Travel Partners
- Located In:
- Size:
- 100-250 employees (Founded in 2007)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB, TANAPA, NCAA, Tanzania Top 100, Tanzania Private Sector Foundation & Tanzania Investment Centre
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Can’t say it was the best experience in my life
Things I liked:
- beautiful nature and animals;
- accommodation was perfect;
- the car was new and safe;
And what spoiled my impression:
- our guide wasn’t a real guide. I would say that it was a driver. I don’t remember anything interesting he told us about wildlife.
- a lot of cheating everywhere. It would be nice if a travel company or a guide warned tourists against all those beggars on every step. In a massai village native people literally extorted 40$ from us. It’s one of the points of the tour and I felt unsafe there.
- 5-days tour is very long. In fact, 3-4 days is enough for what we have seen. On the 3 day in serengety the driver dragged time and we drove with the speed 20 km ph. At 3 pm he brought us to the lodge. The only thing we saw on the fifth day is massai village (15 min) and then at 11 am we arrived in Arusha.
- there were a lot of misunderstanding with the guide and the manager. They asked additional money for massai village (100$ pp) inspite it was included into our package. Only my email to another manager helped. Plus, initially we agreed to leave us at the border with Kenya after our tour. They said that it’s no problem, it’s on our way. At the end of our trip our guide asked 100$ for it. That’s so miserable.
US
Email Thomas Milligan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I Am Very Pleased with TravelPartner and Would Book with Them Again
Our guides, our accommodations and our tour not only lived up to our expectations, they exceeded them. We were a group of six. We were met at the Nairobi airport by Mark, who drove us to our hotel (Eka). In the brief time we had with him, we thought Mark was great. The next day, Rasheed picked us up and took us to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and the giraffe center, which were really great experiences and highly recommended. We even had our own guide at the giraffe center, who spent a lot of time with us and shared a lot of his knowledge about giraffes with us. Rasheed then took us to Tamambo, a great restaurant he suggested that is on the grounds of the Karen Blixen museum. Rasheed was also excellent and very patient with us and was happy to take us to a mall to go to an ATM. The Eka Hotel was very nice and a wonderful place to stay for our first two nights in Africa. The next day we were picked up at the hotel by Frank, who took us to Amboseli NP. We really liked Frank and his knowledge of Amboseli was impressive. He had a great sense of humor and we really enjoyed our time with him and were pleased that he was our guide again later in the trip. We stayed at Kibo Safari Camp, which was excellent, with beautiful views of Kilimanjaro. The staff was great, very friendly and efficient, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. After a couple of nights there, Frank took us to our border crossing at Namanga. Be sure you go through all the lines there - yellow card line, visa line and maybe another one - and fill out your forms if you did your visa application online, since that isn't your actual visa. They will stamp your passport for your actual visa. Then Frank transferred us to Thomas, who was our driver/guide in Tanzania. We really liked Thomas, too. Like Frank, he was very knowledgeable about the parks and the wildlife and he also had a great sense of humor. He, also like Frank, seemed to know the best way to avoid the biggest rocks and ruts and potholes in the roads, always trying to give us the best ride possible, which isn't easy on those roads.
