficult roads. When I experienced stomach problems during the trip, our guide was very solicitous and helped us visit a pharmacy to get some medication. The Let's Go Vehicle was comfortable and had working air conditioning, which was very useful on some of the dirt roads when we needed to close the windows because the roads were very dusty. We had one incident of vandalism to the vehicle that took place during the night; this was not the fault of the tour company but they were able to obtain another vehicle for us to continue our trip with only a short delay, since the original vehicle was no longer usable due to a cracked windshield. I was impressed with how the company was able to handle this unexpected event in a timely and professional way. All of our trekking permits had been secured as promised, and the accommodations that were arranged during our trip were very pleasant. I would definitely recommend Let's Go Travel for anyone planning an adventure in Uganda.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!!
From Zanzibar i booked a 2-day safari to Leuke Manze camp. What a great experience! Really a back to nature feeling. Spacious tent with an amazing view, very welcoming staff, incredible friendly service, great food and two wunderful days safari with the jeep and boat. With special thanks to Zungu and the guide (sorry, just forget your name) for a few unforgettable days. Next year again!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Botswana birding
We spent the first 4 days of our holiday at Royal Tree Lodge in Maun. This lodge has a private game park with antelope zebra and giraffe wandering freely in the estate, with no predators so we were able to walk out safely by ourselves and introduce ourselves to the delights of Botswana birding. This was a lovely restful and relaxing part of the holiday. We then joined a trip with Letaka- a company who specialise in birding tours. We did an 11 day fully serviced mobile safari to Moremi, Khwai, Savuti and Chobe. The vehicle was an open sided 4WD-it was perfect for the terrain and gave us easy open viewing. The vehicle had a refrigerated box for drinks which was much appreciated, as were the daily morning stops for coffee and evening sundowners-always with good bird and animal spotting opportunities. The camping was comfortable and well equipped. We were surprised to find we were the only travellers on this particular trip. Our guide was fantastic-he was knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly and the other 3 camp staff were also great-organised, efficient, cheerful and accommodating and we had a wonderful time. We had plenty of opportunities for photography as well as watching the animals and birds and observing behaviour. Overall our holiday was well organised and lived up to our expectations. We recommend this trip to keen birders and wildlife lovers who might be looking for a different sort of holiday to the usual lodges and hotels.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Justin was amazing.
After trying to coordinate a safari on my own, I eventually sent multiple emails out to several travel companies that had good reviews. The customer service and rates that I received from Justin blew them all away. He was so responsive and helpful, and also super considerate in helping us plan our trip and giving us tips as well. I would absolutely recommend paperjet and Justin!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The most wonderful holiday and gguide
Our guide Jude was absolutely brilliant - he was friendly, knowledgeable, nothing was too much trouble and through his contacts and relationships with local park guides he was able to access situations and animals that we really wouldn't have seen if we hadn't been with Jude. The holiday itself was simply wonderful - we have fallen in love with the beautiful country that is Uganda and are now recommending it to anyone that will listen to us. Thank you so much and please do thank Jude once again for us - he is an amazing guide and he made our honeymoon very special.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Best Day Of Our Life - Highly Recommend - Saw 4 out of the big 5 in a single day in Tarangire NP
Simply cannot praise enough the entire Furahia Tanzania Team for the amazing safari experience we had in Tarangire National Park.
From start to finish, the service has been exceptional. Prompt communication both over email and Whatsapp, meticulous organisation based on all our requirements and needs, great attention to details and impressive knowledge about the area and wildlife. All of the staff speak good English, as well as several languages so conversations were a breeze.
Even though we were very limited with the time we could spend in the area, Jastone, Philbert and the rest of the team made sure we make most of it, with tailoring a cultural tour and safari game drive, as well as managing to arrange brilliant accommodation at Roika Tented Lodge last minute. The diversity of wildlife in Tarangire was amazing, so great advice from Furahia to choose this area for the safari - talking crowds of zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, wildebeests, ostriches, warthogs, antelopes,and many more. Not only that, but we managed to see 4 out of the big 5 in a single day, including lions and leopard, which is unbelievable.
Their vehicles are specially adapted with huge windows, allowing for photography enthusiasts to snap their hearts out through the entire safari.
The best part is that they are a local company, with their owner and staff truly cherishing all of Tanzania's natural and cultural treasures, by also supporting and contributing back the local community and the youth future. Can't recommend this company highly enough!
Thank you sincerely for the amazing experience Furahia team!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just what I was looking for!
Communication with Goefrey was excellent, he replied very quickly to emails and was easy to get in touch with through whatsapp.
The service was exactly as described: airport pickup; hotel stay; meals etc. It was very well organized! We were amazed at the sights every day and learned a ton of interesting facts from our guide:)
Thank you Meru Slopes Tours!!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari and best experience in Tanzania!
The whole safari was perfectly organized and a great experience. Eli organized everything exactly how we wanted it! She was really listening to our preferences beforehand and during the trip and it came out as a perfect safari.
First of all she organized us the trasfer from the airport, even if our safari started two days later she tried everything to make it comfortable for us even before.
On the day we had started our safari Eli picked us up together with our driver Mike and they made sure that everything is fine for us and we can start the adventure. The Game Drive was amazing. We saw a lot of animals and different kinds of landscapes. Mike, our driver was really listening to us and was able to find all the good places to see the animals. He told us a lot of interesting facts about the animals, landscapes, people and Tanzania in general. One great experience was sitting in our Jeep with no one around except a huge herd of elephants.
The nights we spent in the wonderful Acacia Farm Lodge. We felt welcome there from the first second and the location and the staff were just amazing. Eli really found the perfect place! We always thought a safari is kind of stressfull, but with a privat Jeep and such a beautiful lodge it is a very relaxing experience.
After the safari Eli organized spontaneously upon our request that our driver could stay with us during our whole trip. He drove us to our other hotels and sights we wanted to see and finally got us safely back to the airport.
Overall it was a perfect safari. During our time in Tanzania we were constantly in contact with Eli and she made sure that every second of our trip is great! Both, Eli and Mike really took their time to care for their clients. We could have stayed much longer!
Thank you Eli and Mike for making our trip to Tanzania such a great experience.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An unforgettable experience!
Booking the two days safari in Mikumi Park with Hello Tanzania was the best investment I did in my short vacations to Tanzania. I've decided to do the safari suddenly, only had time to do it the following day and I was travelling solo. All this little troubles didn't mind to Mwajabu. She made it happen!
She listened to me and answered all my questions and doubts, waited for me to decide and organized me a perfect 2 days Safari. The driver I had was very professional, my Safari guide incredible (I've learnt a lot about animals!!!) and Camp Bastian (where I slept and had dinner) was above expectations: location, staff, commodities were just perfect and the food was delicious.
I would recommend Hello Tanzania to everybody that are looking for an amazing experience and friendly service.
