NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our safari with Usambara Expeditions: punctual, dedicated and knowledgeable
For our two week early March 2016 Kenya - Tanzania trip we wanted to see friends, do all travel over land by bus, get some safari feel in Tanzania's Northern Circuit but focus on Ruaha National Park in the South and wrap up with Zanzibar beach days. Bookings were done from abroad, choosing Tanzanian companies based on reviews: we had no prior experience with any of them. Ultimately this means trust and with Usambara for our Ruaha safari that played out very well. So much so that after the safari they also handled our getting from Iringa (town closest to the park) to Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar and eventually back to Dar's international airport: a company that also handles your getting from A to B in a tailor-made way proved a real bonus.
Given that our time of visiting was not the best to spot game - long grass, dense bushes - the Usambara guide being local to this part of Tanzania nevertheless tracked many: unforgettable encounters with lions. lionesses and elephant families in particular. Ruaha National Park is firmly on our list for next time - be it in a different season.When that happens Usambara Expeditions will be our choice of safari company again.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip to Massai Mara and Lake Nakuru
We had a great safari with suburbs adventures - many animals, much laughter and fun. Our driver was fabulous and did his best to show us as much as possible. Lamech did everything for us to feel comfortable and was absolutely reliable. Any questions before our journey he always answered immediately and kindly. I do highly recommend "Suburb adventures" !
Thank you so much, Lamech and staff
SE
20-35 years of age
Exceeded all expectations!
My two cousins and I were traveling in South Africa for 2 weeks. We booked a two day safari in the Kruger park with Kruger Flexi tours and could not have had a better experience! It really exceeded all of our expectations and was one of the very highlights of our trip. Our guide Dave was so nice and accommodating and he knew exactly where to go to see as much wild animals as possible. We saw the big five both days of the safari! One of the best experiences of the safari was to encounter two lions only 2 m from the car, wow! Our accommodation in the park was also really nice. The three of us shared a bungalow with our own bathroom, very nice and clean. In the evening we went for a night drive with a guide from the park and when we got back Dave had prepared a lovely dinner for us. We felt very well taken care of and had such a wonderful time! We would definitely recommend Kruger Flexi tours. Thank you so much Dave! :)
US
We had a wonderful experience and got to see all the animals that we requested to see.
Mwajabu Sultan did an excellent job in communicating and setting up our safari. Our driver was fantastic and knew just where to go to see the animals we wanted to see. He made sure we had everything we could possibly need and took care of us. This was a phenomenal experience.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Best touroperator we ever had!
Great experience! Saw de big 5 and many other animals, very close! Great accomodations with a touch of European luxury. Bathrooms and toilets! The food was super! And our guide was the best. If you want to go to Tanzania, I recomment Flash Safaris an d Photography. They react very quickly and make your personal wishes come true. Five stars touroperator.!!!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience with an Amazing guide
Our safari with Epic Tours was absolutelly amazing, the guide was the best we have ever seen. We had a lot of fun during our trip to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Sereneti and Tarangire as Eli was not only proffesional, but passionate about the wild. We saw all animals that we wished to see and also a great insight of Tanzania as the guide was very informative about the country.
Thank you Ezekiel and Eli for great time with you in Tanzania
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari ! A lifetime dream satisfied....
We enjoyed a four-day safari with African Scenic Safaris.... It was nothing short of excellent! The initial information provided by Amanda was accurate and helpful.... The guide, Tom and the cook, Charlie were the greatest, informative, friendliest, and the most humorous people you could ever meet... Tom provided so much interesting information and Charlie's cooking was sensational (both in quantity and quality)... we actually don't east this well at home.... we saw every animal and learned so much..... the campsites were good, clean and so much fun... We planned nothing as it was all done for us, but if we did plan a safari, then this was an excellent plan!.... The only animal we did not see on safari was a jaguar... but as we were leaving there was one wandering down the road towards us! (How did you guys organise that? LOL.... It almost waved goodbye to us!).... My only suggestion: give Tom a microphone as it was sometimes hard to hear him in the back of the landcruiser (but don't let him sing!... OK Tom?) Great fun and good money value... Asante sana!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Easy !
