ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best trip of my life
The safari has been the best thing of my life, and having the best guide (Filemon) has been the best thing we could have touched, DVD has been the best cook on the safari. Very professional in his work.
MY
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very helpful and experienced tour operator.
Highly recommended to choose this tour operator. They guided us starting from our hotel up to the Nairobi Safari National Park and we have Nicholas who explained everything about Safari and about the wild animals inside the safari.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible
It had a really great 3 days safari. Our gide Izido was amazing and found all the animals from really close. I would defenetly recommend going on a safari with bush and forest.
RO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great and safe Safari
We had a 6 days Safari in February 2024, including Tarangire, Lake Eyasi, South Serengeti, Ngorongoro. We are a family with two 7 years old children. Everything went smoothly during planning. They were flexible, with quick responses and adapted very well to our plans.
Our guide was Lovoi, an experienced guide and a very good driver (this is very important in a safari). He seems to know every single path in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire. Lovoi has "eagle eyes" as he can spot and identify animals where you cannot imagine. He knows a lot about animals, birds and plants. Being a family with relatively small children, safety was very important. Thanks to Lovoi this criteria was completely fulfilled.
The accomodations that were arranged for us were great in all locations.
We also appreciated the meeting we had with Emanuel (manager of the company), that took place both before and at the end of the safari. We had the opportunity to ask questions and also to provide a feed back at the end of the journey.
In conclusion, thanks again Lovoi and African Big Cats Safaris!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great! I had an amazing time.
Everything was arranged very well. I went on safari with a group volunteers from Arusha I worked with, it was so much fun. Our tour guide knew a lot about the nature and the animals. He made sure we had the best spot everytime to see the animals from close by! The accommodation was very beautiful and the food was good! Overal a great experience, I would really recommend Bush and Forest Explorers for safari!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Why are you waiting- go on safari now it will be awesome!
Great group and totally recommend safariing with them!
First compliment to Kili, great on adaptability for clients!
My friend planned a five day safari- and with Kili Slope and it sounded so cool when he told me about it I asked if it was possible to join (this is about a month before the start date). And Kili got me added into the itinerary without issue- which also brought the cost down a little for my friend as now we were sharing lodging.
Also regarding adaptability- my friend really wanted our destinations to include Lake Manyara- but David altered this last minute to the nearby Tarangerie park because of flooding in Manyara that made it unfeasible. This was a great substitution, and over the course of the safari we saw plenty of lions in trees which was the major draw of Manyara anyways.
Also shout out to Eliya who does the airport transfers- great personality and like me loves to be early just in case! I once got stranded at Lima airport because the car from my lodging never showed up so I was pretty apprehensive about the airport transfers for this trip based on that experience- but there was no need for concern! Its easy to get ahold of David on whatsapp and confirm pickup times and Eliya was always there ready for me.
We saw lots of amazing animals animals, and our guide Bakari was very responsive to our interests (like highlighting any new large birds) and making sure I got to see the amazing little potato animals I adore, the Hyrax. We saw a lot of elephants and giraffes and lions, often very close. Never saw a leopard but I did see 4 mongoose so I’ll take that as a win. Also Bakari fixed a popped tire really fast and always got great strategic viewing angles even at crowded sites- 10/10 for our guide.
Overall this trip reminded me of a Viking Cruise I did with my family, the locations were amazing, and once you were with the group you didn’t have to worry about anything. Also the breakfasts and dinners were really good and mostly buffet style
which I always think is best to fully customize types and amounts of food.
Overall a trip with Kili Slope is an incredibly good value, I hope to talk friends and family into doing future
safari trips to Tanzania after this experience.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a Lifetime with African Big Cats Safari, Tanzania
My wife Jane and I chose African Big Cats Safari (ABCS) for our 20th Anniversary trip to Tanzania after reading the over 300 reviews of other travelers who had loved their experience. We made the right choice. From start to finish it was a first-class, luxury vacation. In my working career, I was a Quality Management advisor so I know what a quality experience looks and feels like. In every way, ABCS "exceeded our expectations."
We spent the first two nights at the Gran Melia Hotel in Arusha to recuperate from jet lag. What a beautiful hotel experience that was. You will love it.
ABCS tailored their 7-day, 6-night luxury tour to my requests, including an incredible Serengeti Balloon Safari which took us directly over the Great Migration and set us down right next to it, alongside eight lions walking parallel to the migrating animals. From the balloon, we could see the great migration from horizon to horizon. It goes on year-round and in February the migration is in the southern Serengeti in the Ngutu region where 8000 baby wildebeest are born daily. It is well worth the added cost to do the Balloon Trip; you won't regret it.
