35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our private safari was ruined due to the incompetence of this company!
I booked a private 3-day safari in Amboseli National Park with a friend at the end of November. I spent six months arranging all the details of the safari via email with Michael, the owner of Ancient Wild Safaris. This was my fourth safari, so I was very clear about the services we wanted.
I was coming from Tanzania and met my friend Sergio and the driver Joseph at the Namanga border. 15 minutes on the road to Amboseli the car broke down. The driver was clueless how to fix the problem and didn't communicate any information to us. We waited for two hours on the dirt road until a taxi arrived to take us to the entrance gate of Amboseli, an hour away. The driver, Joseph stayed with the broken down car. Once at the park entrance, we waited another hour for a van to take us on our first "game drive". We booked a private safari, but were forced to join a Danish couple's tour. This game drive was really just driving across the park to our hotel, on the opposite side.
I contacted Michael several times during the first day, but he never communicated to me what the plan was for the next day. Eventually, Joseph told us that we would join the Danish couple's safari again the next morning. This became our second group game drive during the trip. Also, it was not our driver or tour company, so we had no choice in what we visited or where we stopped or for how long. We were just along for the ride.
After the morning game drive, we were dropped off at our hotel with no driver and no car. I had originally arranged an all-day game drive on the second day. Instead, we spent most of the morning and afternoon being bored around the camp. Eventually, Joseph contacted us to say he would pick us from the camp at 5pm! He arrived with the mechanic and we did a one-hour game drive before the park closed.
The next morning we did the only full, private game drive before returning to Nairobi. So we got 1 proper game drive out of the 4 we paid for. In Nairobi, Michael failed to show up at our hotel to discuss the poor service. He kept trying to make excuses instead of taking responsibility for the problems with the safari. I kindly requested a partial refund since we didn't get the private safari that we paid for and he refused. There was zero accountability!
I would never use this company again due to the lack of professionalism and costumer service. Throughout the entire ordeal, there was almost no communication and direction from the owner.
CL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime!
From start to finish, Zambezi took care of everything. They were flexible, helpful, attentive and responsive. Once we embarked on our trip, we did not have to worry about a thing - we simply woke up and were whisked around from point to point. It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend Zambezi to anyone.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Self driving in Uganda is great!
I made a self driving tour for three weeks all around Uganda with a car from Self Drive Uganda. The car was great and reliable. It was an old (but very robust) Rav 4 that managed all the roads without any problem.
Also the service is very good. I got my car directly on the airport. Billy made the paperworks and showed me the roads of Entebbe early in the morning. He also gave me some tips about the ferry, where to go and so on. A very nice guy!
The tour itself was amazing. I was absolutely free what to do and see. For some game drives I hired a guide who spotted animals and sights while I could concentrate on driving and taking pictures. It is really easy to drive here although some roads are really rough and it is very dusty. As single European self driver I was known immediately everywhere ant it was really fun to talk to people I met during my journey.
Also returning the car was very uncomplicated. Moses picked it up at the gusethouse. There was no hassle, everything was fine with the car and the guys. I think it was a good decision to chose them. They are reliable, very kind and - very important - local!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Experience
We booked the 3 day safari. Annette did a wonderful job in arranging our tour, the accommodations were great, Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara and the drive along the way were amazing. The service was friendly and on time at every part of our trip. The safari was fantastic!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic last minute safari in the Mara
We decided whilst on our honeymoon in Kenya that we wanted to do a safari in the Mara, James at Wildlife Sun Safari’s was very highly recommended to us and I can fully understand why. We wanted to head to the Mara in 4 days time and because James was so quick at sorting this for us it meant that we were able to get the last 2 seats on the flight.
Due to the planes that take you to the Mara being so small there are weight restrictions on luggage, this meant we were unable to take our main suitcases, James was brilliant with sorting this out for us and arranged for our suitcases to fly to Nairobi with us (We had to pick up some passengers from Nairobi on the way to the Mara), our suitcases were then stored at the airport ready for us to collect after our Safari.
We were given 3 options of where to stay, we chose ‘The Fig Tree’, it was a really friendly and welcoming camp in the Mara. We had a fantastic guide and driver and were also lucky enough to have a safari truck to ourselves.
When we left the Mara we were heading to Nairobi to carry on our honeymoon, James surprised us by meeting us at the airport and had already collected our large suitcases for us.
