US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing experience!!!
What a great experience. The staff was very knowledgable, the accommodations were clean and above average. The food was amazing. One of the best safari's we have been on.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzania excursions life changing!
Selma and Yohannes, owners of Makasa Tanzanian Safaris, made all of the arrangements for our recent wonderful trip to Tanzania. We were extremely happy with every aspect of the trip, beginning with the initial contacts, scheduling, arrangements, and answers to our questions. We have corresponded with Selma for several months, and each time we contacted her with questions and possible changes, she answered promptly, thoughtfully, and thoroughly. Her suggestions and recommendations for places to visit, places to stay, customs that we needed to know about before visiting, and the order in which each part of the trip would go were helpful, accurate, and very prompt. When we wanted to add various different activities to the trip, she found a way to make these additions happen, safely and enjoyably. The guides employed by Makasa are insightful, thoughtful speakers of excellent English (great for us, as we speak no Swahili). We especially enjoyed the time we spent with a safari guide named Humphre, who had a wealth of information, knew where to find the animals, and had a fantastic sense of humor! Transportation provided to us during the tour was safe and always on time. There were no surprises involving the places we stayed; they were all as described to us by Selma. Selma and Yohannes even took the time to personally come to meet with us more than once, and make sure that the trip was meeting our expectations as well as answer questions. We highly recommend Makasa Tanzanian Safaris, as the arrangements and communications far exceeded our expectations, and our trip was most enjoyable!
SK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3-day Call of the Wild
My wife was on a business trip in Tanzania for the third time and hasn't seen anything but airports and hotel rooms. This time she had a weekend off between conferences so I decided to fly down and meet her for a 3-day Safari what turned to be the best 3 day vacation ever!! Prior to arriving in Kilimanjaro we were talking, organizing the trip with Peter. He was very helpful and responsive to our emails. Because we only had 3 days to spare, we wanted to get the most out of it and decided to have a private tour - just my wife, myself, and Jackson (our driver and guide in one person) in a Land Cruiser. This way we didn't have to depend of others or make compromises. Our trip included: 2 days in Serengeti NP and 1 day in Ngorongoro Crater plus we visited a Masai village and learned more about their way of life. Jackson was very knowledgeable, friendly, and really cared we have the best time. We were very lucky to see all Big 5! (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard) and herds of wildebeests, zebras, and hippos, monkeys, lots of birds...the list goes on and on. Accommodation was excellent. We spent the first night in a tented camp in the heart of Serengeti where I tasted the best pumpkin soup, enjoyed gorgeous sunset, and was woken up from a sleep by a strange noise...first I thought it was Jackson laughing in the next tent just to find out later it was hyenas :) Even though it seemed impossible, the second day in Ngorongoro was probably even better adventure. Out of nowhere, a pride of 14 lions stood up from the tall grass and started walking toward us. We followed them across the crater until they settled again. Apparently, they were in a hunting mood. We sat there patiently, waiting for what happens next as three clueless buffaloes were getting closer to the pride. It was just like National Geographic in 4D - a jaw dropping experience seeing lions in action, their strategy of attack...just amazing, lost for words. I bet Safari is also on your bucket list...do it! This trip far exceeded our expectations. Hope to go back one day.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Walking Safari Big 5 included both the White and the Black Rhino
The entire staff was top notch from the kitchen staff and hostesses to the guides and rangers. We managed to stay at all three accommodations provided: the Rhino Post, Plains Camp and Platform in the Trees. Bonga took us on the driving part of our safari and he had great instincts spotting game even in the dark - elephants, hippos, rhinos, and hyena, In the day we saw all that and more - two leopards in a tree, a few lions in the road, etc. The walking part of the safari really exceeded are expectations. We saw all the Big 5 from close range feeling safe with our ranger Bernard Mhlanga and Amos. Being on foot was an amazing experience mixing the wonder of nature with adrenaline. The animals really seem bigger when you are on the ground with them. Bernard vast knowledge of animal behavior, tracking, bird song and flora and fauna was quite impressive. As was his and Amos' uncanny ability to track and spot the animals. Those four black rhinos at the end were the icing on the cake.
IT
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
very nice tour, great experience
we had a very good experience with Golden rwanda Tours ...Frank was our driver for all the week we spent in Rwanda tour in january 2016.From Kigali we went to Volcanoes National Park , than Giseny , lake Kivu, Gitarama and Kigali again.
Frank was a very good guide, very good driver,the service was perfect, the car 4x4 perfect and very confortable-
Who will plane to go to Rwanda might contact Frank and Golden Rwanda Tours and will enjoy the tour !!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't book with Travelust. Very bad experience with this company & it's owner. Read others' reviews.
