Tanzania Private & Small Group Adventures.
World Tours & Safaris Tanzania
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2000)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $490 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Rusko | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6 days Kilimanjaro (Machame route) and 5 days safari
We did the 6 day Kilimanjaro (Machame route) and the 5 day safari tour (Lake Manyara ,Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater).
Price was under $2500 per person for all the basics and no hidden changes for parks. It covered everything except of course tips. We did spent around $450 for tips average for safari, Kilimanjaro, taxis and hotel. Price is good since you get both Kilimanjaro and Safari. And you get not much more for paying a lot more $$$ from the big commercial agencies like Zara and Ahsante or ect... All in all you get same lunch food from all tour companies, same service(now it depends how professional and nice is the crew. Ours were very nice people) but pricing varies a lot between companies. So choosing reasonable pricing with good tour package works best in all cases. Indeed the matter of professionalism and maintenance and availability of gear is the most important aspect when choosing between similar price offers. So after careful research World Tours and Safaris was our choice. Would we recommend them? Yes.
When doing our research it was also very important for us the people that will be our crew are treated and paid fair by their employer.
About Kilimanjaro trip (8/10):
I did succeed climbing Kilimanjaro all the way to Uhuru peak thanks to my crew and my preparedness. Please make sure you bring your prescripted diamox and ibuprofen pills from your home country. It is very important to have them with you no matter what anybody says, no matter you think or read in Internet that you need them or not, because in the end you may need them with high probability. That was our case too.
Food at the Kilimanjaro hike was very good. It is not fine dining but it is more than delicious for the conditions. My favorite was the cucumber soup we had one evening.
Kilimanjaro guides did excellent job. Their number one priority was to get us to the summit and that says enough how much they are reliable.
All the crew was friendly and willing to help if needed. I can absolutely confirm these guys work so hard you have no idea. And I've asked about their ages. They are around 24-35 years old. We were 3 people with 14 people crew. I sincerely thank the porters, cook and guides for all hard work and making our difficult mission in Tanzania fun, easy and possible.
How worth is to pay for mobile toilet? We didn't pay for that and we did not need one. What was available as public restrooms was pretty decent compared to what we've expected. I saw several mobile toilets and by what I saw will tell some of them were more "abused" than the public ones. But if you are a pretentious princess or old lady that has hard time squatting go for it!
About the safari (10/10), Jeep condition(10/10):
The guide and cook we had in this trip did fantastic job. Jeep was in pristine maintained condition. Sometimes the path was so rough we were surprised the jeep was doing so well and never broke and moving fast when we had to go from point A to point B.
Guide did everything possible for us to see the big five (and we did see all the big five animals). My highlight was interesting fight between a young male lion just killed a buffalo and pack of hyenas. Guide has radio (a must for all good safari guides) station which is important for him to get us to the interesting events happening during the game rides. They call them game rides because it is hit or miss regarding what you will see during these rides. I've asked our guide how much experience he has in business. He said 15 years as I can remember.
Cook really poured from his heart into making good dinner, lunch and breakfast. We had some Swahili traditional dishes and food was delicious!
The last day at the Ngorongoro crater camp there was raining cats and dogs and these guys were all wet outside putting all the luggage back in the jeep. We got dry in the jeep as our luggage was dry too. Kudos to these guys!
From our crews I did not hear any whining about tips and insisting when to give them. Of course we had short talk the last days because that is something that has to be arranged properly and we wanted to be arranged properly. These guys are professionals and they did not try to make us feel like ATMs. As expected we also wanted to be good clients and we were prepared to tip them accordingly too before our trip to Tanzania!
Thank you Richard for putting this trip together and providing us with excellent crew.
An advice about hotel accommodation between the tours. The default hotel we were provided had the basics and overall met out needs, but also was cheapest and we did not have to pay extra for something better. But in case please inform yourself, inquire and do research what hotel will meet your needs.
About Kilimanjaro:
FOUR TIPS I've learned and used to avoid the altitude sickness.Those will help you avoid and weaken the effect of altitude sickness.
TIP 1: Drink water at least 3 litters every day/hike! Drink it regularly when hiking and not at once.
TIP 2: Eat consistently! You need energy. Do not force yourself to eat too much consciously knowing that you already are full so after that you will need to vomit... for sure. Do not rush to go to bed after having a heavy meal.
TIP 3. Sleep any time you can and as much comfortable as you can! Failing resting will fail you summit the peak and I guarantee you that.
TIP 4. Keep up with your pace even it is too slow. If you feel you are the quickest bunny in the pack try to stay after the person who has slower pace than you. This will help you not to burn out. I was the quickest in my group and on purpose I was resting behind the second quickest person in my group.
