Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 21-30 of 108 Reviews
Michael Lyon   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2022 Reviewed: Jun 22, 2022

Email Michael Lyon  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Very competent and responsive to questions. Great selections of camps in Zambia.
5/5

The accomodation, staff and locations on the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers were outstanding. Giltedge came up with a first class experience. I had a difficult time finding a travel company that understood what I expected when in Africa, i.e. walking in the bush, night drives and general desire to get away from others in the bush. l was please by the competency of the staffs at the various camps. The guides were highly skilled and knowledgeable. The food was outstanding. The camps provided laundry service which meant I could take less clothing. Some of the planes are not able to take large pieces of luggage. Giltedge got it right.
Clean water, either out of the tap or bottled wa available at all the camps. I think Giltedges tipping suggestions were appropriate. Bring cash!

Simon   –  
United States US
Visited: May 2022 Reviewed: Jun 1, 2022

Email Simon  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Exceptional, Laser Focused on Details, Exotic Trip Organizer
5/5

I planned this trip for myself and my son starting a few years ago. I chose to book my trip with Giltedge based on the feedback from friends in the travel industry. My initial trip was canceled due COVID so I had restart from scratch. Giltedge was there from beginning to help me navigate the desired 10 day safari trip to Botswana. Even though it was not possible to duplicate the original itinerary 100%, I was extremely happy with the trip that we came back from yesterday morning. We stayed in 4 camps in Botswana and 2 hotels, one on arrival in Johannesburg and the other in Victoria Falls. Each of the camps in Botswana was just perfect, from travel to accommodations, location and the knowledge of each camps safari drivers/trackers. We first stayed at Camp Xakanaxa for 2 nights, which both, my son and I liked the best. We then flew to Xugana Island Lodge where we also stayed for 2 nights and liked it a lot as well. The 2 mentioned camps were smaller and in one we were 8 people and the other 10 all together, so that at most, we shared the daily rides into the bush with 2 other people. The next camp for 3 days was Savute that was a bit more modern (not that it mattered) and sported a water hole that faced the dining room tables. There was always lots of game to watch while you had your dinner. We saw elephants, hyena, lots of impalas and kudus. The final camp was Chobe Game Lodge for 3 days as well. This was a fairly large place that can accommodate over 100 people. Somehow we felt that the camp was a re-introduction of what awaited us back home. Great service, food and service. We even had massages. In my opinion, this camp should be either the first one on the itinerary or second, this way one retains the exotic feel of the safari. To end our trip my decided to drive to Victoria Falls for 1 day. Needless to say, the falls are just amazing. However, it was too much travel for 2 hours of sightseeing, so I would recommend that people who plan on our type itinerary, perhaps start from Victoria Falls and end at Xakanaxa or Moremi, another camp close by.

Obviously took lots of picture that will take lots of time to organize, but it's all worth it for a "once-in-a-life" experience.

Stefan   –  
Switzerland CH
Visited: November 2021 Reviewed: Dec 2, 2021

Email Stefan  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excellent Service and an amazing Itinerary
5/5

We booked our 12 days safari with Giltedge and were amazed by the great service they offered.
Very shortly after we requested more information Monique our agent already contacted us. She was very knowledgeable and put together an amazing trip for us that we will always remember. Everything was perfectly well organized and we didn't have to worry about anything. All we had to do was just to enjoy our vacation
We also want to highlight that Monique was extremely caring about our well being that went way above our expectation. Here an example. Due to the new Corona variant everything got quite chaotic and Monique even checked with our airline (that we haven't booked with Giltedge, if everything was still ok). And she checked on us even during the weekend.
We were extremely happy with Giltedge and can recommend them to everyone!

Tony   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2021 Reviewed: Aug 16, 2021

Email Tony  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Exceptional Service and Professionalism
5/5

We booked an African Safari adventure with Giltedge back in 2019 for travel in 2020 to South Africa and Namibia. Unfortunately, Covid changed everyone's plans in 2020 so we opted to delay until August of this year. Giltedge and Tanya was with us every step of the way, advising, recommending and offering various options in our rebooking. Even up to the last minute where our airline cancelled flights to South Africa a month before we left, they stayed with us in planning the trip. And as luck would have it the unrest in Johannesburg was a concern a week or two before we left. With Tanya's help and recommendation, we rewrote the schedule a week before with stays outside of the Johannesburg and an additional Safari in Savuti in Botswana! What was originally a two stop tour turned into a sight seeing excursion on the White River with a safari in Ghoha Hills Lodge in Savuti. Our journey brought with it because of Covid and traveling through 4 countries, multiple immigration stops and multiple covid tests in order to move through the various places including returning to the States. All along the way Giltedge provided assistance for our group and had people at every stop along the way to assist. This was a godsend. And the safari's? Excellent places with great customer service, exceptional accommodations and food to die for. And guides that were knowledgeable, friendly and always eager to help. I cannot say enough of the support and service we received from Giltedge. Special thanks for Tanya for staying with us every step of the way and to Murry for assuring us that it was ok in Johannesburg to travel through. You owe it to yourself to book a journey of a lifetime with Giltedge.

