50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful itinerary for family of 4 to do the gorilla trek and QEP safari in Uganda
Had a number of conversations with the owner Michael during planning stage and after. Very helpful and provided useful voice of experience. Making a bank transfer in USD to a company in Uganda was slightly unusual as my preference is to pay by credit card for added protection, but it was totally fine and we had our 4 gorilla permits for the day requested, did chimp trekking, boat trip and safari in QEP. A truly wonderful and amazing trip.
We were met by both Ben and Michael at Kigali airport and dropped off by Ben at Kigali Airport. Hotels were as notified by Michael and excursions as agreed and planned. Ben is a great guide. Michael kindly came along from Kampala and stayed 2 days. Michael helped me get a good rate to convert my GBP to USD for local spending. The highlight has to be the gorilla trek. It was not easy, approx 2.5 hours to the family through thick undulating jungle. But the 1 hour with the gorilla family made the money and energy all worth it. An amazing experience to see an endangered species in their natural surroundings from only 2-3 metres distance. It was exhilarating but not dangerous.
Not everything was perfect. Some Hotel service can be more hit and miss than in the West. Estimating road journey timings will be approximations as weather, border control busyness and night time can all have impact. Bwindi forest is reached by a single lane winding road up a mountain, but absolutely necessary if you want to see mountain gorillas!
I made my own itinerary of key items to cover during the trip, received a competitive quote from Michael and crucially had my 4 gorilla trekking permits confirmed before I had paid any money. This was done some months in advance. I would have no hestitation to say Michael of Mushra will do his best to deliver a great Africa holiday experience.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb....and a few suggestions
Safpol came highly-recommended by friend of mine who took a customized tour of S. Africa, Zimbabwe/Victoria Falls and day trip of Chobe last year. Basia Combrinck worked tirelessly with us for weeks via email to put together our itinerary (3 nts in Cape Town, 2 nts in Kruger, 1 nt at Tshukudu Private Game Reserve, 2 nts in Johannesburg, 2 nts in Victoria Falls [day trip to Chobe] and 1 nt in Hwange). Basia was responsive and accommodating. She suggested that we move our travel dates forward one day to take advantage of lower domestic airfares. This worked well with our international airfares too, so good call from Basia! One thing to note: I had previously used foreign travel agencies (in Asia) which did not charge credit card fees, so I was taken by surprise when it came time to pay Safpol and was told I had to cover the extra 4% VISA card fee (4.5% for AMEX). I had also gotten a different visa card with the sole intention of taking advantage of its free travel insurance... When it's all said and done, I ended up paying Safpol via bank wire transfer and buying separate travel insurance. It would have been helpful if the cc fee was disclosed upfront.
The safari tour most definitely met all our expectations: our private tour guides (Warren Tilling in Cape Town and Per Larsen in Kruger, Tshukudu and Johannesburg) were knowledgeable, friendly and caring. We learned a lot about not just the tourist sites, but also the people, history, current affairs and etc.. Prior to our trip, I had (in hindsight, unnecessarily) worked my anxiety up via internet searches and was quite apprehensive about S. Africa, esp. Johannesburg and Kruger. Per Larsen took such good care of us that we always felt safe. The best part of our 2-nt in Johannesburg was that we did get to visit Soweto and even Cyrildene(our special request). We saw all the Big 5...which we were told, had a lot to do with luck. If we had to go it again, I'd definitely add one extra night in Cape Town to give ourselves time to recover from our long flight from NYC (19 hrs incl. transit at JNB and flight times) . Even though safari tours weren't not on our Cape Town agenda, the city and surroundings had a lot to offer...we actually didn't get to visit a couple of tourist spots such as Greenmarket Square and Signal Hill due to weather and (ofc) our action-packed schedule.
In terms of accommodations, we loved the Lagoon Beach location, except when we had noisy neighbors one night and found ourselves unsure whom to contact ...as there's no actual front desk (security guards were on site). Luckily, neighbors did quiet down eventually.
