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
Jackpot is an excellent safari company
My boyfriend and choose 5 days camping safari itinerary for our safari
as we, on short-notice, joined a friend's already planned trip,
I really thank my friend for making the choices she did, and Jackpot
safaris for making our trip an awesome first safari experience. Once we
decided to make the trip, Andrew was responsive in answering our
questions via email. Our guide Mungure was great, very knowledgeable,
polite, professional, and was wonderful with our friend's two childens
He seemed as excited as we were at every animal sighting which made the
safari fun for us –
it was like we were out with a friend everyday! He could spot a leopard in
a tree hundreds of feet away! We saw things we never dreamed of seeing
like many wildebeest crossings in one day and a group of 3 lionesses get
up from a nap, hunt down and kill gazelles right in front of us then
watch as over 20 lions in their pride come join them to eat. Needless to
say, word got out and mungure was the man in the Serengeti after that! At
our camp that evening, we had a conversation with a fellow traveler who
had experienced numerous safaris all throughout Africa, and he said he had
never seen that! Our itinerary was perfect- a great mix of safari and
cultural with a visit to the beach in Zanzibar
we thank you Jackpot safaris and the team for such an amazing experience
US
Email Gabriel Moses Frank | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience on safari and Mt. Kilimanjaro climb
We don't have enough good words to say about Jackpot Safaris.
My wife and I did a 5 day Safari accommodation in luxury tents and then a successful 6 days Kilimanjaro climb.
We knew Jackpot safaris from our friends, that it was local agent, which we really wanted to deal with such kind of agency to handle our trip same way we support the local economy, indeed we did it!
Honestly and accurately left us in no doubt that we had made the right choice.
Our safari driver, Jonson was charming, humble, polite and a delight to be with in a Land Cruiser for 5 days.
Our Kilimanjaro guide “Living” treated us very well; the whole team of porters was also amazing! We made it up and down the mountain.
Sanga our cook! Provided us with the most excellent tasty food, he made us fell in love with local foods.
Nice Kilimanjaro songs from the crews during dinner, with the sounds of birds singing on the background it really was amazing and a life time experience that will forever live in my mind.
We would not hesitate to recommend Jackpot safaris. Treatment and quality of porters on the team was also very good, with Jackpot safari team, it never seemed to be in doubt to reach the highest peak of Africa “The majestic Kilimanjaro.” We will definitely recommend Jackpot safari to our friends.
Thank you Jackpot Safaris for a trip of a life time.
Email Louise Williams | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic four day safari in Serengeti with brilliant Jackpot Safaris
I want to start by thanking manager Andrew and his wonderful team at Jackpot Safaris for arranging such an incredible safari for us in Seronera area of the Serengeti.
Our trip started with us (three women aged 25 to 35) being collected from our hotel in Arusha. We were greeted by our lovely guide Johnson who treated us like royalty and spoke excellent English. The journey to the Serengeti took around five and a half hours. The drive was very smooth and the scenery, picturesque. Along the way, we stopped off at: a Maasai village (a must – an incredible experience); the Lake Manyara view point - the views of the flamingos on the lake were absolutely beautiful and; the Ngorongoro crater view point, which was simply mind-blowing. As we approached the Serengeti main gate we spotted a small pride of lions; two females and one male sleeping peacefully. This is the first time I have seen lions and I must say it was very exciting. Johnson knew lots of facts about lions and was very forthcoming with his knowledge. I felt very safe being with such an experienced guide out in the bush. We arrived at the camp just before dinner and had a lovely meal by the campfire. The tents and camping equipment were great and we had restful fist nights sleep at the camp.
Day two of our safari was most exciting, we woke up at dawn and went on an early morning game-drive. Johnson suggested going early in the morning as it is the best time to see the animals and boy was he right! We saw giraffes, elephants, zebras, impalas, water bucks and buffaloes. I couldn’t quite believe how lucky we were to see such animals in their natural habitat. It also felt as though Johnson knew exactly where to find the animals as we saw so much on our first proper game-drive. We returned to camp for lunch and went out for an afternoon game-drive. We saw more of the same animals but were fortunate to observe two male giraffes fighting – absolutely fascinating how such tall, and gangly creatures can fight and look so elegant whilst doing it! We returned to camp for sundowners and watched the sunset as herds of wildebeest and zebra migrated in the distance.
