20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Its a serious tour operator
A co-operative and well organized tour company in Tanzania with a structured management system
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and on time.
My solo hike with Dennsland was an amazing experience. I was alone with the guide, porter and cook which make it unique experience. The 5 days hike was beyond expectation. The landscape, the view and going to the summit. I unfortunately didn't get to see the sunrise due to the weather, but experiencing the summit with the frost was a first time for me. Sam the guide was supportive and encouraging me. The only this missing was the preparation for the altitude sickness and better cloth for the cold.
EC
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari...incredible guide...terrible accomodations.
Our family, parents and four children, chose to go with this safari due to their good communication and their package looked very similar to other budget safaris. The agency does a good job communicating and I felt they were very honest about prices and surcharges they would need to pass on to the client (for instance 5% if you use a credit card). They sent us with a great guide, Mike was his name, and the vehicle for travel was ideal as it was a Land Cruiser with even some modern conveniences like USB charging (sorry, no air conditioning). Somethings cannot be helped, but we spent the first half day of our tour in the heat of a gas station trying to fix the land cruiser.
Thankfully the breakdown had not been too far out of Nairobi and we were still able to get parts and still make it to Masai Mara where we arrived at the tent camp greeted by the host in the dark. They apologized for the black out in electricity and said the generator would operate from 7 PM to 5 AM. Again, this is to be expected for Africa. What is not to be expected is that they had no towels for us and no hot water. After a long day sitting at a gas station and eating dust during the travel, you want a shower. Unfortunately on our second day returning the hostess said again they did not have any towels that were dry, however, unbeknownst to her one of the other workers had kept us back some but we didn't receive those until the few of us had already showered and used sheets to dry off with. In general I could never recommend this tent camp. It was run by young people who kept disco music blaring at full volume. When people go on Safari, they want to be in tune with nature and even have some places outside to sit, read, or observe the incredible scenery that can be found only in this unique part of the world. You will not find such peace at camp Miti Mindi.
The redeeming part of this trip was our day of Safari. We were able to observe four of the big five at close range. Our guide was great with the family and children; I certainly wouldn't blame him for the accommodation problems. We saw both a recent lion and leopard kill, as well as lions mating! One thing to be prepared for is that the package says that you can visit in Mosai Village but they charge 10 pounds per person. We opted NOT to do this part of the journey due to this unforeseen extra cost.
So I gave the trip an average rating but our full day safari would have gotten "exceptional." If magical safaris can choose their tent camps better, this budget safari will be exceptional as well.
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Awesome tours but poor tour management !
I spent some awesome time when exploring Tanzania. I joined into 2 tours operated by Kili Slopes, Mt. Kilimanjaro tour and Serengeti NP tour.
Im giving only 3 stars because of poor tour management.
+ guides + other personnel were awesome
+ landscapes were memorable
+ tour programmes were cool
Kilimanjaro:
- As a tipping culture not being common in my country, i was totally surprised when i was asked to pay extra 350 USD after my tour as a tip for the guide and personnel. I wasn't given any information about this arrangement beforehand, which annoyed me a lot. Im not definitely denying the staff wouldn't deserve and need the tip usually given, but as me being the only tourist joining the tour and still asked to pay for the normal tipping sum made this situation absurd. Moreover, I imagined the staff being paid enough for a decent income, obviously not. As a compromise, i gave them 100 usd.
- Again, when discussing about the matter of tipping, I was given the feeling by the tour operator, that as a tourist (and a white person ??) I'm supposed to be rich and afford to give away random extra 350 USD ! Oh, I am surely a millionaire, but only in my dreams.
Serengeti:
- My Serengeti tour was awesome, but bit messy. Considering this tour too, i wasn't given enough information beforehand, again including the thing with tipping. Other customers were having some more information, like list of equipment needed, which i never had. What comes to both of my trips, i thought i was having all the information in needed. Well, I didn't (even though asking for every possible information needed couple of times).
- Overall 6 customers attending to this Serengeti tour, and every person was having a different tour program. It was obvious right from the beginning that it would be impossible to coordinate everything. This is why some ppl didn't get what they were looking for - but ill let them to write their reviews on their own behalf, if they wish to do so. ++Our awesome guide Jackson did his best trying to fix it all ! ++
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extraordinary Promises but Ordinary Delivery
My husband and I decided to skip our wedding and use the money for a once in a lifetime trip to Tanzania. We choose EJ because we wanted to climb Kilimanjaro before going on a luxury safari and beach trip.