Kruger Park Lounge was spacious, clean and very comfortable. There was, however, slight confusion with whether we got breakfast on date of our departure (though it was stated as included in our itin.). I went to the front desk to have it straightened out and yes, we did get our included breakfast.
In general, we found food prices in S. Africa very reasonable and food very good.
The one damper on our trip was the theft of an old mobile phone (used as backup) from our son's suitcase en-route from CPT to JNB. Our 2 bigger and heavier suitcases made their way out onto baggage claim sooner than son's lighter midsize suitcase. The Masterlock (combination) lock and luggage strap were gone. Phone was removed but phone case was left, so son didn't realize phone was stolen til a couple of days later. ....Along the same vein, even though South Africa Airways will book you on their domestic connection from JNB to CPT within 2 hours after your international flight arrival (ours from JFK), do NOT be tempted. We RUSHED the whole time: through immigration(40-50 people line), extra time for baggage, and a shock to us: the 'fast bag drop re-check desk' still had a 10+ people line (we had our bags through-checked to CPT).....then 20-30 people security line at the domestic terminal.......we had to plead our ways through all these lines and relied on kindness of fellow passengers and security personnel. It's a journey in itself which I vow never to repeat! (Basia did warn us about the tight transit....live-and-learn...sigh)
Our 3 day visit to Zimbabwe was also arranged by Safpol but run by ShearWater Victoria Falls. Our guide Dingee was as well-informed and detail-oriented as our two guides in S. Africa. As happened to my friends during their 2017 visit, there was again confusion wrt airport transfer on the last day. Luckily, Dingee called the ShearWater office and made last-minute arrangements to accompany us to Hwange Safari Lodge for the day and take us to VFA the following morning. Accommodation-wise, the two hotels in Zimbabwe (Rainbow Hotel in Victoria Falls and Hwange Safari Lodge in Hwange) were definitely a step-down from what we had in S. Africa. Both looked outdated and somewhat worn. I'd definitely look for alternative in Victoria Falls given the vast number of options. Hwange Safari Lodge looked very promising as it abuts Hwange National Park. You can see wildlife visiting the watering hole from our room windows. We arrived on a hot afternoon (90's) after a 2-hr drive. Flying insects everywhere: ladies room in the lobby, the restaurant where we had our late lunch, and our rooms. Somehow very few bugs were found in the same restaurant during dinner and breakfast the following morning. So I'm praying/hoping that hotel management could do something more about the 'bug' situation, as it would be a shame given how beautiful the hotel ground is.
Despite minor hiccups, the trip was very worthwhile. Thank you Basia, Warren, Per and Dingee for making our trip to Africa most memorable.
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35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Saw Big Five and More! Best priced Safari with nice accommodations
I researched many tour companies and many different safaris (and prices) and chose Amazing Memories. My husband and I took the private 5 day Amazing Safari and visited Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara, staying at the Flamingo Tented Camp and Sentrim Mara Lodge, both of which were nice. Anne responded quickly to my emails and answered all of my questions. She quickly sent me the itinerary and the quote, and gave me options to make it less expensive when I asked, even though it was an awesome deal for a 5 day safari staying in lodges. James, our tour guide, was great at getting us to the best spot to see the animals, even if there was a jam of multiple safari company vans around us. He was determined to make it a wonderful safari and it was! He stopped as long as we wanted to, got as close to the animals as he could (with awesome driving skills) and drove to see the animals that were on the top of our list. We saw southern White Rhinos, which are greatly endangered, Black Rhinos, Cheetahs, Lions, elephants, wildebeest, African Buffalo, hyenas, Hippos, Zebras, giraffes, birds, Ostrich, and more-- AND we saw a Leopard up close! James not only talked about the animals,but also talked about Kenyan Culture, which was great! We're very glad we picked Amazing Memories for our safari.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
African Safari
We were party of 14 adults and had two SUV from this company. The drivers were excellent in terms of their services and demeanors But we were given one relatively new vehicle and other one was very old. One of our vehicle broke down twice once in Masai Mara and second time in Serengati national park. The ride was very rough with broken seats handles and malfunctioning windows.
PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU PLAN TO CHOOSE THIS COMPANY AND ASK FOR A NEW VEHICLE WITH COMFORTABLE SEATS AND WEFI ONBOARD IF POSSIBLE.
AE
Excellent customer care and well planned but very flexible
well arranged and sincere staff. they are very flexible also. accomodation was good.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Experience and most memorable tour
From the time we made our booking, Andrew gave us the best recommendations and was very accommodating with all our changes & requests as we were a group of 6 going on a 7 day tight packed schedule safari.
We were in the company of driver guide Robson who made our 7 days entertaining, comfortable, friendly & warm. How he spotted animals was beyond our telling, very keen and professional. He was very well informed about the animals and knew exactly where to go to get the best viewing. We saw the big five and much more through our journey covering Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Tarangire.
When i go back to Tanzania again, rest assured it will be with this company again!
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
You can not be in better hands then with ETrip Africa
I can’t say enough about Ben and his staff at Etrip Africa. I reached out to eight different tour operators focusing on those who worked in Tanzania, Rwanda and possibly a connection to the States. Ben was one of only two who replied with an offer to talk instead of just sending me a price quote based on an itinerary I had sent them based on my own research. I found our Skype conversation incredibly helpful as Ben gave me his professional and local expertise on how we could better utilize our time to see what we really wanted to see at the same time keeping within our budget. By focusing on less travel time between camps and locations and more focus on wildlife viewing we were able to throw in some extra treats like staying at a nicer camp closer to the cheetahs (one of our main focus) and also a hot air balloon ride for our anniversary, all while keeping us within our stated budget. Our guide David in Tanzania was fantastic. A real gentleman and pleasure to be around. This is incredibly important as you will be spending a lot of time in the company of your guide and I cannot recommend David more highly. For our time in Rwanda, also coordinated with ETrip Africa we had Kevin as our guide and he was just an incredible human being. Trying to understand what he and the rest of the citizens of Rwanda have been able to overcome is just so amazing and then you add in two jaw dropping treks to see the gorillas and you have an incredible ending to an unforgettable trip. I also want to say a special thanks to Ben for helping us when Turkish Airlines cancelled our original flight and had us instead arrive at 5:15am in the morning. Without a hotel to stay at, Ben came to our rescue and offered to pick us up at the airport and bring us to his bed and breakfast (The Researchers Rest) and gave us a bed to sleep in and breakfast to tide us over until our hotel room was available at our initial stop. I can’t thank him and ETrip Africa enough. So sit back and relax with the knowledge that these people know what they are doing and will always be there for you.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great variety of reserves and great driver.
James' communication was very clear, and he responded promptly. Payment was easy (PesaPal & cash). The safari itself was great. We stayed at Sopa Lodges. They were all good (varying quality) with good food. Our driver was great. He knew how to drive in a game reserve better than most of the other drivers. He got us closer than 10 feet to rhinos, lions, cheetahs, and zebras, something most of the other drivers didn't manage to do. Overall great experience.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Organized, listens to needs, responsive, creative and handles issues with solutions.
Duma Explorer is an expert at communicating from the start to finish! The amount of money is cause for careful examination and possible referral in this investment. After introductions via email with Stacey Readal owner/founder the interaction was smooth. By the time I had to send the total amount I was more than comfortable and thoroughly excited for the Safari planned a year in advance.
The 10 day Safari was guided by Shange Wilson. His knowledge and experience made our trip safe and flawless. We fell in love with his warm, calm spirit. The animals, birds and wildlife was absolutely incredible! We were blown away that there is still a place on earth where the great animals still roam in peace and harmony, of course until someone gets hungry. We did see a kill and that happened so quickly, it wasn't a big deal.
I highly recommend Duma Explorer as your go to when it comes to an African Safari!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect short trip to Murchison Falls
Our party of 3 ladies had a perfect trip when spending 3 days in Murchison Falls with our wonderful guide Tom!
He made our trip comfortable, informative and funny, always doing all his best to let us enjoy the so far most amazing wildlife trip we aver had!
Thanks a lot for everything!