Lovely safari in Selous Game Reserve - but too short!
We had ordered a 3 days safari in Selous Game Reserve and the program was great except for the morning flight was leaving at 2.pm and the rivertrip started very late. The lodge was beautiful and the service excellent, but the stay was too short. The safari was top, but we didn’t se more than 2 of the great 5, because of the rain. The third day we had to go to the airport at 9 am because the plane was arriving one hour too early.
DK
Email Charlotte | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was exciting
I loved it all. I Can indeed recommend this trip.
DE
Email Nadi Drehsen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing scenery with more wildlife animals you could wish for
Wildlife: amazing! We saw the big five and many more. Nearly every animal bit crocodiles.
Scenery : Ngorogoro Crater and surrounding area are breathtaking . Something you won’t see anywhere else in the world .
The Serengeti is very beautiful and unique itself . Tarangeri Nationalpark was nice , too.
Lake Manara was not my favourite, as you can’t really drive up to the lake , you only see it from a distance . Further up in “the jungle” we saw plenty of monkeys and elephants, which made up for it.
Weather: a little bit chilly during the night and early morning, afterwards very hot.
Accommodation- the tents were put up for us every night which was great, we just wished they would have told us to bring a pillow, they provide sleeping bags but it might be more comfortable to have your own for cleanliness reasons.
The campsite near lake manara , where we stayed the first and the last night of our 6 day trip was very nice (it’s called “Fanaka”) , the stuff was very friendly , you could even put your own drinks in their fridge, and there was hot water in the showers .
But! The campsite in the serengeti , especially the facilities where just terrible, so we didn’t have a shower for 3 days. I‘d recommend to pay the extra money and get a tented lodge .
Food was ok.
Our guide Moody was a very friendly.
DE
Email Friederike & Hagen Helle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was amazing, especially because of our guide Amani.
My husband and I booked a safari with Ascon Safari and it was one of the best things we did in Tanzania. Not only that the wildlife and the nature is stunning (really - it is such an unforgettable experience that you shouldn't miss, especially when you're from another continent), our guide Amani was the best! He was so knowledgeable and very kind - we have so much to be greatful to him, as we're sure that without him we wouldn't have had this experience, that much fun and wouldn't have leant so much. He knew how to find almost all the animals and gave us so much insight about the wildlife but also culture in Tansania. It is such an amazing experience to see an elefant, a hippo or lions just some meters away. On top of this we even were so lucky that we saw wilddogs, which apparently does not happen that often. The stay was really nice as well, very luxurious (maybe even a bit too luxurious, considering in the middle of the wildeness).
IT
Email Paolo Petrillo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Safari without animals
Serengeti park was absolutely empty, during our two days.
When I asked to change area the guide told us to be patient and that animals would have come. But when and where?!
He also told us that moving trough other areas was too far, but we had to spend 6 hours per day into the park, so too far for what.
I am sorry but I spent 600USD for nothing.
BG
Email Ivaylo Zafirov | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent organisation and very good destination
I went on a 3 day safari to Mikumi and Udzungwa National Parks with couple of friend in January 2018. The two parks are not the most famous but are interesting, especially Udzungwa Mountain with its equatorial forests and endemic species. Mikumi NP hosts most of the typical savanna species and we observed most of them. As an ecologist I was interested in all species and especially birds so I was delighted to observed and photograph a lot of them. The logistics of the safari were excellent. We stayed at Bastian lodge at the edge of Mikumi NP. Our driver from and to Dar es Salaam was very careful on the road and his driving was very safe.
I can strongly recommend Hello Tanzania and if going again to Tanzania for sure will use their services again.
IT
Email Chiara | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was my first, in Saadani N.P.: for sure I will organize better next time!
For my friend and I it was the first safari: we were in Zanzibar, so we decided to visit Saadani National Park(closer and smaller), even if we knew that it was not the best and most "populated" African park. Unfortunately the agency we chose was not clear about the duration of the journey from Dar Es Salaam port to the park. We had several issues with our car until we got stuck into the mud: I know people may say it is part of the adventure... however, it is not funny when you have less than 2 days.... In the end we did not make the boat safari to see crocodiles and hippos because in the morning the tide was not at the correct level...I am wondering why we did not make it in the previous afternoon then! For sure, it was very exciting for 2 Europeans to spot giraffes, monkeys and above all a big lonely elephant. We were expecting something more, especially a real guide, not only a silent driver who seems to be annoyed by us... accommodation was ok, but for a possibile future safari, I would not take selousrufijihippoadventure.com into consideration. Anyway, I think that this was just a start and that we have learnt something for next safari.
US
Email Kevin And Alma B | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No better place to go on safari
We booked a private guide/driver through Ruge, an independen in Arusha. The guide for us was Dixon. Dixon was the finest guide we have had and we have traveled the world. He used to be a porter for groups climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and is working to earn his degree. We chose the Ngorongo Crater as home base and that proved to be the best of all options. At this time of the year (January) the migration is only 2 hours west of the crater. Thus, you have day trip access to the crater itself (actually much better game viewing there than Serengeti), Serengeti and Lake Manyara, three distinctly different ecosystems. We chose the Ngorongo Neptune Lodge, which rates among the best 2 lodges we have stayed in worldwide. This combination proved to be the best one I can possibly imagine. We have been on previous safaris to Kruger in South Africa and Botswana. We had the luxury of our personal guide, a pop up Land Rover and a 5 star resort which was all inclusive. The total cost for 5 days and 4 nights, including pick ups and drop offs at Mt. K Airport, was $4400, or $2200 per person, a tremendous bargain for this fine adventure. We added 2 days in Nairobi, including tours of the Sheldrick Elephant Sanctuary and Giraffe Center, for another $450 pp. We coordinated all this on our own, which goes to show you can pull together a customized, week long trip to Kenya and Tanzania without blowing your whole wad. We also got great fares from Kayak.com on Airline tickets.
IT
Email Pietro Pevere | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
it was all very nice
we have seen many animals,beautiful scenery views , good food,ok guide .....it was all very nice.
RU
Email Tatiana Rudakova | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
it's fine
We were lucky, for 1 day we saw almost all the animals that live in the park. Excellent guide Bob - the most daring of the guides, drove us to the car to the lioness almost immediately. We arrived at 9 am, at 13.00 we had lunch, and after that we continued the safari until 4pm. Lunch cost $ 5 per person. The road from Dar-es-Salam was very dangerous, a lot of wagons with cargoes, our driver many times went to a meeting and miraculously we managed to avoid a collision. This part of the safari - very spoiled the general impression. On the way back, the gasoline ran out and the driver did not have any money with him, he asked us to throw off him for gasoline $ 5. Nobody returned them, of course.
