It Started in Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- IATA, TATO & TALA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Michael and Julia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon in Africa!
My wife and I travelled on our honeymoon throughout the Serengeti, Ngorogoro and Tangire National Park. Our tour guide was Arasto who was absolutely incredible over our five day adventure. From the start, we knew that we were in good hands. Our guide drove for hours and hours, answered any questions we had with pleasure and an upbeat attitude. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together and can say that we made a friend by the end of our vacation. For anyone considering a safari in Tanzania, we highly recommend "It Started in Africa".
Travelling in September was great because it was dry season. The weather in the day-time was hot to say the least; but overnight temperatures dipped and bringing proper clothing is important. The guide will look after the rest and ensure you have a great time. We said from day number one, as long as we see a cheetah, we will leave Africa happy. Arasto patiently watched for hours and hours until we found the rare cheetah. You could truly tell he loved his job! Would definitely go back, incredible experience!
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g297913-d4997591-r472229875-It_Started_in_Africa_Day_Tours-Arusha_Arusha_Region.html#
AT
Email Elvira Weidinger | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
7 great days with our guide Charles in North Tanzania!
Be booked a 6 night/7 days safari (Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Lake Eyasi visiting Hadza Tribe) with ISIA. We choose them from Arusha based companies because of their quick and detailed communications upfront and their offer was good.
We loved our trip and Charles was a great guide. He knows a lot, sees a lot, clearly loves nature and wildlife and is a cheerful heartily guy and a very good driver. We felt very well and save the whole time with him. The safari travel plan was a very good choice for us and ISIA did a good job in organization, everything worked quite well. We were happy with the camps we chose from a list of options we got from ISIA, especially loved Kati Kati and Maramboi.
We couldn't do our booked walking tour due to weather conditions. So I asked ISIA to refunded the amount and they did after our return home promptly.
So overall we had a great experience and really loved it!
But we have to confirm what several other guests already reported here and on tripadvisor:
Our car was quite run down. In fact all the others we saw on our trip looked newer. Our guide managed problems with the car very well so we barely lost time while he had to fix things (except day one when we had to wait for almost 2 hours for a new car at the supermarket before even leaving Arusha). We are aware that car break downs are quite usual with this road conditions and its somehow even part of the adventure but we would really appreciate if ISIA get new ones to allow the guides to focus 100% on other things and give the guest a bit more comfort. Headrests and working safety belts should be mandatory.
CH
Email Barbara | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari experience
We just came back from a 14 days Tanzania Safari and Zansibar beach Trip booked with "It started in Africa"
with wonderful memories and are very happy that we booked this tour. the trip was "custom made" according to own interests and special wishes and we received regular email responses to our requests and questions from the staff.
the best was certainly our driver who made our Safari a memorable experience and who always spotted animals from very far distance. we also had some unexpected experiences....for some travellers that might be annoying- we found it very funny, which sort of makes the special experience of such a trip (the car had a break down on the last day, but it s interesting to watch how a car gets repaired in Africa so quickly, or driving through a street full of water due to rain)
HK
Email Karim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incompetent and deceitful staff ruined our honeymoon
We decided to book our 9-day luxury safari with It Started in Africa (ISIA) after several emails back and forth. Although the price ($10,100 USD for two people) was more expensive than other companies we had spoken to, we booked with ISIA, as we were impressed by the responsiveness of sales staff. We did have some concerns about the quality of their vehicles (after reading some reviews on TripAdvisor), but Joao Oliveira (who we later found out is the co-owner), Luis, Iris and Joanna assured us that we would be provided with one of their newer vehicles and a great guide. We were really looking forward to the trip of a lifetime however it turned out be a nightmare.
When we arrived in Kilimanjaro airport, there was no one to pick us up so we had to make several international calls to find out what had happened. They told us that the driver had broken down on route (this turned out to be a lie) and that they were sending a replacement car to pick us up. We waited for 30 minutes outside the airport until the driver finally arrived to pick us up but as soon as we were on the road to Arusha, the police stopped the car for speeding. We then had to wait outside the police station inside the car in blazing temperatures and call ISIA internationally for them to send another driver to pick us up.
