US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour operator was reliable and easy to deal with
My driver was a bit quiet and considering it was only me and him in the car it was a slightly boring drive. However, the bicycle tour was well done and I had a good time. The weather was pretty hot, so be advised to use sunscreen and take more water. Overall my expectations were met and I would easily recommend to a friend.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
took a lot of back and forth but resulted with a awesome trip
we were looking for someone to help us plan a trip to Kilimanjaro mountain and some safari parks. we contacted more than 10 different operators and in the end chose e-trip. e-trip was one of the few who was honest and to the point about our wishes for locations/destinations and how and if they make sense. with a lot of back and forth communication we managed to come up with a plan that pleased us and was an efficient use of our time in Tanzania. we had a pair of great guides when hiking lemosho trail on kili, thanks to which my wife and i both made it to the top. then we had also a very nice private land cruiser driver, that safely and with a few recommendations here and there took us around the safaris. all in all the trip was a success with the only drag being the long commute to get to Tanzania (48 hour travel time) from san diego to Tanzania.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mathew was polite, hospitable, knowledgeable and went beyond his call of duty as a guide!!
From beginning to end, Classic Journeys provided an excellent experience. Questions were answered, timely pickups and hospitality exceeded expectations! High marks to Charles and Mathew!
IL
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing! Everything I hoped for and more...
I’ve just came back from a 7 days safari (8-16 february 2018) organized by Safari Multiways.
I discovered this small company in Safari Booking site. I asked for a safari itinerary and a quote.
Romeo, the owner, replied promptly to my email and sent me a tour itinerary at a lower price than most of the other companies that I had written to.
Romeo was very helpful, he gave me a lot of information & gave me pricing for a lot of options. We were on a tight budget & I wanted to get the most out of my trip. He also helped me plan in a way that had no "wasted"days.
The final tour was: Tarangeire (1 day), Lake Manyara (1 day) , Ndutu (south Serengeti) to see the migration of wildebeests (2 days), Central Serengeti (2 days), Ngoro Ngoro Crater (1 day).
I payed 30% of the total cost in advance by credit caed to confirm the hotel reservations and I payed the balance in cash at SM office when I arrived in Arusha.
During the safari our driver, Amos, was very professional and skilled in spotting wild animals in the savannah. He was friendly, answered all our questions and worked to meet all our requirements. He cleanned the jeep every morning before leaving the camp and starting a new game drive.
The Toyota Land Cuiser was in good condition.
I liked the Serengeti and Ndutu Heritage Tented camps in The Serengeti. They are really wonderful camps: high standard of services, nice and comfortable tents and delicious food. Really great accommodations.
What else can I add? This was our first safari in Tanzania and we enjoyed it very much thanks to the professionalism and reliability of Safari Multiways.
I highly recommend this company.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing
I've been on a safari with lapped faced safari compagny. It was the best time I ever had. Have been to Manyara and Ngorro crater. The tourguide explained everything very well.. It was such an amazing trip to never forget. Thanks for everything and wish you the best tour safaris in the future!
IL
Wonderful help, good service, and honest & friendly people
The company was very helpful in all stages of planning for the safari. They promptly answered all my questions. In the end I didn't use them for the safari itself but they assisted me in choosing a hotel in Zanzibar and transportation to & from the airport at very reasonable & fair prices. They offerred me other services but were not pushy about it which I greatly appreciated. The driver was on time and very willing to answer questions on the way. I mistakenly gave the wrong time for my return flight from Zanzibar. The office noticed the mistake & the driver successfully got us to the airport in time for us to board at the last minute. If they hadn't noticed my mistake we would have missed our flight. This is a great company, with good service, and honest & friendly people. I highly recommend them.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Predator and Prey!
Thanks Mark, Taga Safaris Africa connected us with Africa on Foot. We spent three nights with delightful drives and walks. Perhaps the best summary: Predator and Prey!
We saw leopards stalking impala, wild dogs chasing impala, hyenas feeding on impala and giraffe, and lions feeding on zebra. Gotta appreciate the life of predators and prey.
As to communication and service, when some of our flights were delayed, Mark kept everyone informed and our transfer from the airport worked out without a hitch, despite the flight delays. Much appreciated from our end.
NZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect safari
Coming to Africa and doing a safari has always been a dream for us, and since we are from New Zealand and it's such an effort to come here, we wanted to do it right. Upon reading the reviews for African Traits we decided to go with them, and were delighted with how everything turned out.
First of all, Godfrey's communication has been fantastic right from the start. This is our first time in Africa, and had an enormous amount of questions for Godfrey including transport, weather advice (since we came in the rainy season) and available safari packages that would work best for us - we ended up doing a 3 day Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire safari. Godfrey was very quick to respond, with incredibly detailed messages. We felt like all our questions were answered satisfactorily.
Secondly, our guide, Hassan, was excellent. He was very knowledgable, spoke great English (which was fantastic given our rather poor Swahili) and always made sure we were enjoying ourselves. He constantly communicated with other drivers to make sure we spotted all the animals we could - including doing some swift (but safe) driving through mazes of roads to make sure we spotted a leopard at the end of our final day, completing our Big 5!
Despite being the rainy season, the weather held up brilliantly, only starting to pour with rain at around 4pm - i.e. as soon as we had finished spotting animals each day! We initially planned to tent but Godfrey very generously upgraded us to a lodge for free because of the evening rain. The lodge was excellent too - great food, and even entertainment at dinner time.
The parks themselves were amazing - the personal favourite had to be Ngorongoro Crater, but Tarangire had spectacular scenery and animals too - and this was in March!
All in all, we highly recommend African Traits to anybody. You will not be disappointed.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Avoid in any cost, dangerous car, changed itinerary and rude guide.
Unfortunately, we had a very bad experience in Tanzania that was dangerous, wasted our money and spoiled our holiday. They misled and mistreated us and canceled one game drive. Inappropriate way of transporting cooked chicken and food. Please send me a message to show you all the pictures, videos and emails.
Driver, so called guide:
He drove dangerously to get us out of the park. Though we were supposed to do a game drive that morning, then transfer in the afternoon. he drove almost 70km (all recorded with our app, see below) because he had no permit after 12! He took us to our lodge at 2 and left us there, no apology and nothing.He said speak to the office blankly. The office just told us that he had explained to us on arrival. Bunch of lies and shambles! We paid for the game drive, why did we get a day of just horrible transfer that wrecked our bodies. Trust me, you can’t and shouldn’t drive more than 35! All poor animals in front of us getting so scared and shocked! I felt like a burden not a valuable client.
On another day we had the game drive for all afternoon, coming to the lodge in the evening. Our driver who had lost all his interest and hope of getting tipped, wanted to go back after 2 hours! We told him it is still 14 and he is supposed to go back in the evening. He said it is too hot, and there is nothing to see, there only one road full of Tsetse flies. We said he can take another route and take us to the game drive we paid.
I asked him to stop for the toilet break, he said there is no toilet for almost two hours and he can’t stop anywhere for a bush toilet, so we have to go to the lodge which is 30 minutes away. I showed him the sign for the picnic area which was according to our map 10 minuets away. He said no, it is too far. This was unbelievably unprofessional and inhuman! As we were staying in the park, I gave him an option to take us to the lodge, then we should come back for 1 more hour game drive. That means we should be in our lodge by 17 which means evening. To our surprise he stopped in another picnic area which was less than 10 minuets away. I was shocked how he lied to us, because he had no more interest in being around us!
We saw a lion getting ready to hunt, he said no he is just going to sleep. Though, we met the other tourists in the other car was staying in our lodge and they told us why did we leave? The lion hunted the zebra after we left. He intentionally didn’t want us to see anything! Good luck with the guide/ driver. I would say ask to see their certificate, but you can’t see their attitude until you actually go with them .
We had unfortunately no luck with ours. First he came with a car that was falling into pieces. Then, he got angry when I told him that all our luggage is wet and my clothes, books and electronics are also wet, because the back door is broken.And also after we told him how dangerously he transports the lunch, he didn’t apologiz or offered help. He only stopped and eating and talking with us. Trust me, it was a very difficult time for us. He stopped eating with us, as I mentioned above. Therefore for our lunch break, he stayed in the car, asked my partner to come out and check the bush before eating in the middle of Serengeti. He said there can be lions, leopards or snakes there. Either he was not aware or he just wanted us out of his sight. My partner asked him furiously if he has actually studied wild animals! We felt quite vulnerable and I have never seen anyone with this massive lack of conscience and professionalism.
