MY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic friendly and amazing service given
Yes the communication was very friendly.. the tour operator was fluent in english and was
Polite
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Way beyond our expectations
My husband and I just completed a safari trip with CrissCross accompanied by Thinus.
This was the experience of a lifetime! We loved sleeping over at the beautiful Erindi game reserve where one of the waterholes is located in front of the neat chalets and the activity of the wild animals were breath taking and endless.
Namibia offers so much more than wildlife, we also visited Swakopmund, the most beautiful seaside resort with its German origins in its European – style colonial architecture, this is a must visit ! It is amazing to see how the ocean and desert stretch along side by side.
Swakopmund also offers lots of activities to explore and several excellent restaurants surrounded by the beautiful scenery.
We highly recommended Thinus at CrissCross for a pleasant, safe trip with a professional and experienced guide. Thank you again Thinus and Helené.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding Experience
We booked our 3 night/4day safari with Kilidove. George provided excellent service in planning our trip from home. He answered all our questions and he was prompt with replies. When budget became an issue he was able to provide alternatives which we accepted to bring the cost down. Our driver/guide, Nixon, is an amazing person, very friendly and helpful . He stayed with us throughout the trip, from picking us at the airport to dropping us off at the end of the trip. The Serena Lodges in the park were all excellent. We had an amazing time and highly recommend Kilidove.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great value for money, seen a lot!
A great and fantastic Safari-trip! Even though we did the shorter one (2 days, 1 night) we had an awesome time and saw a lot of animals! The organization was good, the food was nice, and the guide was very experienced. Very much worth the money.
The Unforgettable Mt. Kilimanjaro climb Machane route
It was the best decision i have ever taken in my life . After searching in internet and not coming to a conclusion a friend introduced me to Maggie owner at Bison Safaris . she organized the 7 day Machame climb and waooo what can i say ,the food is better than in most of the hotels ,she has well trained cooks who always consult with the clients on what to eat and how it should be done ,the guides are extra ordinary ,the best so far i have encountered, My believe in guides was key as i made it to Point Uhuru something i was sceptical about .If you want to do Mt Kilimanjaro pls contact Bison Safaris and your Climb will be a memorable one. Thanks Maggie and Bison Teams ,that was super delivery . Next year i want a 5 days safari.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best Safari day ever!
Wonderful guides with THE best knowledge about the park's animals and good places to spot them. Keen to make sure the customer enjoys the trip and with a personal love and interest for the animals, they will do everything possible to ensure an experience of a lifetime. If there are animals around, those guys WILL find them. I'll never make a visit to Kruger without them again.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We did not get what we paid for
On the 5, 6, 7 May, my two colleagues and I went on a “classic” three-day, two-night Maasai Mara safari with Oakland Tours Kenya.
It was critical that we booked a private safari as the three of us rarely, if ever, have the chance to meet in person.
Felistus from Oakland confirmed that this would be the case.
We were also told that we would be staying at Fisi Camp, as per the information on the website. However, on Friday we were driven to Manyatta Camp. (Felistus told me after I telephoned her that this was an “upgrade”, but I had made the booking purely on the fact that we were to stay at Fisi.)
On the Friday evening, as we were heading back to the camp after a game drive, our driver, Patrick (who is the saving grace in this whole debacle, because of his exemplary attitude) ran into some troubles with our vehicle, and we had to abandon the vehicle and catch a lift with another group back to camp. We were told that the vehicle would be fixed and ready for our game drive the next morning.
However, the next morning, the van was not fixed. Patrick told us that a part was being delivered from Nairobi which would be used to fix the car. He arranged that we joined another group (of 4 other people – not a private safari). We did not even have the chance to sit together.
At the end of the day (4pm), the part had not yet arrived from Nairobi, though by 7pm it had, and we were absolutely assured that we would have our private game drive the following morning,
Again, we were disappointed: the car was not fixed and we joined another group (5 people) for the morning game drive. We were also told that we would be driven back to Nairobi that morning in a rather beaten-up saloon car.
When we arrived back in Nairobi, Felistus and her business partner were there to greet us and offer their apologies. We had told them that we sought financial compensation because we had paid for a service (in full) that was not delivered. The best they could offer us was local currency for a trip back to the airport. (Which we did not need, but took.)
We found Felistus' attitude to be not at all what we had read about online: she brazenly told us that she would not take responsibility for what had happened, and she proceeded to blame poor Patrick for any wrongdoings/bad decisions made on her part. She didn’t seem in the least bit interested in the fact that we had paid for a private safari, but had not received one, telling us that they “got us to the Masaai Mara and back” and that was the only responsibility that they had.
What’s more, on our itinerary, it was listed that we would enjoy a trip to a local Masaai village on Sunday. This did not happen, and when we questioned Felistus on this point, she said it was “optional” (but, clearly, not our option, as we were never given the choice)!
I had spent some time investigating the wealth of companies that run safaris in the Mara and budget camps. It’s frustrating that nothing that I thought I had chosen was eventually delivered.
I understand that a safari is a complex product, and that things go wrong. But it's how you deal with it, Felistus and Oakland, that is of the utmost importance for continued business.
under20 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Amazing Week
While booking and organising our safari 'Kanuth Adventure Safaris' were very helpful and ensured that we had all the required information before we arrived. The 4 days and 3 night camping safari was amazing. We saw so much and we had an excellent guide who knew all the best spots to view some of the animals (cheetah was the only animal we didn't see). Also, the chef cooked us fresh, good food daily and we were well fed during our stay. We would highly recommend this company.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience for a lifetime
All expectations met, our group was taken great care of from beginning to end. The tour did what was advertised and delivered us an exceptional African safari tour my friends and I will be able to share forever.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Game Drives Spanning 3 Private Reserves
As usual (3rd safari with Taga), Mark was spot on with his suggestions of where we would have the best game sightings. After my many questions regards various lodges and having settled on 4 covering the Timbavati, MalaMala and SabiSands properties, Mark secured the reservations and handled all the ground transfers including stops at the Camp Jubalani elephant safari and Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center. On the last day when our air return to Johannesburg was delayed, Mark kept us informed ( the airport staff were uninformed as to the situation) and also kept my wife informed in the USA. The lodges were excellent especially Nottens Bush Camp as usual and the game drives provided more animal sightings (including the white lions of Timbavati) then all previous safaris. The only drawback was the unexpected heat wave with temps in the high 90's instead of the expected low 80's. Because of that I would recommend late April or May as a better month for a safari. All my previous safaris were in the cooler early may.
Each reserve had pluses and minuses regards animal sightings which is why I always stay 3-4 places on safari. Taga Safaris has in depth knowledge of all the facilities and properties in the surrounding Kruger territories.