CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Recommend the Gorilla trekking but don't go to another country other than Uganda and Rwanda
My girlfriend and I booked with Santaviva respectively Ivan a 14 days tour in the upper price segment for Uganda/Rwanda (Gorilla trekking) as well as Safari in Tanzania and 4 beach days in Zanzibar (no activities apart from a stone town visit the day we are leaving). It was our most expensive vacation so far (we paid together USD 14'000) and think it was for Santaviva as well.
For the Gorilla trekking, Ivan was very attentive and everything was well organized. He even helped us out and lent me his boots as my luggage did not arrive. If our trip ended there, it would have been 5 stars! But it didnt.
We do not recommend booking anything with Santaviva in another country other than Rwanda/Uganda. In Tanzania we needed another guide/driver (who did a very good job!) to do the Safari but Ivan joined the tour as well. However, this was absolutely not necessary and we did not see such a set-up of 2 guides with any other tourists (and there were a lot of other tourists...). As newbies and not knowing how things/safaris work in Tanzania we would have expected that we were at least asked about this but we were not. Throughout most of our Tanzania trip it felt like we were 3 tourists and Ivan was just there to take videos and pictures to promote his Santaviva business on social media and have a good time/vacation. He even joined for example the balloon safari and got a (free) premium breakfast with the balloon guests as the only guide/driver of around 80 guest, which made us feel uncomfortable as the staff enabling him that clearly expected a tip for that (we were not asked nor did we want him to join). Further, he was not honest with us about the nice accommodation he stayed in. Confronted with this set-up, Ivan mentioned that this is the way Santaviva ensures quality and provides service to guests.
Ivan even flew with us to Zanzibar, in his words to say goodbye at the end of his journey (or if we want any additional activities, which was clear it was not our intent for those relaxing beach days). And as the only activity (a tour in Stone Town) was organized by an intermediary anyway, it did not make sense to us at all. On the way from the airport to the hotel he mentioned that his flight is 2 days after ours, only to mention a few minutes later that it was changed and now is even before we left (before any activities would have happened). However, we heard him mentioning this "suddenly changed" flight date and time already a week ago to another guy, so this was clearly a lie. Overall, we were left with a feeling that our trust was violated and that we overpaid and financed his business promotion and vacation trip, which is obviously not what we had intended. Finally to mention - everything else on the trip has worked out and was well organized.
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He had a kind personality and was very good.
It was a very enjoyable trip because he treated us, who were not good at English, politely.
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice hike, great weather, amazing food
I was surprised how big our team was and also our food was more than great. No problem at all with vegetarians. Our guide knew a lot about flowers and animals and was helpful. They lent us warm sleeping bags, so we weren't cold even at the highest altitudes. That was great, and our tent was waterproof and the mattresses were comfortable. I recommend bringing headache medicine with you because of the altitude.
But I would love to get more detailed list of things to carry with me. For example water filter would be nice to have because rivers and lakes as a water source are not safe enough for me. Also guide should have first aid kid with him not in the office and also weather forecast I think is important to check every day in mountains. Last but not least, I think that every company should carry a shovel for toilet needs. At every campsite, people go "in the bushes," and all campsites look accordingly. This is even the case around the lake from which drinking water is then taken. I think this needs to be changed.
