Tanzania Travel Guide

Amazing

I had a wonderful trip with Safari Mashariki Expeditions. Our driver guide made our experience just amazing and we enjoyed our trip. I highly recommend their services.

The good, the bad, and the ugly: how Kiliholidays turned crisis into comfort

I think that this review may turn some people off, but the events that happened to us were unlikely, and could have happened to anyone at anytime, anywhere. I feel that the response to these events by Kiliholidays (and in particular, Mack and our driver Laurian), are worth commending.

The good: My wife and I took our children (ages 8 & 6) on safari last week. We went to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. Laurian was an absolutely amazing driver. He had vast knowledge of the areas we were traveling, the animals we were seeing, and to any question we asked. He was observing of speed limits, and particularly cautious because we had the kids with us. Throughout our journey, we observed all of the Big 5. The parks were amazing, each offering its own charm. Laurian always seemed to know where to go to find big game. My wife was initially hesitant to bring our children so far from home - by the end of the trip, we were already planning our next visit.

The bad: While we were leaving Serengeti National Park, the rear spring on the Land Cruiser broke, and we couldn't ride on it. We had to go ~4 hours to get to the Lodge we were supposed to be. We found it amazing that every single driver who went by us stopped to help. Eventually, the Wildlife Service came by, and the preliminary solution was to cut down a small acacia tree, and wedge a firm branch into the spring to keep it in place. My wife and I were a little reluctant that it would work, and we certainly weren't comfortable putting our children in that vehicle. So, Laurian asked another driver to take us to the Ngorongoro gates, at which point, he had arranged a staff member from Farm of Dreams Lodge to meet us and bring us back. Laurian himself stayed with the car, the Acacia solution worked, and he was able to drive it to a 24 hour mechanic in nearby Karatu. The vehicle was ready to go for the next day. And, Kiliholidays had a bottle of wine ready for us when we arrived at Farm of Dreams, to apologize for our inconvenience. At no point did we feel helpless.

The ugly: The following night, Laurian was bringing us to the Kilimanjaro airport, after an amazing trip to the Ngorongoro crater. About 10 minutes from the airport, he decided to pass 2 slower drivers at the same time. (Again, note that he was an extremely cautious driver). When he started to pass the car immediately in front of him, that car also decided to overtake the lead car. The other driver went straight into our lane. To avoid collision, Laurian drove off the road. Within a couple of seconds, a large ditch (10 feet deep x 15 feet across) appeared in front of us. This was literally the only ditch on a 30 mile drive, so really bad luck. We ended up straight in the ditch, going about 35 mph. The accident was not his fault, and he handled it how I would have handled it myself. Had he handled it any other way, the results could have been drastically different.

I needed several stitches on my forehead, my son banged up his cheek and had some swelling/bruises on his face. My daughter and wife also had some bruising. It was a nightmare situation, being so far from home. Thankfully, we had traveler's insurance, which helped in getting us medically evacuated the next day.

But in the immediate aftermath of the accident, it was all Mack and Laurian. Laurian arranged with another driver to take us back to Arusha to get medical care. Mack met us at the hospital, and waited the 6 hours with us until we were released. He paid out of pocket for the medical expenses. He arranged a hotel for us to stay the night (because we missed our flight). He went to the pharmacy for us to pick up our medications. He arranged transport to the airport for us, and he checked in on us several times. He felt horrible that this happened to us, and did everything in his ability to make it right. While we were far from home, and in one of the worst situations possible, they made us feel at home.

The accident could have happened to anyone at any time. I think the special part about Kiliholidays is how they responded to the incidents. They treated us like part of their family, and we are forever grateful for their support. We went to Tanzania looking for adventure, and we certainly found it - and we left with friends. We will be back, and we will use Kiliholidays again.

Also, look into travel insurance. They coordinated our flight out the next day, and due to our injuries/soreness, were able to get us into Business Class, which was absolutely amazing in allowing us to stretch out and not cramp due to our soreness.

