CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Heidi Bedford led us through an awesome adventure in beautiful Africa!
After trying to get info from several safari tour operators in Canada, we miracously found Pembury Tours and Heidi Bedford answered our email promptly. We gave her the desired outline of our trip: our budget, places we wanted to go to and our dates. She came back with a customized itinerary that we fine tuned and voilà!
After some 18 months or so of planning, we finally arrived in Johannesburg to start our journey and Heidi was our guardian angel for the four weeks of our African Odyssey...an email or phone call away if needed. Hotels gems and transfer vouchers, car rental, pick ups at airports...9 flights total, 4 safari lodges and 16 game drives...everything was clockwork and exhilarating ! She even met us in Port Elizabeth with our printed itinerary...a brick of information on every detail with maps and driving instructions how to get to our various destinations.
We had such a great relationship with Heidi that we shared our pictures and FB posts with her! We will always remember our experience in Africa passionately and be forever grateful to Heidi for sharing her knowledge and for her guidance!
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We (4 people) got much more than our expectancies, which were very high! Incredibly wonderful safari
Jambo,
Everything went so incredibly smoothly from the first minute of our arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, till the last minute of our departure from Arusha Airport, and every hour, minute, second was worth it. For me it is completely incredible that such a place like Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro exists on the Earth. I can say my family had an unforgettable experience in Tanzania with Grassroots team.
Our guide used all his knowledge to find colourful birds and every possible animal, even leopards, male and female the next day. The dream became reality, of course we never expected to see them. Lions on their Honeymoon, cheetahs chasing and eating a Thompson gazelle: every time we were on the right place at the right moment, and always had a lot of time to photograph and observe. Unlike other guides, ours didn't use the radio, so he didn't annoy us with loud speaking in it. He answered all our questions and was very discerning about animal behaviour. Driving from sunrise till sunset and loving it. Just a word about the elephants: we overlooked 3 huge families at one glance, and I counted 102 adults through my binoculars, so I let you add the babies to this number !!!!
Our chef satisfied all our demands, for example he thoroughfully prepared our big lunchbox every day. In fact we almost never wanted breakfast, but better drive to see sunrise instead, and enjoy morning cool temperature.... We were fine all the time, without any stomach pain, always sleeping like babies after a plentiful evening meal. And his kindness made us very happy. He worked hard while we were enjoying ourselves all day, plus woke up very early, in such a good mood, so easy. Try Palau Masala, gently spiced rice and meat... Asante Sana !
I will recommend Grassroots to all my friends and colleagues, because I got much more than my expectancies. My three children look very happy about their first time in Africa.
I also noticed Tanzania is very peacefull and safe, and people are friendly everywhere. And we have so many pictures to look at and show our friends.
You should not forget binoculars for everybody, not that the animals are far away, sometimes you could rather think they are going to enter the Toyota through the window, but binoculars allow you to examine every beautiful detail.
Did I speak about the landcruiser car? Spaceful, comfortable, powerful, and protective with very good shadow under the open roof. Changing a flat tyre is a question of 30 minutes and may happen (2x in 8 days), for that reason there are 2 more fixed outside the back door. Hakuna Matata !
And the nights were so peaceful. We really slept well under the tents during the full moon nights, and even sometimes stand up to watch the stars, we had a lot of space under the roof.
The toilets and showers are rebuilt and very clean. You overlook the old ones, just to compare. Water supply is not limited, huge water tanks are delivered by trucks at every campsite.
Of course you think about how to begin, and how to buy a safari. My advice would be: write to Micky Shigela, his precise answers come within a day, his advise are helpful, and his experience makes everything so easy.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Personal attention: from beginning to end.
The customer service is unbelievably good with this company. Through out the process of planning my trip, the owner of the company worked closely with me, as I continued to add more and more stops to my trip. In the end, my trip was a jam packed fifteen days.
The guide selected for me, Rogers, took wonderful care of me. He made it clear that he was going to make sure I saw, heard, and tasted Uganda! I saw lions, elephants, several species of monkeys, zebras, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, shoebill storks, chimps and GORILLAS. I visited a tribe of pygmies and met families of ex-poachers. Rogers found me a school where I donated some school supplies I brought with me. Rogers introduced me to some Uganda delicacies; matoke, jack fruit and ground peanut sauce.
As I travelled through Uganda, I posted photos on Facebook. I have inspired several friends to plan their own Africa adventures. I recommend this company to everyone, not just my Facebook friends!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome
The communication was really good. The safari tour was breathtaking I had the best time of my life.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lion King is Simply the Very Best! Choosing Lion King was the best decision we could have made!