We finally arrived at our hotel and I sent an email to Joao to tell him what had happened. He replied that there had been a mix-up with our dates and that the office manager, Bernard Kang’oma would meet us in person to apologise and confirm our itinerary before we left for our Safari. We met with someone the next day who spent 30 minutes claiming to be Bernard Kang’oma despite the fact that I had seen his picture on the company website and knew he was not. When I asked him why he had lied to us, he told us that Bernard Kang’oma had asked him to impersonate him. We wrote to Joao again expressing how unhappy we were with the level of service. He replied that we could cancel the trip but would have to forfeit 50% (over $5000!). Of course he knew that we had no other choice but to continue with the Safari. We could not book anything at such short notice so reluctantly we told him that we would continue with the trip. What followed was a litany of deceit and incompetence:
We started our Safari with two days in Tarangire and had an issue at the gate with the permit, which meant we had to return to the gate the next day early morning to get an extension for the next day.
The vehicle was old and the fridge cooler was broken so we could not drink cold water. It also had not been cleaned before the trip and stank of rotten food.
The Nikon binoculars they say they provide all clients is in fact a marketing lie. We had one Russian branded binoculars, which were glued together and belonged to the driver and another pair, which were broken.
We were kept waiting for 30 minutes outside one of our lodges, while they sorted out our booking. When I spoke to the manager that evening he said that he had a booking for us the following day (not the correct day). Another lodge told us they weren't expecting us for lunch despite this being on the itinerary.
While heading to South Serengetti, we were kept waiting 3.5 hours at the gate as there was another problem with the permit. Another mess up by the staff in Arusha meant we missed out on most of the afternoon game drive in the ndutu region.
Unfortunately, our balloon ride was cancelled due to poor weather, however we were told that we could book for the next day. Immediately upon returning to the camp, I asked the driver to confirm our booking for the next day. We repeatedly asked him to do this throughout the day but it was only when we absolutely insisted that he did so, but by then it was too late as it was already fully booked. We were the only people to miss out on the balloon ride as everyone else had confirmed early and had not left it so late.
When we arrived at our camp in Ngorongoro, we were informed that the camp didn't have a booking for the crater walk that we had paid for. The weather was poor so the walk may not have taken place but again ISIA staff messed up the booking.
Bernard Kang’oma informed us, that we could collect the refund for the cancelled balloon ride and crater walk at the office in Arusha. Our driver/guide spoke to him several times before we left Ngorongoro and Kang’oma confirmed that he would be waiting in the office with the full refund of $1200. When we arrived at the office, Kangoma wasn't there. We tried to reach him several times and when he eventually answered his phone, he said that he had given the money to someone called Daniel who was waiting at Kilimanjaro airport. We called Daniel and he told us that he didn't actually have the money! We then tried to reach Kang’oma but he would just hang up. We had no option but to go to the police station to report this. They called him and told him to come to the police station but we gave up waiting for him and were told by the police to give them our contact details and they would follow up.
We tried to catch our flight to Zanzibar but missed it because of this incident and had to stay at the airport hotel and catch a flight the next day, losing our hotel booking in Stone town in the process.
When we asked Joao for a refund of the $1200 for the cancelled balloon ride and crater walk, he at first tried to make us sign a letter saying that we would not write negative reviews on any site. He told us that this was his bank’s policy (a lie) but we refused to do this and he reluctantly agreed to pay us the refund by PayPal. We are still waiting to agree compensation but Joao and ISIA staff are not replying to our emails.
ISIA ruined our honeymoon and we would absolutely not recommend booking a Safari with this company!!! There were several issues everyday which we would spend most of of the day resolving. Terrible organisation and service by ISIA especially considering the price we paid. There are plenty of other good safari companies, so we would suggest using any of them.
Reply from It Started in Africa
Posted on Mar 2, 2017Dear Karim and Nazia,
Thanks for your review and feedback. We are sad you did not have the tour you were expecting. However, I truly believe no other tour operator would be able to offer you a tour that would make you happy.
