Dancing Zebra Safari
- Located In:
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United States
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Member Of:
- Africa Travel Association (ATA) & The International Ecotourism Society (T.I.E.S)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $550 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Ann | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A mind-blowing experience!
Thank you Dancing Zebra Safari Co. for putting together a trip of a lifetime for my husband and I! Jessica organized an amazing trip to Tanzania for us. In 10 short days we experienced so much and enjoyed luxury with adventure.
We went on a four day safari in the Northern Serengeti. We had an amazing guide (Ian) who catered to our desire to see certain animals.
We saw everything!! Ian even made sure my husband got to see a leopard! My husband and I were both overwhelmed with the beauty of Tanzania. Following our safari we traveled to Mahale, a beautiful camp off the shores of Lake Tanganyika, to embark on a mind blowing experience, chimp trekking. WOW! We were only feet from our closest cousins in arguably one of the most pristine places in the world. What we saw and experienced was enough to make this our most memorable trip to date. In addition we stayed in luxurious accommodations and enjoyed Michelin-level cuisine the entire trip.
Jessica made sure every detail of our trip was arranged. Someone was always waiting to take us to the next location or make sure we were well taken care of during our entire journey. Dancing Zebra Safari Co. is a cut above! We are already dreaming about and planning our next trip to Tanzania.
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Email Brad | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nothing about this trip was "canned!"
My trip was definitely a bucket list item! While looking to book a trip to Tanzania I would find so many "canned" trips where you had to take it or leave it. While some of the canned trips sounded exciting I was less excited about other parts of their trips. I found this safari travel company through Zicasso and they were able to customize a trip to meet my goals!
The best part was spending the entire day out on the safari vehicles enjoying the wildlife and scenery!
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Email Jen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon in Tanzania!
I went through Zicasso to find a travel company to work with in planning our honeymoon to Tanzania. We did a lot of research and reached out to several travel companies for quotes, information and itineraries. When working with this travel company and this agent - her service and passion stood out to us. Which is one of the reasons we ultimately chose to move forward with this company. She planned a 10 day itinerary for us in Tanzania starting at the Arusha Coffee Lodge --> Lake Manyara, Neptune Lodge --> Ngorongoro Crater, Lemala Kuria Hills --> Northern Serengeti (we had a self-booked accomodation in Zanzibar). She planned every detail possible for us, from our arrival to Kilimanjaro, all transfers and domestic flights between the different reserves, accomodations and games drives and all we had to do was arrive and her in-country team took it from there, this put us at ease and made our lives easy. Our travel planner was a pleasure to work with, you can tell she has a passion for Tanzania, travel and planning these amazing trips! She does her research too. You won't be disappointed when you choose this company, this travel planner will put her heart and soul into making sure you have a wonderful trip!
Driving through the reserves, being able to observe wildlife in their natural habitats. The accommodations (Arusha Coffee Lodge, Neptune Lodge Ngorongoro, Lemala Kuria Hills, Baraza) were outstanding as well!
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Email Marie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, thorough, hands-on, detail oriented, good communication with vendors throughout trip!
The four of us can’t begin to put into words what an amazing adventure we had!!! Tanzania is beautiful! Lemala and each of their camps/lodge we stayed at and theirs staffs were fantastic and so welcoming!! We love their smiles!! And Robert (our guide) made our experience so memorable. He is a true gem!! His knowledge of the parks and the animals was truly remarkable! We are so blessed to have news friends in Tanzania!!! Everything you (Jessica) did for us was noticed and appreciated and we wouldn’t have had this amazing experience without Dancing Zebra Safaris!!! Awesome communication, very reliable, and great value! We will highly recommend you and your company!!!
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Email David’s family scat adventure | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A knowledge skilled professional who is focus on delivering a once in a lifetime experience.
Jessica Mathews ( owner) listened to our desires and objectives for a 14 day Safari in Tanzania. This was going to be a family trip of 6 adults focused on building memories rather than collecting stuff. She talked and listened with everyone to understand what everyone wanted to experience and developed an agenda that fit.
We ended up selecting to use the Lemala Group for most of the lodging in Tanzania, except for the day when we were scheduled to depart and rested at the beautiful Rivertrees Country Inn.
