For a diverse Africa experience the Chobe is one not to be missed
The Chobe has the ideal balance of bushland and wetland offering visitors a real treat of animals and bird life in abundance. The conservation management of the park is of the he highest standard ensuring a boy the finest of African ambience and experience
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Superb Knowledge, Service and Communication
My wife and I are in our mid-late forties and have previously travelled twice to Africa. On those occasions we booked with another tour company. On this occasion, we decided to go with a local provider, The Safari Partners, and we're certainly glad we did.
Although we had been to Africa before, Chris (Safari Partners) was engaged with the the planning of our trip from the onset. He provided information and insight into various lodges and camps that proved invaluable. There is a line in their profile that states: "We don't strive to just sell, we consult. We listen to your needs and design the best possible travel solution for you.". This couldn't be more accurate. They are not just selling you a 'product'. There is a genuine effort and interest to determine what type of traveller you are and what kind of Africa experience you want to have and put an appropriate package together for you.
Communication was excellent. Any email queries we sent, both before and during our trip, were responded to within 24hrs. The only ones that may have taken longer required a response from someone in Africa, hence the delay. Itineraries are professionally set out, detailed and are available to view via a weblink.
Our safari (Johannesburg, Victoria Falls and Botswana) was excellent. Everything was as we discussed and went without a hitch. Even if some matter unforeseen had arisen, I would have all the confidence that Chris would see to it and find a solution. It was a very relaxing, worry-free experience.
Again, this was not our first trip to Africa, we have used other tour operators and would say that Safari Partners has been the best. They have the knowledge, communication along with a high level of service to guide you through and book your African adventure, whether you're a first timer or seasoned traveller. Highly recommended.
US
Just magical
We had such a great time, this was our first experience of Africa, and we now know what the fuss is about.
The people, the climate and the landscape made our time there magical and one day we will go back.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari Adventure!
My wife and I recently returned from a 2 week trip to South Africa, organized by Michelle Astbury at Sun Safaris.
Michelle was extremely helpful throughout the booking process, offering us many suggestions to create an itinerary that exactly fit our requests. We visited 3 private lodges in the greater Kruger area (Cheetah Plains, Chapungu and Kambaku) and also did a day tour of the Panorama Route. Each lodge was a real pleasure to visit - luxurious accommodations, friendly staff, great food and excellent game viewing!
Michelle expertly organized every aspect of the entire trip, including several domestic flights and many transfers between destinations. There wasn't anything more we could have hoped for from our trip to South Africa!
EE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not reliable
We ordered 4-days safari Tarangire-Serengeti-Ngorongoro, instead of Tarangire they sent us to Lake Manyara! And in the end we did not see Tarangire National Park at all as if you are in the safari already there is nothing you can do! We wrote them and asked refund for the day we didn't get in Tarangire and there was no answer from them. I would definitely not recommend this company as you might not get to national park you wanted to go and for what you travelled to Tanzania at all! This company cannot be trusted!
CO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the top 3 trips in mi life
Great and efficient/personalized arrangements made by Henry alongside an incredible guide (Eddie)thoughout the three main destinations
US
Stay away from this company. I would give 0 stars if the site allowed
First I want to state the good:
- Lucy, the owner will respond to all e-mail inquiries very promptly before you book (remember this later, all immediate responses only come before you book and for anything after you make payment you are on your own).
- The driver Cyrus in Maasai Mara is excellent. He is really friendly and will go out of the way so you have a good game drive.
- Remember we are in Africa here. It is just beautiful and like no other place you will see. With or without a bad safari tour, you can't miss the beauty and wildlife all around.
The bad:
- Pretty much everything else.
- We paid $1000 extra to fly from Maasai Mara to Serengeti to avoid a long drive and wasting time on our short trip. Not only did Lucy screw up the flight and we still had to do extremely long drives, but she waited to tell us after we had started the trip and had paid in full in cash. Had she told us beforehand, we would have canceled and gone with another alternative. She's either dishonest or incompetent and neither is a good reason to waste your money on this tour company.
