US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best, best, best vacation we've ever shared as a family!
I spent a full month investigating every possible option to visit Africa for our family of 5, plus two friends joining us. What I eventually concluded was that our best choice in planning a complex holiday involving visits to three countries, including differing safari experiences throughout, was to work with Wild Wings Safaris. What convinced me, aside from the excellent reviews and experience planning complex itineraries, was my connection to Wild Wings' Clare van der Breggen who became our best friend and greatest wealth of insight through the planning process. From the very first contact, Clare made the experience as easy and pleasant as possible. Everything was either 'yes' or 'let's figure it out' - with nothing impossible and everything a suggestion of what could be as we made choices about spending two weeks in Africa. We considered many combinations of itineraries, but Clare kept me true to the vision of our family trip to experience Africa up close and personal. She helped weed out the hype and kept us focused on what we said would make us happiest. She helped us craft an itinerary that progressively allowed us to experience nature up close and personal, and even during one of the busier seasons, found openings in the most incredible accommodations and with the very best guides. Clare's communication, knowledge and support exceeded all of our expectations. Everything went off without a hitch... every transfer to and from, every check-in, every meal, every tour... to the minute - all of it was perfect... simply perfect! I have now shared our Wild Wings Safaris experience with everyone I know, and if you are reading this review, go no further, you found the perfect group to craft your own experience of a lifetime!!!
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I lived one of the best experience in my life
We arrived in Kilimanjaro airport where there were our guide and our driver waiting for us and they accompanied us to hotel in Arusha and the next day to Karatu with stop at the local markets. Along the road we saw local realities thanks to our guide who showed us the various situations, especially the Masai with their villages. Our driver was always very good and was able to juggle in those roads that are not very easy! The guide was a nice, helpful and prepared travel companion. With them we had really good evenings and moments of the day! The hotels were all very nice both for the rooms and the staff ... I must say that the local people are very welcoming !!!
Safari has been one of the most beautiful experiences of my life and we have been able to see many animals of all kinds and in various situations, from rest, grazing, to hunting! The Serengeti Park with its infinite expanse is wonderful and sleeping with the windows of the room overlooking the savannah was exciting!
Then we got to Zanzibar with an internal flight, always booked by Savannah explorers, and our accommodation in the Smile Beach Hotel was very welcoming! The environment, cleanliness and availability of staff was full marks. If we have to find a little defect with it maybe the catering that was always a little defective. The sea in front had many algae but just move us a little to have the beautiful white beach! The location of the resort, on the other hand, allowed us to walk on the sandy tongue left by the low tide and also to come and visit the natural center of restocking marine turtles ..... what a wonder!
The whole organization was perfect!
US
Uganda Birding and Gorilla Trekking Trip with Nature Travel Birding
We are very pleased with our trip August 2017 to Uganda with Nick Buys of Nature Travel Birding. Our pre-trip expectations were high and Nick delivered! Logistically Uganda is not an "easy" trip but Nick handled the challenges on the ground with ease and expertise. Lodging and food were adequate although WIFI was very spotty. The main focus of the trip was birding and gorilla trekking. Nick is very astute of quickly assessing your bird list and pursuing additions to the list as well as focusing on endemics species. Many daily excursions were conducted with the assistance of local guides with great knowledge of local birding hotspots. The net effect was a very focused search of species with minimal down time. Nick never loses sight of his clients needs and has the expertise and experience to assist in the location of the bird. Gorilla and Chimp trekking was as advertised; wonderful and astonishing!
This trip was primarily forest birding with a lots of time spent looking up at the canopy. Usual days were up before sunrise and back at sunset. Roads are not the best, mostly gravel, and we drove many kms to maximize out experience. Our 14 day trip brought a closeness to trip participants (including locals) which proved to be fun and rewarding.
We saw upwards of 400 species of birds, probably over 50% new additions to our bird list. We had three sightings of the shoebill, one for 20 minutes within 10 meters of us. Other birding highlights included spectacular visuals of the Green Breasted Pitta and African Green Broadbill. Our gorilla trekking had us spend over 1 hour with a family again meters away from us. Chimps were high in the forest canopy but provided entertainment by raining down projectiles at us!
Overall a great trip and wonderful experience. Nick is passionate about his guiding and love of birding and mammals. We are already in discussion with Nick on our next trip.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing adventure- loved our driver!
My sister and I thoroughly enjoyed our 3-day trip to Maasai Mara. Our driver, Stanley, was absolutely wonderful. He worked hard to show us the beauty of Kenya and went above and beyond to help us with numerous travel details after the safari since we were unfamiliar with Kenya.
