QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari Experience1
"Steve Biko did an outstanding job Overall an excellent trip, well carried out. Outstanding services the driver guides in Kenya and overland from Isbania to Serengeti and Ngorongoro made a great impression. Both (Simon and Waziri) were standouts. The transfer reps all did an excellent job particularly since, we arrived on the late night Turkish airlines flight at 2am.
. All accommodations except for Arusha were excellent. Memories of the Swahili culture ranks first but a close second in our minds will be the choice of camps and lodges. The Ol Joto house in Naivasha offers a peaceful and intimate refuge from the bustle of Nairobi city.
In Maasai mara our reaction to the Bateleur Camp upgraded from Kichwa Tembo was that it was the best Luxury tented accommodation ever. Little did we realize each subsequent camp in Serengeti(Mbalageti), Ngorongoro(Tloma lodge), Lake Manyara and Tarangire (Roika) would top that, except for the last in Arusha. We were there at an important moment in Tanzania’s development during election time and the various viewpoints in different towns reflects the promise and challenges facing the country. Some thought the shock of health care systems could be better absorbed later in the itinerary, however, the geography preempts that alternative. Always room for improvement so we would offer the following Biggest disappointment was the Ol Duvai gorge nothing really much to see here. Not all of the guides were understandable. They all seemed intelligent and knowledgeable but were lacking in delivery of a dialogue. Some speak in a droning monologue that is difficult to follow and includes blinding detail that is soon forgotten. Two glitches that were remedied: The Safari van in Kenya had an impossible seating arrangement but that was corrected overnight to our complete satisfaction.
The New Arusha hotel rooms were initially a problem. One room was lovely but the other two were substandard, although the hotel said they were in the same class. Basically, the better room had the bathroom and closet along the full wall while the substandard alternative used only half the wall resulting in a minute closet, no shower, a single sink and no window. They initially stated that there was nothing better but within an hour the duty manager had found two adjacent rooms on another floor that had the double sinks, separate claw bath and shower overlooking the city as well as better closet space. They graciously moved us while we were at dinner on the rooftop. Finally there is always the gouging at shops where the guides get a commission. At a couple of stops this seemed egregious but we are all seasoned travelers and work around that annoyance. Some of the others may wish to add to these comments but those are my thoughts. Good memories, thanks" I will certainly recommend this company.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing
I went to Tanzania for 2 weeks with my girlfriend. I booked all with Hello Tanzania and was really amazing. We went to Selous to make a safari, where we could see all the animals unless the chita and Rhino. After that we went to Zanzibar, where Hello Tanzania booke for us the boat tickets and all the things that we needed while we were there. GosListen was our chofer durenig 5 days. Is a very kind guy, who show us all the autentic thing form Tanzania, also we spent with him a great times drinking or taking a dinner. I recommend a lot this company.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our Tour guide Nestor was very friendly and knowledgable.
The Safari was great and we had the best tour guide ever. We saw thousands of animals and our guide Nestor always tried to find the best spots to look for new ones.
The lodge where we stayed for the 2 nights (Tan Swiss Lodge) was not nice. Horrible rooms and most horrible food.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amboseli, Lake Naivasha, Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Sanctuary
Bookings and hotel/lodge accommodations were excellent! Didn't have to worry about organizing foreign travel accommodations with this company, and once we were in the country, travel was worry-free. Johnson was a great driver, safe, dependable, and knowledgeable about the areas visited.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best holiday ever!
Flash Safari's was recommended to us by friends and they were so right! Magda and her team gave us and our kids the holiday of our lives! She gave us perfect advise about the best time and the best route for our safari. As a result we have seen lots of wildlife (the entire big five and much more) and the accommodations were perfect. The entire program was perfectly balanced. We started out in the Arusha National Park - a beautiful park just north of Arusha. This is one of the very few places where you can do a walking safari accompanied by an experienced (armed) ranger. Great to get some exercise after sitting in an airplane for an entire day! It was an ideal day to acclimatize with lots to see. The next days we visited all the famous National Parks and Conservation area's. An absolutely unforgettable experience. Tarangire with its Baobabs and many elephants, The Ngorogoro conservation area with its very diverse landscape ranging from tropical rainforest to hills and grassy plains and off-course the endless grassy plains of the Serengetti filled with all sorts of wildlife. We ended our safari in a luxury hotel (Acacia Lounge) which was great! After eight days on dusty bumpy roads it feels so good to clear off the dust, have a long luxurious shower and a swim in the pool.
The absolute highlight of our safari was our driver Adam Mtiro! He was a very experienced and very knowledgable game-spotter, catered for our every wish and gave us all the time we wanted to observe the wildlife. Without him we would not have seen half as much! Thanks again Adam - you have really made our safari unforgettable!
The second part of our holiday was on the east coast of Zanzibar. We spent three nights in the Sunshine Hotel and four nights in the Marine Lodge - both beautiful accommodations under the same management with very nice swimming pools. The Sunshine Hotel has a lovely beach with very warm seawater (around 37 degrees centigrade!) Swimming is very good when the tide is high. When the tide is low you must wear reef-shoes and be careful, not to step on the many sea urchins. The Marine Lodge is more isolated and does not have a beach. It does have a very good diving school however and the Mnemba Atoll right in front of the hotel, provides numerous lovely diving and snorkeling spots. You can spot many tropical fish, sea turtles and dolphins there.