David and Julie Hearst   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2021 Reviewed: Jul 20, 2021

Email David and Julie Hearst  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Giltedge did a great job arranging a wonderful trip.
5/5

Giltedge took time to find out exactly what we wanted, provide options and come up with a great trip to several camps in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Then COVID hit and we had to delay our trip for a year. They negotiated with the lodges, up dated us about the conditions and then rescheduled our trip. In the end it was the trip of a lifetime. We couldn't have been more pleased.

A.J. Nafso and family   –  
United States US
Visited: June 2021 Reviewed: Jul 19, 2021

Email A.J. Nafso and family  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Monique Dean was incredible from the get go!
5/5

My family would like to thank the team at Giltedge! We are still talking about the experience that we had. They managed all aspects of our trip, from the greeting when we first landed in Nairobi, to the care they took to track our progress and insure that everything was handled and we could just relax and enjoy. The COVID testing requirements were of course a complete bother, but a necessary evil in this day and age. They took care of making sure all tests that were required were scheduled and was made as convenient as possible. The lodges that were booked for us were wonderful. Every leg of our trip got better and better. The staff, service, accommodations and FOOD were incredible. We were met by James(our point person) when we returned to Nairobi for our final flight home. He transported us to a beautiful restaurant to get a nice dinner before he took us to the airport. There he coordinated a VIP service to get us through ticketing and security. She stayed with us until we were seated at our gate.
A special thank you to Monique Dean our travel agent! To James Njoroge (indispensable) who was our point person throughout our travels. To all the guides and lodge staff THANK YOU!

Emily and Brian   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: January 2020 Reviewed: Mar 30, 2020

Email Emily and Brian  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Blown away by the thoughtfulness and attention to detail.
5/5

Philippa was amazing to work with. She paid careful attention to what we wanted and made sure to deliver. For example, my husband Brian told Philippa I wanted to see a lot of elephants, so Pippa booked us at Savute Safari Lodge which has a fabulous view of a watering hole where elephants gather all day long.

All of the safaris really exceeded our expectations. We loved our guides and enjoyed bonding with them continuously throughout each of our stays. The accomodations at Camp Xakanaxa, Dulini River Lodge and The Royal Livingstone were particularly excellent. Everywhere we went, the staff reminded us we were on our honeymoon and showered us with love and sparkling wines!

We would go back to Camp Xakanaxa and Dulini River Lodge in a heartbeat. The people there are some of the warmest and kindest we've ever met, and everyone on staff remembered your name at both locations. Accomodations were excellent in their unique ways. Both set you right in the middle of the action, with hippos, elephants and even rhinos within view. Dulini is a must for honeymooners - after many communal meals in Botswana, it was lovely to have our very own safari vehicle and romantic private dinners.

Our only criticism of the trip was our ending location at Massinga Beach Lodge in Mozambique. We had put most of our budget into the safaris, and we knew that Massinga would be more of a 'no-frills' location, but I would recommend Giltedge pause before sending future clients there. Whilst located on an absolutely stunning stretch of gorgeous turquoise beaches, the facilities were not safe or well cared for. For example, steps down to the beach (of which there were at least 100) were barely tended to, with cracks, crumbling concrete and broken handrails. They were not lit at night. The lodge has a pick-up truck with seats on the back to transport 4-6 people between the beach and main lodge, but that felt even less safe than the dark footpath. One night the truck stalled and almost began rolling backwards. At the pool, most of the toys, games and floats were broken or missing key elements, such as a ball to play paddleball with. When it came to mealtime, service was simply bad. One night, we were asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu, when we hadn't yet had our first course or even any drinks served. There was always a long wait to get any drinks served. The highlights of this location were the incredible beach, relaxing pool scene, skilled massage therapist and romantic private lodges with decks and plunge pools.