Itinerary:
They sent an itinerary first and then they said they made a minor change only to the order of the days because one lodge was fully booked which was fair enough. We paid the money as you can see in the picture for 5 game drives, they cheated and only bought the permit for four days.
Getting the money for a game drive and not delivering it, it is not a small change. We didn’t get a new itinerary or any brief that they want to save the money and wake us up at 5 am to kick us out in our lodge at 2 and call it a day! when we complained, he just follows the orders. After 3 days apart from good morning and good night, and get out for lunch, check the bush, that is what he said. Absolute disgrace!
Food:
Our fridge was not working and the door was broken and kept on flying away all the time. We can't believe that transporting food set under the sun, next to the driver, from 6 in the morning to 13, at 37 degree can be healty. How many people have touched that box, juice and banana? He had to eat it by hand, as there is no cutlery or plate! Great job, I had antibacterial gel and soap, because the place he stopped had neither toilet paper nor soap in the toilet!
We had the same story almost every day, until he gave up as well, and requested only vegetarian food. You pay as full board, you get a cooked chicken or chicken sandwich, not hot food and although I told them I am vegetarian when I booked, no one was aware, and every one looked at me with a shock on arrival . So be careful that they never communicated our special dietary requirements.
Car:
We asked them about the car, they said in a good working condition. Look at the pictures and judge yourself . Broken door, broken fridge, no window frame rubber was left, all destroyed and the window was rattling all the way. I will put the videos on YouTube soon! The luggage were stored inside the car, because it all got wet in the back. So, we had only two seats with seatbelts that were not working. Trust me it was a torture. Our driver came with this car that the back door lock was broken and he used a robber band to close it. The rain, dust and the noise drove us mental during our time there. Our luggage was stored in the car, as all our clothing, books and electronics got wet. Well, no apology, of course! Two window locks were broken, so we had only on choice, a seat with a broken window close to all the dust coming in, see the picture below, I swear it was after one hour driving 80 km in the national park, or seat with out working seat belt. Add 36 degree to the image, without window.And my partner had to get up every now and then and close the door! Everything is recorded! We got in the middle of Serengeti, where we have seen lions 10 minuets ago.Although that all other cars in front got passed, because of the rubbish tyres we got stuck more than an hour, until we got rescued. Then he drove dangerously to get us out and not pay the fine, because the permit was till 12.
Communication:
Unfortunately, we are left disappointed and the company hasn't even replied to us after we sent them the pictures and videos of our holiday, plus the emails providing the facts that we paid for one day game drive and got only a horrible transfer.
Before sending the videos and pictures we got this sarcastic reply from Froukje:
She wrote (I’ve spoken to both Emma and Andrew about this situation. I'm very sorry to hear you're unhappy about a few things. I hope to clear a few things. We are in Africa, where the roads are rough and the nature is dusty. We are sorry you were not aware of this. These rough roads also cause the car to to be a bit noisy.)
* This way of sarcastic customer service doesn’t work in this day and age. She added salt to the injury with making us feel stupid and peaky. Of course we know where you are, but we’re not aware of the broken door and the fact that a driver is allowed to drive 80km/h in the national parks. I have got all of it recorded and I have tons of pictures to prove it from the app I used to record the whole way speed and location.
We got an email after Emma saw our pictures on Facebook and our reviews. She admitted, I quote her here, email is available on request:
(I've had a look at the car and after a very busy high season this car should have been in the garage for big mantaintance. It is at the garage at the moment. Issues like the seatbelts should have been solved earlier.What I understood the door needs to be closed in two places which the driver didn't know (normally he drives another car) and because of this it seemed broken and there was extra dust in the car. )
About food transport this was the reply: We are sorry to hear you felt sick. I understand you think it might have been the chicken. We will contact The lodge and let them know what happend and see if they received more complaints about it. We hope you're feeling better now. )
* Lets not point fingers. See the picture of how the cooked chicken was transported in 7 hours in 36 degree, next to the motor, underneath the sun. Yes, the company is there, but you have been brought up and educated in Europe. I don’t want to lecture you for health , safety and hygiene. This is not the lodge fault, let me ask you a simple question, would you feed your children with that chicken?
DK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a perfect tour with the best guide/driver
Everything was good. The driver, the food, accomodation, the safari drive.