The smiles of our crew that awaits you!
World Air Travel & Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- IATA, ASTA, TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $230 to $900 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poor service
We had a great safari in Seregeti , Ngorongoro and Tarangire! We saw a lot of animals and had a great guide. But we would definitely not recommend to go whit World Air Travel & Tours in Arusha. On the first day or care broke down after 30 minutes. All day the guide tried to fix the car but it broke down five times. He managed to drive to the gate of the Serengeti but then the car was totally broken.
All cars break down some day. The roads are poor so this things happen. no problem. But World Air Travel & Tours laid all the time about the solution. There say they had sent a another car and it will arrive soon. After all the other car arrived 14 hours after they told us he would.
So we missed the first day and half of or second day. On a safari of four days this is a lot so we asked about a compensation. we paid a lot of money fore the safari (6 persons 4days and $900,- per person). We missed more than 1/4 of the safari. They offer us an extra day in the Serengeti for $130 a person or get a refund of $ 30,- per person. Even after hard bargaining this was their final offer.
Very pour solution and very bad compensation. If ever tithing is going to plan it is no problem to go whit World Air Travel & Tours . But if there is a problem after you paid, it’s your problem.
Reply from World Air Travel & Tours
Posted on Oct 31, 2014Hello Peter & Pytsje,
Thank you for taking your time to review us on safari bookings. Your feedback is highly appreciated.
First we would like to apologize once again for the unfortunate car break on your safari day one. The car broke in between Ngorongoro and Serengeti and as you realized, the condition of the road in between the two is in not even bad but terrible condition. The incident was unfortunate one and one that John your driver could not have avoided. On the same road incident like this one are very common. You will remember that right from the time the incident happened, the office in Arusha was on top of the situation and we acted with speed and did all the best to resolve the situation. We were on the phone with the group leader at most of the time updating the group on what we were doing to resolve the situation.
We apologize once again for the delayed wait at the Serengeti gate while we tried to look for an alternative transport. The break happened in the middle of almost nowhere and an instant response was a challenge since it was kilometers away. It was not easy to find a rescue vehicle and we got very lucky that the Serengeti park authorities were the only one that came to our rescue to help drive you to the camp for the night while we sent another vehicle from Arusha for the next part of the trip. We made calls to almost all lodges and camps but their vehicles were on duty. We paid for the rescue service and advised the driver to make stops at all points of interests to make sure you did not loose the whole day which according to your itinerary was just drive straight to Serengeti.
Secondly, yes there was a 14 hours wait until the second vehicle arrived and we were very concerned and troubled by it. As we explained to the group, we sent the vehicle after the breakdown happened but due to the long drive from Arusha, the second driver did not make on time to the Ngorongoro gate by 18.00hrs when they close the gate until the 6.00AM of the next day. This we explained to the group why the delay was long overnight. We made calls to Ngorongoro authorities to allow our vehicle to go past even after the 18.00hrs deadline but we were not allowed. They sighted security reasons which they are very strict on. Our rescue driver spent the night near Ngorongoro and we agreed with the park authorities that the next morning he would be allowed at 04.00AM so that he could make it to Serengeti to handover the vehicle for the next day game drive. At 4AM the driver was at the gate but there was no ranger, we again made calls at that night to wake them and when they came, again they sighted that we had to wait until the clerks came to make the necessary paper works. It was disturbing even to us and only at 6.00AM the clerks came to allow the driver go through.
The driver arrived at your camp at 9.30AM and you immediately started the game drive for the whole day contrary to your feedback that you lost half of the second day. The lost time was 3 hours on this day.
The driver did his best to extended the game drive hours on that evening to cover the lost hours the previous day. On that morning before the vehicle arrived we tried our best to find another vehicle to continue game drive while you waited for the vehicle to arrive but all our contacts had schedule's that morning. We were ready to pay an extra for it.
The next day you were to drive to Ngorongoro for game drive after breakfast but we offered an early game drive again to cover the lost hours.
From the second day everything went perfect as planned and apart from the delay on the first day and morning of the second day the trip was amazing and in terms of guiding and service the paper feedback from the group was very good.
We were very concerned with the incident from the first minute and if there was a quicker way to resolve the incident we would have done it to make sure you enjoy the adventure. It was long distance to send a another car on time and the challenges we encountered before the car arrived were beyond our control. The way we responded was the only prompt way we could have done it.
The extra game drives on the rest of the days were to cover the lost hours and the $30 we gave back was a show of how greatly the management was concerned.
