Well done safari but quite poor camping equipment
We went in a groop of fife persons in the most popular northern cirquit national parks (lake manyara, tarangire, serengeti and ngorogoro). We travelled in a jeep with a very experienced guide who spotted so many wild animals even far away!!! Also we saw lions and other predators as close as can be in ngorogoro, and also in serengeti the wildlife to watch was amazing.
Our cook was quite young and not so experienced - the food was ok but could be improved in future. Also the camping equipment could be hold in better conditions - The tents and matresses were old and stank ugly - not really enjoyable for sleeping - should be changed soon! Nevertheless an unforgetable trip into the wild!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Satisfactory
Beforehand the service received from Falcon was exemplary. From booking to confirming our stay the service was excellent.
Unfortunately when i arrived at the Zambezi Sun they claimed someone from Falcon Safaris had cancelled one of the rooms we had booked and paid for a day before we arrived.
The inconvenience to us was such that they had to find us a room far away from the other which we were not pleased with.
about Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve
It is very old park in South Africa which we visited last year. I like the natural bird sanctuary that available all type of birds of the world. http://bayangotours.com
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice driver Kpande and proper safari vehicle, much better than 4x4
The experience was really nice, a bit expensive but all tour companies in Tanzania are expensive. There was no way to pay online or by card, had to be cash and we spent time in the morning driving around to get cash from the bank machine, not something you want to do at 4am in the dark in Tanzania! I recommend bringing enough dollars to pay for the trip. They need to update to online payment as not many people carry large amounts of cash for obvious safety reasons. Big disadvantage. Other than that a great company and trip! Our driver and guide Kpande was very informative and friendly. We did a day trip and it was a lot of travel but well worth the time. 4am-9:30pm. The safari truck is very nice with pop up roof, lots of legroom, refrigerator, and sockets for charging electronics etc. I would recommend bringing CDs to play as my phone did not connect to the bluetooth in the truck and there was only one CD on repeat, we listened to Maroon 5, moves like Jagger about 20 times before we asked to turn it off!haha make sure to bring a camera that can take video and panoramics, superb views! Breakfast was ok but lunch was really nice looking out on the savanna while eating! Some improvements to be made to payments and music but overall worth the trip in a authentic safari truck! :D
Great park, just feels a little bit like an open zoo.
Superb views and wildlife. It did feel a little bit like an open zoo as there were certain pathways to follow and not allowed offroad, even some well defined tracks were off limits. It made getting close to the animals to get a good pic difficult. However, there were a lot of animals and we were even lucky to see two lionesses on the road! We paid the tour operator so not sure how much it costs for entry. Worth it if you have limited time in Dar Es Salam as it can be done as a day tour opposed to 2-3 day tours for other parks.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
the experience in the park was great, we saw chimps on both treks.
As visitors, we had the experience of being bounced around from car to boat to park without anyone really telling us what was going on. The personal touch, that we have had with other tours was not present. We never met with Joshua and never felt like our business really mattered. With the exception of the last meal, which we bought ourselves, the itinerary was followed and we enjoyed our time with the chimps. I hope that future tours are less impersonal, otherwise I would recommend saving some money and doing this trip on your own.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Really wanted to like them, left some things lacking
I went on a 3 day Rwanda gorilla trek with Encounter Africa. While I really want to like them, there are a few things that were lacking.
Pros:
1. The driver was nice and friendly. He also spoke good English and very helpful.
2. The car was good and comfortable for the two of us.
3. Accommodations were but clean, safe and hotel staff was friendly.
4. Price: The price was fair.
Cons:
1. Communication troubles: Not sure what it was but the office was extremely responsive at first via email which I why I wanted to go with them initially. But then fell radio silent. So I followed up on skype and had some challenges getting a hold of them. They said that there were issues with their email, so may that is fixed?
2. Quoted a price, and then told us that they didn't have any more availability at the lodging and then wanted put us in a lower quality hotel. Ended up paying the original price for a lower quality hotel. The hotel was fine, but the experience of that change was frustrating.
3. Finally, the biggest issue was that the driver was 2 hours late for the initial airport pickup! This was extremely inconvenient because we did not have Rwanda phones and had no way of contacting the driver. For a minute, I thought we had been completely scammed. He came in the end, but this resulted in us driving back in the hills in dark, getting to the hotel extremely late, and missing a proper dinner (that we had paid for in our room/board).
However, what frustrated me most was they claimed that it was the Uganda / Rwanda time difference that caused the delay. However, Uganda time is 1 hour ahead, so of anything, they would have arrived an hour later rather than 2 hours late. When I mentioned this to them, they then said that it was because they had to pick up the permits. If that were the real reason, then tell the truth the first time. Do not lie or try to pull one on me.
So all in all, I'm mixed on this group. While the rest of the experience itself was incredible (highly recommend the gorilla trek to anyone), there were logistical things that were a lacking and the lying about being 2 hours late was a huge detractor.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Picturesque views, great camping and a perfect layover between seeing chimps and gorillas
As far as traditional, savannah type game parks, QENP is one of Uganda's few options. The park's beauty and open landscape is a nice change from the more typical forests in the south west of the country, however, in many respects - e.g. wildlife and vastness - QENP lags far behind parks in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania. But if you were looking for the standard safari experience you probably wouldn't be looking at Uganda in the first place!
QENP is definitely worth a visit and it's location between Kibale and Bwindi/Mgahinga make it an ideal place to spend a night between seeing the more impressive chimps and gorillas of the other parks. Because the wildlife is rather sparse in the park, grab a guide from the front gate if you must see the leopards and lions, otherwise do what we did and take a relaxing drive through the many tracks along the craters to enjoy the scenery while searching for the herds of elephants, buffalo and other animals.
As for accommodation, I highly recommend camping inside the park if you have the gear - great views, inexpensive and a nice way to experience the park. Don't worry about breakfast as there is a restaurant about 5 minutes from the campsite with an amazing view over the lake.
Considering this isn't Uganda's forte, the park offers some surprising moments and picturesque views. As long as you're not expecting the Maasai Mara, it will add to your experience of the country.
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Don Petersen
Accommodations overlooking the great rift valley wonderful views. The park has the chance to see a lot of wildlife, and from a scenery standpoint is average. This was were we started our game drives. Worth visiting, but not my favorite location.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Basic safari billed as luxury, disappointing
Ryan is knowledgable and enthusiastic but customer service is not his strong point, it felt almost like we were following him around on his safari. Despite being billed as a luxury safari the food and accomodation were basic at best. For some reason he asked us in advance for our preferences for food, wines and spirits but then completely ignored what we had asked for. He only supplied one bottle of cheap wine which he shared with us so I ended up buying him more drinks than he provided. I would happily have paid more for the luxury touches I had specifically asked him for but he seemed not to have read my emails - he initially turned up at the wrong airport terminal.