Swala Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 1999)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $275 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Steve | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Swala Safaris made our honeymoon truly memorable, a professional and friendly safari operator
My wife and I had an absolutely great time on safari with Swala Safaris.
We were on our honeymoon which included Dubai and the Maldives and this was by far our highlight. I can’t recommend them enough. You are definitely making the right decision with Swala Safaris.
Rose from the first email was very prompt and friendly. I wasn’t sure how many days we needed and I kept chopping and changing over a 4 week period and Rose was able to accommodate every request.
Our driver was Felix and if I were you, I would request him from Rose. Through my research, Felix kept popping up and everyone was saying ask for Felix. It was the best decision and he made our safari experience priceless.
Felix’s knowledge of the animals and the areas is amazing. I was amazed at how much he knew and how well he could spot animals from afar. We were extremely lucky to see a crossing at the Mara River and a lioness hunt down not one but two Wilderbeast. That came down to Felix’s intuition.
He answered all my questions (and I had a lot!) with ease and I had a great talk to him about the country’s history, culture and politics. I was equally amazed at his knowledge and passion on those topics. He is very friendly and makes you feel welcome from the get go. His English is great, I never struggled to speak or understand him.
My wife was a little sick on the first few days from the flight over and Felix made sure she was fine every day and didn’t make the days too long, which was great.
Food was delicious. One of the best parts of the safari was the accommodation that Rose organised. We had to pinch ourselves each time we pulled up to the camps and lodges. It’s stuff you see in movies and we were experiencing it!
The Toyota Land Cruiser that was used was an absolute champion. Some of the terrain through the Serengeti is rough but it took it all in its stride and it’s all on how Felix was able to navigate through it all. It was always clean and had cold fresh water for us. We saw heaps of them break down on the way but ours just kept chugging along. We never felt unsafe in it.
In terms of price, it was very reasonable. I wouldn’t say the cheapest but definitely not expensive. I would say you get what you pay for but I felt like we got more for our money. It’s definitely worth the coin.
Overall, the itinerary that Rose proposed was perfect. Perfect amount of travel to each camp/lodges and also more than enough time to explore the national parks to see the animals.
I can’t rave on about them enough! I’ve recommended them to everyone back home in Sydney to do a safari in Tanzania through Swala Safaris!
CA
Email John C. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A well organized, insightful exploration of Tanzania's wild
We greatly enjoyed our safari and how wonderful our guide Zepha was.
Zepha's hospitality was apparent as soon as we met him at the airport, and he was friendly and conscientious throughout. His understanding of animals and their behaviours made it feel like we had a scientist onboard with us. We learned so much from him about the Serengeti and Tanzania. He is a great ambassador for Swala and Tanzania.
In terms of the trip it was wonderful how seamless everything was was - no issues with lodges, meals etc. Rose was very prompt and helpful throughout the booking process.
A relaxing time!
CH
Email Katharina&Urs | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An excellent Safari!
From the 1st of february 2017 we went on a 12 days safari organised by Swala Safaris.
They offered us a very attrative personalized Safari with a very good price/performance ratio.
Rose from Swala responded always very quickly. She was such a big help and nothing was too much trouble for her to make sure we had a unique and memorable safari.
Everything was perfect!
Our driverguide was Steven and we travelled with a Toyota Landcruiser.
With Steven we had the most wonderful safari, we truly enjoyed each and every moment. His knowledge about all the parks in Tanzania, the animals, the nature, culture and history are amazing. He has 28 years of experience and is also a brilliant driver. His English is excellent and he is a real gentleman by all means, extremely friendly, helpful and polite.
It was an unforgettable once in a lifetime experience.
Thank you very much Steven and Rose!
US
Email William | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible Vehicle - Great guide
We were extremely disappointed with our experience with Swala due to the dilapidated condition of the vehicle we were put in. The car was clearly greater than 20 yrs old, super high mileage and in terrible condition. It was very underpowered and clearly badly misaligned. To go straight, the steering wheel was at 4 o'clock. We were always the slowest on the road; our guide did not seem comfortable driving the vehicle at regular speed. 3 of 6 seat belts were nonfunctional, passenger doors couldn't be opened from inside and none of the seats had headrests. The "cooler" did not cool so drinks were always warm. We had several harrowing moments. Leaving the Serengeti, the car made a sparking noise and smoke came out the dash vents. Fortunately, after waiting a bit, it restarted and smoke stopped. Another time, while climbing out of Ngorongoro crater, transmission popped out of gear and the car made a bad smell and initially, would not go back in gear. We held our breaths the rest of the trip out of the crater. Also, the brakes started squeaking horribly and we needed to take the time to take it to a local mechanic because we had no faith that the car could be safely driven. Thank god for our outstanding guide, Sunday, who not only was extremely talented at picking out wildlife and providing a fountain of knowledge regarding animals and habitats but also possessed much needed mechanical skills. Throughout our 7 day safari, I did not see a single other vehicle in nearly as poor condition. Honestly, we felt very unsafe and several times seriously considered abandoning the rest of our trip out of safety concerns..
So if you are looking for a safari with an extra dose of discomfort and fear, Swala is for you. Otherwise, I'd stay away. Sunday our guide, however, was outstanding and I would go again with him (with a different company) anytime.
FYI: Our car did not resemble any of those in their pictures. My guess is they are too embarrassed to show it..
AE
Email Mette | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic!
We (family of 5 with kids aged 18, 15 and 7 years) did a 7 night safari with Swala Safaris in December 2017.
