US
Great safari, terrible administration
The experience was great and I loved the wildlife, the accommodations and our guide. However, the way that the company handles the business is incredibly unprofessional. First, after I wired a large amount of money to the company I got an email saying that the bank had changed routing number and to please wire the money again since "most likely" it would get rejected. After I went to the bank and emailed back I was told that the bank did get the money and that everything was all right but what if I had re wired the money like they asked me to?
After that, I repeatedly asked the owner to confirm that we would be picked up at a certain time on a certain day and he did confirm multiple times but when we arrived to the airport no one was waiting for us! I had to borrow a phone -and tip the guy who lent it- in order to get the a hold of the owner. He sent somebody right after but it does not fix how unsettling it was to arrive and not having someone ready (we were considering it might had been a scam.) When we got to Arusha the owner met us there and his excuse was that "since all their guests arrive at night he just assumed that we were going to do that as well." I confirmed with him multiple times about the time we wanted to be picked up and he just assumed???
We still rolled with it and didn't complain trying to make the vacation a fun time. Our guide was great, friendly, knowledgeable and seemed to be very into the wildlife, not just as a job but to have a true appreciation for the animals. So we headed up for a 7 day safari..., except it wasn't 7 days. We did not review our itinerary everyday because the company should know exactly what you paid for and should provide that for you but when on day 5 the guide told us that we would be ending the next day I went and checked the exact itinerary and it turns out that we were shorted 1 morning at the Serengeti. When I told the guide he said that he was going to talk to the owner and then came back saying that he would meet us in Arusha the next day to exchange ideas about what we could do to make up for that day but on the next day, of course, he did not show up. Instead he told our guide to offer solutions for us but the best one was a walking tour in Arusha which we did not care about. I paid to be at the Serengeti, not to walk in a city with nothing to see.
In the end we were fed up with the owner and his unprofessional attitude so we decided to just stay put at the hotel and lose that one day at the Serengeti except that the check-out was at 10 am and our flight was at 6 pm. Being that the owner wasn't there he couldn't handle the situation and our guide had to do his best. They allowed us to stay and use the pool but we had to give the room at 11 am which should not have happened. We should have been able to do late check-out but since the owner wasn't there to negotiate, we weren't.
We again said fine and just asked our guide to pass the information of our flight to Henry, the owner, to be picked up at 3 pm. But, you guessed it, the owner didn't show up to pick us up and the driver that he sent was over half an hour late! We requested to be picked up at a certain time because we have a plane to catch and things to do and they don't even respect that. Our driver was rude, acted like it was an inconvenience to drop us at the airport and was texting on his phone the whole ride.
You would think that after not being there to pick us up the company would do everything in their hands to make up for it but instead they were consistently careless. My wife and I had been in Africa for a while before the safari so we understand that things are not smooth and that people work differently there but when you pay the kind of money that we paid they should at least be there to pick you up.
Oh, and I asked for a receipt of payment at least 5 times which the owner kept saying "I'll send it tomorrow" but I'm still waiting. All I can think of is that he doesn't want to report the tour and pay taxes on it which I get but when your guest is constantly requesting it the company should take care of it.
Like I said, I loved the safari and the overall experience but I would absolutely not recommend this company solely based on the owner. And if you think that there are multiple great reviews that don't agree with mine, well, a lot of those come from Canada even if the listed country of the reviewer is a different one so I would not be surprised if they are fake reviews written to build up the company's profile.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
Very professional, my guide Salim outstanding, good food, a wonderful experience.
I highly recommend them.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect safari, great guide, personal touch.
Amazing Usambara is established by Ronaldo Mvungi.
