IL
A pleasant trip, with a wonderful itinerary, but with too cheap a way of travelling.
I booked my tour with Kruger Park Tours: they were absolutely perfect from all points of view.
The tour itself was organised by Nomad Tours. It was an overland tour, South African Explorer 2018-South, 20 days, accommodated. I have not enough words to praise the excellent staff, the guide, the driver and the cook, all of them great professionals. The itinerary was perfect, although the tour should have been a couple of days longer to enable a more relaxed pace. The truck was comfortable, even for somebody with joint pains like me, but it should be heated: we spent several hours in a snow storm in a freezing vehicle, and many other days in a very cold one; on the other hand, warm weather is not a problem as it is possible to open all the windows. Moreover, the truck is good for ordinary transportation, not for game viewing, as it is too large to get into the narrow paths where game usually hides: therefore, only the safaris done with special vehicles were really rewarding, not the ones done with the large truck. Most accommodations were good or excellent - only the Kudu Ridge Lodge near Addo N. P. did not meet the required level, as the heating in the quite dilapidated tents was not working despite the very cold temperatures -, but due to the type of tour we could not enjoy the common areas: we used to eat outside in the cold, or in areas near the kitchen or even in the room of the guide. The food was generally OK, enough for me - a petite 66 year old woman -, but again the type of tour made us spend a lot of time buying food, preparing meals, washing the dishes, etc., a time that would have been better spent visiting the wonders of the country; furthermore, this type of tour forces the staff to reach the accommodations quite early in order to have time to cook dinner, late afternoon hours being the best to view game, together with early morning ones. But I guess the very cheap price of the tour is possible only with this type of tour called overland.
My advice: South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho are marvelous countries where you will enjoy extraordinary wildlife, beautiful scenery, interesting culture, good food and bear, and excellent wines, so do visit them. However, take an overland tour only if you really cannot afford something better; if you can spend some more money, do yourself a favor and choose a tour using lodge restaurants for meals - at least for breakfast and dinner - and special vehicles to watch game.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful
We had an amazing adventure. Lots of animals, birds, fish and even wonderful people
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very responsive to the type of camps we wanted and exposure to game.
We did a "five camp" safari over 12 days in Zambia and Zimbabwe. This was our fifth trip to Africa, and we had not spent an appreciable amount of time in either country. The terrain was dry, as expected. We are willing to trade off the beauty of green flora for the absence of mosquitoes,
so always travel to Africa in September.
Our camps ranged from older bush camps to newer contemporary camps. The bush camps are due for a "refresh", but the food and staff were both excellent as were the game sightings. This was our first trip that included walking safaris. They lasted about an hour each, and were excellent, giving the guides an opportunity to share their extensive knowledge of tracking with us. We learned a great deal, and highly recommend them when offered.
We also did a canoe trip at Chiawa. Majestic scenery and interesting wildlife. I am older, and the guide did the paddling...I never touched one, so it was an easy, peaceful journey.
At the first three camps in Zambia we had pleasant surprises with meals, ranging from lunch being served at tables in the river (only about 6 inches of water in September), a lunch on a boat and a BBQ dinner in the bush. While these are surprises, we have come to expect them over the years, and were somewhat disappointed that our two stops in Zimbabwe did not provide that experience.
We had hoped to do a bit of fishing, but mother nature delivered some rather strong winds, so we were not able to experience that.
I won't go into any detail about game sightings but suffice to say they were plentiful and exciting (especially the cheetah chase down and the hyenas running around with a zebra leg).
The logistics on this trip were a bit complicated, and I would pay closer attention to them on future trips. It was my error that we did not spend a night in a hotel when we arrived in Africa, and ended up going on two in country flights and a long drive to the first camp, making the journey about 48 hours. Also, moving from Zambia to Zimbabwe was cumbersome and time consuming. I will definitely take a closer look at that aspect next time.
All in all, another wonderful trip to Africa!
SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
wonderful experience
My first time with Simba Safaris. I had booked my tour through Safari Hub who finally put me through Simba Safaris.
The driver cum guide - Mathew was an excellent guy. He knew the way around and drove really well. Not sure if there is an improvement needed around his wildlife knowledge.. i guess yes. But his overall attitude and behaviour kind of made up for any lack of knowledge that he had on wildlfe.
