Our Luxury Safari Jeeps
Mama Savana Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SG
Email Sharon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best holiday of our lives!
Prior to booking with mama savana, my husband and I had browsed through safaribookings.com and had gotten quotations from a few companies. We went with mama savana as the prices were attractive as compared to other quotations we had received. Alex, the boss of the company was personable with quick replies to our queries and requests via WhatsApp.
We had some discussions and eventually decided on a 8d7n package with mama savana and it was the best decision we made! We have nothing but great things to say about our trip.
Alex was very accommodating to our requests and many many queries as there aren’t many people who have visited Tanzania locally. We had multiple changes here and there but Alex accommodated all of them.
We were greeted by issa upon landing in Kilimanjaro airport, who drove us to moshi for breakfast as we wanted to try our luck at catching a glimpse of Mt Kilimanjaro, before heading to our hotel in Arusha. He was a great chap, sharing some simple Swahili phrases, as well as some Tanzanian culture.
After checking in, we met up with Alex to settle the payment for our trip. Alex had also given us an explanation of the day by day events to expect for our safari trip.
After a good nights rest and adjustment to the time difference between Singapore and Tanzania, we started our safari journey. Our safari guide was mustapher!! He was greattttt and took good care of us on this trip. I still don’t know how you can drive and navigate the bumpy African massage roads while spotting an animal at the same time
AE
Email Mohammed | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safe, reliable and trustworthy. Overall, had a wonderful safari experience.
We have just finished our 6 nights / 7-day Tanzanian safari with Mama Savana. Our first point of contact was with Alex, the owner of Mama Savana who was extremely efficient in responding to our initial queries and very accommodating to the changes we wanted. We arrived at JRO Airport and was welcomed by Issa (a young lad with a brilliant smile); our transfer driver who took us straight to Arusha Planet Lodge; a lush green resort. Alex was also there to welcome us, and he briefed us on the safari itinerary, which was extremely thoughtful. From day 2 onwards, we were entrusted with Hassan, who we spent most of the time with visiting Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Hassan is very passionate about his job, having extremely sharp eyes and good communication skills when it comes to spotting wildlife and explaining about them. We saw all the of the big5 including the elusive leopard and the shy Black rhino. He ensured our safety at all times and nowhere was it compromised at all. Overall, I would definitely recommend Mama Savana for their professionalism and service.
CA
Email KD | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and considerate
We planned our trip with Mama Savana: 6 nights/ 7 days- that started in Nairobi, crossed the border into Tanzania, into the Sergenti, and back to Nairobi, stopping at many national parks on the way.
Communication- Alex was prompt in responding, considerate of what we wanted out of our trip and our budget. We used WhatsApp for quick responses and Alex was always available for our questions before we picked them, during the planning, and during the trip.
Service/ tour quality- our tour guide’s name was Goodluck who was excellent. He was extremely knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and happy to discuss everything from history to politics to local culture and traditions. Goodluck knew where to find the animals and when, and was able to navigate the terrain carefully. What stood out to us is his care for the animals- for example, he worked with the park rangers in one part to ask drivers to ask them to not get too close while the rangers drove a a rhino towards water.
Other- the Land Cruiser was in good condition. Lodges that were selected were good to excellent in quality (reviewed separately).
US
Email Lonnie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Accommodating, knowledgeable, communicative
My husband and I are extremely pleased that we went with Mama Savana as our tour guide for our 5 night luxury safari trip. It was our honeymoon and Alex, our organizer, made sure to arrange special accommodations with each of our hotels. Our package included pick up/drop off at the airport, all meals, water for the safari trip. Our tour guide, Mustapher, was phenomenal. We were really impressed with his English and his knowledge of animals, local geography/culture, plants, history, everything. He made sure our trip was as comfortable as possible and was very accommodating. He worked hard to make sure we got to see every animal on our “list” and we were super stoked to get to see a rhino before we left!
Email Tom | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An all round brilliant experience to never forget, absolutely flawless.
I cannot say enough good things about this tour operator, from the very beginning to the very end, everything was absolutely flawless and a brilliant experience. I would not go elsewhere.
