CA
2 excellent tours in Jo'burg
We had a short visit to Jo'burg recently and wanted to maximize our time there, so we booked 2 tours with Patrick. He was very easy to deal with, and responded quickly to all email requests. Our guide, Ntsimane was phenomenal. A great driver who was very knowleable and eager to share with us the history and culture of South Africa. We were able to gain access to places we could not have visited on our own. We visited the Voortrekker Monument and Pretoria the first day. It was a wonderful experience. We learned a lot.
The second tour was of Johannesburg, Soweto, and the Apartheid museum. It was certainly a very moving experience. I would definitely recommend Ntsimane and Mmilo tours. It really made the most of our short visit to Jo'burg
DE
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We saw so many different and unique animals, for example geopard and leopard and the team is amazing
It was wonderful. Excellent food and service. A trip I will never forget.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Gavin Rowley
Great wildlife, rhinos. Beautiful scenery.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience
Congratulations has to be given to my guide, Steven from Rhino Safari, he was very knowledgable, helpful, accommodating and took care of us. I wanted to see a Leopard and he delivered! He went above and beyond my expectations.
Samburu was, in my opinion, the ultimate all round intimate safari experience. For example staying near the river, the game drives in Buffalo Springs. I preferred Samburu to the Masai Mara as it was more personal towards the animals.
The food was excellent, I actually returned from Safari heavier! The local people cannot do enough for you.
Overall I would highly recommend going to Kenya and in particular Samburu. Africa is a beautiful country with beautiful wildlife and people. I feel very fortunate to have experienced this in my lifetime.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Terrific time in Tanzania
I recently returned from a safari trip to Tanzania trip organized by East Africa Wild Adventures. We booked a 10 day safari adventure with a side trip to Gibbs Coffee Farm. I would like to emphasize what a wonderful time we all had. There were four people in our group. Our Driver Guide was named Doudi and I cannot emphasize how well he took care of us, help us see so much more wildlife than we ever dreamed we would see and also make sure we were comfortable and happy at our campsites each night. We visited Tarangire National Park and stayed one night at the Tarangire River camp. I wish we had stayed 2 nights there it was so nice. The staff was wonderful and the food was excellent. It was our first night out in any national parks and elephants came through our camp that night and were eating the vegetation literally right next to our tent. I was scared but should not have been. It was perfectly safe and even exhilarating but this being my first night I didn't know what to expect. Tarangire National Park is a wonderfully beautiful park with extensive variety of wildlife. We were so pleased. Every corner we turned there was something new and different and this was our first park. We traveled next to the Ngorongoro Crater and spent two nights at Gibbs Farm coffee plantation. A very luxurious resort near the crater. Lovely place, could have stayed an extra night there. The Ngorongoro Crater is a mind blowing experience. I think it has the world's highest concentration of wildlife. We went here 2 days and I loved them both. However, I could recommend going for one day if you left early enough to spend an entire day there. I recommend this only because it is a long drive to get there and you have to wait a long time (an least an hour) to get your pass to get into the park (and watch out for the baboons, they are cute but will steal your stuff and get in your car if left open). In fact, your driver guide (not you) has to go wait in line and purchase passes to any park you visit in Tanzania and this takes time. Next we traveled to the Serengeti. It was a long drive to get to our camp and our driver was very apologetic, but we didn't understand why because there were animals all along the way. We stayed at a camp called Mara Under Canvas. It was a lovely camp with fantastic staff and great food. Every day after our game drives, we came back to camp to sit by a fire to have cocktails and snacks while we waited for dinner to be prepared. The last place we visited was called Lake Eyasi. In late July/early August the lake is beginning to dry up, however the views are stunning. We visited local tribes and watched how they live. Our contact person at East Africa Wild was Alym Bhanji. He did an excellent job organizing our trip and answering the many questions we had prior to embarking on our trip. I highly recommend this tour company.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 13-days guided tour in Namibia with WWS
My wife and me were very pleased about our Namibian trip with WWS. Namibia is a superb country, very diversified, with fantastic landscapes and extraordinary wildlife. We visited Kalahari desert near Kalkrand, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund (marine cruise in Walvis Bay lagoon and 4X4 trip to Sandwich Harbour), Cape Cross (seal colony), Damaraland, Etosha NP and Waterberg Plateau. Martha from WWS was very professionnal in the quotation process. She was very reactive, drafting a program satisfying our needs and making valuable suggestions. The communication was very clear and precise at all steps. Philip was an outstanding guide. We felt very secure with him. He is a very friendly person and has a good sense of humour, cool and relax. Philip was at all times willing to satisfy our needs. We also had very valuable discussions with him about Namibia culture and way of life. For wildlife viewing, he put us in the best position for picture shooting, so we were able to see a wide range of animals.
I recommend WWS for a very valuable and stressless journey to Namibia.
