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 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!
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.
SR
Email Will and Ellie van Beek | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
excellent
my wife and I have been on several safaris (7 or 8) twice with Kusini. Our most recent safari started at Sand River Selous,Tanzania last Febr.
A beautiful location with an abundance of game, hippos, buffalos, wildebeest, giraffe and many with little ones. Our next stop was Ikuka Safari Camp. A completely different environment with the camp at the top of a mountain and great vieuws over the lowlands. Here we encountered more wildlive than we ever could have expected. Two lionesses with a cub, a leopard walking less than two yards past our car and climbing a baobab tree and another pair of lions, male and female, in love, hard to meet in the wild and when we thought we had seen it all we met a pack of perhaps 15 or more wild dogs who had killed an impalla and lets not forget the chitas although the grass was high we still met them.
The last stopwas Pole Pole at Mafia Island. This was a bit disappointing, certainly n t the lodge, service or the food but had hoped for an encounter with a whale-shark but wrong time of the year. In any case,these were two fantastic weeks which we could do again anytime and let's not forget the exellent organization with both the local transportation as well the domestic fights
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Email Caroline | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Paul planned our safari honeymoon in Tanzania and it was the most incredible trip of our lives!
Paul from Kusini Safaris planned our safari honeymoon in Tanzania and it was the most incredible trip of our lives! We were continually blown away by the spectacular wildlife, landscape, accommodations, service, and most importantly, the people. We were so sad to leave each camp and loved how different each experience was. The transportation was all seamless and we never had to worry about anything. Truly the most amazing honeymoon we could have ever imagined and Paul deserves all the credit! He put so much thought and careful consideration into our itinerary and took all our *demanding* preferences into account. We were blown away and made memories that we will tell our grandkids about. Cannot recommend enough using Kusini Safaris for any Africa trip!
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Email Kathy Kimbrough | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic
This Safari to Botswana was our 3rd Safari with Kusini and Paul Tickner. He is absolutely the best there is! We have been with him to Southern Tanzania, Zimbabwe , and now Botswana. He has been incredibly knowledgeable about all three countries. He knows animals, birds, and lodges!!
Whether he privately guides you or just plans your safari, he gears it to your needs and wants. We would not go to Africa without him.
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Email Marleen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Paul educated me about wildlife and local culture and foods and was a pleasure to travel with.
Paul provided a hassle free experience that allowed our group to focus on the wildlife and safari experience. He shared his vast knowledge of wildlife and local culture while also providing a trip that included enough creature comforts for city slickers (High Tea at the Royal Livingstone Hotel was a bonus) - and was fun to be with for the 18-day trip! Call Paul for your next safari!!!
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Email Greg V. | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very knowledgeable about all wildlife,and becomes part of the group.
The Graham Safari was my first, and it was perfect. Every connection was easy and hassle free, each camp was comfortable and the animal sightings were unbelievable! Lions, lion cubs, leopards, Kudus, elephants, and rhinos. Many of these were seen no more than 20 feet away. Paul is easy to talk with, shares his knowledge freely, and quickly becomes a member of the group. My next trip will be with Kusini.
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Email richard kimbrough | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
the best in africa
Paul Tickner is the BEST private guide in Africa. Attention to detail best describes Paul's approach to his clients safaris. Our experience with Kusini Safaris is the norm, not the exception. No matter what your destination on safari is, Paul has extensive experience in every safari destination country. You cannot go wrong in choosing Kusini Safaris to guide you on your dream safari vacation.
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Email Jerry P | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
First class company that will create a worry-free, trip of a life time!
We used Kusini Safaris for our Tanzanian safari last year. While it’s been 9 months now, we still have a strong “HIGHLY RECOMMEND” opinion of this company. This was our second trip to Africa and it was just outstanding! Paul was very easy to work with in designing the exact trip we were looking for. He was open to our opinions and freely offered suggestions to improve the experience and/or save costs. Paul did a super job communicating with us and making sure we knew what to expect. This was a 4-part safari trip (Northern Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire Nat’l Park, and Zanzibar) that required detailed logistical planning. And everything went off without a hitch! There was always someone to greet us at every location and never once did we feel unsafe or unsure what to do. The in-country companies that Kusini works with in Tanzania/Zanzibar were first rate and made for an unforgettable trip. The lodgings that he selected were fantastic! This includes both the facilities and the people running them. And as far as the wildlife viewing, far beyond anything we could have ever imagined. I can’t think of one thing we would recommend to improve the trip. It was just perfect.
Great service
We had a great safari in Tanzania that we booked through Kusini. There was no way we'd have thought of the incredible Ruaha without Paul's help. He was the only agent that actually listened to what we wanted and whilst not the cheapest we were very happy with the results.