The start:
The team excelled from the beginning, with Alex's communication being absolutely excellent, offering opinions on different services, entering the country and advice from transfers. He made things incredibly easy to organise from abroad and really set the standard high. I would also like to thank Alex and the team for arranging Isaac (our transfer driver) to complete multiple transfers on arrival. Isaac was absolutely brilliant, friendly, kind and enthusiastic. We were in a party of three, arriving across two flights. Unfortunately, one of our flights were delayed. Thanks to the team, Isaac collected two of the party from the airport and drove into town (a three hour round trip). He then returned to the airport, at 2am, to complete another round trip. This saw one of the party arrive to the hotel at 3.30am. Even at this time in the morning, Isaac was absolutely brilliant, the three of us can not say enough good things about him during the short time we shared together, thank you Isaac, we hope one day you'll have your own tour car, you'll make a great guide!
This set a great outlook for the trip, without the second transfer in the early morning, it would have been a difficult feat to make the 90 minute drive to town at 2am. This highlighted the customer focus of the team, not being out for a cash grab. Once again, thanks to Alex and Isaac for arranging this.
The tour:
We had an absolutely amazing tour guide (Arhoom) who once again, we can not say enough about, he was terrific. His knowledge on all of the areas history and landscapes was terrific. His knowledge on the animals, their habits and behaviours was critical in knowing the right time to be at the right place, to see the right thing. Thanks to him, we had an absolute brilliant experience, we were able to see far more than we had anticipated. Arhoom's quality as a guide was clear, he was more than often the first guide to find anything, with other guides taking his lead to have other visitors share our experiences. Thankyou very much my friend, the experience you gave us will not be forgotten.
The accommodation:
Wow. The accommodation we stayed at was all absolutely amazing. Every hotel had the most magnificent of landscapes with the most wonderful staff. From the wait staff to the room staff, everyone was incredibly kind and offered incredible service. We were incredibly happy with the food and service provided, we would have loved to stay longer at all of the places we stayed.
All in all, a 10 out of 10 experience, I would (and will) recommend this tour company to anyone looking for a similar experience. Thankyou Mama Savana!!
US
Email Kshetrajna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional and great to work with. Delivered trip of a lifetime.
We had a wonderful trip to Tanzania and it is all thanks to Alex and Mama Savannah. Alex came highly recommended from a friend who had travelled with Mama Savannah before and he did not disappoint. He was very forthcoming and worked with us to tailor an itinerary for us. All through the process he was very patient with all the questions we had. He suggested the best places and camps to stay in considering the time of year and where the herds would be at the time we were visiting. We spent 9 days in various camps across Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Lake Manyara and every camp was spectacular. We got to see so many animals and nothing we read before the trip could have prepared for the amazing experience we had. Our guide Allen was extremely knowledgeable and friendly (not to mention funny) and we spotted all of the big 5 thanks to him. One of our friends who was travelling with us also had a birthday during the trip and Alex and his team helped us organize a very special dinner and cake for him. It was one of the most special birthday celebrations that all of us really really appreciated. Alex and his team are a pleasure to work with and I look forward to going back as soon as I can ! Thanks Mama Savannah!!
BR
Email Bruno | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very considerate, kind, respectful and willing to give us an amazing experience
We had the best experience ever with Mama Savana. Everything went beyond our expectations and all the times they were thoughtful to make it for us an unforgettable honeymoon. Alex was always helpful and our guide, Hassan, was very kind and wouldn’t save efforts to help us seeing all the animals and we were able to see all the big 5! He was also a very good driver, since it was raining a lot and he always knew what he was doing. This is a very important point, since when in a Safari you can be exposed to a lot of problems related with the car/the road, which are normal, but thankfully didn’t happen to us.
Furthermore, in another experience with a different guide, he said the clients who were coming from Mamasavana were always in a good mood, and we couldn’t agree more. We were really happy about all the experience we had. They even changed our itinerary last minute because they thought it would be more profitable for us, and we sure saw they were right!
Since it’s a very expensive experience and also very intense, it’s good to be with someone you can trust. We can say we enjoyed every minute of it with Mamasavana and it will be always in our memories! Highly recommended!
MY
Email Luca Pignatti | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized and flexible
Due to covid we had to postpone our trip several times for 2 years. Despite this, at mama savana they accommodated all our needs and organized our private safari greatly. The Safari was fantastic, the accommodations of good level, our guide expert and friendly. We realized one of our dreams, in a perfect way. Highly recommend.
