Safari Magic - explore, experience and enjoy
Maasai Wanderings
- Located In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $280 to $1,200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Maggie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
So many dreams come true with amazing experiences!
We booked with ‘Maasai Wanderings’ after emailing several other Australian reviewers, feeling very cautious because we’d just lost $$ with ‘It Started in Africa’ tour company, which we believe is now before the courts in Arusha. Donna was truly helpful as we changed and re-changed our plans, trying to balance our budget. She was very prompt in responding to emails, a life-saver as we only had 2wks to go! We’re also very appreciative of Donna’s offer to give us the tour at cost, because of our previous bad experience. This we declined, hoping to be covered by insurance, but truly appreciated her kindness.
Our driver/guide was Godwin for our 8 day trip in Tanzania, and he was amazing with his knowledge of animals and the bush. He also had a terrific laugh! Like others have said, the guide makes the trip and Godwin was very patient, funny, informative and intuitive to our needs, and flexible with arrangements. This was no usual tourist safari as I was returning with my husband to the country of my birth, and we spent time looking for a previous home and workplace, and another full day travelling on very rough roads because I wanted to follow up on a project my father had been involved in. We drove from Arusha to Dodoma, then through Iringa to the Ruaha National Park (finally through to Dar-es-Salaam), all long drives because we wanted to SEE the country rather than fly over it!
Our animal time was spent with 4 days in Ruaha National Park and a visit to Mikumi NP. We saw most big animals but weren’t ticking off lists, so spent long periods at rivers and waterholes watching the behaviour of elephant herds digging in river beds for water, and a lengthy, fascinating interaction between a small herd of elephant and large pride of lion with their cubs. Godwin anticipated animal behaviour well, so we were always safely at the right place each time something happened. He also spent time writing down information for us, and talking us through some lesser known facts about the animals we saw. We had fun guessing if an elephant was left or right handed, judging from the damage to baobabs! Godwin was also conscious of the environment, stopping to pick up plastic and rubbish in the parks. We thoroughly recommend Maasai Wanderings and would have no hesitation in booking them again, should we be so lucky! Thank you Donna and crew for a wonderful experience following our shaky start with another company.
Email Rosie Richardson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely brilliant organisation
We were a group of 4 who did a 7 day safari in Tanzania with Maasai Wanderings. Firstly, email communication before we arrived was fast and helpful - we all felt really confident about our trip.
The trip itself was very well organised, and even better than we had anticipated. Accommodation, 4WD, meals etc were all excellent. Our Driver / Guide was what really made Maasai Wanderings stand out though. Mody was perfect in every way - knowledgeable, passionate, friendly, in tune with what we wanted (i.e. knew when we were sick of it and ready to get back to camp!), and just a nice guy.
Maasai Wanderings go above and beyond. A few days after we left Tanzania, I realised I had left a necklace at a camp in the Serengeti. This camp was in the middle of no where and relied on satellite phones. I figured I had said goodbye to this necklace, but thought I may as well contact Maasai Wanderings about it.
Not only did Donna get back to me immediately, saying they'd found the necklace at the camp, but she arranged for it to be transported back to Arusha by 4WD, and she is posting it to me. Unbelievable service.
Do not hesitate - book your safari with Maasai Wanderings.
US
Email Sabrina | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
My husband, our friend, and I just got back from an amazing 2 week trip with Maasai Wanderings. We started planning the trip over a year ago, and from the first time contacting Donna she was always very quick to respond and answered all of questions thoroughly.
