50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Cape to Addo national Park with the owner and guide. Highly recommended.
My wife and I went on a private tour with Craig, the owner and guide of his tour company, what a wonderful,intelligent and highly knowledgeable chap, we could discuss any subject whether it be the ecologically sensitive Knysna lagoon, the price of property or the political situation.
Accommodation was in ''charming'' friendly establishments, including a private ''lodge'' in the Addo National Park. I highly recommend this tour for it's huge diversity, value for money and Craig's personal touch. Bravo Craig I know Southern Africa tours will grow from strength to strength.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Enjoyable, interesting and often exciting encounters.
My 8 day "Cheetah Safari" certainly lived up to any expectations I had.
In the main, accommodation was very good to excellent, as was their food and service. Our driver/guide was most genial, helpful, efficient .... and good fun! Maximum use was made of areas visited and time spent in each location. As a result animals "performed" accordingly with sightings of a leopard close up, a number of black rhino and a river crossing, as well as many lions, elephants, cheetahs, wildebeest, jackals etc. Special arrangements were also made so that I could visit the Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi (an inclusion at the end of the tour) before catching an early flight. This African Encounter is thoroughly recommended.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Second safari and just as fantastic as the first
This was the second safari we did with East African Safari and Touring Company (Eastco) and the trip was just as good as the first.
We went on our honeymoon with Eastco and on this trip I took my parents. I had emailed a few other companies for quotes but the communication I received from David was excellent, really quick to reply, and very willing to answer any and all my questions.
The trip did live up to our expectations and in many areas exceeded it.
The wildlife of course was a highlight, as was the interaction with the guide, the Masai at Tarangire and the Tingatinga artist at Boundary Hill Mr Nchimbi.
Boundary Hill Lodge was special, beautiful views, wildlife, being able to go for a bush walk and night drive all added to the experience of this quiet, well managed lodge.
We also stayed at Ol Tukai beautiful and quiet as well on the shores of Lake Manyara.
The wildlife lodge at Ngorongoro had beautiful views but as expected with a lodge of this size the food was very good but not excellent. The view and easy access to the crater made up for it.
In the Serengeti we slept in Eastco's own camp ensuite shower and toilet and perfect locations to catch the wildebeest birth.
If you have not seen the calving, with hyena and lion, vultures and jackals you should go, it is an amazing experience. Even though we had been before we probably enjoyed the trip and wildlife better this time round.
I would recommend a Tanzania safari and you can't go wrong with Eastco.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience
Wild wings are exceptional. Communication with Gavin during the booking stage was excellent with prompt replies to any questions. The safari itself was beyond our expectations. Simon was our guide and it was a privilege to share his passion and knowledge of wildlife. He was no ordinary guide and went the extra miles and hours to ensure we had as many sightings as possible. Our feet literally didn't touch the ground as if Simon had news of a sighting we were on our way - siesta or no siesta - we weren't there to sleep! Simon is also a great cook and entertaining company. When looking for a safari company we think we found a jewel in wildwings and highly recommend them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Aardvark Expeditions , the best choice :)
We have been to Tanzania, in Oct 2014 with only 2 goals in our mind: have fun and enjoy safari. If the first goal was our responsibility, a group of 10 joyful people, the second one was only possible with the greatest account of Aardvark Expeditions team. We left Arusha in 2 cars, each having a guide and a chef. Apart following their job description, they were so friendly and funny which made the good bye more painful. The guides were very well informed, and we did learn a lot, they knew the 'lucky spots' in the savannah where we could enjoy the view of wild animals and somehow, they made us feel safe in the camp when the night was falling and the wild beasts were pinpointing their red eyes at us, behind the bushes. The itinerary is established from the beginning, depending on how many days you want to spend in the safari, but at the same time they were very flexible with our requests, for example, when we asked to stop and visit a maasai village or, to go on the opposite way so we can buy some souvenirs from a local market. The food was excellent, we had 3 meals/day and the soups were memorable :) Our tour included, a maasai village, Manyara Lake camping for one night in tents with beds, Ngorongoro Crater, camping on the rim of the volcano, Serengeti National Park, camping in a very nice and quite private camp, Victoria Lake and visiting a fishing village and eventually they drove us to Mwanza, so we can carry on our adventure.
I would strongly recommend Aardvark Expeditions for anyone who wants to mix safari adventure and fun.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ouganda will be in my heart forever thanks to Matoke Tour
Well having just spent 3 weeks in Ouganda, I must say it has been BEYOND my expectations and Matoke tour has definitely something to do with that feeling.
