US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
TERRIBLE GUIDE
We started out with a great guide, George, bu the jeep broke down so we wasted a day waiting for the jeep to be fixed. The guide stayed with the jeep and we got a new guide. The new guide didn't tell us anything about what we were looking for, he didn't communicate with us, speak English, and was generally just kind of a jerk. It was exceptionally disappointing for the 4 day safari. Maybe Uhuru is fine but I hope they never use Jonas as a guide again or make sure you don't end up with Jonas.
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad organization, amazing experience
Karibu booked me and another traveler on another company's vehicle without notifying us. This caused some issues as the schedule didn't entirely match the one advertised and the driver had been told that we were going for 3 days instead of the 4 we had paid for. In addition, the vehicles used were really not suitable for the road conditions and we got stuck 3 times, once having to exit the vehicle as it flooded with water and threatened to tip over.
Overall, however, the safari was incredible and our driver and guide Ken was super helpful and accommodating! Do note that if you book the 4 day Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru safari you don't have to pay for the boat tour; Karibu is supposed to pay for it.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Friendly, on time, resourceful and knowledgeable.
We enjoyed our tour of Ngorongoro and had a wonderful time. Communication was good and they constantly checked on us to see whether we were comfortable or wanted to do something else.
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice safari, tricky prices, not so good accomodation.
The safari itself was good, living up to our expectations. The drivers were excellent. I have nothing to complain about the communication either, which was always immediate. However:
The lodges and hotels were kinda bad. Alright, we expect nothing of luxury when going for a safari in the savannah, but to think there was no water in the showers or toilets most of the time... also, the tents' build was rather poor and the buffet was nothing special. It's not like I cannot stand it as a young and adventurous man, but since the price was quite high, I doubt the overall accomodation provided was worthy at all.
Furthermore, there remains on me the bitter taste of having to pay some 100 euros higher than the price formerly agreed upon, without any official documents about it, under the excuse of "the currency value changes". Also, keep in mind the general phenomenon that, in Kenya, everybody demand a tip for the services they provide, from the tour guides and drivers to even the people approaching you on the road, offering to help you with directions.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Change in itinerary, no communication maintained, overall a bad time
Communicated that pick up will be 07:45 am but the driver appeared at 6:30 and was insisting to join immediately as some other people are waiting. On the way after asking the driver I came to know the itinerary is completely changed and Jimmy didn't inform anything. Picked up from my hotel dropped at another hotel. Picked up by another driver and dropped to a camp in Manyara where I had no itinerary to go. After waiting for 2 hours picked up by the actual safari vehicle at 11 am and drove to Serengeti while the original itinerary was Tarangire for the first day and next day early morning start for Serengeti. The whole day gone driving to Serengeti and reached at 7 pm. No game drive on the first day and lost the whole day in travelling.
They didn't inform that the tents to be pitched by ourselves. Had to do that in the rain at night!
After Serengeti & Ngorongoro, no information received who will pick up and which camp as this group had the last day on Safari.
Finally was dropped to a camp near Manyara. The camp was fantastic, the first time in 3 days was feeling well in Tanzania.
Last day the driver was supposed to pick up at 7:30 am and the driver arrived at 9:30. As I had the flight scheduled at 19:40 from Kilimanjaro airport, one driver was supposed to pick up at the park gate so that others in the group can continue with the safari. No driver arrived. The safari had to end early for others also and drove on the way to Arusha. On the way petrol ran out and the driver was complaining that the safari company didn't pay full amount to fill petrol. Somehow he arranged petrol on a highway garage.
After a drive I meet the driver who is supposed to drop me to Arusha. The driver was driving the car as if its a bullock cart and he was so scared of driving in traffic.
I insisted that I am dropped in the taxi stand for taking a taxi negotiated with good rate for Kilimanjaro airport. I was informed one driver is waiting at Arusha to drop me to the airport and I was in an impression that the drop off could be complementary for making my life so bad for last 4 days! :) The driver dropped me and asked the full amount 40 USD. I could have easily take a taxi from the taxi stand with less fare if I was dropped there and in time!
Overall what is experienced is they are very bad at communication and tour management and do not care about client satisfaction. Although most of the people are good at heart and very simple. They need to improve communication & management.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A budget tour and you get what you pay for
Definitely a budget option, and you get what you pay for. Accomodations were a little run down, but functional. Food was good East African fare. I had two drivers/guides during my trip. The first was not very social and his van was very rickety. We almost broke down and got stuck multiple times. He got us to the animals, but also tried to talk us out of a morning game drive. The second driver was much more personable and I really enjoyed riding with him.
Overall, I would consider booking with them again, but will probably pay a little more and go for a smoother experience.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wildlife
My accommodation, food and transport to Ndaka at Nambiti game reserve was excellent and so was the weather and wildlife. Our game ranger and staff went the extra mile and had sighting of 4 out of Big 5
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not the "walk in the park" that our itinerary had led us to believe!
The following is from my journal of our time in the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park:-
Locals, with produce on tables, children playing and several dogs greeted us as we all got out of our vehicles at the meeting point for hikes in the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park. Wandering around, I noticed that several people were wearing or putting on harnesses with carabiners, my first thought being they were generally younger than us so presumably they were rock climbing… Returning to our vehicle, our guide handed us ours much to my surprise! I was wondering how what had been on our itinerary as a “walking tour of Grand Tsingy” had become one that needed rock climbing equipment!!
