Safari Soles
- Offices In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CH
Email Nathalie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience Kilimanjaro/safari
Safari Soles was recommended by friend and we (family with kids aged 15 and 17) are really happy that we organised our Kilimanjaro und Safari trip with them.
We booked a 7d Kilimanjaro hike (Machame route) and a 7d safari and it was a terrific experience. Our contact was Bryson and he was great and speedy at answering any of our questions. He organised every think for us, starting with picking up at the airport and transfer to the hotel, all accommodation bookings, the whole Kilimanjaro hiking week, the “rest day”, the safari week and the transfer to the airport at the end. He organised nearly everything and it all worked out. Thank you so much, Bryson, for this absolute great organisation!
Also, a big thank you to Geoffrey who picked us up at the airport and accompanied us on the "rest day" between hiking and safari to Arusha to find a pharmacy and exchange office, to do small groceries and gave us the tip to visit the Cultural Heritage Centre. We are happy that we visited this place and can recommend it to everyone. Thank you, Geoffrey, for your help and support!
Kilimanjaro - Bryson met us on the arrival day with our hiking guide William. William was very patient and encouraging with us. Any questions or concerns we had he answered. William picked us up at the hotel in the morning and we went to a meeting point where we met the rest of the teams (Zacharia - assistant guide, chief and porters). Together we drove to the Machame Gate where the hike started. The hike is demanding (physically and mentally) and William and Zacharia made it easier and an enjoyable experience by keeping us laughing and always checking how we’re doing health wise. Our group of porters and the chief were awesome as well. They were always there to help. A highlight was also the meals. We never expected to eat so delicious on the hike but what the chef cooked on his little stove was incredible. Reaching the top was awesome and we are very thankful to William and Zacharia for the support. We will never forget this hike!
Safari – We met Bryson and Chadi, our safari guide, in the morning of the safari start. Chadi is a very cheerful nature, and we immediately had a good connection with each other. He was very knowledgeable on the animals and the nature. If we wanted to stop for pictures, he’d always give us plenty of time. Of course, you can’t guarantee it, but he got us the best views of animals and we were lucky to see the big 5. If there was anything we needed he was there to help. The safari jeep was comfortable what was good as you sit a very long time in the car. We made the Tarangire NP, Serengeti NP (with the migration in the North Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Lake Manyara NP; we were all in all 7d on the road. To enjoy the various overnight facilities, we spent nights in the tents, in tented camps and lodges. Thank you to Bryson for the organisation. A big thank you goes to Chadi for this great adventure and for the for the many impressions.
We would definitely recommend booking with Safari Soles.
US
Email Mark K | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Soles was excellent, highly recommended
On Safari, we went out with Isaac. Andrew drove us locally, to our hotel, and he was incredibly engaging and sunny. Isaac was dedicated, cheery, and knowledgeable. His dedication to making sure we really saw things, but comfortably was very apparent--he kept in regular contact with other drivers about the status of the great migration and recommended our starting times, on one hand, but if he had to suggest an early time he was almost apologetic.....i felt bad, and told him we were good for it, we had a week in Tanzania to see as much as we could, and months to catch up on our sleep later. Isaac always made us comfortable, and we truly enjoyed his company.
As for Safari Soles, we also had the opportunity to meet Bryson...and I am sure I sent him way more questions than he really needed (he's gotta be a busy guy) but he always answered--from recommending an itinerary when we were just starting to plan to making changes as needed, to answering stupid American questions like "what do we wear?" he was patient, detailed, and excellent.
Safari Soles does multiple tours, multiple places....in discussion w Bryson of what we'd most like to see, how long we had, lodging preferences, and time of year, we did 3 days in the Serengetti and 1 day in Ngorongoro crater, all from Arusha. That wasn't even a direct tour offering, it just matched the places we wanted to see, the animals, and a desire to hit the great migration.