If you start having headache when in camp do not lay on the ground trying to sleep, it will get worse. Just drink some water and take a small walk or at least sit. It will help.
CA
Email Erin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great company and employees!
I was very satisfied with my safari with this company. The manager, Richard, was very helpful answering questions before I arrived and made me feel quite welcome when I got there. Everything went very smoothly and the staff went out of their way to take me to bank machines and to the bus station, even the day after the safari when I was no longer technically their customer.
The driver and guide were super friendly. We felt very safe sleeping in the open campsites even when we heard the lions roar because we knew Stanley was watching over the campsite with his rifle.
The cook was great, the food was good and I never once got sick (better than I can say for other companies).
Also, Stanley's english is very good. He was able to answer any questions I had and joke around with us.
Throughout the trip I really wanted some seeds from one of the trees. I saw this tree a couple times and always asked Stanley to stop and let me gather some seeds but it wasn't safe in the parks. At the end of the tour we stopped for souvenirs and Stanley brought me back some seeds that he had gone to find for me! Just an added touch to the hospitality shown by World Tours & Safaris.
JP
Email Eri&Satoshi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thank you for wonderful experience in Tanzania !!
We reserved 8days(30th Dec - 7th Jan) mid-range class tour by e-mailing to Mr.Richard.
Frankly speaking, at first we felt a little nervous,as it was first time to send such a big money through web.(of course it was fully securited web site tough)
We sent 50% first on booking and the rest of 50% was sent a few weeks before departure but anyway total 100% advance payment was required before departure.
Richard answered very quickly all of our questions, he updated all the situation right on time and the process was very smooth!
As many people say on this site, Richard works very quickly and that makes us relieved surely.
(Thanks for it Richard !! :D)
About tours itself,
Our driver(Mr.Horace) was very nice and professional guide and drive safety always.(That's why sometimes we feel asleep in the car...sorry! :D)
He accompanies us for 8 days always including a Happy new year !!
He was punctual always and knew a lot of things about animals,trees,birds etc.... and shared all the knowledge with us.
What is more he tought us what it is about Tanzania(culture,people,language,life,problem etc...) and that made our trips even special as it is always nice to know about the country itself.(in additional to main purpose which is Safari)
During the trip we faced flat tyre 2 times unfortunately(as expected !?) but no wonder as the road is very rough.
But Mr.Horace fixed it very smooth and quickly and it was no problem at all.(it was even good experience as a part of our journey)
We strongly recommend this company and the driver Mr.Horace especially.
Please enjoy it and von voyage !!!
US
Email Tsering | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Spectacular!!!
I went on nine days trip with World Tour Staff named Steven the driver/guide and Soko4 cook. Steven is one of the most knowledge person in wildlife and vegetation, I ever come across. Trip was terrific and I learned a lot. Soko4 is a great and versatile cook. We had a awesome trip. I would recommend anyone to travel Tanzania via World Tours.
RU
Email Elena Andreeva | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent tour = excellent experience = excellent price!!!
We recommend!
We was 3 days: Lake Manyara, Empakaai Crater, Olmoti Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Ngorongoro Crater.
Richard is the best manager of the safari and recreation! Our driver (Frank) is the best professional. Our cook (Sokofo) was preparing a meal quickly and very tasty.
We spent the 1 night in Panorama, on the edge of the Great Rift Valley. WOOW!!!
2 night was in tent camp.
Frank found it and showed us all the African animals on safari . WOOW!!!
After traveling, Richard offered to stay in your hotel. Hotel was very quiet and clean.
Thank you for the pleasure!
Email Marty Richardson | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cannot recommend highly enough - great price for budget safari!
We booked a 2D/1N budget camping safari of Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater - the price we were given was fantastic and much cheaper than we had seen elsewhere. Richard (the manager) responded quickly to all our queries, and was great to deal with prior to the trip.
The safari itself was brilliant - we had a spacious, comfortable jeep, knowledgeable guide (Felix) and great cook who cooked us delicious dinner and breakfast and huge lunchboxes. We definitely did not go hungry! The parks are beautiful and you will see lots of wildlife whoever you go with - but I would highly recommend World Tours Tanzania for their professional and friendly service. We particularly loved the T-shirts we were given, and a bottle of 18% wine to enjoy at the campsite :)
Thank you for the trip of a lifetime!
HK
Email Rebecca | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Big thanks to Richard, Edgar and the World Tours Team!
My friends and I went on an unforgettable 3 day trekking trip up Mount Meru followed by a 6 day safari trip with World Tours & Safaris.
We originally booked our tours with another company that did not work out because they were dishonest and scammed us of our money.