Vehicle was good and in good condition. Interios were maintained well.
Choice of lodges/tents were really nice. enjoyed every place and food in all locations.
Simba represetative - Mark was there at Arusha to see us off on the first day of the safari and was available to take feedback on the last day was aswell. Which was a good gestrure and felt that there are people available to take care of us incase of any emergency.
The only negative about the whole trip was the delay in pick up from my arusha hotel on the first day... i still dont have an explanation to it .but overall i had a good trip
SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised
Safarihub handled my booking and coordination very well. All my booking, payments, itenary finalization etc were done sitting in Singapore coordinating with Safarihub staff in Tanzania. Victoria was super supportive and helpful in the whole process. she was available and responsive at every stage and for every single query and clarifications. she came and met me on the day I landed in Arusha and briefed me and also met on the day of departure to take feedback. Since I wanted a group safari, I was put onto another safari operator ( simba safari) but the entire process was seamless and I was kept out of any logistics hassle they had between the two tour operators.
their selection of lodges/tents were outstanding and enjoyed the stay at each of the places and enjoyed the food.
overall a good trip and will definitely reach out to safari hub for my next safari!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Hospitality is the first key,we never had any issues or problems
I booked with the company for our second Africa safari tour, he had Good game drives and cultural interaction.the worth our money.. Tshepho Ngwako in Germany.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One the best experiences, I will remember the sunrise at 6.30am thanks ‘ Diggy diggy amazing trip
We chose this safari for value for money and chose the basic accommodation 2 nights with 4 park drives. The tent was clean but in need of some improvements in the toilet and shower room, the hot water takes at least 20mins to start coming through but this wasn’t a problem. The bed was comfy but make sure you keep the zip down on your tent as monkeys can get in and rummage through your stuff, take a padlock for security. Torches are a must. The meals were very tasty, make sure you get an extra sausage at breakfast they were georgeous. The ritz it isn’t so make sure you are happy with basic because that’s what it is. We were very happy as we were there for the animals and thanks to our driver ‘Diggy’ we saw nearly all.... we decided to skip the last morning drive and stay out longer the day before which meant we could go further.... brilliant choice. I would definitely use skywide again but may upgrade the accommodation next time, the prices are reasonable so remember you get what you pay, if you what nicer accommodation pay more and choose a better one. Thoroughly enjoyed it
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Make sure who you are booked with
The scenery and wildlife were all I could have asked for. Weather was great, u fortunately my tour agent sub let the provision of the safari to a third party who left a great deal to desire, uninsured vehicle, faults on vehicle meaning engine couldn't be turned off, door flew open during safari and had to be held shut with a seat belt for 2 days, non provision of tents and sleeping bags at campsites and so it went on, luckily we were a group of 4 who bonded and turned the adversity into an adventure.
My tour agent was really helpful at resolving the issues at the end of the safari and he was certainly let down by the provider and I can't fault my tour agent. I continued on to zanzibar and that was as fantastic. In terms of wildlife and scenery and my agent certainly pulled out the stops showing me the best of the island with some really good trips around the island.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Aquila is not a safari. It is a game park. As long as you understand that...
I am in South Africa for just a short time. I didn't want to schlep up to the Kruger for a safari. This seemed ideal. 2 hours from cape town and reasonably priced. The pluses - food was good and plentiful. The staff were nice. John the safari guide was funny and knowledgeable. The minuses- the luxury cottages are not really luxury. The paint was peeling. There was graffiti on the door , the outside shower was very badly put together and it was dirty outside especially the table.
The camp is basically a very large zoo so you are guaranteed to see lions. To be fair to the camp the lions are rescued canned lions and are unable to fend for themselves.
So my advice is just go for the night. You will get two games drives which will basically be the same. Don't bother with the horseback safari unless you really like just strolling around.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very trustworthy and dependable. Easy to talk with and try to ensure safety comes first.
It was a well organized tour.. the Agent Rose was very helpful in getting everything organized and ready by the time i landed in Nairobi. I do recommend that you make it be know what sort of accommodation you want and they will organize accordingly.
Overall was very satisfied with the service. Ask for Rose she'll get everything sorted and ready by the time you arrive.