What you see will depend on time of year, luck, etc., but as a running total we saw: Leopard (very far away but you could see the head up in a pile of rocks)
Lions: dozens, including males, females, and even babies
2 cheetahs
1 serval cat
Maribou storks
secretary birds
tons of flamingoes and vultures
various eagles
ostriches
warthogs
wildebeest
zebra
multiple antelope species
crocodiles
hippoes
elephants
cape buffalo
hyena (also heard at night--solitary hyenas make a really cool "awwwww...ooop!" call that was really surprising)
jackals
giraffes
and i am sure I forgot a few, but the safari is really incredible--you'll see more animals than you'd ever guess from being someplace as developed and fragmented as America, and the scale of size is hard to imagine--elephants are big in a circus, but elephants that are clearly taller than your safari jeep are something else entirely.....
Safari Soles seems to be a somewhat mid-sized, mid-priced outfitter, and I have not worked with a bunch of other players, but I really, truly liked working with everyone at Safari Soles, and if I were to get back to Tanzania, I would book them again, in a heartbeat. I honestly couldn't have been happier with them.
We don't review a lot, we're lazy. But we try to believe in Karma, and giving credit where credit is due--we put out feelers with several outfitters and chose Safari Soles for price and reviews, and as I said, I could not be happier with that choice--they totally earned the high marks they have in tripadvisor. And as a side note, Isaac and Bryson both have standing invites if they ever need a place to hang in the US, which we do for even fewer people. Again, they really were the best....
PT
Email Anabela | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Safari
An incredible experience!!!!
The interaction with the company was impeccable. They answered all our questions and helped whenever we asked.
Our guide Simon was tireless. He managed to show all the animals I was expecting and a few more. In addition to helping me take amazing photos on my phone.
Our cook was Action. We asked him to make traditional food and it was very good.
Please do not ignore the company's warnings about how cold it is at night in Ngorongoro.
PT
Email Daniela | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible Experience
What an amazing experience! We were a group of five people from Portugal and we all absolutely loved it. Simon was our guide and he was excellent - Good driver, good teacher and a really funny guy. He maged to show us a lot, there was nothing we would like to see and we didn't...we have seen the big five in 1 day!
The car was great, it had all the conditions, including plugs to charge our fones/devices.
The experience in the tends was good, but be aware it can get very cold in Ngorongoro camping park. And a warm shower won't be possible everytime...
Action was our cooker and I have to say I really enjoyed every meal.
Overall I had a incredible experience and totally recommend Safari Soles Tours.
Incredible experience
What an amazing experience! We were a group of five people from Portugal and we all absolutely loved it. Simon was our guide and he was excellent - Good driver, good teacher and a really funny guy. He maged to show us a lot, there was nothing we would like to see and we didn't...we have seen the big five in 1 day!
The car was great, it had all the conditions, including plugs to charge our fones/devices.
The experience in the tends was good, but be aware it can get very cold in Ngorongoro camping park. And a warm shower won't be possible everytime...
Action was our cooker and I have to say I really enjoyed every meal.
Overall I had a incredible experience and totally recommend Safari Soles Tours.
PT
Email Susana | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Impeccable
The team was always super friendly and reliable. They complied with everything. The driver Simon put a lot of effort into being able to see the animals and to take the best pictures. The car was well equipped to charge batteries and cell phones. They provided all camping equipment, including sleeping bags. The Action cook was impeccable and always provided vegan options. We saw the big 5 in one day! I loved the experience!
(automatic translation from Portuguese)
PT
Email Pedro Rodrigues | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simon - The multitask man ☺️
We've made this 4 day safari and it was just ... GREAT. We were a group of 5 people and we had the privilege to have Simon as our "crazy" driver
Email Daniel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I only need one word "Reliable"
Amazing experience, loved every second of it. Could not have find a better team (Simon our driver and Action out cook) to make us feel welcomed and safe. They made all that was possible and even the almost impossible (ALL BIG 5 IN ONE DAY
IE
Email Rory Quirke | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, Excellent Company and People . Above and Beyond our Expectations
Booking a safari with no experience can be a daunting task. For us, Bryson at Safari Soles was expert at ensuring the booking process was as easy as possible and then once we arrived delivered a trip far beyond our wildest expectations with stunning lodges and a safari guide we could only dream of.
