US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing first safari w/ Anthony. Would definitely recommend!
My parents and I decided to do our first safari for my mom's 50th birthday. When we arrived in Nairobi, Robert and Anthony picked us up in a beautiful 4x4 to take us on our trip. Throughout the journey, Anthony was the perfect tour guide, smart, funny, and punctual. He knew the park extremely well, so we got to see all of the animals we wanted. Within ten minutes of entering Masai Mara, we saw a leopard! The next day, we saw 4 lions, 5 lion cubs, 6 cheetahs, and more! Anthony recommended we wait by 4 of the cheetahs because it looked like they were about to hunt. He ended up being right: we saw the four attack and kill a gazelle, which was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Would definitely recommend Anthony and Beacon Safaris for an incredible time!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great followup, lots of ideas and suggestions, personal attention to details, cared about our needs.
My daughter and I were traveling to Africa for a mission trip bring thousands of donated shoes. We needed lots of help fitting in some game viewing and our need to be at a local school for our shoe distribution. They made it all fit: giving us great guides, wonderful and on time transportation options, and selected a fabulous lodge to do a short safari.....had a totally amazing time together and shared a tent which still gave us each some privacy while being together...a dad's dream trip. Thanks JAVA, I'll do it again some day. Rich Rosenberg USA
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
EAS crafted a special off-the-beaten-track hiking and birding safari for us that met every need.
We spent 14 days with our guide in the Pare and Usumbara Mountains. We are in our 70s - relatively fit, but with some extra needs, all of which were so well addressed -- we couldn't have asked for more careful attention. Throughout the trip we had our terrific guide (Bernard Shirima - a first-class bird and game expert, as well as wise in the care and handling of clients ). We had expected more game in the Mkomazi National Park, but rain limited our reach, and being new, the park has not yet built up a large big game population. We did see splendid birds in Mkomazi (we are not seasoned birders, so it was a new experience to see so many stunning birds.)
Unexpected rainfall also kept us from seeing the Chome Nature Reserve, which was on our itinerary. The Tona Lodge, in the Mbaga District, high in the Pare Mountains, was a disappointment, as the mountains were so steep, we were unable to hike anything but paved roads. But that turned out to be a great experience being greeted and welcomed by villagers of every age. We really got a feeling for life in such a village after spending 3 days walking around. (It really helped that Stan speaks fairly decent Swahili- much to the delight of everyone we met!) Tona Lodge was a great disappointment in terms of facilities, food, and service. The view, however, was stupendous!
EAS arranged for local guides to join us in each of the regions we visited - mostly to introduce us to the community and show us where to go hiking/birding. Bernard was our true bird guide, however. In the Western Usumbaras near Lushoto, we stayed comfortably at Mullers' Mountain Lodge - beautifully situated and comfortable (though plagued with hot water problems and food heavier in German style than we would have liked). Our local guides there knew little about the birds other than where to take us, but Bernard helped us find birds (and we enjoyed seeing colobus monkeys). In the Amani Nature Reserve in the Eastern Usumbaras we stayed at a research station and were guided by a very able researcher who taught us much about local birds and his work. The jungle in these mountains was truly spectacular - trees so tall and covered with vines that it was impossible to see the whole. We enjoyed long walks, (even though birds were hard to see in the dense foliage), and did see some spectacular birds. Bernard really taught us a great deal -- not only about the birds, but about how to go about looking for them.
Overall, we realized after the fact that we had not insisted enough on a more specific itinerary with greater clarity ahead of time as to what we could expect to see and do in the Western Usambaras which -- because so off the beaten tourist track -- were not well known by Bernard. I was disappointed not to see more game (in Mkomazi we saw a few giraffes, a bat-eared fox, and the disappearing tails of a few hartebeests). We had a great adventure there getting hit by a sudden downpour and sliding up to the fenders of our safari vehicle in mud. Had to call for a tractor to pull us out, but, Bernard had brought along box lunches, so all was well.
This was our second trip with EAS - we had a splendid safari to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti several years ago, so we already had great respect for their professional preparation and care, as well as the expertise and responsiveness of their guides. I wouldn't go to anyone else, and I hope someday we will come back for another trip with them.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic adventure
Excellent organized tour to Kenya.
Our guide was very helpful and very good so we feel safe and comfortable the whole tour.
We saw all wild animals we expected to see. Thanks.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worthwhile trip!