Ronaldo is great exemple of hard working, self-made Tananian guide. He started is working lifeas a porter on the Kilimanjaro. He studied for the guide papers, was assistent guide and later guide. He started succesfully his own company. His extreme strenght is a combination of extremely high service level and extremely good safari knowledge.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience
Eric from Foot Slopes Tours & Safaris was very helpful, he has answered us every question quickly and I had many questions. ;-) When we had problems to book the bus tickets from Uganda to Tanzania, Eric booked the bus tickets for us. Many thanks again to Eric. On the safari we had a perfect guide with Hilary. He was always funny, he knows a lot about the animals and knows where to find them. We have seen cheetah hunting, 2 leopards and many lions and also baby lions. And, of course, many other animals (elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos,...). But unfortunately no rhinos. Many thanks again to Hilary. Our personal cook philipp cooked us very well. Many thanks again to Philipp. We had a 5 day safari and we went to Serengeti (off road), Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara. The last day in Lake Manyara we could have saved. By the exciting days before, the day in Lake Manyara was not so interesting. We can recommend the safari with Foot Slopes Tours & Safaris.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stunning safari with great guide and service
Great experience. I can highly recommend Benson Safaris. Benson arranged everything for us and the communication was very good and fast. We had an excellent driver and guide.
I would recommend to pay by Credit Card as the bank in Tanzania (Barclays) can't handle a transfer via IBAN.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari of a lifetime
Olivia at Adventura set up the perfect Safari for us. It was our first Safari and could not have gone better. Excellent communication and Adventura makes the whole process very easy.
DK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great - great - great
We did the "Samburu Five and Big Five Safari", and as the title says: everything was great!
Planning of our safari was done by email, and we received good and detailed information. We made a few changes and booked a little extra, so a number of mails went back and forth. Every time we received a reply within a day or two. Payment was handled online without any kind of problem.
We were met by our driver/guide Peter at the airport, and he took good care of us during the entire safari, until we were back in Nairobi. Peter is an excellent driver and has been in the business for many years. He even helped with a little "white lie" - since I had booked a balloon flight in Masai Mara, that was to be a surprise for my wife. With Peters help it was kept a secret, until we were parked in front of the balloon basket.
On the first day in Kenya, we had chosen to have a day in Nairobi, with visits to Giraffe Center, Sheldricks Elephant Orphanage and Karen Blixen Museum. This was a great start, and it also left time for some relaxation after the flight.
The safari itself was fantastic - the places we visited on the "Samburu Five and Big Five Safari", and the order in which they were visited, is a great experience in our opinion. We saw such different kinds of landscape and the specific animals living there. And of course we saw both the Samburu Five and the Big Five - and apart from seeing them during daytime, we also saw all of the Big Five on one single night game drive (in Ol Pejeta)!! Certainly, the Masai Mara is special, and something you must see - but we wouldn't miss Samburu for anything! In fact, all of the places we went (Aberdare, Samburu, Ol Pejeta, Naivasha and Masai Mara), had their own special values.
The camps/lodges, we stayed at, were all great. And it was like every time we moved to a new place, it added something more to the experience. And ending up at Sarova Camp in Masai Mara was perfect! The tents were fantastic and the food was fabulous!
Carsten Udsen, Denmark
Travel experience in Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Egypt
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nine days in Kenya
We had a wonderful trip organised by It Started in Africa. I think we were especially lucky to have had Martin as our driver/guide. He was always polite, informative and did a fantastic job in driving us around. As you know we booked to cover a great deal of Kenya in a short time!
All the places you suggested that we stay, were lovely. Especially Tumbili Lodge and our last camp outside the Masai Mara, Basecamp. They were both very special places.
It was interesting to travel from Tsavo West, to Amboseli and then up the Rift Valley and then back down to the Masai Mara and definitely worth the trip to the North to see the flamingos on Lake Baringo.
I guess the highlights were seeing a leopard in Tsavo West who allowed us to study him close up very early in the morning for 15 minutes, and then the lovely mixture of non aggressive animals in Amboseli. The Masai Mara allowed us to see lion, cheetah, elephant, rhino, and so many other animals too many to mention.
We have already recommended your company to our friends and I shall send through a few photos.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Diani with Travelers Chalet
Excellent and timely communication. Everything that was promised was delivered. The staff are very friendly and enthusiastic to help you get the best out of your vacation.
TW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Attentive and satisfactory！！！
Nice service and reasonable cost for Big Time Safari Ltd. Martha is a wonderful women to arrange everything to meet our request. Care about our feeling and feedback,she helped us in every possible way. Good experience in Kenya safari，nice car and professional guide to share many information with us. We also book 5 days Mt. Kilimanjaro tour in Tanzania, both are wonderful memories for us. Believe me, You just list your request for sure will get the nice talk and the best service and arrangement from Big Time Safari. We are very enjoy it in East Africa!