Well organised tour with a very experienced tour guide.
Fantastic safari and beach holiday with African Big Cats Safaris
We had a really lovely five day safari with African Big Cats followed by a few days relaxation on in Zanzibar. Our safari was very well organized, the accommodation and food were very good and, most of all, we had a very knowledgeable and experienced guide, Haruna, who was able to ensure
that we saw all the Big 5, plus Cheetahs and other varied wildlife. Haruna was always reliable and polite and our vehicle was cleaned at the end of every day. We booked directly with African Big Cats, which represented very good value for money. They were very helpful during the booking
process, providing detailed informaon on our tour and accommodation, and clearly answered any questions that we had. We would highly recommend this tour operator.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
My tour with kensai safari was one of the best tours experienced in a lifetime.Their guidea are passionate and knowledgeable about the wildlife,making you safari enjoyable .The accomodations on the other side are comfortable and are carefull selected to meet your needs.On top of that kensai safari customer service is top-notch.I really enjoyed my safari with kensai safari
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amidst a sea of options for tour operators, Serengeti Green sets a gold standard.
We reached out to well over ten companies on this website, but ultimately decided on Serengeti Green, because their level of servicing was already the best prior to making any selection. Davies was very communicative, and helped accommodate any request we had on places we wanted to visit, and hotels or camps we wanted to stay at.
Most importantly, we had a phenomenal guide in David during our entire trip. He consistently attended to our every request. He ws extremely knowledgeable, efficient, reliable, capable, and above all, a safe driver. We couldn't have asked for more. Everything was simply perfect. He gave us ample time to take photos, and put in the extra effort to help us find worthy sights. It was a result of his hard work and intuition that got us to the better spot to view and experience the infamous great wildebeest migration across the Mara River. It has been a wonderful holiday with David as our guide, and we could not have asked for more.
BE
Excellent
Month: July: Year 2024
My family and I did a 7-day safari in Africa with this tour operator. Everything went on so easily, it was easy talking to the manager Brenda. I speak French mostly, but I never had issues because the guide we were given was good in French. The meals and accommodation were cheap yet very classy. The tour guide was the most amazing person, he was so conversant with the area to an extend that we never had trouble seeing all the animals. What stood out was the kindness, I forgot my luggage in my hotel room and the manager Brenda picked in and send it all the way to Rwanda with everything intact. Always choose ThinkScene Safaris
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I had a wonderful safaris with manyara travel club from the booking and travel itinerary it was goo
Everything was excellent I would prefer anyone to do safaris with manyara travel club
MA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional and proactive
Loved the proactive communication from both the company and the driver. Very professional to keep time and provide assistance with payments. Great drive experience overall.
GH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
absolutely amazing half day activity
I highly recommend booking your safari tour with Royalchoice Travel. They provide excellent service and communication from start to end. My guide Joseph was extremely knowledgeable and engaging. I can't wait to do another tour!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My advice is not to trust APS, they were dishonest and unresponsive with us
We were a group of four and wanted to do safaris in Kenya and Tanzania in July 2024 and wanted this to be a private tour. After doing a lot of research, we had a very specific itinerary in mind, including the parks we wanted to visit and the accommodations we wanted to use.
So we contacted African Paradise Safaris (APS) in July 2023 (over a year in advance) to ask if they would be able to do this itinerary and they assured us they could. They provided us with a quote for this specific itinerary and it seemed good so we booked with John Peter.
We just returned from our trip and we had a very bad experience with APS. They did not respect the contract at all, they lied, and they did not respond to our emails when we reported the problems. They were very responsive when they wanted us to book our trip with them, but after that they just ignore you.
Here are some of the very bad surprises we had with APS :
- The Land Cruiser provided in Kenya was not appropriate.
It was very dirty, very old, too small to accommodate our luggage and in very poor condition. And it did not seem safe at all. Everybody was passing us on the road and our driver could not keep up because his steering wheel was shaking hard. At some point he even left us at a roadside market to go get it fixed but it did not help a lot. This caused us to lose a lot of precious time during the Kenya part of our trip.
During our game drives we saw a lot of other Land Cruiser et we clearly had the worst, and this was not what we paid for.
- The itinerary was not respected and something fishy was going on.
One day we were scheduled to arrive at our lodge in time for lunch, relax and have an afternoon game drive later.
However, our driver told us he knew a shortcut and decided to use some back road to get there and was very evasive when we asked him questions as why we were not going to the lodge first as planned.
He got lost three times trying to figure out where he was going and we lost so much time that he finally had to stop in the middle of nowhere to ask a guy to guide us on his motorcycle, through a very rocky terrain, to a non-official questionable entrance of the Maasai Mara park. We then lost some more time while he negotiates our entry and I suspect that using this back-entrance was a way to avoid paying the full fees for the park. We finally got in the park around 16h30 for a short game drive, but with all our luggage still in the jeep so this was very uncomfortable.
We were supposed to have lunch at the lodge and then relax until our game drive, instead we lost all our afternoon driving around in bad conditions, had a late crampy game drive and got to the lodge after sunset so we could not enjoy the facilities as expected.
