AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good
Communication great, logistic arrangements, safari, guide all good
Only thing we disliked is the picnic lunch that felt like home cooked meal( for both days). Felt quite unprofessional when compared to other operators who provided proper individual meal boxes with lunch, snack, drink and fruit.
KW
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Average tour at best.
Amazing parks. Serengeti and the Crater being the highlight of the trip, so rich with wild life.
The trip started very nice until our driver decided that we have our lunch in the car, as he wasn't bothered set up a table for us !
That day ended in Nakupenda lodge, we needed a WiFi but the lodge manager gave us a lodge with no internet!! I went back to him to change the lodge but he kept us waiting there for an hour with no reason or consideration that we were tired from travelling and the drive!!
I asked the driver to pack coffee Thermos for the drive on the fist day, he totally ignored my wish until the end of the tour !!! It was suppose to be a luxury tour ..!!
On the second day we drove all the way to nogorongo, up the misty foggy hills to find out that the car wipers were not working in the tired dated vehicle, the dust from the road was sticking to the windshield making it muddy and hard to see, the fog made it worse, it was very dangerous drive up steep narrow roads under such conditions, the driver was splashing water from the window on the windscreen to see the road !!
On the final day the driver came to pick us up with a filthy dusty vehicle from the drive the day before, maybe trying to save some money, very cheap and unprofessional.
Despite all the above the last lodge Mvuli hotel was quite special. And the parks were full of wild life and worth the trouble.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They did their best
The tour is 100% recommended, the driver Ola is very good guy and nice,
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5-Star Guide, 2-Star Management
Pros:
- Our driver, Elias, was very good at his job and did his best to have a memorable experience.
- Thanks to Elias, we saw a lot of animals, from a close distance and he provided many interesting information.
Cons:
- The communicated hotel list was not followed twice. The hotels played a major role when selecting the safari, so we were disappointed ending up in different places.
- When we asked the reason for not taking us to the correct hotel, an excuse was provided related to governmental issues, which we later found out it wasn't true, since another member of our safari was taken to this hotel. An employee of Suricata also confirmed it was a lie.
We also found out, that other participants were lied to, with different excuses and on different topics.
- The other car of the safari had soft drinks and beers available during the safari, but we didn't. Also the last day we used another safari company, which also provided drinks.
- Mostly the lunch was chicken, which I love, but it was usually so overcooked and dry that one day I couldn't even eat it.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Silent
The Trip went overall well and was well organised, no big problems.
But the most important thing, the Guide that stayed with us for 5 days (Named Mirambo) was more Just a driver, he brought us from point A to point B, and explained Just the minimum regards Animals and cultural staff.
We did a complete safari with 2 days in Serengeti, NgoroNgoro,Tarangire, lake manyara, but there was no passion, and every now and then he was saying "take picture, ok? Can we go?"
When we were asking question, the answer was Just yes or no, nothing more.
And we have been in Tanzania 3 weeks before this so we know how a normal guide is working.
Even Joel from the same Company that brought us to Kilimangiaro, told us more stuff in a couple of hours then Mirambo in 5 days.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent and very attentive service
Everything was great and very good, the only thing is that they promised us a guide in Spanish and it wasn't like that and we had people in the group who didn't speak any English and they couldn't fully enjoy it. We chose this tour mainly because of the Spanish-speaking guide, thinking about those people.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip overall!
About me: I'm a 24-year-old woman, and this was both my first solo trip and my first safari experience.
Communication: Neema was professional, responsive, and easy to communicate with from the very beginning. She made sure my preferences were taken into account while planning the trip, and the travel dates I wanted for Tanzania and Zanzibar weren't an issue, which made everything much easier. She also checked in with me during the trip, which I really appreciated and made me feel supported.
The only downside was that I ended up staying at a different hotel than the one originally planned, and I wasn't informed about the change until I asked.
The tour: My itinerary included a 3-day safari (Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara) followed by 7 days in Zanzibar.
The first safari day was absolutely incredible and everything I had hoped for. Unfortunately, the second and third days were much shorter than I expected. Our group left significantly later than the other safari groups, yet I was the first person back at my hotel, arriving shortly after lunch both days. That was disappointing because the safari was the part of the trip I had been looking forward to the most, especially after traveling such a long way to get there.
Zanzibar, however, was amazing and packed with fun activities. I went snorkeling for the first time and saw beautiful fish and yes, even though I can't swim! I also went on a dolphin tour, fed turtles, did a glass kayak photoshoot, and experienced a deep-sea walk. On the way to Stone Town, I visited a spice farm, and later I explored the town and learned about its fascinating history. Towards the end of my trip, I visited Prison Island, where I saw the island's famous giant tortoises, before relaxing at the beautiful Nakupenda Beach.
One unfortunate part of my trip was an unexpected and unpleasant experience with my guide just before visiting Stone Town. Thankfully, Neema apologized for his unprofessional behavior and resolved the situation the very same day, so I was able to continue the rest of my trip as planned. I genuinely appreciated how quickly she handled the issue because, at that point, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to continue with the remaining tours.
Value for money: The shorter safari days and my experience with one of the guides in Zanzibar definitely affected my overall impression and made me question whether the trip was worth the price. However, aside from those issues, I had a wonderful experience overall and made some unforgettable memories. That's why I'm giving this tour 3 out of 5 stars.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Okay
Firstly I had an amazing time on safari, the food and accommodation was great along with the activities we did. However the organisation of the tour was poor. There was multiple times where we were an hour late leaving. When paying to be on safari, personally I want to leave on time to spend the most time in the national parks as possible. The communication was also poor, I had to ask to know what was going on and wasn’t informed unless I asked. My itinerary changed many times so I couldn’t follow it . I cannot fault the people, they were all so lovely and friendly (especially Julieth). However, due to the efficiency and communication I would not use this company again.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari, but poorly organised
Jocky will arrange your pick up in a normal car and bring you to their office where you get in the safari vehicle (this was not communicated at all, but is sensible).
Good value for money - a day and a half of safari in MM, plus accommodation, park fees, food and transport. MM is totally worth it - we saw so many different animals. My guide also helped me join a hot air balloon ride.
However, I had some concerns about the way our guide treated both the rules in the MM and the animals - he often drove off road, right into/up to the big cats in the bushes, skipping the lines of other vehicles and getting in trouble from rangers. A lot of the time he trapped a lion between our car and other cars and made them uncomfortable enough to move. We got great photos but I would have been happier being more compliant. He also spent lots of the time on the phone.
Our final day was a total mess - two people on our tour were staying an extra night so Jocky gave them the guide and the car and tried and failed to organise other transport for 5 of us. We ended up taking a total of 4 other cars, with limited communication and my bag was left behind in one of the transfers and needed to be retrieved which meant the whole trip back to Nairobi took a few extra hours.