IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Steven is absolutely the best! really good driver and knows every spot to see all of the animals
I really appreciate how Steven help us in every situation. He bring us in every place and we saw all the Big five and much more. He knows what to do and when to do it. he is really a kind person and give a lot of suggestion to make your experience unfortettable
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A lot of knowledge!
Beautiful nature and we saw so much more then we could have ever dreamt of.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant!
The Samora safari was perfect! We saw all of the big five and so much more. Very good service with food and so fourth. We got a lot of value for our money. Our guide, Regie, and our chef, Christian, were very kind, professional and generous people.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional, friendly guide and great good!
We did a 5 day safari (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Manyara) with Samora Explorers and our guide Reggie. He was super nice and answered all our questions and found a lot of animals (including all of the big five). Christian cooked all our meals, it was super tasty.
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience in Serengeti and Ngorongoro
We had an amazing safari with Suricata! Serengeti and Ngorongoro were incredible and we saw so much wildlife.
Our guide Amiri and chef Salimu were absolutely amazing and made the experience even better.
Overall, an unforgettable experience and great value for money. Highly recommended!
Simba campsite was amazing – giraffes and zebras came right next to the camp, and the bathrooms were clean with hot water. Such a special experience!
The only bad part was Dik-Dik campsite. The toilets and eating area were horrible and very poorly maintained.
SE
Very knowledgeable and professional.
Great guide. We felt very safe and in good hands. The communication was very good.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good experience with room for improvement!
We had a great safari experience with Jacmiya Safaris overall. My boyfriend and I traveled just the two of us and booked a private safari with them.
The booking process with Jael was very pleasant. She was extremely accommodating to our wishes and planned the entire trip very well around what we wanted to see.
Our guide, Nickson, picked us up in Nairobi, and over the course of eight days, we visited Samburu National Reserve, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and the Masai Mara. Nickson made sure we spent as much time as possible in the parks, and we were always among the first to head out for safari and the last to return.
He was able to identify every animal we encountered, and in the Masai Mara, he also shared some interesting background stories about a few of the animals we saw. During our trip, we managed to see the Big Five, the Ugly Five, and so much more!
Nickson also took the time to stop at a beautiful sunset spot in Samburu National Reserve so he could take pictures of us, which turned out absolutely stunning.
Towards the end of the trip, I unfortunately became ill, and Nickson returned to our camp at night to drive me to the hospital. I am very, very grateful for his help and really appreciated him being there when I needed it.
Areas for improvement:
Communication could have been better at times. At the beginning of our trip, they did not communicate well with the lodges about our arrival times. On two occasions, we were running significantly late, but the lodge had not been informed, which led to some unnecessary difficulties with the staff and reflected negatively on us.
Communication with us was also rather limited. Nickson was not a particularly talkative guide, and we had hoped for a little more explanation and storytelling about the parks, the wildlife, and the places we visited. Of course, we have no comparison with other safari guides, so we cannot say how much this varies from one guide to another. He always answered our questions, but his answers tended to be brief. We also noticed that he often watched videos on his phone while we were stopped to observe the animals, which sometimes made the experience feel less engaging than we had hoped.
Similarly, during the drives between destinations, we would have appreciated a little more communication or conversation.
Finally, starting two days before the end of the trip, we increasingly felt pressured by the organization to leave a five-star review. We were uncomfortable with this, especially as we still had two days of the safari ahead of us and did not want our rating to create an awkward atmosphere. We therefore decided not to commit to a five-star review.
Overall, we had a memorable safari with many wonderful experiences, and we are grateful for the highlights as well as for Nickson’s help when I became ill. However, the communication issues and the pressure to leave a five-star review did affect our overall impression.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tiyane was personable and knowledgeable.
Our driver earlier in the week, Percy, was off, but we were sent Tiyane to drive us from our hotel in Hazyview to our Johannesburg hotel. My husband is talkative and Tiyane answered questions about his experiences, his knowledge, his interests, while asking David his opinions about things. We discussed books and movies. He was patient when we spent more time than expected at the stop...there were animals for one last glimpse.
He shared our munchies with us (we offered and it is rude to say, "no").
While we've had a few hair-raising experiences with drivers (not from SarfariLink), we felt safe with Tiyane. He even checked on us when the road got rocky or there were lots of turns. He's kind and we were glad to meet him.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Percy was very personable. He dealt with an unplanned detour with grace.
We hired SafariLink for transportation from our hotel in Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. It cost more than meeting our driver at the airport, but we felt it was worth it. Our driver, Percy was helpful and informative. He handled our multitude of bags without batting an eye! He didn't mind my talkative husband and answered his questions completely and honestly. He was also interested in where we live, why we were visiting, and how we had found South Africa so far (We had spent a week in Cape Town and a few days in Johannesburg). He really followed our lead...if David was talkative, so was Percy; if David took a break from talking to take pictures of scenery, Percy was quiet.
We loved explanations about what was happening along the route, even on the detour (there was an accident with the road not opening any time soon). As we made the U-turn to get to the detour, Percy notified other drivers along the long line of vehicles that were behind us. We thought it was great that he considered the other drivers when he was feeling a little stressed about the delay in our arrival.
We liked the stop he made for a break...it was like we were starting our safari early with zebras, wildebeests, ostriches, elands, African buffalo, and more, including the only rhinos we saw on our trip (it turned out).
Some of the roads were rough, but that wasn't Percy's fault. We always felt safe with him. We are glad Percy was our driver.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Phenomenal in every way!
I shouldn't admit this because I'm putting it out there in the world, but I ask a lot of questions!! And Alex is the most patient person I have ever met. She never got ruffled or short and was always extremely patient, kind and incredibly knowledgeable.
We booked a seventeen day trip to Tanzania and Kenya this past September.
Alex is incredibly detailed, really listens to what is important to you and addresses everything perfectly. As my needs and desires changed she rearranged the itinerary without question. If I wasn't sure about something, she always either had an answer or researched it and got back to me very quickly. Never abrupt, always very thoughtful and very generous with her time.
As for the particulars, she listened to my budget and created a phenomenal itinerary. We stayed two nights in Tarangire, two nights in Ngorongoro, three nights in the Northern Serengeti, and three nights each in two conservancies in Kenya.
Pairing the conservancies in Kenya with staying in national parks in Tanzania was perfect choice. Alex felt that staying in the parks in Tanzania as opposed to the conservancies in Kenya gave you a completely different experience. She was spot on. It just was the perfect mix and I'm so glad that we did it that way.
If we went back to Africa, Alex would absolutely be the one and only person I would book it with.
