CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience. Douglas is the best!
Meru Slopes, and specifically Douglas (our driver and guide) gave us the best trip of our lives. We did 6 days of Safari through Tarangire, Central Serengeti, Ndutu (with a hot air balloon ride), and Ngorongo Crater. We had one final day in Arusha with a day trip to Materuni Falls. This perfect itinerary was organized by Leonard and he was responsive throughout the whole trip. The safari was a life changing experience. We loved every single moment of it. My wife and I each celebrated our birthdays throughout the trip and Meru Slopes was excellent in organizing many surprises for our birthdays.
Our accommodations were great. Well furnished, nice toilets with hot showers, great staff. The only thing is that it would sometimes get very hot during the day and only our first tented accommodation had a regular sized fan. It was quite a cool experience to hear the wildlife right outside our tent at night.
We saw each of the Big Five and many other animals. We witnessed predators and scavengers feeding on prey, a wildabeest calf being born, a parade of elephants walking towards us, a cheetah scanning for prey from atop a termite mound. These experiences, and more, were only possible because of the 15 years of expertise of Douglas. He was truly amazing and we genuinely miss him now that our trip is over. He made us feel like family. 10/10 recommend.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Use SERENGETI SMILES & Domi for best Safari!
My husband and I booked a 7-day Tanzania safari with SERENGETI SMILES and have been incredibly happy with the booking process and Safari price with Pinel, for making the arrangements and a few modifications, as well as our tour guide, Domi!
In fact, Domi’s guide services have been beyond our expectations! He asked about our interests the first day, and has been very persistent and assertive in getting just the right spot in the Land Cruiser for us to get amazing close-up photos of the Big 5 animas as well as many more animals and birds. He ensures the Land Cruiser and windows are clean every morning and there are cold drinks and box lunches. He is extremely knowledgeable about animals and birds and has great experience to know where to find these amazing animals as well as to communicate with other guides for the absolute best photographer point of view. He also has proven his elite driving skills by not getting stuck in a lot of mud (like some other guides) in the parks or getting caught in flooding from a torrential rain downpour. We HIGHLY recommend SERENGETI SMILES and DOMI for the best North Tanzania safari experience.
TR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Murchison Falls National Park by Kevin ******
Where I found and felt the 'safari' aspect of the tour with an early morning game drive and an afternoon Nile boat cruise with an abundance of hippos in the water and along the shores with elephants, various hooved species, and other wildlife. I saw all the 'Big 5' except a leopard. Murchison Falls is also very impressive though tour descriptions are very outdated and there's no walking on any trails at base of the falls when boats can't even come near the falls with force of the output.
TR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Bwindi Impenetrable National Park by Kevin ******
The world's most popular place to see mountain gorillas in the wild and our tourism dollars go to help with the conservation.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Queen Elizabeth National Park by Stuart Snyder
As a wildlife park this was somewhat disappointing after visiting Murchison falls although the Kazinga channel boat road was well worth doing.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Murchison Falls National Park by Stuart Snyder
We found an abundance of Wildlife at Murchison falls national park that would match parks in Kenya and Tanzania along with the worlds most powerful waterfall.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary by Stuart Snyder
Beautiful wildlife not at touristy as Kenya and Tanzania, friendly people, cultural tours were more authentic.
TR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The 'Pearl of Africa' for a Reason and So Much More!
Of the 10 African countries I’ve visited so far, Uganda just became my new, overall favorite! No, Kampala is not Cape Town nor will anywhere ever top the abundance of animals in Tanzania’s Serengeti, but Uganda proved to be so much more from White Water Rafting at beginning of the Nile to spectacular adventures trekking chimpanzees and gorillas.
The 8 Day tour I booked proved to be as much a road trip as it was a safari! Traveling well over 1,500 kms / 1,000 miles, there’s quite the distance between itinerary destinations that don’t always match-up logistically despite permits and schedules. My best advice is plan to stay as many days as possible so you’re not always finishing one highlight before rushing off to the next destination.
Uganda’s main highways were better than expected but most anywhere beyond are rutted, washboard roads providing what locals call the ‘African Massage.’ However, it was traveling through these remote areas where a random elephant or herd of water buck may decide to cross and when not, there were always the people passing by whether walking or riding and seeing what I called “the real, raw Africa” of everyday life that I’d never experienced with any other tour.
I was fortunate to have Simpson Niwagaba Vannet as a guide that I clicked with like a lifelong friend and that also had an endless play list for all that time in the Jeep Land Cruiser. He went above and beyond fixing problems with the permits and itinerary, the vehicle, and even took me back to his hometown to stay which confirmed the absolute best part of Uganda. It’s the people and their welcoming warmth and hospitality found everywhere I went.
I will come back to Uganda at some point sooner than later and encourage adventure travelers to come for the gorillas but plan to stay longer for everything else!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing and incredible journey!
It was a simply wonderful time away in Kenya! Getting around in the capital city was very straightforward with Uber.
Highlights definitely included:
- Visiting Masai Mara National Park
- Going for walks in the forest
- Visiting the Elephant Orphanage
- Having incredible cool and mild weather in December
- The people were friendly, warm and helpful (so many people spoke English so well!)
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Pearl of Africa with the friendliest people
No where else in the world except perhaps Rwanda can you hike in to see Gorilla's and chimpanzees in the wild. Our tour guide Mustafa from Kubwa Five was the very best, Mustafa made sure everything went well for us and with his effort found a Shoebill stork in the wild on our last day and found tree climbing lions in Murchison Falls national park and we went to a local market which was interesting. Our tour left Entebbe then to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a closeup view of Rhinos. We stopped at the top of Murchison falls and watched the most powerful waterfall in the world. Next day took a boat ride up to the falls observing numerous wildlife. Murchison falls has some of the best wildlife viewing as compared to wildlife parks in Tanzania and Kenya, with the exception of the great wildebeest migration.
Uganda is not as touristy as Kenya or Tanzania and we found the people to be the friendliest, almost shy. We had several great cultural tours, my wife loved dancing with the locals at the Bigodi Wetland cultural village (near Kibali), a pygmy tribe near the Bwindi Impenetrable forest and before hiking in to see Gorilla's. I was 70 and perhaps we were lucky to see gorillas after only a 5 minute walk, an unforgettable experience. The staff at the lodge at Kibale to see chimpanzees were the friendliest and the food was excellent. Queen Elizabeth Park didn't have as much wildlife as other parks, but we did see tree climbing lions as we did in Murchison Falls. A boat ride in the nearby Kazinga channel had an abundance of wildlife. We stayed overnight in Lake Bunyonyi which had a nice view, but we didn't feel the boat ride was that special.
Although Uganda is a poor country, the people more than make up for it with their friendly spirit. It is easy to see why Uganda is known as the Pearl of Africa.