The two-day tour of Tarangire and Ngorongoro national parks was really worth it. I would recommend this for people on a budget and maybe with less time to cover the entire wildlife area of North-East Tanzania.
The big five very close to the vehicle coupled with amazing weather and scenery. What more could I ask for? The staff were great too, explaining all the way.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very enthusiastic team, well organised
The team, guide & drivers, are very enthusiastic, helpfull and very good in their job. They help you with all your questions and do their utmost to fulfill your wishes. They drove safe and were superb in the safari's, which were excellent, we even went 2x a day, making the most out of it! Service is great, they also organised for our lost luggage to be sent up to Jinja, where we stayed at the time it was found. I can recommend them to organise your trip to Uganda !
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
incredibly Amazing
We spent 3days in Masai Mara and it was incredible. The accommodation was fantastic, spacious, private and the camps chef made excellent food. The guide was excellent I only wished I could stay there longer.
AT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great animal experience in Tsavo East and Amboselli.
Daniel was an excellent driver and additionally spotted lots of animals for us. Moureen had really listend to our questioned and everything was organized perfectly. It was so amazing. We'll definitively look forward to join them for another Safari.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had heard so many great things about Makasa, even then our safari experience was Beyond expectati
We really felt that we were in "uncharted territory" while researching and organizing our trip, not knowing anyone that had done anything similar. Makasa advised us every step of the way and their recommendations were "spot on". The tented safari was definitely the right choice for us. The camps were the perfect combination---we felt safe and comfortable (food was excellent !!) at all times and yet "in the wild" added to the experience. Our guide Kaleby was THE BEST !! He was Professional, Knowledgeable and so much fun !!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid at all costs this safari company if you do not want to be hassled by the owner Richard Papa
We booked a 5 days and 4 nights safari Tarangire/Serengeti/Ngorongoro camping safari with World Tours & Safaris from Arusha to Mwanza. We needed to be picked up in Arusha and dropped off in Mwanza as we had plans to visit Lake Victoria. We contacted Richard Papa who was responsive but a bit short in his anwers. We didn’t think of it as it’s so easy to misinterpret the tone of someone by email so we decided to go with the company.
We were quoted for this private safari (as apparently no one wants to be dropped in Mwanza so it had to be a private one) my friend and I respectively $1000 and $920 (my husband was not traveling with us). I am a resident in Dar es Salaam and Tanzanian national parks charge residents slighty less than tourists this is why I was offered a $80 discount on the whole amount providing I could prove my residency in the country. If I failed to do so, Richard told me I would have to pay the difference at the gate which was fine with me since I had all documents in order.
We paid for the full safari by bank transfers, twice, the first time for the 40% deposit and the second time the remaining 60%. Richard told us we could only pay the remaining of the sum in cash with US dollars if paid on the first day of the safari. Since I live in Dar with my husband, we do not have US dollars so we did the second bank transfer to avoid any hassle.
The safari went well, we left the day after a night in Arusha Precious Inn, a very basic hotel but conveniently located a block behind the company’s office. Stanley, our guide and Gadi our chef, were good and professional. They made the best with what they had, which wasn’t so easy considering that the car was quite old and used (515 0000 km at the counter) and that their equipments were quite basic (for e.g after reading reviews on this website we decided to take our own sleeping bags). We enjoyed the 4 days trip even if the last day didn’t go as planned. We were indeed meant to go through the Serengenti again but we did not and drove straight back to Mwanza after reaching the last Serengeti gate. Still, we were quite happy with the trip and gave each of them (Stanley and Gadi) a nice tip once at our hotel in Mwanza. As previously explained, before entering each park I had to give Stanley my passport and visa exemption certificate (residency permit) so he could go and pay the entrance fees. I always asked him whether he needed them and except for Ngorongoro crater where he told me he didn’t have to show the documents.
