IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Safari-Best driver-be careful with pricing
We were supposed to be a group of 4 Italian friends; we ended up being only 3 as one of us could not travel at last minute because he got sick. We had a 10 days tour touching Tarangire, Manyara, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Natron. We were extremely happy about the places, animals and tribes we have visited. All very authentic except for the Masai tribe in Ngorngoro that was quite touristic (paid 20 dollars each for 15 minutes very touristic tour); they were asking for money every now and then. Lake Eyasi and Lake Natron are out of the touristic places and so worth visiting. Other tour operators refused to offer Lake Natron as the road to get there was adventurous, and it was indeed. The best part of our trip was Chediel, our fantastic driver! He has never been tired of showing us things, telling us stories about animals (African tales and scientific things as well); he was able to spot the farthest ceetah and taking us close enough to count all the spots on the fur! He was joyful and nice all the time. He also very quickly solved the only problem we got while driving. The jeep sank into the sands and he worked hard to take it out. If you ever choose this tour operator please ask to have Chediel as your guide!!
Unfortunately we could not say exactly the same about Joseph, the tour operator leader, as he was paying more attention on money than on services. He did not provide us with a detailed program and he did not provide us with useful information for what is surely a difficult trip. For example, he did not send us general information on what to wear, what to bring, how a day/meal/dinner was supposed to be (I had contacted 25 tour operators for a quotation and most of them sent these on quotation without even waiting for us to book the tour). For example we were not told to wear a bathing suit when visiting the waterfalls in Natron; we were said we would have had wifi in every lodges while this was not the case for two out of seven lodges (and in other two the wifi was not really working although apparently available). At the end of our trip he helped us to arrange our connection from Dar es Salaam Airport to the ferry harbor (tricky! please allow you lots of time in advance as the traffic is horrible). We thanked him for this, but listen to my consideration: he charged us 50 dollars for the ride (which was absolutely fine) plus 7 dollars each on top of the price for the ferry ticket (that we had booked in advance) because apparently he had to change shelling in dollars to buy the tickets and the commission was to be payed by us (which I absolutely agree), BUT I disagree on EACH of us. Do you really think he paid three commissions and not one? do you ever change money in three different rounds for three friends or would you change money all together to avoid three commissions? Also, as said, one of us could not travel last minute. He gave us back less than 1/10 of the money paid by him saying it was just because of my kindness otherwise he would have not given the money back because apparently he had already used that amount to book the places and even payed the ticket to the parks (which were not). I understand this was last minute and high season, but let's try to be reasonable and honest. I do not believe he could not save money from all the amount my friend had paid and I explain you why: we had paid in advance only 1/3 of the whole trip, but we had not signed any type of contract. What if the all of us had not shown up at all? would he have risked to loose all of those money?? i don't believe so. And by the way when asked to provide a receipt he only issued one for the money we paid there and not for the ones we had send by bank transfer... One last thing... (and ok maybe this was a genuine mistake but when you have more things to complain about it's better to say)...he took me to the counter to change money I needed to give him... he gave me back 8 dollars less than due...
Having said all of this, I am not "Not suggesting" to book with Tomodachi, I am only suggesting to make sure your driver is Chediel and you make clear everything with Joseph before agreeing.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was easily on of the highlights of my life.
Our service was first class from the immediate response to our inquiry, the timely communications leading up to our trip to the actually safari. Our guide was the perfect host. He went out of the way to make us comfortable and seemed to delight in showing us the beauty of his country. He made every effort to meet our specific interests and patiently allowed us to enjoy various animals up close in their natural habitat. The schedule laid out was perfect, the lodge was first class, and we saw every animal we hoped to as well as many more than we could have imagined. As my daughter said, 10 out of 10, we would recommend to a friend! Now that we have been so spoiled, I can't imagine going with anyone else.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Customer Service and Customization
We were impressed with Pembury Tours from our first interaction with them, and our positive impression remained throughout the whole process of putting together our vacation up through the trip itself. At an early stage of planning to travel to southern Africa, we had a vague idea of what we wanted to see, do, and where to stay, and we thought we could plan this trip on our own. However, we were struggling on putting key pieces of our trip (especially the safari part) together. Thus, we decided to reach out to multiple tour companies for quotes.