The manager of World Tours & Safari, Richard, was extremely helpful throughout our entire time there. He connected us with the police to help us with our unfortunate situation, brought us to the bank as well as offered to take us on our safari trip at a very reasonable price (knowing we had just been scammed by another company).
The overall safari experience was amazing as his English speaking safari guide, Edgar, was a very kind, laid back and knowledgeable man. He was great at spotting animals and we were able to see the Big 5 and cleaned the land cruiser nightly to ensure we would have a great start every morning . The accommodations chosen throughout our stay in the safari was excellent. I would highly recommend Edgar, Richard and all of World Tours & Safaris to anyone looking for a tour in Tanzania, Africa.
Excellent company providing a fantastic service, run by professional and reliable employees!
Email Leila | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid at all costs this safari company if you do not want to be hassled by the owner Richard Papa
We booked a 5 days and 4 nights safari Tarangire/Serengeti/Ngorongoro camping safari with World Tours & Safaris from Arusha to Mwanza. We needed to be picked up in Arusha and dropped off in Mwanza as we had plans to visit Lake Victoria. We contacted Richard Papa who was responsive but a bit short in his anwers. We didn’t think of it as it’s so easy to misinterpret the tone of someone by email so we decided to go with the company.
We were quoted for this private safari (as apparently no one wants to be dropped in Mwanza so it had to be a private one) my friend and I respectively $1000 and $920 (my husband was not traveling with us). I am a resident in Dar es Salaam and Tanzanian national parks charge residents slighty less than tourists this is why I was offered a $80 discount on the whole amount providing I could prove my residency in the country. If I failed to do so, Richard told me I would have to pay the difference at the gate which was fine with me since I had all documents in order.
We paid for the full safari by bank transfers, twice, the first time for the 40% deposit and the second time the remaining 60%. Richard told us we could only pay the remaining of the sum in cash with US dollars if paid on the first day of the safari. Since I live in Dar with my husband, we do not have US dollars so we did the second bank transfer to avoid any hassle.
The safari went well, we left the day after a night in Arusha Precious Inn, a very basic hotel but conveniently located a block behind the company’s office. Stanley, our guide and Gadi our chef, were good and professional. They made the best with what they had, which wasn’t so easy considering that the car was quite old and used (515 0000 km at the counter) and that their equipments were quite basic (for e.g after reading reviews on this website we decided to take our own sleeping bags). We enjoyed the 4 days trip even if the last day didn’t go as planned. We were indeed meant to go through the Serengenti again but we did not and drove straight back to Mwanza after reaching the last Serengeti gate. Still, we were quite happy with the trip and gave each of them (Stanley and Gadi) a nice tip once at our hotel in Mwanza. As previously explained, before entering each park I had to give Stanley my passport and visa exemption certificate (residency permit) so he could go and pay the entrance fees. I always asked him whether he needed them and except for Ngorongoro crater where he told me he didn’t have to show the documents.
Once the safari finished, this is when the problems started with Richard. We were eating our lunch in Mwanza when Gadi the chef came back to us saying that we needed to pay more. When I asked him to explain why, he told me that I needed to speak to Richard. I took the phone and then Richard literally started yelling at me telling me that this was the deal : I needed to pay $45 more for the Ngorongoro crater since I did not present my documents. He then told me that $45 was missing from his account (Stanley was apparently given pre-paid credit cards to pay the entrance fees) and that I should know where the money went. I told him that I was not one of his employees, that I did not know what happened with his credit cards and that so far only guides enter the park’s office to pay entrance fees. I do not even know what’s the entrance fee for each park since we always pick organised safaris. As a passenger you either stay in the car or go to the bathroom until the guide comes back and tells you to go back into the car. Richard said I did not present my documents so Stanley paid the fee for a tourist. I told him that when I asked Stanley before and he replied to me that for Ngorongoro there was no need for such document. As soon as I told this to Richard he started shouting : ‘Then Stanley lied to me, pass me Stanley now I will take the money off his wages….’ and hung up on me. Now I have been living long enough in Tanzania to know that $45 is a lot of money for a local. Stanley also explained to me that the mistake was coming from Richard for another reason that I did not get. I felt bad and Richard kept texting me saying I needed to pay or Stanley would have to (which felt like emotional blackmail to be honest) – I had done nothing wrong however unless I paid up then Stanley, who had been very professional the whole trip, would be forced to pay $45 - a lot of money for him. Stanley literally told me that if he had to pay the money the next safari he drove would essentially be done for free. Therefore I paid $45 on top of the $920 already paid not knowing whose mistake it was, Richard or Stanley. I thought that I could retrieve the money after speaking calmly to Richard since he was just shouting on the phone but I couldnt get a calm conversation out of him.