IN
Email Xavier | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dissapointing and Short changed all along the way . Imagine - we were not shown the Mt Kilimanjaro !
I look at all the 5 * reviews of all the satisfied passengers here on this post and wonder what went wrong with my trip .
Im a tour operator from India , and I was travelling with 13 passengers on a 15 day trip of Tanzania and Kenya. I normally use individual partners at all my destinations and make payments after the service is done but got connected to Alex through my Kenya partner who assured me they would take care of the entire trip together professionally and seamlessly .
What happened :
- I promised to show my group the Ngorongoro crater and Mt Kilimanjaro , and we booked our flights to fly out from Kilimanjaro airport . Ngorongoro was ok , but the drivers wasted time the next day and did not give us a proper timing . They then drove us to Moshi - 20 miles from Kilimanjaro and then insisted that we turn back because we might miss the flight ! My passengers were sooooooooooooooooo dissapointed . And so was I .
- We flew to Zanzibar . We were promised a walking tour of StoneTown + a city tour drive of Zanzibar to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings . - There was no city drive . The vehicle didnot turn up . The history guide was very average . Nothing special . He was only keen on getting us to book the prison Island tour with him .
- We flew to Daresalam . We were met by our guide at the airport . Lovely man but almost ignorant . Infact , he admitted that he had only passed out of basic schooling !!
- Mombassa was a good experience . Good , friendly and helpful Guide who took good care of my group - and he probably saved me from the disappointment of my clients .
- Last Stop Nairobi - I was looking to meet up with my partner in Nairobi - the guy who had reccommended that I work with Alex and him , only to be given the sob story that Alex had double crossed him and worked with another partner in Nairobi . His new partner Mr John was also extremely rude and made it like he was doing everybody a favour .
On the last leg to the airport , John tried to pack us off to the airport in dusty safari vans which had just returned from the MAsai . After much talking , he agreed to send us a minivan .
Very dissapointing and short changed all along the way .
I had to take a lot of flack from my clients when we returned home .
Reply from Mama Savana Safaris
Posted on Nov 10, 2022We at Mama Savana we take all negative reviews positively as they help us to work on improving our service delivery to all our clients. allow me to answer or suggest few remarks regarding this review.
1. The so called agent 1st congratulated us with our great 5* reviews which shows that we always provide the best service to our clients and going extra miles to give the best to all our customers.
2. The agent did book his service direct and we did only Transport service where we were controlled and guided by his itinerary where sometime we were in dilemma as we need to suggest/change/advise things which will make his itinerary perfect but he will refuse as always he was not agreeing on adding extra coin to make his group happy and satisfied.
3. He promised his clients that while in Tanzania he will give them Mt. Kilimanjaro which is a laughable story, Mt. Kilimanjaro is available if we have good weather but 75% the mountain is covered with heavy clouds and if he complained that our drivers didnt give him Mt. Kilimanjaro this is a Joke!!!
4. We suggest to clients always to confirm services with ground local tour operators a month before arrival this will clear any mischief unfold during safari as we will clarify all service we have confirmed with there agents and if there will be questions to be answered we will have time to work on this with the agent or if clients would like to work it direct we will advise them accordingly, some few fake agents like him hiding information to his group and later on complaining, thats being a conman and un honest person in this industry.
5. The agent was always trying to lower services to cover losses he encure while processing visas to South African and he was not ready to spent or give out the service he agreed with his group. We went extra mile to assist him get the group visa for Tanzania in a short period without him pocketing extra coin.
To summaries on this we kindly suggest to most tourist to reconfirm their service with local tour operators even if they have booked the service with their local travel agent, some local agents overseas promise lots of things clients will see while in Tanzania and on ground they learn to see it is not allowed due to our Country rules which has been there long to protect our Heritage and Nature.
We at Mama Savana we stand on our great excellent service delivery and this review wont or will not take us down on providing our 5* star Services to our dear customers always.
BR
Email Jorge Ottoni | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great service, trustfull and experienced driver.
Mustapher was a great driver and Alex really helpfull in the booking process. I would definitly reccomend Mama Savana safari tours. Great value for a reasonable price.