Meet the Team - eTrip Africa
E-Trip Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATA, IATAN, IGS, KPAP & CODE
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Soula | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience
Everything about our safari was incredible- the parks, the accommodations, and best of all, the driver-guides!
NO
Email Karl & family of 7 - age 5 to 70 years | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible, unforgettable lifetime experience !
It's a risky task choosing a tour operator from all the options out there. The email exchanges with Ben however made it easy to choose E-Trip Africa. He and Aurelie was extremely responsive, dedicated and professional. We felt they would go the extra mile to make sure everything would work ut to fulfill our desires and satisfaction.
The tour became a success - to a large extent thanks to David and Eliamini, our two drivers. Two wonderful, friendly persons and excellent, knowledgable guides which we and particularly the 3 children got very fond of - they will be missed .
Ben, keep up the great work of transparency, humility and care that was extended to us throughout the safari.
I do not hesitate to recommend Ben and E-Trip Africa to friends and others.
Email marissa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We can't wait to go back and will obviously travel with E-Trip
I've been to S.A. a few times on luxury safaris. This was our first time to the Tanzania/Kenya region. Because there are so many operators, the most important factors for me in choosing a company were: price transparency, having a local office, and knowledgeable/responsive. Payment via online invoice was an added bonus.
We chose E-Trip Africa because Ben and his family are local (but he is ex-pat from US, so communication is much easier), and he was always prompt at responding, listened to what we asked for while sharing his insights, gave the price breakdowns for everything, and was obviously knowledgeable about the circuit(s) to give great recommendations. His correspondences were by far the most organized, and that carried over to our trip. Everything was planned perfectly and he met us for breakfast in Arusha. He obtained SIM cards for us ahead of time and even lent us a tripod when I left ours behind.
A lot of operators decline to show it, but line by line cost breakdown helped me choose our lodgings and transfers more effectively to stay within budget. We chose a mix of budget and luxury accommodations between Tanzania and Kenya and a small part overland and the rest fly-in and were thrilled with the trip. A lot of operators didn't want to quote both countries because of our time constraints (9-10 days) but our itinerary was a good pace for us and we were able to experience hiking around Ngorongoro, the greenness of the central Serengeti, and all of the perks of staying in the Mara North Conservancy. For first-timers, I think 3 areas was a great way to determine our favorite parts (but really they end up all being favorites) to concentrate on when we return. I do not hesitate to recommend this company to others.
Interesting eye-opener into the African continent
Well worth while; I did not think, I would see such abundance of wildlife
Email Edward | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic experience for Serengeti dream trip
It's a daunting task choosing a tour operator from all the options out there. We eventually chose E-Trip because they had both US and Africa offices, were very organized with the itinerary options, and were very transparent with all the costs. This allowed us to easily customize our trip, mix-and-match options, and still stay within budget. They did not try to push anything on us and listened to all of our requests.
I must've asked a million questions but they were patient and answered every one of them. A lot of my questions were related to DSLR photography gear and equipment. Ben was able to answer all these questions and offered lend me some of his equipment (i.e. tripod, bean bags, etc.). I was able to reduce the weight and size of my luggage bag.
They use the standard pop-top vehicles seen throughout the Serengeti. Their vehicles are equipped with charging ports so we were able to keep our devices charged at all times. Not all camps/lodges had easy charging stations so this was a big plus for us. The vehicle also has wifi so we were able to stay in contact with friends/family back home.
We got lucky and saw all of the Big 5 by our 3rd day. However, even if we didn't see them all, I wouldn't hold it against E-Trip. Keep in mind that nature is unpredictable and you can't guarantee an animal sighting.
On our last day, Ben and Aurelie invited us into their home to freshen up before our scheduled 28-hr flight home. When we got to the airport, we found out FastJet had cancelled our flight to DAR, and we would miss our connecting flights home. The airport agents and phone agents weren't helpful and would not rebook us on a new flight home. Luckily, I was able to reach Ben and he came through for us. He rebooked us on a new flight, got our airline fees waived, and even arranged a last-minute hotel and airport transfer for us in Dar es Salaam. Although our tour with E-Trip was technically over, Ben continued to work for us and made sure we got on a flight home. No thanks to FastJet!
There weren't as many reviews for E-Trip as some other more popular operators, but we really liked their transparency and communication. Obviously, we're completely happy with our decision to book with them. Our next trip to Africa will be with E-Trip again.
Email Stacey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hidden gem of a company!
Honestly, my husband and I were skeptical about letting someone else plan our honeymoon...let alone a company with a handful of reviews found online. BUT...E-Trip Africa ended up being such a wonderful decision. Ben helped with all of the planning, and Nick our guide/driver was excellent. We were taken care of from the beginning with all of my questions about what to pack, how much money to bring, etc. Ben was patient and made sure to follow up with me and worked with our budget to be able to get us the honeymoon we had imagined. I would recommend them with no hesitations!
Email Scott heller | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
More than I ever Dreamed of....
We struggled getting answers from so many companies until we found Ben. He listened to all our needs and set us up on a trip of a lifetime! We are seasoned travelers and everything he said we would get came true. He set us up with super reliable venues and hand picked our guide. He was smart, clear and so full with info on every animal and bird. We chose to fly to South Tanzania and Ben actually met us at the airport to assure there was no confusion. Seamless, hassle free, super high quality. These characteristics were just what we want when spending a lot on travels in a maze of questionable operators! THe best we could have dreamed for.
CA
Email Margaret T.S. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We became like family.
Our E-Trip Africa Safari more than lived up to expectations. Our sleeping quarters were excellent, our drivers were friendly, knowlegable and accommodating, we were fed well and generously, and we saw all the animals we dreamed of!
Email Jaz | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
highly professional, well organised and incredibly fun - we loved it!
From the moment we arrived we knew our experience was going to be great. We were well received and it was great to meet with Ben beforehand - he even met with us at the end of our trip.
Every place we stayed at was of good quality, all had wonderful staff and amazing food. Our guide looked after us so well too.
Everything was so well organised from the time of booking to being dropped at the airport - we cannot fault them at all.
Would highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience the best national parks of Tanzania.
A well planned and diverse experience touching all aspects of Tanzanian life
The tour was well managed with great drivers who were always friendly and well informed. The itinerary was great, including a wide variety of wildlife in the parks and a very moving experience visiting markets and school in Karatu Village. The only shortcomings were the rather hurried drive through Lake Manyara Park after the stop at the hot springs, and the long drive to and from the Oldapi Gorge for quite a short stay. But these were minor problems and the whole experience was very enjoyable. The accomocations were excellent in all cases as were the vehicles.
Reply from E-Trip Africa
Posted on Mar 6, 2017Hi Roger. I am glad that overall you were quite happy with the trip. I also feel that your itinerary was rushed. We advised the organizers of your trip that they were trying to fit in too much. Of course it is hard to understand the distances to the different sights until you have been here. Hopefully, next time they do take our advice which would have given you more time to enjoy Lake Manyara National Park (one of my favorite parks) and also Oldupai Gorge. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to having you join us again on your next safari.