Galloping Safaris Staff with Director
Galloping Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, TATO, TTB & EAWLS
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Mid-range & luxury)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $225 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
GH
Email Natai Gerald | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best of the best!
The best of the best!
Galloping Safaris organized a fantastic day trip for us to Tarangire National Park although we were a little worry for rain but Walter assured us not to worry anything and we trusted him as an expert.
From the time we were picked up in the Arusha Airport morning, transported direct to Tarangire Safari Lodge for brunch inside the park, wow this beautiful lodge perched in the edge of river that offer the best fine view and from your terrace deck you can spot animals from Elephants, gazelles, zebras, baboon troops, wildebeest, Lions and many more.
We had so much fun and didn’t have to worry about a thing as they handled everything, we will for sure in future come back again for longer trip with Galloping
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Email Debra M | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Liar, Cheat, disreputable! Do not use under any circumstances
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. My husband and I booked through a great agency in Kenya who outsourced the Tanzania portion of our trip to Galloping Safaris. Walter, the owner, is a liar and a cheat. Read other reviews (wish we'd seen them in advance). We were in Tanzania for 5 days. He hired a 3rd party guide/driver for us, Athman was EXCELLENT. He saved the tour for us. However, Galloping Safaris (GS) had us pay our entry fee into the Serengeti park (even though we'd paid everything in advance). He said he was installing a new payment system and was having problems. We put the $642 USD on our credit card, assuming Walter would do as he said and pay us back when we finished the trip in Arusha. Walter with GS outright lied to us. We wasted an hour waiting for him to respond so we could even enter the park. Next, as we were exiting Ngorogoro crater, we were not allowed to leave the park since GS (Walter) had not paid the concession fee of approximately $100 USD. Our driver, Athman, convinced Walter to go to the bank to immediately transfer the $$. Another hour wasted there. Then we arrived at Tarangire Park, only to find out, once again, Walter at GS had not paid the entry fees. He then asked us again to pay $227 USD of our own $$. We had no choice but to pay, because where else would we go? Yup, another hour wasted sorting this out. Upon our final day, we drove back to Arusha, met with Walter, his wife Glory (a Director of the company) and someone who said they were his lawyer. He did not have the money to pay us back upon our arrival ($869 USD total), instead he wrote and signed what we thought was a legitimate legal agreement that he would wire us the money in 2 weeks. That date came and went, no $$$, more lies from Walter and now zero response from him. He should not be allowed to operate. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY under any circumstances.
DK
Email Christina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Two great days with Galloping Safaris
We had a great time with Galloping Safaris in Tarangire and Ngorogoro national parks. Walter was very easy to communicate with and quick to reply. Ayubu was a great driver guide, very knowledgeable about the animals, landscapes and with a great sense of humor. We saw so much in two days! Especially enjoyed seeing lions hunt in Ngorogoro. Very nice stay at Simba Lodge with great food.
TN
Email Zakaria Jbara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible
Incredible experience:
Excellent guide aware of our needs
Very comme lodge with beautiful view
Very beautiful landscape with the animals in ngorongoro and tarangire
FR
Email Jane Khoury | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Even better than expected!
Walter and our guide Lawrence made our safari in Tanzania a complete success, exceeding our expectations. During the preparation of the trip, Walter responds quickly to the messages, which is more than appreciable, he is very good advice because he masters the routes perfectly. He was waiting for us at the arrival airport despite the late hour.
Lawrence is erudite, inexhaustible on all animals and patient as we pestered him with questions. He drives like a gentleman on bumpy tracks, which is very appreciable, his English is fluent, it is very pleasant to converse with him. He knows the right spots to ensure his passengers see everything they dream of. For our part, with the exception of the pandas (sorry Lawrence!! ;-)) we saw all the animals, he answered all our expectations and requests, flawlessly.
There is no need to go through a intermediate travel agency in your country, go directly through Walter, communication is easy and mutual trust is obvious.
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Email William | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A professional, well organized, thoughtful, and caring organization
Jul 2021 • Couples
If you’ve ever contemplated or “bucket-listed” a Safari in Tanzania, Galloping Safari’s is the choice guided excursion. Walter Tenga, director of operations, put together a all inclusive luxury tour of 4 national parks on a nine day stay. The three of us were greeted upon landing by Walter then escorted to a nearby luxury accommodation for our first night stay in Arusha. The following morning Walter introduced us to Lawrence, our private guide for the next nine days. Lawrence, a fifteen year guide veteran with a big smile and jovial humor made this Safari a personal and intimate experience that has left us so grateful and honored to call him a friend. An expert and naturalist on the flora and fauna of the regions we visited, his wealth of knowledge was unsurpassed in spotting, identifying, and placing us in the best position to photograph. I’m still editing and marveling at the 2,000 plus pictures captured!
