US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lake Ziway is a birder's paradise!
I visited Ethiopia for 10 days with my family. This was not our first trip to the country, but this was my first time to have some time dedicated to viewing wildlife. Ethiopia has a rainy and a dry season. Roads can be difficult to navigate during the rainy season (July - September). We were fortunate to travel during the dry season (March) this time around. I am an avid birder and photographer and I really enjoyed our 2 days at Lake Ziway. We didn't use a guide - we just hired someone to drive us from Addis Ababa to Lake Ziway (about 3.5 hours drive). Addis Ababa sits in the mountains but shortly after leaving Addis we descended to lower elevation into what is much more iconic African savannah scenery with Acacias and sparse scrubland.
We stayed at a resort along the shore of Lake Ziway which was fitting of the name. They have nice, clean accommodations, a good restaurant on site, a nice pool, manicured grounds, spa, etc. They can arrange a very inexpensive (US$6 per person) boat ride out on the lake to view hippos and "bird island," which is a forested island that serves as a rookery for cormorants and African Darters. The boat ride was just over an hour in length and we had great views of hippos at a close, but safe, distance. With a field guide and several hours walking along the shoreline of the lake you can easily see 100-150 species of birds. The sheer number of birds can be overwhelming at times. There is a paved walking trail that runs parallel to the shoreline that is good for birding, but you'll also want to get off the path and walk out onto the mud flats to get closer to the water and away from people. Most of the roads in Ziway are dirt and it is safe to walk about and talk to the locals. We saw very few tourists during our two days in Ziway. I think maybe a total of 3 Europeans and that was it.
All of the local restaurants and hotels serve Ethiopian food, which is delicious. Even during fasting seasons, which most Ethiopians observe, these restaurants have meat available for their guests. Several also have western food items, if you are so inclined. The Haile Resort has Grilled Nile Perch, which was delicious. We also visited a local fish market, which was little more than a lakeside fire ring and someone cooking fresh caught fish, which was really good and a fun experience. There are many Marabou Storks hanging out in this area, eager to eat your leftover fish bones, which you can toss to the birds.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience
Tanzania is a multifaceted country. The wildlife is amazing and was alone worth the trip. Moreover, we were positively surprised by the quality and taste of the food (no stomach Problems)! Also, our accomodations (Dar and Zanzibar) were very nice, clean and comfy although I have to say that we booked rather high standard accomodations. Nevertheless the people are all very friendly and helpful so that you might be even overwhelmed by it. However, not everyone only wants your best so you should always be alert and not too credulous but this advice also holds true for most other (European) countries in the world!
If you are looking for an adventurous, Rich in history, relaxing and „spicy“ holiday trip, you should definately go to Tanzania and Zanzibar!
CA
It was an amazing experience
Our guide was amazing, felt welcomed and safe. Be sure to bring bug spray and portable battery. Make sure to have some cash to buy beautiful jewelry from the massai community markets
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience, no wonder why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa!
This was my first safari experience and I am really happy to have chosen Uganda. I don't like too much crowded touristic areas and Uganda was perfect for this. we had the chance to observe a lot of wildlife and enjoy it without crowds of tourists. The scenery was amazing, we moved from savanna to rain forest and back to savanna an,d even if the distance were quite long, the scenery was really amazing , no wonder why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa!
We changed three different accommodations in 6 days and they were all very high quality standards, while the price were correct and the staff always very helpful and nice. Our guide was really perfect, and the different rangers that we met during our activities were professional and knowledgeable.
PT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing and unforgettable experience
Soul of tanzania gave us the opportunity to discover the essence of Africa. They are organized, reliable and always available to help you deciding the best program for the number of days that you have and the time of the season that you are going.
About the tour itself, we had Amani as our guide and driver, there are no words to describe the professionalism and the knowledge that he has. He talks a perfect english and he is a person you enjoy being around all day. It's possible to see that he is very passionate for what he does and it only makes the experience even better. Thank you, Amani.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing !
Our trip was a pure concentration of happiness sharing and beautiful meetings.
Tunu was absolutely perfect, she was able to accompany us during the preparation with benevolence and enthusiasm.
And we had the chance to share with her a moment of complicity around a drink at Diani beach.
Our guide, and what a guide! Badri was great with us, he was able to answer all our questions and was of a very pleasant company, we often had lunch with him, nothing better to improve a level of English a little hardworking! We even shed our little tear!
In short, you will understand, you can launch your eyes closed in this adventure with Tammy Tours, Tunu and Badri.
We will never thank them enough ...
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Zimbabwe Specialists
Vayeni was excellent from start to finish. They market themselves as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana specialists - and this is 100% accurate. Our every need was catered for in tours, safari, village tours, rafting, horseback riding and more. Nothing was a problem and our small group of 8 was often split up during the days with people doing different tours at different times etc. The personal touch Suzanne and her small team provided was brilliant and thoroughly professional and made our very busy holiday totally seamless and thoroughly enjoyable.
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A dream came true.
In 2016 we had a wonderful camping safari with I Dream of Africa, visiting 4 national parks (Arusha, Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro, Tarangire). But we had one more dream: to visit the Serengeti en see the migration. This happened in October 2018. We booked with Christopher again. We had kept in contact since our first trip.
It was a very happy reunion! Christopher and Warren (his son) fetched us at Kilimanjaro Airport and drove us to Songota Lodge where we spent two nights. From there we flew to Seronera Airstrip. In the meantime Christopher and Japhet (cook) had driven to the Serengeti and set up camp in Lobo. Christopher fetched us from Seronera and we had a two-hour drive to Lobo, during which we saw so many animals! Arriving at Lobo campsite Japhet met us in his white outfit with a tray of drinks, and a big smile! We were all very happy and emotional, meeting each other again.
We spent 12 days in the Serengeti beginning in the north at Lobo, and ending in central Serengeti at Seronera. Both Lobo and Dik-Dik were public campsites.
It was very relaxing to be in one place for a few days at a time. The tents were our “home”. We enjoyed sitting in front of them overlooking the wide open space of the Serengeti - watching the zebras, gnoes, antelope, giraffe and buffaloes pass bye. At night we heard hyenas giggling and lions roaring. We weren't afraid as Christopher had explained how to behave ... and to keep safe. We had a few gamedrives every day- sunrise to sunset. Christopher's expertise was amazing. He found so many animals. Everything from Big Five to the Small Five and everything in between - including the huge migrating herds. Christopher taught us a lot about nature, birds and wildlife behaviour.
At the campsite, Japhet was always busy looking after us with meals and drinks.
At the end of the safari we drove to Seronera airstrip, embraced with a warm and tearful goodbye.
We had a never to be forgotten time and recommend Christopher and I Dream of Africa to everyone!
And this saying is true:
You can leave Africa, but Africa never leaves you.
IE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable 4days Safari with mogalakwena Safari tours
The whole team was great including the chef,accommodation was top notch and tour guides
We recommend them to any Traveller wishing to understake African safari..
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience
We did a 5 day safari in March 2019 in a group of 6 people and we had a wonderful moment.
Good communication with the Tour reservation Manager and Safari plan was very good indeed.
We had a very knowledgeable guide named Anwar with an amazing sense of humor.Lodges and food was wonderful.
We recommend Redwood Expeditions for your next great Adventure.