Blue Crane Safaris Namibia
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- NTB & TOSCO
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range & luxury tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $78 to $1,042 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SI
Email Igor | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great African experience with Blue Crane Safaris
Great trip in Africa ! Our 14 days Self drive trip from Windhoek to Victoria Falls has ended a few day ago and we had to write this review to share the great experiance we had. After we had checked a lot of offers for our holidays - traveling through Namibia to Botswana and than Victoria Falls we had chosen Blue Crane Safaris and that was for sure the best possible decision. They offered good price, they responded to all of our emails in very short term, they suggested what to visit, which roads shall we take and many many more. They had really helped us a lot. When my son was sick almost in the middle of the desert they gave us all the informations about the nearest doctor and helped us organize meeting with the doctor. The next thing is the car we get... It was almost brand new car. Really great car for driving across gravel roads. Not to mention accomodations which was all above our expectations. We choose medium price level accomodations but that were in our opinion almost all luxurious level and consequently the food was great and there was plenty of choice every day. So a brief summary, You have to book you holidays with Blue Crane Safaris and you will be amazed with all the beauty that Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa has to offer. A big thanks again to our agent Mr. Derek Jacobs who helped us organizing that outstanding vacations, and we will for sure meet again one day.
Igor
US
Email Barbara J. Fontinel Yarar | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Namibia-Trip of a Lifetime-Swakopmund, Skeleton Coast, Etosha, Luderitz, Sossosvlei, Fish River Cy
Namibia is truly a magical and timeless destination providing diverse natural landscapes & abundant wildlife and big game. Bluecrane Safaris' designed an itinerary that was perfect for our 'self-drive' experience. Even though my two adult children and I were unaccustomed to driving on the left side of the road on 90% gravel and sand in a 4X4, we felt confident and comfortable the entire time knowing that Bluecrane, specifically Derek, was available to assist. We even experienced a blowout on our drive to Etosha but was met in the middle of our trip by Derek to provide us replacement spare (even though we had an extra one left). Outstanding customer service! Namibian's are extremely friendly and customer service focused and take tremendous pride in providing a consistent outstanding experience. I would recommend Bluecrane Safaris and Namibia. Though I've never hesitated going to any country, even if I don't speak their language, but going to Namibia English is their primary language.
CA
Email Susan Pairaudeau | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic trip that far exceeded our expectations.
We were a group of six, myself and my husband in our mid 70s, our daughter and husband in their late 40s (who live in another country) and their children, a girl aged 9 and a boy, 7, on a 27 day (including the days of arrival and departure) trip through Namibia in late July through August 2015. The intention was to hire a self drive 4x4 vehicle and have a family holiday while we were still able to travel and our grandchildren would be old enough to remember it. However, I was unable to find a vehicle with six seats using the major operators. With time running out (about six weeks before we were due to arrive) I emailed multiple companies I found on the internet and received an almost immediate reply from Derek Jacobs at Blue Crane Safaris. He explained that we could do the itinerary I had sent him with a 2 wheel drive and suggested a van and trailer combo which he could supply but also offered to organise the whole trip with a driver and cook for a very reasonable price. We decided to take him up on the fully organised trip and after numerous back and forth emails an itinerary was settled and I sent a deposit. Then cold feet set in. I knew nothing about this company and could only find two small reviews on the web and I started to worry that the very reasonable price was, in fact, too cheap and that the whole trip was going to be a disaster. So it was with great relief and delight that everything went like clockwork. We were met and debriefed on arrival by Derek's charming mother-in-law Troudy. The next morning we were picked up by our driver, Rusten, and cook, Job, both of whom also guided, and then met the ebullient Derek, reviewed the itinerary and we were off.
What followed was a really fantastic trip - magical day following magical day, all of us enthralled by the scenery and the animals. We had a roughly 60%/40% mixture of camping and hotels, mostly small, simple hotels though some were more luxurious than others but all were very clean and pleasant and had everything we needed and the campsites were very well equipped with clean flush toilets and hot showers. We had good tents with thick mattresses and camp cots if wanted; the sleeping bags were rather thin but we had two each which we needed as nights were cool. A large camp table and chairs were provided and a camp kitchen.
The vehicle was quite new and in excellent condition with good seat belts for every seat and we pulled a trailer for the camping equipment. We had only one flat tire despite many gravel roads, some quite rough.
But the best part was our great crew, Rusten and Job, who are friends and work really well together, so there was never any tension and always a lovely atmosphere. Rusten is an excellent, careful driver with great decision making skills so we had complete confidence in his ability and judgement. He knew the country and the routes very well and was also able to give us many insights into Namibia and its peoples. Job cooked up good, tasty food every day while we were camping; cereals and eggs for breakfast, nice crispy rolls with cheeses and cold meats and salads for lunch with an occasional hot dog much to the delight of our grandchildren. For dinner, grills or very tasty big, one pot stews with rice or pasta - all on a wood fire so we had the added delight of a camp fire to sit around at night. Both Rusten and Job were excellent spotters so we saw lots of wildlife all over the country. They were also really good with the children, both of whom became very attached to them and were sad to leave.