It was very hot as we started our hike, first through forest where we spotted (Von der Decken's) sifakas high up in the trees. After a while, the scenery changed as we entered a massive limestone cave where we needed to hook our carabiners onto a metal cable as we edged along a very narrow ridge and then ascended a vertical metal ladder. So far, so good. But, as we continued to climb, often having to heave ourselves up using single foot ledges and becoming more and more aware of these spectacular but jagged limestone formations that we would fall onto if we slipped/our climbing equipment let us down, the fun for me stopped. Perhaps not helped by my heavy camera equipment/backpack, I wasn’t really enjoying the challenge despite the amazing vistas once we got up high.
The descent included crossing the very wobbly suspension bridge, hooked on via the carabiners, and squeezing through low-ceilinged caves.
It was a long walk back to the car but we were rewarded by seeing Giant Couas, large colourful birds, walking amongst the trees. We both felt challenged and exhausted after the climb so declined the chance to do the same in Little Tsingy even though we were assured it was less challenging!!
To put this into context, we had had no sleep the night before (an elder had died in the local village which was 'celebrated' by loud music playing from 9pm till 5am) - and I had caught a stomach bug and, although older, we are both regular sports players so consider ourselves quite fit! So, make of my review as you will but, whatever your circumstances, this is quite a challenging hike!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
negligent, slovenly and non-professional
It was the fourth time that we had booked with Impala, but there will be no fifth time. Pick-up was arranged at the airport, but unfortunately there was none when we arrived in the lobby of the airport. I had to call Impala to find out what's going on. I was told by phone that the taxi driver was on the way. As an excuse for the delay, Derselbige argued that South African Airways (SAA) had released unclear strike information. A look at the SAA homepage would have been enough to find out that our flight was not on strike because it was operated by a SAA partner company. As a rental car we, a couple, were given an old VW bus with over 300,000 kilometers driven, eight seats and minor technical defects (rear side doors only opened with trick 17); completely unsuitable for two people, who even in the national parks clunked nervously even at low speed, i.e. it was not a pleasure to go on the stalk with this vehicle myself. Contrary to a full tank, it was only a quarter full, so that our first course (drive) led to the next gas station after receiving the rental car. I honestly have to add, but if I only return the car with a full tank. Two of the lodges rented through Impala informed us on arrival that our reservation had been canceled due to a lack of payment. The result was my hectic phone calls with Impala, whose assurance that payment would still be made during our stay, which was the case. Unfortunately, Impala made no apology or a word of regret in either case. Conclusion: Business dealings were careless, sloppy and unprofessional. This is not how you deal with regular customers.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Too many problems -- but the best guide
We booked our safari with Giltedge through Mangata Travel based on a recommendation from a friend. Things started off well and we built a terrific itinerary. Shortly after we made our deposit (which pretty much locked us in), Mangata became less responsive. As we poured over the itinerary in detail, we found several holes and contradictions. Some of our questions were answered but some were ignored. We started communicating directly with Giltedge in order to get answers.
When we landed in Africa and met with the local Giltedge representative, he was working with an outdated itinerary. The next morning, we met our guide/driver and discovered that his itinerary did not fully match ours. For example, at our first stop - Lake Manyara National Park - we had purchased four game drives, but he was only given passes for two. Not a good start.
From our first contact with Mangata, our #1 priority for our trip was to experience the great migration of wildebeest and other animals. Having never been to Africa, we relied on the experience claimed by Mangata and their partner, Giltedge Africa. Mangata placed us at a lodge in central Serengeti. When we met our guide/driver at the beginning of the trip at Kilimanjaro airport and reviewed the itinerary, he told us that regardless of how much or little rain there was, the migration is NEVER in central Serengeti in August. He offered to take us to the Masai Mara, but that would entail an 11-hour round trip on terrible roads just to fight the crowds to spend a brief time to see just a small part of the migration. I didn't think it was worth it. But thanks to our great guide, we had a wonderful week in Tanzania where we saw everything there is to see, except for the migration -- for which I will always resent Mangata and Giltedge.
After our safari, our plan was to go from the Serengeti to Uganda for gorilla trekking. It seemed the most direct way was to fly from Seronera to Entebbe. But Mangata told us that such flights don't exist. So Mangata routed us from Seronera to Kilimanjaro, then to Nairobi, and then to Entebbe - all in one day. About 2 weeks before our trip I noticed we were not yet given our tickets for the first leg to Kilimanjaro. (Note: this is something I believe the travel agent should have caught.) I asked for the tickets. When they finally came, it showed an additional stop in Arusha. This didn't seem to bother our travel agent. But four flights in one day seems excessive to us. One slip-up and we could miss a connection. Since we had expensive gorilla trekking permits for a specific day, we could not afford any problems. After we complained, miraculously we were booked on a flight from Seronera to Entebbe. Mangata and Giltedge said they were"calling in a favor" to get this flight. But once in Africa we learned that this is a regularly scheduled daily flight! This entire run-around was totally avoidable and caused a lot of unnecessary angst for us.
Apparently, Mangata does not have the experience claimed and adequate attention to detail needed to arrange a trip like this. We will not be booking through them again.
The biggest positive by far, though -- and for which we are thankful to Giltedge -- was our guide/driver, Meshack Godson from Arusha. He must be the best guide in all of Tanzania! His knowledge and instincts were top notch. And I learned quite a bit of Swahili from him. What we realized is that no matter how much you plan your safari, your guide is truly the key to it all. And we lucked out big time with Meshack!!!