African Big Cats Safaris
- Located In:
-
United States
Australia
Canada
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $380 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Justin Ford | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Safari Tour in Africa - Hands Down!
I contacted ABCS (African Big Cats Safaris) in October of 2022 to plan my wife's 50th birthday 'bucket list' trip for late January 2023. From the beginning, Justice & Naomi were amazing to help us plan it. The hardest part was trusting that we could send money by wire to a company in Africa, from the USA. I was definitely terrified I would never see the money again. I looked up other reviews of ABCS and only saw 5-stars - it seemed to good to be true. How amazing it was that it was even better! I’m so happy we trusted ABCS to do this trip. It went off without a hitch!
Our guide, Vanance Malisa was there to greet us on time, when we arrived and everything went excellent from the beginning. Initially, our flight into Killamanjaro on KLM was cancelled, so last minute, we switched to an Edelweiss flight and got the last seats. That change had us arrive 12 hours earlier than expected, but Emmanuel responded quickly on WhatsApp and arranged for Vanance to get us earlier. That was amazing!
We had purchased our Visas online ahead of time through Atlys, so that made getting through Customs upon arrival in Tanzania easier. Vanance drove us to the first night’s stay in Arusha. Along the way, he was very patient answering all our questions about what we saw as we drove along the road. He always was patient and always had an answer. He stopped at the Cultural Heritage Centre for us and we shopped for African crafts for a bit. Then we went to the Under the Shade Safari Lodge. Everyone there was great and our accommodations were great. We enjoyed time at the pool and caught up on jet lag, before a nice dinner. Emmanuel came and met with us to go over the trip ahead and ensure we were prepared. He also set expectations for safety on our trip. Great guy!
The next morning, we set off for Tarangire National Park. Vanance ensured we had plenty of wine, beer and water to drink on the drive. So much to see! After arrival at the park, Vanance was keen to get us in a spot where two female lions came out and he knew they were hungry. We can’t say enough about Vanance. It was clear he was the most experienced Guide in the park, and on all of our safaris. Other guides routinely came to him to ask for advise and information. He was the ‘king of all guides’ and we were so proud he was ours! Vanance ensured we stuck around to see the lion kill a Warthog. It was something rarely seen and so powerful and amazing!
The 2nd night was our best night - at Burunge Tented Lodge. The infinite pool and elephants out front made this experience amazing. The tents were comfortable. We could have stayed in this location for weeks.
The 3rd day was exploring along Lake Manyara through the National Park there. This was an enjoyable day which gave us a chance to see lions mating. Vanance took us to the African Galleria afterwards where we had the best cocktails of our entire trip while shopping around for t-shirts and more African crafts. That night, we stayed at Ngorongoro Marera Mountain View Lodge.
Ngorongoro Marera Mountain View Lodge was our least favorite of the trip. There was a hedgehog or other animal our chimney that kept us awake all night. The ‘massage therapists’ there turned out to also be our waitress and the gift shop clerk. They did a horrible job at their massage, with the waitress touching me inappropriately during the massage. The food was not good here either. We wouldn’t want to ever go back to stay at this location and recommend to others to not have this on their itinerary. Most expensive drinks too!
The 4th day was the best yet, exploring the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We had no idea how incredible the crater would be and Vanance, as usual, was amazing at showing us around and ensuring we saw everything we could.
At our request, Vanance took us to visit a Maasai village on the way to the Serengeti. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
Our stay in the Serengeti was at Embalakai Camps, which we liked, but probably wouldn’t go back to. The first night, our tent flooded with water. The 2nd night, we had no water at all. The food was not great. We wished we had payed to stay up one level more. None of this was the fault of ABCS.
We did the Serengeti Hot Air Balloon Safari that Vanance set up for us. That was amazing. He got us to see every animal we wanted to see on our safari - and more. My wife was teary eyed when he dropped us at the Seronera Airstrip to fly to Zanzibar at the end of the safari. Vanance felt like a member of our family. We had trust and care for him.
