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
Saw the big 5, very well organised and eager to please!
The safari was amazing. We saw everything we wanted to in three days. I don't think anyone else would have got as good service for the price
Email Lizzie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The ‘guide’ Philemon really let it down
Communication with Jimmy before the trip was good. We paid a 50% deposit, and the rest the morning of the trip. The best thing about the trip is the price as it was much cheaper than almost all others. I suppose in this case, we got what we paid for. Pick up was well on time and journey was smooth. However, when we arrived, we were put with another group (which we expected) but with another guide called Philemon, which we had not been told about beforehand. We believed we would have Jimmy as our guide as that’s who we’d done our research on, but he didn’t even tell us he wouldn’t be the one taking us. This was really disappointing. It would have been ok if Philemon was a better guide. From the start he told us how much to tip him and the chef, which is a big no and far far too much. He was disinterested in us for the rest of the trip, and was purely a driver, telling us nothing about the animals as we went around. The bottom line is - if you go on safari to the Serengeti/Ngorongoro crater, you will have an amazing time. There are so many animals, and we saw everything up close including lions elephants zebras giraffes gazelles a leopard, birds, hippos wilder beast cheetahs and warthogs. we didn’t see a rhino up close but did as a tiny spot from the viewpoint at the end. However, if you want a guided and attentive tour, this is not the tour for you. Philemon would stop when necessary for most of the trip to let you view the animals, and particularly when other jeeps stopped, but as the trip went on, he got impatient and drove far too fast to see things and wouldn’t stop for animals. This was particularly on the last day, when I was actually shouting at him to stop so we could see what I believed to be elephants in the jungle part of the Ngorongoro crater on our last drive, and he heard me and refused to stop and dangerously went even faster right out of the crater til the end. This was so disappointing to miss the final animals and completely unacceptable as a safari guide. We were all so shocked. One of them might’ve even been a rhino but we’ll never know as he didn’t give us a chance to find out which felt a bit like we’d been robbed of an opportunity. An elephant walking around our campsite right up close when we got back made up for this, but I felt very let down. To top it off, we had asked jimmy to arrange us a lift back to the airport from Arusha, and the driver knew nothing about it so we had to get another. The chef didn’t even say goodbye after he left and we’d tipped him. The animals were amazing, food was pretty good and we saw incredible things, therefore we still had an amazing time. However, this was definitely not down to the ‘guide’ Philemon. The car had also lost suspension on one side which my boyfriend noticed and the driver admitted and had to keep checking which is really quite dangerous. The highlight was being able to get out at a hippo lake and see amazing hippos right up close. Because it was so cheap and the animals were amazing , this deserves 3 stars.
NL
Email Remy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good service, everything well organised
We have booked a safari with Jimmy some months before the safari. Swahili Paradise Tours did a great job on making the safari. We had a good 4x4 car and food was good. There were no problems on the safari. We have seen beautiful spots in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara. In the end, we skipped the Masaai tour (because it was too commercial). Unfortunately a refund could not be made. Our driver (Emmanuel) was the best driver we could imagine.
We do have some suggestions, because there is room for improvement. For example: the camping gear was old and dirty. It's better to fix better gear for more comfort. Also, we ended the safari in Lake Manyara, while it's better to start there (because it's not that impressive after you went to Serengeti).
After all it was a beautiful experience and we're happy that we've booked with Swahili Paradise Tours! Thank you Jimmy.
Email Camie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
Jimmy is very professional and all his team is dedicated to success.
We went on a 3 days safari and everything was perfect.
PL
Email Simon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari 5 day
Jim from office is cery nice guy. He organized safari Tour and Zanzibar Tour. Everything was perfect for my.
He is the star.
Thank You for everthing
Regards
Simon
IT
Email Chiara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Enjoy Tanzania!
They are very professional team. Always kind and friendly with all people. The program was perfect and the organization too
Email Nassira | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I was simply amazing. The driver was amazing. We saw a lot of animals from up close.
It was more than i expected. Everything was good. I’d def recommend it!!
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
NO
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 Arturo | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Right and diligent
Within the Price quality parameters. Good treatment and kindness