50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional safari experts
Having never previously been on a safari my wife and I were reliant upon being sold a safari package that satisfied our requirements. Wayne was incredibly helpful in ensuring we got our accommodation right as staying more than 15 minutes away from the NP entrance is a waste of safari time. Having only completed the safari last week I must say that we were very satisfied with the whole experience. The adventure lodge is comfortable and clean with lovely staff and food. The safari rangers/drivers did their best to take us to the best locations to ensure that we saw the big five, which we did. I must add that animal sightings are not guaranteed and thankfully caught our missing Lions on the morning that we departed. An unforgettable experience that we will hopefully return to one day. 🫶🏼
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent
The tour was a very impressive experience. The tour guide Mr. Abdul was really a gentleman who is knowledgeable n experienced in his field, everything was hassle free n comfortable. I would highly recommend to him to anyone in need.
BG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wondeful Safari Experience with Roger
Our safari was great from start to finish. Communication was smooth, and everything was well organized. Roger, our guide, was fantastic—friendly, reliable, and full of interesting facts about nature and life in Kenya. He made sure we saw incredible wildlife, including the rarest animals, that are usually hard to spot! Highly recommended for a memorable adventure!
BG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Jungleroam
We had a great experience at the safari. Our guide Rodger went all the way to make sure we get to see all the Big 5 as well as many other animals. He was very friendly and kind. We even got to listen to some afrobeats music in the jeep together. I would totally recommend to anyone who wants to have the best Kenyan experience.
BG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect and Smooth
Our driver and tour guide was Rodger. He was brilliant!
He was able to spot and find a lot of animals from the Big Five and even a lot more! I highly recommend him as I felt safe through the entire trip despite the traffic in Kenya. Additionally, Rodger is very kind and takes into the account the best experience for the tourists.
We had a life time experience!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Incredible Experience in My Life: Stepping into Africa and the World of Wildlife
The local customs and culture of Africa are truly unique. Seeing the animals in the wild—hunting, basking in the sun—felt completely different from observing them in a zoo.
The itinerary arranged by the safari company was well-organized. Our guide, Kikitu, was enthusiastic and attentive. He provided excellent explanations and led us to spot many rare wild animals. When we left something behind at a hotel during the trip, he also helped us retrieve it. For that, we are very grateful.
We hope this magical land and the animals that call it home continue to receive better protection.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
8 Day Mid-Range Serengeti Safari
Lubulu was our driver and guide for our 6 day safari into the Serengeti. His heritage is Maasai, so who could be better, to guide us through the area and share his knowledge. He was excellent throughout, spotting wildlife and sharing information about their behaviours. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Our first safari was to Tarangire National Park. We spotted elephants, lion, zebra, and giraffe as well as several bird species. If this was just the first day we were in for a real treat. On the second day we saw a cheetah and her cub. My partner and I had waited 23 years since our first safari to see cheetah, what a thrill. We saw the big 5, ugly 5, and more.
The highlight was the wildebeest migration at the river crossing, a real spectacle, and nothing really prepares you for this event. We sat for over three hours just watching the wildebeest cross the river. The wildebeest just kept coming and coming, you could see them for miles in the distance. It was overwhelming to see the sheer numbers and watching the vultures waiting for one of them to slip up.
Lubulu didn’t take us to the Maasai villages, he said his focus was on the animals. We did stop at a couple of craft markets, just to take a short break with the option of shopping. I thought the second one was the best.
Lubulu looked after us really well. Thank you so much, and whenever I hear the lyrics of Toto Africa it will transport me back to those spectacular moments in Tanzania.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It's was perfect organization and follo-up of ours trip. Quick and positive answer when we need.
All was clear before ours departure. At arrival all was conform at what we expect. Easy to communicate with WhatsApp, the transfer between airport and lodge in time. The lodge was amazing,confortable, very good food and wine and we was very welcome. The safari was perfect and we saw the "big five". Victor our guide was excellent. All was perfect. We would like stay more time or coming back!! I recommand it.
SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reactive and efficient team, but unfortunately the shared tour is outsourced
I have booked a 10-day mid-range & high-comfort shared safari and zanzibar trip with Zanzi. All the communications and booking went smoothly ahead of the trip. The team at Zanzi is reliable and responsive. On my arrival, I got picked up at the airport and a representative from the company came to meet me at the hotel, collect outstanding payment and would be my contact point in case of issue during the trip.
To my surprise, the lodges I was told I would stay at (and given in my quote 5 months prior) were changed last minute. I didn't think much about it when I was told as I didn't realise the locations were actually different! Part of my tour was to stay 1 night in north Serengeti to catch the great migration, this night was changed to be back in central Serengeti, which means that I didn't get to stay a night in the north of the park which is what I had booked and paid extra for! So we only had half day in the north part of the park and had to leave by 3pm to drive all the way back to central Serengeti, which really was a pity as I thought I would get to enjoy at least 1 full day to 1.5 day there. This is the part where it is full responsibility of Zanzi and hence the 4 stars rating.