We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti national parks. Walter also added some cultural stops into the itinerary, a visit to a Maasai village and a stop at a working museum/art gallery. All so added was the highlight of our Safari, a hot air Balloon ride across the Serengeti to see the migratory Wildebeast from above!
Our accommodations thru-out were world class. Each night we were graciously catered to at each of the Sanctuary, Lemala and Four Seasons resorts on route.
Walter and Lawrence nurtured us throughout the Safari even as I told ill, (from a medicine reaction a was prescribed. That’s another story).
Walter’s planning and guidances eased us through in-field COVID testing to arranging our bush flight from the Serengeti back to Kilimanjaro.
I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and the expert planning and guidance of both Walter and Lawrence. We are daily recounting the stories and pictures to friends and loved ones.
WOW!!!
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Email Sarah J | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon Trip of a Lifetime
Walter and Lawrence crafted a perfect itinerary hitting all of Tanzania’s highlights while staying in luxurious accommodations. Our game drives were highly productive seeing all the Big 5, even hard to spot leopards and rhinos due to their keen eye. The Serengeti and the Crater are truly what dreams are made of. Witnessing the Great Migration, sleeping among lions and buffalo and getting a few feet away from lions will leave us with memories to last a lifetime. These packages are not cheap but the caliber of the experience more than outweighed the expense. We are happy to count Walter and Lawrence as friends for life.
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Email Barbara | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely well organized, knowledgeable and careful
The most difficult part of this tour was getting a COVID test BEFORE we got to Tanzania. On the safari, it was a breeze! Walter set up the testing appointments at the airstrip and handed us our hard copy results before we got on the return flight. It couldn’t have been easier. NOW is the time to go! There are hardly any tourists and we saw loads of animals close up and personal, even the elusive cheetahs and leopards. Many lions; many baby animals. Take the balloon ride for extra $$$- it is worth it, and the company even let my brother make up a day he missed due to illness. Our tour guide, Lawrence, has eagle eyes and incredible knowledge of the habits of animals and birds. I felt entirely safe in his hands; he is an excellent driver on rutted roads. Be sure to look for birds- remarkable plumage and colors! The accommodations were top notch with great to excellent food, including gluten free. I have an odd personalized anti- inflammatory diet and never went hungry. The lodges are sublimely soothing- we took a few afternoons just to hang around watching the herds pass by. I even did yoga with an elephant. How about a personalized swimming pool on your porch? No kidding! At Kuria Hills Lodge! We did the luxury tour and it was worth it. These memories will sustain you for years. Go and rejoice in Nature’s wonders!
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Email Ken | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unfortunate Experience
Galloping Safaris took our money for a trip they did not deliver. Our hotels were not booked or paid for in advance, as promised. We chose activities that they did not take us on and did not respond to our questions and requests to have our trip as planned. Walter was avoidant of our texts and phone calls, but offered to meet us in person to make it right and explain himself on our last day in Tanzania. We drove for hours to meet up with him and he never showed. Walter has offered to provide my group a refund of some funds, which we accepted, but he has not followed through with that promise. I strongly urge you to pick a different company for your safari.
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Email Melinda | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Broken Promises
I booked a safari though Kenya and Tanzania with Galloping Safaris in 2019. Walter provided a nice itinerary for myself, my husband, and my two best friends. Other providers were less expensive, but Galloping Safaris had great reviews, so I went with it. Walter demanded prompt payment, that the money be wired to him immediately, which we did. The safari took place in February 2020. There were several issues throughout, including Walter and his staff not listening to requests to change small parts of our trip, lying about why we couldn't go to a place we planned to go, and skipping events we had paid for all together. We had paid for two nights at The Four Seasons Serengeti, and Walter instead had our guide take us to a less expensive hotel three hours away, one that was riddled with tsetse flies, without letting us know that we wouldn't be staying at The Four Seasons as planned/paid for. We demanded that they take us to the Four Seasons as planned the next day, but when we arrived the staff at Four Seasons let us know that Walter had not paid for our stay, and we were left sitting in the lobby. They told us that Walter often does this, and they do not extend credit to Galloping Safaris anymore, so we would have to wait until he paid to be taken to our rooms. We asked the Four Seasons staff to confirm the rest of our trip with the hotels in our packet that were booked, and not one of them had been booked or paid for. My guess is that Walter is unable to pay for the current clients' reservations until the future clients give him cash, which is why we were stuck waiting without paid reservations even though we had submitted payment in full to him many months earlier.
When we had issues with the trip Walter ran from us, ignored our calls, had our guide disappear. We drove hours out of the way on our last day of travel to meet up with Walter and settle up our issues, and he never showed up.
Through phone calls and emails Walter acknowledged that he was at fault and owed us a refund, which he never sent. We have contacted him multiple times and its always one excuse after the next.
I have traveled all over the world and have never felt as scammed as I have with Galloping Safaris. I strongly recommend that you book your trip with a more reputable provider.