RajaTours Tanzania
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
AE
Email Elizabeth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Some Highlights and some low-lights
I had a lot of back and forth with Raja in preparation to book our 10 day tour, for my husband and I. We were told several times that everything was included in the price except tips (gratuities) and any additional beverages like soft drinks or alcohol. We were also told that we would need visas. We did out best to research online but trusted Raja to arrange the rest.
Highlights:
Raja chose and organized some pretty amazing accommodations and kind, knowledgeable drivers. We saw all the animals and had some memorable wild life moments and accommodations.
Low lights:
Raja neglected to tell us a few very costly things.
1. We arranged to go to a village tour. We were told that the price was included and that it would be around $30 USD per person. We got to the village and were told (quite bluntly) to cough up the cash before we proceeded any further. And it was going to be $50 USD per person. Upon entering, we had a quick walk around their village. A few unenthusiastic songs. A fire demo (where they tried to convince my husband to buy the stick fire starter for an additional $50 USD-- fat chance). And then we were badgered to "slowly slowly slowly" emphasis on the slowly, walk around their market where they kept saying how everything was homemade in the village. Which was a joke because they had the metal parts for bottle openers and key rings that were obviously mass manufactured. We left very disappointed.
2. Raja neglected to tell us that we needed vaccinations for Tanzania. So at the border, we spent an additional two hours in a sketchy "medical office" where they created "documents" stated we had had our yellow fever shots. Now you might wonder why my husband and I didn't look into it before hand? To be honest we did. Or at least we tried. We were under the impression that we didn't need anything. Again, you might think this was our fault but as a tour operator being paid thousands of dollars and as a local Tanzanian, why didn't he tell us. Every person passing through the border had their yellow fever papers in hand so it's something everyone must do-- thus not exactly a secret.
3. Raja neglected to tell us to get a certain kind of visa in Kenya. There are single entry and multi-entry visas. We started in Kenya, went to Tanzania and then back to Kenya to fly home. Upon attempting to reenter Kenya, we had to pay an additional $50 USD per person for a second single visit visa. As opposed to the multi-entry visa that we could have gotten the first time for $80 USD.
In conclusion, we had a very thorough trip to Africa. WE saw all the animals, even the rhino. So we are in no rush to hurry back and see more. We stayed at amazing places -- special shout out to Serengeti Tortillis. And we had very knowledgeable drivers-- Geoff and Manase. If anyone is considering going to Africa, GO WITH A TOUR! As a north american, you have no idea how aggressive the locals can be when they see white people. Having someone there with you who is fluent in Swahili and English saved us so much hassle and concern. And driving in the parks was actually wild !! Even as Canadians who know how to quad (off road 4 x 4) and drive in the snow, we wouldn't have been able to manoeuvre the roads and the MUD!
FR
Email Jordan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good times
We had a great time. The organization of the safari is correct and respected. The guides are very nice. The safari itself was quite extensive and the accommodation was surprising for us.
DE
Email M+M | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We enjoyed a very nice and good value 4 days Safari
From the first contact RajaTours was always responding to our questions and proposals very quickly with good suggestions and recommendations. The choosen camps and lodges were good in regards to accomodation, food and Service. We especially enjoyed our stay at the Kananga tented camp. The limited time ( 4 hours) in the Ngorongoro crater was definetely too less.
Many thanks to RajaTours and Kili (driver and guide) for this tour - well done!
AE
Email Argyrios | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lovely safari experience, but anticlimactic village tour
We really liked the ease with which we made the booking and fast communication with Rajab. We booked two tours: the safari tour was well organised, on time and both the driver (Fred) and ranger (Majid) were very good and gave us great information. We saw quite a few wild animals and had a full day. The second day we booked a tour to see the chaga people’s village and historical caves. GoodLuck has a delightful character, very positive and always smiling but we found the tour a little uneventful. The caves were very interesting and GoodLuck tried his best to suit our needs but it felt a little unorganised.
FR
Email Sabrine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good tour
The first driver was very nice and on time.
The safari was good, but we were supposed to have a French speaking guide and finally the guide, very nice by the way, was not bilingual, he was speaking a little bit French and no more.
We slept at Bastian Camp it was very nice (event if our tent was under water one night).
Nice Saturday in Morogoro, beautiful hotel, nice city and wonderful hiking day!
Nico our guide was very nice, sweet and fun!
I do recommand Raja tours!
Email Marie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A truly enjoyable experience with a great guide.
Communications before and after the trip were very good. Everything went according to plan and exceeded our expectations, nothing was to much trouble for Raja or Nico our guide.
Email Egle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
good customer service but could improve facilities and itinerary.
Always quick email responses to any queries; game drive was great, even though shorter than promised. Bastian camp is amazing. However the car did not have seat-belts so we were risking when driving. The car is not new and we wasted 3 hours while waiting for the car fix. Also, not worth going to Udzungwa National park - expensive entrance, requires 2 hour travel one way via gravel road, you will not reach the top of the mountain since hike reaches only the mid way. The only good thing is that you will see very poor African areas whilst traveling to the national park. Also on the last day we did not get lunch as promised. Instead were taken to the restaurant where driver gets bonus if we buy any food (that was really overpriced, poor quality and we did not have any options to choose except meat heavy buffet).
MX
Email Veronica Cueli | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
Rajabu is a great guy!!! He helped me out with our trip trying to make it fit to my expectations.
We had a couple of unforseen, but he helped us out of them and even compensate us for the inconviniences.
Nice hotels and great parks. We were luck enough to see the Big 5 very close. Drivers and guides also very nice and friendly.
We really love traveling with RajaTours!
LB
Email Jean Noel & Yves | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a very nice experience ! We were happy to discover TANZANIA wildlife !
I went with my son of 10 yo.
We were so lucky to have Mr Freddy as our Guide
He was Always on time, always smiley , very professional and specially calm and helpful
He is also a very good driver, and We were very happy . Yes we Trusted him from the first day.
Thanks to him we visited Serengeti parc and Ngorongoro conservation area. it was Amazing !!!
US
Email AF | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not Great!
This is the review of the service received from Raja Tours ( https://www.rajatours.org/) for the private 5-day Safari (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro) for two, July 2018.
Summary: Overall experience: 3/5 (could have been a lot better only if we had a better guide)
A) Itinerary: 5/5 (Rajab worked with us to customize the plan and select the parks and accommodation we wanted).
B) Driver/Guide: Driving skills 4/5 (Hashim/Hashimu was a very safe driver), Guiding skills: 1/5 (Sadly Hashim wasn't familiar with the parks, hot spots, and routs, however we were lucky enough to follow other drivers/guides to find and see some of the animals. Also, other factors contributed to this rating such as lack of communication, being unfriendly, strong focus on getting out of the park by certain time (we typically ended up at the gate 1 hr ahead of the schedule).
C) Vehicle: 2/5 (old beat-up vehicle (Toyota) with no A/C (cooling/heating), non-reclining seats, and barley functioning windows/doors (some windows wouldn't open/close, some doors wouldn't open, etc)
Again, Rajab was very responsive throughout the booking process and provided us with a great itinerary. However, considering this's a once-in-a-life-time trip, it was disappointing to have an inexperienced unfriendly guide.