Jacques J. (Paris/France)
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An absolutely amazing experience
I had never been on safari before and didn't know what to expect other than sit in a van and see animals. Epic Tours arranged everything perfectly, kept in touch regularly, up to the date of travel. All the accommodation was as advised and a really good standard, starting at Keys Hotel in Moshi, then onto Tloma Lodge, Karatu ,next Ang'ata Ngorongoro Camp, lastly Serengeti Kati Kati Camp (this was certainly an experience with the animals walking through camp.
Our guide Temba met us at the airport and stayed as our guide for the 9 days as we moved around Tanzania, we went to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and then 3 days in the Serengeti, Temba was fantastic, how on earth he spotted the animals I will never know. There was no rushing around. There were so many high points but I think the fact we saw all the big 5 in one day in the Serengeti, which I know alot of people didn't as the Black Rhino was playing hide and seek. The baby leopard cubs hiding in the rocks was also very special to see.
Thank you Epic Tours and especially Temba, for making this once in a lifetime safari a truly amazing experience. Anyone thinking of booking with Epic do it, you will not be disappointed.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari, Maasai Mara, Sarova Mara Game Camp
We went on a four day, three night safari from Nairobi to Maasai Mara staying at the luxurious "Sarova Mara Game Camp."
The tour started with our tour guide, Mutemi, promptly arriving at 7:30 AM at our Nairobi hotel. The drive from Nairobi to Maasai Mara took about 5 hours over paved and rough dirt roads. Mutemi drove the roads with much skill.
Our safari included a three night stay at Sarova Mara Game Camp. The rooms are actually luxury tents. The tents look more like rooms that sleep up to three people. We had a large king size bed with mosquito netting surrounding the bed. The bathroom had running water, a flush toilet and a tile shower with hot water! A safe was included in the room for valuables.
The food at the resort was served buffet style. There were many choices to choose from but overall, the quality was fair. The staff were attentive and polite. There was a gift shop, bar area, swimming pool, ping pong table,and fishing pond. The facilities and staff were excellent.
Our guide driver, Mutemi, was fabulous. Our first day out, we saw many animals, Lions, a cheetah, elephants, zebras, and giraffes. We were in awe at how beautiful the animals are in the wild. Our second day out, he had the resort pack us a box lunch and we took a long drive to the Mara River to see many hippos and crocodiles. We were too early to see the wildebeest migration across the river, but still saw many wildebeest along the way. On the way back, Mutemi camped under a tree for shade and we had lunch on the prairie.
On our third day, we took early morning and early evening excursions and saw elephants and giraffes up close. We also saw lions and cheetahs eating prey they captured. We also saw a pride of lions with two small cubs.
At the conclusion of our tour, we headed back to Nairobi and had lunch at the Carnivore Restaurant which was included in the price of our safari.
In conclusion, I would like to thank "Kenafric Tours and Travel " tour company for providing us with a trip of a lifetime. Thanks Joseph for emailing me with all my questions in a timely manner. Mutemi, you are the best guide, thanks for keeping my family safe and answering all our questions. You always worked hard to get the best view of the game animals. Bottled water and all the entrance fees were included in the price of the safari which cost $1,290 USD per person. We had four people in our group which entitled us to an exclusive private driver and four wheel drive van with pop up roof for viewing and picture taking.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amos took complete care of us and guided us through our itinerary
While there were several tour companies to choose from we chose Migration and Kili Expedition tours because Amos ( I think he is the owner of the business) responded to us quickly and completely answered all our questions. While we were hesitant about arriving in a completely foreign country with just a name to rely on, all our doubts were washed away as soon as we met Amos. We were not sure if he would meet us or someone else but it was him. He made us feel comfortable right away. All our tours and travel arrangements were planned and executed properly. He offered us rides when he was around to the local areas and arranged for people to meet us wherever we were. He even got us masseuses to our hotel room after our climb on Kilimanjaro. His guides were professional and friendly. The kili guide, Roghert, was a speed record holder up the mountain six years ago. He was patient with us. The safari guide, (forgot his name ask Amos) tried his best to get us to see all the animals at ngorongoro crater (we even saw the illusive black rhino) and drove extra for us to see additional things and even shop. I would highly recommend Amos and his company for your tours. I do recommend however that you sort out tipping guidelines ahead so you know what is expected. I recommend this for all tours and other typically tipping scenarios while in a new country.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great first trip to Tanzania.
This was our first trip to Tanzania for Safari, but having visited other parks the Mandate to Umang was to create an experience away from the crowds and focusing more on quality over quantity in game viewing destinations.
Umang and Beena were very patient and responsive to any queries we had as we went through about 6 potential iterinaries which they explained in great detail.
Finally we zeroed in on Beho Beho in Selous (3 nights) and Kwihala in Ruaha (4nts). While both camps offer a a different experience, the Mandate was very well met in both destinations. Even the pick up and drop was very well coordinated from Dar with some very well appreciated special surprises thrown in during our stay ( I don't want to divulge for the sake of future travelers). All in all a great experience and clear and concise communication before our trip. We look forward to planning our next trip with Umang and Beena.