DE
Serviceteam was great. Guide was awful
We had a very disappointing experience. Our tour guide was rude and unfriendly, with very poor hygiene. He did not wash his hands after using the toilet and then handled bread and cheese with dirty hands. There was also a complete lack of communication.
In addition, we had four breakdowns with the vehicles. The cars were old, unreliable, and not suitable for use in the wilderness, which caused significant inconvenience.
On a positive note, the service team was excellent. They were very friendly, the food was great, and the tents were well set up and clean.
Unfortunately, due to these serious issues, we cannot recommend Kalahari Skies.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good efforts in showing all the big 5
Rudzani drove us from Kruger to Johannesburg . He showed us some rhinos on the way. He dropped us safely
TH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well-intentioned, responsive, local, caring but maybe lack experience to deliver to certain standard
Generally communicated well and were very responsive in the period leading up to my and my 9-year old's 6D/5N Okavango camping safari.
Well-intentioned, attentive and caring team with good local knowledge during the tour period. BUT there were some significant issues that substantially negatively impacted the quality of the tour and our experience: (1) On our arrival in Maun, the team were not adequately prepared for our tour despite us having booked months in advance. We were left waiting for 3+ hours while the team "bought supplies". As a consequence, we left Maun late, arrived at and set up at our first camping location well after dark, and missed a scheduled game drive, (2) there was a big difference between the indicative photos of camping accommodation provided in the pre-tour period, and the actual accommodation when we were there, (3) after arrival the team often seemed unaware of the agreed itinerary, changes to it and their necessity/rationale were not well communicated to us, and some planned activities did not happen e.g., 2 game drives, walking safari, boat trip (though apparently sometimes for reasons beyond the team's control), and (4) there were no seatbelts for passengers in the vehicle. Overall, I do not think these issues were intentional and probably related to a lack of adequate experience in delivering a product to a certain level.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good tour operator.but not so good driver
The was good until the last day. On the second last day our driver Roger made us aware of protests happening on the following day and gave us a choice of whether or not to go straight back to Nairobi rather than do an early morning game drive. We wanted to go back to Nairobi to avoid the protests but then he adamantly took us to the national park in order to "secure a good review" (his words). We all told him that we didn't feel safe to hang around to do the game drive after which he said we'll go back to Nairobi, but then he lied and still drove us to the park. We were all furious with him.
All in all, although the tour operator and safari were good, best to find out who your driver is in advance to see if it is roger.
Also a side note, Axis may say it's not needed to carry your passport with you (in case you decide to leave it at your hotel for safe keeping), but one of the hotels in Nakuru did request at least a copy of your passport upon check in.
Final side note, we gave our dietary requirements (vegetarian) but for some reason Axis did not relay to the camp in amboselli. Fortunately the camp managed to accommodate us as best as they could.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A place to preserve for future generations
Great sightings and accommodation at Crocodile Bridge rest camp exceeded expectations. However, will never book there again:
1. Noisy at night and hearing traffic from outside the park.
2. Dog barking the entire night. Presumably one of the worker’s dogs as barking came from their compound as I understand.
Also, stopped at Satara rest camp for lunch, which was also a major letdown. Firstly, no water so toilets were a mess. And secondly, rudest cashier ever at Cattle Barron grab&go and waited on our take away (2 chicken wraps & small fries) for much over an hour. Will definitely avoid these 2 camps in future.
Overall, amazing park and wildlife, please preserve and maintain for future generations to also enjoy!
MX
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Definitely disappointed.
We booked our 6 days safari in Tanzania through a partner company of Serengeti Clarity, since we did 1 week in Kenya and 1 week in Tanzania. Being said that, I don't know if it was because we didn't book directly with them, but they sent a very inexperienced guide. We met him at the border at Isebania since we came from Kenya, first thing, he didn't even introduced himself properly. Second, he guided us inside the government building, he took us to Health Services and straight out, he never led us to Immigration Offices, which was a huge legal problem when trying to fly back home, result on us paying for a fine because of his error. We really can't believe he was so inexperience that he didn't even know the right process to cross the border, since this is a very common situation in Tanzania safaris, and we as customers and being our first time in this country we trust the guide the company sent. After this unfortunate event, he drove us to Serengeti National Park, he stopped several times to ask for directions to the park, second red flag for us. At sunset, we finally got to the hotel, but then we realized that was not the hotel the company booked for us, he took us to the wrong hotel, so we had to drive to the right hotel when it was really dark and we didn't feel safe. The next day, our second day with this guide, he just drove without any direction, we asked him to take us see the great wildebeest migration, he took us really far from where the migration was and we didn't get to see it. That day we asked the company to change the guide, he didn't know about animals, he spoke really bad spanish and english, we couldn't really talk to him, aside from everything else. Thankfully our request was heard, and the next day we got a new guide, Kelvin, who is just the best thing that happened to us. Since the very first moment he met us, he introduced himself, he explained the map of the Serengeti, he explained the migration and the took us as close as he could to see it. He is so knowladgable about animals, we learned so much about animal behaviour from him. The rest of our safari was amazing, thanks to Kelvin that goes beyond expectations to make you feel comfortable and safe. On the last day of our safari, driving to the airport, we ran out of gas, Kelvin explained that the company didn't gave him money for gas because they gave it to our first guide and he haven't returned that money yet, which shouldn't affect our safari nor Kelvin since this was not our fault, this was the company's fault to hire such an unsuitable guide. This was our first time booking a guided tour ever, we always travel by ourselves, and it really wasn't a pleasant experience, because you trust the company you hire will give you a good service and this was quite the opposite. Our recommendation and learning from this experience, is to ask the name of the guide, the years of experience he has and reviews from previous customers, to make sure you have someone you can rely on.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disorganised and unreliable
Whilst our guides were excellent and our sightings and experience of the Okavango delta was wonderful, we were very badly let down by Fred's on the ground organisation. Our camps were not set up on time on three occasions leaving my Son and I waiting for hours to rest and eat. Fred's unreliability and string of excuses added to our frustrations and disappointment. Given all this and on balance I will not be recommending Savannah safari and tours, and will look to alternative operators when we return to beautiful Botswana.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beyond the plains safari tour company review
Beyond the plains prepared a custom private safari tour for us to the Maasai Mara that was done extremely well by their office team and payment processes were extremely smooth and communication was great. On the start of our safari the team got us safari hats which was a nice touch and we were accompanied by one of their drivers called John who is very knowledgeable with the nomenclature of the animal species in the Mara and familiar with the vast Mara ecosystem.
