NG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic and professional travel company
From start to finish Nature Travel Namibia were fantastic, and we had an amazing holiday. As a family holiday with 2 young children our requirements were well thought out and NTN proposed an interesting age appropriate itinerary which would be enjoyable for all of us. We stayed at several different hotels / guest houses which were again, thought of with our children in mind, and each place added something to the enjoyment of travelling around the beautiful country. The suggestions of places to visit and added excursions were brilliant and again just added to the fabulous holiday, we spent several days in game reserves and seeing all the animals was a truly magical experience for all of us, not just the children!!
The specifics of the tour such as the vehicle hire, accommodations and pre booked extras / excursions came in voucher form which we were given on arrival at Windhoek, along with maps and driving instructions for each leg of the trip. Every individual aspect ran smoothly and everything we booked was ready and waiting for us as and when we arrived, this was fantastic as we didn’t need to worry and we knew that NTN had very professionally sorted everything ready for us prior to our trip.
Communication was excellent with revising and finalising our itinerary and we were so pleased about our holiday that we have just contacted NTN again about organising our next trip, and we will be repeat customers.
We could not fault Nature Travel Namibia in any way, and would highly recommend! An excellent, professional and very knowledgeable company!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exploring Uganda
We did a safari with seven students and wanted it to be as cheap and localas possible.
And Frank tried to listen and adapted the safari to our wishes. He made us experience the 'full' African life
For example we went camping in tents nearby hippo's and we ate food made by locals.
He is a very spontanous and experienced guide, knows a lot about the country and animals.
(Also he speaks pretty well dutch.)
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Go with those that know
At root why do you go on safari? Primarily to see the animals and experience the location; from night sky to dramatic vistas. That entails having the best guides, not drivers, who both know the area (in my case the area around Lake Ndutu), understand animal behaviour and are up to speed on what is happening locally with the animals (which pride has which males, who has cubs, where the migration may or may not be etc.). Our two guides that our party has known for a number of years represent all that. The secondary reason is to be comfortable to feel that authentic Africa that is fast disappearing; a mix of rustic and modern. You can get modern with pools and gin and tonics and animals on tap at waterholes in any number of lodges. That elusive mix is what Amazing Tanzania manages to pull off. This recent trip exceeded expectations on animal behaviour, the sheer numbers of grazers and the associated predators. The tents are first rate and food excellent. The camp fire burned every night under heavy stars.
If you want a better link with the place and what Africa is/was all about then go with these guys; if you need to dress up and have drinks pre dinner, a drive at a respectable time in the morning after breakfast, lounge around a pool then go to South Africa.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
12 Day Rwanda Uganda Best Tour
My husband and I did 12 Day Rwanda Uganda Best Tour ever at the end of March. It was a great experience. Our tour guide Wilson was very knowledgeable about the area, which always impresses me when we go on any kind of tour.
They always seem to educate their passengers extremely well on whatever the tour is about. It feels more personal to us this way. Our tour started off early in the morning, with the driver picking us up at our hotel.
They provided us with drinking water, accommodation and meals were excellent. All the locations were unique and amazing in color. The park is absolutely huge and we were only able to see a small fraction of it. Seeing the gorillas was just amazing.
The weather was perfect that day...only at some points during the day did it warm up. All in all, this tour was more than enjoyable.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Service
Great service. Went out of their way to make sure we were fine and got to our Madaraka Express train ride in time!!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best of Best Safari for my Family
No word can describe our experience as our expectations were totally Exceeded. My children were really happy and that was so joyous to us. We saw lots of animals and the giraffe Centre experience is one memorable visit to us.
Much thanks to Maggie for well organised trip and for Bison Safaris driver James -he was exceptional
Looking forward to coming back in December for Christmas.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poorly organised, vehicle not as advertised, terrible communication
I did a three-day safari organised through MJ. It was a really disappointing experience in terms of the organisation, and not matching what I actually paid for. I contacted the company afterwards and was impressed by Jackson's swift explanation, apology and offer to partially refund the cost - but after successive emails and excuses from them went quiet, and never actually did refund me, which is a really poor way to run a business.
I am aware joining safaris are liable to be a little slow and chaotic, and I was patient about this - even when I nearly ended up being taken to a different country! But not being provided with the agreed kind of vehicle on the final day made me feel like I needed to officially complain.
On the first day, on arriving in Arusha, I was put on a bus that was going to Kenya - and only realized it wasn't the right vehicle when I was asked for a passport! No-one from the shuttle bus transport company knew anything about a safari. This was alarming, as a solo female traveler suddenly in a different city, not knowing where to go.
After being driven around for a while by a taxi driver who had no clue what was happening, I had to use my international data roaming to get online to find MJ Safaris number, which cost me a further $10. No phone number was provided when booking. I was then taken to the correct hotel to join a safari group, but it was not a great start!
On the second day, I was told to get up for breakfast at 6am. After waiting three and a half hours, we finally left at 9.30am. This was frustrating.
On the third day, again there was a delay at the campsite, as my driver struggled with a card payment. At the entrance to Lake Manyara, we again waited for a further hour - something to do with the card, or it being a Sunday? It wasn't clear. Again, this delay was frustrating.
Worse, however, was that the car I was in was not a Land Crusier 4x4. It was just a taxi. This meant the windows were blacked out, which was not good for viewing animals. There was a sunroof, but of course it was open to the sky. The sun was very fierce, and I had to avoid it to prevent getting sunburnt, which also made things difficult. They did not have any binoculars, which made viewing animals more difficult. You couldn't stand up when the vehicle was moving, as the sunroof was not padded. I also had safety concerns given there were animals such as baboons who might have jumped in! Finally, the vehicle was clearly unsuited for some of the roads/rivers it had to travel on; it was a very bumpy ride, and the driver was evidently nervous about driving through water.
The driver did a really good job, all things considered, but the booking specifically stated it would be a different vehicle.
I was very disappointed by the disorganization of the trip, but especially the fact that it deviated on the last day from the vehicle as advertised and paid for.
MJ Safaris explained when I complained afterwards that all this was because a group had cancelled at the last minute, and so I had been subcontracted out. I appreciate mistakes can happen, and appreciated their response, which offered to refund the cost of the final day. But it was doubly frustrating to be offered compensation and then just to have follow up emails completely ignored.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Memorable safari with the best agency -Bison Safaris
As 20 friends i our 30's we decided to take the 5 days safari to Kenya visiting Masai Mara ,Nakuru and Naivasha. Well well, Bison Safaris organized everything to perfection. Maggie is exemplary good in her work as she takes you through all steps really well and this did boost the confidence in us and even when we paid we knew this was a reliable company thus no fear at all.
Great drivers we had -James and Bernard. Thank you so much guys for ensuring we spotted as many animals as possible.
Lenchada camp, Lanet Matfam and Taphe Resort are budget units but worth every penny we paid for. Great service and great food and in all these accommodation places we met very friendly staff.
Bison safaris any time for Kenya travelers
Thank you so so much Bison team. Kudos:
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A surprising four days safari in nature
Frank makes sure you have an amazing safari. A guid with a lot of experience about the animals. He makes a safari plan based on personal wishes. I traveled with a group of 7 students. He took into account the budget of a student. Frank Tours Uganda is definitely recommended!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good service
We booked our train tickets for the SGR and a taxi to the train station with East Africa Shuttles and Safaris. Everything was arranged well and they arrived on time.