We did 7 days total with Safari Soles. One night on arrival in Arusha followed by a day trip to Tarangire and a stay in “Farm of Dreams” in Karatu, to break up the drive to the Serengeti. Then on to the Serengeti for two days and nights at Ang’ata tented lodge followed by a stay at Ang’ata’s sister lodge in Ngorongoro with our last safari day at Ngorongoro and a drive back to Arusha with a final night’s stay there before we left. We also opted for a private safari, so it was just the two of us in the car plus our driver (if you can afford it, this is definitely the way to go).
The accomodations were 5 star to us and completely outdid our expectations (look them up separately).
I can’t say enough about how professional Bryson was throughout every part of booking our trip. He answered every question exactly and in a timely fashion. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble. It was an absolute pleasure to deal with Bryson and his company. In truth, we selected Safari Soles due to Bryson’s responsiveness over other companies we enquired with (and the reviews, of course!)
On the day of our arrival to Kilimanjaro airport we were met and driven to our accommodation at Karibu Heritage hotel, which was basic, but served its purpose as a stop-gap in Arusha.
Our Safari then began as we were collected by our guide Simon at the hotel in our Safari Land Cruiser. A quick note here to say that the car was in excellent condition, had a charging plug at every seat for cameras and phones etc. as well as a fully stocked fridge, with wine, beer and water. We could see other people across the 5 day safari travelling with other companies that were not as lucky with many breakdowns and engines that struggled to start. There was none of that with our well maintained car and we really learned the value of this as Simon could turn off the engine at any point to allow us take still pictures without fear that the car wouldn’t restart.
The safari itself was incredible, we saw all the “Big 5” by day 3, plus many more. It’s well worth a visit to each of the three parks as each is so different and offers not only different landscapes, but also different concentrations of animals. If however you’re short on time, in our day trip to Tarangire we saw almost everything we came to see, but you can’t beat the Serengeti if you can make it there, but you need to give it two days at least as it’s so vast. If we had to leave one out, it would be Ngorongoro, but that’s not to say it wasn’t incredible too.
We can quite honestly say that the trip was made by our guide Simon Juma. There are no words for how amazing he was. Not only is he a wonderful person who we thoroughly enjoyed being with for our five days together, his knowledge of and passion for safari is second to none. He has truly fantastic English and an equally good sense of humour. He was great fun, but also patient and professional, always taking into account how we wanted the trip to go. He has the unbelievable skill of knowing animal behaviours better than they know it themselves! He anticipated every move, knowing when to wait at a sighting and when to move on. He proved this skill to us time and time again, as even when we were the last of 20 cars to come across something he would always position us so we would be in the very best position. Simon’s skills and knowledge gave us front row seats to everything, we felt that we had truly landed with someone special in having Simon as our guide. He was relentless in ensuring we saw everything we came to see and had the driving skills and knowledge of the parks and their back roads away from the big crowds to make it happen. Each day we shared a fantastic cooked lunch, not out of a cardboard box like many other tours we saw. We were really very well looked after. Simon became so much more than a guide and driver to us across our 5 days.
As far as we’re concerned you can’t go wrong booking with Safari Soles.
Bryson and Simon, thank you for a trip of a lifetime, we’ll be back soon!
Email Claire | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari experience
We had the best experience with Safari soles, would definitely recommend them to anybody looking for an unforgettable trip. All staff we encountered were extremely friendly, welcoming and informative. Everything was well organised and all queries were answered. It is also good value for money.
We went on the 4 day safari (Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti camping) with Simon as our guide. His experience meant that we were always in the right place at the right time. He was also very knowledgeable. Best safari guide! Honestly a once in a lifetime experience.
We also did the hot springs, materuni waterfall and coffee tour with Andrew. This was a great experience. I think everyone with an extra day in Arusha should do this. Andrew was also great to be with for the day. He answered all our questions and we learnt so much about the local culture.