Thomas drove us to Tarangire NP, which is a really beautiful park, with lots of elevation changes and beautiful baobab trees, and of course, wildlife. He got us to a zebra kill, just as the lions had gotten the zebra down. While watching the zebra struggle wasn't pleasant, it was an amazing sight nonetheless, as a pride of at least a dozen gathered for the feast. We were about 25 feet from them, and the pride included young adolescents as well as several adult females. We stayed at Tarangire Safari Lodge, and again, a great place to stay with a very friendly and accommodating staff, and there were great views from the dining area and patio. We wished we could have stayed there for at least another night. Next, Thomas took us to Ngorongoro, another amazing place, and found lots of animals and put us into great position for pictures. We stayed at the Rhino Lodge, which was a little different, as it is brick and mortar and not a tented camp. It is the original home of the first curator of the park. Again, it was a very enjoyable stay with another great staff, then it was on to the Serengeti Seronera area and Heritage Seronera tented camp. Thomas again put us in great position for taking great pictures and finding lots of different animals to see. There were a few problems with one of the tents and the staff quickly worked to correct them, but eventually decided it would be better to move my daughters to a different tent, so that worked out fine. We had dancers that night that were really great, including a guy who did a lot of amazing contortions and balancing acts. Again, great staff that was friendly and helpful. Thomas then took us north to the Mara section of Serengeti, where we stayed at a mobile camp, Heritage Mara. While the amenities at a mobile camp are slightly less plentiful, we really enjoyed staying here in beautiful surroundings and very comfortable tents. And again, a great staff with people you enjoy getting to know, but would like to stay longer so you can get to know them even better. After a couple of nights there and great game drives with Thomas, he took us to the border crossing at Isebania to return to Kenya. Due to a major problem with the safari truck Frank was driving to come get us, he had to have someone come with another truck to get him and his passengers he was delivering to Isebania, which caused a delay of about 3 hours. This wasn't Frank's fault or Thomas' fault or the company's fault - machines break down sometimes and stuff happens. To me, it's when unexpected problems develop that shows you what kind of company you are dealing with. In my opinion, TravelPartner came through with flying colors, making sure they got transportation there to get us and making sure we were not left or abandoned. We were very happy to once again see Frank, and off we went to Maasai Mara and Zebra Plains Mara Camp. Due to the delay, we didn't get there until after dark - although Frank did take us into the reserve where we once again saw a zebra kill, but this time, the zebra was mercifully already recently deceased! The staff at Zebra Plains greeted us warmly and escorted us to our family tent, where we all stayed in the same tent, but it was divided into 3 separate living quarters, each with it's own bedroom and bathroom. It was quite nice. The next morning, we could actually see enough to note how pretty the area is. Meals were not buffet style, but delivered by a server who is assigned to your table. He was wonderful, very friendly and engaging, as was all the staff. The game drives were, once again, amazing and Frank put us on great views of a variety of animals and in good spots for great pictures.
After a couple of nights at Zebra Plains, it was off to Lake Nakuru NP and Flamingo Hill Tented Camp. Lake Nakuru is an interesting little park with lots to see and a great chance to see rhinos, which we did. It's another beautiful park and again, Frank did a great job in putting us in great locations. We really liked Flamingo Hill. The grounds are very pretty and the lobby, bar and restaurant areas are very nice, as are the tents - roomy, nice bathrooms and nice decor. Again, like all the other places we stayed, we would have liked to have stayed longer.
The next day, it was off to Nairobi to fly back home. We had a flight leaving at almost midnight, so it was a leisurely day, to some extent. Frank took us to a couple of places to shop for last minute gifts and treasures and we had a nice dinner at the same hotel (Eka) in Nairobi where we had stayed.
All six of us were very pleased with every aspect of our trip - every day, we would see something we hadn't seen on previous game drives. In planning the trip, TravelPartner was very good at making helpful suggestions and recommendations, which is one of the main reasons I chose them in the first place. Belen was great to work with. I have to admit, it's a bit challenging to have to do all the communicating via email instead of just picking up the phone and calling your contact here in the States, in addition to the 7 hour time difference, but Belen was always good about responding and answering questions. Would I book with TravelPartner again? Absolutely, without any hesitation. Would I want Frank and Thomas to be our drivers/guides again? Absolutely. Would we want to stay at any of the places we stayed again? Absolutely, every single one of them. I highly recommend TravelPartner and am so glad we booked with them.
US
Email Allison | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari with expert recommendations, knowledge, and guides!
