50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Chobe - one of Africa's crown jewels
Africa is in my blood - my wife spent 15 years living and working around the continent - and I became hooked on it too. If I had to select one National Park out of the many I've enjoyed, Chobe would be my first choice. Why? It offers a variety of wildlife and a combination of both land and river trips to enjoy this wildlife. Add to this, the local people are both passionate and knowledgeable. Comfortable accommodation is on offer at the Kasane end of Chobe and only a few minutes drive to the park. OK the roads are poor but it is said that this is intentional to reduce the number of "ordinary vehicles" lured to the park. We use the provided safari vehicles and guides.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Botswana by john from bedford
Just 4 stars for wildlife - only because, sadly, no rhino in Chobe at the moment. Despite the lack of rains this last 12 months and the Chobe river being at the lowest level I've seen it, there is still a wide variety of wildlife to enjoy - both on land and in the river. Particularly the abundance of elephant.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Adventure
This company is superior! Every aspect is above expectations, from the hot-water bottles in the bed upon turn-down to the "bush TV" (a campfire chat/relaxation) with staff and guests to the expertise and pleasant disposition of the guides--they knew where the action was and everything about the animals, their habits and habitat. Just a phenomenal experience. The food was 4-star or better, the accommodations 5-star, and the staff were superior. No disappointments!
Kuro Camp in Tarangire was our favorite of the 3 camps and 1 lodge we visited (also stayed at Serengeti Safari in northern Serengeti, Lemala Ewanjan in central Serengeti and Plantation Lodge near Ngorongoro Crater). As far as we’re concerned, it set the standard for all the camps/lodges that followed in our 12-day trip to Tanzania. Like with the others, especially those operated by Nomad Tanzania, the staff was excessively pleasant and gracious. The meals were absolutely fabulous, everyone of them! The tents and little touches—such as greeting fruit drinks, hot water cloths after safari runs, hot water pitchers in the bathroom in the morn/evening, fireside chats before dinner, hot water bottle in bed before turning in--were the epitome of safari camping. The setting was magnificent and the interaction with the other guests was very enjoyable, as they arranged for all guests to dine together at the same table. The host was totally engaged with the guests. Our tour guide, Rej, though relatively new at it, was very good—knew the flora, animal species, habits, habitats and viewing locations. He could easily answer almost any question; knew where the action was. We saw a variety of game.
Serengeti Safari Camp is a mobile-style camp designed to relocate every 3-4 months so it’s a little less dressy than the permanent camps, typically called “lodges” by the operators. Nevertheless, we found this camp to be much more than adequate. Location was great—saw a rhino walk by within 150 yards of the dinning tent during lunch and heard some game at night, mostly hyenas—food was great, including packed breakfast —the muesli is so good, you could eat it all day—and the staff so pleasant and accommodating. The guide, Paulo, was a favorite. He's a seasoned veteran with great concern for the environment and game. Knows the best viewing areas in the northern Serengeti, encyclopedic knowledge of the game, birds and floral, and can answer any and all questions posed by the guests. We saw some of the most unusual animals or game action on our 12-day trip thanks to Paulo. He’s thoughtful, we’ll spoken, a true champion of the animals—had to call off other inconsiderate guides chasing a rhino mother and baby off road. He is everything you would want a guide to be! Would give the camp a 4 ½ star rating and Paulo a 5+ star rating.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Kenyan Adventure
I booked my safari adventure with Patrick back in April. Patrick and his team were very responsive to all my questions and concerns. They were great!!
I booked a 2 night 3 day to The Masai Mara then a 2 night 3 days to Amboseli National Park. Both were Amazing! Our driver, Stanley, was knowledgable on his surroundings and about the animals. We did have 3 flat tires along the way to Lake Nakuru, but Stanley took care of it right away. The tents we stayed in however didn't have hot water. So the mornings were a little rough. Food that was served was decent. Staff was very friendly and helpful. It was a nice package deal for what you pay for.
Thanks again for the great memories!!!
US
my trip
We wanted the holiday of a lifetime to celebrate our silver wedding and all of our hopes were exceeded. this was our first holiday in Africa but probably won't be our last.
Safari was outstanding at Sand Rivers - you really felt that you were the only people there at times.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
magical journey
We contacted several agencies and Celestine from the first moment we caused very good feeling, and did not disappoint us. good organzacion, professionalism and above all always aware of everything. to say about our driver, always ready and attentive, we saw everything. alojamientod good and excellent meals. neither my wife nor I will forget this great experience and my 6 year old daughter ...... still talking about the trip and friends of Kenya. thanks friends back of your hand because although the spectacular safari is a good organization and confidence make it unique and what you have accomplished.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect organized trip,
Questions were answered prompt. Guide was very friendly and was very good. Organisation was professional.
It was so cool to see beautiful Tanzania. Time was unfortunately not long enough.
Organisation was perfekt. Thank you Kichaka adventures! I book again a tour when I can come back to see the rest of Tanzania.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Service and Fantastic Value!!
We spent 4 days around Johannesberg (particularly Pilanesberg) organised by Mmilo Tours. The customer service was excellent throughout the service, keeping us regularly updated and even accommodating quickly and easily when we changed our plans. Our guide, Patrick, was friendly, knowledgeable and punctual.
I would have no hesitation recommending Mmilo tours to anybody visiting South Africa.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing holidays with the best organization
We went on the 5-days Safari through the northern part of Tanzania (Tarangire National Park, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater) with It Started In Africa. Our whole trip was organized perfectly. So we would like to thank the team again for all the quick responses, helpful comments and recommendations during our booking process.
We had an awesome time during our Safari and our stay in Zanzibar and I would really like to give some feedback :)
Safari:
It was top organized and we had the best tourguide!!!
Michael was great, showing us and telling us all important things about the country, the animals and nature.
His calm, friendly and professional way of handling the trip, was the best match for us.
We were so happy to have him and always felt safe driving around with him.
We booked also during our Safari the visit to a Maasai village what after all wasn't such a great experience.
Besides that, everything was great!
The service and the people in the lodges were absolutely friendly and helpful.
We loved the Maramboi Lodge!! It was really cool there.
Zanzibar:
Also Zanzibar was a great experience.
I would like to mention that the service in Pongwe Beach Hotel was amazing!!!
We had such a good time there and the people were so sweet and friendly and the service couldn't be better at all!
To sum up, I can and will recommend the organization It Started In Africa to all our friends.
It was a great holiday and we enjoyed it a lot!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great tour. Hassan, our driver was awesome
The tour itself was great. Our guide, Hassan, was very knowledgable and helpful. Everyone had a great experience. The only complaint, and this was not their fault, was the brutal traffic coming back. Be sure you are prepared for literally hours of traffic jam. Also, apparently some of the roads have changed since they put up their website so you should add an hour driving time to the day tours.
Overall I would highly recommend them, and Hassan specifically.