Our final iteneray information regarding our treking company was wrong upon our Intial booking. Once our final documents were sent to us 3 weeks before our trip, our trekking information was incorrect again. After pointing out several inconsistentcies we were provided with "correct" information. Once in Tanzania and meeting with our guide the provide and confirmed information was incorrect again. Examples are if our sleeping Bags were included as part of our climb, having space for them in our bag, if we were going to be tested for oxygen levels daily and the tipping process. Additionally our Kili guide was told a different time than we were to meet him and ended up waiting for over 2 hours because of EJs mistake while we were on a planned day excersion.
As for our Intial arrival we booked an escort through customs. The escort did not arrive until we were through customs and already received our bags.
Our one day trip to Arusha National Park was supposed to include a walking safari. However when I asked the guide about it he seemed very surprised and we had to abtain an additional permit at an additional cost once we arrived at the park.
We arrived at our final destination in Zanzibar and there was some confusion as to our included beverages. EJ said we would have cocktails on the beach, ect however once we arrived we were told no cocktails were included. Upon reaching out to EJ I was told "we are not always aware of what "premium drinks" mean." It is my expectation that if a luxury travel company makes a recommendation of a location they are aware of what is provided.
Overall we were very disappointed with the level of organization and execution. Especially when you are promised the moon when booking. It is unfortunate because we spent close to $25,000 on a 2 week trip and the amount of mistakes was truly extraordinary.
We have voiced our disappointments along the way but we often get canned responses with no real action.
With the amount of travel companies out there I highly recommend you choose someone else if you have multiple legs of your trip.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great safari with very good Gide/driver and amazing cook.
We just had an amazing safari in selous-mikumi-ruaha (7days). The driver (William) drove really safe and had al lot of knowledge about the animals and provides answers to every question. He's really experienced, knows the parks and the surrounding areas. Even when the car broke down he made sure it was fixed as quick and possible and that the safari wasn't compromised. The cook (Amos) was really friendly and happy all the time. He made delicious food (even for us vegetarians). We loved his veggie pies and he even made bush pizza! He made a lot of delicious food (often more than we could eat) and enjoyed taking care of us.
All the places we stayed where good especially the one in Ruaha which was inside the park! Because it's a rather new company we didn't really know what to expect. Just make sure to check beforehand if you sleep in or outside the park!! There where some small misunderstandings in our case but the company is open for feedback and we are happy with the way they solved the issue.
The only thing we didn't like was the walking safari. You won't see any animals and it outside the park. We also didn't like the way the bushman acted out all the things the local people did in the past. Some of the information was interesting but he was pretty loud and he was pretty focused on elephant dung (drinking from it, smoking it etc).
Concluding: great safari with very good Gide/driver and amazing cook.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Could have been better
We booked a 4-day safari in Amboseli and Tsavo with the company. The initial booking of the trip was a bit tedious with us having to call them a few times since we were not getting responses to emails, they explained this was due to an overload of bookings.
They failed to inform us that one of the safari camps they suggested, Kibo Safari Camp, (which we chose from the list of options they provided) didn't have electricity for most of the day, which would have been nice to know in advance. And there was a small mess up on our return airport transfer.
Also, since we were first time visitors to Kenya, it would have been great to have some expert advice from them on the various options for safari locations, hotels, food, etc.
However, the rest of the trip and the other hotels were great. The driver-cum guide they provided, Steve, was a very nice guy with a wealth of information about everything around us.
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Both Good and Bad Experiences (9-day trip with kids)
I just came back from a 9-day safari trip from Kenya and Tanzania. I want to write down both good and bad experiences. We have 2 adults, one 10.5-year boy and one 2.5-year girl.
Good experiences. (Peter is the one who runs the company)
1. Peter is very nice, from email contact to meeting me in the airport.
2. Peter upgraded my last night room in Nairobi for free, since I had some bad experience (see shortly below).
3. The travel guide is good.
4. The hotels are good.
Bad experiences.
