We wish you a very warm welcome! Karibu!
Paradise & Wilderness
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TALA & ZATI
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range & luxury tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Horrible Hosting Experience
If there was a negative one rating, that is what I would give. All of the accommodations except for Reef and Beach were filthy and smelled terrible. The lunches were packed around 7am every morning and left to sit in the sun on the passenger seat until lunch time. We stayed in Arusha for 3 nights. On the first night, the water kept cutting off . On the second, large ants spread all over the bathroom floor and on the third, there was no hot water in the tent. The agreed -upon payment method was changed last minute. We were initially told that we can pay upon arrival however, about 2 weeks before our departure we were told to pay nearly half the amount.
Each time we had a domestic flight we had to practically beg for the tickets to be sent. Even though when the payment method was changed the excuse was that they needed to book our flights in advance.
On our flight from Arusha to Zanzibar, they sent us one ticket and sent our guide another(different Airline). We were extremely confused. Poor poor management. There is no emergency contact number or personal. We arrived at about 5:30am . It was dark in Zanzibar and our pick up was a bit late . He arrived without a sign , a uniform or anything that indicated that he was from Paradise and Wilderness( not even a sticker on his bus). We quite reluctantly got into the bus and were taken to a hotel in Stone Town. We were told we would have to wait until check in time i.e.2pm. which was completely ridiculous because management had our flight details and knew we would be arriving earlier. I tried contacting them via WhatsApp. When they responded, all they had to say was "Kindly be informed that normally check in is 2pm, if you request early check in is subject to availability and we charge 15 USD per room" (copied from WhatsApp) . We were willing to pay that amount but there weren't any available rooms. We ended up having to wait for an extra 6 hours to get our room (which smelled like bowel). They later apologized and offered a complimentary massage but this was not nearly enough. By the time our Safari was over , we were fed up and we decided to leave early. Our original booking accounted for 3 nights in Reef and Beach but we only stayed for 1(we were not refunded). We arrived at Reef and Beach around 8pm and left at 7:30am which brought our trip to an end. HORRIBLE HOSTING EXPERIENCE
Email Valentina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poorly organised & we still haven't been refunded for cancelled activity
- Before the trip even started, communication (regarding payment & our pickup arrangement) with our booking agent was so terrible to a point where we suspected the legitimacy of this company.
- We had to chase our booking agent numerous times (payment has been made at this point) before he finally sent us a pickup driver's contact details
- Before we departed, we sent the pickup driver a message to confirm. He was surprised to hear from us as he wasn't aware of this pickup arrangement and said no-one had contacted him, nevertheless he still agreed to pick us up when we arrive (thank god).
- We we arrived, the pickup driver had no idea where to drop us off as he did not know anything about our itinerary. After many phone calls, he finally found out where we were staying and managed to drop us off at out accommodation. However he did not work for this company and it was still unclear why our booking agent had given us his details.
- the next day we found out one of our activities in Arusha wasn't booked and we had no idea until we arrived (after driving aimlessly for 2 hours).
- We requested for a refund for this cancelled activity as well as our accommodation for the night (as we wouldn't have booked accommodation for that night if it wasn't for the activity mentioned above).
- Staff agreed to refund the activity and suggested they would confirm with their management team and try to refund the accommodation, and promised to sort this out for us before our trip ends. We believe their words.
- After coming back from safari, we returned to Arusha for 1 extra day, We contacted the staff regarding our refund, they said they were still working on it.
- It's been a month since we are back from the trip, we have been contacting the company regarding this matter, and we have been ignored.
- It's been a really dodgy experience overall. Do yourself a favour and avoid this company.
NL
Email Inge and Kirsten | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised, great trip
We had a wonderful and amazing trip!! Apparently good hotels, but dinner and lunch were a big disappointment on every safari day
.. that was a shame. But the country and the safari days made up for that.
(automatic translation from Dutch)
CH
Email Daniele | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He was very friendly and had a lot of patience with us and did everything we asked him
Everything went well and we had a lot of fun on our Safari. Our Tour operator George was really friendly and he did an amazing job. He really cared about our interests and he answered all our questions and stopped everywhere we asked him or when we saw some animals. The organization at the Lodge for our stay was also very nice and we had everything we needed. We had such a good time and regreted it a little bit that we have booked just 2 days. The next time we will definitely book a bigger Safari for more days. I don't have anything negative to say but I personally was a little bit disappointed that our trip on the 2nd day ended already at 11am. When I booked the 2 day Safari, I thought that we will have 2 full days but unfortunately it wasn't like that. On the first day we arrived at 11am and on the 2nd day we left at 11am. If we look at the time we effectively spend on the safari, it was just 1 full day. I expected that we will have more time for the Safari, especially for the price we payed. That's the reason because my overall rating for the Safari is good and not excellent. But beside of that it was just amazing and we had a really good time.
NL
Email Marten & Tanya | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very well organized
We had the combination of Beach and Safari. 3 days beach at Reef and Beach in Zanzibar, flying by plane to Arusha, 4 days safari, flying back to Zanzibar and 3 days Reef and Beach. An ideal combination to relax and see the sun and sea in a tropical paradise, and action during the safari. A wonderful experience, well organized, always a warm welcome in the lodges, very helpful staff, and very reliable. Even with a flight delay the driver was still waiting for us.
Only suggestion: book the morning flight back to Zanzibar. Friends of us had the 10.00 flight with flight link and weer at the beach at 12.30. We had the 16.45 flight with a 2 hour delay and arrived 21.00 at the hotel. So we missed a complete day of the beach part of the trip.
Otherwise a wonderful experience and very well organized. Thank you for your good service
FR
Email Eric | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience
We had an amazing experience. Everything was beautifully organized, from the airport transfer to our hotel stays before and after the Safari. The Safari was excellent and Samy, our guide, was able to share everything he knew about African wildlife and the Massai. It will remain an unforgettable memory. I highly recommend this supplier to everyone!
Many thanks again Samy
NL
Email Sanderijn | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was fine, not very luxurious, but an incredible experience
We stayed 3 nights in Zanzibar in the Zanzibar Bay hotel, then 5 nights safari in Tanzania, and eventually 6 nights in Zanzibar (Zanzibar Bay Hotel).
The Zanzibar Bay Hotel is just fine, the food is good and friendly personnel. It is not very luxurious. Construction and painting of the buildings was going on while we stayed there…
The safari was very good. Nice accommodations and a very good driver/guide called Libe. We were lucky and saw the big 5. Bring your water shoes when you visit Lake Natron. You will need them for the walk to the waterfall.
You also need water shoes if you go on the Safari Blue tour in Zanzibar.
AT
Email Susanna | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organized and friendly operator
We very much enjoyed our trip. The lodges were all very nice, clean, comfortable, very friendly staff and good food - though some sligth deficits were noticed in the maintenance of the residences. Loose tabs etc. what could be easily avoidable with all the staff being around there. But these are tiny cosmetic things. We had different drivers and guides. Unfortunately the one doing the safari was the weakest of all. I would have wished for somebody with better english skills as well as more background information about Tanzania in general to learn a little about the country as well But overall - it was a breathtaking, memorable experience. Thank you!
DE
Email Alex | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience. Best regards to Joseph
Great safari tour with wonderful accommodations, delicious food, helpful staff and great guides/drivers. A superb experience. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to offer ballon / small plane transportation between parks and the lake manyara airport for transfer to Zanzibar. Besides that, an impeccable experience. Highly recommend to others.
IL
Email Naama | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great service, very nice people
We had a great time.
The booking process was good and fast. We got all our questions answered quickly and courteously.
The travel was perfect, Julius our guide was awesome!
Highly recommended