Our Team
Swahili Paradise Tours & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2001)
- Member Of:
- TTB & ATTO
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Marlene | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best safari experience!!
My boyfriend and I had an amazing time in Tanzania. We had a private 5 days safari in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire national parks. Our drive/safari guide was most helpful and kind. His name is Balthazar and also goes by the nickname Bumpa. We got to see all the big 5 plus so much more! He got us so close to the animals that we could actually touch them (we didn't though). He is a former mechanic which is a huge plus because of all the bumby roads cars (even new ones) break down all the time! We saw plenty of broken down cars along the road. On the second day our car broke down (it was not old), the fan belt broke. He got out of the car and fixed it quickly! He is very knowledgeable about the animals in the parks. We really recommend this safari guide and company. We had 3 different chef's (for the 3 different places) and all were good. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. It was an unforgettable experience which we strongly recommend to everyone!
US
Email S. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor logistics, vehicle falling apart.
The vehicle was leaking fuel when full. Some had to be drained before we could continue for the day. The driver's door would not open from the outside. The front passenger door would not open at all. The passenger climbed in & out through the window. The 3rd window on the driver's side was jammed shut. Lastly, the vehicle had no starter -- so we had to park on a hill or get some locals to push start us.
Logistics: 45 minute delay (in a hot, dusty, crowded parking lot) while driver and chef waited for a money transfer before they could buy groceries. Tents were not arranged at the camp site, so we eventually begged some tents from other tour operators. The Ngorongoro permit had not been purchased on the morning we were to enter, so one of customers volunteered to pay our way to we could actually enter the crater.
That being said, the cook had tasty meals for us, and the driver was nice.
US
Email Ronna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Not what was advertised
We booked a safari to Kreuger Park in South Africa, a 4-day and 3-night stay. Our first night was in Tremisana Lodge, which is a budget lodge. The rooms were nothing fancy but were fine. The food was decent and the staff was helpful. The guides in the reserve were knowledgeable. We spent the next 2 nights at Marc's Treehouse Lodge. The treehouse experience was great, the food again was decent and the staff helpful. I was incredibly disappointed with our booking experience with Swahili Paradise. We were quoted in USD, which makes it easy for us but since the exchange rate changes we were told on arrival that we had to pay 5,000 rand more than we thought we needed to pay. We went back and forth with the woman at reception, she had to call Jimmy and clarify so that we paid what we had been quoted...which we found out was about 3,000 rand above what the price would have been if we had booked directly with Viva Safaris (the operators that actually provide the tour). We were told in our package that we would have 3 meals provided every day...the first day our pickup was at breakfast time so we didn't really expect much of anything for breakfast but we were surprised and quite irritated when we had to buy our lunch. Then on the day we went to Kreuger we again had to buy our lunch. And on the way back to Johannesburg we had to buy lunch a third time. This was simply false advertising. Also, our quote said we would have 2 full days in Kreuger park. Again, not true. We spent 1 day in Kreuger park - and we didn't even get there until after 10am (best animal viewing time is sunrise and sunset so this is TERRIBLE logistical timing). The other day that we thought we would be in Kreuger we spent 5 hours sitting at Tremisana lodge doing nothing, waiting for a short 90 minute game drive before they transferred us to Marc's camp. Incredibly disappointed that I spent >$1500 on this experience and it was not what we were told we were getting. Since then I have tried to contact Jimmy to ask about the above complaints and have received no response. This tells me that once they got our payment our experience means nothing to them. Strongly discourage you from booking with them. Do a self drive in Kreuger or book directly with Viva since they're the ones that actually service the trip. DO NOT waste your money booking with Swahili Paradise for Kreuger park.
AE
Email Fiona | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor communication but ended up with an amazing experience.
Communication started off good early into the planning of the safari but ended up poor. After a while the responses i was getting were vague. What really annoyed me was when i was told that once i got to my hotel in arusha the night before safari someone would be waiting at the hotel to collect the remainder of money that needed to be paid and an intinerary of the next day would be given. Arrived at the hotel with no one from the tour operators to give any information. Spent half an hour trying to get through to them to get some information with no answer. Eventually they called the hotel back to give us our pick up time and no apology or explanation of why they were not there when they said they would be. If your gonna say your going to do this then i would expect this to be done. Other then that we had exceptional service due to our tour guide Oscar. Great guy who provided us with a great knowledge of the all the animals and history of the serengetti. Overall i was happy with service that was provided but the lack of communication was rather annoying.