Our trip started at Tarangire National Park. We spent 2 nights in a tented camp within the park. It was an amazing experience to sit around the camp fire at night and see the herds of wildebeest coming in close to the camp. We then moved on to Ngorongoro Crater. We spent 2 nights at the Plantation Lodge. It was refreshing to have a stay at the lodge in the middle of the trip. The lodge had great accommodations including a wonderful swimming pool and a great deck by the bar which was perfect for a cocktail after a long day. After the crater we moved onto the Serengeti. There we spent 3 nights in a tented camp within the park. All of the places we stayed had damp towels to wipe off the dust and refreshing juice for us everyday when we arrived after a long day of game drives. The food at all locations was great. We usually had breakfast and dinner in the camps/lodge and then took box lunches with us to eat while on the game drive. We really appreciated Donna's suggestion to stay at the lodge in the middle of the trip. While the camps were amazing, had very comfortable beds, spacious tents and amazing service, it was nice to feel a little more pampered for a couple of nights in the middle of the trip.
Our guide Simon was amazing! The guide is such a key element to the trip, as you spend a lot of time with the guide, and we still can't believe how lucky we were to have Simon. He knew so much about the animals and worked hard to make sure we saw all of the animals we wanted to see. We got to see "the big 5" as well as a cheetah with cubs, several herds of wildebeest crossing the Mara River, and many more. Simon always made sure we had anything we needed for the game drives and was so much fun to spend time with.
After our time on safari we moved on to Zanzibar for some relaxing beach time. I had told Donna that we were all interested in scuba diving and she booked us at the resort that had a top notch dive center on the grounds. We spent out time relaxing by the pool, floating in the ocean and enjoying several great dives. And once again the food and service were amazing.
Everything about the trip exceeded all of our expectations. I can't say this is a once in a lifetime trip since we are already starting to save up to come back in a couple years, and we will definitely be using Maasai Wanderings again.
Email Katie & Anton | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow!
We have just returned from a 6 day safari with Maasai Wanderings. To say that we had an amazing time is an understatement! Everything was perfect. Our guide Peter, really made the trip for us. Knowledgeable, funny and flexible to our needs, from the moment he picked us up from Kilimanjaro airport we knew that we had landed ourselves a great guide! We visited Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti and at each part of the safari Peter went 'off the beaten track' following animal prints and his own nose to give the best experience - in many cases we were the only vehicle in the area, which we really appreciated. We went out before sunrise and returned each day after sunset, full of incredible stories and photos. We also managed to see a kill and get up close to feeding lions. If you get a chance to stay in the Naona Moru camp, jump at it. It really was a magical experience, especially waking up at 1am to find a bull elephant grazing 5m away from our tent!
We would not hesitate to recommend Maasai Wanderings and if we are lucky enough to return to Tanzania, Maasai Wanderings will be our first port of call (with a special request for Peter as our guide!)
Email Steve & Chrissie Bennett | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life Long Dreams Realised
On 2016-10-04 19:27, Steve Bennett wrote:
Please pass on our sincere thanks to our Guide and Friend Issa
I had planned this trip to Tanzania well over a year ago as a surprise
40 years of marriage celebration for my wife. A safari to Africa was
something we had always dreamed of since we were children but it was
not until recent years that it became financially achievable. It was
more than we could ever imagined and this was in no small part due to
the knowledge and determination of Issa. We can never thank you enough
for making this such a special trip and hope one day that we may pay
another visit but always there will be part of us in those stunning
national parks.
During the safari Issa became a good friend and whatever the trip
confronted us with we were confident that together we would overcome!
The only problem was that it made the goodbye at the Serengeti
Airfield one of the most difficult partings we have experienced. We
take that as a measure of your kindness and friendship and will always
treasure our time together.
US
Email Susan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible!!!
I would like to personally thank Maasai Wanderings for the thoroughness to every detail, the happy delightful
> staff at each camp that catered to our every need and to praise the competency and expertise of the skilled guides that helped to make this an incredible trip.
Everything went smoothly from the start to finish.
The camps were magnificent. The food scrumptious! The service and all the staff at each camp were pleasant, helpful and an absolute joy to be around!
I particularly want to complement Charles, the manager at Kaskaz Camp; Kasim at the Naona Moru Camp; Maria at the Plantation Lodge, and Desi (not sure of spelling) at Nimali Tarangire Camp and also the assistant manager Saimon.