Continuing on to Zanzibar, ABCS did a great job setting up our flights and when we landed in Zanzibar, they had everything in place for a guide and driver to pick us up and take us on a tour of Stone Town and to our hotel in a nice modern van. It was really incredible. They also arranged for our stay at Hotel Z, which is the best hotel we have ever stayed at. EVER!
We can’t recommend African Big Cats Safaris enough. They exceeded all our expectations and we have already heard from friends that want to book through them now too, seeing how great our trip was with them.
SE
Email Bjorn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent
African Big Cats Safaris made our Safari trip 8-13/2-23 to a once in a life time trip
CA
Email David | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent in every way.
We just spent 9 days on a private safari with African Big Cats. Their attention to detail was outstanding. Our guide, Endenni, was knowledgeable, extremely friendly and an absolute pleasure to be with. He along with his colleagues behind the scenes did everything possible to make our experience the trip of a lifetime. I am thrilled to say that they exceeded our expectations from the moment we first contacted them until we said our final farewell. If you ever have the chance to do a safari in Tanzania I highly recommend you use African Big Cats. I can confidently say that you will not regret your decision.
RO
Email Mircea | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable vacation
We choose African Big Cats Safaris because they offered a complete flexible program (7 days) in the recommended area to visit for the period of my vacation (January).
And we were right with this choice. Because it was difficult to book the flights in short term, they were very flexible with the program, and they recommended and arranged for me some good modifications to comply with my requirements.
The safari experience was unique. We visited Lake Manyara, Central Serengeti, Tarangire Park, Ndutu area and Ngorongoro Park. They were parks with dream trails, and we had a lot of time to enjoy what we have seen.
Our guide, Lovoi (a person very in love with the savanna), gave us a lot of explanations during the safari regarding the animals and now we have a much better understanding of the ecosystem in the national parks of Tanzania. He showed us a lot of animals (from small marmots until the big animals). Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to find all the animals in the savanna or in the bushes.
We saw a lot of from the big five (as promised) and, also, a big number of other animals (tens of thousands of antelopes, zebras, giraffes, flamingos…). Because it was the calving period, we also saw a lot of babies, even some no older than one day walking with the adults in endless rows of animals.
We made a lot of photos and videos every day because during the games we saw always something new.
The accommodation and food were above my expectations, and everything was perfect organized. Also, the persons in the lodges and camps were willingly to help us.
I can say that this was one of my best vacations in my life.
Thank you Lovoi.
Thank you ABCS.
CH
Email Severine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
the tour operator is very accommodating and is always available to answer any questions you may have
Outstanding 5 Day Comfort Safari! We stayed in comfortable lodges with very friendly, attentive staff & super delicious food!
Our guide was Lordlugard, a super friendly guy who stayed with us throughout the tour. He is very experienced & has a huge knowledge about the animals, nature, history or culture of the country!
The safari was incredibly beautiful! Seeing all the animals in their natural environment and the different vegetations were amazing.
We highly recommend a trip with African Big Cats Safari! Ask for Lordlugard as your guide and you won't regret it!
ES
Email Miranda Belart | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience! Highly recommended!
Our experience in Tanzania during January 2023 with African Big Cats was really amazing. The guide (Endeni) that travelled with us during the trip made our experience even better. He spoke perfect Spanish which for was very important for us in order to understand everything. We were able to see all types of animals (including the Big Five). We really enjoyed the experience and would highly recommended.
Thank you African Big Cats. We look forward to coming back to visit you guys very soon.