CH
Email Roman | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 days Serengeti & Ngorongoro tour
We have found and booked our 3-day Serengeti - Ngorongoro tour with Swahili paradise tours. Communication with their manager Jimmy was smooth and efficient. As soon as your tour is confirmed, you will be asked to pay half of the price via bank transfer. If you have any questions related to the Safari or general questions about Africa, you can ask Jimmy and he replies withing a couple of days. When we arrived to Arusha, Jimmy has sent one of his colleagues to collect the second part of the payment. Bring dollars issued after 2006, because banks in Tanzania do not accept old banknotes. If you need an airport transfer or excursions on Zanzibar, Jimmy will be also happy to assist.
According to our schedule we should have gone to Serengeti first and then to Ngorongoro. Instead we joined a group that started the tour one day earlier at Lake Manyara, had a breakfast and proceeded to Ngorongoro creator. It was a good decision of our driver Charles to visit Ngorongoro first and then Serengeti! The road between Serengeti and Ngorongoro is very bad, so if you start your trip in Serengeti, be prepared for 3 hours of dust! Thus, trust your guide if he offers to start in Ngorongoro.
In 2 days we managed to see almost all animals presented in those national parks: elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, crocodile, olive baboon, leopard, hippo, cheetah, lion, hyena, hyrax, golden jackal, impala, Thompson's gazelle, reedbuck, topi, warthog, Grant's gazelle, hartebeest, dikdik, Grey crowned crane, Kori bustard, Egyptian goose, vulture, moongose, agama lizard, Guinea fowl, secretary bird, ostrich, superb starling and many other small birds. It does not necessary mean that you will see all those animals, if you go another time of the year or even another day, because the animals do not stay at one place and always move, so the drivers will do everything what depends on them but you should be also a bit lucky.
Safari is always a roulette - sometimes you are lucky and see a lot of animals but sometimes you are not and see much less than expected. We could not find a rhino but there are only 50 species left and you can imagine that the probability to spot even one on the territory of 80.000 square kilometers in 5-6 hours is pretty low. However, we have seen how cheetah and pride of lions hunt, we saw a leopard sleeping on a tree, we saw an antelope hidden by a leopard on a tree, elephant family taking a bath, vultures eating zebra and it was more than enough in 3 days!
We stayed in basic camps in the tents. Our first night was in Lerai special campsite and the second night in Nyani public campsite. Both campsites were pretty good but the water in the shower is naturally warmed by the sun, so be prepared to take barely warm shower. Sometimes in the night you hear wild animals making different sounds close to the camp but it is very safe. However, you may want to have a torch, because it is pretty dark in the night far away from civilization :)
The last day we have seen a beautiful sunrise in Serengeti. Milky way in Africa is amazing!
ES
Email Arturo | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Right and diligent
Within the Price quality parameters. Good treatment and kindness
ES
Email Evane Rose | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The worse people ever
We booked a 5 days 4 nights tour with them threw "JIMMY" with Swahili Paradise Tours & Safaris, found on your website.
We used their services for airport transfert and Safari blue in Zanzibar and everything went well.
The Safari, apparently sub-rented to another company went TERRIBLY.
Day 1 : Kilimanjaro trek
The guy Buhembo (who apparently work with this Jimmy) appears asking us to pay the remaining 50% balance in cash on the side of a road... then we kept going on the drive to . They made us do more than 3h drive to Marangu gate to tell us on arrival their that it was too late to do the trek. we walked in the jungle 1h and then had to head back. Then 3h30 drive again on the other way. The car was old, smelly, no A/C...UNBELIEVABLE.
This Jimmy said his partner will refund us, he never did.
On that night, smelling the imposture, we went to the police with this Buhembo guy who said he did not have our money because he spent it all already. The police also corrupted, did not help at all.
