AE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experience of a lifetime !
i had arranged a 6 day tour for my parents through Acheche Tours covering Mount Kenya/Ol Pejeta/Samburu / Masai Mara and boy! it was an awesome trip my parents would never forget. Ann from Acheche tours is a gem of a person and she was available all the time if we had any queries through whatsapp .. the communication was par excellence ! Does she even sleep ? Love the dedication... I was literally tension free knowing that Ann had it all taken care of and her passion towards clients satisfaction was exemplary. I would highly recommend anyone planning for Safari to do try these guys out plus i have not seen anybody give a better value deal than Acheche and that too during the peak migration period . Keep up the good work !
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect safari, perfect team, perfect guide -> unforgetable impressions
We did a 7 days safari in Tansania with Kilidove Tours end of August 2016 at nothern circuit with Arusha NP, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, Ngorongoro and of course the Serengeti. George aranged everything perfect, all Lodges, all gamedrives and visit to Oldupai-gorge were well organized. No problems at all. Incredible Impressions and Joshua (best guide south of the sahara) made this trip unforgetable. We will come back and do our next safari with Kilidove.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent experience (with couple of exceptions)
I had booked on behalf of a party of 7 (3 couples and an adult child). Pre-trip communications were good. The safari was mostly as expected and our driver/guide, Antony, was excellent. He was especially good at finding out about places where things were happening and getting us there quickly, and into a good viewing spot - most of the things that make up a good safari tour. Sadly, but through no fault of his, we did not sight a leopard but did run into the other big 5, and plenty of zebras and wildebeest, including a river crossing by a herd of the latter - a spectacular sight.
I would note two exceptions, both of which relate to the central office and not to our driver/Guide, but which led me to rate less than "Excellent":
- When our itinerary had us setting out in the morning to arrive at our destination for lunch, we did not expect the ride to be almost 7 hours, i.e. a very late lunch. This was entirely the result of the fact that the road into and out of Masai Mara turned from paved to a dirt road (very bumpy) well before the reserve, which was the only thing in the itinerary that surprised us. It would be helpful to note the major transit times in the itinerary. If this had been our only gripe, I would have given the excellent rating.
- More serious was our baggage situation. Prior to arriving for the tour, the group had visited Cape Town and Victoria Falls. I had advised the tour office that we would be travelling with one checked bag and one carry-on each and could consider leaving some bags in Nairobi to be picked up on our way to departure from Nairobi airport, but was assured that the LandCruiser had ample room to accommodate that. And that is precisely what we arrived with. Unfortunately, there was not sufficient space for all the luggage nor sufficient time to rearrange our packing (we arrived Nairobi very late night preparatory to a 7 a.m. departure). The matter appeared to be resolved by the fact that a smaller group was undertaking a similar tour with what we were told were two minor differences - at Lake Nakuru they were staying in a different place but not far and they were leaving from Nairobi on a different flight, but in a similar timeframe. Seemed like a simple solution for them to transport some of our bags. In reality, further differences emerged - the other group had some other excursions also planned so our departure/arrival times were not perfectly coordinated. It also appeared that they were unhappy having to carry our bags and having to make some timing accommodations for that. Finally, we learnt that they were not in fact flying out of Nairobi the same day as us. As a result, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to arrange for the bags to arrive at the airport with us, without risk of any delay. This preyed on our minds and the time spent on this detracted from our enjoyment of the tour. On the last day, we agreed that we would take with us the bags of 5 of us who were leaving on an earlier flight and that the remaining 2 of us leaving on a later flight would pick up our bags from the other vehicle once it arrived to the other group's hotel in Nairobi. Well, even that plan got changed as we were advised, at the eleventh hour, that the other driver had some other engagement as a result of which we met on the roadside somewhere and transferred our other bags into our vehicle - making our last hour pretty uncomfortable. It seems that the other group's itinerary and the other driver's schedule should have been known by the tour company in advance and that we were misled as to what the true situation was. It also seemed to us that any solutions they proposed were to their convenience and not ours. Hence, the reduced rating.