I cannot recommend James or Wildlife Sun Safari’s enough, he was brilliant from the beginning right through to the end of our trip.
We are hoping that we will be able to return to Kenya in the near future and will not hesitate to contact James to help us organise our trip.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
cheerful and ideal to first-timers.
On the scale that you suggest, I'd rate our experience at 10pts. In terms of services provided.
That was also our family trip and our guide made it very special and memorable for us. The guide was extremely polite and flexible with our timing. The camps that were offered to us also contributed to our best possible experience. They were clean, welcoming, and supplied with great food.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dauda is more then just a tourguide
I spend 10 days with my sister to visit my son and his study compagnon during their intership in Kampala. Going into the organised chaos of Kampala on your own is almost impossible. What we did with Dauda in one day would take us a few days if we would have to do that on our own. He is an excellent driver and there wasnt a moment i didnt feel safe with him in the car. Something i did experience with the other ways of transportation in Kampala more then once. You can just call him, tell him what you wanna see and he will make it possible. And if you wanna stay a bit longer, make a stop somewhere, change the program a bit, just tell him and he will take care of it. We also went with him on a 3 day tour to the source of the Nile and the Sipi Falls. Some days away out of the crazyness of Kampala. Wauw that was a great experience. He listend to our wishes and translated it into a perfect tour. Specially the place he took us close to Ninja, with the beautifull view on the Nile was what impressed me the most and the yoga session with view on the Nile gave the 2 hard workers an huge boost of energy. I want to come back to Uganda to visit the wildparks and specially track the chimpansees. And i definit gonna give Dauda a call to take make a perfect fit tour for us.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely fabulous experience
We traveled with Benson Safari during the month of December for a three day safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Creator. From the moment we contacted Benson, we had an excellent experience. Benson responded promptly to all of our questions and emails (even late at night), provided us with several options for our trip, and was helpful in providing information about what we could expect. Similarly to the attention we received via email communication, everything on the ground was smooth--staff were prompt in picking us up from airports and hotels, all of the staff were friendly, and, most importantly, all of the vehicles used were well maintained. Our guide for the safari was patient with us and our questions, had a fabulous sense of humor, and communicated with other guides to ensure that we had a chance to see the animals we wanted to (even though, sometimes it's just pure luck!). Benson also organized a trip for us to Zanzibar, where we had another guide. Similarly, the vehicle was in outstanding condition and the guide was knowledgeable and helpful in all aspects of our time in Zanzibar.
I would absolutely suggest Benson Safari for your experience in Tanzania!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very nice safari!
We have been on safari to murchison falls Uganda with Bella for tree days. It was really amazing. All the time she was there on time. We were with only females, so it was nice to have a female traveler. We saw a lot of animals and Bella was willing to do a lot to see those animals. Also the location and food was very nice. It is really recommended to fo with her!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Very Special Journey!
We are so fortunate to stumble upon the great reviews posted about Breakdown Safaris on TripAdvisor.com late June 2016. Without hesitation, we sent an inquiry to the contact email and immediately received a response from Kathy and Fan with specific details on the packages available for the short time we planned to be in Tanzania. We appreciated their recommendations and chose the 3-Day Selous Game Reserve option with transfers to Zanzibar. The whole booking process went smoothly. We were picked up promptly at our hotel in Dar es Salaam and our journey to Selous was an adventure in itself. We passed through the villages and sampled the sweetest mangoes and pineapples. Arriving at the camp, we were welcomed not only by the camp staff but also by an elephant checking out the camp's kitchen. The accommodations were great and we enjoyed the delicious meals provided. Our package included a boat safari, game drive and walking safari. Fan was very knowledgeable about the wildlife, vegetation and everything about Tanzania! Needless to say, we learned a lot from Fan and sparked an interest in returning to Tanzania in the near future. We also appreciated having Bakkar who drove us everywhere, making sure that we are safe and always with a smile! Although Kathy was not able to join us during our trip, she and Fan made sure that every detail of our trip was perfect. Our transfers to Zanzibar and back was easy and very organized. We echo all the wonderful reviews about Breakdown Safari and would highly recommend them for anyone seeking a great adventure. From the moment we contacted them until we returned home has been exceptional! Thank you again Fan, Kathy and Bakkar for making our trip exciting and memorable!