Tony and Abbie Gloucester,MA   –  
United States US
Visited: February 2020 Reviewed: Mar 2, 2020

Email Tony and Abbie Gloucester,MA  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

They listened to our criteria, designed a fabulous trip tailored to our interests and v responsive.
5/5

After interviewing a few tour groups we decided to go with Giltedge Africa and are we glad we did. We explained our interests to our agent, Tamera, and she came up with a fantastic itinerary. Our interests took us to four different accommodations and five countries in Southern Africa. Tamera's suggestions of how to schedule our trip were on the money. We visited each area in just the right sequence for maximum enjoyment. The accommodations, guides and drivers Giltedge arranged for us were first class, we were very well taken care of.
We had excellent communications with our agent who was on call 24/7. She promptly returned emails and texts and always answered our calls. She was very obliging even when we would repeat a question that she had already answered. Thanks to Tamera listening to our interests she developed the most wonderful, varied and fulfilling vacation we have ever had.
We look forward to scheduling our next trip with Giltedge Africa.

Beatriz   –  
Spain ES
Visited: February 2020 Reviewed: Feb 29, 2020

Email Beatriz  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

Amazing
5/5

Tanya made all the diffrence. She is an excellent professional

Jerry   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2019 Reviewed: Dec 12, 2019

Email Jerry  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The review below is the personal opinion of Jerry and not that of SafariBookings.
Too many problems -- but the best guide
3/5

We booked our safari with Giltedge through Mangata Travel based on a recommendation from a friend. Things started off well and we built a terrific itinerary. Shortly after we made our deposit (which pretty much locked us in), Mangata became less responsive. As we poured over the itinerary in detail, we found several holes and contradictions. Some of our questions were answered but some were ignored. We started communicating directly with Giltedge in order to get answers.

When we landed in Africa and met with the local Giltedge representative, he was working with an outdated itinerary. The next morning, we met our guide/driver and discovered that his itinerary did not fully match ours. For example, at our first stop - Lake Manyara National Park - we had purchased four game drives, but he was only given passes for two. Not a good start.

From our first contact with Mangata, our #1 priority for our trip was to experience the great migration of wildebeest and other animals. Having never been to Africa, we relied on the experience claimed by Mangata and their partner, Giltedge Africa. Mangata placed us at a lodge in central Serengeti. When we met our guide/driver at the beginning of the trip at Kilimanjaro airport and reviewed the itinerary, he told us that regardless of how much or little rain there was, the migration is NEVER in central Serengeti in August. He offered to take us to the Masai Mara, but that would entail an 11-hour round trip on terrible roads just to fight the crowds to spend a brief time to see just a small part of the migration. I didn't think it was worth it. But thanks to our great guide, we had a wonderful week in Tanzania where we saw everything there is to see, except for the migration -- for which I will always resent Mangata and Giltedge.

After our safari, our plan was to go from the Serengeti to Uganda for gorilla trekking. It seemed the most direct way was to fly from Seronera to Entebbe. But Mangata told us that such flights don't exist. So Mangata routed us from Seronera to Kilimanjaro, then to Nairobi, and then to Entebbe - all in one day. About 2 weeks before our trip I noticed we were not yet given our tickets for the first leg to Kilimanjaro. (Note: this is something I believe the travel agent should have caught.) I asked for the tickets. When they finally came, it showed an additional stop in Arusha. This didn't seem to bother our travel agent. But four flights in one day seems excessive to us. One slip-up and we could miss a connection. Since we had expensive gorilla trekking permits for a specific day, we could not afford any problems. After we complained, miraculously we were booked on a flight from Seronera to Entebbe. Mangata and Giltedge said they were"calling in a favor" to get this flight. But once in Africa we learned that this is a regularly scheduled daily flight! This entire run-around was totally avoidable and caused a lot of unnecessary angst for us.

Apparently, Mangata does not have the experience claimed and adequate attention to detail needed to arrange a trip like this. We will not be booking through them again.

The biggest positive by far, though -- and for which we are thankful to Giltedge -- was our guide/driver, Meshack Godson from Arusha. He must be the best guide in all of Tanzania! His knowledge and instincts were top notch. And I learned quite a bit of Swahili from him. What we realized is that no matter how much you plan your safari, your guide is truly the key to it all. And we lucked out big time with Meshack!!!

Reply from Giltedge
Reply from Giltedge
Posted on Dec 23, 2019

Hi Jerrry,
thanks for leaving us a feedback.

We immediately went back to your travel agent (Beth at Mangata Travel) to get further information & address some of the points you raised.

We're sorry to hear that your safari didn't turn out as you had expected but trust that Giltedge Africa always strive to deliver the best experience, as per the hundreds of positive feedback we have received since we've been in operations for the last 20 years.

Once again, thanks for delivering this feedback so we can improve where possible.

The Giltedge Africa team.

Average User Rating
4.8/5
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