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
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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 Deepak Mehta | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good Name And A Great Game. Outstanding
Walter and his crew ( in our case Emanuel and Lawrence) are truly and gem. We started out months before the scheduled trip as customer and vendor and by the time we left Africa, we were friends and family. We tend to be somewhat demanding travelers and Walter was superb in meeting our needs. Our trip was meticulously planned months in advance with charter flights and 5 start luxury accommodations in N. Serengeti, Tarangiri and Zanzibar. With the exception of one preferred type of accommodating, Walter delivered all. Unfortunately one accommodation was booked and the replacement suggested was top notch. No regrets at all. Walter is a very simple and straightforward owner who communicated well and answered every question we had. He met as upon arrival in Nairobi and flew with us to Tanzania to ensure all was set-up as we desired. We had two vehicles due to the size of our party with two excellent guides, Emanuel and Lawrence. Vehicles were well maintained and very comfortable with charging ports and refrigerators on-board. Both guides were very courteous and knowledgeable of the jungle. Our kids loved them and they enjoyed our kids and us. We stayed at three separate accommodations in Tarangiri, N. Serengeti and Zanzibar. All three were 5 star and with beautiful camps, lodges and villas. All three places had chefs that cooked to our delight and service was top notch. Walter, Emanuel and Lawrence made our 9 night trip special and memorable. I would strongly suggest working with them to create and tailor your itinerary. They will deliver every-time. Reliable, honest and trustworthy with a personal touch. Priceless!!!
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Email Jody | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most of safari was fantastic, but disappointined with Galloping Safari Owner, Walter Tenga.
Our family safari in Ngorogoro and Serengheti with my two young adult children ( 18 and 21) was an incredible experience. Weather, variety and quantity of game viewed, Four Seasons Serengheti Lodge, Balloon ride and our safari tour guide, Kennedy, were all outstanding and lived up to all our expecations and more! I am, however, quite disappointed in Walter Tenga, the owner of Galloping Safaris. Our hotel the first night in Arusha was changed (downgraded) from the hotel documented on our itinerary, without any advance notice of the change. Mr. Tenga described the change as a "mistake". The hotel we stayed at was nice, but not nearly as nice the one stated on our itinerary. During our return from Serengheti to Arusha on the last day, we ran into a problem with our flight. We wer e told a flat tire on our small aircraft would result in over a two hour delay of our flight. I attempted to contact Galloping Safari Tour owner, Walter Tenga, for help. I called his office and cell phone multiple times, but he never answered and I was not able to leave a message. As a result of our delay, we missed a farewell luncheon at beautiful hotel on our last day and shopping time. No alternate lunches were provided, although I had already paid for these meals in our tour package. I contacted Mr. Tenga and requested a refund for our meals, but my request was ignored. Very disappointing. Last but not least, our Galloping Safari driver who took us back to the Killimanjaro airport seemed to misunderstand our flight information. Once I reviewed our departure time with him, he drove at a dangerously high speed to get us there on time. He was stopped by the police because he was driving so fast. When we entered the airport, my kids and I were met by security personnel because of our very late arrival to board our plane. All this made for a very stressful ending to an otherwise wonderful trip.
CH
Email Elisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
The lodges and tent camps were just perfect. Nothing could be better.
Jerry, our guide, is such a nice person. He turned this trip into an amazing experience. We will for sure come back to Tanzania to live this adventure again. We will also recommend this company tour to everyone.
Email Gordon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A fantastic trip, really special experience
We are just back from an 11 day safari in Tanzania that we booked through Galloping safaris. Essentially this was a trip through 5 national parks staring in Arusha and ending with Ndutu plains and the central Serengeti, with a personal guide. We had high hopes for the trip and it more than exceeded them. I think we saw virtually every type of animal and bird we could see. That included plentiful sightings of cheetah and leopard which were highest on our list. We have been on safari in 4 other countries but the abundance of animals in Tanzania made it our favourite. Seeing the wildebeest come together in Ndutu for calving before the migration starts was something that takes the breath away and hard to fully take in even if you have seen it on TV beforehand.
We can’t thank Laurence, our guide for the trip, enough. He not only managed to find so many different animals for us but he made a real effort to understand what we wanted from the trip and helped us enjoy the whole experience. Not an easy thing to do if you are looking after a group for 11 days. You’ll be very lucky if you are paired up with Laurence as a guide.
Galloping safaris and specifically Walter made the process of deciding what itinerary we wanted to undertake, plus the selection of accommodation, very easy. We stayed in excellent camps which more than matched our expectations. Walter was very responsive to our questions and very flexible as we aimed to personalise the trip we were organising. The trip itself was flawless, everything happened exactly as planned.