Our Group of 8 of us were coming back to Easy Travel & Tours second time and it was an unanimous decision of our group. Earlier during 2014 we had a week long safari in the Central & Northern Serengeti and witnessed the Wildebeest Migration and the Mara river crossing. Now we were back in 2016 to witness the Wildebeest Migration & also Mass Calving in Serengeti and also in Ndutu. We were lucky this time also to witness the migration and also the Calving. We also saw many successful and failed hunts by Cheetas, Lions & Leopard. Ndutu was the best for wildlife due to open grassland and lot of Cheetas. The Off-roading makes Ndutu more special than Serengeti. All the lodges and the camps were excellent including their own Tortilis camp in the Central Serengeti. Our Guides Edeni and Emmanuel were excellent hosts and they made our trip. They were so easy to go and were lively. Big thanks to Edeni & Emma for this wonderful trip. Every guy in Easy travel is so energetic and they helped us with everything. Nice Welcome and send-off by them. Hats off to team Easy Travel. Special Thanks to Mussdiq and Sayyedah the Captions of Easy travels. Keep growing & going easily ! Asante sana !
QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Went in with apprehension - came out with happy memories
We had friends who had an amazing experience through this company so we booked with them. Just before we left, we had other friends who toured with them who had a nightmare experience with this company. Through reading all the reviews, it looks like it is very hit and miss whether your experience is good or not. Simon, the operator, was extremely friendly and helpful during the booking phase, but as soon as we had paid the deposit, he then dropped off the face of the earth when we tried to bring up our concerns over our friend's tour. He also didn't respond to our friend's attempts to communicate their disappointment. We eventually got a little bit of reassurance, and as we had already paid a hefty deposit we decided to go ahead. In the end we were glad that we did. We had an amazing time.
Safari:
We loved their guide James. How could you not. He is an amazing guide who we got to know fairly well due to his lovely friendly and open nature. He has excellent English and a good sense of humour. We really appreciated his relaxed approach to our family dynamics and he was happy to make the experience whatever we wanted it to be. He is obviously a knowledgable and experienced guide who knows how to give tourists what they want. We learned many, many things about the animals, the country, the people and the language (as well as sharing family stories!) We were really happy with the whole safari experience and were delighted that we had no problems with the landrover vehicle as the terrain gives these vehicles quite a beating! The shock absorber did fall off on the way to the airport on the last day but James dealt with it quickly and efficiently. The fact that he has mechanical experience would be a huge plus in these circumstances.
We had absolutely no issues with permits or paperwork (which we were concerned about going into the holiday) and we were extremely thankful that our safari experience went without a hitch. If you are booking with them, ask for James by name.
Communication:
As you know we were concerned with the sporadic communication (after we had paid our deposit because leading up to that time all of our enquiries were answered extremely promptly). I was a little put off by being asked for payment within hours of making the tentative booking (and being reminded by Simon twice over the next few days i.e "Hi , have you made the paypal payment yet?") This is probably what compounded my concern over communication stopping after I made the payment. There turned out to be extenuating circumstances around this particular time but in reading through other feedback on the site, this is not something that has been a one off. Many people have commented that this has been a problem in the past and for future bookings, it may be worth Simon putting the time into changing people's perception of his trustworthiness and reliability. This would surely help his reputation and give people more confidence in booking with him in the future.
Accommodation:
Was lovely . We were super impressed with all of the accommodation. We really appreciated having separate rooms to sleep in from the children - a bonus that we weren't expecting for the entire trip.
The first night in Arusha was good except there were dogs barking all night long (somewhere near the lodge) and we got very little sleep.
The lodge looking over the crater had the most awe inspiring view and the staff at all of the places were really helpful and friendly.
We were pleasantly surprised at the standard of the camping experience. As by this stage 3 out of 4 family members had upset tummies (!) we really appreciated the inside, flushing toilet. Hot showers were a bonus
Our last night in Manyara Lodge was just breathtaking. We were one of only a few guests (as we were in all of the places) and the staff looked after us really well. The family loved the beautiful pool area in such an outstanding setting.
I think we were incredibly lucky to have had no big issues during our experience. For anyone looking to book with this company, I would say 'may the odds be forever in your favour'.
US
An amazing experience
Our Kenyan safari with Kenya Walking Survivors was a once in a lifetime experience. What an amazing safari that Kenya offered, and what an excellent experience our tour company provided for us. We saw the big 5 and A LOT more...there was no animal of these majestic creatures of Kenya that we hoped to see which we were unable to in 7 days (except the cheetah). Our tour guide jackson was extremely friendly, fun, and very helpful not just during the safari but for lodging, food, and so forth. Our tour company was very helpful and generous to help us in needs outside of our itiniery, such as going to hardware stores and taking us to an alternative hotel when we had a particular issue. Our cook also was great, making excellent Kenyan food for us. And the lodging had everything we needed. We couldnt have asked for a better safari, and a better vacation. Shall surely come back and choose this tour company again!