I want to convey our sincere thanks to you for giving us an opportunity to serve you. It was a great pleasure hosting you for the adventures and exploration of Northern Tanzania.Thank you for letting us know about the negatives and positives on our service, it really help us serve you and others better.
By giving us feedback, you are providing us with valuable information that will help us improve our services. Your feedback was highly appreciated.
Regards,
World Air Travel and Tour team.
NG
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
very customer focused with attention to detail
apart from some very minor glitches, the overall experience was what I wanted - to see the wildlife of Africa and that is what we achieved. the tour was well managed, the guide knowlegable and we would do it again.
NL
Email Kees van Ettekoven | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
World Air Travel organised a good safari with a very good driver/guide
Communicating with WAT is a pleasure, fast and to the point reactions. Our guide John was very nice, carefull and knowledgeable about nature; animals and plants of Tanzania.
Good vehicle, good lodges. Also thanks to the low season there were few tourists and we often had the animals (that were there plenty) for ourselves.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari experience
I booked a 15 day safari for myself and my wife through Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater and Manyara national park, ending with 4 days at Ocean Paradise resort in Zanzibar. Everything went flawlessly, the guides were very good and found us pretty much every form of animal, game and thing we wanted to see. They were well connected with the other guides helping each other find key predators. The accomodations were excellent for tented camps, and they threw in a good mix of proper hotels every 3-4 days to get a bit of a break from tents. But I would recommend you check the tented accomodations before hand to be sure you are up to that type of living. I would not recommend staying at Serenity-on-the-lake, which while it was a fantastic resort, there were just too many flying insects at night. Our first night also was not great, at an eco camp called Maji Moto. It was run by the local Masai, and huge positive was to spend time with them and learn from them on their ways and history. Downside was that the shower and toilet were outside the tent, so if you needed to go at night, it was a bit complicated. But if you are okay with that, the camp itself was a good experience.
The other camps - Mara Bush camp in Masai Mara, and Kenzan camp in the Serengeti were very good, and had the necessary attached facilities to each tent.
The Serena lodge at the rim of the Ngorongoro crater was unbelievably good, with an incredible view of the sunrise and the entire crater.
Ocean Paradise resort in Zanzibar was also a great experience, with the only turnoff being the little crabs that live in the sand. But it didnt get in the way of enjoying the resort. The resort itself is top notch and beautifully laid out and run.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized and friendly people.
The trip was well organized and we received what we expected and what was told. We had a nice guide who knew a lot from what we saw. Especially in lake Maniara park we saw a lot of very nice birds. He knew most of them and the ones he did not know he/we looked for and found in a nice book with all the birds of Tanzania. Together with the next day when we visited ngorongoro park we saw the big five! But many other animals also. We had a great time on my first safari experience!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome!
I just returned from the third safari with World Air travel and tours in Tanzania and Kenya and would like to drop them a "thank you note". Again. Their experience in the region is undoubtly one of the best in the region. I would never go without mentioning my ever smiling driver John, he is superb. he posses all the knowledge about wildlife and all the parks and he is the BEST GUIDE I have ever met in any tour. His spotting knowledge is excellent. No day ends without remembering Africa...and its courtesy of World Air Travel and Tours. I will always recommend them to anyone looking to travel their way..East Africa, because on my previous trips everything went just the way it was meant to, even better.
IT
Email Giuseppe | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
7-Day Magical Encounter Of Big Five Safari
We spent 7 unforgettable safari days in Tanzania.
After visiting Kenya and South Africa, there was no visit to the Tanzanian parks, this time we organized ourselves, both air and safari transfers, I contacted World Air Travel and Tours directly, in the person of Elias already from February, we have agreed on the itinerary and the dates, we have often written in these months to better define the whole holiday and I must say that Elias has always been kind and diligent in the answers.
Upon arrival in Tanzania we met Joshua, our guide throughout the week, the safari included in the order the following parks: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
The safari was tiring because we opted to make the most of the day, without stopping at the lodge for lunch, eating in the bag every day, this resulted in 10 hours a day off-road, but it was worth it, the safari was fabulous, we saw everything there was to see.
We have admired countless predators and hundreds of other species, a complete safari thanks to Joshua, always available, has fulfilled all our requests and even beyond, very good!
What else to say, a safari to recommend, suitable for tourists who want to admire the beauty that only Africa can give you, organized very well.
Thanks again Elias and Joshua for letting us have a unique experience!
