CA
Excellent, could not ask for more!
Unforgettable trip and wonderful experience
Our safari was very well organized and we had great hotel accommodations with excellent service and a very professional and knowledgeable personal driver guide. Communication was very efficient, pleasant and reliable. We had a fantastic and memorable journey thank you for giving us the experience of a lifetime.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A life changing experience! Unbelievable!
Encompass Africa and in particular Danica, could not have been more helpful and amazing in helping us plan the best trip of our lives! Danica always responded immediately and was always encouraging and supportive in helping us to arrange our itinerary! Her suggestions were incredible and she plan the most perfect trip for us according to what we had told her we would like to see. The service Danica and her colleagues provided could not be faulted in any way and I would definitely deal with Danica and Encompass Africa if we return. They went above and beyond to provide the most extensive, well organised trip with out any issues while we were away and I have no hesitations in referring them to anyone who wishes to travel to Africa. They really were incredible and we can not thank you enough for the most incredible trip that exceeded all our expectations ten fold!! Thank you!! :)
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience!!
As part of a group of 16 (8 adults, 8 children) I can confidently say everything was organised perfectly to suit all. We saw everything we wanted to see and more. We all agreed Chobe Game Lodge in Botswana was the highlight as we got the opportunity to see some large herds of most animals - however Nottens Bush Camp in Sabi Sands also made our stay a very special and rememberable one and the staff were amazing! Walter really did a great job of setting us up for an amazing experience at some beautiful places. Definitley a trip of a lifetime.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Must visit if you're looking for Elephant encounter
This was the first park of our Safari Itinerary. The weather was perfect for this trip - cloudy overcast with some occasional sprinkles, but due to heavy rains prior few days some of the roads in the park were closed, so we didn't get a chance to visit all planned areas, but those that we have visited were amazing. I was expecting a little bit less folks/tourists there, but this is subjective. We've got to see giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, ostriches. But the most memorable encounter was with the herd of elephants, counting about 20. They crossed dirt road we were on and you can see all of them from few feet distance - amazing.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tanzania by Andrei Snitko
We have visited 3 parks during the course of our Safari trip - Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area - and all 3 were different and amazing in their own way. The animal diversity is impressive and the wild nature vibe is well preserved. I would definitely recommend Tanzania as Safari destination.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing terrain with such majestic animals
Seems like best place for safari - we saw the big 5, weather was great and food was very good even for a vegetarian. All aspects of our safari was excellent
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Trip EVER!!
My husband and I contacted Dave Herbert at Great Safaris after our friend (who is an experienced travel agent) highly recommended him. She has traveled to Africa numerous times and has always relied on Dave to make her arrangements. Not once has she ever been disappointed. So, following her lead, we gave him a call and told him what our budget was as well as what we wanted to see for our first time there. He recommended that we go for 19 days and go on safari to Kenya and Tanzania. He then put together an incredible itinerary that included Samburu National Park, the Masai Mara, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, and the Serengeti. We stayed in deluxe accommodations throughout.
Every detail was attended to throughout our trip. Roundtrip transfers were included from small, dirt air strips to and from our lodges; private or semi-private drivers/guides took us on safari twice a day for a minimum of 7 hours per day; the food at each lodge was above average or outstanding, depending on where we were and often was included in the price of our tour; all inter-Africa flights were booked with excellent airlines (sometimes we were the only 2 passengers in the plane!); round trip flights from Los Angeles to Nairobi with a stopover in Dubai were also included in the price (we traveled on Emirates Airlines per Dave's recommendation--definitely a good call); and we received outstanding service wherever we stayed.
We highly recommend Great Safaris and Dave Herbert if you are planning your first trip to Africa or your fiftieth! He knows the continent like the back of his hand because he goes there and sends his staff there continually to ensure that what they're selling to their clients meets their high standards. You cannot go wrong with Great Safaris!!!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect 8 days!
My husband and I took the 8 day Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, Elelphant Sands, and Okavango Delta trip in July 2016. It exceeded our expectations in every way. We knew we wanted to visit those places, but we had no idea what would do at each location or how many days to stay. Andrew and Zim Travel arranged every detail. They were so knowledgeable about each destination, the culture, places to eat, where to take the best pictures, border crossings, sightseeing-----you name it and they knew where and what to do.
Andrew picked us up and delivered us to each event. He either personally guided us or arranged for an excellent guide.
As we drove from place to place, he filled us in on so many interesting details. He informed us of the currency to bring, where to exchange the currency and drove us there.
At Chobe, we sat in a boat 30 feet from a herd of elephants and watched them drink, play, eat and "wrestle". It was unforgettable. On the safaris we so many animals! Each day was amazing and different! Vic Falls was incredible. We walked the entire length of the falls and viewed each lookout point. Andrew guided us personally and it made a difference to hear his commentary.
Andrew took care of every possible detail. We wholeheartedly recommend Zim Travel!!!!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Safari Experience!
