US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari!!!!!
This was my first safari experience and it was amazing! Absolutely top notch. I came across Shadows via a friend that had traveled with them in Kenya and Tanzania previously and raved about their experiences. I contacted Jake who responded promptly even though he was in the bush in Africa! We spoke numerous times of the phone and Jake designed a bespoke itinerary that perfectly matched our interests.
Preparing for a safari was pretty daunting, but Jake sent along numerous materials that were extremely helpful from what to pack to pictures of our guides and drivers. Upon landing in Tanzania, we were greeted by Tino and everything went smoothly from there.
We were picked up by Alex, our Unbelievable, guide early the next morning and we set out on our adventure. If you use Shadows in Tanzania, you absolutely need to have Alex as your guide. Request him, trust me. He is able to see animals that with his naked eye that we'd need binoculars and a minute of direction... Read more to see. We saw the big 5 nearly within the first day. Saw 4 rhinos, 80+ lions, 10+ cheetahs, 6+ leopards, and we were lucky enough to witness a leopard kill a warthog. Oh and we saw a wildebeest crossing at the Mara River. If that weren't enough, Alex was amazing to talk to, super smart and well informed on all animals. He's an absolute must get.
Additionally, while on the ground in Tanzania we had a constant resource in Victor, the man on the ground in the country. He was always available no matter what time of day and is outstanding!!
Finally, we left the Serengeti and headed to Zanzibar to relax after the safari. Muhammad was our guide on the island and went out of his way to make our experience special.
Use Shadows of Africa!! They Are Fantastic!
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Safari very close to perfection
We were very satisfied of the 7 day safari tour we did with Savannah Explorers organization. First of all the communication has always been very simple and fast via e-mail. It was very easy to follow all the required steps and having a very nice tour organized months before with a direct communication between me and Savannah Explorer. In Tanzania we have experienced a very good organization starting from our arrival at the Kilimanjaro airport until the departure 9 days after from the same airport. The safari tour was really wonderful with the visit of 5 different national parks each different from the others. In this context we have seen many different type of landscapes and an impressive number of wild animal species in their habitat. The lodge in which we accomodated were very confortable with a satisfying quality and variety of the food. The guide accompanied us was very kind and helpful while the driver was really very professional driving in a perfect way in very difficult roads. To summarize a very reccomendable experience.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect Uganda holiday
We highly recommend Gatatu Safaris as they fulfilled our holidays dreams in Uganda! We travelled in Western Uganda with Gatatu Safaris for 4 full days, but had we known how much Uganda has to offer, we would have stayed even longer. Everything Gatatu organised worked out very well, and our guide and driver Steven went out of his way to show the best of his his country.
When we landed in Entebbe (Kampala), Steven picked us up and drove us to a nearby hostel where we spent our first night in Uganda. Next day, we went to Kibale National Park to do a trek to experience the chimpanzees which was an incredible way to start our trip. Steven also recommended us to go on a guided tour in Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary which was not in our original plans but which we enjoyed as we got to see a lot of birds and different monkeys and the guide was very knowledgable.
On our second day, we went on a private boat safari in the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elisabeth National Park and were overwhelmed... Read more by all the wildlife we could spot from the boat: War hogs, water bucks, elephants, crocodiles, buffaloes and soooooo many hippos! In the afternoon, we went to Lake Bunyonyi which was also a place that Steven recommended which we had initially not considered - we are so glad he took us there! We spend the night in the Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort which is situated on one of the 29 islands in the lake and it was truly magical. We arrived in a canoe from the mainland and were greeted by zebras and antelopes that live on the small island. We were the only guests in the resort so we got an excellent service from the team and enjoyed the sunset first from the shore and then from the terrasse that has a beautiful view of the lake.
We spend our third day in the Mgahinga National Park in the company of Golden Monkeys which are listed as endangered and can only be seen in three countries. We were the only tourists on our trek and our guides did a great job of guiding us to where we could get the best views and pictures of the monkeys that were really active and moved around a lot.
The highlight of our trip was the Gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on our last day where we got to spend a full hour with a gorilla family, including two silver-backs and various baby gorillas. It was an incredible experience to see the gorillas climb, sleep, eat, cuddle and play in the wild!
Overall, our trip in Uganda was fantastic – we got so many memorable experiences short time and we always felt in safe hands with our guide Steven and the owner of Gatatu Safaris, Richard. If you are planning on going to Uganda, choose Gatatu Safaris!
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience in Tazania
My first time in Tazania,and I'm so lucky to go with Meru Slopes Tours，the owner Geofrey and sales manager are so kind，they are think of the customers need,they're like your friends instead of business men.My guide John is experienced and always takes care of me.I've learned a lot of local cultures from him.that'll make my experience in Tazania more happier. Also the staff of Arusha Tourist Inn are nice people.The guard of the hotel accompanied me to change money and find restaurant since he was afraid of as a lonely female foreigner,it may be not safe to go around. I really appreciate them all. If I had another chance to go back to Tazania, I definitely go with Meru Slopes tours again.
CA
Very good driver/guide, but we were badly misled about the accommodations.
