CH
Great park experience
Amazing park, many animals, excellent facilities, especially Skukuza. Different landscapes.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Mkhuze Game Reserve by Michael Potts
Great reserve with wonderful viewing hides
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect Safari
I have been to Phinda a number of times but this visit was by far the best. The accommodation, food and location is unsurpassed in the Natal area. What made this trip special was the luck we had with the game sightings. Game sightings are often down to luck however in this occasion we were spoilt, great quality sightings and the rangers spent a nice amount of time with each sighting. The rangers are fantastic at Phinda and they make the safari.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tanzania by dereizigercronk
Tanzania has a lot to offer. The people, the animals, the culture are all something that you are unlikely to experience anywhere else in the world (well, the animals you'll see elsewhere). In Moshi, I never felt unsafe walking around during the day. The people were quite friendly and always smiling and happy to talk. I will say, that riding or driving in Tanzania is not something for the faint of heart. There were times I really thought my life was coming to an end! So there is that negative point. I've also heard from people that traveling in Dar es Salaam you need to be extremely vigilant. There are numerous stories of robberies, but not having been to Dar, I can't fully comment.
I would love to go back to Tanzania to explore further. I would love to go to Gombe, Ruaha and Katavi National Parks.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about South Africa by Michael Potts
Lots of great wildlife as well as culture, natural beauty, variety and history. Great place to visit, great food and wine and affordable prices.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience 11 day safari
We absolutely loved our 11 day safari through Kenya and Tanzania with Wecam safari. Mercy is very nice and professional, she arranged everything perfectly and checked in with us all the way through our trip to see if we were happy.
We chose this company because they had a perfect combination of basic tent travel and nice lodges/hotels for a very good price and were happy to change the itinerary for us.
One thing you should know though is that all the budget safari companies work together, so we were put in the same car with people from other companies due to low season. We were the only people who did the 11 days so we changed drivers 4 times, which was a bit much, but they were all very good. Especially in Kenya we felt very safe with Peter and Patrick who drove very well and are also good animal spotters. During our trip I got sick and Peter was so helpful to bring us to a doctor late in the evening for which he had to drive an hour through a national park though he hadn't even eaten his dinner yet.
Our favorite parts of the trip were Masai Mara, where we were able to get to the animals very closely. At Amboseli it's a little harder to spot animals, and the Kilimanjaro often hides behind the clouds but the kibo safari camp was one of the most beautiful camps I have ever seen. Then the pinched tent camping inside Serengeti and Ngorongoro definitely was one of the most adventurous and amazing things we've ever done!
So altogether we were extremely happy with our trip and would definitely recommend Wecam safari!!
BH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience
My husband and a another friend from New Zealand had a great time in Uganda thanks to Cul tours , they came and picked us up from the airport took us to our hotel briefed us on the next day itinerary , Stephen is very professional and a great ambassador to his county . We travelled for 6 nights with Stephen he is a responsible driver and fantastic tour guide he was so informative through out the tour . It was one of best African trips I had as I have been to multiple African countries . I can highly recommend Cul tours .
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Christmas safari exceeding all our expectations!
The communication with Madi at the office was always rapid and alert, flexible and nice in all contacts. Booking process went smoothly and effective.
Services were efficient and very high standard. Our guide, Simon, was more than service-minded, and he was also one step ahead when it came to planning. This made our trip very pleasant, we were treated in a calm and caring way and Simon always had a smile on his face. He also drew were safely and he even stopped several times making possibilities for everone to take their perfect photo.
The meals were also a treat, and this counts for breakfast, brunch and dinner. Christmas dinner was ever so nice with gifts, extra fine laying of the table and colored lights. Simon did always lay the table very neat and even though we were at a camp, the table with cloth looked just like in a restaurant. Another thing to mention is that he also cooked different course due to our demands without complaining.
