Hilary and Martin - owners of Suricata Safaris
Suricata Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $190 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
RU
Email Ilyas Kalimullin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was very good organized, easy going 6 days safari
Company met us in Arusha airport. After night in a hotel we started our 6 days safari.
First day was Manayara, actually we didn't see flamingo there, but we saw hippo very close. After a night in good camping we went to Serengeti NP for 2 days. It was awesome there - many gnus and zebras. We also saw different cats - lions, cheetahs, leopards.
Every day we had excellent dinner and breakfast with hot meal made by our cook. And also we had lunchboxes in the car, but the lunchboxes were not so good.
The only problem, which upset us was that
the program of Suricata said "Day 5 : Ngorongoro Crater tour .
After breakfast, proceed directly to the Crater floor for a full day crater tour with picnic lunches. Later proceed back to tarangire in the evening"
But actually we had only half day safari in Ngorongoro, we were upset of this fact.
But it total everything is very good. We recommend this company!
US
Email Heather | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very smooth and fantastic experience, once we got the kinks worked out
Suricata Safaris is a shining new company in a competitive field, and you should absolutely book them. I recently did a 6 day/5night camping safari with them, and they handled everything so nicely, from the itinerary to choosing the best campsites. They have (as of right now) three drivers—Frederick was our guide, but we also met Mandela, who was super charming and enthusiastic.
You could not ask for a smarter, more informed, funny, patient person to show you the wilderness than Frederick. He knows his field incredibly well, from who/what/how every predator hunts, to understanding where to find the action. (We saw a cheetah take down a zebra, and a lion miss one in the same day.) He’ll answer all your questions and include information you never knew to ask, all with a great sense of humor. He's patient, and it pays off in the best sightings.
Dioniz was our chef, and I guarantee you’ve never eaten better while camping. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all multi-course affairs with a million choices. You’ll be spoiled by him for sure. He’s up at the crack of dawn to set a table with a tablecloth for your breakfast and the food is *chefkiss* He’s got skills.
We had some communication difficulties with Hilary, but all were sorted quickly. Most stemmed from him getting emails from two different people, so I recommend having one point person as the organizer. Be prepared to pay the receiving end Tanzanian bank fees for a wire transfer as well as your own bank’s. BUT, he personally drove us to the airport, which was lovely.
Suricata can’t guarantee a specific driver, although we were told we were confirmed with our request. It wasn't a big deal, just another communication issue. You won’t go wrong with any of the guides, though, so it’s ultimately nbd. We also requested separate accommodations but were in shared tents (just my friend and me together) the whole time. Again, re-confirm all the details of your trip a few days before to make sure Suricata is on the same page.
I would have preferred a more detailed itinerary, like an easy to print pdf including drive times between sites (some are 6 hours) and a recommended packing list, but that’s nitpicking (which, I learned from Frederick, is a term that comes from baboon grooming habits). You will need this for your visa, so be sure to ask Hilary for a list of each day.
Don’t go crazy with safari gear—you’ll rarely be out of the car, and then only at picnic sites/washrooms. Pack comfortable shoes you can take off quickly so you can hop up onto the seat fast enough to get that once-in-a-lifetime photo. Basically dress like you’re going on a road trip. I never even considered wearing the safari hat I brought, and hiking boots were definite overkill.
Don’t forget binoculars, a towel, bug spray, itch cream, soap/shampoo, tissues/tp, and a few warm layers. There is a charger for all your devices in the safari vehicle! I don't think I was below 80% charged the entire week.
Suricata did well by us. You can feel confident you’re getting an amazing trip with super smart people you’ll be happy to spend a week with. I had an unforgettable time and made some new friends along the way!
That was amazing!