- We booked two nights at the Zebra Plains Mara Camp but when we got there, there was no reservation for us.
Our driver took us to the wrong lodge first, then he finally got us to the Zebra Plains but they had no reservation for us, they told us APS did not book our reservation.
We thought somebody must have made a mistake and they would fix it so we will let them figure it out. After a while the Zebra Plains representant told us that they would only be able to provide us with rooms at their sister lodge, the Zebra River camp, about 35 minutes away.
It was irritating but it was getting late and we had no other choice.
The other accommodation seemed equivalent (not as much wildlife around though) but it was not the one that we chose and paid for.
Again a lot of time was wasted.
- In our quote we asked for a french speaking guide and APS told us it would not be a problem and they would provide a guide/driver that speaks french.
APS confirmed to us more than once that there would be just one person to accompany us (guide/driver would be the same person) when we specifically ask about that. However, in the middle of our trip we learned that we would have to switch vehicle and driver for the Tanzanian part of the trip because it seems APS subcontracted this part to another company called African Natural.
When we got to the border we were surprised to see that now we had two guys, a guide and a driver, which would mean that we would now have to pay double in tips.
We tried to contact APS about that but got no response.
But on the bright side, the Land Cruiser provided for the Tanzanian part of the trip was a LOT nicer. It was clean, spacious and in good mechanical order. It had a working cooler full of water, not just a dirty non-refrigerated box like we had before. In fact, this Land Cruiser was just like the ones all the other companies use! That was exactly what we expected and did not get in Kenya.
- We booked one night at the Rhino Lodge but again when we got there, there was no reservation for us.
This was the second time APS failed to book what we asked for and this time it was really beginning to piss us off.
We asked and there were rooms available but no reservation for us.
Our driver tried to contact APS and African Natural to sort this out, but they blamed each other and told him they could not even booked the available rooms.
They relocated us to Ngorongoro Wild Camp which is about 45 minutes away and is not at all comparable (a big step down).
We paid for a room with a fireplace, a nice restaurant, a nice view and we got a camp with no view, no fireplace and a restaurant that looked like a poor cafeteria.
And this place was not convenient at all (a lot further on very bad road), so we lost more than 2 hours the first day sorting this out and getting there and lost another hour the next day to get to the Ngorongoro crater.
Again we emailed APS to get some answers and never got any response.
- Our reservation at Masailand Safari Lodge was not booked full board (all meals included).
When we got to this place they informed us that our reservation was just bed and breakfast so we would have to pay for dinner and would not have our lunchbox the next day.
Our driver had to sort this out with APS again. After a while the lodge finally told us that African Natural agreed that we could have dinner but no lunchbox.
Since our invoice was clear that we paid for full board we send proof to APS and African Natural using Whatsapp and after a while we got a response telling us we would get our lunch the next day. Again we lost a lot of time for something that should have been done right from the start.
- We booked two nights at the Kibo Safari Camp but again APS failed and did not book it.
This time we did not even had to get to Kibo Safari Camp to learn that APS did not book our reservation.
We were on the way there and we happened to ask the driver if he knew the place to which he just answered that we were not going there after all!
This was the third time APS failed to book what we asked for, this is unacceptable.
We were pissed and asked why since this is the place we booked, and he told us APS decided to upgrade us for no reason and that we were now going to the Ol Tukai Lodge.
We specifically chose the Kibo Safari Camp because it is #1 on TA but again it seemed we had no choice but to accept that APS failed and lied.
The Ol Tukai Lodge (#3 on TA) was not bad and we liked it, but when you plan a year in advance and did not get what you paid for it is very irritating.
We were still able to have a good trip since Kenya and Tanzania have a lot to offer if you want to do safaris, but just do not use African Paradise Safaris (APS) if you want to avoid the stress and the deceptions.
And make sure your driver uses his radio to communicate with other drivers. Our driver did in Kenya which was very helpful but in Tanzania the other driver did not and we think we missed a lot of opportunities because of that.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best experience ever! 100% recommended!
This is a long overdue review. My mother and I had the best time of our lives in this tour. Nurath was an exceptional operator from the beginning until the end making sure our trip was memorable. She was courteous, attentive to our needs, and friendly. The itinerary we got exceeded our expectations and we recommend this tour 100%!
Our driver and guide, Dotto, knew so much about the wildlife. He was patient and made sure we were taken care of throughout the entire trip. We were lucky to have him as our guide/driver. The meals and lodging were also superb. Definitely ask for him!C
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Brilliant easy service 24/7 and made the trip for us
We went on our honeymoon to Tanzania using Kojuu safaris and with our guide Naaman and I can honestly say it made the trip even more special than it already was , the service they provided through out was first class and I can’t recommend them enough ! Our guid naaman was so knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make sure we could see everything we wanted during our time , it was a special four days with him and someone now we call a friend ! If you’re thinking of booking a safari don’t hesitate to book with kojuu !!! Lee and Nadia x