Antony, thanks for your service. Despite the issues noted, we did enjoy.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very attentive to my needs and great follow-through!
Communication was excellent. Ute answered our questions/concerns quickly and concisely. The entire trip exceeded our expectations and with every place we visited or stayed, we felt welcomed and in good hands. Blyde Canyon is a must see destination and the lodge accommodations were superb. Vicky (owner) was wonderful and informative. Her staff was friendly and lovely. Our safari guides (Marten & Quintin) were knowledgeable and adventurous. Our accommodations at Laughing Waters Lodge were also wonderful. There were a few snafus, but the staff made-up for them with professionalism and friendliness. A must do experience and adventure!
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Perfectly Orgainsed Safari
We have just returned from a 3 centre, 2 week, family safari organised by Michelle Astbury.
We had a really fantastic time and everything was perfectly organised by Michelle, who was extremely helpful in finding the best options for us as well as making sure that everything ran like clockwork.
She answered every one of our many questions and queries, helpfully and informatively, which was very much appreciated.
Her recommendations were perfect for us and we enjoyed the entire trip enormously, all the transfers and flights were easy and well orgainsed.
In all it was a fantastic experience, exceeding all our expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend Michelle of Sun Safaris.
This was our best family holiday so far!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I couldn't have asked for a better, more informed and well organised company for this style of trip.
We received excellent service throughout the whole trip: warm contact, a very pleasant and interesting guide who was very experienced & knowledgable. We were lucky to be able to see the big 5 & a lot more animals & birds in the three parks : Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongora crater. What an incredible country ! Our guide was happy to help in any way, & helped us plan parts of our onwards trip in Tanzania. I can highly recommend Lion King Adventures. Thank you for everything !
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great experience
We did a 18-day drive tour through Namibia. We received a great assistance in planning and booking phase. Anita was always available and quick in responses. She also gave us a useful support and a lot of tips during the journey. A great experience with Cardboard Box Travel Shop Team.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded All My Expectations and Tour Guides Were Amazing!
I cannot say enough great things about my trip to Tanzania with Tembo Adventure and Safaris! The guides were very knowledgeable, entertaining, friendly, accommodating and so much fun. We saw every type of animal I expected to see and more! I took over 2500 pictures of amazing animals and beautiful scenery. The trip was expertly planned and we didn't have to worry about a thing. All transportation, meals, resorts, coffee, lunch and snacks for game drives...everything was handled for us. Our tour guides took wonderful care of us during our stay and I especially appreciated them accommodating my need for gluten free meals. I have Celiac's Disease and did not have a problem with finding gluten free options while I was there. I would highly recommend Tembo to anyone wanting a stress free, fun and exciting adventure tour in Tanzania!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ngorongoro Crater and Arusha National Park
My colleagues and I were scheduled to be in Arusha for a business meeting this past August so we arranged for a one day/one night safari to Ngorongoro Crater using Hazina Afrika the weekend prior to our work week. Hazina Afrika was referred to us by a friend and we were really happy that we decided to use this outfitter. Our experience with Lisa in coordinating the excursion was outstanding. She provided lots of details and all of her email responses were very prompt. The safari itself was also awesome and we couldn't have asked for a better outing! Peter was our guide and we found him to be friendly and very experienced – he knew his way around the crater! Several of us are avid birders and Peter was able to identify most birds at first glance. Peter was also very prompt in picking us up in the morning and was accommodating to our wishes to stop at Shanga on the way home to have lunch and shop. We also really liked the overnight lodge - Endoro Lodge. It was a lovely quaint and quiet lodge tucked away in lush vegetation. The service was excellent, the rooms stunning and the food very delicious. We had such an enjoyable time on our Ngorongoro Crater safari using Hazina Afrika that we decided to squeeze in a last minute safari to Arusha National Park on our way back to airport. We requested that Peter be our guide again and we were thrilled that he was available. We had a blast at Arusha National Park which had a surprising amount of animals – we even saw elephants! We would definitely recommend Hazina Afrika to anyone.