SAFARI VEHICLES
Vic Consult Tours & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect 4 Day, 3 Night: Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Manyara
While working in Northwest Tanzania during the summer of 2012, I began to look for options to tour the northern safari circuit from the west side of the Serengeti. Victor (owner of Vic Consult) was very responsive and worked quickly to help assemble a budget camping safari itinerary for 5 of us.
Because we were already in Tanzania, getting money to Victor was an issue for us. I imagine that some companies would not have the patience to handle such a short notice, difficult group, but Victor was patient and able to make everything work out. Vic Consult arranged to meet us at the gate of the park and Victor came to assure that all park fees and permits were handled with no issues. Victor then came on the trip with us to make sure things went well for the remainder of our safari.
Our driver, Jokta, was knowledgeable about the animals and had apparently been a ranger in a different park. Patrick, our cook, was phenomenal and made meal time one of our favorite parts of the day. We were on time (except when we stayed out a little extra on game drives) and both Patrick and Jokta were great guys and we enjoyed traveling with them and Victor. We did get a chance to meet another of Vic Consult's drivers and another cook who were very nice as well. This other driver was even fluent in Spanish.
During our trip, we saw all of the animals and sights we had hoped to. We saw four of the big five; elephants in all three parks, lions in all three parks, buffalo in Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and black rhino in Ngorongoro (we only spent about one day in the Serengeti, so no leopard). We even got to see the tree climbing lions in Manyara and a cheetah in the Ngorongoro crater. The sunrise drive in Seronera was also beautiful, we got to see hippos out of the water, another first for me.
I would absolutely recommend Vic Consult for safaris out of Mwanza. I wish I had been able to stay in Mwanza the night before the start of our trip and I will next time I am in Tanzania. When you meet Victor, get to know him a little. It's a small company he started himself and it really shows how much he cares about Vic Consult and really loves the national parks.
Email Raghu | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best of All Possibilities for a Safari Trip
I have to say that I did a lot of shopping around before picking Vic. He was the most reasonable with the pricing of our 4 person and 4 night package (from Mwanza to Arusha) and he not only delivered on what he promised, but he exceeded it. We were able to have a boat ride in Lake Victoria thrown in, he put us up in very nice lodges (the one in Ngorongoro has an incredible view of the crater!) Our guide was great- he wanted to make sure we were able to see all the different wildlife and that we did- over 20 elephants in Serengeti NP at one point, over 10 lions, even 2 rhinos in Ngorongoro Crater They cannot promise such sightings and it'd be unfair to ask of them for a guarantee, but they sure put in the effort to make sure practically that you do! The safari Landcruiser truck had 2 outlets in the back row that made it convenient to charge our cellphones and use them during down time. And the pop up roof top is a must. Having a water cooler was great for all the fruit we bought on the way. The only thing that could use improvement is the couple of lunch boxes that we had- but this is standard fare across all the safari companies. And we had hot lunches half the other 2 days at the lodges.
Before going w/ Vic, I wanted to make sure I could trust him enough to wire him a deposit, so I had asked for references. He gave me 4 different ones from different parts of the world and they had nothing but good things to say about him. Now, that my parents, wife and I had such a great experience through his company, I can see why! Thank you Vic!