Best Leading Adventures in Tanzania
Focus in Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- IATA & TATO
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
Email Laila | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A woman was screamed at by the chef and wouldn't let her leave because he wanted money
We went on a 5 day safari with Focus on africa. The tour guide, Wilson, was amazing. He really went out of his way to make our trip unforgettable. I am very sad to give a one star because he is worth 5!
During the trip I noticed a couple of things which could have been done differently but I considered not to be worth writing a review but I will state them now anyway; we were leaving quite late a couple of times and when spotting animals you have to be there at first light! We were with 6 people in the car including luggage and camping equipment, making so that for a few drives the people in the back seats were uncomfortable. The one star I give for something that happend to a travel companion and makes me feel the need to write; the chef that was with us for 3 days(who cooked nicely but was only acting nice on the last night, all of the group immediately felt it was because he expected a tip) became angry because they gave too little tip. And with angry I mean yelling in their faces for over 15 minutes and not letting them leave the last campsite. They were so scared (2 woman alone) and not one of the 15 local men surrounding the vehicle said anything and let it happen (they work on the campsite and thus are also reprectatives of focus in africa). They felt attacked and it ruined their trip. This was a super scary situation and I would advise you to make sure who your guide will be as this will definitely make or brake it(their last day was spend with another "guide" who didn't know any English).
Moreover, the owner wanted to pay the woman to remove the reviews and out of his messages it appears that he actually agrees the tip is too little and so was accepting towards the behaviour of the chef. Look elsewhere for your safari trip!
DE
Email Meg | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Attention! Unprofessional safari company, The boss begged my daughter to delete her negative review!
I know it's a very long review. I hope you will read until the end. The purpose is I just want to tell people the truth about this company. My personal opinion is completely different than all positive reviews here.
Since there’re many positive reviews here, we decided to go for Focus. At the beginning, the communication between me and Nelson (the owner I guess) was smooth. He wanted us to pay 25% deposit to confirm the booking. We insisted to pay only 10%. He agreed. The entire fee was $1700 for two persons 5D4N budget safari with jeep.
On arrival, their driver picked us up at the airport and dropped us to their assigned hostel “Arusha Safari Hostel”. Since we booked budget tour, so we didn’t expect that much. Although google reviews show that the hostel has 4.1 stars, from our point of view, I would only rate 1. The staff who opened the gate at midnight (we had night flight) was kind of piss off that we somehow woke him up. Our private room with bathroom is very small. The toilet light is ridiculously dim. The worst is we needed 2 sim cards and we didn’t have time to go downtown to get. So we asked the hostel staff what time do the telecom shops open? He said he could send a staff from vodacom to the hostel. This person was wearing vodacome T-Shirt, he had also machine for registration. So we believed that he works for vodacome. At the end, we paid $60 for two cards which is a lot but we had no choice. After that, I checked on internet, two SIM cards should cost less. We paid too much and I texted that vodacom guy, he ignored my messages. So we are pretty sure that we were ripped off.
On our first safari day, we met Nelson personally. I was going to pay him the balance of the tour fee which is $1600. I kept $1700 aside including $100 for the tip. So I counted only $1500 after taking the $100 out in front of Nelson, I asked him to count to make sure, he counted and confirmed it was just $1500. But I was pretty sure I kept $1700 aside. There must have $1600 in total. I counted again, thank god it was $1600.
We were supposed to go with Brideson. He picked us up and he seemed to be very kind. He told us that he would be our jeep driver. At last minute, another driver Dickson has been swapped.
We proceeded to Tarangire National Park, one the way, there was smoke coming from the cockpit area. Of course we had to stop. We drove to a garage and luckily we could still proceed.
Dickson didn't give us briefing at all before we started the safari. So we all didn't really know elephants are very aggressive and we should never try to touch or make any noise in front of them. (We knew it because we just learned from our other safari tour. One of our group members who is from Ethiopia hit one elephant and made noise, I said it loud "don't touch!" We are in danger if the elephant get mad. Dickson has heard this but didn't say anything. We were speechless. We arrived our first camp, Dickson told us (we are 7 people in the tour, but 1 guy stayed at the lodge)
At dinner, Dickson was supposed to give us briefing but he has never shown up. One of our group members tried to find him by the help of the camp staff as we have no idea what time should we wake up, breakfast and start time.