When I spoke again to Richard and told him that it seemed quite unfair I had to pay an extra $45 for the Ngorongoro crater since I could prove my residency in the country (which I did for Tarengire and Serengeti) and that this would affect my review of this trip (I was quite annoyed by this point, I did not like him shouting at me or at his staff on the phone) he wrote me back an sms (I quote) : ‘ I will reply to your review as you wish to write and give all breakdown to the World since you said you have permit. GOD will judge. Thanks’.
Our following exchanges were quite a roller coaster of emotions from Richard since it seems my possible review of the company was really annoying him. He successively threatened me to expose that we were staying illegally in the country (we have been living in Dar for 7 months, my husband works for an European NGO), then told me (I quote) : ‘I know you are a very good girl. You will not put us in trouble’ (I’m 30 by the way), then wrote ‘I am not sure why you want even my family and other staff to miss daily bread…’ (it’s not like we do safaris in order to write bad reviews) and then also accused us not have done the right bank transfers (which was very silly since we have evidence of our bank transfers and knew they had gone through correctly) and that we had cheated him.
Additionally, Richard constantly blamed his employee Stanley when he realized I was having none of this and wrote (I quote) : ‘Stanley is putting me and you in trouble…’ One of Richard’s email’s object is literally called ‘Stanley’ and is just a succession of accusations against poor Stanley.
When I last told Richard I could not accept the refund coming from Stanley’s salary (because to me it wasn’t clear whether he or Stanley did the mistake and also because it will result on an unfair burden on Stanley) he told me I should have reminded Stanley of the residency (which I did but also I do not work for the safari company so that should not have been my responsibility). And then the last email coming from Richard states (I’m just copying and pasting it because it is too good to be true) : ‘I will attache the same letter and the permit and my lawyer will write a letter to your Embassy, with copy to Ministry of Natural Resource, and another copy to Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority to show them the way you want to mistreat us.They will judge who has problem between me and you. We made a deal and nothing went wrong to my agreement between me and you. All arrangements was in order’.
I told Richard he was a dishonest person who’s been seemingly treated harshly his hardworking staff. Also, an important point, I did not understand his calculation : as a resident I had to pay $920 and my friend (a tourist) $1000.Since according to Richard I did not show my documents in Ngorongoro I had to pay another $45 on top of the $920 which makes it $965. Stanley told me that if I did not have the paper as well in Serengeti I would have had to pay another $45. Which amounts to $1010. Which makes it $10 more than the fee for a tourist and this not even taking into account if I had to pay an extra for Tarengire. When I asked Richard to explain how I would have had to pay more than my friend despite getting a residency discount (which does exist for national parks) if I had to pay the difference at each gate, he did not bother answering.
In a nutshell : I’m just baffled by the whole experience with Richard and his company World Tours & Safaris. Richard Papa strikes me as a very dishonest man and not a very professional one, not treating his staff nicely or even his customers. I would strongly recommend any potential customer to stay away from this company and to go with another safari company because you do not want to experience what we experienced. Besides, there are a lot of other safari companies out there that do provide the same service and the same trip without the hassle we went through.
Excellent guide and cook. Amazing big five!
4D/3N Camping Safari
Experienced guide (Adam) with eagle eyes! We saw the big five several times and the meals were delicious. This is my best safari! All the team and staffs are friendly.
There was no hot water in the hotel after safari.
Email Louise | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing game viewing
Did a 3 night, 4 day safari in October and loved it. I signed up to it on my own, and there was just one other person on the trip so it was a very private and personal experience. We did the basic camping safari. Tents are provided and put up for you prior to you arriving at the campsite. You have 2 members of staff - a chef and a guide. Guide is brilliant at spotting wildlife and very knowledgeable. Chef really impressed me with the food. There was always an abundance of it so you never go hungry.
We were originally due to go to Lake Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorogoro but at the last minute our guide changed from Lake Manyara to Tarangire as he'd heard that the wildlife wasn't very good in Lake Manyara for a few days prior - so they always try to take you to the best places. When in the parks, the guides all speak to each other so you have a higher chance of viewing wildlife.
In the Serengeti & Ngorogoro crater, the campsites are really wild. Often, lions and other wildlife walk through the campsites. I found this very scary when sleeping in the tent!
Saw incredible things, the only thing we didn't spot was the black rhino but they are very rare. Managed to see a cheetah really close up which was probably the highlight. An abundance of elephants and giraffes. Lions eating a zebra and fighting. Plenty of wildebeest. Everything was incredible.
Also, Richard (who runs the company) will really look after you. Even while not on safari, he set up a good hotel the nights either side, and helped me get into Arusha town by taxi and showed me how to get back. He will help you with any questions at all.