65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service, value and experience
This trip was seamless, everything went according to plan and as scheduled. All the guides were knowledgeable, helpful and personable. We learned so much about each country from talking with the guides. All the lodgings were stellar and we had only positive experiences wherever we were. The tour covered everything we asked for while giving us the flexibility to adapt if we desired. Compass Odyssey representatives checked in with us often throughout the tour so we always felt like someone had our back, knew where we were and what we were experiencing. In addition, it was obvious that the guides were in touch with representatives as well.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great family safari! Excellent planning, top guide
As a family, we were completely satisfied with our 4-day safari. The back-office organization at Axis was excellent, and everything ran smoothly and reliably. The tour planning was well thought out and varied, so we were able to experience a great deal over the four days.
Amboseli impressed us with the view of Kilimanjaro and its abundant wildlife. Tsavo West left a strong impression with its stunning landscapes.
Our guide Andrew was a real stroke of luck. He was knowledgeable, attentive, and explained the animals and the landscape with great enthusiasm. We especially appreciated how he always secured a good spot for us to observe the wildlife.
We give Axis Africa our highest rating: 5 out of 5 stars. We would gladly travel with them again!
AE
A wonderful safari for thefamily!
Axis and Amos provided a wonderful family experience for us (daughters 8 and 13) The Lodge was great, with good meals and lovely accommodation. The whole experience was very professional and friendly and compared to the competition, provided good value for money. We saw every animal we hoped to see (with exception of a rhino who are not in that area) Amos was super helpful and very knowledgeable regarding all the flora and fauna. Finishing with the Masai village was well worth it.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A seamless and well organized travel experience
I had a wonderful experience with TwentyEight Tours during my trip to Zanzibar. They did an excellent job organizing my itinerary, and everything went smoothly and met my expectations. Communication was timely and I really appreciated the support throughout the entire trip. The tour guides were great.
Overall, the service was reliable, well-organized, and worth it. I enjoyed every bit of my experience and would happily travel with them again, to other destinations.
I would also recommend TwentyEight Tours to my colleagues and friends.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy Communication, clear instructions, fast replies, perfect Organisation.
We booked the 3-day Affordable Shared Camping Safari for two people. On the first day, we were picked up from our hotel quite early by a very friendly driver. We drove for around two hours from Arusha with another couple before transferring to the safari jeep, where we met a third couple. That meant our group of six was complete.
Generally speaking, around one of the three days is spent driving outside the national parks, without any actual safari experience.
In Arusha, we met our amazing guide, Laurence, who took us through the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater over the following three days. The overnight stays at both camps were very well organised. The tents were spacious, weatherproof and equipped with bedding. It gets pretty cold at night, so make sure to bring some warm sweaters!
We also had a cook who prepared three meals a day for us, and we would really like to thank him as well. The food was absolutely fantastic, and the safari was a top-notch culinary experience, too!
We were incredibly lucky to have Laurence as our guide. He knew the area exceptionally well, which meant we got to see every animal you could possibly hope to see. We honestly cannot think of a single animal that we missed.
A few words to describe the safari: breathtaking, spectacular, impressive and overwhelming – but, of course, physically exhausting as well!
We are extremely happy that we chose this company for our safari. We will definitely recommend them to others. We had the time of our lives and could not be happier with our experience!
A little tip:
If you are offered a visit to a “Maasai village”, say no and definitely do not go along with it. Stay in the car instead. We made the mistake of going, and we were deeply disappointed.
You do not really learn anything about their authentic culture. Instead, it feels as though the main goal is to get as much money out of you as possible. First, there is a $10 entrance fee per person, then a “donation” for the children, followed by a large souvenir shop where, for example, a small bracelet can cost $50.
If you do not pay, people follow you around for several minutes, watch you very closely and stare at you. The atmosphere no longer feels as welcoming as it did at the beginning.
So, if you genuinely want to learn about the Maasai, we recommend simply asking your guide or doing some research online. You will have plenty of opportunities to see Maasai people without paying for this kind of “tour”.
One final note that surprised us and taught us something new:
At the end of our third day of camping, we gave our cook a small tip of $5 USD, and he seemed very happy about it – or so we thought.
We then drove back with our group and our guide, took a group photo together and said goodbye to our guide. We also gave our excellent guide $10 USD as a thank-you. He thanked us, but then told us that the cook had contacted him to say that we had given him far too little.
At that point, we realised that our guide probably also felt that our tip was too small. This was genuinely disappointing, as that was never our intention. We simply had not realised how important tipping culture is in Tanzania.
We are always happy to tip, but we are still very young and had been saving up for this trip for a long time. Because of that, we cannot afford to give huge amounts in tips. We thought that, despite our limited budget, we could still show our appreciation with a small gesture. Unfortunately, our contribution did not seem to be well received.
Our advice is to include tips in your budget from the very beginning and set aside around $70 USD, as tipping is clearly expected at the end of the safari. (If we had skipped the Maasai village visit, we would have had more money available for tips.)