I was initially wary of going direct to a Tanzanian safari company but I am now so glad we did. Firstly the cost was at least 40% lower than using an intermediary and the direct engagement with Walter who had local experience was a real plus. I wouldn’t hesitate to do this again and likewise would absolutely recommend Galloping safaris to anyone thinking of doing a similar trip.
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Email Rafi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An outstanding operator
I had the pleasure of a 5 day safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater with Galloping Safaris. While I usually do not write reviews, the extraordinary experience with this company has prompted me to do so.
The reality is that most of the safari operators are similar-we go to the same places, see the same animals, sleep in the same hotels and eat the same food. It is when things go wrong that a mark of a true quality operator can be seen.On my last day, we were supposed to drive from Ngorongoro to Kilimanjaro Airport for my flight home later the same day. On our way we were stopped at a roadblock to find out that the previous night the rains have washed away the only bridge linking the two places. This left about 50-100 safari vehicles stranded on the wrong side of the river with so way to cross.
My driver contacted Mr Tenga, who is the manager of Galloping Safaris, over the phone, and within an hour he had arranged, at his own cost, to book me a seat on one of those tiny planes that fly from a small airport at Lake Manyara to Arusha and thus cross the river by air.At the airport, as I had expected, there were already about 50 people scrambling for a flight out, yet those planes only seat about 10 people. This included customers of some well known very expensive safari outfitters. Yet, the plane lands, the pilot approaches the terminal with a passenger manifest, and the first words out of his mouth is "Galloping Safaris". I was the first person on that plane and safely made it on time for my flight out at Kilimanjaro Airport. Frankly, I was amazed.
This experience, where Mr Tenga went truly above and beyond when everything was falling to pieces, in my books earns this safari operator the highest possible recommendation.
My driver/guide Laurence was also terrific-friendly, outgoing, very good at animal spotting. He ensured that I got to see every animal that I wanted to on this trip and it was a pleasure t spend those 5 days with him.
Email Mark | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Galloping Safaris delivered a superb holiday, and the expectations raised by reviews here were met.
We were looking to book direct with a local owner operator, our spend benefiting Tanzanians and not many middlemen. We found Galloping Safaris to be a reliable and trustworthy company. Our Tanzanian Chic Safari and Zanzibar Retreat was really quite brilliant. The owner, Walter, was responsive to our enquiry, and adapted a trip to suit our requirements. Our driver and guide, Lawrence was excellent, and was on point for the whole trip. He quickly understood our needs, and was able to tweak our daily activities for the better. The accommodation was luxurious, glamping at Nimali Tarangire (my favourite), Kubu Kubu at Seronera in the Serengeti, and Chaka Camp at Ndutu. We also stayed at Lake Duluti Lodge Arusha on arrival, Neptune Ngorongoro Lodge, and Breezes in Zanzibar. At each place, the food was delicious, and for the more remote small camps, quite amazing that they were able to do this, with a special mention of the baking skills.
Lawrence was able to find all the animals, though he sweated on Cheetahs until the 2nd last day. The sheer number of animals is amazing, even though you are expecting to see them. I have been to many National Parks in Central and Southern Africa, and for animals, this is the best place to see them that I have visited. Lawrence was able to spot animals well, at the same time avoiding getting us bogged in the Serengeti and Ndutu mud.
If there would be room for improvement, it would have been nice for Walter, the owner to have spoken to us during the trip, as there was opportunity, though no need as such from our part. We also had issues with our bank transfer, which was not received and eventually reversed. Subsequently paid by credit card, with surcharge. Bring on ripple and other non bank payment methods!
In terms of the enquiry procedure and credit card payments, these are handled through the Safari Bookings platform, and I found it a reliable way of transacting.
Go for it!
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Email Chris and Bob | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful, memorable, worry-free vacation to Tanzania
Galloping Safari and Walter were the best. Walter's communication was always timely and informative as well as very helpful in trying to help us set up our itinerary. They worked with us until we were satisfied with the arrangements down to the last detail. We changed our mind often and Walter was always patient and helpful! Lawrence our guide for all of the northern parks was outstanding! We could not have asked for a more knowledgable guide, host or companion in Tanzania. He made sure our trip was so enjoyable that we will be sure to return to Tanzania in the future!
The last 6 days of our trip we arranged with Walter and Galloping Safari to fly to Selous for three nights and then onto Zanzibar for a final three nights. The arrangements were first class. The climate in Selous and Zanzibar was surprisingly much warmer, but the staff at the The Serena River Lodge in Selous and the Baraza resort in Zanzibar did everything to accommodate our every need.
We would not hesitate to travel again with Lawrence and Walter from Galloping Safaris!
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Email Maria teresa | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good services and good knowledge on the safari area visited.
All very good in general.
We only needed 10 days for the tour and we had 14 days scheduled.
Lot of driving to move around.