20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a Lifetime across Tanzania!
Thanks to Sam and his team at Tanzania Travel Company we had a trek of a lifetime and an experience I will never forget. Challenging walking, matched with awesome experiences and wildlife - Sam and his team knew how to organise everything to ensure it was perfect. The little touches, the fun times we had in camp and the knowledge of his guides meant we had such a special experience. I am already planning with Sam a week in which I can return to this amazing and beautiful country with them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing! - Absolutely made our entire trip!
Matobo National Park was the absolute highlight of our trip to Zimbabwe! The scenery and natural history of the landscape is fascinating and utterly stunning to witness. We were blown away and our experience was made by the tour guide of African Wanderer Safaris, Ian Harmer, who has an incredible knowledge - and lifetime of experience - of the area and poaching culture in the National Park. We were in good company and were well educated by Ian who is wonderfully passionate about rhinos and the wildlife; we felt safe in his guidance as we tracked rhinos and climbed rock formations to view the scenery, seeing many other animals and weird and wonderful plants along the way! After initially booking just one morning out, we changed our plans that afternoon to spend the whole of the next day with Ian. If you go to Matobos Park, you must get at least an afternoon with this guy - he made our trip! Very reasonable prices for the high quality; and drinks, lunch and park fees included in the cost!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I found their services good and most important to me reliable.
They are good in communication and kept me updated. The safari met my expectation. Most outstanding was our tour driver, he was very friendly, dedicated and knows Masai Mara very well. We managed to see the big five courtesy o our tour guide.
VU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Was wonderfull, a fantastique experience, I hope to go back.
Monique did help me a lot in planning our holidays in S.A early this year.
The hotel, lodges and Safaris that she had recommended where exactly in the range we where expecting.
The Sabi Sand in Kruger Park with the big 5 within 500m from our Lodge (the gourmet food in our lodge and the setting, the rooms and mostly the staff where Magnificent) , and the lodge at Victoria Falls in Livingstone (Zambia) was magic.
Giltedge Africa (formerly Southern Africa Travel) can only be recommended regarding their extensive knowledge of the region and their advice.
I can only recommend them.
Christian
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly, knowledgeable and organised
The Spotted Safari Tour was an excellent aid to viewing wildlife at the Masai Mara. Our guide (Clevers Tumuti) was very knowledgeable both about the wildlife and also Masai culture and customs. He was friendly and organised and really helped us through our safaris. I would happily recommend Spotted Safaris to visitors who like getting good value for their tourist dollar.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent, all encompassing safari operator
We thoroughly enjoyed our 8-day Kenya Highlights trip with Odyssey Safaris. Overall, everything was very well organized, making our vacation experience one of the most memorable we've had.
From the very beginning, Mark was extremely responsive to all of my emails and made sure all of my questions were answered before we booked the trip and then before we departed. Once we arrived, our tour guide James was very friendly and knowledgeable and made us feel at ease. We didn't need to worry about anything - all logistics were taken care of (transportation, accommodations, food). Accommodations and food were also good quality overall.
In terms of the actual safari, we saw so much more and got so much closer to the animals than I expected. It was such a rewarding and educational trip. I would highly recommend Odyssey Safaris.
Fantastic Local Company!!
This company offered the best value for money for myself and a group I was organising a trip for. They came in at almost half the cost of international companies.If you are in any way capable of organising flights for yourself I could not recommend this company more. Some international companies rip you off on Kilimanjaro trips.
The hotel we stayed in before and after was beautiful, in the centre of Moshi. The climb itself was well planned out. The porters and staff are amazing. It is very straight forward and there is a real emphasis in this company and with its guides in sharing with and teaching you the culture of Tanzania. We even picked up some Swahili along the way. All 10 of us reached the summit!
If you are not that experienced with mountaineering, the guides will help you every step of the way, and you can also rent gear.
If you pick this company, you know your money is going to a local company, to local guides and it is helping to support them
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A truly special trip with exceptional service and care from TTC.
I have just returned from a trek with Tanzania Travel Company. Starting at the foothills of Mount Longido, a sacred Maasai mountain, our group of 12 trekked across the floor of the Great Rift Valley right to the foothills of the visually stunning Crater Highlands. We walked in the footsteps of ancient Maasai warriors covering a total of 74km in just 4 days. Sam, William and Clement from Tanzania Travel Company were with us every step of the way, keeping us on our feet and moving forward, and teaching us about their beautiful country and its history.
The scenery was breathtaking and the landscape was scattered with Maasai bomas and the people who live in them. We were privileged to meet some of the locals along the way and experience a Maasia market in Kitumbeine. We were constantly surprised by what we saw, I remember leaving camp at sunrise on the second morning and after less than a mile we were face to face with a family of giraffe enjoying breakfast.
We were camping for 5 nights in the wild African bush, but the team at Tanzania Travel Company looked after us so well that we felt at complete comfort and ease from the moment we arrived and every moment of the trip was pure luxury. We were treated to tea and coffee in our tent upon waking in the morning and returned to the camp each day to an ice cold foot bath a warm bush shower. The food was exceptional from African stew to meatballs or Cajun chicken. The chef, Antony cooked an impressive variety and even home baked bread in a hand built underground oven.
When our physical challenge was over we spent a day on a Safari drive at the Ngorongoro Crater, its plains are filled with wildlife and we were spoiled with sightings of lions, hippos and zebra to name a few.