A point of concern is the driving which was not particularly safe especially overtaking on the escapements trying to dodge in and out of traffic. This can lead to serious fatal accidents. Another point of concern is that our driver was constantly using his mobile device even when driving and did not have his seat belt on for majority of the trip. This is being extremely casual on the road and not respecting the Highway Code.
All in all we had a good experience at Amani Mara and had lovely game drives where we saw the big four (no rhino) and other wildlife animals.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Family tour Namibia 2026
We delegated completely the arrangement of the vacation to CrissCross understanding thatched were the experts. We regretted to have done this instead of putting more time on it ourselves.To know that unexpectedly most iconic places might not be in the itinerary or you would just pass by ( so you need to know which ones these are , so that you can check that they are in the itinerary and with adequate timing). Review in detail the ratings of the booked lodges, some were disappointing as well as the number of rooms that you really need and insist to book what you want. We spent one day in a domain which was more a zoo than a wild reserve and no visit to Etosha (we just cross drived it ).Know that most of the driving is on gravel roads and check that driving time is not more than 3 hours per day, in reality driving time is more than you can read in the itinerary. Some days we spent more than 8 h sitting in a car. This was an average quality salary but not luxury. Briefing prior departing was average, Know that in winter you really need winter clothes in the evening and mornings, in particular driving in open cars. Some of the restaurants in the evening were also under-heated . Guide was however knowledgeable and did his best as disappointments were popping up
BE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari in an African way
In November 2025, my daughter and I decided to do a safari in Uganda, mainly to visist the gorilla's and chimps. We inquired several safari companies in Uganda. Finally, we decided to chose Riso Gorilla Safaris. With a little doubt as there were no reviews of this company but the contact with the owner felt good. While other companies sent me a detailed itinerary, I had to propose a contract myself. When I did a first payment, the owner replied that he had reveived it, which felt good to hear. But 6 weeks before we left, I tried to contact the company (via Whatsapp and email) but did not succeed for several weeks which made me worried. Finally I got a reply saying that he was in Tanzania and had no internet.
The day before the start of our 13-day safari I reveived a message of the owner that he was at the airport in Entebbe to welcome us. He was a day too early ?? The next day, we arrived and Eric our guide/driver welcomed us an drove us to the hotel. The next day, our safari started with a classical tour : Murchison Falls, Kibale forest, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi, Lake Mburo and back to Entebbe.
Following things happened during the tour :
-The vehicule was not maintained. The back door could not be opened for several days. There were also 2 times mechanical problems when we wanted to leave the lodge : one time it was the battery which needed to be replaced, another time it was not told to us what the problem was.
This second time we had a walking safari planned and the guide arranged another car so that we could still go.
-We had agreed and paid for a private boat trip to Murchison Falls but when we arrived there, it was not foreseen. After contacting the owner, he told us that he had forgotten to book it.
-In Queen Elizabeth it was foreseen to have 2 different lodges : Kasenyi and Enjojo. When we stayed in the first lodge, our guide told us that we had to stay in the first as the second one was in renovation and we could not go there. A few hours later he proposed to go to another lodge, Topi lodge, where we finally went.
All these things were finally solved but it annoyed us.
During the tour, we saw the different animals, except the leopard.
For the gorilla's we went to Ruhija and after a difficult walk of 40 minutes, we met the gorilla's. What annoyed us for the gorilla trekkng were the many tips we had to pay . The permit costs 800 usd per person : ok. But the tips are too much : a dancing group at the briefing, the trackers, the ranger, the security guys. And finally we had to pay 40.000 ugx for gloves we rented. I wonder what the 800 usd permit is used for.
We found the best activities :
-chimps
-gorilla's
-boat trip Kizenga channel : book a private one
Did we get value for money : probably yes. The price we paid for the safari was one of the lowest we received from the different offers.
Would I go again with this company : probably not.