Day three was more exciting than day two. As advised by Johnson we left camp early for a game drive. Johnson was informed of a cheetah sighting nearby, so we raced to the location. We saw two cheetah cubs – one male and one female playing in the grasslands. We watched them frolicking in the grass and climbing trees for around two hours. It was amazing to witness something so special right in front of our eyes. On our way back to camp with stopped by a waterhole and saw the biggest crocodile asleep in the shade. That was very cool. Johnson said it was rare to see a crocodile in that area so we were very lucky to get a sighting.
Day four was our last but brilliant day. We ate breakfast at the camp, packed up and departed mid-morning. Johnson took us to the hippo pool – smelly but worth it to see all those cumbersome creatures basking in the water. On our way back to the Serengeti gate we were fortunate enough to see four leopards – a female with her three cubs. Johnson suggested we follow them as they didn’t look full and they would probably hunt soon. Unfortunately, we didn’t see a kill but a couple of kilometers away from leopard sighting we witnessed two lions mating!
We had a brilliant, life - changing time with Jackpot safaris. They are professional, friendly and experienced. I will definitely book my next safari with them.
US
Email Jon Cox | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Jackpot safaris arranged our safari to Tanzania
We visited Arusha, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti Park. I have visited some parks cross Africa but Tanzania in my view, rates right up there amongst the best. Of course you have to get the timing right the big herds follow the rain and we did get the timing right. But it was Jackpot safaris the delivered a very special safari. Their arrangements worked like clocwork, not easy given the remoteness and terrain, small and remote, just perfect. But it was the quality of the guides their knowledge of the fauna and flora that made it so special. The guides were the best i have enjoyed in Africa and Jackpot Safaris is a wonderful conservation conscious safari company.
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.
Email Lynsey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic experiences and excellent staff!
I've travelled twice with Jackpot - both times to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Each time the communication has been great in the lead up with Andrew going out of his way to make sure all the options were offered and our trip was designed how we wanted. We had two stellar guides in George and Albert who couldn't have been better! Our chefs (Jackson and John) kept us full to bursting with their lovely food. The experience of being in the Serengeti was amazing and, on both trips, we saw the big five - including the remarkably rare black rhino. Thank you, Jackpot, for two amazing trips!
NL
Email Femke & Flip | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jackpot and a great safari trip
Jackpot Safaris arranged everything very perfect! We had a great guide/driver, accommodations are really nice and Andrew replied all the time very quick to our e-mails during the preparation of our trip!
Thank you for the very special and nice trip and keep on the good work Jackpot Safaris!
Email Braeburn International School, Arusha | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Camping in the Rift Valley with 9 and 10 year olds
We all loved every minute of our 4 day safari investigating the tribes and geographical featuresof the Rift Valley.
The vehicles and drivers were great - with chilled water provided and the drivers being kind and friendly to the children. We had to drive off-road to meet up with the more remote tribes and it all felt like an exciting adventure - going across dry river beds and parking under baobab trees. The camp site was perfect with nice clean bathrooms, deliciously cooked fresh food each day and a pool for a refreshing swim. All the arrangements we had requested were well planned with guides to take us on our walks through the forests and to visit the different tribes. I would recommend Jackpot Safaris again.
Email Braeburn School, Arusha | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Oldupai Gorge Educational Trip
We had a great trip, collected from school and driven out to the crater rim to enjoy the panoramic views. The transport and food provided was excellent and other facilities were provided by ourselves. We were a little inconvenienced by the time taken to get through the park gate but this seems fairly unavoidable in Tanzania.
The drivers were competent and pleasant and the vehicles were reliable and well maintained so we felt safe whole time.
The children enjoyed the trip and learned a lot about our ancestors from their visit to the cradle of humanity in Oldupai Gorge.
RS
Email Dusan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very nice experience, the Jackpot safari we have managed to hovering the beauty of Tanzania
Service was excellent, accommodation and guides are also fulfilled my expectations.
I recommend Jackpot Safaris to anyone who wants to visit Tanzania and feel the spirit of Africa.