On the first day in Serengeti, we all hope to see big five. My daughter and me had safari experience in Kenya, so we know that the drivers use walkie talkie to communicate each other. Once an animal has been seen, all drivers drive there. Dickson didn't use the walkie talkie although there is one in his seat. I asked him why didn't you use? He answered „he doesn't need because he has experience".
We were skeptical about it and we still have hope. We saw many animals but no leopard. At night in the camp, people talked to each other and we figured it out many groups have seen leopard but we didn't. We were very angry because Dickson refused to use walkie talkie and of course disappointed.
The rest of our safari was just nightmare. As I mentioned there is one guy from Ethiopia. He is the only one on our group to stay in the lodge. So we have pretty much different wake up and pick up times. On the 2nd day game drive in Serengeti we all wanted to wake up earlier in order to catch the sunrise and hope to see leopard. Dickson told him already his pick up time, since we know other groups have seen the leopard on the first day so we all agree to leave to the game drive half to one hour earlier. So we suggested Dickson to phone the Ethiopian guy at the lodge. Next day when he got into the jeep, he asked Dickson, "who came the idea to wake up so early? My daughter said “all of us” After that he said to Dickson, “next time I will beat you up “. Dickson didn’t respond. At the end we left Serengeti with disappointment without seeing leopard.
Next day our whole group wanted to wake up earlier but the Ethiopian guy insisted to wake up after 7am. We the whole group including Dickson (I empathize he is the representative of Focus of Africa" and the Ethiopian guy were standing in the camp among many other tourists. He started to argue with us because he didn’t agree to wake up before 7am as his lodge is 1.5 hours away from where we stayed. He insulting us like leave “my” country although he isn’t from Tanzania few bad words. He shouted at all of us “you fxxking white people go back to your countries and stuff like that. At the end we all told Dickson we don't want to travel with this guy anymore and asked if he could talk to the boss. Next day as planned we left our camp with a compromised meeting time and pick up point (someone will pick up the Ethiopian guy and bring him to an intersection.
At the meeting time he didn't show up, we proceeded to our game drive without him and we were all very happy. Unfortunately some hours later he joined us again. I understand that a travel agency could not choose who is joining the group. What I wanted to say is, Dickson as the representative of the tour, he should have done better with communication with the company and express our concerns. He told us he did but the company cannot do anything. Our group has spilt today as most of them finished their tour and we proceeded to our final game drive.
On our last day me and my daughter knew that one Japanese guy at the same camp is going to join us. One more person is missing, we don't know who is going to join. We asked Dickson, who is going to join us? He surprisingly responded us “don’t worry, she is WHITE”. We were speechless, we never say any bad things about any color, we respect all human and we’re shocked to hear his response.
Finally our tour came to an end. My daughter and me will fly to our next stop, she will hike later in kilimanjaro. She needs altitude pill from pharmacy. Dickson brought us to the meeting point to meet the driver to the airport. Someone from Focus took my daughter to the pharmacy, the pills costed $22 for one single pack. After that we were in Zansibar, we went to two pharmacies, both charge the pill only $1-1.5 for the same amount of pills. Was it another scam?
Go back to the story at the beginning, here is my conclusion::
The cooperated hostel is taking advantage of their guests for instance providing extremely expensive sim card service. Was it a coincidence?
Money counting could be a coincidence but also could be on purpose, we will never know
They don't care how the whole group feel, they just ignore our demands. Instead of separating the whole group and one individual person, they insisted to put us together for the rest of our tour which is unacceptable. At the end nobody could enjoy our last day. Nelson has blamed me about not telling him before. In fact, Dickson should have communicated with the company.
Was it a coincidence that their staff ripped my daughter off due to the 20 times more expensive pills?
My daughter has written a negative review here, I didn't know it and Nelson wrote me one day via WhatsApp and asked why am I doing this? I told him I still haven't gotten the time to write. He beg me to convince my daughter to delete her review and offered me a partial refund. I forwarded the message to my daughter, we both agreed that we could only accept full refund. Money is for us important but unfortunately money cannot buy us the time back. Nelson trying to persuade me for the partial refund by making me uncomfortable, saying that the negative reviews will lead to a bankruptcy of his company, unemployment and family financial difficulties.
Their jeep has broken down for at least 5 to 6 times for our entire trip. On the last day, we got flat tire and Dickson said it’s safe to proceed.
Dickson didn’t really care about the group, we were taking photos, he didn’t ask if we are done and just started driving
Sometimes we saw animals and wanted to take pictures, he didn’t stop and keep driving until we said please stop.
