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
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Email Deedee | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
E-trip provided wonderful service, an excellent guide, and a truly wonderful experience.
Ben and Aurelie Jennings, the tour operators, were fantastic. We had to postpone our original trip and there was no problem. We were welcomed in Arusha by the Jennings and a wonderful lady (Jo) from J & J Guesthouse. Our driver, Amiri, was not only very personable, but thoroughly knowledgeable in all aspects for our trips to Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, knowing both the identities and ecology of the animals (including birds), geology, history, plants, culture, etc. Ben provided us with very nice Zeiss binoculars which made game viewing so great (better than the binocs that I had taken), as well as books about the wildlife and ecology. The trips to all three places were unbelievably fantastic, and we just couldn't get over everything we saw. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, around the next corner were three lionesses sleeping in a tree next to the road. Ben also scheduled a trip to Ruaha NP in southern Tanzania, which was different compared to the Serengeti, but also wonderful. He had suggested Mdonya Old River Camp, and it too was wonderful. Our guide and driver there were also fantastic, and we identified another 80 species of birds (in addition to the 100 from the other 3 parks), and even got to see African wild hunting dogs. I can't say enough good things about the entire trip, and would highly recommend using e-trip, which provided so many good recommendations, great scheduling, and fantastic people and accommodations for the safaris.
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Email Trina | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari!
My sisters and I planned our safari in Tanzania though E-Trip Africa and could not have been more pleased every step of the way! Ben helped up plan our itinerary and was so helpful. He was quick to respond to any questions we had and gave us several options for lodging in the three parks where we stayed (Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and the central Serengeti). I also appreciated the transparency of cost...it was the only travel company that broke down the costs for the safari line by line. We looked into three other safari companies and they all were more expensive for the exact same or slightly inferior lodgings!
After a long wait to get our visas in Tanzania, we were happily surprised to see that Ben and Amiri were there to greet us! On our way to our hotel in Arusha, Ben filled us in on what to expect on the safari and answered all of our questions. It immediately put us at ease and we were excited to begin our adventure.
As for the safari experience itself, we felt SO lucky to have Amiri as our driver and guide. He is an expert at identifying animals, animal behavior, foliage, cultural history, etc. We learned so much during our game drives with him! He was able to spot game very far away that we easily missed. We saw many lions, several leopards, a couple of cheetahs, and a wide assortment of other animals thanks to his eagle eyes! Amiri was so pleasant and accommodating. Each morning we would go over a game plan for the day with Amiri. We were never disappointed! We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our game drives...even on the bumpy dusty roads.
Our accommodations were superb and were even better than what we had expected. Many thanks to Ben for recommending The Roving Bushtops camp in the central Serengeti. After I had told him what type of accommodation we wanted to stay in while in the bush, he gave me a short list of places we might like. They all looked great, but we ended up choosing a newer camp--The Roving Bushtops. It was our favorite lodging, and I'm glad we had three nights there to enjoy all that the camp had to offer!
I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed working with Ben and Amiri! Every expectation we had was surpassed--from the lodgings to the game drives to the kindness of the Tanzanian people we met along the way. I would highly recommend E-Trip Africa to anyone planning a safari--you will definitely be in good hands!
Could not have been better!
E-Trip Africa exceeded our expectations! This was a very large investment for us to take this trip so there was trepedition in trusting someone else to make the arrangements, but we could not have been happier with the service that we received from E-Trip Africa. The staff has great firsthand knowledge to share which allowed us to make better choices for accommodations based on what we intended to visit. The communication was extremely timely, the information we received was detailed and well presented and everything was perfectly arranged for us at each location. Thank you so much Ben and E-Trip Africa for arranging an absolutely wonderful vacation for us!
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Email Zac | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best Guides and Service in the Serengeti
We recently organized a safari with E-Trip Africa. The customer service that we received was exceptional. During the planning of our trip, they provided excellent inside information that is only possible from a company that has significant and experience in the park and understands their client's needs. Communication was a breeze and all our questions were always answered completely. Our guide was fantastic, showed us some of the best parts of the park (and animals) and clearly listened to what we wanted to see. Overall, I feel that we received unparalleled service at a great price. I highly recommend E-Trip Africa for anyone planning a trip to East Africa.
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Email Nathan Yanchak | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Awesome Safari Company
From the trip inquiry to our final departure, we felt completely taken care of at every step. I sent a lot of inquires out for our Ugandan Safari and E-Trip gave the most responsive and clearest quote of their different packages. They were extremely responsive to my questions and requested changes. This level of service carried over to our safari. We met our guide who was very attentive in double checking everything along the way to insure we had no issues during our trip. The safari by exceeded all our expectations. I would definitely use E-Trip again in the future.
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Email Buckeye Bill | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
From the moment we first met at the airport, until we were dropped off for our return flight, everything exceeded my expectations.
