our staff at jackpot office in arusha
Jackpot Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB & IGS-http://interpretiveguidessociety.org/
- Tour Types:
- Budget camping tours that can start every day (clients assist with camp chores)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
5 day safari Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Crater.
Booked safari from USA. paid 50% for deposit so I didn't have to carry as much cash to pay balance. The deposit was a knowledged as soon as it was received. I dealt with Andrew who responded immediately and was easy to work with. He also is just a great guy to deal with and talk to. They also took care of hotel arrangements and airport transport. The safari was exceptional with a great guide who was knowledgeable, spoke great English, and was great to be with. The food was very good and the soup each night was exceptional. I had no problems at all. There were 3 of us on safari and everything was cool.
CH
Email Nicolas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I would recommend Jackpot Safaris to my best friends
Where do I start? Planning a safari isn't an easy thing to do. Of course one can read things about the parks, but what really is relevant and valuable is the advice from locals on the current/actual situation. You hardly get this on the internet, you can get it from the operators in Tanzania. Andrew the manager and George the guide were very helpful in this respect, before and during the trip. Without this excellent exchange and advice, I would have ended up wasting my time and doing the wrong things like other people we crossed.
Generally speaking, I think the key factor of success and satisfaction is the operators staff, especially the guide. The equipment, car, food etc. is quite the same for all operators. The size of the company doesn't really matter either. Again, it's all about the knowhow and experience of the staff, don't worry about the rest. If you are thinking about touring without a guide, forget about it. Not that it's not possible, but you will loose an enormous lot of time figuring out how everything works and it will be difficult to communicate with other drivers/guides. Having a guide will make a huge difference. I can confirm that our Guide George was far better at his job than guides of other operators we met.
What else? I wasn't happy about the food to be honest. If I ever go for a tour again I would remember to speak about this before the tour starts. Once the car is packed that is it. You eat what is brought along ( for those camping like we did). I would have preferred African food rather than European food. Besides there are so many things which can and went wrong when an African cook serves European food.
Costs. I still can't figure out why the tours are so expensive. But let me tell you, I researched and negotiated with several operators and finally went with Jackpot for approximately USD 200 per person per day. We stayed at the campsites and slept in tents 5 days / 4 nights. There were two slightly cheaper deals from operators with foreign investors. And a lot of operators with higher prices. If you go on safari and know that it will cost a lot of money, I recommend doing business with local companies! Else a great percentage of your investment will stay in your home country or get transferred to foreign investors.
I would recommend Jackpot Safaris to my best friends. And I would advise them to contact the manager Andrew and do business with him directly rather than going through a travel aganecy in the home country.
DK
Email Julie S. Rasmussen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly, fair and fantastic!
Because of only positive reviews from others, we asked Jackpot Safaris to arrange our Kilimanjaro climb. We didnt regret it! Andrew (the owner) was both fast, friendly and honest in replying to our emails (and many many questions), making us feel safe about the arrangements before leaving. The climb was amazing and the guides Livingstone and Sanga and the rest of the crew did everything to fulfill our needs and to help us achieve Uhuru Peak, while being very attentive of us every step of the way, making sure we were ok and able to continue. Based on this positive experience we used Jackpot Safaris for our 5 day tent-safari as well. Once again, we had a fantastic guide (Yassin) and cook (John) who did all they could to give us an unforgettable experience. And they did! We saw all the Big Five, including being only meters away from both lions, leopards and elephants and seeing vultures and hyenas fight for a dead animal right next to the car. We cannot recommend Jackpot Safaris enough and will definitely use them again if we return to Tanzania.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Personal good company for Safari and Kilimanjaro
Very nice experiance with this company. Personal contact with the owner of this company and the nicest people working for him. Especially the guides (Augustine and Livingstone) they make the differance!
Worth every dollar. Good price, under promise and over dilliver!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great time with excellent driver guide and nice accomodations
The communication was good, the service even better, especially the driver guide excelled my expectations, we saw a lot of animals and were often the first ones to spot them, some of the accomodations also excelled my expectations and all of them were very nice. The tour was therefore great.
NL
Email Lotte | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy and very well organised.
Very reliable organisation. Organised one of the best experience we ever had. Andrew was very easy to communicate with and he was able to organise an amazing 3 day Safari for us. We stayed in the most beautiful lodges in the middle of the serengeti and went to ngorogoro krater on the last day. We were picked up perfectly on time at our accommodations and were brought back on the last day. Everything was well arranged and made sure that we were comfortable. Thank you for the amazing experience!!!
NL
Email Lotte M | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The most amazing trip with Jackpot Safaris!
We had the most amazing experience with Jackpot Safaris! Andrew organized the perfect safari trip and is really thinking along with you! Our driver Bakari was great, he was patient and alert which resulted in seeing all of the big five and many more animals! The food cooked by John was delicious! Thankyou Jackpot Safaris for this unforgettable trip!
NL
Email Madelief vermeulen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect
We had an amazing safari trip with our very experienced tour guide Bakari, who had a lot of knowledge about the wild life and was very kind and patience with us. Also our chef John provided us from good food everyday. We are very glad we were tipped by Dr. Chirangi from the Shirati hospital, who recommended Jackspot safari’s.
NL
Email Els | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari jackpot is really a jackpot, with very good food, big 5!
Very good Safari, big 5 seen! Good food! Food is ready as soon as we arrive at the camping spot. Very patient driver! (Good tip from chirangi, kmt shirati hospital)
(automatic translation from Dutch)
NL
Email Robbert | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kind, knowledgable and involved with his guests.
Our tour was excellently planned and prepared. Meals were provided for and ready everything we arrived at our destination and the food was delicious every time. Our tour guide, Joe, was incredibly nice and did everything to make us feel at home and suit our needs, he was kind and very knowledgable. There were 6 of us between the ages of 23 and 25 and we can all highly recommend this organisation!