We also enjoyed staying in the Simba Oryx camp. The staff was so friendly, and the views of the Maasai mara from our tent were breathtaking. The food was also delicious!
Suggestion- wear clothing for heat on the drive out of Nairobi! It is a long, hot, and dusty drive and the vehicle does not have AC. We would have taken surgical masks for breathing, and not worn long pants if we had known in advance. Be prepared for a very bumpy ride too :)
Thanks Stanley and Edith for a wonderful time!
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 day selous tour
We booked with Hello Tanzania for 4 days in selous for 2 people, and we were very happy. The Hippo Camp is nice, the people sweet, and Mwajabu and her brother Abdallah are both very sweet and helpful people. I ended up booking with Hello Tanzania because i felt that Mwajabu was very trustworthy and response on email. We arrived in Dar es Salaam 2 days before the safari and Mwajabu came to our Airbnb to collect the money beforehand. She told us that this was needed to pay the upcoming trip and fees in advance. We did not have the dollars on hand, and ended up having to withdraw the money at the atm over several times, each costing us a big fee. Therefore a little tip for you guys, have the money ready in USD so that you can give them to Mwajabu and not have to withdraw with big fees from the atms which can only give out around 150 USD (10 USD fee) per withdrawal. Also dont walk around with big amounts of money in Dar Salaam, like any big city you can get robbed and have your purse snatched. Take only the amount you need, keep the rest at the hotel/room until you need it. Be safe, and thank you to Mwajabu and Abdallah for a good experience!
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kenya and Tanzania
We had a great time with Wildebeest in july, in a 8 days private tour safari between Kenya and Tanzania. The camps we slept were great and the landscapes were amazing. We saw the big 5 more than once. Our only complains are that one time we had to stop on the road for 2 hours because we were supposed to change drivers and the next one was late; and the lack of care of the Masai Mara driver with our luggages - they got ruined because he didnt use blankets to protect it.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic agency for a trip in Africa
Aurélie and Ben of E-Trip Africa are a stand-out. They were planning our Rwanda & Tanzania trip so conscientiously as well answering patiently our numerous questions in so much detail throughout the whole time! They really did a great job and everything just turned out perfectly fine! We have not one thing to complain about - it was just perfect!
What made the trip even more special to us was our guide Eliamini who did an outstanding job with his knowledge about animals (His spotting is also absolutely amazing) and his efforts to show us as much as possible from this great country!
If we are visiting Africa again, which is quite likely, we are definately returning to E-Trip Africa to plan the trip!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
a wonderful day !
A great game reserve around a beautiful lake, with numerous wild and some unique groups of animals and coloured birds. But don't forget your telephoto lens ...
A well organised trip with an interesting guide being also a safe driver, a correct lunch after the game drive before going back to Nairobi.
Globally delightful !
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great value and perfectly organized. Highly recommended!
We booked a Mokoro Tour with them and a few hours later Lucky showed up to brief us and provide us with useful information. Nothing was too much trouble for these guides, they really helped us and answered all our questions. At no point did we feel unsafe, everything ran smoothly. They are professionals who know how to adapt to the needs of a group and they did a marvelous job for us.
If you'd like to support the real people of Botswana, instead of another foreign company making money off the tourists, I urge you to set up your tour them.
To sum up this company provided us with a first class, prefect safari and at a reasonable price. I would not hesitate in booking with them again or recommending them to family and friends. You won't be disappointed with them.
NZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic attention to detail and worked with us to create an amazing trip
From our first contact with Darren from Compass Odyssey it was obvious that he is passionate about what he does and is keen to ensure his clients get the most out of their trip. There was a lot of communication whilst sorting out details for our safari and his responses were always very prompt and informative. My husband and I were travelling with our youngest son (13) and my parents. Darren gave us lots of information about the accommodation options and we were impressed by the options that he recommended. Mortimer was our guide in Victoria Falls and was friendly and helpful. Victoria Falls was impressive and we managed to take it in from both the Zimbabwe and Zambian sides and from the air. We loved our time in Chobe at Garden Lodge - lovely property, great setting with hippos on the lawn at night and warthogs running around during the day. The staff at the lodge were very welcoming. John was our safari guide and we did 2 river safaris and 2 driving safaris - he was informative and good at tracking animals and gave us an amazing safari experience. Before we started our Compass Odyssey tour we were in Johannesburg and had money stolen from our room safe. Even though this part of our trip was not organised by Compass Odyssey Darren went above and beyond and tried to help us with regard to the theft. We would happily recommend Darren and Compass Odyssey to anybody.