NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrific Tanzanian Safari!
Our safari experience with Awaken to Africa was truly excellent. Very good communication, itinerary, and accommodation organized by Grace. Our guide David, a most genial and likable man, took such good care of us. He is a hugely experienced naturalist, with encyclopedic knowledge of the Tanzanian fauna and flora and was selfless in going the extra mile to ensure our safari was the simply the best. Our experience with Awaken to Africa was 5 Star and I have no hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending this company to future safari travelers.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Another amazing adventure!
Rose certainly came up trumps again with another exciting itinerary in South Africa. This was our second trip organised by The Luxury Safari Company Ltd and won't be the last.
We returned to to the Sabi Sand Private Reserve and stayed at Chitwa Chitwa, where we loved being so close to the resident snorting hippos on the lake. The elephants came to have a splash around in the lake one afternoon and they put on a great show. Buffalo and water buck also frequented the banks of the lake, as well as a crocodile and a variety of birds. We had some excellent viewings, including two leopard brothers, one up a tree crunching on an impala, whilst his sibling waited patiently below for his turn. Then we explored a different part of the country, Kwa Zulu Natal. What a beautiful and diverse area! We had a stay at the Oyster Box in Durban, a charming old colonial style hotel. Then we headed to off to the Drakensberg mountains to stay in the Midlands at the very scenic Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse. The food there is excellent, but you will pile on the pounds. There are plenty of walking opportunities on your doorstep though to walk off those calories. If you are interested in the Anglo Zulu war, then Fugitive's Drift is the place to stay. We had no real interest, but took part in the organised trips to Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift. You could not fail to be touched by the expertly related stories, although it was a little too detailed and lengthy for us! Then we drove to an idyllic beach retreat in a very remote area. Thonga Beach Lodge was very civilised, but so far away from civilisation. Total relaxation, a pristine beach you can walk along for miles and miles, and extremely warm and friendly staff from the local village. We were invited to church in the village and we spent an unforgettable afternoon with the Mabibi people who really touched our hearts and brought us to tears with their melodic singing harmonies. We left Thonga with a tear in our eye. Then finally, we enjoyed a second safari at Phinda Forest Lodge. As well as the big five, we saw lots of cheetahs and fluffy young cubs - such beautiful creatures. We also watched the lions and their cubs eating a variety of kills, which we have never seen before, and although a bit gory, it was strangely excellent viewing! We even saw the elusive aardvark one evening which is a real privilege!
We returned home feeling like we had really seen a slice of the real Africa. We drove through varied landscapes, met some lovely Zulu people and lots of other interesting people along the way. Thanks Rose for organising another brilliant and unforgettable trip!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ubuntu run a seamless operation from day one to last day . We would definately use them again.
Everything from initial communications inquiring about safari's to Kenya and Tanzania to actually commencing and finishing the safari tour was handled with courtesy and 100% professionalism. The safari tour lived up to our expectations and more. We would definitely use Ubuntu again for Travel in Africa.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect crew for an amazing honeymoon
We can't recommend Kilimanjaro Brothers enough. We had planned to have our honeymoon in Tanzania with a safari, climbing Kilimanjaro and ending in Zanzibar. Organizing our trip with George was efficient and simple. More than that, when we arrived at the airport, George was happily waiting for us with our safari guide and even a camera person to document our arrival. Everything was exactly as described. After the safari, we started the trek to Kilimanjaro. Our guides Peter and Priscus were so professional and unbelievably supportive and helpful. They were truly top-notch. I had hiked in Nepal before and was anticipating a similar trekking experience - but hands down, Kilimanjaro Brothers had such a professional and caring air to them - truly exceptional. After the trek, which was fantastic (food, tents, staff and all) - when we were dropped at the hotel, we didn't realize that George and his crew had set up a little party for us. Even giving us embroidered sheets with our names on them - wanting our experience to be special because it was our honeymoon. It truly felt like a small African wedding.
We really appreciated the Kilimanjaro Brothers because it is a small, local company - and you can feel how much they care about making your experience worthwhile and special. We are happy to call George, Peter, Priscus and our whole crew friends. Thanks for an incredible time.
Amazing trip
This safari tour in Tanzania really exceeded my expectation. My friend an I enjoyed 6 days safari with kilislope, Nova our driver and guide is very knowledgeable with charming and calm character, safe driving but always sure on time, we got see all what we wanted and actually even more.
