US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and good service
We did two safaris in Kenya with Morning Star Tours. One was a four day experience in Tsavo East and West. The other was a seven day experience in Amboseli, Nakuru, and Masai Mara. When planning this safari, I spoke with Dennis. He was very polite, helpful, and responsive. With his help I was able to curate a safari experience that included everything that we were interested in. Huge shoutout to our first driver Julius for making our experience unforgettable. He was kind and tried to help us spot as many animals as possible. I felt like Julius went out of his way to make it an amazing time. Our second driver Alex was very knowledgable about the parks and answered all our questions about Kenya. He also knew how to navigate the parks very well. I do have to say that the drivers are more focused on driving rather than being a guide, so keep that in mind. We did a private tour with the 4x4 land cruiser, which I recommend over a van. The vans get stuck sometimes and we even had to pull one out of the mud. There was a lot of driving involved because we saw so many parks so plan accordingly. We enjoyed the food as all the places offer a buffet style meal, so there are plenty of options to find something you enjoy. One important thing to note about the airport is that we thought we could arrive early and stay until it was time for our flight to leave. However, they will only let you in the airport about 2-3 hours before your flight. There is a cafe outside the airport that you can sit at, but it is uncomfortable and the wifi did not work well. Unfortunately, we did not know this ahead of time so we could plan accordingly. Overall, our experience was great, we got to see most of the animals we wanted and for a competitive price.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A safari is a must when in South Africa
We visited Cape Town first and stayed close to the new V&A development. Lots to see and do and lots of restaurants with superb mall. Moved to Hermanus and watched the whales frolicking in the sea just off the shoreline. No boat trip required. Then off to Kruger National Park. Private reserve in north of park called TOMORROW. Fantastic experience. Only 8 individual luxury units so only 2 tour cars. They share safaris with neighbouring private reserves and they all radio each other to get everyone the best experience. Our guide Gareth was unbelievable. He was friendly knowledgeable and spotted a lioness in the dark at over 30m away. How? No idea!! We saw all of the top 5 except Rhino. We saw a pride of lions just after they had hunted down a buffalo. Leopard being chased by a lioness who just climbed to the very top of the tree until she gave up. Gin and tonic out in the bush at sundown perfect. Food was gourmet level. Staff were outstanding. Thoroughly recommend this reserve for a fantastic time. We stayed 3 days 2 nights which was enough perhaps because Gareth enabled us to see the elephants leopards buffalo lions and cubs giraffes jackals hippos impala’s masses of different bird species and most importantly we did not have to queue at any time to watch the animals in their natural environment. Gareth was also very mindful of the environment we were in and took care not to intrude on the animals
AR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
At the beginning of our trip, we realized we had made a significant mistake with the start date when booking our safari. Fortunately, Ibra from the agency responded to our messages late at 10 p.m. and went above and beyond to reorganize the entire trip. This ensured we didn't lose any money and could proceed as planned the very next day. The accommodations were excellent and exceeded our expectations. Our driver Steven made a great effort to help us spot the Big Five and was very friendly, which made our days enjoyable.
One minor point to consider was a few issues we experienced with the car's engine. However, this did not impact our overall experience, which turned out to be one of the best of our lives!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good organized tour operator
Communication during booking procedure was great, fast answers and our individuel wishes were considered.
Our guide is a nice and friendly person. During the tour the communication was ok but regularly he made a lot of phone calls. If it happens during the long transfers between the locations we accepted it but he also made a lot of calls during our time in the different nationalparks during the game drives. This was not what we expect from a professional guide. This was also the reason why often the guide did not spot all posible animals during our trip.
The different accomodations were all nice and the different meals were delicious. The lunch boxes were also good.
Our favorite accomodation was the Ruaha Hilltop lodge, because the lodge is located in a quite area with a great view and not to far from Ruaha N.P.
All in all the tour was nice and good organized, the value of money was fair but maybe for our next trip we would like to have another tour guide.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Destination of Beauty and Despair
We travelled as a group of 3 generations- the oldest 81 years old and the youngest 17.
Cape Town has the stunning backdrop of Table Mountain against the blue sky, the beautiful Company Gardens and Kirstenbosch Botannical Gardens. The new V&A Waterfront is a pleasant and safe place to dine but could be anywhere.
The Robben Island tour left a lasting impression but could have been more dynamic
On the streets, the poverty and despair of the poor is plain to see. The highway out to the winery areas of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek is flanked by huge townships and morning and evening becomes a “snake” of overfilled minibuses as the residents commute to work.
The wineries area then feels obscenely decadent. The towns and surrounding area is charming. The tastings are great value and each winery normally has more than just wine on offer e.g gardens to explore, art exhibitions
We went on a 3 day quickie safari in the Kruger National Park. Surpassed all our expectations, in part due to our Wild Wings guide’s superb knowledge of the animal/bird habitats and habits.
We would love to return to South Africa again in the future to do another safari and explore the Garden Route. The people we met everywhere were delightful, food and wine were always delicious and great value for money. The weather and flowers were beautiful in October
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Simply Beautiful !
A country with Beautiful & Friendly people! They care about your safety, they are so helpful and happy to have you visiting.
A great mix of culture, history, scenery & interesting animals !
Between two major cities, beaches, vineyards, mountains, a hidden country in the middle, multiple safaris & where two oceans meet !!! So much beauty & a lot to see..
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional and Good rapport with everyone
Good trip and lovely places, mind refreshing with places like fort portal, semuliki national park, nayare waterfalls. Must visit once in a life time!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
Reliable people and very good. Had a good experience with them
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Responsive tour operator with great local guides who helped us get the most out of our trip
We travelled in Kenya & Tanzania with Camptrek Safaris in October 24 visiting Amboseli, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crate and Taragire. The office were very responsive to our queries and we were happy with the final itinerary.
We had an amazing trip and saw lots of wildlife, most notably many elephants, but also lions, cheetahs and leopard (albeit distantly), and of course zebra, giraffes, wildebeest etc.
Our driver guides were great, especially David, who we had in Kenya, he was so friendly and helpful as well as very knowledgeable and a good driver.
The accommodations were all lovely ( we opted for mid range places) especially those in / bordering the reserves, although we did have an issue with the one (fisherman’s camp) in Lake Navaisha, where they seemed to have accepted a better booking and shipped us off to a nearby house, that we then had to picked up from to go to dinner and breakfast. However David was great in sorting everything out and rearranging our itinerary to take account of the time this wasted.
The only negative was the vehicles which were rather old ( despite Camptrek advising me when we were planning the trip they were all recently purchased) both were around 10-15 years old and suffered mechanical issues ( the Kenya vehicle had no 1st gear)
Despite this we had a fabulous time and would recommend Camptrek, and David in particular.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzania Specialist has a fantastic safari package that worked well for us.
We had a fantastic safari with Tanzania Specialist. Our driver/guide Tino was a great driver and always punctual. He made sure we could see as many animals as possible on our drives. He was very knowledgeable about the animals, the parks, the plants and the topography. He was very patient when we wanted to move ahead a little for a better photo or stop to take more photos of flowers. He knew the trails in the parks like the back of his hand and how to get to the best viewing locations. He communicated with other guides to find out where the animals were so we could go there right away and see them ourselves. I appreciated that Tino took care of jeep mechanical problems when they happened as best as he could considering we were in the middle of the Serengeti National Park.
The office staff were not as attentive to some details as they could have been and that is why I gave a 4 star rating.
All in all a great safari!