US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Can't be trusted. Kenneth Karuhanga is a fraud.
Four months ago we reached out to Ken for a proposal to organize our trip to Tanzania. He is based in Uganda but is also listed as leading tours in Tanzania on your website, and his proposed itinerary and reviews made him seem like a good fit. He said he would be the guide for both our six-day ascent of Kilimanjaro and our five-day safari from Moshi. He asked for a $1000 deposit to cover national park fees and staffing costs, which seemed fair.
One week before the trip Ken told us he needed more money since it was the holiday season and costs were higher. We felt it was unfair to change the budget right before we started traveling, but agreed to move forward with the trip as planned and to pay the extra sum when we arrived.
When we arrived in Moshi and expected to meet Ken, we instead met a woman named Neema Mushi who runs an agency called Licious Travel Adventures (also on your site). She explained that Ken was not coming to Tanzania at all, that her price of the trip was under budget and that Ken had not forwarded any of the deposit money we had sent him.
We spent many evenings frantically trying to reach Ken and recover the deposit money to run our trip as planned, but Ken said he had needed the money for "another project" and couldn't send it right now. He finally sent $175 to Neema, but that didn't cover half of the new price increases she insisted on.
Possibly worst of all we learned that Ken had been pushing Neema lower and lower on her price, while asking us for more and more money. When we asked him what he felt he did to deserve the $825 cut he took for himself, he said something about booking the one hotel we stayed in during our trip.
Our experience with Ken was one of: 1) misleading us to believe that he would be leading the trip; 2) never once mentioning he was reselling our trip to an extreme budget agency; 3) lies about early cost increases of the trip and sticking us with the bill of the actual increases; 4) theft of our deposit money (he still refuses to return it)
RO
Best Safari
We recommend everyone www.hellotanzania.com for the proffesional activity.We went in Mikumi safari for just one day, they understood us for the budget at our limitted time.It was great:the driver was very good, i felt save with him; he takes us from the hotel and back.During 6 hours from Dar es salam to Mikumi we laughed with the driver, we spoke a lot with him about Tanzania, he was great:)
And the safari was great- 6 hours in the safari with a good guide and a lot of fun.We saw many animals:lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, hippopotamus, etc.
Thank you www.hellotanzania.com!
NL
Afroriginal excellent partner
This was the 2nd time Afroriginal organized a safari for me and again: it was great! Accommodation at the various parks were beyond expectation. Desiree and Fay, thank you very much, my compliments! I can recommend anyone to go with Afroriginal to Tanzania. It will be an unforgettable experience!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience!!!
We recently got back from Idube Game Reserve in Sabi Sand in later January and had the most amazing experience. The staff was accommodating and so friendly, the food and accommodations where 5 stars, we saw the big 5 a few times over and were so close to the animals, Rob & Mark were knowledgeable, friendly and great to spend 4 days with. Marianne went above and beyond to ensure we had the best trip. She was extremely responsive, friendly and put together a once in a lifetime experience!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 fantastic, informative days
I had little time and so a 3 day tour was all it was possible to fit in. They were packed with interest - even the days we were travelling to and from the Murchison National Park. We saw so many animals and stayed at the very comfortable Fort Murchison Lodge (good food!). The Guide was very responsive checking in to flex the programme with whatever I needed/wanted. I recommend this tour!
IL
Gorilla trekking with a great and experienced gorilla trekking company.
I did a 6 day gorilla trekking and wildlife with gorilla tour booking. This was my first time to do such a trip and to visit Africa; I would like to say that gorilla tour booking safaris is a superb gorilla company. This is based upon my judgment about how the tour was organized and how I was treated by the guide, Robert. Their team is quite organized from the reservation manager to the tour guide.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Customer service on a whole new level!
We initially made our enquiry via the Kruger Park website and received a very quick response from Giada. From that moment on she worked tirelessly to deliver an itinerary which met our brief exactly and as this was our first safari, offered excellent advice to ensure we were making the right decisions. As I am based in China, Giada and I often spoke at rather anti-social times for South Africa and regularly on weekends - she made herself available at any time to respond to our (many) questions. Following our booking, Giada kept in regular contact to offer advice and then throughout the trip she ensured everything was running smoothly. I can honestly say that it was one of best examples of excellent customer service I have ever experienced from the start to the finish and Giada was able to not only deliver an amazing itinerary but also pre-empt and anticipate our questions and concerns. Thanks to her hard work and determination to ensure she met our brief, Giada created the trip of a lifetime and I would have no hesitation in recommending her and the team.
KZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very credible operator capable to organize great safaris for a family with kids
Our family of five (including three kids of 11, 8 and 5 years old) has just returned on Feb 8th from an 8 days safaris to Kenya and Tanzania. We decided to go with Ancient Wild Safaris based on positive feedbacks left on this website by previous travellers and we are happy we chose this company.
Mike was always prompt to reply to emails and very operative in helping us adjust our program to our needs in best manner. The whole trip was arranged very smoothly and accommodations were picked wisely to make sure we had a great varied experience not only in wild life but in staying in different lodges, including deep-dive into savannah's life at the camping site in the heart of Serengeti.
During the trip everything was up to expectations and beyond. Very safe travel given our pre-trip hesitations of taking little son and daughter with us. Tons of wonderful experiences and positive emotions. Our guide Joseph was above all compliments; he always went an extra mile to make every day memorable. Given the dry season and, hence, smaller quantity of animals (compared to rainy season) Joseph went to every possible corner to explore and find animals otherwise hiding in the bush. So we managed to see all animals (well, except rhino which is hard to see in any season).
Afterwards our kids are happy. So we are. This operator proved to be reliable and, given their small size, quite flexibly and quick in organizing customized program.
And we would recommend Anciant Wild Safaris to any friend now and will definitely go with Mike and Joseph next time. Thank you guys!
SA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great operator, fantastic trip
Really good communications from the outset, and lots of care and attention throughout the trip.
Our group thoroughly enjoyed the Soul of Tanzania experience. Personally, my favourite moments were seeing the huge groups of wildebeest and zebra together in the Serengeti, and witnessing the order of precedence between the various carnivores after a kill has been made. This was my second visit to Ngorongoro crater, and I can still say that it is my favourite place to visit in Tanzania. But just the whole experience was really enjoyable.
Our guide Godfrey was great! He always had so much more energy than me, in spite of working so much harder.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Completely Different Safari Experience
We visited Ngorongoro crater as the 4th step on our 9 day Tanzania safari. We had previously visited lake Manyara, Seronara region of the Serengeti and Ndutu lake, we had seen lions, cheetah, leopard, elephant, giraffe and an abundance of antelope. Plus, plentiful migrating wildebeest and zebra. What was left to see in the crater, black rhino?
We stayed at the Lemala so it was a short ride down into the crater and as soon as we reached the crater floor we spotted a pair of old lions, brothers. Next there were a group of four brothers being intimidated by a herd of buffalo. They caught scent of the two brothers and started stalking them, roaring as they went. A bat-eared fox popped his head up to see what was going on. Continuing into the crater, we saw more lions including a pride of two mothers with six cubs, a secretary bird, grey-crowned cranes, elephants, and all the usual others. All these against the backdrop of the forested rim of the crater. What marks Ngorongoro out against the other regions we visited, apart from the density of wildlife, was its verdant nature. Being higher, it gets more rainfall so is green year round. We were warned against the number of safari vehicles but this was no more a problem than the other regions, possibly less so.
And we spotted two black rhino.
