35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awe inspiring, amazing and wonderful memories to last forever
Email correspondence was fast and accurate whilst booking a tailor made safari for clients with a fairly specific criteria (and travelling and meeting up from UK / Australia) - massive thanks to Nick and his team.
We were really fortunate to have Kit as our guide - he was so knowledgable about the wildlife and knew exactly where to find them, very organised and checking us into lodges, and even took us to his local once we were all back in Windhoek! Friendship and memories made from the most amazing two weeks! Can't wait for my next trip to Namibia - a geologically rugged and stunningly varied country.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid this guy!!!
Attention, be very careful with Faustin!!! I can't recommend this tour operator at all!!! We have never experienced such a disaster before. The tour was a nightmare!!! The organisation was terrible.
The driver left us in Mikumi at the Hotel, on the last day returning back and disappeared into thin air!!! Faustin and driver would not pick up the phone since then! We were left alone and had to go back by ourselves to dar!!!!!!!! Luckily it was not our day of the departure, else we would have missed the flight back home!
We reported this incident to the Police and the Tanzania Tour Association as well as the National Park Administration!
But let me tell you the whole story...
...My girlfriend and I, booked a 5-day Mikumi and Selous private tour. Faustin was recommended by friends, who made a 9day luxury safari. Faustin and his driver John picked us up with the car ready to start the tour. Once we paid him the full amount cash (by the way we never received a bill) he left the car telling us that he is not going to join the tour with us. If we knew before, we would have canceled.
Alone with the driver we soon realized, that John wasn't speaking English at all. Luckily my girlfriend is from Kenia and speaks Swahili. Even though John was not talking to us, he was just driving like a robot. No conversation, no stories, no jokes, no social interaction. In fact, he was texting all the time and even stopped to handle some private business while we were waiting for him in the car. Being scared of getting a fine he drove 40km/h although the speed limit is 50km/h. Can you imagine how long a 5-day-trip can get with someone like that!
John was just the driver, he had no clue about the daily planned program. He asked us, what to do next, instead vice versa. We had to coordinate the trip with the local guides ourselves, who were also shocked with Johns behavior. He littered in the national park. In the national park, during safari he jumped many times out of the car while talking on the phone, although advice differently by the guides as it is forbitten by the rangers. He scared away animals and spoiled pictures. He had no patience and was bored quickly. At some point, after a long wait, trying to get a good pic, he decided to drive off. At this point I lost my calm and had an argument with him. Because he didn’t understand English, he thought we insulted him.
A regular (taxi) driver with no safari experience would have done the job with more passion and care.
We booked a regular tour, but Faustin delivered less than promised. He cut our program short. He is profit oriented but delivers a really bad service and showed a very unprofessional behavior!!!!!!
During the whole tour, he never got in direct contact with us, although we expressed some concerns. Maybe he will do that now, through this platform. I'm curious to see his response.
After the driver dumped us in Mikumi, locals told us, that Faustin is known for this tricky behavior. He owes local guides/drivers money. He doesn't pay them their full salary.
If you are thinking of doing a safari-tour check the safaribookings.com for the best rated company. I strictly advise you not to ignore my review.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honest, fulfilling, courteous and very client friendly.....
Everything was top notch and upto expectations.....
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a life time experience!!!!
Where do I start?!?! Soul of Tanzania team was extremely patient and resourceful in helping us plan our route, they booked all our stays, provided all transportation, booked our balloon safari, and even our domestic flights to/from Zanzibar! The only thing we had to do was book our international flight, that was it! Once we stepped foot in Kilimanjaro everything was handled and we never had to worry about a thing. We initially began planning our safari with Soul ~ 1yr before arrival and interacted with about every staff member and experienced the same high standard of customer service across the board.
Our guide Ben was simply outstanding to say the least! He was very knowledgeable and extremely passionate about the wildlife. It was 5 of us friends traveling together and because Ben had such a great sense of humor and personality, that as days progressed he became a friend and not just our tour guide, it felt like 6 friends on vacation now not 5. Our only regret is not spending more time on safari. Oh, and if you’re a coffee lover Ben makes the BEST coffee in Tanzania! Thank you, Ben and the team, at Soul of Tanzania for all the wonderful memories!!!
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A very well, wonderful, advised, organized and skillfully executed safari trip in all its senses.