From the moment we requested a safari quote from Lion King, we were treated like royalty. Anna responded to every question and itinerary request quickly and graciously. Booking a safari from 5,000 miles away (with an 11-hour time difference) for a family of four was a daunting task but Anna’s incredibly courteous demeanor and prompt responses made the process not only painless but enjoyable.
Our flight to JRO arrived over an hour late, at close to 11:00pm. Even so, we were immediately greeted by a friendly Lion King representative who drove us to our hotel in Arusha and checked us in. The following morning, we were greeted promptly at the planned time by our guide, James. We could not have dreamed up a more incredible, kind, knowledgeable, and overall fabulous guide and human being than James.
Our 4-night, 5-day safari included: Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara. We stayed at Outpost Lodge in Arusha, Eileen’s Trees, Heritage Luxury Tented Camp, and Ilboru Safari Lodge. All exceeded every expectation. At every turn, we were left with jaws agape at the scenery, the up-close encounters with unreal wildlife, the accommodations, the people, the food — everything. James proactively shared interested facts about the flora and fauna, the animals, the culture and customs of Tanzanians and the Masai tribe. He knew shortcuts and people along the way and handled every moment of our safari like an absolute pro. To watch him navigate these roads is a site to behold in and of itself.
When our safari finally came to end and it was time to say goodbye, we were delivered for our last overnight at the fantastic Ilboru Safari Lodge in Arusha. Anna even met us here for a debrief and hosted us for drinks and lovely conversation.
Now, as we wait at Ilboru for our Lion King-hosted ride to the Arusha airport to catch our flight to Zanzibar, I write this review hoping others out there, probably miles away and struggling to find the right fit for a safari company, take great comfort in reading this review, knowing you will not find a more genuinely amazing company than Lion King. There aren’t enough stars available to adequately rate Anna and James and the Lion King team. Without a doubt, they are the cream of the crop. They made every step of our African safari even more magically than we’d ever dreamed it could be. We are ever grateful for them.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Budget Joining Safari, Good Driver/Guide, Excellent Service
I contacted MJ Safaris based on reviews here and Jackson Lyimo promptly responded to my questions and provided info. Jackson provided a bit of discount to bring the price down to $950 for 5D/4N safari, including pickup from Moshi in a local bus/shuttle and drop-off to KIA airport at the end of safari. I paid a deposit via Credit Card and the remainder at the beginning of Safari in Arusha (in both cash $ as well as Tanzania currency).
This was a budget joining safari meaning people join as and when they are ready to start their safari. On the first day, we were only 2 but the remaining 4 days, we had a full house of 6. The accommodation on all 4 days was basic. First day in Panorama Camp, we had an African Igloo Hut while the remaining 2 nights in Serengeti and one on the Ngorongoro Crater we had our own tents that were carried on top of the safari vehicle. A cook was with us all five days who would make food and you could get vegetarian food - but do specify your requirements so they can buy things in advance in Arusha - once you are in Serengeti, there is nothing you can get anywhere (Hint: buy your own food in Arusha before the safari starts).
Our driver/guide Emmanuel was courteous and helpful and could spot all kinds of creatures. We were very lucky to see Cheetahs over 7 times and a Rhino up close! That was the highlight of the trip. If you want to see wild creatures in their natural habitat, this safari is a must. We also visited a Maasai Village on our way out of Serengeti and that was another highlight of the trip.
Again, since this was a budget joining safari, no matter who you book with, you might join the same group! However, MJ Safaris was a trustworthy and reliable agency that provided all the services they promised and I have no hesitation in recommending them highly.
A final note: a Chinese girl on our safari paid only $800 for the exact 5d/4n safari but she came at the last moment so if you can join at the last moment, you might be able to get the best prices!
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised individualized trip to cover the areas we wanted to see in Rwanda and Uganda
The trip went well , very well organised and we did see what we wanted to – including the trip to the Gorillas – amazing.
Our guide/driver was excellent – a very careful and good driver on sometimes appalling roads, he was also a great game spotter – we got a marvellous experience of tree climbing lions! Do pass that on to the company you used.
One of the unexpected highlights was the trips on the boats – to Kazinga channel, to the Murchison falls and to the source of the Nile. Especially in the first two – we had great game viewing from the comparatively cool of the boat with excellent close up views of a wide variety of animals. While Uganda does not have the huge numbers of game we have seen in say Botswana and Kenya – this way of seeing them was great and could be promoted for Uganda.
EG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing trip
Amazing and helpful tour operator , i spent beautiful time with them and if i will come again the first choice is face of africa
US
can't describe how happy i was
I had just the most amazing honeymoon , we spend some amazing 10 days in tanzania visiting every single place, Hotel was great and Safarihub was really involved and they made sure that our time spend there will be amazing .