Our safari guide, Obedi (Obe), had been guiding for 14 years and he knew every road, turn, tree, and bush like it was the back of his hand. Without a GPS or map he guided the entire trip from memory. Other guides would flash their lights at him, to have him stop and they'd asked him how to get to their camp, as they were lost. This happened twice on this trip. My wife and I love Obe so much we adopted him and plan to keep in touch with him and use him as our guide when we do our next trip to the Northern Serengeti. He calls us Bebe Jane and Babu Andy now.
Obe always asked me daily what we wanted to see and always delivered.
I wanted to see lions in trees, he knew just the tree that they often climbed and we got great photos of 3 lions sleeping in trees. He did the same for finding lion cubs, newborn wildebeest, warthogs, hyenas, giraffes, elephants, rhino's, Cape buffalo, hippos, leopards, cheetahs on a kill, male lions, and even mating lions. We saw them all. We are avid birders as well and he knew them all and pointed out many that I had missed.
We had previously been to Krueger Park in South Africa and it was a great experience, but in terms of the number of big cats we saw in Tanzania I can honestly say, we saw more each day in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater than we saw in a week In South Africa.
The vehicle was a Toyota Land Cruiser with pop-top roof with seating for six passengers. Most all the other safari vehicles were the same make/model. I am so glad we paid extra for a private safari guide and vehicle as we could move from front to back of the vehicle easily with just my wife and me. The roads are bumpy from Ngorongoro Crater to the Serengeti but I was impressed with the great shocks on the Toyota. I might also add that after every safari trip, ABCS has the entire vehicle inspected to proactively make any repairs that may be needed.
Besides Obe's experience as a guide and knowledge of the terrain, he was also a skilled driver, both on-road and off-road, and you spend a lot of time going off-road in the Serengeti. He knew when to slow down and take it slow, he knew how to deal with mud and streams of muddy water, and he knew when to turn around and take another route.
ABCS goes far and above most companies would do. We received a free upgrade to a private Bungalo on Lake Manyara at the Maramboi Luxury Lodge which had our own private infinity pool right at the edge of the lake. The second day, after the morning safari I had an upset stomach and Obe took me to a local pharmacy to get some nausea medicine which corrected the problem. On the third day, I wanted an early start for the Ngorongoro crater and we ended up with a great view of the crater, even getting photos of rhinos far down in the crater. On our last night in the Serengeti, I wanted to try some Tanzanian food, specifically Ugali but was unable to get it made at the lodge we were at. Obe, calls back to the office and talks to Emanuel, the owner and when we return to Arusha, takes me to their office and surprises me with a full-course Tanzania dinner with Ugali! Now that's what I call "5 Star service."
There are hundreds of safari companies offering similar trips. They all use the same type of vehicles, stay at the same lodges, go to the same parks, and have comparable prices. I like supporting ABCS because they are a locally owned, small business and not owned by a foreign/European owner. Emanuel, the owner of ABCS started as a safari guide himself, and just as we in America pursue the American Dream, Emanuel is living his Tanzanian Dream, starting his own business, and employing local talent. I'm impressed with him, his Office Operations Manager, Naomi, and the entire team at African Big Cats Safari, and hope other Americans will choose them for their own once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Two pieces of advice:
1. After 25-30 hours of travel, take a two-night stay at the Gran Melia to start the trip.
Emanuel will come over the next day and give you a brief of your booked safari and answer all questions.
2. Pay the deposit and/or balance via a wire transfer as credit cards have an added 5% charge in Tanzania and they don't take international Bank Drafts.
I am a retired Naval Aviator, and a retired Senior Network Engineer, living in the Villages, FL (If you're a Villager, look us up in the Villages Directory if you want to talk). Anyone who wishes to contact me about my trip may do so. I will be posting a trip review, photos, and video within a couple of weeks on Youtube, just search Youtube for African Big Cats Safari and you should be able to find it
Here is Emanuel's YouTube intro to ABCS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm9pGWMd8wY
Andy and Jane Krauska
Honeymoon of a life time
This was one of the most incredible, surreal experiences I have ever had. My husband and I went for our honeymoon and Mike Hashim at Shengena Adventure made it extra special. We saw all the big 5 and much more. It was truly a lifetime experience and we can’t wait to do it again!!
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just an amazing Experience
I had a 5 days safari tour in February 2024, Tarangire, 3 days in Serengeti and last day in Ngorongoro crater, very lucky to be in the migration period and we saw almost all the possible animals. It was one of the best tour I have ever experienced, Meru Slopes was perfectly organised, very easy to comunicate with them for the organisation and everything, during the tour the guide was very confident and ready to help with everything.
We had an unforeseen in the Ngorongoro but they were very good to reorganise my trip. I really recommend them for an unforgettable safari experience
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good experience
They pay attention to you: punctual, friendly, everything went well
(automatic translation from French)