- The trip is not quite 8 days as promised. Obviously we wasted a lot of time driving to make up for the lost flight from Kenya to Tanzania, but by day 6 you are pretty much done.
- The safari driver in Tanzania was really reluctant. We were mostly done with game drives after lunch and would go back by 2:30 or 3 when other people were still out on their game drives and late afternoon is the best time to see animals. The Tanzania part is not run by Shelter tours, they just get a local company to take you around.
- After the trip was unexpectedly changed on us, we repeatedly asked Lucy for the new itinerary and didn't get one until the trip was almost finished. We were basically at the mercy of the Tanzania driver.
- The worst part was that we had paid for Sopa and Serena lodges (3-4 star equivalent) throughout the trip, and because Lucy changed the itinerary, we ended up staying in a simply terrible place in Lake Manyara on the last day. In the original trip there was going to be no stay in Lake Manyara and this was Lucy's pleasant surprise for us. It looked like a rundown dilapidated building, we were the only guests there and the food was bad as in did not taste bad but spoiled. They do not seem to have any guests so they must keep refrigeration and stuff off. simply disgusting considering how much we had paid. Any decent tour operator would have refunded us for the flight ticket and the terrible Lake Manyara hotel that we never agreed to but not Lucy. She stopped answering our desperate e-mails on about day 4 and we just gave up. Someone needs to shut her down. No conscientious person would charge for a luxury tour and give you this kind of experience. I strongly suspect the one review on this site that says they are excellent was written by Lucy herself. We really felt cheated by the whole experience.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing first Safari
They arranged a safari 7 days: Samburu, Naibasha and Masai Mara . Everything was perfect and recommendations of times at each site and accommodations were very successful. Denis, our guide, was great; friendly, professional and attentive to our needs at all times (ah !! and a great driver ... must be taken into account with some roads in Kenya). Thanks to him, we could see all kinds of animals at each place. Accommodations perfect as recommended by Noah. At least offered alternative and not the same as other companies accommodation. they all perfect exceeded our expectations in terms of facilities and location for the park.
From our point of view, highly recommended safaris with this company.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
Trip of a lifetime does not even begin to describe our safari adventure. Tanzania is truly a beautiful country, and we got to see the best of it thanks to the team at Easy Travel.
Emanuel was of incredible help and guidance during the planning portion - helping us navigate options, and customize our 7-day safari to cater to our wish list and the must-sees. (Tanzania Safari - 7 Days - Comfort Plus)
And on the ground, we lucked out with Ombeni as our driver (and hero!) - kind, fun, and game for any and every adventure (not even a rainy day stopped him!), we were blessed by his knowledge and patience as we explored Kiliminjaro, Lake Maynara, Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater.
The highlights without a doubt were the Maramboi Tented Camp, the night safari at Lake Manyara National Park, visiting a local school and village, and the balloon ride over the Serengeti.
Lodging throughout was excellent, and far exceeded expectations - the team at Easy Travel ensured that all our dietary restrictions were planned for and managed, and the staff at each hotel (Serena Lodges, Maramboi Tented Cap, Sopa Lodges) were courteous and catered to our every need.
The team at Easy Travel brought our safari dreams to life - we left not only with great memories and stories, but with new friends in Emanuel and Ombeni. I would highly recommend their services and look forward to booking with them again.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hundreds of cast with Lilian and Fazal
Communications during a six months period of preparation were excellent. Lilian, the manager of Zohar, is a plus for everything and has a great knowledgeability of the sector. She followed us at the beginning, during and at the end of Safari. She is really a reliable, efficient and competent director. Fazal was a great guide and an excellent driver. Thanks to him we saw a lot of animals, expecially cats. He has a great knowledgeability of the parks, of Tanzanian natural life and he is a kind and polite man you can speak with of many things. The car was good, confortable and quite reliable. The lodges and camps we chose following the tips of Lilian were really good, confortable, fine and safe. All in all, a wonderful experience.