At all briefing times Dickson was always disappeared.
Dickson didn’t deserve to receive so much tips from the whole group, he then gave us hard time about this.
DE
Email Angie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Never Again!!!!!!! I woudn't go they don't care about your well being
I did the 5 day 4 nights tour with this company and it was terrible! highly recommend to save a little more money to book with another company. I have never experienced an Agency/Company like this. We were a group of 7 People one of them was a solo traveller. We all got in a fight with him because he didn't want to wake up as early as planned. He started to offend us and saying racist stuff. Really bad stuff I was shocked at this point. Everyone just watched but didn't say anything. They didn't stop him they just let him finish screaming all those things infront of every other client in the middle of the camp. Everyone in this group said we don't wanna drive with him anymore. it's not acceptable. it's unprofessional! They brought him to his lodge and on the next day they just put him back in our Jeep. 6 People said we don't feel comfortable with that but they just don't care. On the 4th day everyone was leaving besides my mother and me. Someone told us for the next there were 2 people joining. We met the first person and ask where is the second one because we never got a briefing we arrived every evening and ask questions like when is dinner?, what time do we have to wake up tomorrow, What time is breakfast tomorrow? we always got the answer we will speak in the evening at dinner the guide never besides one night appears. once he just went to bed without informing us about the day after. back to the 2 people that joining he answered with "we pick here up from a lodge don't worry she is white" i was speechless. We told him AGAIN that we never mention any skin colour, religion or origin. We just wanted to start at 6 not 7 because he declined to wake up earlier than 7 just because we started the day before 30 mins earlier than planned because 6 out of 7 don't want to miss anything and see the sunrise. Also one guy stayed in lodges that were more than a hour away so one day we have to drive 30 mins for dropping him off and 30 back to our camp. the other day it was more that 1 hour one way. On the day we picked him 30 mins earlier he ask us who's idea that was we told him ours. he replied with next time i will beat you up. Everyone heard that also the guide. no reaction from him. The planning in the company is disaster. They should put him in a group who booked a packages where everyone is going in a lodge or book private not in a low budget joining group. Also we have to wait always for him because he never was on time.
On the first day we drove to a Park, this guy started making really loud noise infront of the elephant just to get his attention we told him to stop because they are sensible to loud noise also we are guests. We have to respect the animals. But after this there were a group of elephants( also baby's) the crossed by our car and he just touched the elephant out of the window. he just bring us all in danger this animals are so strong. Everyone saying "DONT TOUCH" at this point a thought the guide should give him a reminder to stop with his behaviour but he didn't care. Lucky for this guy the elephant got scared and walked away and not knock over the car.
The first evening we ask if we can start at 6 our driver got mad and also show us that he got mad because he didn't know how to contact the guy in the lodge i also probably think it's because he don't want to organise because that's to much effort we told him he should call the lodge so they can ask the guy if it's okay for him. But not a reason to get offended and be mad at a whole group. We paid a lot and ask really kindly.
There was more impressions but it's already a lot and i hope you have a better impression and view of that.
I know it's normal that the jeep sometimes get a flat wheel or something is not working but our car stand still 4 times in only 2 days almost 5. The first time the Car was smoking from inside. the other times because something in the front. (he never told us we always has to ask what was happening the answer we got was everything is fine) yes sure it's fine that's because the car stopped and stand still and also smoked from inside? we never got any informations. terrible. After all of these was happening we arrived back in Arusha. My Plan is to climb Kilimanjaro also GLAD i didn't book with this company because i don't want to spend one single cent for them for all of this treatment and not caring about us. We arrived and i told them if they know a pharmacy so i can buy Altitude Tablets for my journey. They brought be and it was only cash for 10 tablets 22 USD. Someone of this Company i don't know his name lucky you! He brought me there so I bought it stupid me. Just to get told that they were only 1-2 USD for 10 Tablets. It's all about the money for this company. I bet my right hand that if you joining a good Agency with Guides and a Team that really cares they would not bring you and stand next to you infront of there eyes so you got ripped off!!!! That's so sad i really feel bad for that Driver also regretting giving after all of this Tipp.
I never saw our Guide eating. He always lied replying when we got lunch where is your food "don't worry about me they just forgot to make a Lunchbox" ah sure can't believe that.
None of them deserved the tip. But Karma is going to catch all of you. i'm sure. So if you're reading this Nelson you have to fix a lot of stuff and if your agency doesn't change something after this I really hope this review gets a lot of attention so tourists can be aware of people like your company. There are a lot of people saving all their money and holiday days for an unforgettable trip like a safari does. But you completely ruinned my days in Tanzania. We are Humans. Not running Dollar signs. And I'm sure after reading this you know who's writing this.
Also if you’re booking with them make sure you count all of that cash right. My mother had to pay for me and here 1.700 USD (100 USD Deposit) so 1.600 USD Cash. She gave him 1.600 USD but was not sure she thought 1.500 USD she asked him can you count again he did he said no. so she said count again because she put that 1.600 on the side in the morning just to make sure and didn't have to count in front by paying. So he counted again and said a yes it's 1.600. So it could be possible that's just a mistake but after all of that i remember that again and thought probably it was not a mistake. So we talked in the Group and no one was happy with the Safari. One Girl lost her shoes but the shoes were in the car?? strange right? thanks for your attention
NL
Email Giovanni | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible service
This company is lacking service and professionalism. Due to a technical failure, we had to pay the safari in cash - which at first is not a problem at all. However, the staff member took us to distant ATM machine where we had to take cash out. While counting the money, the staff member pulled the money out of our hands! He very aggressively took the money out of our hands. Also, we paid too much and the guy did not give us any change back.
Nelson is in charge of the company but he is barely available via phone or email. They are responding very slowly and they are blaming everyone else but themselves. They offered to have a chat in Arusha, while I was already back in my country.... after that they never handled the situation appropriately... If you can book with a different organisation, please do so!
BE
Email Catherine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible
I booked a two days safari, first day Tarangire, second Ngorongoro
First, one our late for the pick up than we had to wait until 10:15 for guests stuck in Arusha
We arrived at tarangire at 12h we only had a 2h safari on the first day.
Thought they would make up for it on the second day but no the worst was about to come.
Change of plans at last moment, lies, terrible guide, the boss not reachable and unreliable as well.
I thought it would be the best 2 days of my whole trip because it is quite expensive, ut it ended up to be the worst.
DE
Email Massimo Cacioppo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lazy, looking for money and poor in service.
I'm very sorry for the people who work for this company, but I can't recommend the company that was responsible for my climbing at all, but I can't recommend the people who work closely with you or accompany you. But you can also find them everywhere else and you can also hire Angelo privately, for example. I can only warmly recommend him and his team, but you've already read that. So if you are interested, I would be happy to put you in touch.😊 But Nelson, who I have corresponded with and who owns this company, was a horror. Zero information and quite long response times. Some answers didn't even arrive after several reminders. The information that followed was also inadequate. For example, I asked him what utensils I needed, since I'm a complete layman. He wrote to me that I didn't have to worry about anything or any utensils. Everything would be there. I don't have to worry. But he didn't say that I had to pay for the missing utensils. I ended up paying an additional $90 and in the end I feel let down. What about people who are on a tighter budget? He also didn't write down what the preparation should look like. The person who does this for the first time, like me, is left alone. Sure, you can read up on the internet, but every company does it differently. There is no sensible information on his website either. I'm very sorry, but I had to get this out of the way, also for the people who might be interested in climbing Mount Kili or doing something similar. I also booked the safari through Nelson and it was also designed to spend as little money as possible. Several groups who had booked different things were put in one car, which is fine in itself. You got to know more people and the stories behind them, but the implementation was horror and the performance didn't live up to the promise or the program. For example, we each had much shorter safari times. You left at just the wrong times. And meals were designed differently and even skipped. And since I have already completed two safaris, I can easily compare. And the comparison is very negative. He also failed to mention that bed and breakfast worth $20 each was included before the respective venture. So I didn't use this service, which is almost fine for me, but I just think paying $40 for the transfers is unfair and not right. I'm very sorry, but in the end it's more important to me that, should you ever do this, you are as informed as possible.
DE
Email Cristina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We did a three days safari (lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Tarangire) for 390€ per person. The communication with Nelson was ok (per Email or WhatsApp), we had to pay 20% in advance in oder to make the booking, without receiving anything official afterward, so we were a little afraid and sceptical.
But everything went great, we got picked up at Arusha airport and brought to Nelson's hotel (two nights, before and after the safari, were included in the price).
