PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
As a lesson to life i found that Stainbok Manager is a very solid person we can realy trust!
I Met Mr Gideon Makara one night in Arusha. I find rigth away i can trust im, and next day i was in a suberbe and unforgatable safari in Tanzania. When we finish that safari and i was wayting for a fligth to Dar Es Salam, expecting to return back home, via Dar Es Salam; Dubai; Lisbon i saw that domestic fligth being canceled. On that situation, loosing also the international fligth Dar Es Salam to Dubai, and with only a few hours to reach Nairobi triyng to catch a conection to Dubai i remember someone you can realy trust: Mr Gideon. And there he was at my apeal helping us to make all that work. Tank you Mister Makara for all your crucial help in that dificult moment. I will never forget all worked perfect tanks to you.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Time of our lives
From the beginning to the end my partner and I had a fabulous time and everything was well organized and coordinated.
We could not have had a better turnout and thank you Tropical Vacation, Inc. for an amazing trip, fantastic adventures and wonderful memories for the rest of our lives.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Varied yourney with alternating work and relaxation
A beautiful country with very nice people. Well organized with a friendly, helpful and humorous driver. The trip lived up fully to the expectations.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lots of animals and great service
Through tailor made safaris we were well prepared for travel. With a GPS, telephone and a full-collor book containing the itinerary it was fine to do to travel independently through South Africa.
We had game drives in lovely small game reserves. Overnight in good accommodation varying from self catering to all inclusive.
Highlights of the trip were the exciting night game drives and elephant interaction.
Trip to Manapools, Zimbabwe
We, me and my son, made a self drive trip to Manapools from Harare. Goof, Nyati, arranged for us the tickets for the camping and lodges, the 4x4, a very strong Nissan, which has a long time on duty, but extremey reliable and a nice 1:9 liters/km which is very good for such a heavy car, no modern electronics, so it always just do what is has to do, and all the equipment for camping. All as promissed. Also good information for the road trip to Manapools.
In one word: great. You can do business with him.
We recommend him and Nyati travel.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My dream of Africa
We booked two weeks individual safari with Antelope Safari in September 2014. One week in Kenya, one week in Tanzania. Not only were they the fastest to respond to our inquiries compared to all other companies we contacted, they were also very uncomplicated in their organization via email and fulfilled all our wishes (i.e., parks that we wanted to visit, a combination of driving and some nature walks, and a mix of lodges and tented lodges) in the program.
The two weeks were fantastic and even better than we imagined! I particularly liked the cozy lodges they chose. The large safari organizations mainly book large resorts, but our lodges were much more individualized and the service in all lodges was excellent. The staff was very courteous and friendly. My personal highlights of the lodges were the Castle Forest Lodge at Mount Kenya (absolute paradise in a green oase!), Keekorok Lodge in the Masai Mara (ask for Joshua Le Papa for excellent nature walks and Masai lectures!), Serengeti Osupuko Camp (fantastic tented lodge and amazing staff!), and Tarangire Osupuko Lodge (the best location to spot elephants from their swimming pool).
We had two drivers during our safaris, one for Kenya and one for Tanzania. Both were very knowledgeable, open, and - most importantly - safe drivers! Also, they took us to areas away from the tourist crowds, so we could enjoy the animals and the nature by ourselves. (Most other large safari organizations only take the main roads and you'll never see an animal without 10 other cars next to you). At the end of the two weeks, we also really appreciated that people from Antelope Safari were waiting for us at the airport in Arusha to check us in and bring us to the gate for our flight to Zanzibar. This may not sound necessary to you now, but considering the chaos at the airport, it really gave us a calm and safe feeling.
We truly had two fantastic weeks with Antelope Safari and I can only recommend you to book with them! You will also support the African economy, since Antelope Safari is one of the few organizations that is actually run by an African lady. Their prices are also around 1.000 Eur less than most other European organizations. This is however easy to explain considering that most European organizations are sales offices and mainly exist because the target travel audience for Africa is 50+ and this audience prefers to do business (especially phone calls) with someone in their country.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A very reputable outfit
Seeing the mountain gorillas of Rwanda has been a dream of mine since I was a young child, and choosing Umubano Tours as our safari operator met all of my hopes and expectations.
Booking + payment:
We discovered them after some internet research into companies and the great reputation that Herbert and his staff have earned themselves. All of our questions were answered with prompt correspondence and everything ran reassuringly smoothly before heading out to Rwanda. Payment schedule was clear and easy enough to transfer after a visit to the bank. We paid a remaining 50% in USD upon meeting Herbert in Ruhengeri.
Accommodation + Gorilla trek:
The night preceding our gorilla trek was included in our package. We stayed at the Muhabura Hotel (you can check it out on TripAdvisor) and they helped us get hold of Herbert and meet him in the restaurant to explain our itinerary for the following day. They also gave us (for a fee) a packed lunch we could take on our trek.
We did their 1 day trek into Volcanoes National Park - all that we could afford on our backpacker budget. The groups of 8 people tracking each family have not necessarily all booked with Umubano and are led by Volcanoes NP guides, but after conversations with the others in our group, Umubano seem to have been an excellent choice of operator, especially for the price they charge. Whether to do more than 1 day of trekking is up to you - whether you want different types of hike (different families come with varied difficulties of tracking) and are happy trusting whatever mood the family are in on the day you see them.
Driver + logistics:
Gerard our driver was excellent and even drove us to the bus station free of charge from our hotel at the end of the day. Things were a little unclear when we arrived at the hotel included in our safari package, but the manager of the hotel helped us call Herbert, who assured us he was coming to meet us that evening. Herbert gave us a great explanation with a map and discussed our options about which families we might want to track.
Overall:
Cannot recommend Umubano Tours enough. They were polished, friendly and affordable - a perfect combination for an unforgettable safari.
NG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
My husband and I spent some time in Kenya for our honeymoon. Initially our hotel got us a tour guide who was inefficient but we switched to Kennedy of doyen safari and I can tell you, our holiday experience changed dramatically. He was honest, patient and quite affordable...I recommend doyen safaris anyday, anytime. we'll certainly be back to nairobi and definitely using him.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Superb service, an absolute pleasure to deal with
I booked hotel accommodation, airport transfers, a guided tour, a dinner cruise, and a helicopter ride through Falcon Safaris. All arrangements were booked timeously, and ran very smoothly. The Falcon Safaris staff were extremely friendly, and an absolute pleasure to deal with.
An easy 5 star rating, I would happily recommend Falcon Safaris and use them again.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very proffessional Tour company; Great attention to detail
This could possibly qualify for the best vocation we have had in Years. We really enjoyed our safari with Swift Travel and I am particularly thankful for their efforts.
We also appreciated the attentiveness to minor details like our dietary requirements as well as removing some seats from the jeep to accommodate my husband who could not comfortably bend his knees…
We enjoyed the stay at Sarova Mara and the overall safari experience certainly was more than we hoped for. Our safari trip wouldn’t have been any better without your professional planning and assistance.
Thank you!