>
Our Kenyan guide Silas, (I apologize for not getting his last name) and our Tanzanian guide, Simon Mayotte were exceptional! Having spent eight days with Simon gave me the chance to witness his proficiency in everything! Not only was he an expert of the animals, birds, plants, trees, climate, the terrain of the land, the handling of the vehicle but my camera as well! Simon was welcoming, warm, funny, interesting, with a great sense of humor and the patience of a saint escorting two older ladies on their first trip to Africa!
This trip was beyond my expectations. As a first time traveler abroad I cannot praise the efficiency of your company enough. Thank you for helping me to have this amazing experience! I will surely recommend
this company to anyone interested.
Asante
Susan
>
Email Jessica | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything was perfect...
My partner, myself and a friend were looking at going over to Tanzania we wanted to climb Kili and go on a safari but had absolutely no idea how where why what would be involved.
I was trying to sort through websites and tour operators and alot of companies had only specific dates that group tours were starting and if we wanted to go privately we were paying a small fortune . It was looking a bit dire and thought we might have to choose either Kili or the Safari. Until i was recommended Donna and got her email address . Instead of waiting days for replies as i had been it was instant same day replies with incredibly helpful information clear costs and so much flexibility on dates , tour times length of tours etc. After back and forward and myself asking Donna a million questions ( too which all of the replies were incredibly helpful and patient) we were able to do both climb Kili and do the safari both on private tours and extremely affordable !
From the day we booked it we had smooth sailing itineraries sent all the information you want on the country, tipping, safety to our guides coming to our hotel pre kili and pre safari to get us all ready and excited. To both our Kili guides and porters being incredibly wonderful friendly professional personable knowledgeable to our extremely kind hearted Safari guide who we spent 4 wonderful days camping in the Serengeti / Tarangire with.. Amos answered all of my ten thousand animal questions with such ease and patience ..
All in all we were so lucky and spoiled to have gonna with Maasai Wonderings the accommodation food service everything was incredible .
Not only is it an incredible company but Donna and her husband are highly respected within the locals of Arusha , we spent a day in Arusha looking around and talking to some friendly locals we told them who we were climbing/safari with and they knew exactly who Donna was and commented on the work and volunteering they do for the community and had nothing but respect and admiration for them both.
I couldn't recommend a better company/people to deal with
US
Email Jesse Hart | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding experience! Highly recommend Maasai Wanderings!
Incredible!! Five stars, for five days of nonstop action and adventure with our family! We were exhausted and completely satisfied by the end, full of the most outstanding African memories we will have for the rest of our lives. We searched through many safari companies but none could compare with Maasai Wanderings; they are known by the community for being the best, and we experienced no less. Well communicative, reliable and great value for the money. Our guide Moody was personable, flexible, and all around a breeze to work with, taking us around the best spots where we viewed far more than we expected! Just check out the photos we included on their Google business page to see a small sample of what we saw. Highly recommended. Thank you!!
Email Peter | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great trip with super drivers.
I travelled in a family party of nine in two vehicles supplied by Maasai Wanderings on a six day safari in three different camps in Tanzania. The tour was superb but what really made it for us was the drivers. They were lovely people who joked and laughed with the family and I think they must have enjoyed the trip as much as we did. I do wonder how the tour would have been if the drivers had been less friendly, knowledgable and such fun. Not only were they nice to be with they were always on time and very reliable. Wilson 1 and Wilson 2 as they became known added to a lot to our safari which in every sense was a wonderful experience.
Email Suzanne Punnett | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant!
Our Safari was fantastic, made even better by our guide Jamal, who was so knowledgeable about the area and where to get the best views and see all the animals. The excitement of having elephants walk right past the vehicle is something I can't explain, it's just magical.
The camps were amazing, you really get a feel of living amongst the wildlife. Food excellent and so much of it!
Camp staff were all friendly and welcoming and accommodation very impressive considering they are in the middle of nowhere, all with WiFi too!
If you are thinking about going on Safari just do it, you'll have the time of your life
