Selous Ngalawa Camp
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB & TANAPA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $80 to $190 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Sophia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Brilliant
Excellent service from first email!
I have been on safari in TZ several times before, but this was by far the best thanks to my Guide Wiliam. He went out of his way to help as much as possible. He was extremely knowledgeable and patient with my many questions about the wildlife in Selous. The chef at the camp was also ace. The food was better than in many fancy restaurants in TZ. I met some wonderful fellow safari goers at the camp. The camp was comfortable and peaceful. Much appreciated after the madness or Dar. Unfortunately, I had a few big problems in Dar and this safari company stretched themselves beyond the call of duty to help. Wiliam helped me so much !!! Cannot thank him enough. I will definitely do another trip with this company.
:-)
FR
Email Roxane | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience with a really good quality/price
Hi,
It was a really great experience with a really great guide (Saloum) who was really kind to picked us in our volunteering village next to DAR and right on time. He takes really good care of us and knew a lot of things about animals, was always trying to make us have the better spot to see animals and taking pictures. The three days safari with a boat safari, a car safari in a really nice open roof 4x4, and the walking safari made a really complete trip for a good quality/price with a really good cook and nice accommodation. Totally recommend it.
CH
Email Patrick | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was totally worth it
Dear all,
Last week (5-8.02.2018) we had the pleasure to joyn a 4-day Dar to Mikumi and Udzungwa Mountains Safari. It was a great experience and everything was perfectly organised. The food was excellent too. Our driver/safariguide Roman was a really nice guy and took good care of us. He was always polite and had a lot of knowlege about the different animals. Toghether with him we saw a lot.
We really enjoyd those 4 days and we would definitely do it again. Thank you for the unforgettable adventure!!!
AT
Email Katharina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very nice safari with a very good and friendly guid
- got picked up on time
- very friendly guid
- good food and nice service
- we saw all the important animals (lions, elephants, giraffes, leopard,...)
- had a great time and we can recommend it for everybody who is short on time but want to do a Safari close to Dar
FR
Email Margaux et Léa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
absolutely perfect I recommend without hesitation
I recommend without hesitation! We were two young women just landed in Dar Es Salaam, the reservation was made from France without advance money, and Zacharria (our guide during the entire stay) directly picked us up at our hotel. We were only two for this trip which was a great comfort! After a few hours we arrived in the Mikumi reserve for a first afternoon safari! We have seen many wild animals (elephants, lions, gazelles, giraffes, zebras ...) unforgettable experience. We stayed in an absolutely superb camp with pool and bar, quality all-you-can-eat buffet for all meals. The next day great day with Zacharia that I highly recommend, lunch we had lunch in a small discreet restaurant in the middle of wild animals who came to bathe and drink at the edge of the water nearby, change of scenery guaranteed! We did not speak English very well, but our guide did everything to explain us about animals so we could understand everything! The last day was also very good although we asked to return earlier to Dar Es Salam so we could take our boat directly to Zanzibar. Zacharia took care of booking the boat tickets and deposited us in front of the controls so that we are protected from the fake agents present on the spot. Fortunately Zach was there for us, he helped us a lot! I hope I can come back one day to do Selou Park with this agency! Thank you for everything sincerely.
IL
Email Amir Eshel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing, gorgeous and unique.
This company is beyond amazing !!
We traveled for 17 days in Tanzania .
We were 6 people- 4 adults and 2 young adults (19,17)
We built our trip plan with the help of the company’s manager Donates, and he helped us building the perfect plan according to our requests.
The trip went exactly as planned!
Got to see the most incredible things with the help of Julius our amazing guide driver who was so nice so professional and willing to answer any type of questions any time. He made sure our trip is extraordinarily and everything is going the way we wish.
The accommodations that the company placed us at were a perfect fit, and we were really satisfied by that.
Moreover the food at the lodges restaurants was good.
I enjoyed our safari trip so much and we were just happy to got to do it via this GREAT company.
I recommend this company for all of you guys because we were so pleased
DE
Email Nadine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice tour with a need of improvement
We booked a five day tour in Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park with this operator.
Before departure, communication was easy and quick with the office in Dar Es Salaam.
Upon request I was told that we have a private room and bathroom in a cabin/large tent, power and WiFi in all the camps. Also I was told that we could store our suitcases in the operator’s office while being on the safari and that we would be able to catch the last ferry to Zanzibar (4pm) on the return day.
