20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best safari guide!
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with Jocky Tours and Safaris.
Booking: I booked with Jocky Tours only two weeks before my planned safari, and they were very responsive and accommodating. They answered all of my questions via WhatsApp within three to four days, and I was able to pay a deposit to secure my trip easily. Communication was a bit limited in the period immediately before the trip, which initially concerned me, but they ensured that all logistics and details were taken care of before departure.
Accommodations: I stayed at Jambo Mara, a mid-range accommodation option that was perfect for the trip. My guide helped me check in and out and coordinated my lunches with the lodge, which made everything very smooth. The lodge itself was clean, safe, and surrounded by beautiful scenery. Beverages other than bottled water were not included, but this was communicated clearly beforehand. After long days on safari, the hot shower and large, comfortable bed were exactly what I needed. The food was good overall, though it left a little to be desired at times. My favorite part was the live cooking station, especially the omelets, noodles, and pasta dishes.
Guide: The most important part: the safari guide. I had John Walter, also known as “John of the Jungle,” and I would 1000% recommend requesting him if possible. He was charming, funny, knowledgeable, and extremely kind.
During our first afternoon game drive, we saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, and multiple female lions-all within the first three hours. On our second day, he asked what we most wanted to see and managed to help us find nearly all of it. He made a real effort to introduce us to new animals rather than repeatedly stopping at species we had already seen.
John was truly a 5/5 guide, and I feel very fortunate to have had him for this experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shanjoy was attentive, authentic, and responsive, making our once in a lifetime safari the best!
Shanjoy tours has made it easy to plan a once in a lifetime safari trip. From the start, Rodah was extremely helpful in answering our questions (there were a lot!) and giving her guidance and opinions for our itinerary. She was very attentive and listened to our preferences, and helped us build our itinerary that matched everything we wanted (and then some). We even requested to add things to our plan as late as 2 days before our trip and Rodah quickly updated our itinerary.
Our tour guides Steve and Dominic were excellent and very knowledgeable, giving us information on each species, with facts big and small that made it even more fun to spot animals we have not seen yet. They were quick to respond to sightings, and made sure to give us the best position for viewing and pictures. We were lucky to see the big five within our first 2 days of safari in Maasai Mara thanks to Steve and his impressive abilities to find Rhinos (he sure is dedicated!). Both Steve and Dominic incorporated our input and requests for what animals we would like to see (when possible) and tried their hardest to make sure we saw the animals we wanted to see. We also had Sam, the photographer, with us for our safari and he was amazing. He took portraits of us with the animals in the background, at sunset, took great pictures of the animals, and made sure all of our requests were met.
The transfers from park to park were seamless, and Rodah, Steve, and Dominic handle all the behind the scenes work at the airstrips making the process as easy as possible.
At our first stop in Nairobi, we went a little over board with souvenirs, and Rodah happily kept our souvenirs at the offices, and we collected them as we departed Kenya. Overall, Shanjoy made sure that we were happy from our first correspondence to the time we boarded our plane. We felt like we were their top priority, and that is what makes them stand out from their competitors. I would not hesitate to recommend Shanjoy, and I cannot wait to return for another safari with them!
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 6-day Safari in Tanzania
we booked our safari in Tanzania with Sereland and it was the experience of a lifetime. Everything was incredibly well organised, from the transfers to the safari itself. one of the absolute highlights was our safari guide, Baraka. If you are booking with Sereland, ask for him! Baraka is incredibly knowledgeable about wildlife and I honestly don’t think I have ever met anyone who knows so much about animals, their behaviour, the landscape, and where to find them. We learned so much during the safari, also about birds and plants! He has a fantastic sense of humour, is extremely polite, and patient.
the sightings were unbelievable. We saw the Big Five, the Ugly Five, and what felt like all the cast of The Lion King, all incredibly close! We saw cheetahs and leopards from less than three metres away, watched a family of lions together, and experienced the wildebeest migration. At one point Baraka had to drive VERY fast during the game drive so we could catch the migration in time, and even then I felt completely safe AND we got to see it!
We loved Tanzania, and the unforgettable safari, and we know, a huge part of that was thanks to Baraka. If you are travelling with Sereland, I highly recommend him as your guide. You will not regret it. In Safari's, I learnt, who is your driver matters! :)
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable, comfortable and excellent
From the beginning, the communication from tour organizer benson was excellent, responding to all kind of queries at any point of time.
The accomodation provided were good and comfortable. Festo our driver and guide was best in everything. He is responsible and commited to the job. We managed to witness best parts of safari because of his promptness and planning.
Strongly recommend.
Thank you for everything!!!
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An Unforgettable Safari Experience – Exceeded Expectations!
An Unforgettable Safari Experience – Exceeded Expectations!
Our safari trip was truly an unforgettable experience and, overall, exceeded our expectations.
Safari: We had the opportunity to see an incredible variety of wildlife and experienced some amazing moments during our game drives. I would have loved to see lions actually ambushing their prey, but considering how many times we came across lions preparing and positioning themselves for an ambush during our itinerary, I would still rate the safari experience as exceeded expectations. Seeing these behaviors up close in their natural environment was fascinating.
Guides/Drivers: The guides and drivers were fantastic throughout the trip. We had super-friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating guides and drivers on the Tanzania side, and Kim and Mike on the Kenya side were wonderful as well. Their expertise, enthusiasm, and willingness to make sure we had a great experience made a big difference. We truly appreciated their efforts.
Accommodations: The accommodations were, for the most part, excellent and really added to the overall experience. The properties were comfortable and well selected. There was just one exception where we did not have hot water during our stay. This was particularly surprising because the property had only been open for about nine months. Hopefully, this is something they can address going forward.
