CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommend
We went on a 3-day private safari (Tarangire, the Crater, Lake Manyara). It was very well organised; we were really pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything went from start to finish. We travelled from Zanzibar and back again. They booked all our taxi journeys, flights and so on for us, and everything went smoothly; we were even able to leave our large luggage with them – which we didn’t need for the safari – and collected it again in Zanzibar. Brilliantly organised, and the safari itself with our guide Julius was really great! The mid-range Kudu Lodge in Karatu was also nice.The food was absolutely delicious everywhere we went. We were also interested in the Maasai, so our guide took us to visit a Maasai village as well, which was a fascinating experience.
Highly recommended!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
10/10 experience
I loved my time at Kenya with Topma tours. The whole experience was amazing. Our tour guide Reuben was so lovely and made sure we saw so many beautiful animals and took us on a complete adventure. We went to Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha. All of these places were definitely worth going to! My highlight of the trip was in Maasai Mara where we saw a lioness carry her cub. Later that day we saw a family of lions relaxing laying down, it was so surreal. Overall it was a 10/10 experience and I would definitely use this company again as it was all so smooth sailing and they made sure we were happy every step of the way :)
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Attentive
Burton and Pascal, the chef, have definitely been the best part of this experience. If I ever come back, I truly hope it’s with them again!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing trip
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An unforgettable safari experience with Ernest Magic Tours!
We had the most amazing experience with Ernest Magic Tours, and I honestly couldn’t recommend them enough! From start to finish, our safari was absolutely incredible. We were lucky enough to see the Big Five, along with so many other beautiful animals, and our guide always went above and beyond to make sure we had the best possible experience and saw as much wildlife as possible.
Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and professional. His hospitality was exceptional, and it was all the little details that made such a difference. There were always cold drinks available in the vehicle, charging points for our phones, and he made sure we were comfortable throughout the entire trip. He even went out of his way to help us with checking into each of our accommodations, making everything so seamless and stress-free.
One of the highlights was getting the opportunity to visit a local village and experience the culture and way of life. It was such a special and humbling experience that made the trip even more meaningful.
It’s clear how passionate he is about what he does, and he truly made our trip unforgettable. The level of care, attention to detail and hospitality was above and beyond anything we could have asked for.
If you’re looking for an incredible safari experience, I would 100% recommend Ernest Magic Tours. Thank you for giving us memories that will last a lifetime! 🐘🦁❤️
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An Outstanding Kenyan Safari: Exceptional Service, Genuine Passion and an Unforgettable Guide: Evans
Our experience with Antonio Safaris was truly outstanding, both in terms of the service we received before our trip and the care and attention throughout the safari itself.
I must admit that this was my first time booking a safari directly with a locally based African company. However, I certainly wasn't new to travelling. With this trip to Kenya, I have now visited 99 countries around the world, many of them more than once, while my 15-year-old son has already travelled to 60 countries across six continents.
Why mention this? Because we know what we are looking for when we travel, and we have quite a bit of experience when it comes to assessing the quality of a service. From our very first contact, Antonio and his team quickly understood exactly what kind of experience we were after and how best to make the most of our limited eight days in Kenya. After just two iterations, we had an itinerary that perfectly matched our expectations.
The same efficiency applied to the payment process and all the questions that came up before departure. Throughout the entire process, we were impressed by their friendliness, responsiveness and professionalism. They gave us confidence from the very beginning.
Once we arrived in Nairobi, everything went exactly as agreed. On Sunday, during our visits to Nairobi National Park and the elephant sanctuary, we had an excellent guide, Anthony, who was knowledgeable and highly professional.
But the best was yet to come.
And this is where I would particularly like to talk about Evans, our safari guide. Given our personalities and travelling experience, neither my wife, my son nor I particularly enjoy overly flattering or artificial guides. We appreciate natural, down-to-earth people who are professional, discreet and, above all, genuinely passionate about what they do.
Well, Evans has earned himself a place among our top three guides worldwide, alongside Chela in Malaysia and Quin Vient in Vietnam.
Evans is an outstanding driver and a genuinely lovely person: calm, friendly and composed, without any unnecessary fuss or artificial enthusiasm. He is punctual, exceptionally professional and, above all, incredibly knowledgeable.
His explanations of Kenya's history were excellent and sparked a tremendous amount of interest in my son. His knowledge of the country's flora is simply remarkable. He knows the plants, their characteristics and all sorts of fascinating details that made every explanation an opportunity to learn something new.
And above all, Evans is a true wildlife enthusiast. Just watch him during an animal sighting and you will realise that, despite having led countless safaris, he still genuinely loves and enjoys every encounter. His passion is authentic, infectious and makes the whole experience even more rewarding.
We learned an enormous amount from him and enjoyed every minute of it.
There is another detail I would like to highlight, because I believe it says a great deal about both a company and, more importantly, the people behind it.
Not everything in life always goes according to plan. As we were leaving Lake Nakuru, a component of our 4x4's front suspension system failed completely (stabilizer). Rather than allowing this unexpected problem to spoil our day, Evans handled the situation in a way that made us admire him even more.
He quickly arranged for the vehicle to be repaired at a workshop in Nakuru. Even better, we were able to use the time spent waiting to discover more about the country and learn a few extra things along the way.
That is also what travelling is all about. And that is what excellent service really means: knowing how to react, solving unexpected problems efficiently and turning a potential inconvenience into a positive experience.