The hotel was great, and the trip to the coffee plantation and waterfall were wonderful.
The hike to the summit was more than wonderful, I’m very glad we trekked the Lamosho route that E-Trip recommended and did it on the full moon night. Davis and Magnes, our guides were great. They were very professional but also very personable. We could tell that they genuinely cared for our health and that we had a successful trip. During the hiking and in the evenings we all had a lot of fun together. Additionally, all of the porters were excellent, I don’t know how they can carry all the equipment up that mountain.
And the food was fantastic, there’s too much of it, but I tried my best to not waste any.
So I would like to thank E-Trip Africa they are running a great organization. I
When I travel back for a safari I will certainly be using E-Trip Africa.
Climbing Kilimanjaro with two buddies taking the 8 day Lemosho route
The trip was magical! E-Trip Africa provided outstanding service. We had a guide (Davis), assistant guide (Magnus), and sixteen super star porters. The food was delicious, the tents spacious, and the overall support above average! Luckily we only had one day of rain, which also enhanced the experience. The lodging around the trek was above expectations, especially the food. All and all, E-Trip provided a tremendous bang for the buck! Thank you Ben for the wonderful experience and memories!
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Email Fergus Lohan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent customer service, great guide, vehicle and price.
Hi, i delayed a bit writing this but i still remember! It was unforgettable!! We went on a four day trip to Ndutu and Serengeti last month February 2016. During the planning stages Ben the manager and his team were very helpful and quick to respond by email and make great suggestions to suit our needs. Having had a kind of bad experience the year before with another operator that Started in Africa(!!! ), we were anxious to get it right this time. Which we did. Well E-trip did. We Left Arusha on time well organised with a great safari vehicle. We got to know our guide Amiri as a stand up guy, really a genuinely nice guy who was happy to talk about everything, politics, history, the future and of course he has a great knowledge of the wildlife, impressing even us who thought we knew everything from watching David Attenborough! We certainly did not know everything. The camp in Ndutu, Lagarja Flycatcher camp was a fantastic choice by Ben, right in the bush within reach of all the hotspots. Really big tents with beds in them and hot water is provided. The lunchboxes were far superior to others i've had and the staff at the camp are very professional and friendly, shout out to Laurent the camp manager he's a good laugh. One word of advice to anyone planning a short safari , focus on one area. We went to Serengeti also on the 3rd day and it was just too much driving. My bad. I made the call. Anyway to sum it all up, last year with another operator that started in Africa we had 5 punctures, poor organisation and a guide with poor english. This year with E-trip we had zero punctures, excellent organisation and Amiri, a great guide.
All the best.
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Email Jonathan Small | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
There is no way we can do our trip justice in one sentence.
Words can not begin to describe the safari eTrip Africa provided for my family and me. From the initial contact 10 months prior to our departure date, to the selecting of the accommodations, to picking daily activities, and through the actual tour, eTrip Africa could not have been more patient and accommodating.
Our initial contact with eTrip Africa was with Aurelie. Aurelie made sure we understood everything from day 1. From help with accommodations (we ended up with a mixture of tented camps, luxury tented camps, and lodges), medical requirements, travel insurance (we ended up using Worldwide Travel Group), outfitting (we got outfitted by Tent and Trails in NYC), and mundane questions (like what type of electrical outlets are in Africa, is there wi-fi, etc), Aurelie was always there to assist us.
Our arrival in Kilimanjaro was our first exposure to Ben from eTrip Africa. He helped us load up our car (our car would become our mobile home away from home for the next 8 days), introduced us to our driver Yusuph (more about him later) and explained our itinerary to us on our drive to the African Tulip (a quaint boutique hotel in Arusha).
After a welcome night sleep and a filling breakfast, we headed out on our safari. Yusuph provided us with insight into the African culture and the history of the area. I can honestly say that without Yusuph our trip would not have been half as enjoyable. He is a wonderful tour guide (not to mention being unbelievable behind the wheel of our Toyota Land Cruiser)! My daughter recently got into photography and Yusuph never lost his patience while she waited for the "perfect shot" or "just the right angle". As a result, we have to wade through almost 11,000 pictures (that's right, 11,000 pictures in 8 days)!
Coming from a family of travelers, this African Safari was up against some pretty stiff competition. It was up against trips to Europe, Japan, Costa Rica, Mexico, Israel, and various Caribbean Islands. I can honestly say that my son and daughter have both proclaimed this trip as "the best trip of my life" and my wife is still saying she can't believe she was in Africa.
Our only regret is not being able to contact Yusuph to thank him again for making this trip truly a once in a lifetime experience.
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Email CB | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience!
The safari tour and accomodations were beyond our expectation! Our driver/guide was very friendly and accommodating.