DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Attention! Lilac Adventures is untrustworthy and unreliable!
For an amount of nearly 6.000 USD, payed in advance for a safari in
Uganda supposed to start in March 2016, Lilac Adventures did not provide ANY of the services promised. Due to
negative reviews by former clients, we asked Lilac some time before the safari was
scheduled for details of the accommodation bookings and for copies of
the Gorilla Permits. The only thing they came up with were ever more
phantastic excuses why they allegedly could not provide us with any of
the documents requested. Therefore we contacted all the lodges ourselves and asked for bookings done by Lilac in our name - there were none. Being confronted with this, Lilac began to run out of
reasons and finally had to admit that 4 months after receiving
our money they had not prepared or booked anything. They also admitted that they would not be able to conduct the safari but did not give any valid reasons for that. At this point they
promised us a complete refund of our money - half a year on, we have not received anything.
So please do not make the same mistake we did, and especially do not
believe a word when they try to coax you into booking: they will go to
great lengths in trying to explain why they could not deliver the
services they were paid for by us and will give different reasons for this (delays in
the financial / banking system, political instability and / or unrest, etc. etc.), or perhaps they offer that you pay only a deposit (f.e. 20%) in advance. But please be aware that they are
completely untrustworthy and very likely they will just take your money without rendering anything for it.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Big Time Safaris = Big Time Experience!
If you are looking for an outstanding safari experience at an affordable price, Big Time Safaris is the travel company for you. The safaris that BTS offer is a great deal for singles, couples, and families like ours. The service provided by this company is extraordinary and the value is unbelievable. You will receive exceptional assistance from Anne or Martha prior to your trip. Anne answered our countless questions immediately and helped us to plan the perfect trip. Our family did a ten day Kenya and Tanzania safari. Our guide in Kenya was so knowledgeable about each and every animal and how best to see them. It was clear to us that he was the "go to" guide among all guides. We learned so much about every animal as well as the Masai culture. Unlike lodges where the game drives happen in the morning and the afternoon with lots of down time in between, BTS maximizes each day with sunrise, day long, and/or sunset game drives, as well as other cultural experiences if you choose to. Our Tanzania safari also had a great guide and an outstanding chef who prepared enviable meals during our pitched tent camping in the Serengeti and Ngorangora. We wanted an authentic camping experience because we thought that it would put us in the most natural setting. Our safaris included a nice balance of accommodations at modest but more than adequate hotels, fixed tents (with beds and bathrooms = glamping!) as well as traditional pitch tents (all equipment provided) where docile zebras grazed at our door. You can keep your luxury lodges, I'll take a true once in a lifetime natural experience like that any day!
Our safari vehicles held 7-8 people. One of the best parts of the trip was meeting our fabulous travel companions and people at the campsites from all over the world. We left with many friends, both locals and travelers alike.
One of the many wonderful services that BTS provides is that they picked us up from the airport the day before our safari and brought us to our hotel. They then picked us up from our hotel and delivered us to their offices where the safari began, and returned us to our hotel (airport if you need) at the end. This is a huge savings as we did not have to take taxis as we would have with the other safari companies that we looked into. As well, we were able to leave large suitcases in their offices at no charge. Other safari companies charged for this service. This allowed us to store our bags for future travel after the safaris.
BTS is your one stop company for all your trip needs. We were able to arrange for a private driver through BTS, at a ridiculously low price for 8-10 hours, for the three days we spent in Nairobi after the safari. Anne helped us to plan three amazing days in Nairobi. We were so overwhelmed when the owner of the company and Anne, our planner, visited us at our nearby hotel the morning after our safari to make sure that we were happy with our BTS experience. I could go on and on about how wonderful this company is and how outstanding our safari experience was. It's hard to find a safari that includes everything and some for this price. We will most certainly book our next trip with Big Time Safaris!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great adventure!