This trip was a truly special one, not only for the scenery, wildlife and interaction with ancient maasai communities, but for the friends we made at Tanzania Travel Company. Every single member of the team went above and beyond to make our trip comfortable and memorable. Tanzania and all of the team at Tanzania Travel Company will have a special place in our hearts, until we return again.
If you’re thinking about visiting Tanzania don’t think about it any longer, book a trip with Tanzania Travel Company. It will be the trip of a lifetime.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Summiting with Eastern Sun
When looking for a company to arrange a Kilimanjaro climb, I must admit I was overwhelmed with the number of operators out there and found it difficult to know which operator could be trusted. After getting a few quotes from various operators, I found Eastern Sun on Safaribookings.com and was impressed with the speed of their responses to my initial emails. I was also impressed with how cheap they came up when compared to other operators. I was a bit nervous that they were so cheap that it was too good to be true, but any concerns I had were soon resolved on the morning of our trek.
Our pick up turned up at our hotel in Arusha at the arranged time and took us on the long drive to the start of the rongai route. The drive took us most of our first day. We were a little put out that we were only told at Marangu gate to kili that plastic bottles are not allowed on the mountain as we had planned to use these. In the end we had to arrange to borrow our guides' bottles. In future I believe this should be made clear in the booking emails. We were also a little annoyed that we had to pay $10pp to hire leccy poles when we thought they were included in the price.
Once we had resolved these issues we continued with our drive north. Once we got out of the jeeps, there was a lot of sitting around, but were soon on our way with the trek. On our first night we were pleastantly surprised with the quality and quantity of food provided by our chef Stephen. Throughout the trek we were well fed and never went hungry once. In terms of water, although I had water treatment pills I was told the water was treated, but later found out it was not. Fortunately we didn't get ill following this mix up (I think its pretty low risk anyway), but had to treat our water for the rest of our trip. For anyone looking to go on a trip, I'd advise taking water treatment pills just in case.
In terms of our guide (Arnold) and assistant guide (godfrey) we were very impressed. Not only did they make great company, but were also informative and made it clear that safety was put first. Our guide measured our heart rate and blood oxygen levels at least once a day and gave excellent advice based on years of experience on the mountain. If you go on a trip and use one of these devices (it takes a reading from your finger) ladies make sure you are not wearing nail varnish as this skews the results. Unfortunately I got bad altitude sickness symptoms at kibo (basically the worst headache i've ever experienced) but arnold's advice to take ibuprofen (I was already taking diamox)worked perfectly and I was able to summit feeling great!It was reassuring to know that Arnold would not have allowed us to summit unless he thought it was safe to do so.
All in all we were impressed with Eastern Sun and despite the minor issues we had, we were impressed with the service we received making it a trip we'll never forget.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari with ups and downs but definitely worthwhile
As a group of 56 people we took a 3 day safari at the end of September to see the beautiful Serengeti. We booked our trip over Fourways Travel Agency and were guided by Masumin Safaris. The communication via mail was really friendly and easy.
1st day - 22.09.14:
09.30 Pick Up
10.30 Buying groceries
11.30 Driving
The Car was in moderate shape. Nice to have 8 seats for ourselves and enough space for our luggage. The cigarette charger was not working (I guess we wer expecting to much from Tnazanian standards).
13.30 Start Safari
14.30 flat tire (rear right)
15.00 pushing car (engine didn't start)
17.15 2nd flat tire
19.00 ride to camp with another company
19.45 arrival at camp
The time at the campsite was truly intense. One is used to see animals in cages at the zoo. In the Serengeti it is the other way around. For our own safety we were eating (Meat smells delicious for wild animals) in a big fenced hall. It was a mind-blowing experience. Being a guest in the wild, where the animals are superior. This “humiliation” felt amazingly good!
On part of the agency, the tents were pretty old (e.g. broken zipper) however we could fix it and were probably once again expecting to much from Tanzanian standards. Maybe this experience helped us too.
2nd day - 23.09.2014:
05.30 wake up (planned start of safari 06.00)
09.20 departure new car, Start of safari
18.30 finished game drive
I will never forget this day. Even though we started late we had perfect timing, being able to see a gepard hunting from under 20m distance. We were so excited when he finally began to run and chase the antelopes that were lying in the savanna around 100m away. The leopard chased one of the younger antelopes down and running with a speed of around 100km/h he managed to jump to catch the antelope by the neck and tear it down. We were so stunned and almost all of us had tears in our eyes. The rest of the day was full of great views and thousands of beautiful animals. For a fee of 15$ we were invited to visit a Massai village and exchange thoughts with some of the English speaking villagers. We visited the huge Ngorongoro crater and saw all of the local animals – even one of the few rhinos. Thank you so much.
3rd day - 24.09.2014:
06.00 wake up
07.30 breakfast
08.30 Start of safari
10.15-11.00 break
11.00 Safari
17.00 Return to Mwanza
The last day was a combination of returning to Mwanza (our starting point) and more Safari. We saw a family of elephants, many young giraffes and plenty of Zebras, Gnus and Buffalos. We returned to our starting point and received our car, that we were allowed to park at the company. The next day we received a refund for the missed hours due to the broken tires, which were 20% of the expenses of the agency. The rest (more that the half of the money) goes in to Serengeti park fees and is not refundable.
Overall, the agency and the gear was ok, the guides and the food were good and the Serengeti was perfect! Thank you so much for this unforgettable experience.