US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Safari in Rwanda
I booked a 7-Day tour of Rwanda with International Golden Tours and Travel Agency. Frank contacted me with additional information and the booking process was fairly straightforward. The proposed itinerary included trips to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, the Volcano National Park, a Gorillas safari, a trek up to the Bisoke Crater Lake at 3,711 m, as well as a hike in the Nyungue Forest Park and its Canopy. I loved it! Rwanda offers a great diversity of landscapes from breathtaking hills and valleys to stunningly beautiful lakes and dense forests. This involved traveling from the center of the country all the way north and then all the way south. Thanks to Frank's great logistical arrangements, the trip went without a hitch. It was very comfortable with great guides and security arrangements. Overall, I was very impressed with the organization of International Golden Tours and Travel Agency and very happy with my trip. I highly recommend this tour to anyone considering a safari in Rwanda.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful and very helpful!
It was very easy to book through KrugerPark, the person we dealt with was amazingly helpful and made the whole process very pleasing...
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a fabulous time but communication with the company was a little limited
The safari itself was everything we expected. Our tour guide Kim was awesome and very knowledgeable. The accommodations and food were good also. The tent camps are cool and they have electricity and bathroom and shower in them. I never received a packet from odyssey and some things aren't very clear. You definitely need to bring your yellow fever vaccination card...Kenya and Tanzania will need to see it but that wasn't on the list of things to bring. Also get your Kenya and Tanzania visas online prior to going so you don't have to carry that cash and wait in longer lines. If you do those things prior to going, things should go smoothly and you will have an amazing time :)
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Overall it was very easy to book the trip. All questions were answered and suggestions were made.
The overall experience was awesome. The one thing I found fustrating was on the first day when we arrived, wet had recieved an email saying what we would do each day. I noticed that it said in the afternoon we would go out on a game drive and a bush Braii for dinner. We asked our driver from the airport what time we would meet and he didn't know. We go to Kruger and asked someone there and he didn't know. We knew absolutely nothing was will very annoying as we didn't want to miss out on any activities. I think that you could avoid this in the future by the drivers letting us know where we meet and what time for the first activity. Once we had figured it out the trip ran smoothly.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beautiful place, lovely people, not quite the game experience of East Africa
We loved our trip to Madikwe. Having been to Kenya and Tanzania, South Africa felt "tamer." We saw tons of wildlife, but not to the amazing levels seen in East Africa. I think that South Africa is a great choice for safari beginners, those who don't want to do malaria precautions. The wildlife is certainly in Madikwe, but it takes more patience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Overall--A Few Issues
Positive: Noah works with you to customize and he does it all at a very, very good price. I asked for Luxury hotels/lodges and all were wonderful, including a few we requested specially. Our driver was smart and well-informed and affable. We saw all the same stuff everyone else saw, possibly even a little more as Mike was pretty in the know and has been doing this 10 years.
The initial (and all) Communication with Noah was great--he is very responsive and willing to take a lot of time. The downside was that maybe I didn't ask all the right questions or get across to him that I wanted to spend the least amount of time in the car. As such, our route involved a bit of backtracking and as one is in those cars on bad roads enough as it is, the backtracking sucks. In the future I would fly to Serengeti and go one way to Arusha (or vice versa) if you have the money, hitting all the parks on the way. Also, spend 2 nights at each hotel if you can afford it. Hotels are nice with good food and it makes the trip less rushed and more relaxing--just my preference.
A few Downsides: The vehicle is old and sort of a POS. When it rained, our stuff got soaked--even in the suitcases. And when it rained or was cold, since neither the air or blower or wipers worked, it was sort of a disaster. As it is an old model, the windows are shorter so it is tougher to see out comfortably. I think it may be time for a vehicle upgrade and I would pay more for a company with a better vehicle and one cleaned a little more often.
Driver/guide Downside: Again, Mike was overall very good, however he talked loudly a lot on his cell phone both during game drives and even in our hotels. Was really, really annoying. I think in the future I would also request a non-smoking guide, but I really liked Mike and probably would go with him again anyway.
Other Downside: They were not waiting to pick us up when we arrived at the airport to start the safari. No big deal, but when I called I felt the reason they gave--too much traffic in Arusha (??)--was not credible. They were 45 mins late and everybody else seemed there on time. Not very apologetic about it either. I think they forgot we were coming on that flight.
But overall, a good experience at a good price and I would recommend Wildebeest (with a few modifications (car and routing) next time).
You spend a whole lot of time in the car on rough roads in these safaris, so I was hoping to minimize that. We ended up doing a lot of backtracking and as I had no idea of the area, I think they could have helped me avoid that. (Tip: Fly to Serengett if you have the $ and then backtrack to Arusha (or vice versa) and fly out from there. The round trip is too much driving.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by David Bartholomew
Great place to see wildlife with a good range of species, especially birds. Shame that it is fenced so not completely natural
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Hell's Gate National Park by David Bartholomew
Very pretty place with cliffs lining one side of the park. Unfortunately we were unable to see any predators here, but were able to walk through the reserve.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Samburu National Reserve by mwangee
This place is wild! Wild and beautiful. The Ewaso Ng'iro river makes it even more beautiful with animals flocking to its shores to quench their thirst every day.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Nairobi National Park by mwangee
Being the only Game Park within a capital city means you can start your day in a meeting, enjoy 5-star lunch in town and end the day watching lions roam the plains, with the city Skyline in the background. There's no other place in the world you can do this.