FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All the team is very welcoming, nice and helpful.
I planned my trip very long time ago and I asked thousands of questions to all the team. Each time, they have been very patient, and took the time to help me to take the best decisions and optimize my trip. They respected my budget, and I was quite impressed by the quality of hotels they booked.
Their drivers are really nice, and experienced, good drivers, peaceful and very knowledgable about animals, people and history of the country and tribes.
This is very useful, specially when a black mamba is coming to your car and you could have go out of it !
One deception concerned the fact that I couldn't hunt with the Hatzabe's despite of it was written in the contract. They just decided not to hunt this day. I would have prefer they mention "it might be possible to hunt with them" on the contract. This would have avoided my deception.
One not to good souvenir is the agency booked the plane ticket to go from Kilimandjaro airport to Zanzibar , but not the way back from Zanzibar to the Kilimandjaro airport. I still don't understand why and ask to myself how they thought we would go back to take our plane to go back to France. It was the last day , so it impacted our overall impression.
Despite of that, this trip will stay the best one I have ever had, and it was great to work with a human, local and welcoming agency such as Kimgoni, rather than TZ Specialist or Leopard Tours which are "big companies", much more not personal.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator is organised and promptly available to reply to any questions.
From the start of the contact with the organisation, the operators presented two possible option for a 2-day safari, including the and excluding one night at a hotel.
Once the safari plan was chosen, the operator was in contact the whole time, from start to finish. They explained again the program the night before the safari, at the hotel, and made sure I was always with someone at each step.
My safari included visiting the Tarangire National Par with a lodge at Fig Tree Lodge and the Ngorongoro Crater the day after. For each expertness I joined a grip and shared their car, and they both included a lunch break with studding new of the savana.
I would rate the good, as it was possible to see some animals, but not as much as I expected. Whereas the Ngorngoreo Crater is 100% worth it. The view is always beautiful and we managed to see multiple lines, zebras, gnus, and lots of birds. I wish the guides would have explained more what we were observing and facts and characteristics of the animals we were observing.
In overall, the experience with a night in Arusha, Tarangire National Park, the Fig Tree Lodge and the Ngorongoro Crater was $430.
I truly appreciated the operators immediate replies to my messages and for helping me take a bus from Arisha to where I needed to get.
IT
Always available, responsive and flexible to all our requests
Zambezi Expedition Travel and Tours was very responsive from the start by sending us a plan and estimate based on our specific requests and adjusted it as per our desires even during the trip. Their feedback and response to our questions and requests were always timely and positive. Almost all accommodations reserved (except for one that was basic) were amazing. Although they are based in Zimbabwe, they efficiently arranged our trip section in Botswana with their partner agencies based there.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
If you don't pursue an ultra-luxurious experience, you can choose...
I had a personalized safari itinerary that only lasted 4 days, covering the central, northern Serengeti and Ngorongoro. As a result, much of the time was spent on the road. Maybe the animals have been hiding in recent years, so the ones I saw weren't as spectacular as I imagined, but the guide was still earnest in helping me look for them.
The wind and sand were enormous along the way. After the first day, I was covered in black from hair to toes, and my skin and respiratory tract were also full of sand. Later, on the return flight, someone suggested wearing a full-face visible veil directly, which would provide better protection.
Regarding meals, compared with other tourists' food, I thought mine was just average, which might be because I ate the same kind for too many days. I started having lunch boxes on the first day of hiking, and ended up eating them for five or six days in total.
It wasn't like the freshly cooked meals shown in online photos from other people, and of course I didn't see any other tour groups serving freshly cooked food either. However, I did see many people with hot meals, whereas all the packed lunch boxes were cold.
Accommodation: Maybe because I decided too late, I stayed in tents for two nights and in other types of accommodation for the other two. One place had no shampoo or body wash, and another had no hair dryer. If you need these, remember to bring them yourself.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The operator provided excellent organization, though food and accommodation needs improvment
Transport: Perfect. Our guide Nestor managed the flights Zanzibar → Selous → Dar es Salaam very smoothly, always punctual and reliable.
Safari: Very good. Comfortable 4x4 just for the two of us. Nestor was attentive, and we managed to see the “Big 3” (elephants, lions, buffalos), though no rhinos in Selous.
Accommodation: Lodges were adequate (mosquito nets, hot water), but overall quite basic with limited comfort and no extra amenities or blankets. We chose to spend the third night in a Dar es Salaam hotel instead.
Food: Could definitely be improved, lacked variety and quality.
Staff: Khadidja and Clara, along with the rest of the lodge team, were very kind and attentive. However, the lack of English skills made communication sometimes difficult.
Overall: Excellent organization and safari thanks to Nestor, but accommodation and especially food would need improvement.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Hakuna Matata
We had a great time in Amboseli. Everything was organized including food and the stay in Nyati Camp. The elephants came very close to our car and our driver took us very fast to all the other highlights that the park is offering including cheetahs and lions. The view of Kilimanjaro was breathtaking. Asante sana Benson for organizing the memorable safari and beeing there for us whenever we needed help.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Funny, much knowledge, great eyesight for hidden animals and talkative
We had a great experience and saw so many animals! The Tour was mostly well organised, we got informed about our pick up times only late in the evenings, our tour plan got changed by the operator, which is why we sadly only had a little time on our last day.
The camp was good, it had everything we needed. Additionally the food was very good in the camp as well as on our safari tours. Our guides: Nestorin and Mtinangi guided us very well, looked out for all the animals and could answer all our questions.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
The safari was very well organized. When we had questions, Suzan always responded very quickly on WhatsApp. Our Guide David was very good. We were able to see the Big 5 and many other animals in 4 days.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
The tour was amazing. The accomodation booked for us was great especially Ambokili Cottages. Our tour guide, Tim, was excellent. He made sure that we are comfortable. He also knows all the amazing spots to see the animals and we managed to complete the BIG 5. The staff of the agency, Derrick, also updates us on how our experience is going to make sure we get our money’s worth. This tour is highly recommended.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris