Reviews

Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 31-40 of 45 Reviews
Maurice Maas   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: July 2016 Reviewed: Aug 9, 2016

Email Maurice Maas  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Our new friend in Arusha, Tanzania.
5/5

My old friend from university Erik Berkelmans advised me to ignore travel agencies in my home country, instead to directly contact Christopher Samwel in Arusha to make all arrangements for a safari trip for my family of four (2 kid aged 12 and 10). I'm still grateful to Erik for this advise. Arrangements were easily made and confirmed via email, money was transferred in good faith, we were picked up at the airport by Christopher for a nine day guided adventure in a private land cruiser. We ended up naming our safari trip 'Cat Counting Season'; "You're very lucky" Christopher repeatedly said at our various encounters with leopards, cheeta's and lions. This might be, but I'm convinced that his talent as a guide and his network 'in the field' enforce a certain level of luck. Furthermore he is a great guy full of stories, fluent in English, fond of our kids, a nice companion at the diner table and apparently an excellent operator since we've been in the most amazing lodges and tented camps. His price? Equal to the offer we got from a travel agency, but difference concerns a critical success factor: you will not know the person you will end up with as your guide (plus our spendings remain where they belong, in Tanzania). To the four of us, Christopher is our new friend.

Gijsbert and Hanneke   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: January 2016 Reviewed: Jan 20, 2016

Email Gijsbert and Hanneke  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

we will be dreaming sweet dreams of africa forever!
5/5

We just returned home after a wonderful camping safari with Christopher and Jafhed (sorry if we spell the name wrong, we loved your cooking!). From the moment we were picked up at the busstop in Arusha, we knew we made the right decision to choose "I dream of Africa". We immediately felt at ease with Christopher, who brought us to a wonderful lodge in Arusha, for a last night in civilisation.
The next morning we were on our way! We saw 5 parks: Arusha, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorogoro and Tarangire. Every park had her own charm and Christopher had so much to tell about every park. It was never too much trouble to pause the car, so we could take a picture. The campsites he had selected, were amazing. Nice and quiet, in the middle of nature and wildlife. Every campsite had his own visitors, varying from monkeys, elephants, a genet and our favorites: hyenas!! Camping inside the parks adds a whole new level to being in the wild. While we were camping, we were spoiled with some of the best meals we ever tasted, all served with a big smile! We even had a cake on new years day, with a lovely message written on it.
Christopher is the best in spotting animals, he knows everyting there is to know about the animals and the parks. You can tell by the way he talks, that he respects nature and he treats her with love. He also told us a lot about the country and the population.
We could go on and on, describing how amazing our trip was, but we can only give you one advice:
Book your safari with Christopher, we promise you it will be an experience you will never forget! We certainly won't!

Anja, Andrea and Kathrin   –  
Switzerland CH
Visited: July 2015 Reviewed: Oct 25, 2015

Email Anja, Andrea and Kathrin  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

The perfect safari-adventure!
5/5

In July/August 2015 we made the „budget-tent-safari - 8 nights/9 days with Christopher and Japeth. After sleeping in the nice freedom-lodge, we got picked up and drove to the Arusha National Park where we did a bush-walk with a ranger. That was one of the highlights, getting very close to the giraffes and buffalos. The next parks were: Lake Manara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro-Crater and last but not least Tarangire. It was a very nice trip: Always tenting in the National-Parks where you get the chance to hear and see the animals that come close to the tentground during the night. The meals, cooked by Japeth were always very delicious , varied and nice arranged. Our guide Christopher is very experienced and has got a huge knowledge about the nature and animals. He sees and hears them where we didn’t notice anything. He is very uncomplicated and fullfills all the desires. His is on a high level. With the two of them we felt like in a small familiy – always in a good mood, a lot of laughing and all the time we felt very safe!!! We recommend „I dream of Africa“ to all people who look for the perfect safari-adventure!

Erik Berkelmans   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: July 2015 Reviewed: Aug 9, 2015

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

Fantastic safari to the migration.
5/5

Christopher Samwell owner of " I dreamed of Africa" organized an unforgettable safari experience for our family of four. We did a tour from Arusha over the Serengeti to the Mara river to view the migration, we visited lake Manyara, Ngorongoro crater and Taragire national park as well.

We arranged everything by email. Christopher reacted always very fast and had good suggestions for the tour. We booked a 11 day safari with lodges and tentedcamps. Everything was organized perfect, even better as expected! The decision to do business with a local Tanzanian company worked out perfect.

During safari we experienced what more then 25 years guide means. Christopher speaks very well English, is a keen game spotter, even when diving he sees animals that we didn't noticed at all. He knows the Parks as the back of his hand and has knowledge of animals and their behavior. Above all Christopher is pleasant travel company.

I recommend Christopher as a fantastic guide and reliable touroperator. I am sure he can arrange the best safari whatever your budget is.

Jonathan   –  
United States US
Visited: May 2015 Reviewed: Jul 27, 2015

20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

fantastic tour
5/5

They did an excellent job of catering our tour to exactly what we wanted. My wife and I were on a time crunch and only had a week for the tour. Christopher did an amazing job of tailoring a tour to fit exactly what we wanted to see. He knew the migratory patterns of the animals and the exact spots to take us in the offseason to ensure we saw the "Big Five." He booked incredible lodgings for us each night and had a full schedule for us each day.
He was great about last minute changes and delays in our schedule. He would alter the daily schedule to accomodate our wishes and would go out of his way to make sure we were happy and well taken care of. His knowledge of the area was incredible, and would answer all of our questions with enthusiasm.
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone looking at booking an African safari, and would 100% use him again in the future. He can accomodate any budget.

P.G.   –  
United States US
Visited: January 2015 Reviewed: Jan 13, 2015

20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Excellent Service and Knowledgeable Guide!
5/5

On a family trip to Kenya and Tanzania, we were fortunate to work with Christopher for our time in Tanzania. Christopher picked us up in Arusha and from the moment we were with him, made sure that everything was to our satisfaction. Throughout the trip, he provided detailed and interesting tidbits about the parks and animals and demonstrated clear skill driving a Landcruiser (no easy feat on rough roads!). Always flexible with what we were interested in doing, he nonetheless professionally made suggestions and modifications to ensure we would have the best experiences. As a photographer, I was especially appreciative that Christopher was willing to stop when asked for the occasional scenic picture and animals that we had already seen many times. If I am fortunate enough to come back to Tanzania again, I will be sure to use Chris again and I highly recommend him to anyone that wants a wonderful, private safari experience in the beautiful country of Tanzania.

Steve G.   –  
United States US
Visited: January 2015 Reviewed: Jan 6, 2015

50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Very well done!
5/5

We used Chris for a multi-park visit to Tanzania last week. He was pleasant, professional, informative and well prepared. I would recommend him without hesitation.

Anders Drejare from Sweden   –  
Sweden SE
Visited: December 2014 Reviewed: Jan 4, 2015

Email Anders Drejare from Sweden  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

We went to the Real Africa
5/5

... are You lookìng for luxury hotel, dry martinis and free WiFi? Okay, then stop reading now but if You want to experience the real wildlife, then just hang on.

For most people a travel in Africa is a dream and if You go, it’s a memory for life. I’ve already travelled a lot world wide and when I now go to Tanzania, I want to be in the real Africa with my wife. It’s was the time for our precious holiday and should also be our private safari, not a bunch of people lined up like regular tourists in a half dousin jeeps.

Therefore I checked about 20 operators in October 2014 and after some information on mail and personal talk on telephone with Christopher Samvel, manager of “I dream of Africa”, me and my wife agreed to go with him around Christmas on the 9 Day Budget Camping Safari in the north of Tanzania. Christopher have been many years in this business and told me later this trip was a new concept from his idea. For us the value was to be close the nature, to really feel that we are in Africa and to get a lot of information in a causal way.

