DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a wanderful tour
Me and my girlfriend did a 6 days camping group safari with WONDERLAND TOURS and it was wonderful. I reccomend this company to all.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Let down by easily fixable problems
We did a five-day, four-night budget (camping) safari with World Tours and Safari in December 2014, visiting Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara national parks.
Let’s start with the good:
1) this really is a budget safari – from our conversations with other travellers, you’re likely to pay $700-1000 more for a very similar itinerary with many other operators out of Arusha.
2) we saw a great many animals, and had some very exciting sightings – more lions than we could count, a leopard (!), a lion-buffalo showdown (the buffaloes won), lots and lots and lots of hippos, hyenas, jackals, owls, vultures, even rhinos in the far distance in the Ngorongoro crater (etc etc). The places we saw are jawdroppingly beautiful, and all in all, just being there is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
3) a couple of the (freshly cooked) meals were very tasty.
4) (though this is by chance) we had great company, getting on very well with the couple who were in the Land Rover with us – which made the trip so much better than it could have been.
HOWEVER:
1) While Richard’s communication had been fast and informative when we were booking our trip, he firstly made us change our initial leaving date, with a story of us joining what we suspect to be a fictional couple (since our eventual companions had been told exactly the same story) and secondly, he then changed our itinerary the day before the start of our safari. Make sure to check that you’re still spending the same amount of time in each park as initially agreed upon, and be firm about getting exact details. Also, when planning, stick to what you want, and when you want to leave.
2) Our guide and cook were both very nice and friendly men, who both appeared to be trying their best. However, their English was quite poor, which made communication and planning for the day difficult. Our driver did know a lot about the bush, and clearly loved (spotting) animals, but it took time and patience to draw it out of him, that you don’t always have, and he didn’t volunteer information very often. In other words, he was much more of a driver, than a guide. This led to frustration from both sides, and made some meal-times (when it is the custom that the guides always join the clients) quite awkward.
3) Our Land Rover was old, and stalled and overheated a number of times – the worst of which was for about 45 minutes, as it was getting dark, on the way to our third night’s camp.
4) The tents are very old. The worst however was the camping equipment, all of which was very old and dirty. The mattresses are okay, but the sleeping bags and pillows are downright disgusting. Bring your own!! We also really didn’t like that the guides had a much worse tent than us (!), and lower stools (which broke) rather than proper chairs. More (easily avoidable!) awkwardness.
5) As above, a few of the dinners and the one lunch that was freshly cooked was tasty enough. However, the packed lunches were all the same, and not very palatable (dry fried chicken for the third day in a row, anyone?). Take the menu on the website/in your itinerary with a very generous pinch of salt, and be prepared to bring your own snacks along to supplement meals, particularly fresh fruit, nuts etc.
To reiterate, we were on a budget safari, and the result was – the incredible scenery and wildlife aside! – a budget experience. What is disappointing though is that many of these things could be fixed quite easily, and at minimum cost (or perhaps by increasing rates only slightly). The cook needs a bit of training and some new ideas (make a chicken mayo sandwich on the third day! Add fresh tomatoes to your lunch menus!). And fresh safari uniforms for both men would also go a long way to make the operation look more professional. Give your customers and your guides a detailed itinerary for each day, and impress upon your guides that they need to stick to it as far as possible or communicate any changes to your customers. Fix your vehicles!
Weighing it up, we probably wouldn’t recommend World Tours and Safaris. Rather go on a shorter safari with a more expensive (and professional) operator.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Mara!
My 4-day trip to Mara was one of a kind and our driver Lenny was just the perfect guide of all time. Tayiai safaris arranged a trip for me and my 3 pals and we really enjoyed every bit of it; from game drives, to the accommodation to our knowledgeable guide. Thanks Tayiai for this trip!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience!!
We just returned from a 10 day trip through Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, the Serengeti, and Zanzibar which we worked with Maturaf at Regional Tours and Safari’s to set up. The trip was amazing! It exceeded all of our high expectations. We customized the trip substantially and Maturaf was extremely helpful throughout the process.
When we were planning we continually e-mailed Maturaf with changes, most of the time he’d respond within a day, which I think is good given our time zone differences. Occasionally he would need to confirm availability which could take longer, but he always came through. Once the trip was finalized we made a deposit through wire transfer, which can be a little nerve-racking for some, but after much independent research we were confident we were in good hands.