The Lemala facilities were all five star lodges ( Hammerkop House, Lemala Kuria Hills, Lemala Nanyukie Lodge, Lemala Ngorogoro Tented Camp, and Lemala Mpingo Ridge )
The staff at all of the lodges were warm, welcoming and focused on customer satisfaction….it was totally refreshing….Jessica arranged for the same guide ( Frank ) to be with us throughout the whole trip. He was the highlight of the trip. He was extremely knowledgeable about the land , animals, the tribes, the culture and our individual interests…..from scats to birds…
In summary, our trip was spectacular. There were no glitches, never touched our bags, five star service and accommodation. We were very fortunate to have Dancing Zebra referred to us…the price we paid was more than justified by the attention to details to make the trip a pleasure and an experience that our family will never forget……
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Email Sharon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dancing Zebra Safari arranged the trip of a lifetime for our family of four
Dancing Zebra, and in particular Jessica Matthews, did an outstanding job ensuring that our Africa trip was truly the trip of a lifetime. Our family of four, including two teens, traveled this Summer to Tanzania and Rwanda. In Tanzania we visited the Tarangire National Park and two areas within the Serengeti National Park. We then travelled to Rwanda, where we visited the Five Volcanoes region and saw gorillas and golden monkeys. The gorilla experience, which involved hiking with a small group into the misty jungle and spending an hour within steps of these amazing animals, was a highlight of the trip.
All of our accomodations were outstanding, and exactly what we needed for our family. The lodges in both the Serengeti and Tarangire, which were all part of the Lemala group of resorts, were in settings that allowed us to take in the beauty of the park while experiencing all of the creature comforts of a luxurious resort. In Rwanda we stayed at the Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, which was also very nice, well-located, and had extremely attentive service.
Dancing Zebra arranged for outstanding guides to escort us on our adventures in both countries. In Tanzania we had different guides for the two parks - - Malekia (aka Thompson) in Tarangire and Edson in the Serengeti. Both were superb. They were extremely knowledgable, engaging, and absolutely committed to making sure that we got the most out of our experience. They took us up close to a long list of wild animals, including elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, monkeys, wildebeest, ostriches, hippos, warthogs, various antelopes, and many other animals and exotic birds. In Rwanda, our guide (Sam) was also excellent, and skillfully helped us navigate both the capital city of Kigali (where we stayed for one night), as well as the national park.
In summary, we could not more highly recommend Dancing Zebra, and Jessica in particular. She used her encyclopedic knowledge of the area to help us understand exactly what we wanted, and she delivered a vacation that was beyond our expectations.
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Email Steve Shames | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
For amazing and memorable safaris, Dancing Zebra is still the best!
This was our 6th trip with Dancing Zebra Safari Company, and one of the best! We have been to the Serengeti many times, so we decided to take the road less traveled this time, and check out the parks in the south and west of Tanzania -- Ruaha, Katavi, and Mahale.
These parks are far from the beaten path, and harder and more complicated to get to, due to limited flight schedules and availability. Luckily Jessica Mathews has been to all of them, and was fully aware of all the complex scheduling, and was able to put together an itinerary that worked well for us. It’s good to have somebody who knows all the details personally. She made sure all our needs were taken care of, from our pick up at the arrival airport, to our transfer to the departure airport. I have said it before, and will say it again because it’s true – Jessica is the best safari organizer out there.
Ruaha and Katavi have most of the animals you will see in the Serengeti, except for the large herds of wildebeests. The one thing it does NOT have, compared to the Serengeti, is the large herds of people! It was typical to go an entire game drive without seeing another vehicle. It kind of gave more of a feeling of wildlife in its rawest state, since they were not used to seeing people and their vehicles. We stayed at the Nomad camps, and both of our drivers at Ruaha and Katavi were fantastic. They really knew the area well.
Mahale was great, and we had a fabulous visit with a large group of chimpanzees. This was our first time with wild chimpanzees, and it is a magical moment to see them for the first time. Our chimp trekking guide was Butati, and after three days there, I felt like we had taken a college level course in chimpanzee behavior!
You cannot go wrong with Dancing Zebra Safari Co! Add in the great Nomad camps, the great guides, and this made for one of the most memorable safaris so far.
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Email Kathy and John | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dancing Zebra Safari Company: Simply The Best!
Words cannot describe the amazing 12 day Tanzanian Safari Jessica planned for us starting on 9/26/21. Our planning involved numerous phone calls, emails and zoom meetings. She guided us through the ever-changing COVID restrictions. Jessica took the time to get to know us, our interests and designed a unique Safari experience incorporating input from each of the four people in our group. Her recommendations were perfect!