On another night, my accommodation was changed last minute on the day itself! I was looking forward to a lodge with a view and I ended up in an ecolodge tent with no running water and only shared electricity and no reception (nothing against ecolodge, they are great if I had chosen to stay in them, but for this trip I had chosen comfort and needed connection and this was in the coldest part of the trip in Ngorongoro - knowing my aversion for cold, i would have never picked to stay in a tent there, but I wasn't given the choice!). Zanzi team reimbursed me 100USD for this (I gave it back to them in the end).
The other point that is important to note and which I was not aware of when I booked is that shared tours are not shared amongst Zanzi guests with the same itinerary! This is outsourced to another company that pools together different guests from different agencies with different itineraries and different accommodations (being it level of comfort but also localizations!). So on the first day, I was in the car with 6 other people and from day 2 to day 5 with 6 other people, which was ok. The part that was not ok with me was that every morning and every evening, we would be spending 1.5 to 2 hours picking up and dropping off everyone in their respective lodges!! It was such a waste of time to be up at 6am and by the time everyone else was picked up it would be 8am, which is very late to start game driving (needless to say we missed all the actions! and it is very frustrating when going back to your lodge in the evening and hearing everyone else has seen animals that you haven't at all!). On the first day, the driver didn't know where my lodge was, it was already dark at night and brought me to the wrong lodge! I had to take my google map out, use roaming and indicate the route to take. On 2 occasions, I arrived past 9pm to my lodge, which is past dinner time! I was still served dinner, but I had no choice as to what to eat and had to eat what they served me. Most of time, I would arrive at night in my lodge (last to be dropped off), and depart before sunrise in the morning (first to be picked up) and so didn't get to enjoy at all balcony views, sunsets or sunrises or even relaxing time post safari day. I think the frustration culminated on the last day of safari when out of the 7 people in the car, 1 person was doing a balloon ride and all of the rest had to wait for her in a parking lot until 10.30am instead of game driving!! I felt I have wasted so much time in this trip on all these logistics instead of being in the park looking for animals. This is my 3rd safari in Africa and this is the first time I am encountering this, which seems to be the way in Tanzania, so beware when booking shared tours to ask how the sharing tour works.
I think I wasn't lucky with the driver and guide we got as well: he was very young and unexperienced (doing this for 1 year only), so there were still part of the parks he didn't know well (he had issue finding another lodge I was staying at inside Serengeti too) and it was frustrating to always follow other vehicles / guides he knew instead of going our way. He clearly wasn't passionate about the wildlife and would not be driving the right way to spot animals (way too fast to be able to spot anything on certain part) or getting way too close to animals to the point of disturbing them (I was surprised these guides don't get trained on what to do / not to do with wildlife).
It was the same in Zanzibar, the guide I got on the blue safari, took starfish out of water. Even some of us told him not to do so as it was killing them, he continued!
The guide I got in Stonetown was ok only, again not passionate and not listening to her guest preference. I am a photographer and I always like spending time in markets, because there is always good opportunities for photos. I did tell her I wanted to see the fish auction, I even insisted asking whether there were specific timings not to miss it! She let the market to the end of the tour and went around in 5min and saying this was the end of the tour and she needed to go and run her errands before shops close and it was too bad that at the time we arrived there was no auction ongoing! Lunch was included in this walking tour, but instead of asking me what I wanted she ordered what she wanted to eat. She ordered fish and octopus without asking (I eat seafood so it was ok but imagine someone who is not!) and I understood later that she actually wanted to pack the fish back home for dinner for her family!
All in all, it was a nice trip (Tanzania is a beautiful country and there is so much to do and see!), but obviously there were misses and disappointing parts!
NL
An Unforgettable Tanzanian Adventure!
Golden Trips organised an incredible 7-day Kilimanjaro trek (Lemosho route) and a 3-day safari for us. The entire experience was fantastic and well-executed. Overall, good value for money.
Planning: The planning process was smooth. Leticia was very responsive and patiently answered all our questions while creating the itinerary.
Kilimanjaro Trek: The 7-day trek was an unforgettable experience. Our guides, Bob and Noah, were exceptional—supportive, informative, and dedicated to getting us to the summit. We were consistently impressed by the quality and quantity of the food provided (thanks, Cheeks).
As moderately fit trekkers, we found the route manageable, but Summit Night is a true test of perseverance. Our guides' motivation was essential in helping us reach Uhuru Peak. A huge shoutout to the team of porters - Denis, Alex, Dito, Joshua, Sam, Erinest, Mashal, Bayo and Ruga - the successful climb would not have been possible without all your hard work.
Safari: Our 3-day safari covered Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. Our guide, Deo, was fantastic. His knowledge and ability to spot wildlife were top-notch, and we saw 4 of the Big 5.
For first-time safari-goers, we'd recommend focusing on 1-2 parks in 3 days, as visiting all three felt rushed. You ultimately trade time in the parks for time on the road. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater were our highlights.
Overall, we highly recommend Golden Trips for a memorable Tanzanian adventure.