1. On the trip from Masai Mara to Serengeti, Peter told me that it will take 4 hours. In fact, it took 14 hours, which was a terrible mistake. Although Peter said later that there is another route that he tried to ask the driver to use, however, I don't quite trust it since (a) the > 12 hours route is written in the itinerary; and (b) we have met in that day, if he knew another way, he should change it. BTW, the 12 hours driving is without traffic, but with very bumpy and dusty road.
Things got worse that night that the car we ran out of gas, in the middle of the big Serengeti national park. I don't know how professional people can make such mistakes. That was totally a mess, and we were lucky that the Tanzania guide found his friend to fix the problem, which took one hour. The worst case could be that we stayed in the car with kids for the whole night.
2. The car in Tanzania was bad, with a lot of dust, which made my daughter coughing and in fever for 2 days. Peter has no ability to change it, since it is from another company.
3. From Ngorongoro to Lake Manyara in Tanzania, it should take only a little bit more than one hour. However, in fact, it took us 4 hours. The reason is that Peter forgot to buy the pass. In Tanzania, you cannot even pay cash for the national park, the money should be transferred and the car should be registered before hand. This made us very unhappy since my son was sick and we wasted >2 hours for the pass (ticket) that was not prepaid.
Adding to the above bad experience is that, if you take more hours (for nothing) on the road, simply you have less hours to see animals, which you have paid for.
Again, Peter is very nice and he is very sorry for my bad experiences. However, I have to write down my experiences.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Really wanted to like them, left some things lacking
I went on a 3 day Rwanda gorilla trek with Encounter Africa. While I really want to like them, there are a few things that were lacking.
Pros:
1. The driver was nice and friendly. He also spoke good English and very helpful.
2. The car was good and comfortable for the two of us.
3. Accommodations were but clean, safe and hotel staff was friendly.
4. Price: The price was fair.
Cons:
1. Communication troubles: Not sure what it was but the office was extremely responsive at first via email which I why I wanted to go with them initially. But then fell radio silent. So I followed up on skype and had some challenges getting a hold of them. They said that there were issues with their email, so may that is fixed?
2. Quoted a price, and then told us that they didn't have any more availability at the lodging and then wanted put us in a lower quality hotel. Ended up paying the original price for a lower quality hotel. The hotel was fine, but the experience of that change was frustrating.
3. Finally, the biggest issue was that the driver was 2 hours late for the initial airport pickup! This was extremely inconvenient because we did not have Rwanda phones and had no way of contacting the driver. For a minute, I thought we had been completely scammed. He came in the end, but this resulted in us driving back in the hills in dark, getting to the hotel extremely late, and missing a proper dinner (that we had paid for in our room/board).
However, what frustrated me most was they claimed that it was the Uganda / Rwanda time difference that caused the delay. However, Uganda time is 1 hour ahead, so of anything, they would have arrived an hour later rather than 2 hours late. When I mentioned this to them, they then said that it was because they had to pick up the permits. If that were the real reason, then tell the truth the first time. Do not lie or try to pull one on me.
So all in all, I'm mixed on this group. While the rest of the experience itself was incredible (highly recommend the gorilla trek to anyone), there were logistical things that were a lacking and the lying about being 2 hours late was a huge detractor.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tale of 2 countries. Stick to Kenya.
Our trip was a 13 day trip split between Kenya and Tanzania.
The first half spent in Kenya was amazing. Everything we could have asked for as the guides were friendly and knowledgeable and the accommodations were pleasant. The game drives were incredible as well, especially at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. After the first week, this trip was absolutely 5 stars.
However, the second half of the trip in Tanzania was a completely different story. The guides were unhelpful at best, there was constant mix ups, mismanagement, and miscommunications. And though they were advertised with similar descriptors, the accommodations were atrocious. Too much time was spent at the lesser parks that could have been used elsewhere.
As well, too much time was spent driving and it seems like a better planned schedule could have helped make it more enjoyable. Ngorongoro Crater is without a doubt a terrific destination, but only spending 24 hours there is not worth the rest of the week. Tanzania only gets 1 star.
The saving grace is that David and the Absolute Holiday Safaris Ltd team was willing to respond to complaints and the office in Kenya did their best to alleviate the Tanzanian mess.