Anya with Pembury Tours helped us put our small ideas into a grand plan, which ended up being a roughly 2 1/2 week trip through South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. At the outset, Anya put together a highly customized itinerary for us, and she worked with us to make small changes to it to make it our own. Through multiple emails, she asked us various questions and we provided her with an idea of what we wanted. Anya was always responsive and patient with us throughout the process, and ultimately planned a phenomenal vacation for us that started in Victoria Falls, continued on to Kruger National Park, Cape Town, Vilankulo in Mozambique, and finished in Johannesburg. Anya and Pembury Tours were also cognizant of our trip budget, and were willing to work with us to maximize our experience based on what we were looking to spend. For example, given that we had a lot of hotel points, we decided to use those for our hotel stays in the Cape Town region. Given this, we were not expecting Anya to help us out with the Cape Town leg at all. However, Anya was receptive to this, understood that we wanted to save some money, and recommended various tour options for us in that area and helped us book them. She also provided us with additional, helpful information for Cape Town, the wine lands, and Hermanus. A really nice thing that Anya and Pembury Tours did was to put together a book for us which included our itinerary, recommendations on what to see and where to go for each leg of the trip and for each day, animals we might see while on safari and on our whale watch in Hermanus, driving directions and maps, and a little bit of history on each place visited. This book, which was hand-delivered to us by one of our tour guides, was a very nice gesture from Pembury Tours that made us feel confident that we were going to have a great trip, very early on.
Our trip was memorable, relaxing, and exciting, all at the same time. We have Anya at Pembury Tours to thank for that. Should we decide to return to Africa in the future, we will not hesitate to reach out to Anya and Pembury Tours to help book our next trip there! We also plan to recommend Anya and Pembury Tours to our family and friends that are contemplating visiting Africa.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent, custom made, 7 days private safari in Kenya (Nakuru-Naivasha-Hells Gate-Longonot- Mara)
Patricia organised a fantastic, (very) custom made, 7 day safari for two for us at the end of July.
The camps were the ones I requested and of overall very good quality, the itinerary was followed as agreed, and Francis, our driver and guide, was wonderful - knowledgeable, keen to ensure we saw everything (and we did, even leopards!), and a pleasure to spend time with and talk to about Kenya. He was flexible when needed, and always in a good mood and ready to answer our many questions.
I found the communication with Patricia ahead of the trip great (so prompt and helpful compared to other operators with whom I was discussing in parallel). She was patient in agreeing an itinerary we liked and responded timely. Having researched many safari companies, I thought the offer (accommodation and activities included) was great value.
On choice of camps, I'm sure Patricia could recommend and arrange everything with little effort for clients, but I had very specific requests, which she met brilliantly. Our favourite experience was Wilderness (as it was very small and remote/wild), followed by Basecamp. We enjoyed that by staying at Wilderness we got to experience a Land Cruiser safari and a walking safari in a beautiful conservancy next to Masai Mara included in the package. Crater Lake tented camp (close to Naivasha) was also in a very beautiful setting.
Our itinerary also included a Hell's gate walk and cycle, and a hike up Mount Longonot. They were both organised very smoothly and we felt very safe and taken care of by the local guide the company arranged.
It was a fantastic week and I'd highly recommend Patricia and Francis!
US
Sf hub is the best
I was in my hollyday with my Fiancee Laura , to Tanzania and it was simply awesome , Our guide Mabu showed us the most beautiful thing ever :), thank you so much
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Journey of a Lifetime
From our first email contact with Jackson, to our return home, Bush 2 City Adventure has provided excellent service and a wonderful adventure. Jackson expertly helped us plan our 11 day safari/vacation to Northern Tanzania and Zanzibar which included Tarangire Park, Lake Manyara, a visit to a local village and orphanage, the Serengeti, Oldupai Gorge, and Ngorongoro Crater. We wanted to see cheetah and leopards, the Great Migration and a river crossing, relax in the early evening in front of our tent watching elephants, and hear lions roar in the night. We experienced all of that and more! We even saw leopard cubs and two black rhinos!
