IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The true meaning of African hospitality
We were a group of 3 Indians with a vague dream of visiting one the most fascinating places on our list, Namibia. At one point, it seemed quite a daunting task to organise the whole trip ourselves given our limited vacation times, until we were lucky enough to come across the most accommodating, helpful, good mannered and flexible tour agencies we have ever encountered on our extensive travels - Blue Crane Safaris. Starting about a month before our trip, company owner Mr. Derek Jacob personally ensured we were provided with all the required information about what to expect on our trip, and displayed utmost patience with his communications to us, additionally giving us ample time to arrange for the payments required. I would like to personally commend him for his time, patience and amicable attitude towards his clients; Blue Crane really does stress on its reputation for being pleasantly customer-oriented, in contrast to the usual money-minded tour operators you expect to come across. From the get-go, our trip was impeccably planned according to our tastes, starting with a timely pickup from our accomodation at Windhoek, in a full-fledged camping trailer vehicle with large windows that would let us enjoy the desolate sights outside - absolute value for money in my opinion. On the first leg of our trip to Sossusvlei, our guide Mr. Quinton ensured beyond doubt that vegetarian food would be prepared for us as much as possible, where he demonstrated absolute attention to the fact that we would remain satisfied with our meals; I think this particular point could be of significance to a lot of potential Indian vegan tourists visiting Namibia in the future. Along with friendly camp assistant David, Mr. Quinton turned out to be highly good natured, humorous, accomodating, cheerful and very well knowledgable on cultures, traditions, wildlife and geology of Namibia (and Southern Africa in general). While giving us plenty of time to explore the area on our own, they also ensured we had many of our special requests met, including setting up for two wonderful breakfast sessions near the fascinating red dunes of the Namib. A truly fascinating bunch of days! After this, our awesome guides took us through a long, enchanting journey through the Etosha national park, demonstrating full determination to make sure we spotted every animal we set out to view in the first place - their meticulous attention to movements in the bush really displays the strength of their experience as African tour guides, where their spotting skills meant that we ended up spotting black and white rhinos, lions, elephants, giraffes, zebra herds, kudus, warthogs, hyenas, and many birds - absolutely beyond all our wildest dreams!! Throughout our trip, we were also given tidbits of useful and interesting stories, legends, folktales and cultural insights into life in Namibia and the surrounding regions, including snippets of info on animal and bird behavior. All this lent a very authentic feel to our trip, and there is no way I can express my thanks to our wonderful guides, some of the most friendly and hospitable people we have had the fortune to come across - this made sure our trip was totally stress free and enjoyable. I would give 5 out of 5 stars on all aspects - friendliness, professionalism, accommodation standards, food quality, knowledegeability, flexibility, camping equipment, vehicle comfort, timeliness, value-for-money, and all related aspects. My full-fledged and hearty appreciation to the whole team, including owner Derek Jacobs, camp guide Quinton, and camp assistant David. Its been more than a month since we got back to our regular lives, but our time in Namibia will always remain with us. Priceless!!!
QA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful 4 days Experience at Kenya
We booked a 4 days Kenya tour package with Solaris Tours & Safaris in the month of June 2017. We were 2 families consisting of six people. We planned the trip only one day before we reached Kenya. Mr. Josphat and his team of Solaris were very prompt is answering our questions and making all arrangement quickly. Everything, from pick up at Nairobi airport to drop back at the airport, were well taken care. We stayed one night at Nairobi, one night at Naivasha Lake and two nights at Masai Mara. All hotels were top class. Our driver + guide, Mr. Dennis was very friendly and helpful. We will recommend Solaris for any of our friends planning to visit Kenya
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari
We just returned home from a wonderful vacation in Tanzania that included a four-day safari with Lion King Adventures.
From the minute James (our driver) picked us up at the Kilimanjaro airport we felt very welcomed and felt he was going to make our experience an unforgettable one, as it was! We spent the first night in Arusha before starting day one for our safari. We recommend that instead of arriving early and starting the safari right away.
Day one we went to Tarangire National Park where we saw many animals right away. James was very good about asking if we wanted to stop for pictures and he waited patiently until we were ready to move on. He knows a lot about all animals and always told us interesting facts about the parks and the animals. My husband loves birds and he knew the name of every bird my husband pointed to. He has a book about wildlife in Africa and showed us the pictures of what we saw.
Day 2 we drove to Serengeti National park. Amazing! James spotted animals way before we could see them because many are camouflaged.
Day 3 a few game drives in Central Serengeti then drove to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to spend the night at the hotel and be ready for the last day.
Day 4 visit the crater (caldera as James explained) until lunch time and then drive back to Kilimanjaro airport.
We highly recommend booking your safari with Lion King Adventures. You will love it!
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Namib-Naukluft National Park by Sterna999
especially the red dunes in the morning light are unforgettable!
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Etosha National Park by Sterna999
I saw so many impressive animals in such a short time it is just incredible! I hardly got any sleep, not wanting to miss any movements around the moon-lit waterholes at the camps in the NP. Also on the road, you never knew what surprise would come next...
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The mountain alone is a sight not to miss!
I spent one night, out of my 10 days Namibia private guided tour, at Waterberg Plateau Park. The bird watching (the main purpose of our trip) one mid-afternoon/evening and the next morning, was excellent. I would have loved to stay longer to enjoy the wildlife as well as the great scenery. Especially the evening sun created an unforgettable image of the orange-colored mountain range majestically framing the area. Damara Dik-dik were wandering around not far from the neat houses of the rest camp, and we saw Baboons and Southern African Ground Squirrels on various occasions. You can find a list of the birds observed on ebird, and a choice of my photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/88593217@N04/albums/72157648777792800. A lovely quiet spot with a lot to detect. I can warmly recommend it.
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Namibia by Sterna999
It is just great. Great animals (big, small, reptiles, ... and of course: birds! great mountains and rock formations, and the clouds added a lot of atmosphere - see my photos to know what I mean!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable experience.
Cycling rond Africa's breathtaking landscape. Guided by a fun groupe of professionals how make sure you will get a full African experience.
On the safari you will see the most beautiful wild animals Africa has to offer.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
roberto is professional and present. Guide expert and prudent during driving. All great!
Every thing was up to expectation! Safari,
Location, guide, it was a great experience!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience!
My boyfriend and I travelled around Tanzania last April and had the chance to participate in a 4-days 'budget' safari organized by Taste of Afrika. Our experience with Taste of Afrika was wonderful from the first email exchanges to the very end of the safari. As a group of two, safaris can be very expensive but the owner of the company, Seka, offered us the possibility to join an already existing group which was travelling in the same period. Seka was very professional and reliable, as well as flexible to met our requests. In Arusha, we were welcomed by the local manager Herrieth who explained to us the details of the tour. The next day we left early in the morning to visit Tarangiri National Park where, despite being in the rainy season, we managed to see an increadible number of animals. For travellers with limited budget or time, I can totally recommend Tarangiri which you can visit in one or two days safari from Arusha or even better from Moshi. But of course the next stops on day 2-4 were the highlight of our safari: the legendary Serengeti National park (mostly around the Seronera area) and the Ngorongoro crater (a collapsed vulcano covering an area of more than 8000 sq km), with its unique combination of wildbeast and livestock, as Masai people are allowed to graze in the crater. The friendliness and professionalism of the driver/guide and the cook accompanying us only made the experience more enjoyable. Overall, a wonderful experience with Taste of Afrika. I would never have thought so, but safari is really a once in a lifetime experience!