BR
Email Carinne Donati | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
7-Day Magical Encounter of the Big Five Safari
My experience with World Air Travel is being great from the beginning until now!
This was my first time at Tanzania with my family and Elias was super helpful to prepare a made tailor itinerary for us. We made some changes in the basic itinerary and Elias was always prompt in his replies and always seeking to meet our expectations whether they were about the safari itself or the accomodations, etc.
We felt secure with him and he was always available by e-mail, whatsapp, cell phone, 24 hours per day, to provide details about our trip or to made changes in the itinerary or to clarify any doubt that we might have.
The support provided by Elias was outstanding compared with other travel agencies that we contacted to prepare the itinerary for us (and believe me, we contacted more than 10 agencies!).
We started our adventure on Aug 10th 2019 at the airport, where Focus, our driver (and now I can say our friend!) was waiting for us.
We spent the whole week with Focus and he was truly outstanding! He has a huge knowledge about Tanzania, about the safari, wild life and so on. He took us to the best viewing areas, he was VERY committed to provide us the best experience that we could have and he was always trying to find animals in the savanna and due to his commitment we were able to see all the animals that were in our must-see list (including the big 5!).
Furthermore, Focus was always attentive to our well being, being very punctual and very helpful in helping us with whatever we needed, even if it was beyond his scope of work.
He is a hard working man with a huge experience about safaris and he is very polite and friendly. He was the responsible for a great and unforggettable experience that we had!
I leave here a BIG THANK YOU to Elias and to Focus for assisting us and to provide to us an experience that I can say that was the trip of our lifetime!
CA
Email Ika | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful 10 Day Safari Experience !
We had a wonderful time on our Safari with our guide, John. The trip spanned 10 days, with visits in Manyara, Tarangire, Ngorogoro and of course Serengeti. The entire duration of the safari, John was kind, courteous and very accommodating to our needs - whether that was an earlier start to see the animals, or later returns to see the sunsets, or returning to a specific spot to see lions, he was very flexible with what we could do throughout the day! John was also exceptionally knowledgable and observant, able to spot hidden animals from very far away and point them out to us, while also driving up closer to see otherwise elusive animals like Jaguars, Cheetahs and Rhinos. Overall, the safari experience was as wonderful as it was because of John's expertise.
Overall, the accommodations booked by World Air for us were wonderful - they were all very clean, elegant, and all the staff was very courteous and polite.
There was not a detail left unattended to throughout the trip - the office with Elias and our guide John were very responsive and easy to reach for any questions we had in the trip!
US
Email Jerry & Kathy | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
WOW! A vacation of 2 life times.
We’ve traveled to over 20 countries and this is the best vacation we have ever had.
Right from the get-go this was an exceptional experience. The clear, detailed and professional itinerary, the ease of booking this trip, Elias’s help in tailoring the itinerary to all our needs, we truly felt like people not just a number. The months prior to the trip Elias answered all our questions and concerns quickly and concisely. He advised us of adverse weather conditions and suggested alternative lodging to make our safari as pleasant as possible.
This wonderful service didn’t end there. John, our naturalist and driver, met us at the airport and on the trip to our hotel explained in detail what we would be doing the next day. He would explain our next day’s adventure every night for the rest of the safari. John was our wonderful guide, answering all our questions and seeing to all our needs on this ten day game drive.
We visited Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. But the heart of a safari is the animals. Here are just a small taste of our wonderful encounters:
We watched in awe as a huge herd of elephants, with babies in tow, passed in front of our Landcruiser.
We gazed at a family of graceful Giraffes walking across the open savanna and then watched as they picked the choice leaves from the tops of an Umbrella tree.
A pride of lions sleeping in the grass, the mama was nursing a cub while magnificent male was alert and watching.
Magnificent Zebras, Wildebeests and Thomson’s Gazelles peacefully grazing on the plains.
We saw dozens of Hippopotamus’ bathing in the river, we were stared down by a big male Cape buffalo guarding this turf, we saw majestic leopard snoozing in a Baobab tree, and Vultures, Jackals and Hyenas scavenging for food.
We watched monkeys foraging in the open fields, and a troop of Baboons hiding in the grass by the side of the road.
We also sang, danced and had a jumping contest with the colorful Maasai tribe. A lot of fun.
However, the highlight of our safari was the Great Migration! Tens of thousands of Wildebeest and Zebras, stretching from horizon to horizon queued to cross the Mara River. Then the crossing was complete mayhem; Wildebeest and Zebras scrambling to reach the other bank, truly an exhilarating experience.