We fly December 19th from Dar es Salaam to Arusha and Christopher pick us up at the local airport for transfer to a very nice lodge at the hillside. The next day our trip started in his heavily loaded Toyota Landcrusier. There was also the chef Dodo, a nice guy who did all cooking in some american-european style with an african touch and had good manners that we appreciated a lot.

Actually the safari was 8 days out. We stayed always inside the parks at camp sites that provided some variable standard about showers and toilets. Christopher was very active to solve any problem we faced. Mostly me and my wife slept nicely in our tent but could also listen to lions roaring at rather close distance in the night, hyenas, monkies and elephants until the birds chat at daybreak. There was no fences or walls around the campsites, so we was alright a part of the real wildlife. To stay inside the park made it easy for a game drive at 6 am after coffee with the sunrise and in the afternoon until sunset. The morning and the late afternoon is the time we enjoyed the wildlife most.

Our safari continued like that in the national parks Arusha, Lake Manyara, Serengeti (2 nights), Ngorongoro Crater NCA and Tarangire (2 nights). We had the opportunity to see the big five and much more. I shot several thousands of pictures with my new telephoto zoomlens 150-600 mm and sometimes my small pocketsized camera was enough because we was often close the animals! It seemed like we was on the right spot in the right time.

The safari trip was very inspiring and we really experienced very much. I think that Christopher have a mission to show the wildlife he love and he was always eager to share his good knowledge of animals, birds, vegetation and even insects. This was very valuable to us. The itinerary was followed like planned, although Christopher was open for some flexibility if we wanted. There was never poping up any extra or hidden expenses according to our Camping Safari. We can highly recommend Christopher, operator ”I dream of Africa” and we say Happy New Year to Tanzania. Christopher told us that he will also offer more diverse theme trips, that looks interesting.

Mariska   –  
Netherlands NL
Visited: October 2014 Reviewed: Dec 2, 2014

Email Mariska  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

A amazing personal safari with i Dream of Africa
5/5

My boyfriend and I (both 29) were looking for a private guided tour where we could create our own itinerary. After doing some research, we found "I Dream of Africa" www.idreamofafrica.com through reviews on the internet. I Dream of Africa is a local Arusha based company, so you support a local company.

We corresponded through email (more than 50 J) and by thelephone with Christopher. Together we created a custom safari. Christopher, was our guide and driver throughout the 7 day safari, Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. He shared much knowledge about the wildlife and environment. And he was always on the lookout for animals. Christopher knew how to approach the animals. Besided that, Christopher knows a lot about Tanzania and the economic and political issues in the country.

We experienced a lot of advantage of a private tour, such as:

- you can stay in one spot as long as you want.

- You don’t have a tidy schedule.

- You really experienced the wild life if you stay on the public campsite.

- During lunch and dinner you have time to discuss about things.

We stayed on the local camp sites in a tent. The facility are basic but very clean and the food prepared through the cook was very good, fresh and healthy. It was sublime to be out in the middle of nowhere listening to lions and elephants. They where only several hundred feet away. One time early in the morning there was a big family of 20 elephants just 100 meter in front of a camp site. It was amazing. We felt very safe and Christopher is really looking afther you.

We really recommend "I Dream of Africa" If you are looking for a interesting and personal safari. You will have a amazing experience with Christopher.

Martino   –  
Italy IT
Visited: February 2012 Reviewed: Oct 13, 2014

Email Martino  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

the best holiday
5/5

We did 10 days camping safari with Christopher Samwel, visiting the northern parks (Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire), and we had a great time, from the planning of the trip and during the safari (which in Christopher proved to be very competent and available).
absolutely recommendable (I hope to go back soon!)

Average User Rating
5.0/5
Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 45
  • 4 star 0
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0
Write a Review

Disclaimer

  • All corporate and/or tour info is provided by I Dream of Africa, not SafariBookings