Booked 3 day Masai Mara months in advance with Noah. Promised accommodation at Lenchada Camp (which is great, by the way). On the way there, our driver/guide, Alex , was searching all over for another camp (Eco Destination or something) that not even the locals had heard of. Apparently, without telling us, Noah had changed the booking to that place. When we finally found it (after an hour and a half of searching), we discovered that it had really limited facilities and was not very clean. When we finally got Noah on the phone, he told us he had made the change because the Lenchada Camp was full. As I say, we had booked months in advance and, as it turned out, the Lenchada Camp was not full at all. By the time we got to Lenchada though, we were too late for the afternoon game drive that was part of our safari package. Happy ending: a great time in the Masai Mara with Alex who took us out for almost 12 hours the next day to make up for the screw-up the previous day. Saw lots and lots of animals.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
we don't recommend this company
we just done Safari with this company, and it was very bad experience:
we booked a Land cruiser, it was very very slow, and it has almost no power, when overtaking its very dangerous, and the driver need very long clearance distance to overtake (sometimes it takes 20 min waiting behind a big truck who is driving 30km/h).
Driver was not exceeding 50-55 Km/h on the highway, for 6-7 long driving hours everyday ( this is according to my accurate Garmin GPS)
the worst part of the trip is the driver himself, we don't feel comfortable at all with him, he speaks English well, but he doesn't want to talk or explain anything about the country or the trip,and the way he answers any question it will make you think 100 times before asking him again.
he complains every time we ask him to stop for toilet, and he claimed that there is no toilets all over the way, until we forced him to stop.
he never ever give any straight answer when asking for the distance or timing to arrive... Read more to the camp,
we drive daily 6-7 hours from park to park, whenever we ask him where are we, or how long we still need to arrive?he answer ( we are not far). this is so annoying, so we start asking the locals when we stop in the petrol stations, and he also complains, and he said ( stop asking them they will not know).
we been in many many countries with privet drivers, but nothing was like this.
the driver is very important in such a trip, because you are all the day with him inside the car, and its serious problem if they make you feel uncomfortable.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Another Dream Safari with Ecological Wilderness Adventures!!
This was our 2nd outing with Brian and the team from Ecological Wilderness Adventures (EWA) and we still can't recommend them highly enough!! Book with them and you will not regret it!! We brought new adventurers with us to Tanzania this time and they loved the safari and their experience with Ecological as well. This trip we did the Northern and Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire National Park.
I have now recommended this company to 3 groups that have gone with Brian and EWA- all of them came back with the same glowing reviews that you are reading here!! Ecological Wilderness works with you every step of the way as they answer any and all of your concerns via phone calls or email- they are extremely responsive and very helpful!!
More important, Brian, Emiri, Gerald and all the guides were great on finding so many animals and experiences for us to see. This was our second safari with them and we were just as riveted as on our first safari 4 years... Read more before this one. These guys will put you right on some of the best scenes you will ever see!! Lions, Cheetahs, Leopards, Giraffe, Elephants and many of the babies too!! Also, we saw some great Wildebeest crossings in the Serengeti this trip!!
Plus, they are extremely knowledgeable about all the animals, plants, birds and geology. It is truly amazing how much they share with you. Further, they always knew the answers to the unending questions from both the adults and children on the safari!! (Ecological Wilderness is great with children by the way- we first took our daughter right before she turned 6 and she was 10 on this last trip with Ecological).
Also of note, this is a smaller operator where YOU ARE THE TOUR!! Many larger tour companies pare you up with others and you run on a more set schedule. With Ecological Wilderness- you will be the tour and thus can tailor it to your specifications. This allows you to start early one day, later the next or send one car in for an afternoon nap while another vehicle stays out in the field. The flexibility is wonderful and you will appreciate the sensation of being their only concern during your trip!!
As a final note, we originally used Ecological Wilderness on the recommendation of a relative of mine who has a Harvard PhD in biology and tours the world to many exotic places for work. They have been everywhere it seems and really know the best operators to go with- they use Ecological Wilderness and now so do we!! Simply fantastic and can't recommend them highly enough. Also- I am willing to discuss my 2 safaris in Tanzania and my experience with EWA with you if you'd like. Just email Brian at Ecological Wilderness and he knows how to get in touch with me!!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our safari was fantastic with Spot Kenya.
Maurice is the best, our driver Aron was professional, coutious, knowledgeable amd a good driver.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
we saw the 5 big
we went to masai mara and nakuru lake 4 days safari with john.
The experience was amazing, we saw the 5 big and everything was so good.
The lodge was a bit dodgy to be honest, I hope a better one but the hotel in nakuru lake was amazing with pool, nice room and tasy food.
John, our guide, was ok. He was not talkative at all and he was like depressed...also, he didn´´t help us with the shopping, anyway, the good thing is that he took us to the good spots to see the 5 big.
Overall, I recommend karibu safaris as we had an amazing experience thanks to them.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an amazing experience and a very good organization
We was so well all the time and enjoyed a lot in this amazing country. The guide, Twaha was very kind and polite, he was always looking to do the best with us and with the activities. We recomended to do it and ask for this guide.