It is true that there was a very rare anomaly in the pickup, with a mix of the arrival time, which caused us to arrive slightly late at the airport. When that happened, we greatly apologise for the situation, and even sent one of our representatives to your hotel to apologize for the situation. In fact, to compensate for the delay in the pickup, we offered a special bush dinner in one of the camps and paid it ourselves to the camp. However, unfortunately, this was irrelevant to you.
All the other situations you mention in your review are, unfortunately, a view that is very different from reality. For example, indeed you did not fly in the balloon because there was bad weather. We received a call/email early in the morning from the balloon agency saying the balloon was cancelled. In less than 10 minutes, we contacted them to reschedule your tour and they said that they were fully booked for the next day (not because of the reschedules of the previous day but of normal clients who had booked for that day). In fact, we were then informed that on the next day, the bad weather did not allow the balloons to fly once again, but that is just an additional information.
Usually when a balloon is cancelled due to bad weather, the procedure is to try to reschedule and if it not possible, refund the client with the amount that was paid. The Balloon flight was being done on new years eve and you were returning to Arusha on the 1st January. Normally what we do is to transfer the funds via bank transfer or paypal to the client and this was properly informed. We normally only receive the refund from the balloon company after two weeks but make the bank transfer within 1 or 2 days of a cancellation. However, once you arrived in Arusha on the 1st January, you demanded to receive the refund in cash on that very same day. As you are aware, it was the 1st January, and all banks were closed. However, despite us giving you this information, that we could not get the funds from the bank on that day (you were flying to Zanzibar afterwards) and that we would make the refund via bank transfer (which we did of course, in full, contrarily to what you wrote) you kept requesting the money in cash on that day and, although this was not possible, you pursued it to such an extent that you ended up getting late for your flight to Zanzibar, despite our numerous attempts to explain that we would make a transfer and that you were going to miss the flight. Although we were not responsible for the flight loss, we did book and pay ourselves for a luxury hotel by the airport. Despite this, you kept complaining and accusing us of being scamming you without any reasonable common sense or understanding.
I am very disappointed that such an amazing tour, that was organised with top notch quality, and only had one hiccup with the airport pickup delay, which we tried to compensate multiple times, resulted in so much anger and unjustified frustration on your side and several requests for huge money compensations for non incidents. I am really afraid no tour operator would be able to make you happy with the safari. I have taken the liberty to check the other tripadvisor reviews you wrote in other locations, and as I imagined, they are all negative. Trying to do our best to make you happy, making everything brilliant and still receive this in return, is something we do not wish to any tour operator and our major regret was having agreed to organize this tour for you in the first place. There was no way it could have been a success.
IT
Email Paolo | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing and safe
A reliable company, good car, kind and prepared guide. We went for a private two people and the mid luxury suggested accomodations; all were well managed, clean and breath taking.
Roads and burocracy in Tanzania don't work well, expect to a not so welcoming experience by governor officiers, but fortunately this Company will take care of everything for you.
IT
Email Antonella Bobbio | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
exciting
We enjoyed every single minute of our tour! I felt I belonged to that wild nature more than I do to my usual everyday life. Amazing!
The best spot has been the first lions sighting, we were really excited. But everything we saw was exciting.
I hope to come back to Tanzania one day.
The staff of "It Started in Africa" has been great! They helped us finding the right combination of tour and accomodation, answering to loads of e-mails and requests with patience and professionality.
Thanks!
MX
Email maria | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing family experience
Hello Vanessa I hope you are doing well.
I want to thank you for everything ,We have an amazing journey. Your country its beautiful and all the people are very kind, .we had a wonderful experience. I want to recognize the job of the drivers we allways felt safe with them ;they were vey kind with us Thanks for all your organization.
I want to comment some points that may be can help you in the future
We were the only guests at the Masai Mara Hotel and they did not made our room
The hotel its really far from the ballon ride nobody told us that it was going to be a two hour drive at 4 am in those roads, so with the empty stomach we had a tought trip. The ballon was great
Its a good idea to ask the tourist for large plastic bags to put inside all the stuff you carry because the roads in Tanzania are SO dusty that you have dust everywhere , maybe the suitcases can be covered with a hard plastic. I think all your customers will appreciate that tip.
