It Started in Africa
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- IATA, TATO & TALA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CN
Email JING GAO | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
THE MOST MEMORABLE AND EXCITING SAFARI EXPERIENCE, HUGE THUMB UP TO ITSTARTED IN AFRIA
The most memorable and exciting Safari Experience, huge Thumb up!
Thanks to ISIA, the guide/driver and the chef both were amazing… so friendly and professional and treated us so well throughout the Safari… with great knowledge and competent wild beasts’ experience. Provided us with the opportunity to spend longer and quality time observing the wildlife in their habitat, my husband and I learnt so much about wildlife, flora, fauna and conservation.
We also were pleased that ISIA proposed that visiting the Maasai Village and meeting the local Maasai, benefit the community. This to us was very educational, to experience how the tribes lives traditionally and that they are pleased for us to visit the parks and interact with them. Our guide said, it is a sign of respect to not only go and explore the wild beasts but also interact and meet the people in that area. It was a brilliant idea, and we are happy we visited and had a dance with the Maasai.
Also when we speak to the guide and chef we were delighted that they are treated with respect and are cared for their welfare, they said they were very happy working with company.
It was a so well organized and took account of all our request and I cannot fault anything, I and my husband would highly recommend ISIA- It is a 5 stars! Hooray!
NL
Email Benard rijnsoer | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Experience in Tanzania’s wilderness, my expectation was low but IT STARTED IN AFRICA suffi
Excellent Experience in Tanzania’s wilderness, my expectation was low but IT STARTED IN AFRICA sufficed it all, was picked up from airport with smiles, and taken to a nice hotel in Arusha. We were made to feel celebrities, and we were given star treatment all the way through.
The following day was the start of our 8 day life time experience that exceeded our expectation. My family experienced seeing more wildlife than we imagined. The accommodation, food, hospitality and guides was superb. My family and I highly recommend itstartedinafrica.com without hesitation, and we are eager to go back for Kilimanjaro trekking
The consultation with It Started in Africa customer support team was brilliant, they responded quickly throughout, having brought kids with me I had to enquiry more and the recommendations I got was so helpful, they were so receptive to the wishes of my family and answered all my questions. Simply an amazing safari experience, every day was full of an overwhelming experience too much to recall them all…our guide and chef made my family time in Tanzania extra special
‘asante it started in Africa nakupenda wewe’ Swahili for I love ISA!
Email Matthew | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awful! Honeymoon ruined when it started in africa took payment but did not provide any services
Like many other people who have reviewed, my wife and I had a terrible experience. We booked our trip and paid our deposit to spent the second half of our honeymoon on Safari with them.
Despite the money paid no services were provided and no refund offered. I'm now astonished to find out they are still trading!!
For anyone thinking of booking with ISIA, I suggest you avoid at all costs. Even after reviews appeared online stating they weren't fulfilling the services paid for, ISIA requested a further payment from us - extremely distrustful.
Email Ally & Mariam | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best and affodable than the one we used before. Extremely exceeded our expectations.
Hi everyone.
My wife and I, had a great time of 8/9 days trip with IT STARTED IN AFRICA to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro and it was a great experience to speak the truth! Chicho was an excellent and expenrienced guide loaded with a lots of knowledge of the wildlife and understood the total culture of the region. He continuously explained us everything we wanted to know about the region and the wildlife. He also knew where to find animals all the time he was asked. As a person he was a really great travel companion in a trip like that. We saw the Big 5 and a lot of other amazing animals and very diverse landscapes (from desert raods to highland forests). The accomodation on the trip was excellent, especially the Acacia Tented Camp in Serengeti where we slept in the national park itself, had a luxorious tent, great food and very friendly staffs. The whole communication bit and the trip organization was fabulous (many thanks to Bernard, honestly you are a great asset to many of explorers!). The boss Baraja was very nice, friendly and helpful and he picked us up personally from the airport. The safari car was new and comfy, clean all the time , (VALUE FOR MONEY).
We highly recommend It started in africa to all travellers and certainly we gonna be in touch again for the coming January, but this time around we will be four of us as my sister in law and the husband will be joining us.
RU
Email KARGINA DARIA | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience
I used It started in Africa to organize our safari in Tanzania and we couldn't have chosen a better Tour Operator. From my first email, Bernard was extremely helpful and He guided me, listening to my every need and desires, in order to create a custome-made safari, which would fulfil our dreams.
Once in Tanzania, our driver Deo was waiting for us at the airport and he has proven himself a great and very knowledgeable travel companion; thanks to him, we saw so many animals in all kind of situation. We went to Lake Manyara, to Ndutu, to Ngorongoro and to Serengeti. Each of these parks were wonderful and all the lodges and tended camps suggested by Bernard were just outstanding.
So do not hesitate if you want to have a superb experience in Tanzania and enjoy a problemless safari and stay, It started in africa will do everything to help you!
