US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Really took care of me and my friends
She did a great job and helped us go on the trip we wanted. Fair warning though, cash is king. I could not find any places that would take a credit card but she worked with us and we were able to find enough cash over the next couple of days to cover our safari. I would like to add that the driver that she set us up with was amazing and went the extra mile to take care of us and had great relationships in the national park to help make the trip awesome.
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience
It's an absolute privileged to write a review for this travel agent and his company.Because of him,we had a trip of a lifetime in magical Kenya!.we could not have asked for a better experience and are so happy we chose this company to organize this trip for us.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Prompt, friendly and professional communication from and with Mandy Pienaar.
Amazing being in Imfolozi Hluhluwe game reserves. Lots of animal sightings. Mpila camp staff were friendly, accommodation was clean and neat and adequate but mosquito meshes all badly damaged, cracks in the walls of our chalet, doors don't close properly due to having expanded. No keys for chalets, only latches on doors. Great braai and verandah. Great views. Very sad that there were no game drives offered by the camp. The staff at reception gave me differing stories - there were no vehicles and or there was nobody to drive the vehicles...
I wanted more
I would have preferred my tour personalized. I paid, got picked up by a hired taxi, got dropped off then got picked up again. All without seeing anyone from your office and I wasn't informed of all these
For that, I expected more value for the amount paid which was higher than should have been
NZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 9 Day Trip with Adam and Shemeji
This Safari went over and above our expectations. Emma did a great job sorting the trip out, from start to finish and was very prompt at returning my emails. Adam our driver and guide was excellent! Very professional, friendly and super accommodating. With 10 years experience and still a great passion for nature and wildlife you couldn't ask for any better. The camps we stayed in along the way were great, the service and food was top notch! We are already trying to decide when we can come back and do more, and we will defiantly be using Shemeji Safari and Tours again.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid Faustin tours
We (my boyfriend and I) booked a full 5-day Mikumi /Selous safari package tour with Faustin. We agreed on the price and paid Faustin the whole amount in advance. We never received a bill, although we asked several times for it! After paying, he told us, that he wasn't accompanying us for the trip, leaving us with an odd driver, who couldn’t speak English. Even though we had many negative incidents with the driver, the peak reached on the last day of the trip, when the driver never turned up at the hotel to bring us back to Dar!!! Even the people from the hotel and the local guides were shocked with this behavior.
Faustin’s organization was not well planned at all. For more information please read my boyfriend’s (Kosta) review below!!! We never heard from Faustin during the whole tour and are a bit shocked with his response. He uses fake facts/information to respond to honest feedback from customers. Faustin response doesn’t add up. We booked a full package tour from the beginning (pickup Dar + tour + dropoff Dar), not only a driver and a car!
Our trip was never about the money, we had the money, it was about the service. We flew to Tanzania for safari, of course we had the money!!! We are not his friends to ask for favors.
Looking at his negative reviews, his response is always the same. Faustin blames the customer by responding that the customer had no money and he -Faustin- tries to help making a tour possible. Which in our case was not true. He never offered help in any way.
We do not want such an incident to happen to anyone else, that’s why we really not recommend Faustin. If it would be possible, we would give him zero stars.
I bet he is going to respond to my review also negative.
Be very careful booking your safari by him.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
"What a great safari we had with Landside Adventures "
We did 7 day safari to Tarangire, lake manyara,ngorongoro ,Serengeti and Lake Natron with our two kids 7 and 12 years old. What a great trip we had! Everything well organised and excellent communication in advance. The trip itself we had a very experienced guide Solomon that showed us so much, including the Big Five and a river crossing of the wildebeest over the Mara river.
Our cook Nicolas made excellent food for us.Car was new fully functional (including charge station for camera batteries ) and perfectly fit for the job in this often heavy terrain!
I highly recommend Landside Adventure and safaris company to anyone willing to visit Tanzania.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience with a great organization and professional guide
Roberto from Savannah Explorers has driven us during the tour organization, replying promptly every our queries.
He was able to satisfy our requests, suggesting also the best choices for us. The several communications were very fast and complete.
During the safari, our guide Abdul has revealed himself very professional and qualified.
