CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
a very good local tour company
I chose this local tour operator after comparing many others. I was quite worried before departure, but my safari organizer Kelvin Bonith and safari guide Ezekiel were absolutely amazing. The hotels they booked were exactly what I wanted—no last-minute changes or unexpected issues at all.
My driver was a pleasant surprise. He’s an excellent driver; even on difficult, muddy roads in the rain, he drove steadily and never got stuck. He’s also very clean and keeps the car tidy every day. He’s incredibly hardworking—he took us out to look for animals as early as 6 a.m. every day, and we only returned to the hotel after 6 p.m. He always tried his best to take us to see whatever animals we wanted to find. He’s such a kind person and shared so much professional knowledge about animals along the way. I really hated to leave him, and I will definitely look for him again on my next trip.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy, responsive, friendly and very professional - Highly Recommend
Planning Phase:
Planning a safari can be so overwhelming because there's SO many variables and you never know what is legit!
I compared many quotes and made many calls before picking 'Beyond the Plains'. With 1 phonecall, I felt and immediate sense of trust!
Sammy was quick to respond, grasped what was important to us very quickly and suggested tweaks that turned out for be BRILLIANT and was very professional and knowledgeable.
ON SAFARI:
When we landed, we were picked and treated very very well from start to finish!!
We chose to fly between all the parks (thanks for the brilliant suggestion Sammy 🤠) - this meant we had a different driver at each park. All our drivers were good - but we do have our favorites!
MONEY:
we felt so comfortable that we chose to pay the whole amount upfront!
It is important to go into the planning with a clear budget to start with. You can then tweak things once you connect with some from the team.
I found this company's website to be professional.
Another friend of mine used the same company and she had only good things to say as well
Overall - 10/10
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing, well-planned safari with outstanding support from Kale team
I have completed a 6-day safari with Kale Voyage visiting Tarangire, Ndutu, Central Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater, and it was truly unforgettable.
I contacted several tour operators, including Kale which my friend recommended. And Kale was by far the most responsive. I especially want to thank Oscar for his thoughtful support from start to finish. Even after many itinerary changes and lots of detailed questions, he was patient, professional and always worked to find the best plan for us. He even came to see us off at Arusha Airport, which really showed how much he care.
The accommodations Kale arranged were better than I expected, and the food was consistently delicious. A highlight was our stay at Tukaone Serengeti Camp. We were lucky to get a tent near the river, and we could actually watch hippos moving around nearby — an incredible surprise.
Our guide, Sufian, was excellent. He managed time and logistics perfectly and made sure we maximized game-drive opportunities. Thanks to him, we were able to see the Big Five (including rhinos in Ngorongoro), and we witnessed so many rare scenes — leopard walking on a tree, lion sleeping on tree, lions eating, and even buffalos chasing lions. Whenever he heard updates on the radio about special sightings, he reacted immediately and got us there quickly. We always felt safe and in good hands.
If you’re considering a safari in Tanzania, I highly recommend contacting Kale Voyage. Thank you again to Oscar, Sufian, and the entire Kale team for making this trip one of a kind.
TW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
Myself and two friends came over to Victoria Falls for 6 days. Brighton picked us up from the airport and basically made the whole trip a dream. He picked us up and took us to every activity we had planned. He organised the whole trip, so everything was very easy for us. All we had to do was make sure we were up in time every morning.
We visited Chobe National Park, had a few days in Zambia, and went over to Namibia for the day. We also had a lot of activities based in Zimbabwe. We did river cruises, dinners, white water rafting, safaris. All in all it was the best holiday the three of us have ever had.
Brighton is very good at communicating. I was planning the trip a few months ahead of time, from Taiwan, and he replied to every text quickly. We were all very happy with the costs too, although everything was laid out well before we arrived, so we knew what they would be well in advance.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING!! Better than we could have hoped for.
Our trip was 10x better than we could have ever imagined. Do yourself a favor, and book with Loren's safari's and just go to Tanzania! We compared tours, agenda's prices to a bunch of places and it's all competitive. There is true magic in Tanzania....
Planning was a breeze with Ben's quick responses and willingness to work at late hours to accommodate US time zones. We ended up with an 8 day itinerary with Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Ndutu. All are worth it, unique in their own way.
Our guide, Simon, aka 'Safari Monster' was a ROCKSTAR and the reason our trip was such a success!!! A good guide makes or breaks a trip like this. He is very experienced (8+years guiding and driving--not all drivers are guides and vice versa). He not only was able to find us all the animals and views and special spots, he is also a fantastic driver and person. His car was in excellent shape and was able to withstand the bumpy roads and muddy holes that are inevitable parts of this journey.
Thank you so much for an amazing trip Simon. We hope to return again one day soon!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari!
The folks at Chalo did a great job listening to our needs and presenting options for our 1st trip to Kenya. They led us to the exact right camps for us. We planned our own stay in Nairobi and they integrated it well with assistance in arriving and departing at the airport. The staff on the ground was exceptional. Thanks Chalo!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organised. Great Tour
Having to look at a ferry/train 3 day Safari tour from Zanzibar to Mikumi National Park meeted all expectations with whole trip door to door from Hotel to park and back.
Was incredibly well organised and was someone to meet and help you on each stage of journey. Pilly was amazing at organising the trip and making sure had everything that was needed.
Getting into the park early and leaving late meant was a bonus as had more time without the hordes of day trippers, more animals were out when less people around, particularly towards the end of the day. Danford the private tour guide was very knowledgeable and tried his hardest to find the rarer animals, and was in no rush to leave the park.