Food: We had absolutely no issues with the food throughout the trip. The meals were enjoyable, and everything was handled very well.
A Special Thank You: Our special thanks to Claire for the beautiful monogrammed blankets. They were such a thoughtful and personal touch, and we truly appreciated the gesture. It was a wonderful surprise and something we will always associate with this memorable trip.
Our Recommendation: We highly recommend Fred and the One More Adventure team, especially for anyone planning a complex itinerary or traveling with a larger group. Coordinating a trip like ours involves many moving parts, and we greatly appreciated the planning, coordination, responsiveness, and attention to detail throughout the journey. Fred and the team did a wonderful job bringing everything together and helping make our trip such a memorable experience.
Overall, we had a wonderful and memorable safari experience and will cherish the memories for a long time. Thank you to Fred, Claire, and the entire One More Adventure team for helping make this trip so special!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical!
We honestly couldn’t recommend Cuan highly enough. He planned an absolutely flawless trip for us and it genuinely felt like every detail had been thought through.
The amount of time in each place was perfect with enough time to experience everything on offer, while still having plenty of downtime to relax. Every transfer ran seamlessly and every accommodation was outstanding. Xugana was a definite highlight and became even more special when my partner proposed there!
We had some incredible experiences along the way, from fishing with our own private guide and boat to amazing wildlife encounters...including coming across a male lion on a walking safari!
The whole trip felt effortless from our end, which is exactly what you want when travelling somewhere like Africa. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and one we’ll remember forever.
Thank you, Cuan, for all the thought, care and work you put into creating such an incredible experience for us. We wouldn’t hesitate to book with you again.
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply Outstanding
We commenced planning our Safari nearly 2 years ago. We put out our brief to 3 top rated companies on Trip Advisor. African Big Cat Safaris (ABC) was the only company that listened to our brief AND made constructive recommendations.
From day 1, the communication with William from the Planning Departing, to Naomi from the Operations Department was nothing short of fantastic.
We had allowed 2 day’s rest prior to our 14 day safari, as we were travelling away from home for nearly 5 months. However, we were hampered by 3 x flight cancellations and delays right up to the 11th hour and Naomi was there all the way for us, making sure our pickup in the early hours of the morning was arranged. We arrived with 2 hours to spare before the start of our Safari Day, our rest days were eaten up with flight delays.
Well, we didn’t think it could get better, but it did!
Festo, our guide, picked us up at the Airport, a big smile greeted us. While we were tired and jet lagged from the delays, what a greeting.
Festo was simply outstanding. He could spot birds and wildlife from a great distance, and his knowledge was superb.
Day 2 or 3 in, we saw the Cheetah. Then 4 leopards in one day, and of course we saw the Big 5 during the course of our safari. We were guided by Festo’s timekeeping on what time to depart each morning, and within minutes of arriving at the River, we saw a major Wildebeest Crossing.
Then we moved from there and within another 10 minutes was another major crossing! His timing was always 100% perfect.
At all times, Festo was looking after us, explained everything, and we couldn’t have been better looked after. He didn’t rush us, when we just wanted to sit and enjoy the animals and the moment, plus taking photos etc.
One good thing about being on a 14 day Safari, we were able to actually visit some Villages, which many people wouldn’t see in a 7 day Safari. This helped us understand the culture. We visited the Bush people, and the Masai. This was incredible. My husband participated in some of their spear throwing and bow and arrow events. He loved it.
We would like to thank the entire team at ABC for an amazing life adventure, a real highlight of our 5 months of travelling.
It is a huge leap of faith and trust with booking direct online, and not via a Travel Agent, however, from day 1, ABC were incredible.
Festo is an absolutely top guide, and please ask for him! We absolutely trusted him, and over 2 weeks, he became our best friend and loved him for that.
Our memories of our trip, are just not of the wildlife, but also the wonderful time we enjoyed with him, and he made our outstanding trip was it was. Thank you Festo and the ABC Team, from Andrew, Mary-Anne & Helen.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Pretty impressive pleace
had a five day safari in Tanzania (got reduced to 4 days at last minute due to a Airport strike in Narobi)
Safari was with Suricata Safaris
They rejigged our Safari with 24 hr notice - not a problem
Safari was very well organised and facilities, especially accommodation, was fair better than I was expecting - which was a bonus
Our drive was Ally (or might have been Alley)
He was excellent. Very accommodating, very knowledgeable about all things Safari and Tanzania
Would recommend highly
CL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Uganda experience – Gorillas, Shoebills, and 5-Star Guiding!
We had a fantastic experience traveling through Uganda. The undisputed highlight was trekking to see the mountain gorillas, followed closely by spotting the shoebill stork, but we also saw chimpanzees and the golden monkeys.
A massive thank you to our guides, Sam and Davis. Their support began well before we even arrived in Uganda; they helped us prepare by offering great advice on what clothing to pack and patiently answered every minor doubt we had. Throughout the trip, they were super helpful, attentive, and genuinely invested in making sure everything ran smoothly.
Likyadi Adventures took care of every detail so we could make the absolute most of the experience. We highly recommend booking with them!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
We had an incredible safari trip covering both Kenya and Tanzania in July, and the tour was very well organized. We really appreciated all the arrangements and support throughout the trip.
It was an absolute highlight to witness the great migration and see all the animals we had hoped to see! We also want to give a special thanks to all of our safari drivers for their knowledge, patience, and dedication. They made our game drives such an enjoyable experience.
We especially want to thank Moses, our airport pickup driver, who went out of his way to drive a very long distance to bring our delayed luggage to us. We really appreciated his kindness and extra effort.