Our trip was a counterclockwise circuit from Windhoek - Waterberg Plateau, Etosha, Opuwo, Sesfontein, Palmwag, Twyfellfontein, Skeleton Coast at Terrace Bay and Cape Cross, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Sossusvlei, Luderitz, Orange river, Fish River Canyon, Mariental and back to Windhoek. The extra side trips that Derek had suggested over and above those I had requested, turned out to be some of the best of the trip - a 4x4 day trip up a dry river valley from Sesfontein in search of desert elephants, and a walk in the bush with the San people, speaking their click language. He was also very accommodating when I made a couple of last minute changes the day before the trip started - no problem!!
In summary, it all turned out to be a really well organised but very relaxed trip through an amazing and very beautiful country which far exceeded our expectations in every respect.
DE
Email Ursula Raimann | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice, friendly, well organized and experienced team. Customer friendly & excellent service
My husband and me did two tours in Namibia. One in 2010 and one in 2015. Both tours were booked and organizied by Blue Crane Safari. The whole team is well organized and experienced. From our guide we learned a lot about the nature, history and the differnent cultures. They know the right places, the most beautiful lodges and included customer spezific extra tours if possible. We highly recommend Blue Crane Safari for your next trip to Namibia.
CH
Email Andrea | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari surpassed our expectations
In June 2014, my husband and myself (55 and 56 years old), my mother (80 years) and my daughter (22 years) did the Namibian Experience Safari with Derek Jacobs, owner of Blue Crane Safaris. From the planning phase during which all our questions were answered promptly all through the safari our experience was excellent. Derek organised everything to perfection, chose wonderful lodges and was able to answer all our questions about his country, its history, landscape and animals. He went out of his way to make sure we saw wild animals wherever possible, but we never felt we were in any danger. He was also great company and we shared many nice evenings with interesting discussions and a lot of laughs with him.
Thanks to Blue Crane Safaris and to Derek we have had a great family holiday experience - to be recommended without any reservations!
Blue Crane was great
Blue Crane was easy to work with and the drivers and staff were all friendly and knowledgable. I would definitely book with them again!
Email Wendy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful, amazing, personal
Plenty of animals, accommodation excellent, guide very informative & polite & good driver.
CA
Email Gayle | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Blue Crane Safaris Namibia surpassed our extremely high expectations.
We were a group of 5 women, mothers and daughters and there are not enough words to describe how amazing this safari was. Every single detail was met, timing and pickups were perfect, tour arrangements and lodging was outstanding, and Derek, our guide, was amazing. His knowledge and obvious pride in Namibia was evident, and he explained everything we asked of him, describing history, geology, people, and of course the animals, in great detail. We saw all the animals and much more, from early morning game drives to night drives. The country is large and we would love to go back and see the areas that we didn't have time for, there is no doubt that we will use Blue Crane Safaris again!
CA
Email Jann | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best Trip Ever!
We are a group of two moms and our three daughters, all animal lovers, who had been talking about this trip for years and finally decided to stop talking and do it and we are very glad we did, especially with Blue Crane and Derek.
There was a lot of back and forth with Blue Crane during our planning stages and they were very patient with all our requests, even when we decided to completely reverse the original itinerary. (Most of this was because we each had a daughter with serious motion sickness and we were trying to eliminate long drives).
Once we arrived in Namibia, Derek had arranged everything perfectly. The lodges we stayed in were way beyond what we had imagined and we can't stop talking about the food. None of us had ever eaten that much game before and we loved it. He even made sure our favourite beverages were in a cooler in the vehicle each day. Derek did an amazing job of dealing with two generations of crazy ladies.
The best parts though were the number and diversity of the animals we saw on our game drives. And the information about the animals Derek was able to give us. We were lucky enough to see everything from giraffes to warthogs and oryx to elephants and lions, and even the desert elephants and lions. No leopards though, so we will have to come back and will certainly book with Blue Crane Safaris. Thanks a million Derek helping us make memories with our girls that will last a lifetime.
CH
Email Luisa and Monika | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great support
We booked our self drive tour in Namibia at Blue Crane Safaris. They planed and pre paid everything for us, the lodges, meals... our car was great and they helped us with every question we had! It was a pleasure for us to book our tour with the guys from Blue Crane Safaris. They were all very friendly and helpfull. Thanks a lot for everything and we hope to see you soon again!