US
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Our last 3 trips with Great Horizon Trails were wonderful!
I have led groups on 2 week trips to Kenya, using Great Horizon Trails. Each one was wonderful, and beyond expectations. We saw an amazing number of animals on each safari. The preparation for the trips were assisted by the professional director and his staff, who were most helpful. The driver guides were knowledgeable and friendly. As our trips include mission work as well as safari, it was gratifying to have adaptability and flexibility built in to our schedule. Most of all, we felt safe and happy throughout, and there was always lots of laughter. We are looking forward to our trip to Kenya this summer, thanks to Great Horizon Trails!
I had a great time with Benson!
I took a lower-budget camping trip with Benson. It was great working with him before the safari. He helped me pick the best palaces to go and the right times. On the day we left his guide, Simba, picked me up at the house I was renting and we were off. From that moment on, Benson took care of the rest. Our tents were set up for us, our meals were prepared, and there was always a nice bottle of wine waiting for us at the end of the day. Even though you are in a truck all day, it's tiring, so the wine was a nice touch.
The campsites he picked were very nice, but one of them had the option of upscale tents with beds. I wish I had know this was an option before hand as one night in a bed would have been good. The tenting area was nice too and there were hot showers.
Our guide did his best to take us to the animals we wanted to see. Most of us in the truck really wanted to see baby elephants and on our second to last day we found them! Being able to see the animals you want is part skill and part luck, but Simba was able to pull it off!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect trip: wonderful guide, great encounters with Ugandan wildlife
Our trip with Speke Uganda was great: We had a very nice guide, Edward, who told us a lot about the country and the people of Uganda. He was a very good driver driver, too. We tracked chimpanzees and gorillas - though physically challenging (at least at Bwindi) a highly recommendable thing to do!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointing attitude
I wouldn't recommend TSS to anybody considering a safari in Tanzania - we didn't find them to be very professional at all and overall they handled our trip poorly. Firstly, their representative was late for our pre-safari briefing, and when we tried to call them their number was disconnected. As our hotel receptionist said she had never heard of them we found this a little worrying. When they did arrive we were told that due to reports back from Lake Manyara (where we were supposed to go on our first day) that there wasn't much wildlife being spotted, we would be going to Tarangire instead with a different group. This wasn't really a problem, but it would have been better to be told in advance rather than just before departure as we would have had more time to consider our options.
On the safari itself, our second day took us to Serengeti. As we were driving into the Serengeti the car had a fault, causing us to then be stuck at the gate there for 3 hours while it was looked at. This meant we missed a lot of game drive time, and arrived at camp having to set up our tents in the dark without any assistance after eventually being picked up by a different vehicle just before sunset. While we understand that faults like this happen, the way the situation dealt with was really not good enough - we repeatedly asked what was going on and were not given any information or any sense that there was a proper procedure to follow in incidents such as this.
After returning to Arusha at the end of our safari, two members of our group went to the operator's office in person to request a partial refund due to the time missed on safari, which they were given ($100 each). As we were leaving that day we didn't have chance to do so ourselves, so decided to email Elvice at TSS afterwards. The attitude we received when telling him what had happened and requesting the same refund as the others was appalling and completely unprofessional. He implied heavily that we were lying, and that the others had no such refund (they did, I maintained contact with them and checked this several times), then this changed to him telling us that the others had a refund because of problems in Kenya beforehand (they hadn't even been to Kenya).
The final straw was his attempt at emotional manipulation in telling us that they only offer group safaris to help people and they don't make a profit on them, so this refund would have to come out of his own pocket and would destroy years of hard work and that they'd have to consider stopping group safaris, that he'd have to beg to borrow it from a friend etc etc. At this point I gave up - I am not interesting in bankrupting anybody, and frankly found the whole thing ridiculously unprofessional.
There are plenty of other safari operators available and I would advise avoiding Tanzania Safari Supremacy if possible.
LT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommended! Totally conveniant service and great hospitality!
I had my safary tour in March. Nevertheless safari is a matter of luck, I was glad to see probably all possible animals and experianced Masai village tour.
Charles (tour guide) made a trip amazing as the service, personal attention and properly planed agenda worked just amazingly fine! Highly recommended!
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safari Kings.
Professionally managed travel/safari service provider. Took care of the minutest details and made the customers feel comfortable. Provided every thing as per the terms of the contract without any hesitation.
Beautiful and Awesome
It was beautiful, the best I've ever had. All was perfect and as expected.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Elephant Rampage- highly reccomended
Myself and 2 other friends set out with our guide Dennis and Charlie boy (cook) on the adventure of a lifetime. We went to Lake Manyara, Ngoro Ngoro and the Serengeti on a 5 day Camping safari. The cost was reasonable , and the camping was highly enjoyable! Being woken by a rampaging elephant trying to steal pumpkin in the Serengeti campsite was a highlight. Overall we had a great experience, saw all the animals we had hoped for and learned some valuable Swahili too! Absolutely fantastic and reasonably priced for students.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari experience with Odyssey Safaris!
We just returned from a 8 day "Highlights of Kenya" safari and we could not be happier with service provided by Odyssey and the overall experience. The accommodations were just wonderful, particularly the Ashnil Samburu and Ashnil Mara lodges. Truly beautiful lodges in comfort and understated luxury. The food in all places was excellent and plentiful. The game drives were spectacular. I did not expect to see as many animals as we saw and of all kinds! Our guide, Simon, was a gem. Very knowledgeable about the wildlife and local culture. There was a lot of driving involved but we did not mind that as it allowed us to see the real Kenya too. We felt safe at all times, even when going through tiny villages or stopping on the way. In fact, we felt safer in kenya than in many places in the USA. Everything was planned perfectly, from the moment we were picked up at the airport to the last minute. It is wonderful to have the same driver/guide with you at all times as this allows for flexibility and "spur of the moment" excursions. In sum, very pleased with Odyssey Safaris and the quality of the safari the provided us. We recommend them very highly.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by Cindy B.
The most incredible place I have ever been. Animals abound, and can be viewed doing all the natural things that they do: eating, sleeping, hunting, caring for young and giving birth. It is wild, exciting, and beautiful. Unreal how close the vehicles can get to the animals, and they give little notice. Kind of a magical place.