PH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dangerous
South africa is a dangerous place for tourist, i was robbed and almost died there.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trip to Masai mara was nice experiance with guide collins other things need improvement
We took two safaries from them . One fo Masai Maara and one for Tsavo West. Trip to Masai mara was best with guide Collins but the trip to Tsavo national park was average with guide steven . Collins was truly professional guide and he tried to solve issues arrived in between. He was prompt and responsive to resolve them soon. He was good in conversation and narrate good informations. As a guide Collins deserve 5 star. Though the stay places at lake nakuru and lake naivasa was not upto the mark. The second safari to Tsavo national park was very average experiance with guide steven. Teh vehicle broke down two times and guide was not professional enough to handle the things without much inconviniace. He was not having much knowledge of the flora and fauna and do not narrate things coming on the way. He was slow and unprofessional person. Otherwise Tsavo stay places was better then Masai mara places. The national park was impressive but due to unprofessional guide we could not enjoy the Tsavo national park much. Here 5 star for guide Collins , 4 star for safari at Masai mara, 2 star for saty places of Masai mara, 1 star for guide steven , 4 star for the stay places at Tsavo national park, 2 star for safari experiance at Tsavo national park.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kibale National Park by Gareth Hughes
saw hardly any birds on our chimp trek
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Bwindi Impenetrable National Park by Gareth Hughes
saw hardly any birds on the gorilla trek
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Nice experience.
I was on vacation in Ethiopia from the 19th to the 25th of July 2025, even though it was a short break, I personally had a wonderful time. I booked East Africa Tour for a beautiful experience. Mr Beki had me discovered some of the nice places. I had a nice Tour around Addis-Abeba and visited some of the iconic places. I visited Wanchie and I was soo impressed of the beauty of the place. I tasted some of the nice, delicious traditional dishes, I had a nice experience with the East Africa Tour.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best holiday of my life so far although full of highs and lows (which could have been avoided).
5 stars to super eagles for communication before and during the trip - Daisy was very helpful and arranged mid-range accommodation for me.
Francis the driver was knowledgeable, calm and friendly and did a wonderful job spotting the animals and showing us the big five, although on the last day he ran over a dog which was extremely deflating! Little remorse was shown and with careful driving this should have been avoided. Shameful that we didn't check on the dog either. I was also provided with a driver in Amboseli who admitted he was drunk and had TEN beers that day and tried to encourage me to stop for a drink! He was friendly but not professional.
Seven wonders agency in Tanzania were not as effective at communicating and arranged for an inadequate people carrier to take us through Ngorongoro to meet the other tour group members. Ally the driver struggled with the vehicle and lost control of the wheel. We were very close to driving off the cliff. Thankfully he steered into the skid and others stopped to help push the car away from the cliff edge. This could have been avoided if we were in a sturdy 4x4 land rover/cruiser!
Simba was my friendly driver in Tanzania, although i would have loved a little more information The lunches provided in Tanzania were much better quality than those in Kenya.
Also super eagles kindly stored my luggage at their headquarters. Either whilst at the office when my bag was in the car, or when I had to exit the vehicle when driving to Nairobi airport, i had 100 euros stolen from my bag. Its a shame but was originally intended to be drivers tips. Always carry your bag and valuables with you. I was lucky they didn't take the lot and my laptop!
.
All that being said, I still had an adventure of a lifetime that opened my eyes to heaven existing on earth! A truly magical, spiritual and unforgettable experience of which i am very grateful to super eagles for organising it for me!
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
positive and disappointing moments
We went on a 5-day safari in Kenya and overall our experience had both very positive and disappointing moments. Patrick helped us a lot with organizing the trip. He booked exactly the hotels we wanted and was extremely kind and patient while we were deciding. We told him precisely what we wanted to do and which routes we wanted to follow, and he did his best to accommodate our plans.
Unfortunately, the last day was very problematic. Our driver left us at a café for over an hour while the car was taken for inspection because we had a long distance to cover. After he finally picked us up and we had been driving for about 30 minutes, the car broke down right as we entered Tsavo National Park. We were stuck there for more than 6 hours, and as a result we lost the entire day. It became dark, and although we had paid the park entrance fee, we were unable to see anything inside the park. Since we were supposed to stay in Tsavo for only one day, this was very disappointing for us, as we had no time to explore it at all. In the end, we had to book an additional day, which cost us a significant extra amount of money, just so we could finally visit the park.
Despite Patrick’s excellent service and effort, the issues on the final day caused a lot of stress and disappointment and strongly affected what should have been one of the highlights of our trip.