We visited with their recommandations all the possible highlights, staying in the most beautiful places nature wise , it was a great mix of safari, roads used by very few tourists, boat safaris, Sippi falls, Nile rafting, Kibale forest with the chimpanzes, Mutanda Lake and the gorilla tracking. We went round the country in a really cool 4x4 and the driver was very safe on the sometimes very bumpy and difficult roads. His service was perfect! Always on time, very friendly and fun and making contact with the locals really eased the relationship to people. Matoke could even organise us to visit the secluded far North tribe of the Karamanjong which was A highlight.
We could relay on Matoke tour at every moment, the head office was always there for questions or details to sort along the trip.
We had the best conditions to visit Ouganda , because we felt they love to share their enthusiasm and love about Ouganda. So I can only recommend Matoke highly. Thanks to the head manager Vim and our driver Franck !!
Fun and interesting.
Communications were not handled by myself but feedback seemed to be prompt and efficient.
The tour was great but long distances and slow travel meant safari time wasted. Not sure what the criteria was for the itinnerary as I did not book it, but one day extra to break up the journey back to entebbe would have been welcome.
The guiding and destinations were fantastic.
Great time with Big Time Safaris!
My dad came to visit me in Kenya, and I just knew we had to see Masai Mara together, and Big Time Safaris really came through for us. They were easy to book with, very "on top of it" when it came to communicating pre-safari, and extremely accommodating during the safari. They were able to not only pick him up at his hotel in town, but they braved the traffic to pick me up at my private residence outside of town as well. They were a bit late picking both of us up, but this is Kenya, and I think all tourists should be open to adapting a little bit to "Kenyan time."
The "budget camping" accommodations were actually very nice - the fixed tents were like little homes, and it was a pleasant surprise that there was always hot water. You need to want to camp and have "that experience" if you go for the camping trip though; if you want Grand Hyatt or Hilton-esque accommodations, that's not the trip for you.
Our driver, Joseph, was excellent. Lots of friends who've been on safari in the Mara say that your experience really depends on your driver, and Joseph was able to spot four out of the Big Five for us (five, if a cheetah counts as a leopard to you!) His persistence with spotting and finding the two black rhinos that he found - we were the only vehicle that day to see them - was amazing and made for a very exciting drive.
Definitely also make it a point to visit the Masai village while you're there. It will be obvious that they make a lot of money from selling their goods to tourists, but being able to see their homes and ask questions about their lifestyles will be worth the hassling to buy goods at the very end of the visit.
Overall, such a great time with Big Time Safaris!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Expert knowledge and outstanding attention to safety and comfort.
From the time we were picked up at Nairobi's airport to the end of our journey, we were well taken care of. We had customized our itinerary and found all arrangements to be more than satisfactory. Mr. Agoi was indeed affable and willing to share his wealth of knowledge. The nine days we spent in the Mara and Amboseli certainly exceeded my personal expectations. The "cheery on top" came in the form of the Sheldrick Elephants Orphanage in Nairobi- not to be missed.
QE National Park and Gorilla Trekking
From the initial information and options supplied everything was easy and straightforward with Safari Wildz. We were all met at the airport even though our group arrived from three different destinations at different times. The Entebbe accommodation was perfectly fine for a night stop at either end. The QE Bush Camp, Ishasha Wilderness Lodge and Buhoma Lodge in Bwindi Forest were all very nice, and ranked in that order with Buhoma being the nicest. The accommodation and food was VERY good value with the average cost per day of transport, accommodation and full board being around $150 or less. Around half of the cost of our Safari Wildz experience was the permits (Gorilla, Chimp, Park Entry etc) so all in all incredibly good value. Our guide Hollie Manuel (Ma'Gog) was tremendous. Great fun and a tireless tarmac trekker she was also a mine of information and an excellent safari guide. Spatially and chronologically challenged at times which was never less than endearing I hope we didnt give her too much grief!!! She is to be thoroughly commended and recommended for a job well done under difficult conditions! Some of the road trips were rather long and gruelling and there were times when we wished for a vehicle with better (or indeed some) suspension but given the Ugandan Government's love affair with speed bumps I'm not sure if anything short of flying wiould shorten the trips and that would have made the trip prohibitively expensive. In short the itinerary worked well, the accommodation and food was much better then I was expecting, the guiding was MOST EXCELLENT and all the destinations and wildlife experiences were as good or way better than promised. The trip was VERY GOOD value for money. Safari Wildz are 100% recommended