It is always a little intimidating traveling overseas and there were some minor hiccups in communication, however, the situation was dealt with promptly and professionally. The trip was organized to our specifications with much appreciated recommendations to improve our visit. Both our Kenya and Tanzania guides were fabulous and very knowledgeable. They both learned what our group liked and tailored our game drives to that. All of our accommodations were beautiful and comfortable. The staff at all of the locations were phenomenal as well. We had a most amazing trip and I hope to return again soon!
ES
Email Mayte | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The experiencie With all Travel Partners People, Belén, Glory and Naiman had been very good, allways
The tour had been very nice. More than I expected. The safari is espectacular and the guide, who speaks and understand spanish perfect, and have been looking for The animals and speaking about them, has helpt for it.
Also Belén, always atending our questions and Glory, in Tanzania, very kind.
The hotels, People are very kind, always ready to help. About buildings, Flamingo is a little old.
For me the best have been Serengeti Heritage tented camps and Olea lodge.
I will recomend Travel Partner with all this team, the Country, Tanzania, and the wonderful safari and Kilimanjaro trekking.
ES
Email Esther | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very highly recommended. Has been my first safari, absolutely unforgettable
Easy communication with Belen by email and Whatsapp, very helpfull!
The guide Neiman, who speaks perfect spanish, has been more than helpfull, friendly, patient and so well-educated! He could spot the animals at big distances and always tried to get near enough for us to see and photograph them (including the Big Five), birds and trees : and he knew the spanish names for all! We think we have left a friend there!
All places visited have been very, very interesting.
The Kilimanjaro trekking, even with rain, has been a special moment.
The hotels were as expected, excellent lodges and not so good hotel in Arusha, but fair enough.
The Pic-nics were OK, only they were the same every day...
Breakfasts and dinners, Ok
The car - a Toyota Land Cruiser- was a little bit too old but we had no problem at all with it, so OK.
A fantastic experience. I will be glad to recommend Travel Partners to anyone who asks me about a Safari!
JAMAS LO OLVIDARE
I’d like to thank specially to Belen, since the first day we met her at Fitur, she has been kind, resourceful and very helpful, and the main responsible for us doing this trip.
Secondly, since the moment we landed Kilimanjaro, we have been attended in a fantastic way by Rama our guide during the safari. He is an attentive man, friendly, knowledgeable and absolutely hard working and smart person. When others were turning back, he kept looking on a search for more animals and sightings. We counted up to 2 different species, not counting birds! Amazing!
Thirdly, to mention the accommodation were al fantastic, very good quality in terms of rooms and food, also the kind treatment from the staff.
Our suggestion is maybe the picnics could have a bit more of variation, since most of the days it had chicken.
We want to thank you for an amazing trip that we will never forget and will remain in our memories and hearts forever.
We hope to be in contact with you again for another destination. Thank you!!
FI
Email Ari | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional safari operator
Our group just finished four day luxury safari with Travel Partners. We are very pleased for the arrangements and can highly recommend this operator.
We visited three parks during our safari and saw all big five and lot more thanks to our professional drivers. Accomodation in the lodges was also very nice so can recommend for those looking for some luxury. At the end of the safari we had an interesting visit to Masai village.
Fabulous! They created that once in a life time opportunity!
This experience is once in a lifetime and this tour guide and company made that happen. They set up everything we could have needed from housing, food and everything in between. The tour guide was fabulous. I couldn’t have asked anything better from Herman.
US
Email Li Deng | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our guide Mbonea is the best!
We had a wonderful 4-day safari tour, guided by Mbonea who is absolutely the best guide we’ve ever had. He is so friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about the safari and Tanzanian culture that we found fascinating. We’ll definitely return for another tour.
BR
Email Rodrigo Fernandes Melo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best experience ever
My Safari trip were one of the bests experiences in my life. It was everything good since before my arrival. My guide Nickson was the best one, very talkative, friendly and easygoing. The environment and animals in Africa are awesome, difficult to express in words. I love the trip and i strongly recommend for everyone. Na Penda Africa.