Once in a lifetime experience

Tanzania is a multifaceted country. The wildlife is amazing and was alone worth the trip. Moreover, we were positively surprised by the quality and taste of the food (no stomach Problems)! Also, our accomodations (Dar and Zanzibar) were very nice, clean and comfy although I have to say that we booked rather high standard accomodations. Nevertheless the people are all very friendly and helpful so that you might be even overwhelmed by it. However, not everyone only wants your best so you should always be alert and not too credulous but this advice also holds true for most other (European) countries in the world!
If you are looking for an adventurous, Rich in history, relaxing and „spicy“ holiday trip, you should definately go to Tanzania and Zanzibar!

My 4th time in Tanzania was the best of all... before the next one

Moodson has been a great guide, as well an excellent game-tracker, and a very nice fellow; all this combination gave me fantastic moments in the unique Serengeti. Waldo, the guide we had in the other places (Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, Tarangire) has been bad: this opinion was shared by everybody. I don't mind about having explanations about wildlife, for it was my 10th experience in this part of Africa, but the other people in the 4x4 always had to ask explanations to that guide, who was without motivation. We all thought we were ONLY money providers for him. Concerning the company I had booked with,i.e budgetsafaris, Olivia and Carlson are very nice people, they only need more experience. In any case, I'll go back to Tanzania. Please keep your wonderful country clean, safe and always fantastic!

Our 'dream trip' was thanks to George Munge, our tour operator.

Everything was as good as or better than we expected. George was so knowledgeable about so many topics: vegetation, birds, wildlife, the country - it was like having an encyclopedia in the vehicle with us. We felt safe and well cared for the entire trip, thanks to George. I would HIGHLY recommend this trip and operator to anyone!

Wonderful nature!

An unforgettable experience

Our safari trip was just as we planned. Our guide and driver, Mussa, is someone you can really trust: he was always there at the right time, solved all the problems that came in our way and was kind enough to send us emails with the photos he took during our trip. We visited Tarangire and Ngorongoro and saw lots of lions in both parks, and also elephants, rhinos, even wildebeest giving birth. Tarangire has beautiful vegetation, and Ngorongoro is just stunning - a place we will never forget. We stayed at a budget hotel at Mto wa Mbu, in the Arusha region, that was very comfortable and had nice food. Everything was great. We highly recommend Mussa and Roam Serengeti.

Safari in Tanzania is something you should experience once in a lifetime.Ma

My safari operated by Kili Slope and Kili Holidays was an amazing experience and adventure. They arranged a wonderful tour with wildlife and culturell encounters, through Manyara, Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Eyasi Communitiy. Our skillfull guide/driver Thomas offered us an unexpected knowledge about the behaviour of the wildlife population and he was very familiar with the best places to spot animals. Whereas Jackson introduced me together with local guides to the customs of tribes like Maasai, Hadzabe and Dakota.
The accomodations were wonderful and I enjoyed most the stay in a tented camp within the Serengeti, close to natur and animal tracks.

A once in a lifetime experience!

The best part of our trip was the safari we booked through safaribookings.com. We choose a 5 day safari with a few nights camping in the Serengeti. 5 days was plenty of time and we saw so many different animals and of course the big 5!

Our guide was passionate and very knowledgeable. We all developed a bond and we still text via WhatsAp from time to time. The lodge, Farm of Dreams, that they put us up in was pretty amazing! They were little huts but they had all the great amenities of a nice hotel. We were treated really well by the hotel staff and workers. I highly recommend this lodging.

In the beginning I felt very overwhelmed planning our trip to Tanzania. Especially the safari leg. SafariBookings.com made it so easy to decide what company I was going to go with. I loved how I was able to review each one day by day and the site is very organized. I would use you guys again! And I recommend you to all my friends!! Thank you again!

Beautiful scenery, wonderful wildlife viewing and amazing experiences

Excellent organisation from Paul Tickner Safaris, we loved all our accommodation.
Whale sharks were a highlight at Mafia Island, and we cant recommend Pole Pole highly enough.
Fanjove Island will always epitomise paradise in my memory, I truly hope that it remains unspoilt .... it is perfect just as it is !!