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 Steve S. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Dancing Zebra Safari team is the best!
This was our second safari with Dancing Zebra. Tanzania was open for business after their Covid 19 lockdown was lifted, and we were eager to go, so Jessica quickly got us a discounted rate at a luxury lodge in Northern Serengeti, where the Mara river crossings were in progress! Jessica’s connections and experience make her the finest safari agent we have ever used. She put in the extra work to make sure we had everything we wanted in a custom safari. She is the absolute best at planning safaris!
And our driver/guide Ian is simply the top safari guide in Africa! I say this after 5 trips to Africa, so I have had many guides. He knows the Serengeti so well that he was giving directions to several guides who were a little lost. Everything that could be seen, we saw! Ian is the best! And our camp, Lemala Kuria Hills was great. After 11 nights there, they gave us a fabulous sendoff with song and dance!
To summarize – the Dancing Zebra Safari team is the best!
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Email John Ortiz | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dancing Zebra Safari CO. exceeded our Safari Dreams and created memories & friendships for life
After attempting to plan a 5 person African Safari trip ourselves, we realized that we were in over our heads. At that point, a friend of a friend suggested Jessica Mathews of Dancing Zebra Safari Co. Wow! Jessica is a rock star!
At this point, everything starting coming together - locations, weather, times of year, guides, accommodations. My spouse worked to identify itineraries to see Gorillas and Sun Monkeys in Rwanda (very cool trip) over 3 days followed by 8 days in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park.
The accommodations were all very good to stellar, and the guides were even better.
In Rwanda, our driver Frank Kanmugire shepherded us expertly to the hotel, and the indoctrination gatherings for the gorillas and, a day later, the monkeys. We were appropriately steered to an intermediate level gorilla climb with very good guide, and had an awe inspiring 60 minute visit. The sun monkey tour the next day was entertaining and playful, and much easier to access. In addition, Frank showed us around the market, found a vendor for emergency luggage repair, and helped us digest a chilling and sobering visit to the Rwanda Genocide Museum. Truly, an impressive country.
The Tanzania portion was non-stop animal discovery with periods of luxury in the Camps and lodges. Our guide, Ian Kiwelu, listened to our interests and tailored the day trips to satiate our interest in the many animals, birds, reptiles and flora. Ian gracefully shared joy and love for the outdoors. This included relentlessly helping us to track down a viewing of a leopard. So often, especially in the Serengeti, we would separate from the mass tours (as many as 40 cars watching 3 lions) to take the path less traveled. This is absolutely our style and brought great joy.
Kimchuguu Camp in Tarangire was very well run with good food, and easy to settle in; Plantation Lodge near Ngorongoro brought great food and some pampering including a pool; and Njozi Camp Serengeti was a diamond still being polished with its progressive inclusion of biologists and women on staff and very inviting nightly campfires.
Jessica and Ian included a visit to a traditional Maasai Boma provided a window into their lifestyle and ceremonies - a vivid reminder that Africa is so much more in addition to the animals.
5 Star experience!!
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Email Phil and Meg | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We had a wonderful escape including extraordinary wildlife sightings with the two best guides ever.
Our trip to Africa was absolutely amazing and except for the minor blip of no pick up in Kilimanjaro, all went very smoothly. You clearly strategized every phase of our trip. You not only know the best properties, but the best rooms which you select and then you specifically select a person at the property who looks after our every need. This was particularly true in Tarangire where our every need was attended to by a member of the staff that you selected, who knew you and who was intent on impressing you with his attentiveness.
Both of our guides, Amos in the Serengetti and Masa at both Ngorongoro and Tarangire were stellar. Both had in depth knowledge of every plant and animal as well as their behavioral characteristics. They both had a great sense of humor, would engage in fascinating conversations about any topic. They both became our friends. Towards the end of the trip, any anxiety that we might have had over the trip simply disappeared. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip from start (well almost) to finish. The entire safari was designed for our specific needs and unique and very special.
Our favorite parts of the trip were getting to know the Tanzanian people. So warm and friendly. All were most gracious hosts. Probably the most exciting part of the trip was watching about 2,000 wildebeests cross the Mara River on two different occasions. Sadly a zebra was lost on the first crossing and a wildebeest on the second crossing. However, the crocodiles appeared not to be sad.
Thanks again for putting together such a wonderful trip. You were always fully accessible and very responsive to us as we planned the trip, often giving us the impression that we were your only client, which we know is not the case. Thank you again!!
Phil and Meg
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Email Alex and Chris | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Jessica Created our Perfect Honeymoon!
Where do I even begin?! I’m so glad Zicasso matched us up with Jessica! She was a joy to work with while planning our honeymoon. She worked with our budget to put together a trip that was exactly what we were looking for. She was so always so quick to respond and frequently checked in on us throughout this entire process. The thought of planning a big trip like this myself was so daunting, and Jessica made it so EASY. Our trip was the trip of a lifetime. This was my third time traveling to Africa and my second time on safari (South Africa was the first), so I had very high expectations going into this vacation. And this blew all of my expectations away. Not to mention, my husband is new to international travel so he was nervous about this whole experience ;) But since we’ve been home, he literally will not stop talking about what a great time he had! Our lodges, camp, and resort were all wonderful with great food, friendly staff, and we felt very comfortable. Our safari guide Ian was the absolute best! He had a sixth sense for spotting any type of game we wanted to find. He was so experienced and knowledgeable, and you can tell he is truly passionate about what he does. He was with us the entire time we were on safari, and he made sure everything went smoothly, kept track of our itinerary so we didn’t have to, and was also flexible when it came to our daily game drives. 10/10 recommend both Zicasso and Dancing Zebra. Couldn’t have done it without them!