Once the safari finished, this is when the problems started with Richard. We were eating our lunch in Mwanza when Gadi the chef came back to us saying that we needed to pay more. When I asked him to explain why, he told me that I needed to speak to Richard. I took the phone and then Richard literally started yelling at me telling me that this was the deal : I needed to pay $45 more for the Ngorongoro crater since I did not present my documents. He then told me that $45 was missing from his account (Stanley was apparently given pre-paid credit cards to pay the entrance fees) and that I should know where the money went. I told him that I was not one of his employees, that I did not know what happened with his credit cards and that so far only guides enter the park’s office to pay entrance fees. I do not even know what’s the entrance fee for each park since we always pick organised safaris. As a passenger you either stay in the car or go to the bathroom until the guide comes back and tells you to go back into the car. Richard said I did not present my documents so Stanley paid the fee for a tourist. I told him that when I asked Stanley before and he replied to me that for Ngorongoro there was no need for such document. As soon as I told this to Richard he started shouting : ‘Then Stanley lied to me, pass me Stanley now I will take the money off his wages….’ and hung up on me. Now I have been living long enough in Tanzania to know that $45 is a lot of money for a local. Stanley also explained to me that the mistake was coming from Richard for another reason that I did not get. I felt bad and Richard kept texting me saying I needed to pay or Stanley would have to (which felt like emotional blackmail to be honest) – I had done nothing wrong however unless I paid up then Stanley, who had been very professional the whole trip, would be forced to pay $45 - a lot of money for him. Stanley literally told me that if he had to pay the money the next safari he drove would essentially be done for free. Therefore I paid $45 on top of the $920 already paid not knowing whose mistake it was, Richard or Stanley. I thought that I could retrieve the money after speaking calmly to Richard since he was just shouting on the phone but I couldnt get a calm conversation out of him.
When I spoke again to Richard and told him that it seemed quite unfair I had to pay an extra $45 for the Ngorongoro crater since I could prove my residency in the country (which I did for Tarengire and Serengeti) and that this would affect my review of this trip (I was quite annoyed by this point, I did not like him shouting at me or at his staff on the phone) he wrote me back an sms (I quote) : ‘ I will reply to your review as you wish to write and give all breakdown to the World since you said you have permit. GOD will judge. Thanks’.
Our following exchanges were quite a roller coaster of emotions from Richard since it seems my possible review of the company was really annoying him. He successively threatened me to expose that we were staying illegally in the country (we have been living in Dar for 7 months, my husband works for an European NGO), then told me (I quote) : ‘I know you are a very good girl. You will not put us in trouble’ (I’m 30 by the way), then wrote ‘I am not sure why you want even my family and other staff to miss daily bread…’ (it’s not like we do safaris in order to write bad reviews) and then also accused us not have done the right bank transfers (which was very silly since we have evidence of our bank transfers and knew they had gone through correctly) and that we had cheated him.
Additionally, Richard constantly blamed his employee Stanley when he realized I was having none of this and wrote (I quote) : ‘Stanley is putting me and you in trouble…’ One of Richard’s email’s object is literally called ‘Stanley’ and is just a succession of accusations against poor Stanley.
When I last told Richard I could not accept the refund coming from Stanley’s salary (because to me it wasn’t clear whether he or Stanley did the mistake and also because it will result on an unfair burden on Stanley) he told me I should have reminded Stanley of the residency (which I did but also I do not work for the safari company so that should not have been my responsibility). And then the last email coming from Richard states (I’m just copying and pasting it because it is too good to be true) : ‘I will attache the same letter and the permit and my lawyer will write a letter to your Embassy, with copy to Ministry of Natural Resource, and another copy to Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority to show them the way you want to mistreat us.They will judge who has problem between me and you. We made a deal and nothing went wrong to my agreement between me and you. All arrangements was in order’.
I told Richard he was a dishonest person who’s been seemingly treated harshly his hardworking staff. Also, an important point, I did not understand his calculation : as a resident I had to pay $920 and my friend (a tourist) $1000.Since according to Richard I did not show my documents in Ngorongoro I had to pay another $45 on top of the $920 which makes it $965. Stanley told me that if I did not have the paper as well in Serengeti I would have had to pay another $45. Which amounts to $1010. Which makes it $10 more than the fee for a tourist and this not even taking into account if I had to pay an extra for Tarengire. When I asked Richard to explain how I would have had to pay more than my friend despite getting a residency discount (which does exist for national parks) if I had to pay the difference at each gate, he did not bother answering.
In a nutshell : I’m just baffled by the whole experience with Richard and his company World Tours & Safaris. Richard Papa strikes me as a very dishonest man and not a very professional one, not treating his staff nicely or even his customers. I would strongly recommend any potential customer to stay away from this company and to go with another safari company because you do not want to experience what we experienced. Besides, there are a lot of other safari companies out there that do provide the same service and the same trip without the hassle we went through.