As the title of our review implicates we were more than satisfied. A more knowledgeable guide is not to be found on this planet. Simon knew so much about nature and how the ecosystem works. His knowledge in animals seemed to be enormous and he shared this with us in perfect portions. Even though we looked at giraffes several times, he always had something new to tell us. He answered all our questions and tried to make us understand the way animals in the savannah live. We made many game-drives and ever time he showed and taught us something new. Sometimes we almost thought he had bribed the animals to come to the road and greet us.
The thing we appreciated the most, was however that it shows how much Simon loves the animals, the birds and the whole of Krugerparc. We were lucky to see an enormous amount of animals and birds, including the big five, many more than one could dream of, but the way Simon worked, with his expertise and his experience was what made this trip totally unforgettable.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing South African Safari thanks to African Welcome Safaris
We recently returned from a 3 week safari in South Africa booked with the assistance of Kathi from African Welcome Safaris. I cannot praise Kathi highly enough - she designed a custom itinerary for us which included a complex array of transfers, flights and accommodation and everything went very smoothly. During the booking process, she gave excellent advice on itinerary choices and was incredibly prompt to get back to us with any information or bookings we requested.
This is our second time booking through African Welcome Safaris (fourth time travelling to Africa), and as an Australian I would encourage Aussies to consider booking through a local operator - we were able to save a very significant amount of money compared to when we have travelled with an Australian based agency, plus Kathi's local knowledge was far superior and made the transfers/itinerary far more efficient than we have experienced in the past with other agencies.
Because we had specific animals in mind on this trip, we went to Phinda Forest and Mountain Lodge in Kwa Zulu Natal, and Ngala Safari Lodge, Kirkman's Kamp, and Arathusa in the Kruger area. The lodges and staff in all locations were absolutely fantastic and I can highly recommend them all. There were pros and cons to the game viewing in South Africa- the density of game was very sparse compared to Kenya or Tanzania, however being private reserves, we were able to go off-road and get very close to the animals we particularly wanted to see (Leopard, Cheetah, Black Rhino and African Wild Dogs). So we were able to get great photos of these animals which we are very thankful for, but we did miss the sheer volume of the other animals (zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, elephants, various antelope etc) that we have seen on other safaris.
Overall we had a fantastic experience thanks to Kathi at African Welcome Safaris and highly recommend her, along with &Beyond lodges.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible value, friendly service, and a vacation I'll remember forever!
I just came back from a three-day Masai Mara safari operated by Safe Ride. I had selected them mainly on price, and was originally a bit worried that it would not be a comfortable or "authentic" safari experience. These concerns were completely misplaced - it was wonderful!
From beginning to end the entire experience was completely professional. Every email was answered clearly and promptly. We were picked up at our hotel right on time. Paying was easy, our driver Joseph was extremely friendly, and knew all of the animals. Actually, Joseph was incredible - 20 years experience on safari... a real pro, with a friendly attitude and nice laugh!
The tent-style accommodations at the Manyata camp were rustic, but clean and totally adequate. Basically, it's a concrete floor with thick canvas walls, and a roof canopy that goes over the canvas tent roof and provides plenty of shade and protection. No water leakage in spite of torrential rains overnight. The in-tent showers were hot, the beds were comfortable. Actually, I would feel like kind of a phony to be in one of the luxury-type places on safari. (Come on... you're doing this whole thing to experience the wilderness, do you really need high thread-count sheets and a polished brass washbasin?) The food was simple but hot, filling and plentiful.
There were four in our group, and we were matched up with a group of three other travelers, and one solo. We really enjoyed the extra company, especially because some of the other travelers were native Kenyans who helped us to bargain hunt for souvenirs.
We were especially grateful that safe ride operated a four-wheel-drive vehicle, because several of the other companies did not, and they got stuck in mud that arose due to rainy conditions. The vehicle also provided excellent views of the wildlife -- it had a pop-up roof that seems to be the norm among the other vehicles we saw in the park.
In conclusion: our experience was worth every penny that we paid. The kids loved it, we were well looked after, and I highly recommend the experience.