I spent 5 weeks traveling through 7 African countries, and I can honestly say my favorite experience was my 6 day Botswana safari with Tony Mobile Safaris. I just loved my time with this company. We were a small group, just four people, there to enjoy bush camping, wildlife, and photography. Tony was a great guide - friendly, funny, and very informative. You can tell that he is passionate about African wildlife, which is extremely valuable in a guide. Tony also enjoys photography, which was perfect because he understands the importance of getting out early in the morning and being out for sunset for the good light. Plus, he also understands how to get us the best photographic angles. Even if you're not interested in photography, you will want to be out for sunrise because that is when the lions hunt! And Tony will make that happen. The safari definitely is 'mobile' - you will see so much! In six days we explored Savuti, Chobe, both the Okavango Delta and Okavango River, enjoyed canoeing and boating, saw countless lions, hippos, zebras, elephants, etc. Tony even went above and beyond during our boat tour. Our boat tour was delayed, so not only did Tony work quickly to get us moving, he also gave us a private pre-boat tour while we waited! Furthermore, our campsite was also nicely prepared for us and each time we returned to camp there was an assortment of snacks, coffee and tea waiting for us. They even prepared high tea for us. They also did a wonderful job of preparing vegetarian meals for the two vegetarians in our group. I would highly recommend Tony Mobile Safaris and I would love to safari with them again!
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari!!!
We had an amazing safari with Northern Circuit Adventure in the middle of June 2016
Michael helped us arrange the trip and everything went very smoothly. He was very fast to reply on all our questions before we arrived and gave us valuable advice. He also came himself to pick us up at the airport.
Before the safari we stayed a night at Clouds View Hotel which was a nice hotel with very friendly and helpful staff. It was very clean with nice breakfast. They stored all our extra luggage during the safari and helped to wash our clothes when we got back. The restaurant at the hotel cooked Chapati for us when we got back from the Safari - even though it wasn't on the menu - so yummy!!
Michael, Dennis (guide and driver) and Sweetbart (chef) met us the first morning of the safari with the car ready right on time. Since it was our honeymoon Mike treated us with a private safari, we felt really lucky and spoilt and we really appreciated it!!
We went to Tarangire and Lake Manyara the first two days which was awesome, we got to se lots of animals in the different environments. The first times you see the zebras, giraff, elephants, hippos and lions is really special, it's even hard to believe its true!
We slept at Heaven Nature tented camp two nights. The camp was very nice with tents under roof with real beds and they even had a private shower and toilet! The campsite also had a pool which was nice after a warm day. The last day there was a group (Kati Culture Group) that came to perform after dinner, singing dancing and acrobatics which was lots of fun!
The middle of June (13-18/6) turned out to be the perfect timing for the safari. Before high season so not so crowded with other people, very nice temperature and almost no mosquitoes or Tze-Tze flies. The park was greener than usual (we were told) after the long rains and the animals had lots of babies :)
Dennis was the perfect guide and driver. He drove very well, we always felt secure and he was very kind and answered all our questions about the parks and the animals. He knew were to look for the rare leopards, cheetahs and rhinos and we got to see all the big five! But just so you know, roads are long and bumpy so prepare for a but-massage :)
On the way to Serengeti we visited Oldupai Gorge and the shifting sands which was really cool to have seen.
Serengeti was truly amazing. We spent two nights in the park and got to see like 20 lions per day, some of them climbing trees. We saw over 100 elephants, lots of giraff and kilometer after kilometer with zebras plus gnus, buffalo, different antilops and birds. We were also lucky enough to see cheetahs with killings twice and also leopards twice!!
The campsite in Serengeti was nice with only one or two more groups there at the same time. There was a big kitchen and it also had cold water showers. It was exiting to camp inside the park, the first night we could hear a buffalo right outside our tent and we saw the droppings two meters away in the morning...
Ngorongoro was the last park we visited. We stayed there on the way back from Serengeti. We camped on the rim (over 2000 m high) so it was a bit cold in the night (and even down in the crater so take warm clothes) but there was hot showers!
In Ngorongoro we saw the last of the big five, the rhino, and also a pride of lions that had killed a Buffalo.
Sweetbart, the cousin of Michael who also studies business, planned and cooked all the meals the whole week. It was really delicious, three course dinner with different soups for starters and fruit for desert each day. We specially asked for and got to try some really nice Tanzanian food like Pilao and Ugali and we also had really great breakfasts with omelet, coffee/tea/chocolate, pancakes and even toast (!). To be able to see more of the parks we had lunchboxes which was great.
When we got back Sweetbart guided us in Arusha and took us bathing. He even wrote down the recipes for us and helped us pick out spices in the market (great souvenir by the way) and showed us the best restaurants and what to see. He was really nice and we really feel we were treated like friends.
All in all we are extremely pleased with the safari and we can easily recommend Northern Circuit Adventure and Michael to arrange the trip. Be sure to ask for Dennis as a guide and Sweetbart as chef :) they are the best and will take excellent care of you!!
We have a lot of really beautiful photos, memories and also a some delicious exotic recipes home with us to keep the memories alive!
Thank you so much Sweetbart, Dennis and Michael for this amazing experience!!