Overall a great experience and would totally recommend Kihindo Tours.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent vacations in beautiful and diverse Uganda - fully recommended
- as an intro: this was our first safari and to be honest, at first we were a bit reluctant to book our vacation in Uganda directly through a travel agency based there, because we couldn't meet and discuss in person beforehand. It is a somewhat strange feeling to transfer a (for us) big amount of money to a person/company we have not met in person. So we did our due diligence (checked reviews, website, checked registration with UWA, trusted our gut feeling after initial communication,...) and decided to take the "risk" - and we were rewarded heavily :-)
- the trip: Based on a travel guidebook about Uganda and input from different sources (including Wild Uganda's website), we planned our individual 20 day itinerary through Uganda and sent this to Wild Uganda. Ernest (from Wild Uganda) gave his input on the itinerary, suggested additional things to do, searched for suitable lodges and accommodation on our way and made us an offer. So the whole trip was tailored to our wishes and it was just the two of us with our driver/guide (no group travel). Note to myself for future safaris: don't forget to add a leisure day here and there, which is also nice.
- the communication: very easy in english, mostly through whatsapp. Ernest reacted very fast and answered all our questions (even more exotic ones, for example about yellow fever vaccination exemptions because one of us was for medical reasons not allowed to be vaccinated). he first sent us a sample 10 day programm with price ranges so we could get a feeling for the prices. Only after this we made our itinerary and sent it to him. He understood fast and precisely, which kind of lodges we would like regarding comfort and pricerange and proposed suitable ones (some even better than we could hope for). He asked back about unclear points in our itinerary (much appreciated) and made sure we were on the same page with everything. He sent us our guide/driver's contact details a couple of days in advance and we set up a whatsapp group (us and the guide). Also with him, the communication was easy in english and his response time was very fast. Communication was a great plus and gave us confidence.
- the service: impeccable. Our guide/driver Kasim (insta: on_safari_with_kasim) was phantastic. He picked us up at the airport (we were delayed for two hours) and from then on accompanied us till we flew away again 20 days later. He is a warm, welcoming and easygoing person who knows a lot about the animals, people, country etc. and shares his knowledge. At the same time he has a fine feeling of when you'd prefer to sit in silence and just enjoy the landscape passing by. He is great at spotting animals and also knows about photography and taking great pictues. You can feel his own interest in the animals and also his excitement about them. I especially appreciated that he is a very safe, cautious driver (I am picky in that regard and had no problem to relax). At one point, one of us had a bacterial infection and we had to rush for medical help - those are the moments you really realize if you're in good hands or not, and we obviously were. Kasim reacted fast and decisive. After half a day in the local hospital, we had to stay longer at the lodge we where at this moment to get healthy again. He arranged for everything. We went together through the options on how to continue our travel which was straightforward, no nonsense. Luckily, health got better and we could continue (skipping two days in the initial program and passing on a couple of game drives). Even Ernest reached out to us during this time and wished good recuperation! So, flexibility was great.
- value for money: We didn't compare to many other local agencies, so we can't judge there. But compared to agencies in Europe, it was much, much cheaper and made it affordable for us. Considering all the service and the level of the lodges we had (some mid range, some more lux), we would say it was a very good deal and definitely worth the money.
- overall: we can recommend Wild Uganda and Kasim (driver/guide) without any reservation. If we go back to Uganda/Rwanda/Kenya one day, we would definitely book with them again!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magic Mikumi safari with expert guide Saloniki
Our 3-night safari to Mikumi National Park with Kihindo Safari Group was an absolute dream from start to finish. Every detail was handled perfectly so we could truly relax and soak in the experience.
The journey began with the ferry from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, a Kihindo employee walked us between the ferry terminal and the train station to make sure we caught the correct train. Having that guided transition in a busy city made the start of the trip completely stress-free. The train from Dar to Morogoro was another highlight, smooth, comfortable, and a fantastic way to watch the Tanzanian landscape roll by.
Once we reached the park, our experience was elevated by our expert Maasai guide, Saloniki. He was truly amazing. His deep knowledge of wildlife and sharp eyes led us to incredible, close-up encounters with both a leopard and lions, moments we will never forget. Saloniki is a really fun character and we even helped in a rescue mission to get other (less experienced!) safari guides free from the mud.
Between the game drives, we stayed at Camp Lilac, which was wonderful. The atmosphere was perfect, the service was excellent, and it provided the ideal home base in the heart of the wild.
Everything went incredibly smoothly, though if we had one small piece of feedback, it would be regarding the Maasai village visit. After such a long day of travel, we would have preferred to skip the tour and simply relax at the beautiful camp instead.
Overall, Kihindo Safari Group provided a professional, seamless, and thrilling adventure. We can’t recommend them, and especially Saloniki, highly enough!
Thank you Kihindo.
Thank you Saloniki.
Asante Sana!
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wholesome travel experience!
Choosing from all the agencies for Uganda safaris can be a wild ride for itself, but Pretty from Wagatil made everything as easy as it could be: very trustful and immediate communication throughout the process and all according to my requests. Every step was clear at any point. I had the privilege to be guided by George, who was not only knowing und showing me everything about Uganda, its people, its nature and wildlife, its food, etc. but also driving me safely on roads we usually don't see in our countries. He had made every person he talked to smile with a few words only, which gave me as a customer the certainty he would handle any possible disruption in the programme hassle-free - and so he did. Everyone I met during the week showed the utmost interest and effort to maximize and enrich my adventure. Sure the apes and game rides were the obvious once-in-a-lifetime highlights, but just driving around in a secure environment through this beautiful country and meeting the local people was what made this experience complete. The suggested accomodations didn't fell short of that. I am utterly thankful and will keep the memories for a long time.
