NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience
We had a wonderful safari tour, very relaxed and never rushed; hakuna matata! The communication with this company was excellent. Our guide, Gilibert, was truly the best. He spoke very good English, making it easy to understand everything he explained about the animals, the landscapes, and the culture. His knowledge, experience, and patience made our safari even more special. We couldn’t have wished for a better guide!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 1000/10
I highly recommend this company for your next safari! It was a dream come true for us! It was everything we hoped for and so much more.
Before our safari, I had excellent communication with Juventes. He responded quickly and answered every question we had.
We were lucky to have the best guide: Gilibert. He is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. Thanks to him, we spotted the Big Five and so much more during our 4-day safari. Gilibert did everything he could to give us the most wonderful safari experience.
The vehicle was spacious with comfortable seats, and even had charging ports for our phones and cameras. The accommodations during the tour were beautiful, with very friendly staff. The food throughout the safari was also really good!
Overall experience: 1000/10!
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A 13 day Golden Photography Safari Package
Our group of 6 Photographers had considered many different safari organizations in Tanzania and finally settled on the African Big Cats Safari, Arusha for our final decision. We negotiated a 13 day Golden Photography Safari Package that included visits as follows: Arusha National Park with overnights at Mtoni River Lodge, A daily animal safari and one awesome daytime walking safari with an armed guard for safety. A two day safari at Tarangire National Park and stay at Lake Burunge Baobab Tented Lodge. Lake Manyara National Park and stay at Baghayo Garden suites. 4 days in Serengeti national Park with stays at Zawadi Serengeti Camps and Embalakai Camps. A Ngorongoro Crater rim walk and stay at Embalakai Ngorongo Camp. A final day safari drive through the Ngorongoro national crater park then to a day of rest at Baghayo Garden Suites before being driven back to the Kilimanjaro Airport in Arusha. Most daily safaris started at 6:00 Am and lasted up to 11 hours with a stop for lunch while on the trails. To say this trip was excellent would be an understatement. All expenses, local travel, and luggage handling has been taken care of expertly. There were only minor additional expenses like mixed drinks at our lodges. Although the name CAMPS is used to describe the lodges they are close to nature but with modern accessories. Food was excellent. Daily safaris by vehicle were handled by our expert driver and guide "Indeni". He handled all requests with his knowledge and careful approach to animal life. He was the best! The second driver "Obeti" (I hope I spelled his name correctly) and vehicle followed his lead with expert care. Both men are to be recommended as perfect at their approach and provided daily guidance and information. Our main contact for the Safari was "Naomi". She made sure our needs, both before and after the safari, were met and any questions answered quickly. Whatsapp was used for any and all communications. We followed their recommendations for tipping for everyone especially the drivers and guides. The entire trip was in US funds. Flights are not included. If I had one item to advise future safari groups it would be to take the "African Massage" as a serious note as most roads throughout the safari are very rough. The time of our Safari was supposed to be at the entry of the wet season but we experienced only a few drops of rain on a couple days. They are badly in need of more rain as all areas have dust storms when passing other vehicles. Our flights with KLM were from Toronto airport in Canada with a short layover in Amsterdam and a final flight to Kilimanjaro airport. I would suggest that you buy comfort seating as the flights are long. The animal life is outstanding and opportunities to photograph are beyond belief. It was definitely a trip of a lifetime and we would love to return. The African Big Cats Safari group has met and exceeded our expectations.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mbwana is the best tour guide in all of Tanzania.
The safari was exceptional. We saw all of the big 5 and had an incredible experience. Our tour guide Mbwana was brilliant. He had some much knowledge and information about every animal in the safari. He brought us to some many good viewing spots. The chef Miriam was also brilliant. She cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and there wasn’t a crumb left on the plate. It was delicious. Overall 10/10 and would definitely recommend.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
Joël was an excellent guide. He picked us up on Time, took time to explain everything to us about the animals in the park and was always happy and smiling.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mbwana is what this safari is all about.
The safari was absolutely fantastic. Mbwana (aka the legend) got us into amazing positions and has an endless amount of information to share. But let us not forget the magical Miriam (aka dance queen) cooked some stupendous food ffrom which we indulged. Nothing short of a surreal experience for myself and my lover.