Finally, I would like to say that I have already recommended Antonio Safaris not only to my family but also to my closest friends around the world. And we are already starting to plan our next trip to discover more of Kenya, as well as Uganda and Tanzania in 2028. (all other travels all around the world are already booked to november 2027)
I am sure Antonio Safaris has many excellent guides. But one thing is certain: when we go on our next safari with them, I want to continue learning and exploring with Evans.
Thank you so much for everything, my friend.
Asante sana!
An experience we recommend without hesitation.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, great guide: Mandela
For our first safari in Tanzania, we compared many operators. For us, it was important to have great service, an individually planned route with self-selected lodges, and especially a locally owned company with good working conditions and responsible tourism. Safari Soles ticked all those boxes, and we are very happy we chose them.
Janeth was extremely helpful and quick to respond during the planning.
We had a slightly bumpy start: my luggage was left behind in Zurich, and Janeth was very helpful in coordinating with the airports to get it to us.
Then we met Mandela as our safari driver.
He was exactly the kind of safari guide we could have wished for. He is incredibly knowledgeable, passionate about what he does and at the same time very relaxed. He always gave us exactly the right amount of information: enough to really understand what we were seeing, but never too much to still give time to enjoy the moments . Whenever we had questions, he answered them with so much passion that you could tell he genuinely loves his job.
What made him especially great for us was that we could also talk about everything else. You spend basically the entire day with your guide, from early morning until dinner, so having someone you genuinely enjoy spending time with makes such a difference. We talked about Tanzania, travel, life and so many other things, and he completely matched our vibe.
He also knows the parks extremely well. He would sometimes adjust the route spontaneously to avoid the crowds, and several times we had beautiful lunch spots completely to ourselves instead of being surrounded by dozens of safari cars. Those little decisions made the safari feel much more personal and special.
He took care of everything, so we could simply relax and enjoy the experience. And when my luggage was finally flown into the Serengeti, he went above and beyond again: he coordinated with Janeth and the airport staff and even came with us to collect it.
Thank you so much, Mandela! If you are booking a safari with Safari Soles, definitely ask for Mandela as your guide if he is available. We genuinely could not have wished for a better guide and I would book a safari with him again anytime!
All the lodges and stops on our itinerary were great. The only activity we would recommend skipping is the Maasai village. We felt uncomfortable with the strong pressure to buy and donate, and the school visit felt very staged. We respect the culture, but this experience simply did not feel right to us. We shared more details in our review of the village itself, but would recommend Safari Soles to let guests opt out of this activity.
Overall, a fantastic safari experience, especially thanks to Mandela. We would absolutely choose Safari Soles again!
ES
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A first-class safari with Colors Africa Tours: Serengueti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire
Over the course of 4 days, we visited Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire National Parks, and it was a fantastic experience.
Thanks to the attentiveness and expertise of the team, we were able to see a huge number of animals, including the "Big Five."
We felt completely safe on the roads at all times—despite the challenging conditions—thanks to the skillful driving of Mustafá.
The accommodations were excellent. In the Serengeti, we stayed in a large, spacious, and comfortable tent, with the added thrill of knowing that wild animals could be passing by just on the other side of the canvas. It is an experience we will remember for a long time.
I would also like to highlight the service provided by the company. An issue caused by the airline, Iberia, forced us to change our travel dates; Colours helped us resolve this without any fuss or pushback regarding the changes. Such flexibility and commitment are rare, and they were crucial in ensuring the trip could still go ahead.
Overall, it was an excellent experience, and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
(automatic translation from Spanish)
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Joseph was fantastic, professional and compassionate
On our way back, there was an accident on the M4 which meant we needed to take a detour as well as a fellow passenger being unwell, our driver Joseph was amazing, he made sure we were all alright, drove safely and got us back to Johannesburg safe and sound, even though we were 2 and a half hour late I didn’t hear him complain once, his priority was getting us back safely, he even kindly individually dropped us at our hotels to make sure we were safe, amazing driver and an amazing man, he made an unfortunate circumstance a positive one.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime through Amazing Memories Safaris
We booked a two-week trip through Kenya and Zanzibar through Amazing Memories Safaris. The trip was incredible - well planned with so many wonderful activities. Tito (our coordinator) welcomed us to Kenya - he was so helpful in getting everything set up and us coordinating activities as the need arose. All of our guides were wonderful but our main tour guide - Joseph - was fantastic. He has a great eye for spotting wildlife, leading to a bunch of wonderful sightings of elephants, lions, cheetas, zebras, giraffes, and more. He also had an incredible amount of knowledge - no matter what question we threw at him, he had an answer. We had such a great trip - highly recommend this company and their staff.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great advice, helpful and responsive
We had a wonderful family safari holiday in Zambia and had no idea which lodges in South Luangwa National Park would be the right ones to choose - the ones that were recommended by Wilderness Horizon Safaris were both absolutely excellent (Msandile and Kafunta). Everything on the holiday went very smoothly, which was quite an achievement as we were a group of 9 spanning 3 generations and with some fairly complex requirements. Eva responded quickly to all our questions and when there was a slight mistake on the booking, rectified it for us.
We saw the most incredible variety of wildlife and the guides were extremely knowledgeable and had excellent English. The food was delicious and plentiful and the lodges were luxurious yet relaxed. The staff there could not do enough for you and were very friendly. I would highly recommend South Luangwa - the wildlife there is second to none and using Wilderness Horizon Safaris essential for people like us who don't really know what they are doing. Every detail was sorted out for us.