At Kilimanyaro airport they asked for our vaccines, they wanted to see the records. The stopped us because I had them in the suitcase, it´s better to bring them with you
The Arusha hotel its okay they did nt have hot water and the road to enter its very ugly so you cant go out for a walk. Maybe its better to look for another one.
The lodges were beautiful, and the dinners were really great specially the soups.
I really appreciate all the work and that every question I made you answered it so fast..
We all enjoy the trip.
Thanks
US
Email Kathy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable, unforgettable and economical personalized African adventure
Our trip was absolutely amazing, an experience of a lifetime! Our guides Charles and Isaac were a key part of this, sharing their incredible knowledge, good humor and outstanding driving skills to facilitate this two week journey. Accommodations were lovely, food delicious and varied, and the staff at locations were very welcoming and hospitable. We really enjoyed the diversity in the different lodging too and continued to be in awe of both setting and ingenuity!
Of course the stars were truly the wildlife, which brought me to tears of joy and wonder day after day. I'm so glad we took all the 100's of photos and video recordings as a great reminder that we were really in Africa and saw these incredible sights with our own eyes, not on a National Geographic show!
The two week travel itinerary was just about perfect. We had one potential challenge at Haven Nature with our booking that ended up working out better in the end- although we were scheduled to stay two nights, they had us listed only for one due to an incoming group that had booked the entire site. In addition, our lodging became a room, not a tent, which we would have preferred. Fortunately, we were able to secure an additional night at Tarangire Safari Lodge, which was outstanding. However, I feel like this all came together only with our persistence (and on hand cash!) otherwise I'm not sure where we would have spent the night. This situation was a little disappointing given extensive pre trip planning to prevent these sorts of surprises, but again, it all ultimately worked out well, and actually made for better use of our time by arriving at Tarangire earlier.
The birthday celebration was all tied to the above so that also added a little craziness, but again, it all came together with a wonderful surprise celebration by the staff at Tarangire. They were able to pull it off, thanks to Isaac, ISIA staff inTanzania and my husband. Very memorable and still surprising!
So, super thanks to all the ISIA staff for this unforgettable adventure, especially Joao for the extensive itinerary and pre trip planning, and Charles and Isaac for their on the ground knowledge, expert guiding and driving skills, and humor.
SG
Email emma | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
had great fun in our 4-day trip, wish we could come back again
Thanks to our smart driver Nasarri, we had a great time during the 4-day safari tour (although it could be much better if we were provided binoculars), and our best memory might be the day in Serengeti - lovely animals during game drive, and beautiful sky full of stars at night which happened to be Christmas Eve. Best Christmas Eve (and Christmas day) ever in my life.
DE
Email Ivar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Statement from our 3 kids (Aged 10, 14 & 16) "best vacation we have ever had"
First of all, Thank you so much for all your effort planning our trip. All arrangements were according to plan, without any delays or other issues, so thank you again for the proper planning to make our trip the as good as it could get.
For our family, the balance between visiting the different Tribes and not too many days on Safari, turned out to be a success. Our family really enjoyd the hospitality from especially the Hadzabe and Datoga tribe. The Masai Tribe has become to commercial for us, but of course it was very interesting to alos see their way of living.
Our Safari guide (Martin) had a lot of knowledge and was very helpfull all the timen to make our days perfect. The different accommodations were also great. We especially enjoyed Pumzika Camp in Serengeti. Wonderful location with a very professional staff. Christmas Eve at Ang'gata Ngorongoro Camp was very special and a great experience as well. The place and the staff was wonderful, we all loved it a lot.
Zanzibar.
Lukemann, your agent at Zanzibar, was really nice and at our service at all times. He really did a great job to make our stay at Zanzibar perfect. Amaan Bungalows at Nungwi Beach, was a success. Our kids really loved the place, playing football on the beach with the local boys, the beautiful white beaches and the constant living atmosphere. After moving over to Fumba Lodge we really discovered (especially the kids) that the North part of the Island was better suited for us. Of course Fumba Lodge had a higher standard, but for us as a family we found that this place is better suited for "grown up families" without kids and younger people on their honeymoon :)
Thanks again for outstanding planning, we will have no problem recommending,
"It Started in Africa", to our family and friends.