If you want a beach.....go to the Sunshine Hotel. If you want to go diving and enjoy peaceful and quite surroundings......go to the Marine Lodge. If you like a bit of both.......use the special offer to stay a couple of nights in each hotel (including two dive or snorkeling trips). Both places are highly recommended.
We ended our holiday with one day/night in the Zanzibar Coffee House, a very good old, authentic hotel in Stonetown, the historic centre of Zanzibar City. Stonetown is a must see experience. It gives you a good impression of the daily live on the island. Most buildings are old and dilapidated - even those on the world heritage list - but they are still a sight to see! Also the local market was an unforgettable experience. You can make some lovely pictures there, although in some places (like the fish and the chicken market) you must be able to hold your breath for quite some time ;-).
All in all we have had the time of our lives in Tanzania and on Zanzibar and we can highly recommend Flash Safari's! Its strong point are:
* The personal approach and personal assistance - both before departure and during travel
* Knowledgeable , highly committed staff and very good travel advise
* A perfectly balanced program with very good accommodations
* Very good, patient and knowledgeable drivers - they are the key to a perfect safari experience!
We highly recommend Flash Safari's without any reservations!
BY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service
We had a very nice safari with Meru Slopes Tours! Saw big 5 and much more.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect!
They were very professional. I loved how fast and well they organized everything and they resolved all the obstacles in the way. All the members of First Choice, from the director to the driver were amazing with us.
Booking our trip was hassle free and consideration was given to our specific needs.
We stayed at The Lodge in Thendele in Royal Natal National Park. Loved the setting, which is stunningly beautiful and the gardens and verges well maintained. Road has quite a few potholes leading up to the Thendele car park. The fact that the Lodge was big, spacious, and was very eco friendly with the grass growing on the roof was really lovely. Sipho, our cook was very good, pleasant and helpful in every way. Only complaint was the carpets badly need cleaning or replacing, very badly stained. The bathrooms need renovating, there is only one shower in one bathroom, the rest have baths, and although clean on the surface the bathrooms are old and not water conservation friendly...
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stop looking start booking!
Thank you so much to Ilse and Matoke tours for providing such outstanding service, recommendations, tours and guides. From the first email I received after requesting details about a safari and gorilla trekking the information I received was so prompt and professional that I stopped looking at any other tour companies and booked with Matoke tours. From the booking process, being welcomed at the airport and accommodations the staff were professional, welcoming, friendly and incredibly helpful to ensure our stay was perfect.
The gorillas were absolutely incredible and one of our all time favourite life experiences. The gorillas are magnificent and I couldn't believe how close we were able to get. We had a guide called Francois on the day who was absolutely fantastic - he has been a tour guide for 30 years and was so knowledgeable, funny and passionate about the gorillas he made the trip even more special.
Words can't describe how amazing this experience is we were just in awe of these majestic, magnificent animals, everything else faded away and nothing else in life seemed to matter except for that moment right there being in the Rwandan jungle sitting less than a few metres away from a magnificent silverback whose commanding presence and sheer beauty was breathtaking. Seeing a mother gently hugging and kissing her newborn baby with such tenderness and radiating so much love was absolutely heartwarming. The experience is life changing as it reminds you what is truly important in life. The conservation work being done by all the people involved in protecting these endangered gorillas is nothing short of outstanding.
The Serengeti was just amazing. Our driver from start to finish in Tanzania was Jackson and he was the best! He was always fun, friendly, incredibly knowledgeable not only about the Serengeti and all the animals and Masai but also about the local culture and history of Tanzania and was able to answer any question we asked. He was always on time and did his utmost to make sure that our experience was the best it could possibly be. He found the big 4 every day in the Serengeti for us and the black rhino in the Ngorogoro crater. It was all so beautiful it was surreal. Jackson was also so incredibly patient and happy to wait 10 minutes or an hour… he would stay anywhere for as long as we wanted in any area so that we could enjoy our experience to the full of watching the animals. He was passionate about making our trip as special as he could which he certainly did. The Tortillis camp in the Serengeti was fantastic, all the staff there were absolutely wonderful, there was nothing they wouldn't do to ensure our stay was as comfortable as possible.
We absolutely loved the safari and seen such an abundance of wildlife. I couldn't pick a favourite as everything was so spectacular to see. At one point Jackson had a radio call and he asked us to sit down and raced off down the road, he didn't say why but we knew we were about to see something amazing! Not long after we came around a bend and there were 3 lionesses in the distance walking towards us down the road! He stopped the car and I quickly started taking photos expecting the lionesses to take off in to the grass but they just kept coming toward us it was absolutely incredible as they continued down and right past our car!
I highly recommend this tour as it is a trip of a lifetime and Matoke Tours made it perfect from start to finish!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had an excellent trip through Swift Travel.
Swift Travel was very professional, great in communication, timely, trustworthy, friendly and it was an overall very enjoyable expedience.
I highly recommend booking a tour with Swift.