RU
Email olga | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow!!! Best travel agency I've met
I first want to say that my friend and I had the best time doing the safari in Tanzania!
From the moment we saw Charles in the airport, we knew we were in excellent hands.
Charles took very very good care of us. Helped us change money, get sim, get us the best rooms but this is nothing when we do a safari tour! He is the best guide! Spotted all the interesting activities that the animals did!
We saw lions hunting, mating, chitas eating and much more. He just has eagle eyes, lots of experience and knows exactly what he is doing! Always laughing, always with good attitude everything is "akuna matata".
Thank to him we saw the most interesting things including tons of explanations about all the animals.
I would also like to thank Bernard, that from the first conversation on the phone, He was supper nice, helped me get the perfect plan and was ALWAYS available!
The car was perfect we open roof!
Thank you so much for an experience of a life time.
Thank you especially Charls and Bernard.
Hope to see u again soon.
Email Ketan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A very memorable family Safari
Although I recently saw quite a few bad reviews about It Started In Africa (ISIA), I have just returned from a fantastic 5 day safari (1 night Tarangire, 2 nights Serengeti, 1 night Ngorongoro) followed by 3 nights Zanzibar organised by Bernard and ISIA.
Bernard was very attentive, and I communicated with Bernard a lot via email prior to selecting him and his company. He had given us many suggestions about our possible itinerary although we had done a lot of research ourselves on parks, lodgings, timings etc. ISIA organised everything, including airport transfers, hotel bookings and informed lodgings about food restrictions.
Our guide and driver, Martin was also excellent. He was a mature gentleman but most importantly not reckless when driving which was a massive plus point as I saw lots of other drivers from other companies driving like mad through dirt roads. He was also very knowledgeable and knew where to go to find animals which is why we were very lucky to see the “Big 5” on a 5 day safari.
Luckily, we went off season so the queues at park entrances were not bad, but please note the bureaucratic nature of park staff and procedures is a Tanzanian government issue and not ISIA’s. As one of the previous reviewer states – Its Africa after all! So do not have any preconceived ideas about how it should work or comparisons with the western attractions. One must go with the African flow!
At one point our car developed a fault, so Bernard was willing to replace the vehicle if necessary. Luckily it required a 30min minor fix, so we were on our way quickly and not impacted much.
I would definitely recommend Bernard and his team as they gave a memorable safari and holiday!
Email Sophia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fraudulent company!
I had a terrible Experience with this company in Tanzania in 2016.
Communication and booking was swift but the rest was a shambles!
Since then I noticed many were scammed thousands in booking deposits, even arrived to the country to find the company has ripped them off.
I wrote a review previously and I am writing again bc i have received emails from Bernard Kangoma pleading to suspend my review so they can operate and take more bookings and “rebuild”!!
Bernard was the Tanzania manager who inadequately dealt with my complaints when i was left stranded with 2 guides who tried to make up their own tour instead if a planned prepaud coffee plantation tour!
SE
Email Stephen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stay AWAY! Negative reviews Deleted!
ISIA contacted me after Safaribookings.com gave them my email address. This is not OK!
How can you trust the reviews on Safaribookings.com when you work like this?
A review website like this is to keep the customers safe. This is exactly the opposite.
Please know that when you read these reviews there probably is many who deleted their negative reviews hoping to get a refund from ISIA. In 6months... Sounds like a scam to be honest.
"Our request is if you and other clients accepts on our request to suspend the safaribookings reviews we can clear in installments your total refund in six months as we are getting many safari requests from the thousands of clients friends who are being recommended to us but the issue of the negative reviews is keeping them from booking with us, meaning if you can suspend your review and others as we are requesting from all those affected we can get business and pay all your refunds in the shortest time possible and we clear our name from the perspective the affected clients have on us."
"We are not only communicating with you alone but we have approached safaribookings for them to assist us in sorting out this issue once and for all as they know we were some of their best customers for the years we have used their services and they are the one who even sent us your email address and other clients and the review number you had posted and we are hoping for the best."
The rest of the emails is about how It Started In Africa is a victim and what ever...
This is YOUR fault! YOU have stolen money from a lot of people! People trusted YOU and YOUR company with their hard earned money or even life savings. It is your job to make sure they are safe!
Your customers are the Victims.
Not you!
I hope I can save someone.
RU
Email Ekaterina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super!
Bernard was really helpful and gave useful inputs in helping us plan our first trip to Tanzania, would highly recommend him as all his help and efforts helped us in having a super trip to Tanzania. While helping us plan our trip he took in all our inputs on how we wanted our trip to turn out. Small points like informing the places we were staying at in advance about any food restrictions were all taken care of, kept in touch with us throughout to make sure we were facing no issues. We had a wonderful time in Tanzania and hope to be back soon.