SA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Extremely disappointing
I requested a quote from the company and received one. I then replied asking to book the offer they sent - 1 week later i am still waiting to hear from them. I have sent 3 emails now and no response.
Really disappointing and think its very unprofessional. I will not book with them again or recommend them.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 day Safari
Communication: driver talk very little with us, didn't get information where we going, what we are doing, ...
Service: Which service???
living up to expectations: on the 3 day, moses (driver) told us we're going back by tomorrow. In my opinion he wanted to cheat us and steel one day from safari. We booked a 5 day safari and payed for it!
Safari tour itself: Very poor driving style on the road and the masai mara, driver didn't stop for other animals then the big five, didn' t respect the park rules (speed limits etc.) and sometimes didn't answer questions. Camp was in a very bad condition.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just Awful
We booked a 7-day Kenya+Tanzania safari with a Kenyan operator and the 3-day Serengeti-Ngorongro portion was subcontracted to Migada. Unlike the Kenya portion, Tanzania was terrible in every way and our vacation was half-ruined.
The car had multiple problems and was absolutely unsafe. Breaks were bad and locked the tires on gravel roads so downshifting was the way to slow down. Parking break didn't work so it was always exciting to see the car run away until driver used rocks to stop it. Engine didn't start if turned off when it's warm, so engine ran the whole day even when parked next to the animals. We had to ask other drivers for a bump when driver stalled the engine. The car didn't have radio so game viewing was random. A policeman warned us about the wheels being not fit to drive. But more on the car later.
The driver got lost multiple times, starting day 1 from Isebania to the lodge in Serengeti. When it was getting dark he panicked and started driving movie stunt style on horrible roads, doing a pretty high jump where tires detached from the ground for about 4 seconds that felt like hours. No empathy with passengers' comfort for restroom or lunch breaks, we had lunch inside the car in dust while driving. The company's card was out of money while exiting Serengeti so we had to wait about an hr just to exit a park. Nothing happened smoothly..
The car broke down a few minutes after our descent into Ngorongro, and we found out the radiator had a leak that the driver knew about. His calls to the office were unanswered but another safari driver was kind enough to stop and take us into his car, and tow the broken car until the nearest water hole. We helped fill the radiator with muddy water and plugged the hole with elephant dung and the car surprisingly made it to Arusha the next morning on mud, dung and prayers. They gave us a new car from Arusha to Kenya border and then came our best moment in Tanzania: getting exit stamps and seeing our Kenyan driver on the other side.
Thinking back about the whole thing, we should've rejected getting into that car after the first day.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not Value for Money
I honestly can't recommend this tour agency, or any of the other budget travel companies that do similar trips. A good budget operator is meant to cut the frills and provide cheap food and accommodation, but these guys (and all the others) are cutting the quality of the animal viewing experience in order to try and offer the cheapest trip. THIS ISN'T VALUE FOR MONEY
Firstly, the itinerary. All their budget itineraries only spend one or two nights at Seronera (Serengeti). This isn't enough time if you want to see the Wildebeest migration. The first full day in Seronera is always spent looking for cats, so you need a second day to drive out to visit the wildebeest herds, wherever they might be. They could be as far as the Grumeti River, which you can do as a long day. Don't bother asking the office about whether you will see the migration. I asked specifically if we would go to the grumeti river and Godfrey answered "You go to where the animals are". Well when I was on the trip, the animals were at the Grumeti River and it was never a part of the itinerary. I was lied to.
Also, Lake Manyara is entirely skippable. The itinerary only includes it because it's a super cheap day for the company. Save your money and skip this day, and pay for an extra day in Serengeti. Much better value.
Secondly, starting time. We left Arusha on our first day at 9am, arriving at Tarangire after 12pm. We started our second day to lake manyara at 8am and our thirday day to serengeti at 10am. On the fourth day there was a customer mutiny when our driver, Adam, suggested we start again at 8am. We demanded we start earlier and thankfully he agreed. This is the time we saw a large pride of lions. Many of the drivers are lazy and will try to start as late as they can get away with. The best viewing times are just after dawn, early in the morning.