Everything was perfect! An unforgettable experience! Booking the safari was very easy with the help of Kelly-Anne. The canoe safari was great, lots of explanations from animals, trees about the river etc. All the meals were delicious and we always feel safe with the experienced guides Norman and Manu. It was a real truth african adventure!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most Amazing Experience
I was a bit nervous for this trip, as I had never been to East Africa, and did not know what to expect.
John and Martin were the most amazing to work with!!!
I can not thank them enough for making this trip smooth and enjoyable.
John was very responsive and took care of any and all of our requests.
Martin was the BEST driver ever, we got to see all of the Big 5 and more.
I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in this wonderful experience.
EG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb
It was the best vacation. Samburu Intrepids was hi level and comfortable luxury tented camp. Perfect service and I would recommend this to upcoming visitors.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We booked for a four days three night safari at the Kruger Park. Our guide Steve picked us up at the hotel in Johannesburg and drove us to the crocodile camp for the first two nights. He was a great guide, showing us a lot and could tell us all kinds of details about the park and the animals we saw. Besides being a great guide, he was a wizard with the braai and made sure we wouldn't starve...we saw a lot of giraffes, elephants, lions, all kind of deers, rhino's, hippo's, crocks and on the last morning three cheeta's coming back from a hunt. I can surely recommend Endless Summer Tours. Flexible and reliable
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari with an amazing guide and people!
We had a wonderful Safari and a funny Time with our guide 'Good Luck'! Everything was very well organized from the pick up from the airport until the getting back to the airport! All drivers were in time!
We also had luck with the other Safaritourists in our car, cause they all were almost as old we are - about 24- and so we had a lot of fun with them in our car and they also became friends!
Except the mix of Lodge guests - me and my girlfriend were the only ones- and camping guests in our car was a bit complicated and not that good organized, cause our driver had to drive us to the Lodges which were far away to the Camping and so mostly we arrived late in the lodges or camping!But think you will do it better next time! ;)
Although we enjoyed the 4- Day Safari Tour through Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti a lot and have seen almost all of the Big Five - except a Rhino- but that didn´t matter!We had one of the Best Times ever there!
Best Regards
Thomas + Ruth
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A tailor-made vacation which successfully incorporated relaxation, luxury and attention to detail.
Our honeymoon experience was made all the more special by the care and attention given to us by the staff of Antelope especially our guide and driver Charles. We saw the most spectacular sights, relaxed and indulged in comfort, good food and warm hospitality.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Old, smelly, robust and friendly
The company is a small company of about 10 people. The way to communicate and to pay for the safari was made with a start-up company feeling.
The car was extremely smelly and over 15 years old, but robust. Some other safari companies we saw had very clean and fresh cars with snacks etc but we also saw many of them on the side of the street as the cars did not resist the very very bumpy roads. Our car got a flat tire only once.
Our guide knew a lot about animals and was friendly and nice.
Some of the accommodations were really nice and some of them were really horrible.
VN
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip to Nyiragongo Volcano!
I was looking up tours company to Virunga/Nyiragongo National Park and found that Matoke tours is both the most affordable tour company and the most well-known in Uganda. The set-up and payments went smoothly online with no problem and the staff was very responsive and accommodating to our needs. They also helped us arrange visa at no extra cost and saved us the hassle. As a plus, we booked our flight to Kigali early and was able to tour the city and the Genocide memorial for free (we had the driver to ourselves the whole day). Our driver/tour guide in Rwanda was very nice and knowledgeable. The accommodation in Gisenyi (the night before the trek) was very high-end and comfortable (I could've stayed there for a week!). The rest of the tour was handled by Virunga National Park staff which also went very smoothly and safe (it was a big group of about 24 hikers). The view of the biggest volcano lake is breathtaking and unlike anything I've seen before! There was one or two hiccups where we had to pay for porters and a short transport to the DRC border (which we thought was included). But Matoke tours soon reached out to us, apologized, and reimbursed us. All in all, an unforgettable journey that went fairly smoothly. The price is not that much different than if you planned it yourself but everything is taken care of (trust me the price on Virunga National Park's official website is deceiving). Would definitely recommend, thanks Matoke