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Email John | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This is my best safari experience.
My main goal of this safari was to see the river crossing of the great migration and Jessica delivered. From the time My wife and I arrived in Arusha to the time we left Nairobi, everything work out as expected or even better. On this trip, we stayed three nights in Northern Serengeti and three nights in North Mara Conservancy. The accommodations were different between the two areas but they were both excellent. The Mara Mara tented Lodge in Northern Serengeti is more of a luxury camp with noon light shower in the tent and the Offbeat Mara Camp in North Mara Conservancy gives guests the traditional safari experience with bucket shower in the tent. The staff were friendly and the service were great from both camps. The game drives were excellent. Our guide/driver Eddy in Serengeti and Malu in Mara were exceptional. They are experts in searching out for wildlife and are very knowledgable about the animals and birds in their area. With Eddy's planning, we saw the river crossing on day two and two more crossings on day three. We also did a safari walk and a night drive in North Mara Conservancy. Overall, we really enjoyed the safari experience and Jessica of Dancing Zebra Safari Co. did a great job in planning in detail and delivered.
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Email Helen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A majestic and humbling experience combining Vic Falls with being a participant in the vast savannah
The tour packet was informative and professionally presented, the hotel accommodations and safari camps were comfortable and they provided scrumptious fare, and the flight connections ran extraordinarily smoothly. We especially loved the rustic flavor of Chobe Under Canvas and its fresh cuisine cooked over the fire and eaten under the glittery African night sky. Kudos to Jessica for her endless hours of preparation in making our Southern Africa trip magical and full of wonder at the marvels of the MAJESTIC WILD!
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Email Neal | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable Safari Experience!
Our first safari experience! Dancing Zebra helped us prepare for our trip, providing comprehensive advice and guidelines for packing, visas, vaccinations, etc. All of our accommodations were first rate, with mosquito netting, safe drinking water, comfortable beds, private bathrooms, wifi connectivity, and helpful staff.
Our private guide, Ian, was knowledgeable, articulate and very helpful in suggesting daily itineraries. Since this was our first safari, he gave us options each day, with suggestions on how to maximize our viewing. He reminded us each day that this was our trip, and he wanted to ensure that we accomplished everything that we wanted to do. Ian showed his expertise daily in finding us to animals that we wanted to see and photograph, deftly maneuvering our car as close as possible for viewing, without disrupting the animals.
The touring vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, is relatively new, dependable, and was always washed and ready to go each morning. Our family loved the pop-up roof that enabled all of us to get an unobstructed view.
Bottom line: there were no surprises or gotchas with any of the planning and itinerary--Dancing Zebra anticipated and took care of all the details. Our biggest surprise was left to the amazing animals and landscapes that comprised our memorable experience.
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Email Therese | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Kenya Safari with the help of Dancing Zebra Co.
Jessica made the Safari part of our trip so easy. After a few calls and emails, we were set! We received our packages in the mail with instructions as to who would meet us at the airport, one night accommodations before the Safari began, and then we were off the following day to Governors Camp. An excellent camp which is open to the animals in the area. I had an elephant and her baby munching grass outside my tent the first night. Yes, there is 24-hour security outside of the tents, monitoring the area at all times!
We had an excellent driver for our three drives. We were able to see 4 if the big 5, only kissing the rhino. He was very knowledgeable about the area and also played a significant role in making our trip memorable. The food and accommodations at Governors Camp were excellent as well!
After 2 1/2 days, we were heading back to the Wilson Airport were we were again met by the local rep from Cheli and Peacock Safaris. We were hoping to take advantage of the unique gift shop at the Wilson Airport but due the later hour, they were closed. Our rep was able to make a call and we stopped at a very nice gift shop in Nairobi to pick up some final
souvenirs.
This was my first trip to Africa and Dancing Zebra Safari Co made it easy and memorable. Highly recommended!
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Email Barbara | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First class all the way!
We whole-heartedly recommend Dancing Zebras! We went to three national parks as a family. We have two kids - ages 18 and 15. Jessica from Dancing Zebras asked all the right questions and our safari was exactly what we wanted. We loved the private game drives and amazing guide.
I especially appreciated the booklet sent to us before our trip, spelling out our daily itinerary, suggested packing, tipping, etc.
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Email Rita | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing way to celebrate our anniversary
We visited northern Tanzania in February and stayed at several Nomad camps. The attention to detail and service provided by everyone at Kuro Tarangire, Entamanu, Ngorongoro, and Serengeti Safari camp was exceptional. Staff at Entamanu noticed immediately after we arrived at camp that I was congested and recommended ginger tea. By the next morning the congestion was gone and I felt great the rest of our trip. Each of our guides were very knowledgeable about their park and the animals there. They used their experience and knowledge to provide us with unique animal sightings and didn’t just follow other guides around. Camp staff was friendly and interested in our experiences. Our last night On the Serengeti camp staff surprised us with a cake decorated to celebrate our 30 anniversary, which is why we went to Tanzania.
Dancing Zebra listened to what we wanted to do and how we like to travel and put together a great trip for us. Emails were promptly responded to and Jessica always had time to take our calls. We told Jessica what we wanted and showed up to enjoy. Everything was arranged and Nomad handled all the details so we could spend every moment enjoying the parks.