Our adventure began with a flight into Kilimanjaro and a night’s stay at the lovely Hamerkop House where we were treated like royalty. Dinner and breakfast were amazing!
Early the next morning, we started our journey with Ian our guide. He is extremely knowledgeable, engaging, fun loving and most importantly, loves his job! Within minutes of meeting Ian, we were at ease knowing we had the ideal guide.
After leaving Arusha we spent two days at Tarangire National Park at Nykani Camp. The accommodations at this camp and all those that followed had incredibly comfortable beds. The warm bucket showers felt relaxing after a long day of game drives. It was quite an experience leaving up the canvas of our tents to listen to the animals throughout the night.
We saw impalas, zebras, lion and at one point counted more than 50 elephants. An hour was spent watching elephants frolicking in the river. Our group was surprised at how close we could observe. We learned about termite mounds as we watched 4 cheetahs sitting on one. Most mornings we headed out at 6 AM when the animals were most active and had a bush breakfast.
Our next stop was Lemala Ngorongoro Camp. We took a short hike (accompanied by a ranger) and was surprised to find a sundowner with drinks and snacks set up by staff at the rim of the crater. Accommodation, food and hospitality continued to be first rate!
Our journey continued to Central Serengeti for three night and then on to Northern Serengeti These were also Lemala Properties with great food, friendly staff and great campfires at night.
The four of us took our first balloon ride in Central Serengeti and we were glad we did.
Travelers, we don’t know how Ian planned it, but each day eclipsed the previous day’s experience! We experienced big cat sightings each day, along with herds of elephants, wildebeests, baboons, hippos and crocodiles. Additionally, we were fortunate enough to witness three crossings of the Wildebeest Migration. This was clearly one of the highlights of our trip. Also, so much was learned about the people and beautiful country of Tanzania.
This trip was well worth the money that was spent! Our advise to you is to follow the guides lead, while you relax and observe.
In closing, we cannot say enough about this company. We experienced a perfectly designed Safari and are deeply grateful to Jessica and Ian for all their planning and hard work.
Kathy and John
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Email Elaine & Andy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded our expectations! Thank you Jessica for a beautiful safari experience!
There is definitely a reason why every review here is 5 stars. Jessica listens to what you want in your safari and will tailor a trip to give you exactly what you desire. Where Dancing Zebra stands out from the rest, Jessica will come back with alternative options for you to consider, and explain what each option will offer you. Not like other companies that may want to give you a standard package tour. Thank you Jessica for all the time spent with us on the phone!
Our safari was specific to Tanzania, starting in Arusha and then to Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Central Serengeti and Northern Serengeti. We were fortunate to have Ian as our guide for the entire journey, and after just one day with him, we felt like we were traveling with a friend, not just a guide. Ian's passion for the wildlife was quite evident and he was enjoying the viewing of animals as much as we were. We enjoyed him telling us details about what we were seeing and why the animals were doing certain things. And his ability to spot animals far away is incredible. I'm seeing a dot on the horizon and he is telling me exactly what animal it is!!
The camps Jessica selected for us were perfect. We started at Nykani Camp in Tarangire and then to 3 Lamala camps in Ngorongoro (Lamala Tented Camp), Central Serengeti (Lamala Ewanjan) and Northern Serengeti (Lamala Mobile Tented Camp). They were all somewhat similar in appearance with excellent staff that was eager to please and very personable. We all felt like family. I hope that perhaps we will see them again in a future adventure.
If you are considering a safari, you need to look at Dancing Zebra. If you don't, you may be sorry later.
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Email George & Ruth Lamberty | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime - Perfection
Dancing Zebra is owned by Jessica Matthews. She is simply the BEST for organizing a safari in Tanzania. She has all the right connections to get the best deals especially with the Lemala camps. This was our first safari and from what I have seen and heard, we were blessed. Everything was thought of and nothing was spared to make this trip memorable. We had two guides, the first one for days one and two were with Edson and the remaining six days were with Ian. Wow, both of them knew everything there was to know. The best part was they tried to stay away from the main routes so that you had an individual experience. Jessica picked the best. As far as seeing wildlife, we never would have expected to see so many animals. Again, attributed to the guides. The camps of Lemala were exceptional. We felt like kings. We fell in love with every single person we met in the camps. To me that is the experience. We even had a local meal prepared for us. Delicious! We would most definitely recommend Dancing Zebra Safari and when we decide to do another one there is not doubt we will come back again.