The accommodations were excellent- both lodges and tent camps- comfortable with friendly, helpful staff and wonderful food. (How do they prepare gourmet meals in these tent camps?) We traveled in a land cruiser, which was comfortable and roomy, although we were just a party of two, plus our guide. And I can't say enough about our guide! Said was very knowledgeable about the animals and the habitat, entertaining, a great driver, and very patient and accommodating. I'm still in awe of his ability to sight these animals (and his mastery of several languages.)
This was definitely a trip of a lifetime, and Jackson, Said, Wilson and the staff of Bush 2 City made it possible. As Jackson said to me in one of his first emails, a journey is not just the sights you see, but the friends you make. We left Tanzania having seen our "wish list," and with several new friends. Thank you guys for an awesome journey!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari with Africa Flash McTours
We did the 6 days and 5 nights Luxury safari of Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. Right from the start Peter provided us with excellent communication and guidance about the details of the safari and how to go about booking it. He's very professional yet personable, and did his absolute best to accommodate our requests. As we booked the safari quite late, there weren't enough rooms available at one particular campsite, but Peter and his company covered the additional costs to book us elsewhere in a more luxurious one! All the accommodations, meals and services were fantastic. Our guide Leonard was terrific, very knowledgable about the wildlife and parks, and excellent at driving us for hours on end during the game drives. We got to see all of the Big Five. This was our first time in Africa and my family and I couldn't have had a better time! I highly recommend Africa Flash McTours and thank you Peter for everything!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Superbly well organised and executed from start to finish and exceeded expectations.
Annette was a beautiful communicator as was our guide (Javid). We were kept well informed and though adjustments were necessary during the tour, these were made efficiently and seamlessly. The time-keeping was superb, the choice of lodges was excellent, the guide was knowledgeable, courteous and considerate in his driving and concern for us as visitors. The tour exceeded my expectations in that we were escorted at all times in a vehicle just for the two of us; we were given as many drives as we desired; the optional tours were offered but not forced upon us; we were sent off and greeted back at the airport by Annette; and we were given a an unexpected gift at the airport. Javid was a joy to be with and his enthusiasm and love of the animals enabled us to truly express our thrill at seeing everything we wished to see. All went totally to plan and we had a holiday of a lifetime.
BE
An unforgettable safari in a beautiful nature
We are a family of 5 persons and we made a 7 day safari tour with Mega Adventures from 15 July to 21 July.
We were really delighted with the quality of the services of Mega Adventures,the expertise and friendliness of our guide Ally and with the wonderful nature in Tarangire,Manyara,Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
The lodges were very comfortable and the wildlife was amazing.
A mega adventure and a mega pleasure!
Thank you Ally,we were really like "poa kichizi kaman dizi nani fridgi"
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Choose Lion King Adventures! They made our family safari a dream come true!
My family recently returned in August from a 6-day safari with Lion King Adventures, and everything about the safari completely exceeded all of our expectations... it was the most incredible trip made possible by Anna who helped us book it, and by our tour guides, Saleh Omari and Oswald Shayp, who lead us through this amazing adventure.
Initially we were worried about planning a safari thousands of miles away with little knowledge of what is reasonable to expect in choosing locations to see, places to stay, length of safari, price range. We were a bit overwhelmed by all the tour companies and possibilities. We narrowed down the possible tours to 3 based on the several facts: We were a family of 8 so needed to travel in multiple vehicles, we wanted to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara River in Northern Serengeti, and we needed a moderate price range.
Our first experience with Lion King Adventures was Anna, who helped us book a tour that met all our needs. She is knowledgeable, asks the right questions, and was able to book our lodgings, and even rebook them when our arrival schedule to Tanzania changed. She was the voice of sanity and calm for us as we planned the trip thousands of miles away.