Day 2 : We were supposed to go to Tarangire, we did a long drive to Serengetti. Except a 30 min game drive on the parc (cut off as it was night!) we did not do anything except driving that day.
Not at all the planning we paid. The jeep was shared, full full full !
The tent were old, we had to build them ourselves.
Day 3 and 4, we kept going on the planning of this other group we shared with, not ours. We lost nearly 3h in total as the tires went flat 4 times (6 differents tires as the two they had for safety were un-usable and the other they bought was flat too), ... We had to eat without chairs on 1st day, maximum 1 bottle of water per person and per day was plan. We had no water for the last day as he gave some to some guys on the road.
The last camp was reach at 3pm on the last day, the camp was in the middle of a town... we had water on the face in the tent during the last night because of the rain, the guy did not have enough money for fuel and was asking for us to pay it!
The car was in a bad shape (like doors locked, Windows not able to open, no radio Cb, all shaking...) No radio, No talky walkie, no binoculars. Seats are not equals (large ones and tiny little ones on the back) for people who all paid the same amount;
The only positive point : the food was Ok and the chef sympatic, the only one who did not lie during those 5 days.
We lost nearly 2 days on the schedule we paid for, informed them, and Nothing at all was done.
So yes we saw beautiful animals, but you do not need any agent to do that!!!
+ The Jimmy guy never answered either to mails or calls;
We nearly lost 3500 € for them, including nearly 500€ for the 1st day.
NO RECOMMANDED AT ALL !!!! DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM !
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Email Hung | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice tour with well organized agency
The 3 nights tour was a nice one. It's very well organized and prepared. We have chance to stay at 2 different private reserves and spent one day driving in Kruger. I traveled alone but had no problem being friend with other people in the group. My only comment is that by staying overnight at private reserves we can only get to Kruger by 9-10am when it's already late for seeing animal. It was a warm day and most of them was just hiding or sleeping. We don't have time for evening drive in Kruger as well because we need to head back to the camp. I would prefer to stay inside Kruger for the morning and evening drive instead if I have a chance to come back. There are a lot more animal in Kruger compare to private reserves. But the walk at Olifants river was very nice. The water at Marc Camp can be improved, we had to walk like 200m to take shower/toilet
ES
Email Saioa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
8 nights Kenya and Tanzania Safari
We are 3 friends from Spain Who booked a Safari for 8 nights to Kenya and Tanzania the last January. We booked It from Spain, 2 months before going.It was really good. Good experience. This company was much cheaper than others, so that was one reason why we booked with them.
Jimmy was the person Who organised the trip for us and he is really attentive. Every time we wrote him, he answered rapidly.
We were all the Safari with an other company but the organiser of the Safari was swahilli paradise.
The cons:The planning was not as we expected. We were told that in Masai Mara we would do 3 safaris (1 afternoon Drive, 1 all day, and 1morning Game Drive) but the last one we did not do. Moreover, We were not picked up in The airport as they have told us. We were a lot of time travelling from one point to another. The rest was good, and Happy time there. Good lodges and meals included.
Then in Tanzania: the car was much better. I do not know why but we had to stay in the entrance of all the parks like 2 hours to enter because something happened with the money of the company. In Tanzania we slept in tents.The water entered in the tent during 2 nights and our luggages became wet during the travel from Manyara to Serengeti.The rest was good, beautiful landscapes, and we had a lot of time for visiting the parks.
All in all, we had very good time, good drivers, no problem with the car.The price was good, cheaper than others companies. So I think is worth It. The price and the kind of trip is more than good. So I would recommed this company.
AE
Email Silvia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing experience for a budget shared safari, good value for money
we booked a shared safari 4 days and 3 nights, we shared with other 4 travellers so we were total of 6 + our driver and chef. the itinerary is fixed but well planned, we did tarangire then serengueti then ngorongoro, we camp and that was an amazing experience. the driver was good and nice and the chef cooked simple tasty food. the car broke down once but the driver managed to get it fixed so we could continue, for a low budget I would say the experience was really good as anyway you get to see the same things! worth to try