SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good safari but some logistics issues
I joined a 4-day group safari to Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire. It was followed by a private day trip to visit the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes.
All in all, a good company, but it could be more organized and transparent. It is not an issue for most travelers, but I expected game drives from the camps in Serengeti and Ngorongoro to start before sunrise to see the most animal activity and have the most beautiful light for photography. Before the safari, I specifically inquired with the company about the game drives starting at sunrise, and they said yes, they would start at sunrise. I know it is often not done by most companies, but when I get a reply that it will start at sunrise, I expect that to happen—otherwise, I would have chosen a different company.
The main issue was that the car had clients from several different companies, and people had 2-3 different accommodations. Therefore, it took time to drop off and pick up everyone.
The start from Serengeti was supposed to be at sunrise but was 2 hours later at 08:30. Departure from the campsite in Ngorongoro was at 7:30, arriving in the crater at 8:15, which is almost 2 hours after sunrise. Staying at that campsite was advertised as an opportunity to "start with the first light" to see the most active wildlife.
On day 4, we departed the hotel at 9 instead of 8, then waited 30 minutes for other clients, arriving in Tarangire at midday, which is the worst time to be there.
We had 7 people instead of 6 as advertised in the tour documentation.
Positives:
Very good driver-guide, Simba, knowledgeable about wildlife and their behavior. We were lucky to have very good wildlife spotting on the first day in Serengeti, seeing all of the Big Five in one day. Car was good, accommodations were good, and food was good. The national parks visited are world-class, with incredible opportunities for animal spotting and photography.
So if you want to optimize your schedule, pick a private safari or a bigger company that has everyone in the same accommodation. Maybe starting early does not matter to you—in such a case, there is no problem recommending Ngekewa.
TW
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent driver guide poor operation staff
We been experience Kenya tour and Tanzania tour . Kenya crowded tour even in low season . Tanzania we had a legendary driver guide . Felix not only complete big 5 goal but a very enthusiastic search .
The poor operation Sylvia not comply the requirements of client . But try to give obstacle to the clients need . A very poor operation .
TW
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Sylvia mislead but Driver guide Felix excellent
The whole tour is excellent guide by driver . But almost ruined by operator Sylvia.she can not meet the requirement of clients.
I was 5 times visit Tanzania and Kenya. The trip 10 days just finished 13Feb2025 .as a Valentine present to my wife. We had wonderful time with extraordinary driver guide Felix. He Did his utmost to arrange all the big 5 visit.
The last day transfer from Arusha to Nairobi refused operation by Sylvia 3 times even we must go Nairobi. We have to arrange by booking.com and other resources.
She did arrange the transfer last moment. But we suffered lot in communication.
PK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Safari was beyond my expectations and spectacular
Kenya is a wonderful country to visit for a safari.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good
We had a good trip and saw a lot of animals. But our driver was not so good at English and because of that, not so informativ. Also the food was good, but the chairs was so bad to sit in.
Overall a good trip
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful world of animals
We saw a lot of animals, thanks to our guide. He tried very hard to get us as close to the animals as possible. It was never boring, there was always something to discover, he explained everything we wanted to know.
The lodges varied greatly, from clean, friendly and just perfect to...well...
I can only recommend that everyone book the mountain tour separately. Unfortunately, this was a catastrophic organization and very annoying. The mountain guide had no contact with KubwaFive, he didn't know the program we had booked!!! - The reason for only 3 stars!
As mentioned, we were very lucky with our guide Tony - he made the vacation unforgettable and beautiful for us
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great views and animals, challenging logistics
I booked a group joining safari with Beast Spoor. I was with 7 other several travellers who booked through different agencies. The driver guide was employed by another agency (Axis) too. Although communication upfront with Beast Spoor was good and swift I was not aware of the above.
As the organising agency and the driver were not from Beast Spoor it is difficult to pinpoint whos fault it was when things went wrong (drop off in wrong hotel, driver not fully aware of everything in my package). Logistics was a challenge and waist of time as the group was staying in 3 different lodges througout the trip (3x drop offs and 3x pickups every day). Also this was not communicated to me before.
Having said all this, Beast Spoor did their best to ensure i had a good trip. My advise would be to book a private trip with them not a group joining trip.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just good enough.
Generally speaking, the experience was quite good. However, there were some points that we did not like at all.
First of all, the visit to the "Masai village" from the Enkorok Mara Camp hotel. The hotel is very nice. However, we had a very bad experience with the visit to the “Masai village”. It is not worth visiting it at all. We were 2 adults and 1 kid. We pay 70$ for a 15-20 minutes visit plus the big market that they make ready just after finishing the visit to try to sell to you different kind of items.
Regardless of the cost, the worst point was the feeling we got after the visit. We felt that the only and main aim of the visit was to get money from the foreigners, not to show a real Masai village.
The hotel itself is not directly involved in this visit/activity, but they are aware of the situation. In fact, one of the hotel staff members were directly involved in the visit as an inhabitant of the Masai village. Therefore, they should advise their clients about the details of the activity.
Second one, we got the feeling that our guide was "just doing his job" without providing any extra advice or knowledge of many points related to the trip. For example, he does not advise us on how to deal with the shopping at the markets. He neither advise us on the visit to the Masai village. In fact, he even recommended us to go to the Masai village.
Therefore, it could have been quite better.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Holly
Of the parks visited, this was the hardest to see animals and seems like ecological change has impacted the behavior of them. It was a lush jungly vibe and we did see a lot of wildlife, to be sure, but as a follow on to the other parks, I might have allocated the time to the Crater or Serengeti.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Khwai Concession by Mandy Dickinson
We only spent a couple of nights in this area and saw plenty of water buck, Buffalo, lions, hippo and a couple of crocodiles. It was lovely to go for a walk near the river with a guide and pont up river with another guide the second afternoon. Saw a Lioness drinking water from the river from our tent late afternoon on the first day, and later heard the squeal of a Buffalo who we assumed was that nights dinner for the Lion pride.