DE
What a wildlife experience!
To be honest, I've never been on a safari before but it was pretty much as I dreamed of it: we've seen everything, starting the day with a leopard, going on with lions, elephants, hippos, giraffes and lots of antilopes, it was very impressive.
BE
fun fun fun
We made the easy walk up to the base of the stunning 170 m. high Sanje waterfall. The forest was beautiful, walk not too difficult and swimming under the waterfall a taste of heaven. On the way back in the afternoon we saw masses of the endemic (and very pretty) Udzungwa Red Colobus Monkeys as well as some Black and White Colobus and a possible quick glimpse of the more elusive Sanje Crested Mangaby (also an endemic species). A wonderful walk with a very charming and competent guide provided by the park HQ. Well worth the visit, if your up for a bit of a walk, its great to move after being cooped up in a land cruiser on game drives all the time.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Ruaha National Park by David Yekutiel
We arrives in Ruaha late in the evening in a heavy rainstorm so it was only next morning when i looked out of my window at the Ruaha Cottages and saw granite mountains, elephants and Giraffes grazing aloong the Ruaha river in the valley below that the wild beauty of it hit me . Its simply unbelievably, heart-breakingly stunning.
DE
Review about Uganda by Max
I liked the fact that noone knew what we were going to see and in the end, everybody resumed that we didn't miss anything!
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I had a wonderful time
Tanzania is a stunningly beautiful country, full of beautiful game parks packed with exciting wild animals and birds.
The people of this land are proud of their country and take exceptionally good care of it. It is clean and tidy and well run. They are also warm hearted and friendly and make Tanzania much more than just a game-viewing destination. Go and see for yourself!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing first safari w/ Anthony. Would definitely recommend!
My parents and I decided to do our first safari for my mom's 50th birthday. When we arrived in Nairobi, Robert and Anthony picked us up in a beautiful 4x4 to take us on our trip. Throughout the journey, Anthony was the perfect tour guide, smart, funny, and punctual. He knew the park extremely well, so we got to see all of the animals we wanted. Within ten minutes of entering Masai Mara, we saw a leopard! The next day, we saw 4 lions, 5 lion cubs, 6 cheetahs, and more! Anthony recommended we wait by 4 of the cheetahs because it looked like they were about to hunt. He ended up being right: we saw the four attack and kill a gazelle, which was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Would definitely recommend Anthony and Beacon Safaris for an incredible time!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great followup, lots of ideas and suggestions, personal attention to details, cared about our needs.
My daughter and I were traveling to Africa for a mission trip bring thousands of donated shoes. We needed lots of help fitting in some game viewing and our need to be at a local school for our shoe distribution. They made it all fit: giving us great guides, wonderful and on time transportation options, and selected a fabulous lodge to do a short safari.....had a totally amazing time together and shared a tent which still gave us each some privacy while being together...a dad's dream trip. Thanks JAVA, I'll do it again some day. Rich Rosenberg USA
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
EAS crafted a special off-the-beaten-track hiking and birding safari for us that met every need.
We spent 14 days with our guide in the Pare and Usumbara Mountains. We are in our 70s - relatively fit, but with some extra needs, all of which were so well addressed -- we couldn't have asked for more careful attention. Throughout the trip we had our terrific guide (Bernard Shirima - a first-class bird and game expert, as well as wise in the care and handling of clients ). We had expected more game in the Mkomazi National Park, but rain limited our reach, and being new, the park has not yet built up a large big game population. We did see splendid birds in Mkomazi (we are not seasoned birders, so it was a new experience to see so many stunning birds.)
Unexpected rainfall also kept us from seeing the Chome Nature Reserve, which was on our itinerary. The Tona Lodge, in the Mbaga District, high in the Pare Mountains, was a disappointment, as the mountains were so steep, we were unable to hike anything but paved roads. But that turned out to be a great experience being greeted and welcomed by villagers of every age. We really got a feeling for life in such a village after spending 3 days walking around. (It really helped that Stan speaks fairly decent Swahili- much to the delight of everyone we met!) Tona Lodge was a great disappointment in terms of facilities, food, and service. The view, however, was stupendous!
EAS arranged for local guides to join us in each of the regions we visited - mostly to introduce us to the community and show us where to go hiking/birding. Bernard was our true bird guide, however. In the Western Usumbaras near Lushoto, we stayed comfortably at Mullers' Mountain Lodge - beautifully situated and comfortable (though plagued with hot water problems and food heavier in German style than we would have liked). Our local guides there knew little about the birds other than where to take us, but Bernard helped us find birds (and we enjoyed seeing colobus monkeys). In the Amani Nature Reserve in the Eastern Usumbaras we stayed at a research station and were guided by a very able researcher who taught us much about local birds and his work. The jungle in these mountains was truly spectacular - trees so tall and covered with vines that it was impossible to see the whole. We enjoyed long walks, (even though birds were hard to see in the dense foliage), and did see some spectacular birds. Bernard really taught us a great deal -- not only about the birds, but about how to go about looking for them.
Overall, we realized after the fact that we had not insisted enough on a more specific itinerary with greater clarity ahead of time as to what we could expect to see and do in the Western Usambaras which -- because so off the beaten tourist track -- were not well known by Bernard. I was disappointed not to see more game (in Mkomazi we saw a few giraffes, a bat-eared fox, and the disappearing tails of a few hartebeests). We had a great adventure there getting hit by a sudden downpour and sliding up to the fenders of our safari vehicle in mud. Had to call for a tractor to pull us out, but, Bernard had brought along box lunches, so all was well.
This was our second trip with EAS - we had a splendid safari to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti several years ago, so we already had great respect for their professional preparation and care, as well as the expertise and responsiveness of their guides. I wouldn't go to anyone else, and I hope someday we will come back for another trip with them.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic adventure
Excellent organized tour to Kenya.
Our guide was very helpful and very good so we feel safe and comfortable the whole tour.
We saw all wild animals we expected to see. Thanks.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worthwhile trip!
The two-day tour of Tarangire and Ngorongoro national parks was really worth it. I would recommend this for people on a budget and maybe with less time to cover the entire wildlife area of North-East Tanzania.
The big five very close to the vehicle coupled with amazing weather and scenery. What more could I ask for? The staff were great too, explaining all the way.