Serengeti is a dream place and I would come back one day.
US
50-65 years of age
Our amazing safari with Safari-Infinity
My two adult children ages , 28 and 26, and I recently returned from a dream safari in Zanzibar along with several days in Zanzibar. After careful research we made the decision to use Safari-Infinity as our tour company. It was the best decision we could have made! From the very first email I sent inquiring about booking a safari I received extraordinary customer service. As anyone planning a safari knows it can be a huge undertaking! The decision was made to use Safari-Infinity after the first email I received from Lucia Lee. She took care of the whole trip from beginning to end - the safari as well as our trip to Zanzibar. Lucia was willing to customize the trip to meet my families needs. We planned a ten day safari to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Taragire, the central and western Serengeti. We also spent one day near Mt. Kilimanjaro. We flew to Zanzibar and spent two days in Stone Town followed by five days in Nungwi. Lucia took care of all six of our accommodations for the safari and accommodations in Stone Town as well as an all-inclusive resort in Nungwi. We stayed in two lodges and four tented camps for our safari and every place we stayed was amazing!!! The whole trip was fantastic and every detail was handled by Safari-Infinity. I cannot say enough great things about Safari-Infinity. We also got to meet Lucia and her husband Simon which felt like meeting old friends after all the correspondence between us before we left on our trip! Another important part of a safari is your guide and our guide Rapheile was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable about wildlife. He went above and beyond to make sure that we saw as much wildlife as possible. He always did special things to make each day great and he was a great photographer to! I guarantee you will not be disappointed if you choose Safari-Infinity for your safari. It was a very personalized safari which made it fantastic.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional Safari Experience
Asili is the Swahili word for nature, and it's not surprising Joe chose this for his business - he's love, respect, and wonder of nature is evident from the outset and an integral part of the Asili Safari experience.
After working as a guide for many years, Joe started his own safari business, and is as committed to growing it as he is to ensuring you have the best safari experience possible. His knowledge of the Serengeti and other game parks, the animals, their habits and habitats meant we saw an abundance of animals, and gained precious insights to their world.
I highly recommend choosing Asili explorer if you want a genuine, local experience by a highly driven, enthusiastic and knowledgable expert.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding service and planning - amazing company and safari!
Wow! We can't recommend Safari Specailists enough. Nadine helped us plan and organize the most memorable trip of lives. Nadine was always super responsive to our many,many questions during the planning phase and we even skyped a bunch of times (we are in California) to discuss options and help us understand how to build a custom made safari that was perfect for us. Her knowledge of botswana and the camps was outstanding. The trip was perfect - from road transfers, flights and accomodation everything worked like clockwork. We fell in love with botswana and so please we got to work with such a wonderful local women run company. We can't wait to back and can't wait to work with Safari Specialists again.
Incredible, memorable vacation
My wife and I just finished an 8 day safari with Awaken to Africa and couldn’t be happier with our experience. We had never been on a safari before and had a lot of questions. Grace did an amazing job helping us pick out lodging, counseling us on what to expect, and providing a detailed packing list. Once on the ground in Tanzania, our guide David Mshana led us through the experience of a lifetime. We visited the four major northern parks (Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti) and saw more wildlife than we could have hoped for. Highlights included 47 lions in one day (>70 overall), 5 rhinos in one day, leopards on 4 consecutive days, and the “Big 5”in a single day! It soon became evident that David’s spotting ability was second to none. In comparing our daily experiences with other tourists on safari, ours was always significantly better. In addition David’s easy-going and kind manner made the trip essentially perfect, and saying goodbye felt like leaving a good friend.
We would recommend Awaken to Africa without any hesitation and hope to experience Tanzania with this wonderful company again in the future.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Comfy car, great accomodation & experienced driver
We had a Safari on our bucket list and decided to book via Safari bookings. We were happy with Safari hub's review and found them responsive to communicate with and extremely knowledgeable about Tanzania. In the end we opted for a weekly group departure as the itinerary looked good and more importantly fit within our budget (Flights are expensive to Kilimanjaro). The vehicle, driver and accommodation was as per itinerary and comfortable. In the beginning we were rather apprehensive about this trip, but are now looking forward to a similar adventure in the future.
Parks visited: Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti.
June 2015.