Our safari guide was great, the jeep was also ok, everyone (max 7 people) had a window seat. The food was also very good, we slept two nights at Panorama camp near Lake Manyara.
The organization is a little chaotic, but that's Africa.
The experience itself was amazing, we got to see all kind of animals and our guide really took time to show us everything and always asked if he could proceed or wait for photos.
For the price and the experience I would highly recommend Focus in Africa!
Email Eper | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organised, prompt communication and good service.
We took the four day safari to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. It was a great experience, very well organised, the pickup and drop-off from the airport and the accommodation and meals the day before and after make it all a very convenient experience. Nelson was very prompt at answering questions on WhatsApp and before booking, he sent us a clear plan and price and it all went ahead as planned.
We saw lots of animals, our guide had unbelievable eyesight and he was very experienced and spotted animals in the craziest places, which was amazing!! We missed him saying a few sentences about the parks to introduce them but when asked questions he was very knowledgeable. The food was amazing, really tasty, fresh and varied. The vehicle was comfortable and there were plugs to charge phones in both the vehicle and the dining halls of camps.
The reasons this review is 4 starts:
The camps were better than expected, clean tents, clean toilet facilities, most had free wifi and it was well organised with the chef and camp staff setting everything up for our comfort. However it would have cost little extra effort to make sure that there was toilet paper and hand soap provided and that the sleeping bags and pillows are washed. They were very smelly. Luckily we had a roll of toilet paper in our bag but I can't imagine what we would have done in the middle of nowhere without any. The washing I think is simple and part of basic hygiene, especially when travelling with a limited amount of clothes, you don't want them to be smelly like the sleeping bags.
There was no wifi or hot water in the hostel for the night before and after. Again, we had a sim card so wifi wasn't a massive issue, but I think most travellers would either expect wifi or expect to be warned to buy a sim card. Same with the cold water. On the safari I understand that it's difficult to provide and we kind of expected that and coped. But it would have been nice to know there is none in the hostel either.
Overall it was a great experience and we would book again without hesitation, but these few things are simple to improve and would have a very positive effect.
AT
Email Elena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly, hospitable, well connected, answers fast and organizes good safari guides and equipment
We travelled as a group of 6 together in one car. The drive from the airport and the stay in the hostel one day before and after the 3-day-safari were included in the price. It was all well organized and the tour operator, with whom we were in contact before via whatsapp, gave us all relevant information. The safari guide was well informed and very friendly. We could ask any questions about the wildlife and nature and he would always try to give us answers. We could always say if we wanted to stay longer watching certain animals, or see anything of personal preference and all wishes were taken into consideration. The cook was excellent and the food was delicious. There were 1,5l of water per person per day, even though we were told to recieve 3l. Nevertheless, it was doable since you could drink tea, coffee or hot water at each prepared meal. One night we slept in a lodge, the other night in a tent (2 people) and there were sanitary facilities (only cold water). Payment should be done in the morning before starting the safari. It is good to have the right amount of money prepared, ideally in cash, otherwise the fees are higher. Overall, it is worthwhile waking up early in the morning in order to see the animals and nature of the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area! The safari is recommendable!
DK
Email Juanita and Diana | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very nice experience
We took a 4 days safari and it was great!! The first night at Panorama camp was very comfortable and the food was nice. From there, we pack our own tents and sleeping bags and mattresses to the camps Seronera and Simba located in Serengueti and Ngorongoro parks. The 3 parks we visited are very different: in Seronera we saw lots of elephants and monkeys and other animals are hard to spot becasue of the interrumpted geography that is hills. Serengueti is hugeee and it takes long distances to see the different animals, in there we saw a lot of lions, cheetas and even the Leopard. Ngorongoro is beyond espectacular, we saw even rhynos and the landscape is so magical and different to the Sabana.
Our driver was Chambuzo and cooker Peter, they are both amazing!!! Chambuzo has a lot of experience and can spot the animals sooo easily, and Peter cooks amazing local food. Both respectufl and very nice.
There were only 2 thing that has place to improvement, one is the condition of the matresses and the sleeping bags, they were dirty. So if you have the chance to take your own sleeping bag I think it is woth it. Te second is that they prefer the payment in cash and the ATM only gives you 600K TZ shilling at the time with 10.000 bills, so we had to witdraw 7 times and one person that was on the safari got his card stucked in the machine. The payment with credit card charges 5% fees in all Tanzania and the international transfer is also expensive. So the payment method could also be improved.