Lion King Adventures met us at the airport when we arrived in Tanzania… not once, but twice since we all arrived on different flights at different times. They even stopped in Arusha to pick up my daughter who was finishing up a summer internship there. We all met at Ilboru Lodge in Arusha, the first lodge that Anna booked for us. This was a great place for us to all meet up to begin our adventure. We even got to speak with guests who were returning from their safaris, which certainly sparked our excitement. Anna met with us that first evening along with one of our guides, Saleh, to go over where we would be going and staying the next 6 days.
As we started our safari, it became evident to us that the role of the safari guide is far larger than we initially understood it to be. Our 2 guides, Salah and Oswald, were an integral part of our group for the 6 days… working 16 hour days addressing all our needs – driving on the highways from Arusha to the national parks dealing with the local police checks, checking us into and out of the parks, getting our lunch boxes and finding places to eat, making coffee and such, driving the game drives, working the radio finding where the game are, driving on the off-road conditions within the parks, answering our many questions, checking us in and out of the lodges and camps, handling the luggage, cleaning out the Land Rovers between days. It was mind-numbing everything they took care of so that we had an amazing experience. And the entire time that Saleh and Oswald were doing the above, they were also upbeat, smiling, and entirely engaged in the proceedings of the safari. We had spent so much time with Saleh and Oswald, and they had shown us so much about the Tanzanian savanna, that by the end of the safari, they were more like family to us than safari guides. Both Saleh and Oswald have a good command of English, each day many times they would ask each of the 8 of us how we were doing. They each had an extensive knowledge of the Tanzanian parks – the history, the ecology, the people, and the animals. They had the guide books and could answer most of our questions. You could also tell that both Saleh and Oswald enjoyed being safari guides (each having done it over 5 years), they both loved Tanzania and its beauty. What became obvious to us during the safari was that the safari guides are on the radio with each other all the time and work the radio to figure out where the animals are. Saleh and Oswald seemed to know a lot of the other guides and were very good at determining when to follow a lead and when not to. They were also very respective of the animals in their habitat. I think we saw about everything except for the black rhino. The highlight for us was seeing the wildebeest and zebra crossing the Mara River – we actually got to see it, mainly due to Saleh’s and Oswald’s work. The unusual sights we saw were 2 lionesses take down a hyena that got too close to their cubs, a leopard in a tree with its kill, 2 cheetahs, 3 lion brothers walking to get water, lionesses up in a tree (Lake Manyara), an ostrich doing its mating dance, 3 hippos fighting, and then all the babies… zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, elephants, wart hogs, gazelles, baboons, monkeys, and it goes on – haven’t even mentioned all the birds we saw). I would highly recommend Saleh and Oswald as safari guides to anyone.
We spent 1 day at Lake Manyara National Park and 1 day at Ngorongoro Crater, and for these days we were booked in Eileen’s Trees Inn in Karatu. Eileen’s Trees is a fabulous inn… beautiful, comfortable rooms with private baths and a wonderful dining room and food. They easily accommodated our large group and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Then we spent 1 day in Central Serengeti and 2 days in Northern Serengeti. For the Serengeti National Park, we stayed at 2 different Serengeti Heritage Camps within the Serengeti National Park. The staff that ran these camps were very attentive, provided wonderful meals, and the tent facilities were top notch.
We had no idea when planning this safari that these Serengeti Heritage Camps would be one of the highlights of our safari. Everything so far with our tours of Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the game drives in the Serengeti were largely visual. Sleeping in the Serengeti Heritage Camps was the audio part of our safari… just listening to the animals within the camp at night as they grazed and moved was a completely awesome and unexpected bonus!
The most difficult aspect of the safari was driving back from northern Serengeti to Arusha. We made that trip in 1 day… 265 miles in 12 hours as most of it is off road. This is a decision we made based on what we wanted to do on our safari and how many were in our group – we wanted to go to the Northern Serengeti to see the wildebeest cross the Mara River. Saleh and Oswald made this trip back to Arusha as pleasant as possible… not sure how they do it!
In conclusion… we finished our safari with a greater understanding and awe of Lion King Adventures! We were so happy and felt so fortunate that they were our safari tour company!