We strongly recommend Savannah Explorers, which allowed us to live this stunning experience with our kids.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical Botswana and Zimbabwe Personalised Tour
Africa Zim Travel & Tours were absolutely amazing. I found Blessing to be incredibly flexible and keen to cater for our specific travel plans and schedule. Our dream trip to Africa included a 5 day horse trek through the Okavango Delta with Okavango Horse Safaris. I emailed Blessing when planning our holiday, months before our departure, to see if he could arrange a personalised tour to extend our stay in Africa. All was arranged via email and a deposit paid. I must admit I was a bit hesitant to arrange everything by email with a Zimbabwean tour company but I now have the opportunity to add to the many positive trip advisor reviews and glowing testimonials from happy travellers. We were picked up by a smiling driver called Andy at Maun airport after our Horse Safari and our next adventure began. Our light aircraft had been delayed numerous times yet he patiently awaited our arrival. The safari tour was very organised, very safe and very professional. Our tour included Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls, multiple game drives, river cruises, excellent accommodation, great meals and so many unforgettable experiences. I really can't thank their team enough. Travelling with a local guide is amazing and certainly made the border crossings a breeze. Every attempt was made to make our safari just perfect and I cannot fault their service. I can't recommend them highly enough. We would go again in a heartbeat!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A whole new experience
We have been a lucky couple, who have in our later years, travelled widely and thought we had experienced most there is to see and do. Breakdown Safaris proved us wrong. Firstly, we had never been to any part of Africa apart from the Mediterranean coast and secondly, we had not been on a safari (to speak of) outside of South East Asia. We thought we knew what to expect, but got more than we ever hoped.
Kathy (one of the two partners) was a pleasure to deal with, whilst booking and getting things together leading up to our adventure. As we lived in Australia, Africa was not an easy place to get to, so we decided to visit on our way back from my daughters wedding in the United Kingdom.
Once we had agreed a time and places to visit with the help of Kathy, things came together and a plan was formed.
When we arrived at Dar Es Salaam, Kathy was there to meet us and greeted us like long lost friends, which I believe we had become over the weeks of pre safari contact by email. Fan, Kathy's husband was also there to meet us, with a broad and welcoming smile. We felt we knew these people already, although we had never formally met.
We were taken on our way, to change some money and we were soon in the truck and our way to a nice hotel called the Upepo Gardens, down by the coast for a couple of nights relaxation.
We visited Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park. We stayed at the most marvellous river camp. We visited Iringa in the Tanzanian Highlands, we visited Zanzibar and Stone Town. We had flights in 12 seater Cessna Aircraft from remote dirt runways, we had ferry rides across to Zanzibar and we slept in a mud hut. We had luxury hotels on Zanzibar and we had a more basic type in Ruaha.
We watched animals from such close quarters, we had breakfast by a lake in the open air. We witnessed the scene of the hunt, the feast and natures clean up. We watched animals that I would never have guessed I could see in one vista. As the sun came up, we watched Baboons, Elephants, Impala, Mongooses and Giraffe whist sitting and eating a bowl of Musli with a hot cup of tea.
We experienced something we had never before, sometimes raw, sometimes moving, but never boring. We had Fan, a Tanzanian guide and husband of Kathy, so knowledgeable in all things Africa and animal behaviour. He took us so close to everything, his enthusiasm was so infectious his genuiness so sincere.
Sometimes, we were up at 6am and on the road by 6.30 watching the sunrise over the savannah or the lake. Sometimes we were out at sunset witnessing the bush as the sun went down to start cooling another hot day in Africa.
All of our days, all of our visits, all of our arranged hotels and pick ups were organised without incident by Kathy. When she said somebody would meet us at a certain place, they were there. We at know time had a anxious moment.
Most of all, over the 13 days we became friends and had many discussions about things important to us. We met others along the way who we will always remember dearly. We finished with a nice dinner at the Upepo, where we had started, but this time with the owners. It was a perfect end.
We had been on an adventure, we had been on a steep learning curve, we had laughed, we had cried, we had been on a safari, it was more than we dare expected.
I cannot speak more highly of Kathy and Fan, I hope they continue to get clients and the reviews they truly deserve. Thank you both.