Our Team
Swahili Paradise Tours & Safaris
- Office 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)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
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!
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.
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.
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.
NO
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!
AE
Email mohammed salah | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible
Great that you replied on my email acknlowedging below mistake '' I still didn't receive a reply to my messages on whatsapp. Further to the lies, I had to pay 70,000 TSH for a different driver who agreed to take me to the airport because the safari driver was not told to take me to airport. Where your quote mentioned drop off at the airport is included. I need a compensation for this plus a compensation for your bad planning which ruined my vacation'' with(swahili paradise) Unfortinately the driver made a mistake, because it was included bust still we can refund you $40 to your account as i have informed the accountant. And no refund has been done ever since or even a reply which confirm what a fraud you and your company are!!!!!!!!!!
GR
Email Ghallas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic budget conscious experience
Ok... what a trip! Feel like having some adventure? Off the beaten track? With a bit of spice? Go for it.
Well, we started by getting 10 people crammed in a 8 seat van due to some last minute schedule change. We got left quite clueless at the base camp for the park, where we got picked up by the jeep a couple of hours later. We got informed about that schedule change, where instead of doing Serengetti and Ngorongoro, we would work it backwards because of the extra people that joined for a one-day trip.
You are starting to feel a bit weird by this time, wondering if it does make sense paying double...
It doesn't.
Our driver and cook were fantastic. Special kudos to our cook who produced gourmet stuff, considering the facilities and everything.
Game-spotting-wise, we got almost everything (ok, the rhinos were really far in the distance). Our tents were nice and solid, even when faced with a little rain.
Camping on Ngorongoro is an experience not to be missed.
The hyenas outside the tents at night in Serengetti and the jeep radiator failure only served to spice things up enough to get some adrenaline coursing through the veins, at it should.
The only things I guess justify paying more is sleeping quarters, if you are not at all comfortable with camping, and a more lavish lunchbox for the midday break. Not at all reasons enough for me, but people differ.
Definitely recommended!
Email Marguerite | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good guide/driver who made the most of uncontrollable circumstances
We did a 3 day/2night shared safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro. It was amazingly easy to set up this safari. Our contact person was accommodating even when we had to switch days. We were picked up at a reasonable time from our hostel. It was a shared safari so we had to pick other people up. The car was somewhat cramped but still comfortable. The drives once in the parks were amazing. Our driver spotted many animals, even a leopard sleeping in a faraway tree. In the end, we managed to see all of the big 5. The food was delicious,but the cook was slow to prepare the dinner meals. It rained during our first night in Serengeti and our guide adjusted our schedule accordingly. The biggest hiccup came when the car had to be filled up with gas. The petrol station in the Serengeti didn't have any so we had to wait for trucks to come from Arusha. We continued our game drive during this wait, but in the end, we arrived at our campsite in Ngorongoro well past dark. I don't know what could have been done differently. Overall it was a good experience.
US
Email Trav | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great time
Good food, kind, excellent experience . Soooooo many animals
FI
Email Najib Laaziz | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great hassle-free experience
I went with my girlfriend to a 2 and half days safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro with Swahili tours, and words cannot describe how much of an amazing experience it was.
Mr. Jimmy was very helpful through the whole booking process, he helped us get the flights, hotels and the taxi transfers without any extra charges. He also was in permanent contact with us to make sure everything is going well.
The safari itself was just perfect. Our driver Johnathan was very professional informative. He knew every detail about the animals and the environment. I am a curious person who likes to ask questions about everything. And Johnathan answered all my questions gladly.
We also had a good cook (William) who accommodated my girlfriend's vegetarian needs and cooked extra for us when we asked him to do so.
Both the cook and the driver spoke great English.
The tents and covers were clean. But I advise people to take thick clothes because it does get very cold at night.
During the Safari we were provided with many water bottles, so we never felt thirsty.
We managed to see so many animals (except rhinos), and we stopped in a Masai village where we got to see how they lived and met the children in their school.
Unlike what people say, we didn't have any issue with tipping. We tipped whatever we wanted, and the guys did not even check how much we gave. They just put it straight in their pockets and thanked us.
We will, without a doubt, use Swahili's services in our next expeditions in Africa.
Thank you!