This was our first experience on safari. Everything was great. We met at the airport, placed in the hotel. In the evening came, Hillari, we paid main amount for safari. He asked our preferences in food, when my wife learned that cook can cook separately for her food without gluten, she was very happy! Was one confusion with paying, in the contract not mentioned on the amount of a tip for guide, they were fixed, 10$ with person per day. I think you need it to write in the contract! In our country tips are not mandatory and fixed. But guide the Mandela and cook Salim, great fulfilled his work and very tried, so we were pleased to pay a tip! We really liked it, we will recommend to our friends! The price is very good.
CH
Email Riikka | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good service and organization
I did a fantastic 4-day safari in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro with Suricata Safaris. Everything was well organized, service was very helpful and our guide was excellent.
Accommodation in Arusha and for the first night on the safari could have been better, which is why one star is missing (on the other hand, accommodation in Serengeti and Ngorongoro were excellent).
NL
Email Anna | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A good choice for a good price!
The safari was well organized and well explained. The guide knew the place well so we have seen an incredible number of animals in a short time. My best safari ever! Vegetarian food was available although I would have appreciated more variety in the food. Honest and nice staff who worked hard to make it the unforgettable experience it was.
BR
Email Miriane Barros | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Doing a Safari with Suricata was an amazing experience. They take care of everything so you can focu
Doing a Safari with Suricata was an amazing experience. They take care of everything so you can focus exclusively on the tour. Tha guide and tha cook man were so friendly and helpful. Me and my husband decided to do the camping and it was amazing. A great time to meet different people around the world and even see animals (elephant!!) on the camps. If you are not that adventure there are also lodge options with more structure. After doing a lot of research, because this is not a cheap trip, Suricata was the best cost-benefit agency.
AE
Email Saif | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
e experience was amazing from the begging we meet ailly he explained everything and was super friendly, to james mandonga he’s was our tour guy the guy love what he does and he have have alot of information always was starting the day with a big smile and good spirit. Highly recommend.
We had the lodges, what I didn’t like one of the lodges have no hot water. And by 9 pm no one will come to your lodges and ur not allowed to leave. Thats it
US
Email marge | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything taken care of
Great experience with Aron as our driver. Everything was taken care of in terms of meals, lodging, transportation. Just had to show up and have a good time. Communication with the owner, Hillary, to adjust the schedule and coordinate was very fast and responsive
Aron was a hero for getting the car out of some pretty gnarly mud gullies! He did a great job of getting us to all the animals we wanted to see. Fun guy with a good sense of humor too.
Two things to improve:
- I would have loved if Aron was more talkative when it came to educating us about the animals and the region. Often I had to initiate questions to him.
- The group (including the guides) got a bout of food poisoning at the second lodge (Ngorongoro Tortilis Camp) due to some bad fish. Maybe no more seafood or other risky meats for the lodging meals…
FR
Email Stevens | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience
We had a very good 4days trip safari in tarangire , serengheti and ngorogoro.
We saw all the big five even 4 rhinoceros which is so rare !
We had Edgar ( driver ) always searching for us the best , explain a lot of thing and ask us if we are ok to wake-up earlier to be first to some spots
and Tito ( cooker ) made every meal different and so delicious always with the smile !
Edgar and Tito were so nice and amazing with us, treating so well and doing all they best to enjoy our trip !!!
We do choose to do camping tente and its was amazing the tente were big and perfectly waterproof. The experience was crazy we heard during night some hyena on the camp and buffalo. This experience will
Be always in my head
The company manage the tour perfectly even more than we was expected they took/drop us to the airport and book for us hotel arrival and departure.
Thank you so much Hilary , Ali , Edgar and Tito for this amazing trip
CA
Email Felix Boisvert | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice route, nice guide, nice cook, improve cold and toilet
Nice Safari to do. The guide Kalulu and the cook Tito were insanly great at what they do. Our guide inform us really well, answer all our questions with high quality informations. Our cook was the best! I was in tent, the locations were nice, but the toilet/shower would need improvment. An additionnal blanket would be nice in february at two locations, it was cold at night. 8.5/10 for me.