The e-mails slowed down after the deposit. It would have been nice to receive independent booking confirmations from our hotels/camps; however I don’t think that’s common practice for remote lodges which often have power by generator and some have no internet service (Serengeti). So don’t take the reduced communication as a bad sign; we did receive confirmation e-mails when they were available such as our flight from Arusha to Zanzibar.
Logistically everything went off perfect! They picked us up on time, meals were all included like listed in the itinerary, accommodations were just like we booked, and the safari vehicle was private, clean and in great shape. Absolutely 0 issues. Our itinerary noted that water would be included on the game drives; we asked before we left Arusha and were told otherwise, so we stopped at Nakumatt (supermarket) on the way out of Arusha and got some. We found that our hotels often provided water in the rooms which may have been what our itinerary was referencing. Either way we spent $5 and had more water than we knew what to do with.
We were very impressed with our Safari guide, Johnson Eliyuko was amazing! We were able to see every animal we wanted to, and then even more. In fact we saw so many lions we eventually just asked to continue driving on past some of them. In Zanzibar, Omar leads a few tours and did an awesome job showing us around.
I’ve recommended Regional Tours to several people already and will continue to recommend to anyone!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
African Ubuntu Safaris, through Cuen McLaren, were most professional in organising all arrangements.
The whole safari experience exceeded all our wildest expectations. The driver guides, Peter of Pollmans in Kenya and Simon with Rangers in Tanzania were outstanding in their knowledge of and ability to find all types of wildlife. All the Lodge accommodation together with meals was first class. As far as value for money is concerned I don't believe you could find better. For the experience of a lifetime I would unreservedly recommend African Ubuntu Safaris.
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari Experience
We went to 4 different natural parks and natural reserves in Kenya and the experience was amazing. Very safe and comfortable. I cannot recommend Tayiai Safaris enough.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Had great interactions/planning discussions prior to booking - was made really easy for us by Cuan
Was great - exactly what we wanted some driving and luxury/private tours at end
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour of a Lifetime
An African safari was always on my bucket list, especially visiting the world renowned Serengeti. Tanganyika Ancients Routes took this expedition beyond my wildest expectations. The accommodations were comfortable with excellent food. We also got to see copious wildlife in their natural habitat. We saw the Big 5 and all the animals indigenous to Tanzania. Our tour guides were blessed with wonderful eyes and great knowledge of the geography and animals’ behaviors. We were constantly taught something and we left with a huge bank of new knowledge.
I was really impressed with the flexibility of Charle’s team. Each tour was tailored to fulfill our wishes. We had a total party of ten and we were all kept happy. Our tour guides were like family and we have made friends for life. Although they were professional, we were treated like friends rather than clients. We felt safe at all times. My favorite experience was watching the sunset on the Serengeti with the lions some hundred yards in the background. There were many sights and scenes that will stay with you for a lifetime. I highly recommend Tanganyika Ancient Routes without reservation.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent company
This is an excellent company to use to organise your travel in Zimbabwe. Monika is really easy to deal with - she responds straight away to your emails, she is a fount of wisdom and knowledge, and she is honest as well. She was happy to offer us suggestions, such as ways for us to save money or places that were more convenient to us.
The thing that first-timers may not realise about Zimbabwe is that if you book hotels through a tour operator like The Safari Source, you get an honest price and by using the one company it means that you don't have to email all of the different places you plan to stay at and have lots of different bookings. It's much easier to plan your holiday this way - just contact one person and have them do all of the running around for you, knowing that you are paying the right price. Plus Monika can get you better deals on your transport hire (ie. car and driver) than you could yourself, and you know that they will be reliable. Local tour operators like TSS won't use unreliable people, but unless you live in the country you may not know who is reliable and who isn't.
I would definitely recommend The Safari Source to anyone that wants to visit Zimbabwe, and I will certainly be using them again. And I would definitely recommend Zimbabwe as a wonderful country to visit.
EG
20-35 years of age
Great Travel Experience with Go2Africa!
I really enjoyed planning our family Christmas Vacation with go2africa. They were very professional, fast and efficient in their communication. Go2africa made a tailor made itinerary that fit all our needs and demands.
They created a luxury tailor made holiday all our booking very exceptional our Safari Lodge Maratabi exceeded our expectations, the service and guides and accommodation was 5 star ranking. I would definitely recommend them for a hassle free, luxury tailored made holiday in Africa. Great service and great team :)