However, none of these expectations were fulfilled.
Luckily, we could store our luggage at the hotel and I decided to book a flight to Zanzibar in the evening of return day instead of taking the ferry, which we never would have made in time.
As to the other promises: when we finally got to the first camp in Selous the first day after driving for 6 hours, our expectations were not fulfilled at all. Our cabin was rundown, there was no water in the sink and very little (and only cold) water in the shower. Power kept failing and of course there was no WiFi, which is fine but could have been told us in advance instead of lying to us. Provided food was eatable but not great (both nights for dinner we had rice with a little bit of vegetables and sauce).
In the afternoon of the first day we had a boat safari (as stated in the itinerary) which was quite disappointing because we merely saw a few hippos from great distance somewhere in the water.
The full day Game Drive the next day, however, was great!
Our driver Michael did a great job showing us lots of animals like giraffes, zebras, elephants, hippos, wildebeest, impalas and lions. This day as well as the full day tour in Mikumi Nationalpark two days later were a really great adventure for all of us.
What‘s really disappointing is the fact that three out of five days are spent in the car driving from one spot to another. So besides the 6 hours on day 1 we had to drive 10 hours from Selous to Mikumi on day 3 and then again 7 hours on the last day to get back to Dar Es Salaam. Surely, the operator cannot be blamed for bad road conditions, but it would be nice to know in advance how much time is really spent in the car.
Last but not least: the Bastian Camp in Mikumi is a great place, I would definitely stay there again! Even though we only got a tent with a shared bathroom on the camp site (instead of the promised private bathroom) this place was much nicer and cleaner than the camp before. For dinner there was a small buffet with soup, various main dishes and desert and for breakfast you could choose among various options.
It was mostly for this place and our great driver Michael that I decided to rate three stars for the tour.
DK
Email Families Boerresen and Pedersen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our tour for 25 days around Tanzania was the result of very good cooperation during almost one year!
Communication between very differently thinking people can be difficult, but also very giving - hopefully to both parties? "Dating" this way about new travelling experiences is like a lottery, and this time we won!
The cooperation and playing "ping pong" in the planning phase with Selous Ngalawa Camp fully lived up to our expectations - and more! We really feel that we got "value for money", and in addition to that we had the pleasure of meeting very kind and helpful people from the company and their cooperating partners!
We will never be afraid of trying this way of planning and travelling again, and the days in Tanzania gave us SO many exciting and new impres-sions and experiences that it fully covers for the tiny points of "dissatisfaction" (which we have long forgotten!!) We will remember this tour for the rest of our lives ......
CZ
Email Veronika | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Communicative, responding quickly, flexible
We really enjoyed safari with Ngalawa. It has also been very first experience for my partner, so he enjoyed even more. The company picked us up in front of the hotel where we stayed on agreed time. We travelled only in 2, so we had the whole car for ourselves which was really good when it comes to game viewing. The option we have selected was the combination of boat trip, walking safari and game drive which was perfect for person who never been to safari before. Service in the camp was amazing, all the time meals and snacks ready, rooms were clean. Our driver Leonard was trying his best to show us around and get us to best places to spot animals.
So if you want to enjoy safari in the reasonable distance from the capital, combine few options to experience, I would really recommend this one.
US
Email Geoffrey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We enjoyed our safari a lot - a diverse experience of both Mikumi NP and Udzungwa Mountains NP
Overall, we were quite pleased with the safari. We were worried that we might not see many animals in the southern parks, but we saw everything we had hoped to - lions, giraffes, zebras, cape buffalo, and more. In the mountains, we even spotted an endemic monkey, which was pretty cool (the waterfalls were also incredible to see).
One drawback to this tour (Mikum, Udzungwa Mountains, & the Kilombero River) is that there was a LOT of driving. It was interesting to see an authentic taste of rural Tanzania, but the organization of the trip meant that all of our last day was spent on the road. The first lodge we stayed at was really lovely; the second was not so great (the same was true for the food). The canoeing portion of the trip was a bit disappointing because it was so short. However, none of these things detracted very much from a very enjoyable experience. Our guide Roman was very friendly and very helpful and the customer service before and after the trip was excellent. If you're looking for a good tour of the southern circuit, this is a great choice.