Thirdly, communication. I noticed that many of the other drivers were constantly on their radios, getting tips from other drivers about the location of animals. I asked Adam why he never used the radio, he said it wasn't used much (a lie) and that he had a mobile phone for that purpose. Adam certainly made lots of phone calls but i doubt many (if any) of them were for finding game. He seemed to be on the phone a lot planning his next client trips.
Lastly, and most importantly, the agents and drivers will tell you all sorts of lies to try to convince you that you're getting the best possible experience even while they're doing the bare minimum. I asked Adam if we could spend our single full day in Serengeti driving out to the Grumeti River to see the Wildebeest. Adam could have told me the truth that this was a budget trip and that we didn't have the money for fuel, but instead he told me all sorts of lies. First that it was too far away, that you needed to go out there and spend the night, that you needed a plane to fly there, and lastly that there was no animals out there this time of year. These were all blatant lies. I spoke to other groups in the camp who had spent a day trip driving to Grumeti from Seronera and had seen the Wildebeest and river crossings. To rub salt in the wound, Adam tried to convince me that the resident herd of Wildebeest that we saw Ngorongoro Crater was "part of the migration". He clearly thinks his clients are stupid.
Adam really shouldn't be working with clients at all, not only does he lie about everything (he told us everyone had to leave Ngorongoro by 12pm, he just wanted to leave early), but he also gets very aggressive and argumentative with clients who try to question him about the itinerary. Once we realised we were getting a bad deal we all started to check and double check everything. He full on yelled at us bringing one lady to tears. It's never acceptable to speak to a client like this, even worse when everything you're telling them is a complete lie.
Adam should be avoided at all Costs, and this companies itineraries should be avoided to. My advice is to spend a bit of extra money and go with the mid range companies. Or if you really need to save money, form a group yourself and then go to a budget company with your own itinerary and be very clear with them about your expectations.
main camps ok nothing to write home about. Avoid Matombe at all costs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hardly any wildlife, mainly elephants, eland, Impala, zebra, giraffe etc
In our 3 nights we never saw ANY predators. I will skip this in future, totally not worth it! Weather good, roads wet and muddy, we got stuck 3 times in mud during drives.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Ni Refund for Booking
I have had a really bad experience with Ambula as did a friend of mine a few years back. I booked a trip in March for a trip to Victoria Falls at the end of June. At the beginning of if April I had to cancel the booking s I will be traveling overseas in business this is virtually 3 months in advance and I was told I would get a full refund and the it would take 4 to 6 weeks and could expect the refund the first week in May. It is now end of May and I still have not been paid my refund despite repeated requests.now my emails etc are being completely ignored. I just find this completely unacceptable. So I would never chose to use them again even though the prices are more reasonable than the bigger operators at least you would not get this experience with them
Poor experience
Probably the worst tour experience I had in my life. It starts with cheap hotels, even if we paid for the good ones. Then when you arrive at the safari’s gate, the guide tells you he has no money, so you need to pay again for everything, again, and he promises he will pay you back later. Of course Tanzania Joy Tour didn’t pay us back. We dealt with Emmannuel Mremi. He always said “yes” on the phone, then “sorry” in front of us.
Bottom line, even if it appears cheap at the beginning, they’ll try to rip you off. I strongly advise everyone against Tanzania Joy Tour.
It’s sad for the country, Tanzania is amazing, and having such a bad experience with local people ruined part of our experience there.
Go to Tanzania, to Kilimandjaro and visit the parks, but do not go with Tanzania Joy Tour… !
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
High water levels have caused the flamingos to leave. This is not worth visiting at present.
High lake levels for the past 2 years have caused the flamingos to leave. Waterbuck, zebra, baboon, and other common wildlife remain, but don't go expecting to see the flamingo flock.
More than we expectd
This was an amazing few days. The time in the early mornings and late afternoon going out in the bush were beyond what we expected. It was a great time of year to be around the park as the weather was not too hot and visibility was excellent. We were lucky to see th big 5 and many, many more animals and birds besides. Phinda itself was a lovely place to stay with lovely friendly &helpful staff,great accommodation and terrific meals.
Review about North Luangwa National Park by michael heyns
Very poor destination for a self travler. Needed a guide in the park. Felt like a military excursion with a armed guard in my vehicle. Not pleasant at all. If you visit Zambia, give North LUangwa a definite skip.