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustful and reliable
In August 2025, we enjoyed an 8-day family safari adventure with Jackson. Jackson is a very caring and experienced guide with excellent English. For our two children, aged 9 and 11, the safari was both adventurous and educational. We booked a midrange trip and spent four nights directly in the Serengeti. We are big fans of tented camps because they offer an incredible wildlife experience, and you can even hear lions roaring at night. We saw all of the Big Five and can highly recommend Jackson. He handles even challenging situations masterfully; I never felt uneasy or needed to interfere in his decisions, thanks to the strong bond of trust. We would love to come back again! 👍
(automatic translation from German)
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Epic Experience
My wife and I took a 7 day trip in October and we both agree it was one of the best experiences of our lives. I cannot say enough good things about Meektrails. After watching countless online videoos, I had narrowed down the potential tour operators to 3 and sent each an idea of what we wanted to do. Diana with Meek was first to respond, helpful and accomodating. As I continued to narrow down and fine tune locations and times, Diana was always the quickest and most responsive, so we chose MT and I am so glad. (She even helped us with accomodations in and out of the country.) The morning we set out, Mr. Meek, who started the company, Diana and our OUTSTANDING guide Dennis were all there. Dennis was incredible every day, every step of the way. Not only did he find the animals and get us in position, but he could also be a professional photographer. He showed my wife and I things on the 35MM and even the Iphone that we did not know, but he still took the best, most stunning pictures. Plus, he was an outstanding conversationalist, and not just animals, Kenya and Africa, but everything from international affairs to cars, from US/China trade to The Grand Tour. Fantastic guide and person in every way. Our flight out was very late, so he took an extra scenic route thru Nairobi and the three of us had dinner together. The accomodations MT booked were great, they supplied water, insulated water bottles and safari hats. As an example of their commitment to the customer, we had booked the mid-level accomodations, but along the way some guests a day ahead of us had a bad experience at one of them, so MT re-booked us into a high-level room at a different resort at no charge to make sure we did not experience whatever went wrong at our original location. If you want a pperfect safari experience, go with Meektrails!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding - loved every minute
We have just come back from a 6 day Safari with Viva Safaris at the Tremisana Lodge and I have to say it's the best safari experience we could have hoped for.
We began the tour from Johannesburg and were picked up on time and the transfer up took about 6 hours with multiple stops for comfort breaks and lunch. Once we arrived (at about 4pm) we just had time to check in and then go out for an evening game drive. It took less than 5 minutes for us to come across our first elephant, promptly followed by rhino, as well as other common species like antelope and zebra.
The following day we did an early morning sunrise drive + bush walk which was a lovely experience to see the park on foot. The walk down to the river was fantastic and we got to see up close (but safely!) animals like hippo and crocodiles. Our evening drive that day was super eventful and we got to see more rhino and elephants as well as an incredibly rare encounter with african wild dogs!
The following 3 days we spent on full days in Kruger via Orpen Gate. These were the 3 best safari days you could want.
Immediately Day 1after entering the park we encountered a pride of lions and we proceeded to see a massive range of other wildlife and we lost count of how many elephants - as a guess we came across 200 of them throughout the day including several large herds with very young babies.
Day 2 we finally (after many years of trying) managed to see a leopard, thus completing our big 5! It was so nice to see it happily sat under a tree watching the world go by close to the side of the road. We also spotted many more elephants and more lions etc.
Day 3 was equally as exciting with 2 more sets of lions, more rhino and even more baby elephants and a super cute baby giraffe.
Our last morning before heading back to Johannesburg was an early rise 2h drive where we got to see Rhino again and also a leopard in the distance attempting to catch something but failing. The journey back again took us via Blythe Canyon which is one of the most spectacular views you could imagine. We got back to the airport by about 4:30 which left plenty of time for our evening flights.
Accommodation wise we stayed in the rooms at Tremisana. They were plenty big enough, had nice hot showers and even air-con if you really needed it. Not fancy, but absolutely what you need for a safari. What made the lodge so special though was it's location and set up. Because you're in the old private reserve you literally are amongst the animals! At breakfast we had elephant walk straight past us the other side of the fence and in the morning hyena could be seen watching you and sniffing out the fantastic hot breakfast food etc.
The staff and guides were first class. So friendly and knowledgeable and they really were so invested in wanting to make sure you had the best time possible. Quite how the guides spot the animals is also a mystery - they must have laser vision as they just see everything so quickly leaving you all the time you need to focus and do your own spotting once you work out what they have seen. They are super patient, they know exactly the right pace to go at and which angles are best for photos etc.
Overall - Viva Safari and Tremisana Lodge are right up there - and amazing value for money too. Definitely check them out!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lambs is brillant , excelent the best driver and tour guide
I will love to go back anytime just for the Driver/tourguide