This trip exceeded all our our previous experiences, and these where already quite unique. It was a wonderful safari trip, in all aspects, organization, accommodations, setup and schedule of the safari from start to end Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti Central and Serengeti North. Including the various Camps, Lodges and under canvas accommodations, not one word of comments or complains should be justified.
Even the animals did there utmost best to make this trip one not to forget, of course in that aspect no one can do without a lot of luck or certain circumstances. However even with luck you need a very experienced and skillful guide with a lot of animal behavior knowledge and patience to make it a good combination.
Of course there is a difference in the parks and animal life, however the combination advised and chosen was for us a lifetime experience. Every day there a surprise or a moment of astonishment in one or another way created by nature and animals from small to big ones or groups.
Makasa Management and their Staff made their promises and our expectations to become a daily reality for us during our two weeks Safari. Animal Planets in reality .
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect planning and options fully responsive to our price range and the experience we wanted
Every aspect was superbly planned and executed. Matthew was incredibly responsive throughout the whole process. He proposed lodges that would provide exactly the experience we wanted. He answered questions almost before I even asked them. Our pickups and transportation were excellent, right on time and really pleasant. We stayed at Cheetah Plains Lodge and Camp Shawu. Both places were excellent. The guides were knowledgeable, personable and delightful to get to know. The staff at both locations were gracious and very responsive to our needs and preferences . It was an amazing experience, from start to finish. I can’t recommend African Safari Guru highly enough! Fantastic all around
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Knowledgable, professional and personable service resulted in a wonderful experience.
Thank you Tifiny and Off2Africa for once again making exactly the right recommendations and arrangements for our wondeful Zim visit. The trip went perfectly - quite an achievement on your part as we left everything to the last minute.
We loved Ilala at Vic Falls and so glad we stayed there. We met Martin (the manager) and Deidre Brown (the owner) which made it even more personal. The quality of the service, the decor, the food, the cleanliness and the overall feeling of the hotel are top notch and I think may be due to the fact that it has been a family owned hotel for many years.
We also appreciated the proximity to the Falls. We could hear them and walked there 3 times
As a frequent traveller, I am easily irritated when there are small things that don't work but there was absolutely nothing about Ilala that I could fault. Honestly, the hotel amazed and delighted me at every level. The only thing that bothered me was the noise from the helicopters - no chance of an afternoon nap with that noise.
The delux rooms turned out to be a gorgeous suite but we did not need that much room. If I had known it was a suite, I would have booked a standard room in the new wing as they are lovely enough. Still, we made the most of the suite and enjoyed the space and the big bath. The decor in the rooms is very tasteful and thoughtful.
The pick up and drop off went smoothly too despite the fact that our flight was about 90 minutes late to Vic Falls.
The sundowner cruise on the Zambezi was beautiful and our boat driver very knowledgeable. I am glad we booked the more luxury cruise as the boat was small and quiet and we had wonderful snacks along with our limitless drinks! Dinner at Vic Falls Saf Lodge great - even though it could be described as touristy, it is delivered with authenticity and energy and I would recommend it even to people living in Zim.
I can't wait until we can visit Southern Africa again and will of course book with Off2Africa. As you know, I have recommended you to other friends keen (but nervous) to visit Africa. I know they will be well looked after.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Service
Encounter Safaris helped us to organise and complete a filming trip to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Communication was quick, efficient and very clear throughout, which made setting up the shoot completely stress-free.
The service throughout the shoot was excellent. Tolbert, our guide and driver, was a great professional - both friendly and organised. He is also a very safe driver. Everything went very soothly indeed, thanks to his great work.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Chilo Experience With Off2Africa
I came across a special on Chilo Gorge on the Off2Africa Facebook page. I contacted Tifiny and expressed interest in the special. Her response to my inquiry was fast and thorough. The trip itself was incredible. Not only is Chilo absolutely gorgeous but the manner in which Off2Africa planned our flight, transfer and accommodation was exceptional! Everything was on time and as described. There were no nasty surprises! I absolutely enjoyed myself so much so that after my experience my sister also booked a trip with Off2Africa. Amazing work and please keep it up!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous experience in southern Africa
Zambezi did a great job of meeting our request--to visit 4 southern Africa countries in less than 2 weeks. The choice of hotels and camps was great, all the interior travel details and connections were taken care of and every detail was at our fingertips with their wonderful app that we installed on our phones.