HU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
well organized budget tour
Everyone on the tour booked through a different tour company, so I am not sure who organized the tour itself. For this reason I can only rate Meru Slopes for the time before and after the safari. They are excellent: professional, with very quick reaction time, dependable and punctual, helpful and make sure their guests are satisfied. I'd use their services again.
As for the safari tour itself: I took part in the 4nights/5 days Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro budget camping tour.
With some previous experience throughout Africa on different safaris, my conclusion is this: expect to get exactly what you paid for. There are no miracles, have realistic expectations: this is a budget tour, with very basic camping facilities (good camping equipment!) and mediocre food, but the exact same astonishing nature as any higher priced tour.
Campsites are the same for everyone, but with special dietary needs, consider a more expensive camping tour. (For more money you will get much better food, question is if it is worth for one to pay approx. 500 usd more for 4-5 days of better camp food. Maybe, maybe not.)
Our guide was ok overall (the man had huge experience and the eyes of a hawk, but not very talkative, sharing very limited info even when encouraged. Luckily I had a fantastic animal guide book with me that explained all that our guide did not.)
To sum up: in case you have general interest in doing safari, no special food requirements, and prepared for wild-camping (literally :D) take this tour with Meru Slopes, you will not be disappointed.
If you are an animal/safari enthusiast, you can still take this tour (no guarantee for a better guide on a more expensive tour), but bring along a good guide book just in case - you will be happy.
If you are a hardcore wildlife fan, find a guide through recommendations, and book a tour with him/her specifically (or ask the agency to book you on a tour with him/her). However, for an exceptional guide, prepare to pay the price.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
rather average compared to other safaris we did in the greater Krüger area
The flights and accommodation were arranged according to our bookings. Unfortunately, we could not do the promised last morning game drive, but dit a rather disappointing Panorama tour ( short stop the waterfall, not the Potholes ...) on our way to the airport instead. The other game drives were rather 'a hunt for the Sabi leopard' whilst kind of sometimes missing the overall safari experience .
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic service, will recommend
From Maggie's first e-mail reply it was clear Tekko Tours would attend to our every need, even though we booked less than 4 weeks in advance. We went 2 on a private safari ending with a few days at the beach. We had the time of our lives and every detail was taken care of (a room with view of the Kilimanjaro at the Amboseli Oltukai, for example). Also the driver, Jackson, made himself the best companion we could imagine. Right after our landing at Nairobi airport, when we silly tourists managed to call the attention of the police for smoking on the street (always ask first!), Jackson immediately got us out of trouble, and this would only be the beginning of his helping make this holiday a pleasure. His driving and spotting skills are superb.
The timetables were accurate, the road hours went by much faster than you would expect and the Land Cruiser worked like a charm. I will recommend Tekko when my friends ask for advice
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Efficient, helpful and knowledgeable.
Communication : excellent throughout
Service : excellent
Living up to expectations : yes
Safari : Guide/driver was excellent
Overall a stress free trip well organised.
HU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing very well organized 6 days safari in Kenya
I opted for the budget option for 680 USD, which is an avarage price in Nairobi and most of the travel agencies will group people together for a tour. We were 7 people in a mini van for a 6 days safari in Kenya. The driver and guide was excellent, he really knew a lot about animals and made an unforgettable trip for us. We visited 3 national parks in 6 days , but also spent a lot of time on the road travelling from one national park to the other. The accomodation is basic, if you have the budget go for higher quality accomodations because the lodges in Kenya are amazing. I would highly recommend this trip to anybody, it was well organized and you can see lot of animals like in the Lion King movie (we saw so many elephants, zebras, cheetas, baby lions, wildbeasts, buffalos, ect.) in beautiful Kenya
BG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience - thanks to the best guide Arony
It was very good safari, well organized, no any complains. We saw and pictured many animals, including those estimated rare, like leopard and cheetah. Our guide Arony was very good, he was obviously very experienced, many thanks to him. We will come again soon, probably with friends and again will do it through Karibu safari. Once again thank you guys for the beautiful moments. Wish all the best, hopefully see you soon.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An excellent six day tour to northern Uganda; great for new bird species
I had a work trip to Kampala and wanted to stay on for a trip to Murchison Falls and Kidepo NP, and contacted several tour operators for group or individual trips on the dates I wanted, some of whom responded, including Eco-Specialists. Communications in advance about the trip were good and revisions to the itinerary were made to take account of some of my suggestions. Other suggestions of mine were not realistic because of the distances involved. I chose Eco-Specialists on price and as a small, local company with strong emphasis on birds. I was met one lunchtime at the conference hotel in Kampala while I was working to finalise pick-up and other details.
The six day trip was excellent. Accommodation was at the simpler, cheaper end of the available range, but all worked out fine. Having worked and traveled elsewhere in Africa (but not Uganda), I had a reasonable idea what to expect. The guide had excellent ability to spot and identify birds, but also good general knowledge of history and life in Uganda (also important to me), which made for good traveling.
Eco-Specialists go more often to western Uganda and less frequently to the north. As a result, the tour guide was less familiar with the up to date situation with regard to things like road improvements, and did not know that a shorter route we could have taken had recently been surfaced. I have already recommended to them that they need to do a bit more checking in advance when going to areas they are less familiar with.
Overall, it was an excellent trip and I would recommend Eco-Specialists and would certainly go with the company again.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
All our requirements were efficiently met; pre-trip information was excellent and accurate.
We have always had quick and clear responses to emails. Our expectations were fully met; our safari experience as usuam exceeded our expectations.
We have used Safari Club over the years for the arrangements for several safari holidays in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.
MT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the best experience of our life!
Amazing Safari with Face of Africa! I booked the Safari from my country and paid in full before to arrive. The communication was excellent: they answer by email straight away to any doubt or answer, I received by email the breefing of the Safari and they provide a very good services: pick up and drop off from/to the airport, excellent guide and chef cooker.
A very particular thanks to our guide Issach, who is a really a great person and the best guide ever, he made our Safari one of the best experience of our life...we saw all the BIG FIVE!!!
The price is very competitive to the other company keeping high standard quality.
Thanks Hamadi for the top quality service!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent Customer Experience and Service
Thank you so much for the excellence customer service. David Kabugi was a pleasure to book with. His customer service etiquette is outstanding with attention to detail and clear communication. The Masai Mara was incredible. Great booking company, will definitely be booking with you again next time.