US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perspectives on South Africa
We hired Malcom for a 4 day tour to visit Swaziland and Lesotho, out of Johannesburg. I understand that this not one of Malcom's typical safari tented trips, but it was exactly what we wanted. Communication with Malcom was fantastic, and the trip couldn't have gone better. Also, a GREAT value! Malcom arranged all the hotels, met us at the airport and provided great commentary along the way. Malcom has lived in South Africa most of his life and has seen many changes. For us the hallmark of a great guide is someone that provides their own perspective on life and doesn't just show you the sights. As liberals from the USA, we may not fully understand his views, but we certainly appreciated being challenged by them.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Budget Tour - Similar to More Expensive Tours for Half the Cost
3.5 Stars
We booked a 9-day tour with Budget Baboon Safari. The process was relatively easy. Emails were responded to quickly. A deposit of 20% was needed through a wire transfer or via African PayPal (forgot what they call it). I did a wire transfer after reading about the possible challenges and pitfalls of African PayPal.
PROS:
Good drivers. We had Mike in Kenya, and he went out of his way to ensure that you saw animals, and that you could see animals up close. The vehicle didn't break down (you'll see or hear stories). We were upgraded to a newer campsite, which was nice. It had running water, albiet no hot water, it had WiFi although spotty (what do you expect in the middle of nature). Food was decent. We went in October and saw many animals in a short period of time.
Tanzania, we were contracted out to 7 Wonders, then to 3 Wonders. Frank was our second driver, he was excellent. Not a lot of info, but good driver, took you to see what you wanted. Set up camps. Food was decent. Fun to camp out in the wilderness with the animals. Serengeti is much larger than Masai Mara in Kenya, and therefore, in October, we spent more time driving to find the animals.
CONS
We were picked up from the airport, but ended up waiting for hours for another couple's delayed flight, who didn't even come on our tour anyway. We were only 20 minutes from our hotel, but the driver said it would take hours "due to traffic," to take us to the hotel. Google Maps did not indicate this. Locals confirmed there is not hours of traffic at night. Furthermore, looking on the other side of the road driving into town, at night, showed no traffic at all.
One more con, has to do with us booking Tanzania through this company. So you understand, they do contract out for Tanzania. We were forgotten at our hotel and had to text, email, then call to get a response.
I will say this, they did correct the mistake by: taking us to the museum and paying for entry. They also upgraded our hotel in Tanzania. The owner, Dennis, also came and apologized personally. You can tell he cares about the business and his reputation and customer experience.
There was poor communication from there-on-out. We were originally told we'd be met at Tanzania-Kenya border heading south. We were not. We were told we'd then be met at bus stop in Arusha. No one was there. We had to text again to tour operator in Tanzania, 7 Wonder Tours, to get picked up. We waited about 20-30 minutes, not too bad.
In Tanzania the vehicle broke down twice, once we waited over two hours for them to "fix," it. It was a broken brake cylinder, but instead the replaced the break drums, which were completely shot.
First driver we had, we only had for part about 4 hours, for a short drive, and he demanded a tip of at least $10/person. When we offered him less, he refused, got angry and walked off.
OVERALL: Remember, you are on a budget tour, and you are in a developing country. Things will not always run on time. If you do Kenya/Tanzania, the company will farm you out to another company to get you into a vehicle and on safari. Don't worry, this is normal. Your vehicle may break down, we heard this from others as well. Makes sense, they drive these vehicles daily over rough terrain, part of the experience. Last, we did ask other tourists how much they paid...we were paying less for the same trip! You can't beat cheaper. In the end we saw what we wanted to see.
CZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 10 day safari in Kenya !!!
I highly recommend this agency, our guide Samuel and his driver were both perfect, nice, friendly, reliable and professional. We enjoyed the safari very much.If you want to go to see the real life of the wild animals in nature ( jot sufferinng in Zoo's) then go to Kenya and with them :) you will enjoy! We were in Massai Mara, Nakuru, Naivasha, Hell' s Gate, Amboselli and Tsavo parks and also Nairobi. Everything was perfect, well organized and we saw many animals :) We visited also Elephants orphan house which I reccommend you can support like this those small baby elephants by going there and also donate them. I hope one day I will come back to visit Kenya again ..if that happens I would again go with Samuel and his agency :) :)
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzania: Tarangire-Lake Manyara-Serengeti-Ngorongoro. Simply, unforgettable...
It was our first safari so we didn't know what to expect. Now, we perfectly know what to expect from a professional one: a perfect organization from and to the airport, great accomodations both in lodges and in tented camps, a kind attention for our needs, like the vegeterian lunch boxes for me every day (completely unexpected) and a kind, well prepared guide, who has a sort of magical sight for half-hidden animals (sometimes completely hidden ones) and who knows exactly when you want to take a picture and when you've done with them without even telling him (magic again, I guess), and who cheers you up with nice and funny Tanzanian songs during the movements from and to the parks.
Africa is great and its animals (so many of them!) are breathtaking anyway, but I think that a part of our astonishment and deep satisfaction is due to the fact that everything went just perfectly, from the beginning to the end of our travel.
Thanks to our friend Riccardo: you really made our safari unforgettable...
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect Botswana tour:)
Everything was really perfectly arranged, all transfers were on time and we were welcomed at the reception desks.
We liked chosen accommodation very much and order of our route was also well thought out.
We appreciate all efforts and the result:)!
Contact was easy, fast, nice and productive:)
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything was well organized for this safari it was really magical. The 4x4 the guide excellent.
I recommend this company. Thank you very much Sandrine Rios-Curati France
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kili Climb and Wildlife Safari
We LOVED Tanzania Choice Safaris! When we first began contemplating our trip, we asked acquaintances who had recently returned from living in Arusha for advice. Without hesitation, they recommended Brenda and Kakasii with Tanzania Choice Safaris. Thank you Brenda and Kakasii for the work you did to arrange and organize our trip, for your advice and attention to detail, and for all the helpful information on your website. We loved our knowledgeable safari guide, Leslie, and there is no one better than Festo to take your daughter to the peak of Kilimanjaro and bring her back down safely. Everything was absolutely first rate!
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding!!
Lifetime Safaris made our trip better than anyone could have imagined! Everything was perfectly organized, the places we got to visit were amazing and the food was really good. I am super happy that Lifetime Safaris took care of us in such a good way. Thank you so much Agnes and Baraka, and the rest of Lifetime Safaris!!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top notch hospitality makes for an unforgettable first African experience!
My wife and I have wanted to go on an African safari for quite some time but we thought it would cost us an arm and leg, especially if we brought our kids along. We looked for safari tours and asked around a bit until we stumbled on ToKenya. We were pleasantly surprised. Not only were their tours 100% customizable, but they also offered private safari tours at a reasonable price. We booked the 9 Day Savannah & Beach tour and when vacation time came, we packed our bags. Saying the trip was awesome is probably an understatement. From the sights of Lake Naivasha to the beaches of Mombasa, the tour was everything we had hoped for. It was, by all accounts, an experience of a lifetime and we have ToKenya to thank for it. Two thumbs up and worth every penny.
BR
It was very cool.
I had luck seeing some of the 5 Big very close. The scenery and weather is very similar with some regions in Brazil, i.e, savanna (cerrado) covers a large area of the Brazilian territory and our climate is subtropical in the south. The accommodations, food, transportation and guides were very good - Morokolo lodge is perfect. I suggest to everyone to be at least two days in this game reserve. Enjoy it.