BR
Email Flavio | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lifetime Experience with a Top Team
Since the first message the African Big Cats Safaris standed from the crowd of many safari tours companies, on replying my e-mails with special attention to my questions and needs. In the end, our choice for African Big Cats Safaris proved to be the right one. They were very helpful in making suggestions regarding safari location, itinerary and duration. The office team, (Justice and Naomi), were always easy to reach and make the changes we requested. The housing, food, transportation and logistics during the entire safari were great. At last, but not at least, we must to highlight our safari guide, Mr. Endeni Mndeme, for his kindness, knowledge and expertise on finding wild animals. Definitely he was the key for our safari experience. I truly recommend African Biga Cats Safaris!
ES
Email Gabriela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing lifetime experience with the best tour operator
My husband and I chose to do a private Safari in Africa for our honeymoon. The first question was "where in Africa?" We wanted to combine an adventurous experience with some relaxing days at the beach. Tanzania had it all! The country is not only known for having one of the best places to experience safari but also beautiful beaches on its island, Zanzibar.
Ok, we have the country, and now, which company? Truth to be told, we didn’t know anyone who could recommend a safari company so we had to search on the internet. We found African Big Cats (ABC), read some reviews, and took the risk.
From the very beginning, the people working at ABC were very open to all of our questions and eager to make us feel in good hands. We trusted our trip completely on them and, my friend, they know what they are doing. Everything was very well organized and if there was ever an issue, ABC resolved it immediately. Thank you so much btw!! We had a huge inconvenient at the beginning of the trip and they worked hardly to help us even though it wasn’t their responsibility.
The lodges were AMAZING, luxurious indeed, and, believe it or not, in the middle of the savannah - you could hear the lions walking around during the night. The people SO friendly, polite, and hardworking. We were amazed about the dedication for everyone but specially our guide, Obed. Obed was patient, kind, and knowledgeable as he guided us through the national parks. The tour was in English but later we found out that Obed speaks Spanish, French and Swahili. We spent 6 days with him and at the end be unavoidable became friends.
I can't recommend this company - and specially Obed - enough! Once in a life experience. There are no invented words yet to describe it.
THANK YOU!
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Email Robert A. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great company! Every communcation was timely and clear, while being flexible and accountable.
We had a fantastic experience with African Big Cats Safaris. They were very accommodating and thorough with all requests and helped customize a 5 day, 4 night safari that included Tarangire, Southern Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara. I would highly recommend this company. Every communication was timely and clear. Like anyone trying to book a trip like this, you just want to trust you're in good and accountable hands. We definitely were. Thank you to the whole team there that assisted us throughout the process!
The best part of the tour was our guide, Lovoi. He was a joy to have along on this amazing trip. Tons of knowledge, always up for any questions and flexible to whatever my friend and I needed or requested. He seemed to have a knack for finding unique animal interactions that we continually benefited from. We covered all of the big 5 and many, many more. There was nothing we feel we missed out on, other than booking a longer trip! Lovoi had a great attitude and an excitement as well for the sights we all shared. I learned a ton about the parks and animals, along with the Maasai culture. It was an added bonus that made the trip even better. Book with African Big Cats and ask for Lovoi!
For specific tour reference, the safari was a COMFORT NDUTU MIGRATION SAFARI. We booked a personal stay at the Four Points in Arusha the night before the tour. Great hotel. Then moved on to Eileen's in Karatu, which was very enjoyable and highly recommend. In the Serengeti we stayed at Heritage Ndutu Camp. Awesome spot. Finally we stayed at the Tanzanice Farm Lodge in Karatu. It's a lovely place, with a great purpose and well worth checking out.
Value and service for the money was excellent. It met or exceeded any expectation I had. I would not hesitate to book through them in the future.
ES
Email Fernanda Cinelli | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A serious and responsible company complies with the agreement and much more, professional guide!!!!!
We hired this company and we got it right, the Safari was wonderful, we were able to see many animals and get to know their behavior very well thanks to our guide Endeni, an expert in wild animals, the cars are comfortable and equipped with fresh drinks, good quality hotels, we recommend this company for seriousness and organization.
Good price.!!!!!!!
(automatic translation from Spanish)
