Team in Tarangire National Park
Gecko Adventure Tanzania
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TATONA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $195 to $950 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Michelle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous Experience
Everything worked perfectly on our 3 day trip to Selous. Our driver was knowledgable, personable and punctual. He took great care of us and we had a lovely time.
The packed luches from the bush camp left a little to be desired but everything else exceeded our exectations.
AE
Email Adele | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had to get the bus back
First I would like to point out that out driver was Brilliant the whole way through. He could not do more to help us (his 7 month pregnant wife picked us up from DAS bus station to take us back to our hotel.
Booking was very easy and effective, the booking agent came to our hotel on the morning of pick up to collect the money from us (I think it is expensive, especially with the quality of car we were provided with).
The car was ancient (it never made it back from the trip) we got a flat tyre 2 hours into the journey (fine, it happens) then another few hours in, the car breaks down and take 2+ hours to fix (meaning the journey ended up taking 10 hours to reach the safari).
Lunch on the way to the Safari (not the modern looking stop) was lovely. It was a traditional buffet lunch.
The hotel at the safari was basic but clean and quite close to the Mikumi National park.
The safari was a great experience, our guide was knowledgeable and made the safari a lot of fun. The guys could not explain things enough and went out of their way to make sure we saw as much as possible.
Unfortunately, our trip back was a disaster!!
Our car broke down again in pretty much the same spot it had been fixed the day before. Except this time we were taken to the local mechanics place (off the main road) and were left in the car for 3 hours only to be told it would be $90 USD to have someone else drive us back or we could get the bus or wait another 4 hours for another car to pass on its way back to DAS.
We were not offered any refund from the company and I suspect that much of the cost of getting us back fell onto our driver (not the company we had paid $400USD EACH to). Both these point I find unprofessional and unacceptable. Only when we demanded did the company offer us a 'free' taxi back to the airport the next day'.
So all in all our experience was tainted (but not completely ruined) by poor quality transport provided by an expensive safari provider!
I hope the driver was not punished for the mishap (I suspect he was).
Email Hitesh | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything as promised
Rama and his team did a great job - all the way from picking me up from the airport to dropping me back after 10 days.
All the arrangements were as planned and the safaris / accommodation lived up to expectations.
I would recommend Rama without hesitation and am already thinking of using him for my next adventure!
Great
The guide was good. We've been in north serengeti and everithing was perfect. Lot of animals of different kinds!!! Food and camps very good.
US
Email sj | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
awesome
We were a bit skeptical about booking a safari ourselves over the internet, but Rama answered many questions for us through direct emails before we made a final decision. We were very happy with the experience. Samir, our driver/guide, was quite knowledgeable about all the animals, a skillful driver over "washboard" gravel roads, and willing to answer our cultural questions as well. Each day I thought must be the highlight of the trip; it just couldn't get better, and the next day we'd see something new and unexpected. Samir was very diligent about trying to help us see the animals in which we were most interested. We marveled at his ability to spot a leopard lying on a limb three football field lengths away and point it out to us. His love of all the animals was evident. We started at Ngorongo the first day and spent the night in the Rhino Lodge. The lodge was the only disappointment of the trip. It was nearly impossible to flush the toilet, there was no bottled water in the room, and the food was mediocre. The stay at the Kati Kati tented camp the next 2 nights was delightful. The tent was roomy and very clean, and for our safety, guides walked us to and from our tent to the eating tent. I heard lions "talking" one night: quite a thrill. The food was good and taking a "gravity shower" was actually a fun adventure. We spent 2 days watching elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, and more wildebeests and zebras than we could count. Because we went from the Serengeti to Tarangire the fourth day was largely spent in travel, but we still saw many animals and Maasai herding their cattle, sheep and goats along the way. The last camp, Maramboi, was luxurious. The tent was huge with a wooden ceiling, floor to ceiling screening and a small wooden porch for viewing animals. We awoke the next morning to the sound of zebras munching the grass right next to our tent. We wished we had another night to stay in this camp. It was a wonderful experience.
FR
Email Lionel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Family safari in south of Tanzania
Gecko has been very reactive for the preparation of the Safari with mails exchange from France. They have tailored the trip with my recommandations. No surprise during the safari, everything was perfectly organised
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing safari planners!!
very well organized trip to selous . First trip for a safari with my husband to Africa and we had alot of questions thanks to Rama for the patience to anwser all our questions and help us make a choice on which safari is better based on our available days.our emails were answered promptly and we were given options to choose from.Also gecko helped us book flights and accommodation. We did have a great time thanks to gecko for putting everything together. We will definitely consider gecko in the future too.
FR
Email Pauli & Laurent | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A breath taking Safari !
Our Safari was perfect from the beginning to the end !, very personalized, warm welcome, transportation was in a real "safari car" (we were really excited), the aircraft was a really good experience too. We stayed at Selous River Camp, amazing place! I have no words to describe the atmosphere, it was breathtaking. During our stay we were guided by Said, who showed us how amazing and beautiful the parc is. He knew exactly how to track all the animals around the parc. It was nice to spent our safari experience with him.
We stayed only three days in this paradise, (not enough for us to see all of the "big five"!, but we loved what we saw!), we would loved to spent more time.
Thanks Gecko for the organisation, thank you Rama, you were really helpful, thank you Said for all your knowledge, thanks to all the boys at Selous River Camp for the great service!
We definitely recommend it!!!!!!
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
woooow!!
Absolutely wonderful! My wife and I stayed at a hotel in dar, and the driver pikd as up and was very kind to us- all the way to the safari and back.
we will definitely come back again! I will definitely recommend this trip to all of my relative.
US
Email Edward Kerns, Oak Park California | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extraordinary
Communications were excellent. We were staying with friends in suburbs outside Dar and they were able to communicate with our friends and pick us up at his home.
Service? There is no way to describe it. By example is better. My daughter became very sick with fever the first day. Our friend is a doctor and at end of the day he contacted us and told us to get penicillin. Our guide told us it would be easy to get and that he would do so and return to our room later. Some time passed and I assumed he was unable to get it. Much later he knocked on the door with the medication. The pharmacy was closed. He then inquired with the park rangers and they tracked down the pharmacist. They picked up the pharmacist and he reopened the store. They then drove him home and returned to us with the medication for my daughter. Enough said.
The safari tour was just as incredible. We were lucky to see animals doing what they do rather than just lying around and this was clearly do to the experience of our guide Sahid. He was a delight. We laughed most of the day as we were mesmerized by the animals and his stories.
The camp was a level 3 facility and the staff was wonderful. Waking up at 5 a.m. to the growls of the lions was exciting. They seemed to be only a few yards away from our room. We dared not walk outside without the guard of our Massai Michael. We felt absolutely safe in his company.
Mikumi Park is a gem. We were almost alone and would go back. I intend to return and see the northern parks that hold so much of the romance of Hollywood and adventure books but there is a great advantage to the southern parks. There were six people at our camp facility on other tours. The park was ours!
I suspect that when I return, I will not travel with anyone else and certainly not without Sahid. Enjoy!!!!!!!