We absolutely do not want this to affect our overall review or take away from the experience in any way. We simply spent quite a bit of time afterwards worrying about whether we had done something wrong.
We had the time of our lives, 10,000% loved the experience and would book the exact same safari all over again!
Thank you for everything – it was truly an incredible experience!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was amazing
Everything was on point; customer care, time management, professional tour guides, proffesional drivers
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An absolutely incredible experience, a dream come true! 🦁🐘🦒
We had an unforgettable safari in Tanzania! Everything was absolutely magical from beginning to end.
A huge thank you to our guide Ecky, who was incredibly kind! Always attentive, passionate, and professional, he did everything he could to make sure we saw as many animals as possible. Thanks to him, we got to see all the animals we had dreamed of seeing in their natural habitat. It was simply amazing!
As for the accommodation, we chose the lodges and luxury tented camps in the heart of the savannah, and we absolutely loved them! Sleeping surrounded by nature while still enjoying great comfort made the experience even more special.
We also had the opportunity to see some of the camps in the most budget-friendly category. Personally, I would really recommend choosing at least the second accommodation category if your budget allows it. The difference in comfort and quality is definitely worth the extra cost, especially for such a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
This safari will remain one of the most beautiful memories of our lives. We are leaving with stars in our eyes and unforgettable memories.
A huge thank you to the entire team, and especially to Ecky, for this extraordinary adventure! ❤️
We couldn’t recommend this experience enough! 100% worth it!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 15-day Safari in Kenya and Tanzania with Sumpton Safaris
Our party of 4 returned from an amazing 15-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania in mid-September operated by Sumpton Safari Adventures. We covered Nairobi, Lake Nakuru, the Mara Triangle, Northern and Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Amboseli during those 2 weeks. It was truly an experience of a lifetime including seeing Africa’s Big Five up close, the Great Migration of wildebeests streaming across the Mara River for more than half an hour, and so many other animals and birds. Our 2 guides, Samuel in Kenya and Japheth in Tanzania, were exceptionally talented, professional and friendly, skillfully driving us through the wilds, spotting the animals long before we could see them and captivating us with explanations about the animal life, local terrain and cultures of these 2 amazing countries.
The safari was very smoothly run, owing to the efforts of Lucy, the travel consultant at Sumpton Safaris, who was so helpful planning the safari, making lodging reservations and quickly responding to our never-ending stream of questions by email, text messages and calls. This was our first safari experience, so we had initial concerns about picking a small safari operator such as Sumpton. However, the positive feedback from speaking with a guest from a previous Sumpton safari, the responsiveness of Lucy and the level of attention, planning and personalized service exhibited by the Sumpton team, including meeting us at the airport on arrival and giving us a heartfelt send-off at the end, quickly put our concerns to rest. We made great friendships with all of the Sumpton team and look forward to traveling with Sumpton Safaris again in the future.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable tour operator that made the whole experience smooth and enjoyable
Very reliable tour operator! I would strongly recommend them. We had a smooth and enjoyable 6-day safari through the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolutely incredible from start to finish – the safari of a lifetime! 🦁🐘🤎
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolutely incredible from start to finish – the safari of a lifetime! 🦁🐘🤎
Where do we even begin?! We honestly cannot recommend Beyond the Plain Safaris enough! From start to finish, the entire experience was absolutely incredible, and they truly made our honeymoon safari everything we had dreamed of and more!
A HUGE thank you to Maurine, who quite literally saved our honeymoon! Unfortunately, we had been scammed by another safari company, leaving us with just 10 days before our trip and no safari organised. Maurine was absolutely amazing and managed to arrange everything at such short notice, without us having to change a single thing from our original itinerary! Her communication, reassurance and attention to detail were outstanding, and we are so incredibly grateful for everything she did to make our dream trip happen.
And what can we say about our two amazing guides, Ian and Phineas?! 🥹 Both were absolutely fantastic! Their knowledge, passion, friendliness and dedication made our safari experience even more special. They consistently went above and beyond to make sure we had the most incredible time, always going the extra mile to help us see as much wildlife as possible and create memories we will treasure forever.
We were lucky enough to experience some truly unforgettable wildlife encounters, including seeing the most incredible animals up close. Every single day brought something new and exciting, and we couldn’t have asked for better guides to share those moments with.
Everything was so well organised, from the accommodation and transfers to the game drives and overall itinerary. We felt completely looked after throughout our entire journey.
What started as an incredibly stressful situation turned into one of the most magical experiences of our lives, and that is all thanks to the wonderful team at Beyond the Plain Safaris.
Maurine, Ian and Phineas, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our honeymoon safari so unforgettable! 🤎
If you’re considering booking a safari in Kenya, look no further. We genuinely couldn’t recommend Beyond the Plain Safaris highly enough. An experience of a lifetime with a truly exceptional company! 🦁🐘🇰🇪