Absolutely do not make the mistake of booking with Travelust. Not only has our group had significant issues with this travel company and it's owner James Kateeba but so have many others before us. We waited to initiate our social media review of this company, hoping that the owner James Kateeba would do the right thing and refund us the $6700 he stole from us. But we have now waited for 2 months and have received excuse after excuse for why our money has not been refunded. We will also be reviewing Travelust on multiple other travel sites so that other unsuspecting travelers are not taken advantage of as we were. You can read many other peoples' negative reviews of this company in addition to ours. Here is what happened to us in Feb 2016:
James Kateeba and his travel company, Travelust, almost ruined our entire trip to Africa because he did not secure our gorilla trekking permits nor our golden monkey permits. We payed him 6 months in advance and when we arrived in Uganda and Rwanda to trek with the mountain gorillas, he had stolen our money and never booked the permits. Only because one of the people in my travel group had close connections with the tourism board in Uganda were we able to trek. We had to pay the money a second time and wait for hours of phone calls and special accommodation so that we could trek. Had she not known the right people, Travelust would have been responsible for completely ruining our entire trip since the whole reason we traveled to Uganda and Rwanda was to trek with mountain gorillas. We waited to post on social media, giving James the owner of Travelust a chance to refund the $6700 he owes to our group. But after months of excuses and delays and continued fraud, we are now speaking up. We only wish we had read other similar posts before we booked with him. But by the time we saw the other negative posts on line about this company, we had already paid him in full. I hope no one uses this travel company after reading my review. We even filed police reports in both Uganda and Rwanda to try to help keep this horrible experience from happening to others.
US
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Travelust are thieves!!
Worst tour operator ever! Don't use them under any circumstances. They never purchased our gorilla permits, so after traveling across the world, we were almost unable to trek in either Uganda or Rwanda - luckily we were able to but we had to spend even more money to re-buy the permits. Travelust gave us a vehicle with a broken seat, missing seat belts, a window that wouldn't open, and no air conditioning. We even had to fork over $300 just to get out of the national park since their money card wouldn't work. They never returned our calls or emails, just left us hanging and we had to involve the Ugandan police. Our group had to lay out $7,000 over and above what we had already paid!!! James stole our money and won't pay us back. He's done this before to other people!! Don't get taken like we were!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lovely Family and Great Experience
Chris and Nicky are welcoming, thoughtful, and hard-working. The truck was clean and in great condition with all the amenities described by others. Chris is very skilled at driving the large truck. The drive to the park (on the highway) was at times very bumpy. But inside the park where the speed was slower, the truck was very comfortable and perfect for looking for wildlife. When we started our safari, Chris and Nicky had just finished another one the night before. In light of how tired they must have been, they surprised us with their preparation, sense of humor, and sustained enthusiasm for the bush. Nicky somehow brought a full-sized chocolate cake into the wild to make the birthday trip extra memorable. She also thoughtfully recommended a great book for the kids from one of the gift stores inside the park. There was a misunderstanding about the itinerary but it was resolved with no issues at all. We felt well taken care of throughout the trip. :)
IL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari trip in Tanzania !
It was our first trip to Tanzania, and what a great trip it was!!
A 9 days Safari trip, which revealed the power of nature in Africa: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Ndutu, Serengeti and Arusha N. Park.
We travelled in a group of photographers with “Easy Travel and tours Ltd” and their slogan “your Tanzanian friend” was our reality all day long.
The vehicles were clean and well equipped every day: Cold water and even Wifi…
What made the trip so special was our guide, Herman John Kiriama. Every morning, early, he was waiting for us smiling. His knowledge in wildlife and experience driving through the reserves and national parks were amazing!! While driving, all our questions were answered, with lots of patience, regarding the animals, plants, science, Politics and many more.
Herman can find animals hiding in the tall grass, far away, and by making the exact sounds of each animal he caught its attention. He was always trying to find the best angle for observing and taking pictures and we came back with lots of amazing photos.
Herman never got off the road and kept both us and the animals safe. He kept on saying: “this is nature and we should accept it”. We recommend Herman and all the other guides of “Easy Travel”, which made the trip so great.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Support for South African trip and safari
We cannot say enough good things about the support Ute Sonnenberg provided to us for our trip to South Africa, including our safari. Ute understood even better than we did what our needs would be and exceeded our expectations every step of the way. Ute's responsiveness was nearly immediate and always helpful. We had many questions, and Ute patiently walked us through each decision point in our process. The safari she selected for us (& Beyond Kirkman's Kamp) was truly outstanding and customized for our family, as Ute secured us a private vehicle, since we were a family of five. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and Ute was a wonderful partner the entire time. We are grateful to Ute for all her assistance and leadership, and would recommend Roho Ya Chui to anyone!