Getting muddy in the Serengeti
Kusini Safaris
- Located In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Member Of:
- African Travel & Tourism Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $400 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Phil & Fran Johnson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ruaha with an expert
My wife and I were fortunate enough to spend a weekend of November 2015 with Paul Tickner Safaris at Ruaha National Park.
Having enjoyed some other sights of Tanzania, this proved to be a real - and well hidden - highlight, and Paul proved to be true expert in his field. His knowledge of the park and of the wildlife were apparent throughout the safari, and his local contacts ensured entirely faultless logistics.
We couldn't attach a higher recommendation for a safari with Paul. We look forward to visiting again.
Phil & Fran Johnson, November 2015.
Email Dawn Thinpson | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience
The safari was fantastic! Recommended through a friend, Paul explained thoroughly what would happen on the safari and I was left in the experienced, capable hands of Michael, a Tanzanian guide who was a professional gentleman from start to finish. He knew everything there was to know about the animals and birds and was able to answer all my questions. Despite visiting Ruhua during the grassy, wet season, I was delighted to see a vast range of animals from baboons to lions to hippos to crocs to zebras. It is hard to explain how fabulous and what a one in a million, life-changing experience it was. I felt like I was on a film set. Michael went out of his way to ensure I saw as much as possible in the short time I had on my schedule. I would highly recommend Paul Tickner Safaris!
Thank you for a fantastic experience and memories I shall treasure forever!
Email Kathy Shaw | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A once in a lifetime experience
Paul is an extremely efficient and knowledgeable tour manager. The transfer from Dar es Salam to Iringa was well organised and I would recommend the Slipway Hotel, chosen by Paul, to stay in while waiting for the morning flight to Iringa.
Paul recommended the lodges that we stayed in and they were of a high standard from the point of view of accommodation, food and staff who were very attentive to our needs.
Paul is an excellent safari guide and we covered many different habitats while in the Ruaha. He knew the best places to look for wildlife and hence we had excellent sightings of all the larger animals including a young male leopard. He is an extremely accomplished bird watcher and photographer and willing to share his knowledge.
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Email Marina | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fabulous Safari Experience - Thanks to Tickner Safaris.
My experience with Paul Tickner Safaris was outstanding. Paul spent two weeks with our group as we travelled to Selous from Dar, then from Selous to Ruaha, and back again to Dar. The whole trip was absolutely seamless and Paul was a delight to have in our group. He is very knowledgeable about Africa, the people, the animals, photography, etc., and was very willing to try to answer any question we might have had. I would highly recommend Paul Tickner Safaris to anyone considering a trip to Tanzania.
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Email richard kimbrough | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A 2 week, 4 camp photographic safari
Paul did a great job in creating, organizing, and guiding our safari. He dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's. No detail was left unnoticed. Our sixth safari to Africa and Paul was the best.
Email Garrett | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic safari, but wish he would give full disclosure of his commission fees
Our safari was excellently organized. We loved the entire experience and our stay at Mwagusi in Ruaha exceeded our expectations. Paul even helped us add another member to the safari 15 minutes before we departed. Our only frustration was that he would not disclose to us his commission fees or break all the costs down for us. He would only give us a total cost for the safari and was unwilling to tell us what percentage of the total cost was commission for him. As far as we know, he could be charging 5% or 50%. He does not publish the information on his website and we asked on 4 different occasions, but each time he refused to tell us. Nevertheless, he planned a great safari for us. If you don't mind not knowing what you are paying him to organize the safari, then I can recommend him. If you need full disclosure of the costs, then you should look for someone else.
Reply from Kusini Safaris
Posted on Aug 9, 2016Hi, Garret, I am very pleased that you chose to visit the southern highlands and Ruaha and doubly that you enjoyed your safari, as a small company promoting southern Tanzania; this is the result we are looking for. We are disappointed that the commission issue has reflected so poorly upon you, despite apparently enjoying the safari so much.
For the benefit of anyone else reading your review I should provide some clarity over commission, which I also did each of those 4 times referred too. As a small company, word of mouth recommendations and our customer service is everything and we take any suspicion of deceptiveness very seriously.
It is not the industry standard, nor are we obliged in any way, to divulge what our commission is. This is our policy for a number of reasons, none of which are designed to mislead our customers. There are a lot of moving parts and complicated pricing involved in designing safaris, which are largely of no relevance to the customer. In the same way as many other businesses, if we were charging 50% commission it would be very difficult for us to compete in the market. For example, if one buys a plane ticket online, one takes the price and times preferred. What the agents' commission is, how much the airline buys it's fuel for or how much the pilots make every month, are matters for the company itself.
We are under no illusion that there are certainly some travel companies out there not delivering on what they promise and with the information available on the internet, customers are more aware of their expectations not being met. However if one tries to plan and organise a safari, particularly to southern Tanzania, using information solely from the internet, things are likely to unravel, and this is where our role comes in. We won't tell a customer how much money we make but we will go well out of our way to make sure they get the best possible safari, something we feel is reflected in the reviews on this page.
Similarly, it is always the customer's prerogative to receive quotes from however many operators they wish, or indeed to organise the safari themselves, and choose the price and itinerary that suits them.
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Email Charlie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The experience with Paul Tickner Safaris was Awesome
We advised Paul of the region in southern Tanzania in which we were interested. Paul suggested various
Safari lodges and the time to spend at each lodge. Although, we are in Texas and Paul is in Tanzania with an eight hour time difference Paul was excellent in his timely communications back and forth to all of our questions even the silly ones from the ladies about hair dryers!
The lodges that Paul selected were each different in a way, but all of the choices were excellent and we enjoyed every Safari lodge. We got to know Paul so well through all of the emails that we asked if he could join us for the entire journey which he did for a certain fee. Paul joining really added to our trip. Paul was with us when viewing animals and he is so knowledgeble, he should be a Safari guide! We arrived in Tanzania at about 3:30 am and Paul was at the airport to greet us with transportation to the hotel which he had selected for us. Besides making sure every detail was perfect getting from lodge to lodge, Paul scheduled our day trips and animal viewing which was superb. The trip was more than my dreams could imagine...luxurious lodging, delicious food, good wine and wonderful animal viewing. And Paul's fun personality really added a sparkle to the trip of a lifetime!!
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Email Bill | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Always There
When it comes to a personal safari, we could have never asked for more personal service.. Always there, always on time, always great arrangements. Nothing like have somebody excited and enthusiastic to be with you not only on the game drives, but any other arrangement the group wanted.
Email Gareth | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an amazing holiday.
I found Paul website on safari bookings and they have received nothing but five star rating. This is deserved rating. Everything was really well organised from start to finish. Gave really good advice on our first trip to Africa. This was our honeymoon and it was a holiday I will never forget. The safari lodge, ikuka was a big part of this (recommend to me by Paul). Ikuka lodge was quite simply the best place I have ever stay. I can't recommend the place enough.
Email Ngaire | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I had a wonderful safari.
The safari definitely lived up to my expectations. Ruaha National Park is an outstanding park, easily rivaling any of it's more famous northern counterparts. The accommodation was great - I couldn't recommend Tandala more highly. Paul and Hannah at Paul Tickner Safaris are lovely people, who are passionate about what they do and have fantastic local knowledge. Communication was a little slow at times, and they are probably not the cheapest company, but they are extremely trustworthy, know what they are doing, and will make sure you are well looked after.
Reply from Kusini Safaris
Posted on Oct 21, 2016Our apologies for the slow communication Ngaire and we're glad you enjoyed your safari, hope to see you again in southern Tanzania!