From my first contact with Rose, she was fast to reply and answered all my (many) questions. She made it easy to plan the safari, and gave suggestions for good camps within our budget.
We asked for Filex as our guide, but Rose told us, he already had another tour at the same time, so not possible. Then I asked for Steven, and luckily he was available - what a great guide!
Right from the pick up in the airport all the way to the goodbyes at the same place he was such a kind, knowledgable man. His driving skills were excellent, and he was able to spot animals, that we needed to look for both 3 and 4 times.
Best thing was his patience - he must have answered at least a million questions from the kids and us, yet he never seemed to get tired of explaining about animal behaviour or how you could tell male from female on everything from zebras to leopards. Steven also stopped the car, every time we wanted to take pictures of animals or landscape, so it felt like we had all the time in the world (and could take better pictures)
We wanted to get an early start every morning, and Steven would be there on time or before.
One thing that really amazed me, is when he found out we liked the feeling of having the whole park to ourselves, he decided to take less traveled routes, so we had almost all our sightings to ourselves even though it was the "busy" season, and even inside Ngorongoro crater he managed to keep us away from the crows. Some of our private sightings: leopards in trees, lion cubs playing, serval cat, cheetah with cub, giraffes, elephants, zebras, wildebeest, hippos - even the elusive black rhinos and many more. Everyone can drive to where other cars are parked to see stuff, but a real guide can find the sightings himself!
We had a special adapted Land Cruiser all to ourselves (private safari), it was well maintained and I noticed the tyres looked brand new. The cooling box worked very well (in fact sometime the water froze to ice), we were able to charge batteries for cameras (and other things if needed) in the car. Even though we're tall Danes, there was enough space for all of us in the car, and during game drives the roof could be lifted up, so we could chose to sit or stand for viewings and pictures.
On our last day we had an early dinner in Arusha, and Rose made sure there was a birthday cake for our oldest 18th birthday that day, a nice touch.
All in all we had an amazing time, and I have no hesitations recommending Swala Safaris to other travellers.
CH
Email Paul | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable, a must do!
We got the tip about Swala Safaris from a friend who was extremely satisfied, we hesitated and didn't want to rush into anything but from the first contact with Swala and the prompt, helpful team we knew we had the right team. I thought traveling with my elderly parents was going to be an issue but our guide was always helpful and understanding. He was extremely knowledgable and if he didnt have the answer the spent the night researching (above and beyond what we expected). In the end we saw all we wanted to see, it was only a problem that it had to end :)
I would definately recommend Swala to anyone!
LV
Email Artūrs K | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and very helpful company with great service
We booked our 5 day camping safari with Swala safaris and it was perfect safari experience. It was our first time safari and Rose was highly professional to suggest best options for us. It was well organized, we were picked up from bus station and all our transfers were arranged prior and after safari. We had the best cook possible - Abdela. He is a wonderful and very expierenced cook and treated us very good (compared to other companies seen troughout the safari). Also our driver was highly professional and safe (no issues whatsoever).
Overall I would definitely recommend Swala safaris and do another trip with them if I was visiting again.
CA
Email Rajamohan Jayaraj | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everything went well from day one ,from emails, to picking us and dropping us off to the airport.
Rose was very efficient she was one of the few tour operators who responded quickly and we got what we wanted for the price we paid in fact maybe a little bit more. As we had requested Felix to be our guide we got him, this was from numerous excellent reviews about him was the reason we asked for him. And he lived up to the expectation.
Although the time we went was not the peak season for wildlife we managed to see the big five!
We would highly recommend Swala Safaris!
We had a memorable safari this time as compared to the last safari in Kruger three years. I know wildlife don't have a schedule it is luck or being there at right time and the Serrengetti and the Ngororo will definitely live up to thier expectation.
US
Email James Brown | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Tanzania Experience
I decided to visit Tanzania in late September of this year (2020) for a trip in December. From the start Stephen with Swala Safaris supplied me with all the information I needed and was very attentive to my concerns. I couldn't have had a better group of people with me for summiting Kilimanjaro: (my spelling could be off) Nelson, Tosha, Sadick, Badick, Isaac and Mtwi all worked to ensure my comfort and that I would reach the summit. The food was great (Tosha received training at a culinary institute; it showed.). I had the feeling that the team really cared about my well being and health; it was a very rewarding six days. The safari part of my trip was amazing, often dazzling. Joachim was my driver. Not only did he endeavor to provide me with the best safari experience possible, his degree in wildlife management gave me keen insight into what is one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Joachim's acumen and a little bit of luck resulted in some experiences I will never forget (I got some amazing photos). Light and darkness, life and death: it was all there in stark relief -thank you Joachim and Swala. I also got to meet the owner of Swala, Jasper. He takes a real interest in the backgrounds and experiences of his clients. Everyone with Swala is nice, friendly, and caring; that is the type of experience you will get with Swala Safaris.
CA
Email Jessica | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great communication to organize the tour, and amazing guide and experience while on safari!
Rose was so patient throughout the organizing process. It is quite overwhelming for us, a lot to consider and so many unknowns. However, Rose was patient and guided us nicely through the process. It gave me the confidence to pick Swala, and we are so happy that we did. She put together a wonderful safari. Our guide/driver was excellent. He is an extremely experienced driver and knowledgeable about the park and wildlife, plus great company to have along on journey together. We learned so much! This was an incredible experience and I would highly recommend it to everyone.
